Chapter 626: Not Playing by the Rules

On the other side, Yoshiwara Flower Street.

After the banquet of the hundred ghosts ended, inside the Mirage, Ibuki Suika opened her eyes.

She didn't go to the banquet in person, but projected herself through the special ability of her shikigami, the Mirage.

The Mirage has the ability to project its own mirage within a certain range...

"I am a failure. I hardly ever notice whether the sun is shining or not, because I have no time.

"My parents couldn't provide me with support, my educational background isn't high, and I am alone in the city searching for a future.

"I looked for many jobs, but I wasn't hired for any of them. Perhaps no one likes someone who isn't good at speaking, doesn't like to communicate, and hasn't shown sufficient ability."

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"I only ate two loaves of bread in three whole days. Hunger kept me from sleeping at night. Fortunately, I had paid a month's rent in advance, so I could continue to live in that dark basement without having to go outside to endure the abnormally cold winter wind.

"Finally, I found a job: working the night shift at a hospital, guarding the morgue.

"The hospital at night is even colder than I imagined. The wall lamps in the corridor weren't lit, and it was dim everywhere; I could only rely on the little bit of light seeping out from the rooms to help me see my feet.

"The smell there was very unpleasant. From time to time, the deceased would be stuffed into body bags and sent over, and we would work together to help move them into the morgue.

"This isn't a very good job, but at least it allows me to afford bread. The free time at night can also be used for studying, after all, no one is willing to come to the morgue unless there are bodies that need to be delivered or transported away for cremation. Of course, I don't have enough money to buy books yet, and I don't see any hope of saving money at the moment.

"I have to thank my former colleague; if he hadn't suddenly resigned, I might not have even been able to get a job like this.

"I dream of being able to rotate to the day shift. Now, I always sleep when the sun comes out and wake up after night falls, which has made my body a bit weak, and my head occasionally throbs with pain.

"One day, the movers brought a new body.

"I heard from others that this was my former colleague who had suddenly resigned.

"I was a bit curious about him. After everyone left, I pulled out the cabinet and quietly opened the body bag.

"He was an old man, his face blue and white, covered in wrinkles, looking very frightening under the very dim light.

"He didn't have much hair, most of it was white, and all his clothes had been stripped off, not even a scrap of fabric left for him."

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"I saw a strange mark on his chest, blue-black in color. I can't describe its exact appearance; the light at the time was just too dim.

"I reached out and touched the mark, but there was nothing special about it.

"Looking at this former colleague, I wondered, if I keep going like this, when I get old, will I end up like him..."

"I told him that tomorrow I would accompany him to the crematorium and personally take his ashes to the nearest free cemetery, to avoid those responsible for these matters finding it troublesome and just throwing them in some river or wasteland.

"This will sacrifice a morning of my sleep, but fortunately, it will be Sunday soon, so I can make up for it.

"After saying that, I fixed the body bag and pushed it back into the cabinet.

"The light in the room seemed even dimmer..."

"Since that day, every time I sleep, I always dream of a thick fog.

"I have a premonition that something will happen soon, a premonition that sooner or later, things that I don't know if I can call human will come looking for me. But no one is willing to believe me; they think that in such an environment and such a job, my mind has become abnormal and I need to see a doctor..."

A male guest sitting at the bar looked at the storyteller who had suddenly stopped:

"And then?"

This male guest was in his thirties, wearing a brown tweed jacket and light yellow trousers, his hair pressed very flat, with a simple dark round top hat by his side.

He looked ordinary, just like most people in the tavern: black hair, light blue eyes, neither good-looking nor ugly, lacking any obvious features.

And the storyteller in his eyes was a young man of eighteen or nineteen, tall and straight, with slender limbs, also with short black hair and light blue eyes, but with deep-set features that could make one's eyes light up.

The young man looked at the empty wine glass in front of him and sighed:

"And then?

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"Then I quit my job, returned to the countryside, and came here to brag to you."

As he spoke, a smile appeared on his face, a smile with a hint of mischief.

The male guest was stunned for a moment:

"The things you just told were bragging?"

"Haha." A burst of laughter erupted around the bar.

As the laughter subsided slightly, a thin, middle-aged man looked at the slightly embarrassed guest and said:

"Outsider, you actually believed Lu Mian's story? What he says is different every day. Yesterday he was still a loser whose engagement was broken by his fiancée because of poverty, and today he's become a morgue attendant!"

"Right, talking about thirty years on the east side of the Sailunzuohe River, thirty years on the west side of the Sailunzuohe River, he only knows how to babble nonsense!" another tavern regular followed up.

They were all farmers from this large village of Kordu, wearing short jackets that were black, gray, or brown.

The black-haired young man called Lu Mian supported himself on the bar with both hands, stood up slowly, and said with a smile:

"You know, this isn't a story I made up; it was all written by my sister. She loves writing stories the most, and she's even a columnist for some 'Novel Weekly'."

After finishing, he turned his body, spread his hands toward the outsider, and smiled brilliantly:

"It seems she writes really well.

"Sorry for misleading you."

The man in the brown tweed jacket with an ordinary appearance didn't get angry; he stood up as well and responded with a smile:

"A very interesting story.

