Chapter 507: The Honest Seller

"Who is it?"

Zhou Zhou Changli was leaning on the hearth in the gatehouse, reading a novel; hearing the noise at the door, he flung the book—worn thin from endless turning—onto the hearth and shouted irritably.

Ever since that person dumped me here, I've had zero freedom, stuck day after day as a gatekeeper.

"I'm a failure; I barely notice whether the sun shines brightly or not, because I have no time."

"My parents couldn't support me, my education was low, and I wandered alone through the city searching for a future."

"I applied for many jobs, but none hired me—maybe no one likes someone who's bad at speaking, avoids communication, and shows no sufficient ability."

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"I went three full days eating only two loaves of bread; hunger kept me awake at night. Luckily, I'd paid a month's rent in advance, so I could still live in that dark basement, avoiding the bitterly cold winter winds outside."

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

"The hospital nights were colder than I imagined—the corridor wall lamps were unlit, everything was dim, and I could barely see my feet by the faint light leaking from the rooms."

"The smell there was awful; corpses in body bags kept arriving, and we helped carry them into the morgue."

"It wasn't a good job, but at least it let me buy bread, and my free nighttime hours could be used for studying—after all, hardly anyone wanted to come to the morgue unless a corpse needed bringing in or taking away for cremation. Still, I couldn't afford books, and I saw no hope of saving money."

"I owe thanks to my predecessor—if he hadn't suddenly quit, I might never have gotten even this job."

"I dream of switching to day shifts; now I sleep when the sun rises and wake when night falls, making my body weak and occasionally giving me sharp headaches."

"One day, a worker delivered a new corpse."

"Others said it was my former colleague who'd suddenly quit."

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

"He was an old man, his face bluish-white, covered in wrinkles, terrifying under the dim light."

"He had little hair, mostly white; all his clothes had been removed, not even a scrap of fabric left on him."

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"I saw a strange mark on his chest—bluish-black—I can't describe its shape; the light was too dim then."

"I reached out and touched the mark—it felt nothing special."

"Looking at my former colleague, I wondered: if I keep going like this, when I grow old, will I end up like him…?"

"I told him: tomorrow I'll take you to the crematorium myself and bring your ashes to the nearest free cemetery, so those responsible won't get lazy and dump you by some river or wasteland."

"It'll cost me one morning's sleep, but it's fine—Sunday's coming, I can make up for it."

"After saying that, I sealed the body bag and shoved it back into the drawer."

"The room's light seemed to grow even darker…"

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

"I sense something's about to happen—I sense something that might not even be human will come for me soon—but no one believes me; they think working in that environment has made me mentally unstable, that I need a doctor…"

A male customer sitting at the bar looked at the storyteller who had suddenly fallen silent:

"And then?"

The man was in his thirties, wearing a brown tweed coat and light yellow trousers, his hair flattened, a simple dark round hat beside him.

He looked ordinary, like most people in the tavern—black hair, pale blue eyes, neither ugly nor handsome, lacking any striking features.

But to his eyes, the storyteller was a young man of eighteen or nineteen, tall and slender-limbed, also with short black hair and pale blue eyes, yet with sharp features that caught the eye.

The young man stared at his empty glass and sighed:

"And then?"

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

As he spoke, a mischievous smile spread across his face.

The male customer blinked in surprise:

"You were just making all that up?"

Laughter erupted around the bar.

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

"Stranger, you actually believed Lu Lu Mian's story? He tells a different one every day—yesterday he was a poor fool whose fiancée broke off their engagement; today he's a morgue attendant!"

"Yeah, blabbering nonsense about thirty years on the east side of the Sailunzuohe, thirty years on the right side—just rambling!" added another regular.

They were all farmers from the large village of Kerdou, wearing short jackets in black, gray, or brown.

The black-haired young man called Lu Lu Mian pushed himself up from the bar with both hands, smiling:

"You know, these aren't my stories—they're written by my sister. She loves writing stories; she's even a columnist for the 'Novel Weekly.'"

After speaking, he turned to the side, gestured toward the visiting guest, and smiled brightly:

"Looks like she writes pretty well."

"Sorry for misleading you."

The man in the brown tweed coat, ordinary-looking, didn't get angry—he stood up and smiled back:

"An interesting story."

"What's your name?"

"Isn't it common sense to introduce yourself before asking someone else's?" Lu Lu Mian grinned.

The foreign guest nodded:

"I'm Ryan Cos."

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

The latter referred to the man and woman sitting beside him.

The man was twenty-seven or twenty-eight, with yellow hair lightly powdered, small eyes a shade darker than lake-blue, wearing a white vest, a blue fine wool coat, and black trousers—he'd clearly dressed carefully for the occasion.

His expression was rather 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 look she cast upon Lu Lu Mian carried undisguised amusement, as if she found what had just occurred merely interesting.

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; in a countryside place like Cordu Village, she could absolutely be called a beauty.

She wore a tight, pleatless white cashmere dress, paired with an off-white small jacket and a pair of Maxill long boots, with two small silver bells tied respectively to her veil and boots; when she had walked into the tavern earlier, they had jingled all the way, drawing considerable attention and causing many men to stare straight at her.

In their eyes, this was the kind of fashionable attire one would only see 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; just now, I nearly lost control of my voice."

Seeing the farmers and herders around them looking utterly confused, he explained further:

"Anyone who has dealt with sailors or sea merchants knows that there is a saying circulating across 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 am 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 least 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 in Trier also like drinking 'Green Fairy'...

"For us, life is already hard enough; there is 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 'Green Fairy', and add for me a glass of 'Spicy Heart'."

"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, and I can still recount this kid's situation exactly as it happened!" the gaunt middle-aged man who had first exposed Lu Lu Mian's daily storytelling shouted dissatisfiedly, "Outsiders, I can tell you still have doubts about the truth or falsehood of that story!"

"Pierre, for a free drink, you really will do 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."

"Very well." 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 '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 has never left since. 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 Darex 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.