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墨書 Inktalez
Willowbank is well-known among the locals as an affluent area.
The address provided by Ma Yan happens to be in Willowbank, next to a place called Yu Ting Lane.
Ye Chenfeng was unfamiliar with the environment here, so he had no idea what Willowbank was. When he and Shen Binghan arrived in front of the towering, luxurious buildings, he genuinely thought that the beautiful woman they were searching for must be a resident of this wealthy neighborhood.
Willowbank features modern architecture, and those who live here are either extremely wealthy businesspeople or individuals with money to spare, enjoying the peak of life. In any case, Willowbank is filled with luxury cars, and imposing security guards stand at the entrance.
They overlooked a small sign nearby and were about to go door-to-door asking questions. The security guard, seeing their youthful faces—one of which was clad in a gray monk's robe—naturally assumed they were scammers trying to take advantage of the rich.
He didn’t give them a friendly look, almost ready to unleash the owner's pet dog on them.
“Ma Yan must be playing tricks on us.”
Ye Chenfeng, who hadn’t slept well due to nightmares, wore a long face as he held the paper and muttered. If it weren’t for Shen Binghan’s insistence, he would have seriously considered waiting at the bus station to hitch a ride home.
“Take a closer look; could there be a mistake somewhere?”
The two abandoned the idea of asking around in the wealthy district and stood under a street tree, flipping the paper back and forth.
“Oh, it turns out it’s here.”
Yu Ting Lane is a narrow alley located beside a low-rise building in Willowbank.
At the entrance of the alley, there was a restaurant famous for its rice noodles, bustling with business. As they passed by, they noticed many food lovers inside who were too lazy to make breakfast. A wave of enticing aromas wafted from the restaurant, filling Ye Chenfeng and Shen Binghan's noses and making their mouths water.
Shen Binghan spat out some saliva.
He didn’t realize that this place was different from the mountains where people could spit or relieve themselves anywhere; here it wasn’t acceptable. If caught, one would face fines.
Ye Chenfeng spat out a mouthful of saliva and grabbed Shen Binghan, running away as fast as he could.
However, they didn't get far before a woman in an orange sanitation uniform suddenly appeared, blocking their path.
The woman ran quickly, shouting, "Little Monk, you’re being fined for spitting!"
Spitting was also an offense? Shen Binghan was dumbfounded, while Ye Chenfeng cursed him a thousand times in his heart.
"Of course you have to pay the fine. As someone who believes in Buddhism, you should uphold social morals and maintain public hygiene," the woman said sharply, demanding that Shen Binghan pay up.
Shen Binghan had no money.
Ye Chenfeng had no money either.
"Auntie, I don’t have any money. How about I tell your fortune instead?"
What was he thinking? Ye Chenfeng wondered. They wanted money; how could fortune-telling possibly work?
The sanitation worker paused slightly, intrigued that this seemingly unimpressive Little Monk could tell fortunes. She set down her broom and said, "Alright then, show me what’s been happening to me lately."
"Auntie, you are in grave danger..."
The woman looked at him suspiciously, struggling to believe it. Anger bubbled within her as she thought he might be cursing her. She hesitated and glanced behind her.
This alley was deep and quiet; only at the entrance was there any hustle and bustle from people enjoying their rice noodles. In this section, very few walked by.
Hearing Shen Binghan's words surprised Ye Chenfeng. He believed Shen Binghan had his strengths, but to say the woman was in danger seemed absurd. She looked energetic and was running swiftly—how could she possibly be in danger? She appeared healthy and unharmed; it made no sense for him to say she was in peril.
Shen Binghan calmly gazed up at the sky.
The sun in the sky wasn't as scorching as in summer, but staring at it for too long was still a bit blinding.
"Auntie, look at the ground."
The sanitation worker looked down, her thin shadow flickering in and out of visibility.
"Auntie, a disaster is about to befall you. If you don't resolve it, your life is in danger."
"You’re talking nonsense..."
"Auntie, don’t be skeptical. Look at my shadow and his." Shen Binghan pointed at Ye Chenfeng; their shadows were clearly visible, unlike the auntie's shadow, which appeared vague and indistinct.
Ye Chenfeng thought Shen Binghan was just trying to fool the auntie. He figured that if it weren't for this trickery, she wouldn't be so entangled with them, so he remained silent and watched coldly from the side.
"Auntie, a person's fate is predetermined. Your time is running out. Not long ago, you picked up a package containing some money; that was actually money for selling your life."
Upon hearing about money from Shen Binghan, the aunt's face twitched slightly, revealing her unease. She tried to cover it up with a dismissive tone: "Nonsense! There’s no money here; you’re just trying to scam me. I’ll call someone to take you both to the police station."
"Auntie, you're being stubborn. There’s no such thing as a remedy for regret in this world. Little Monk, I don’t have any money. If you insist on fining me, can I replace it with labor?"
"Sure, you can clean this area up, and you'll also need to pick up the trash in front of the Bridge Rice Noodle Shop."
Ye Chenfeng's eyes widened at what the aunt said; he was about to argue when Shen Binghan readily agreed, "No problem."
The sanitation worker scoffed and left with a look of disdain, leaving the broom and dustpan for Shen Binghan and Ye Chenfeng along with all the litter.
Finally free, the aunt hurried off to buy a beautiful dress she had long desired. She walked quickly and soon disappeared into the supermarket.
