Chapter 484: Charming

What does it mean to send charcoal in snowy weather? Liu Liu Guangtian felt that Old Lao Biaozi beating him was only right; with his mother in such a state, he ought to have carried her over and begged.

But how could he have had the face for it, or any confidence that they would lend him a tricycle?

Now, having failed to borrow a tricycle but instead borrowing a car, he only felt a... in his heart.

"I am a failure, barely noticing whether the sunshine is brilliant or not, because I have no time.

"My parents cannot provide support, my education is not high, and I wander alone in the city seeking a future.

"I applied for many jobs but was never hired; perhaps no one likes someone who is bad at speaking, dislikes socializing, and has not demonstrated sufficient ability.

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"I went a full three days eating only two loaves of bread; hunger kept me awake at night, but fortunately, I had prepaid a month's rent, allowing me to continue living in that dark basement without having to go outside and endure the abnormally cold winter winds.

"Finally, I found a job: keeping night watch at a hospital, guarding the morgue.

"The hospital nights were colder than I imagined; the corridor wall lamps were unlit, everything was dim, and I could only rely on the sliver of light seeping out from the rooms to see where I was stepping.

"The smell there was terrible; from time to time, the dead were stuffed into body bags and delivered, and we cooperated to help move them into the morgue.

"This was not a good job, but at least it allowed me to afford bread, and the idle time at night could be used for study, after all, few people are willing to come to the morgue unless there is a corpse to deliver or transport for cremation; of course, I did not yet have enough money to buy books, nor could I see any hope of saving up.

"I must thank my former colleague; if he had not suddenly resigned, I might not have even obtained such a job.

"I dreamed of rotating to the day shift; currently, I sleep when the sun rises and wake when night falls, making my body somewhat weak, and my head occasionally throbs with pain.

"One day, the porters delivered a new corpse.

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

"Curious about him, after everyone else had left, I pulled out the cabinet and quietly opened the body bag.

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

"He did not have much hair, most of it white, and all his clothes had been stripped off, not even a scrap of cloth left on him.

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"I saw a strange mark on his chest, greenish-black in color; I could not describe its exact appearance, as the lighting at the time was truly too dim.

"I reached out and touched that mark; there was nothing special about it.

"Looking at this former colleague, I wondered: if I continue like this, when I grow old, will I end up just like him...

"I told him that tomorrow I would accompany him to the crematorium and personally take his ashes to the nearest free cemetery, so that those responsible for such matters, finding it troublesome, would not just toss him into some river or wasteland.

"This would sacrifice a morning of my sleep, but fortunately, Sunday was coming soon, so I could make up for it.

"After saying those words, I fixed the body bag and shoved it back into the cabinet.

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

"Since that day, every time I slept, I would dream of a vast fog.

"I sensed that something would happen soon, that sooner or later some things that might not even be called human would come for me, but no one was willing to believe me, thinking that in such an environment and with such a job, my mind had become somewhat abnormal and that I needed to see a doctor..."

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

"And then?"

This male guest was in his thirties, wearing a brown tweed jacket and pale yellow trousers, his hair pressed very flat, with a simple dark bowler hat beside his hand.

He looked utterly ordinary, like most people in the tavern: black hair, light blue eyes, neither handsome nor ugly, lacking any distinct features.

Whereas the storyteller in his eyes was a young man of eighteen or nineteen, with an upright figure and slender limbs; likewise possessing short black hair and light blue eyes, yet his features were deep and striking, enough to make one's eyes light up.

This young man gazed at the empty wine glass before him, sighed, and said:

"And then?

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"Then I resigned, returned to the countryside, and came here to brag to you."

As he spoke, a smile appeared on his face, a smile tinged with a mischievous glint.

That male guest was stunned for a moment:

"Were all those things you just told merely bragging?"

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

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

"Outsider, you actually believed Lu Lu Mian's story? Every day he tells a different one; yesterday he was an unlucky fellow whose fiancée broke off the engagement due to poverty, and today he has become a corpse guardian!"

"Exactly, talking about thirty years east of the Sailunzuohe and thirty years west of the Sailunzuohe, just spouting nonsense!" another regular of the tavern added.

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

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

"As you know, this story was not made up by me; it was written by my sister, who loves writing stories most of all, and she is even a columnist for something called the 'Weekly Novel.'

Having said this, he turned his body slightly, spread his hands toward that outsider guest, and smiled brightly:

"It seems she writes really well.

"Sorry for misleading you."

The man in the brown tweed jacket, ordinary in appearance, did not get angry; he stood up as well and responded with a smile:

"A very interesting story.

"How should I address you?"

"Is it not common sense to introduce oneself before asking others?" Lu Lu Mian laughed.

That guest from out of town nodded:

"My name is Ryan Cos.

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

The latter sentence referred to a man and a woman sitting right beside him.