"What should I call you?"

"Isn't it common sense to introduce yourself before asking others?" Lu Mian laughed.

The guest from out of town nodded:

"My name is Ryan Cos.

"These two are my companions, Valentine and Liya."

The latter sentence referred to the man and woman sitting right next to him.

The man was twenty-seven or twenty-eight, with yellow hair dusted with powder, eyes that weren't very large but had a color deeper than lake blue, wearing a white vest, a blue fine-wool coat, and black trousers; he had clearly dressed up carefully before going out.

His expression was quite cold, and he didn't really look at the surrounding farmers and herdsmen.

The woman looked younger than the two men, with light gray hair tied into a complex bun, wrapped in a white veil serving as a hat.

Her eyes were the same color as her hair, and her gaze toward Lu Mian carried undisguised amusement; she seemed to find what had just happened merely interesting.

Under the illumination of the tavern's gas wall lamps, this woman named Liya revealed a pert nose and beautifully curved lips; in a countryside village like Kordu, she could definitely be called a beauty.

She wore a white, unpleated cashmere tight-fitting dress, paired with a beige little jacket and a pair of Ma Xier long boots. There were also two small silver bells tied to her veil and boots respectively. When she walked into the tavern just now, she jingled all the way, which was very eye-catching, making many men stare straight at her.

In their eyes, this must be the kind of fashionable attire only found in big cities like the provincial capital Bigeer or the capital Trier.

Lu Mian nodded to the three outsiders:

"My name is Lu Mian Li; you can call me Lu Mian directly."

"Li?" Liya blurted out.

"What's wrong? Is there a problem with my surname?" Lu Mian asked curiously.

Ryan Cos explained for Liya:

"This surname of yours is terrifying. I almost couldn't control my voice just now."

Seeing the surrounding farmers and herdsmen looking puzzled, he explained further:

"Those who have had contact with sailors and sea merchants all know that there is such a saying circulating on the Five Seas:

"I would rather encounter those pirate generals or even kings than run into a person named Frank Li.

"That person's surname is also Li."

"Is he very scary?" Lu Mian asked.

Ryan shook his head:

"I'm not sure, but since there is such a legend, it certainly won't be bad."

He ended this topic and said to Lu Mian:

"Thank you for your story; it's worth a drink. What would you like?"

"A glass of 'Green Fairy'." Lu Mian wasn't polite at all and sat back down.

Ryan Cos frowned slightly and said:

"'Green Fairy'... Absinthe?

"I think I need to remind you that absinthe is harmful to the human body. This kind of alcohol can lead to mental confusion and cause you to have hallucinations."

"I didn't expect the fashion trend of Trier to have spread here already." Liya added with a smile from the side.

Lu Mian said "Oh":

"So Trier people also like to drink 'Green Fairy'...

"For us, life is already hard enough; there's no need to care about a little more damage. This kind of alcohol can allow our spirits to obtain greater relaxation."

"Alright." Ryan sat back in his seat and looked at the bartender, "A glass of 'Green Fairy', and add a glass of 'Spicy Heart' for me."

"Spicy Heart" is a famous fruit shochu.

"Why don't you give me a glass of 'Green Fairy' too? I was the one who told you the truth just now, and I can even tell you the situation of this kid from beginning to end!" the thin middle-aged man who first exposed Lu Mian for telling stories every day shouted with dissatisfaction, "Outsider, I can tell that you still have doubts about the truth of that story!"

"Pierre, for the sake of a free drink, you really can do anything!" Lu Mian responded loudly.

Without waiting for Ryan to make a decision, Lu Mian added:

"Why can't it be me telling it myself? That way I could drink another glass of 'Green Fairy'."

"Because they don't know whether to believe the situation you're talking about." the middle-aged man named Pierre laughed triumphantly, "The story your sister loves to tell children the most is 'The Boy Who Cried Wolf'. People who always lie will inevitably lose their credibility."

"Alright." Lu Mian shrugged his shoulders and watched the bartender push a glass of pale green liquid in front of him.

Ryan looked at him and asked for confirmation:

"Is it okay?"

"No problem, as long as your wallet is enough to pay for these drinks." Lu Mian didn't care at all.

"Then another glass of 'Green Fairy'." Ryan nodded.

Pierre was suddenly all smiles:

"Generous outsider, this kid is the biggest prankster in the village; you must stay away from him.

"Five years ago, he was brought back to the village by his sister Aurore and has never left since. Think about it, before that, he was only thirteen; how could he possibly go to a hospital to be a morgue attendant? Hmm, the nearest hospital to us is in Daliezh at the foot of the mountain, which takes a whole afternoon to walk to."

"Brought back to the village?" Liya asked keenly.

She tilted her head slightly, producing a jingling sound.

Pierre nodded:

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"Then, he followed Aurore and took the surname 'Li', and even the name 'Lu Mian' was chosen by Aurore."

"I've forgotten what I was originally called." Lu Mian took a sip of absinthe and said with a grin.

It seemed that he felt no inferiority or shame at all about his past being exposed like this. ===== CHAPTER 627 =====