With no other choice, Shen Binghan and Ye Chenfeng picked up the broom and began sweeping the ground.
Ye Chenfeng was full of complaints, sweeping the area with a dustpan and broom, filling Shen Binghan's ears with his grumbling.
Just as they were about to clean up the alley, a loud bang echoed from the direction of the bridge where the rice noodles were sold, followed by someone shouting that someone had been run over.
Upon hearing this, Shen Binghan clasped his hands together and murmured, "Amitabha."
"Stop chanting and let’s go take a look."
Ye Chenfeng couldn't care less about Shen Binghan; he thought the Little Monk was truly foolish for not wanting to see the commotion while still reciting prayers.
A pool of blood caught Ye Chenfeng's eye, the bright orange of the sanitation worker's uniform stark against the ground.
He saw the Sanitation Worker Aunt, who had just been lively moments ago, now curled up and lying in a pool of blood. She had crossed the street and was struck head-on by a vehicle, thrown into the air before crashing down heavily onto the pavement.
Not far away lay a beautifully packaged bag—clothes that the aunt had just bought.
Ye Chenfeng gasped at the sight. Looking over at Shen Binghan, he saw that he had already approached, hands clasped together, silently muttering something.
Shen Binghan watched as a shadow rose from the aunt's body, her pale face turning to look at her curled form. She cried—both the car that caused the accident and the deceased had vanished, leaving behind only a pair of terrified eyes peeking from a nearby window. They quickly darted away and shut without revealing themselves again.
Ding Li's home was just in that street-facing building.
Ye Chenfeng and Shen Binghan arrived at Ding Li's doorstep. They decided to play rock-paper-scissors to determine who would knock on the door.
Shen Binghan was bound to lose.
Ye Chenfeng struck quickly, his moves unpredictable.
Shen Binghan knocked on the door.
As the door opened, a delicate figure appeared before them.
Just moments ago, she had been washing her hair and hadn't had the chance to dry it yet. With damp strands clinging to her, she held a towel in her hands. She wore a soft white dress that accentuated her curvy figure while exuding an ethereal grace. Her bright, dark eyes sparkled with charm.
A true gem, absolutely exquisite. Shen Binghan's eyes lit up as he unabashedly took in her alluring curves.
The beauty was taken aback. "Who are you...?" she asked warily, quickly moving to shut the door.
"Wait! We need to talk to you urgently," Ye Chenfeng and Shen Binghan spoke almost in unison, both reaching out to stop the door from closing.
"I don't know you! What do you want?" Ding Li screamed, desperately trying to close the door.
"Is something wrong at home? Your mother hasn't come back?" Ye Chenfeng blurted out, realizing that Shen Binghan had been chanting Amitabha all day and was now too flustered to say anything useful. In a moment of panic, he revealed the situation regarding the beauty's mother.
Upon hearing them mention her mother, the beauty looked even more startled and questioned, "Who exactly are you? My mother's situation has nothing to do with me."
"She's very upset and has been crying. She mentioned you."
"Crying? What good does that do? She's shameless and has ruined my reputation! I can't even show my face at school; I can only hide in my room..."
"Don't cry, beautiful. You won't look pretty if you do," Ye Chenfeng gently pushed the door open with a harmless expression, trying to convey that they meant no harm as they stepped inside and quickly surveyed the modest space of about ninety square meters.
The room was tidy.
The furniture was well arranged but gave off a sense of coldness.
Realizing that Ye Chenfeng and Shen Binghan meant no ill will, the beauty lowered her guard and allowed them in, offering to pour them a cup of hot water.
"We don't need hot water; do you have any noodles?"
"Yes." Ding Li looked confused, suspecting that these two were using her mother as an excuse to mooch off her. Doubts aside, she still believed that the Little Monk in gray robes didn't seem like a bad person.
Ye Chenfeng said to Shen Binghan, "This beauty is really easy to fool. If we were bad guys, she'd be in trouble. What happens next might be..." He wore a mischievous grin, while Shen Binghan pressed his palms together in a gesture of prayer.
Ding Li glanced at the two odd boys through the glass partition of the kitchen, thinking that if they dared to make a move, she'd call the police. However, due to her mother's situation, she hesitated to face the authorities. What she hoped for was that two big bowls of noodles would send these two rascals on their way.
With a clatter, the two large bowls of noodles disappeared effortlessly down their throats.
Ye Chenfeng casually picked up his empty bowl and headed to the kitchen to wash it.
Ding Li watched the Little Monk with some unease, her hands fidgeting nervously on her knees.
Shen Binghan was utterly famished; he gulped down half a bowl of greasy noodle soup in one go and gestured for Ye Chenfeng to take his bowl away. The latter shot him a fierce glare but still picked up the bowl and went to the kitchen.
After wiping his mouth, Shen Binghan fixed his gaze on Ding Li. He stared until she felt embarrassed enough to lower her head before he finally spoke again, "Your mother is innocent; the one who pushed her down the stairs wasn't human."
"Not human? Then could it be..." Ding Li didn't dare finish her sentence. She was afraid—especially when alone in the house; it felt so cold. She had shut herself off from the outside world, sealing her heart within these walls.
Ding Li felt as if the house were a tomb, and she was just a Walking Dead trapped inside it.
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