The man was twenty-seven or twenty-eight, his yellow hair dusted with some powder, his not-so-large eyes a color slightly deeper than lake blue, wearing a white vest, a blue fine-wool jacket, and black trousers, clearly having dressed up carefully before going out.

His expression was quite cold, and he barely glanced at the farmers and herders around him.

The woman appeared younger than the two men, her light gray long hair tied into an intricate bun, covered by a white veil serving as a hat.

Her eyes matched the color of her hair, and the smile in her gaze as she looked at Lu Lu Mian was utterly unhidden; she seemed to find what had just happened merely amusing.

Under the glow of the tavern's gas wall lamps, this woman named Di Liya revealed a straight, delicate nose and lips with a beautiful curve, undoubtedly qualifying as a beauty in a countryside place like Cordu Village.

She wore a tight, pleatless white cashmere dress, paired with an off-white small jacket and a pair of Maxill long boots; two small silver bells were tied separately onto her veil and boots, creating a constant jingling sound as she walked into the tavern just now, drawing considerable attention and causing many men to stare straight ahead.

In their eyes, this was the kind of fashionable attire found only in big cities like the provincial capital Bigor or the national capital Trier.

Lu Lu Mian nodded to the three outsiders:

"My name is Lu Lu Mian Lee; you can just call me Lu Lu Mian."

"Lee?" Di Liya blurted out.

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

Ryan Cost helped explain to Di Liya:

"Your surname inspires fear; I nearly lost control of my voice just now."

Seeing the confused looks on the faces of the surrounding farmers and herders, he explained further:

"Anyone who has dealt with sailors or sea merchants knows that such a saying circulates above the Five Seas:

"'Rather encounter those pirate generals or even kings than run into a man named Frank Lee.'

"That person's surname is also Lee."

"Is he very terrifying?" Lu Lu Mian asked.

Ryan shook his head:

"I'm not clear, but since such a legend exists, he certainly cannot be ordinary."

He halted this topic and said to Lu Lu Mian:

"Thanks for your story; it deserves a drink. What would you like?"

"A glass of 'Green Fairy'." Lu Lu Mian was not polite in the slightest and sat back down.

Ryan Cost frowned slightly and said:

"'Green Fairy'... Absinthe?

"I think I need to remind you that absinthe is harmful to the human body; this liquor can cause mental derangement and make you experience hallucinations."

"I didn't expect the fashionable trends of Trier had already spread here," Di Liya added with a smile from the side.

Lu Lu Mian let out an "Oh":

"So people from Trier also like drinking 'Green Fairy'...

"For us, life is already hard enough; there's no need to worry about a little extra harm. This liquor allows our spirits to achieve greater relaxation."

"Very well." Ryan sat back in his seat, looked toward the bartender, and said, "One glass of 'Green Fairy', and add another glass of 'Spicy Heart' for me."

"Spicy Heart" was a famous fruit brandy.

"Why not get me a glass of 'Green Fairy' too? I was the one who told you the truth just now; I can also recount this kid's situation exactly as it is!" the gaunt middle-aged man who had first exposed Lu Lu Mian's daily storytelling shouted dissatisfiedly, "Outsiders, I can tell you still harbor doubts about the truth or falsehood of that story!"

"Pierre, to get a free drink, you're willing to do absolutely anything!" Lu Lu Mian responded loudly.

Before Ryan could make a decision, Lu Lu Mian added:

"Why can't I tell it myself? That way, I could even drink an extra glass of 'Green Fairy'."

"Because they wouldn't know whether to believe what you say," the middle-aged man named Pierre said with a smug smile, "The story your sister loves telling children the most is 'The Boy Who Cried Wolf'; a person who always lies inevitably loses credibility."

"Fine." Lu Lu Mian shrugged his shoulders, watching the bartender push a glass of pale green liquor in front of him.

Ryan looked at him and asked for confirmation:

"Is this acceptable?"

"No problem, as long as your wallet is sufficient to pay for these drinks," Lu Lu Mian said, completely unconcerned.

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

Pierre's face immediately broke into a wide smile:

"Generous outsiders, this kid is the village's biggest prankster; you must stay far away from him.

"Five years ago, he was brought back to the village by his sister, Aurore, and never left again. Think about it: before that, he was only thirteen years old; how could he possibly have worked as a corpse guardian in a hospital? Hmm, the nearest hospital to us is in Darez at the foot of the mountain, which takes a whole afternoon to walk to."

"Brought back to the village?" Di Liya asked sharply.

She tilted her head slightly, producing a jingling sound.

Pierre nodded:

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"After that, he took his sister Aurore's surname, 'Lee', and even the name 'Lu Lu Mian' was given by Aurore."

"I've forgotten what my original name was anyway," Lu Lu Mian said with a grin after taking a sip of absinthe.

It seemed he felt neither inferiority nor shame at having his past exposed like this.