Chapter 508: A Somewhat Immature Idea

"Sister~ sob sob"

"Jin Jiaojiao~"

Seeing that heartless person leave, the two girls hugged each other and wept bitterly again.

In their hearts, each harbored resentment: hating their master's cruelty, hating their senior brother's ruthlessness, and hating their own lack of fortune.

After crying until they were exhausted, the two returned to the fire room, staring at the pitch-black vegetables, scorched and burnt...

"I am a failure; I hardly notice whether the sunlight is brilliant or not, because I have no time.

"My parents cannot support me, my education level 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. Fortunately, I had prepaid a month's rent, so I could 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 assisted in carrying them into the morgue.

"This was not a good job, but at least it allowed me to afford bread, and the idle nighttime hours could be used for study. After all, few people were willing to come to the morgue unless there was a body 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, but now I always 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 others say that this was my former colleague who had suddenly resigned.

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

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

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

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"I saw a strange mark on his chest, bluish-black; 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 that, I fixed the body bag and shoved it back into the cabinet.

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

"After 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—whether they could be called human or not—would come for me. Yet no one was willing to believe me; they thought that in such an environment, doing such work, my mind had become somewhat abnormal and that I needed to see a doctor..."

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

"And then?"

This male patron was in his thirties, wearing a brown tweed jacket and pale yellow trousers; his hair was pressed very flat, and beside his hand lay a crude dark bowler hat.

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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"And then I resigned, returned to the countryside, and came here to spin yarns with you."

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

That male patron was momentarily stunned:

"Were all those things you just told merely tall tales?"

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

As the laughter subsided slightly, a gaunt middle-aged man looked at the somewhat embarrassed patron 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 their engagement due to poverty, and today he has become a corpse guardian!"

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

They were all farmers from Kordu, 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 grin:

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

Having said this, he turned sideways, spread his hands toward that outsider patron, and smiled brightly:

"It seems she writes truly 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 replied with a smile:

"A very interesting story.

"How should I address you?"

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

The guest from out of town nodded:

"My name is Ryan Cos.

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

The latter remark referred to the man and woman sitting right beside them.

The man was twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, with yellow hair dusted with powder, eyes not particularly large but colored a shade deeper than lake blue, wearing a white vest, a blue fine-wool coat, and black trousers, clearly having taken great pains with his appearance before heading out.

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 long light-gray hair tied into an intricate bun, covered with a white veil that served as a hat.

Her eyes matched her hair in color, and the look she cast upon Lu Lu Mian carried an undisguised smile, as if she found what had just occurred merely amusing.

Under the glow of the tavern's gas wall lamps, this woman named Di Liya revealed a straight, delicate nose and lips of beautiful curvature; 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 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 something problematic about 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 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 am not clear, but since such a legend exists, he certainly cannot be ordinary."

He cut off this topic and said to Lu Lu Mian:

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

"A '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 Trier's fashionable trends 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 one 'Spicy Heart'."

"Spicy Heart" was a famous fruit brandy.

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

"Pierre, to get a free drink, you're capable of doing 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 another 'Green Fairy'."

"Because they wouldn't know whether to believe what you say," the middle-aged man named Pierre said with a smug smile, "Your sister's favorite story to tell children 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 before him.

Ryan looked at him and asked consultatively:

"Is that acceptable?"

"No problem, as long as your wallet is sufficient to pay for these drinks," Lu Lu Mian said with complete indifference.

"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, Auror, 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 Darez at the foot of the mountain, which takes a whole afternoon to walk to."

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

She tilted her head slightly, producing a jingling sound.

Pierre nodded:

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

"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 inferior nor ashamed about his past being exposed like this.