As my companion Mo Ting and I went downstairs, we heard Miss Wen's grateful voice.
Although we couldn't see her at this moment, her presence was palpable.
Miss Wen had accompanied us from upstairs all the way to the ground floor.
She was likely standing behind us now.
That chilling sensation followed us like a shadow.
I stopped walking then and turned around.
Looking at the empty space behind me, I spoke calmly,
"Miss Wen, you don't need to see us out! Please go back inside!
Make the most of your last day in the human world."
After speaking, Mo Ting and I turned and left the residential building without further delay.
The chilling sensation from behind us vanished as well.
With the deadly ghost child now dealt with,
Miss Wen's wish was fulfilled.
She seemed considerably more at ease.
Mo Ting hadn't eaten dinner and was starving.
As soon as we left the residential building, he asked me to take him to a nearby night market for some barbecue.
We walked through a few alleys, crossed a street, and arrived at the bustling night market.
Because my place was in a rather remote area, the night market consisted of only a few large food stalls and two roadside barbecue joints.
We found a barbecue stall.
Mo Ting grabbed a lot of meat skewers, choosing mostly the expensive items without checking the prices.
After all, he was different from me.
I came from a poor farming family and earned only two to three thousand yuan a month.
Mo Ting, on the other hand, came from a well-off family.
His father seemed to be a senior executive, and his mother owned her own company.
He worked at Wanshoutang purely to learn his craft.
His salary probably wasn't enough for him to buy a pair of shoes.
Even though our family backgrounds differed, and Mo Ting could sometimes be overly enthusiastic and theatrical,
We didn't hold any grudges against each other.
Moreover, we now shared a common profession, were of similar ages, and had many shared hobbies and topics of conversation.
As a result, we got along very well.
Eating barbecue and drinking beer now felt truly wonderful.
After a few bottles of beer, we both started to feel a bit tipsy.
Mo Ting declared that he would become a great urban demon hunter,
Walking between darkness and light, upholding justice, and vanquishing demons and monsters.
He gestured wildly as he spoke.
His giddy movements were quite amusing.
Other patrons looked at Mo Ting as if he were an idiot.
I could almost hear them muttering, "Demon hunter, my ass, I'm practically a celestial being in the mortal world now..."
But I knew Mo Ting was serious, speaking from his heart.
As for me, I also yearned for more power and cultivation.
I wanted to go further on this path and prolong my own life.
After all, I was someone who needed to steal the lifespan of ghosts to survive.
We continued to drink and chat.
Before I knew it, Mo Ting had drunk himself into a stupor.
By the time we finished our barbecue, it was already three in the morning.
I had to support Mo Ting as we stumbled our way back to my rented room.
It was late at night, and the area was already quite secluded.
Apart from the few people at the night market stalls, there were almost no pedestrians around.
The entire street echoed with our footsteps and our animated conversation.
Mo Ting, swaying with drunkenness, waved his hands and slurred,
"Brother Qin, Qin, Old Qin.
Listen to me.
I'm not bragging.
I, Mo Ting, am destined to tread both the Yin and Yang realms, a man who will make specters and demons tremble..."
I found his words hilarious, wondering how much otaku anime he had consumed to utter such pronouncements.
But I humored him, telling him to be careful not to move too much.
Just then, the crisp sound of bells suddenly rang out from the other end of the street.
"Ling ling ling, ling ling ling..."
Hearing the sound of bells so late at night,
My first thought was of a "soul-summoning bell."
It indicated that an official from the underworld was calling nearby spirits of the departed and newly deceased.
After all, I had encountered such a situation twice before.
A shiver ran down my spine, and I felt an inexplicable sense of unease.
But in the next moment, I heard a hoarse, elderly voice,
"Doufu nao, selling doufu nao, fragrant and tender doufu nao..."
The instant this voice sounded,
From the darkness at the other end of the street,
An old woman with white hair was slowly pushing a small cart towards us.
The "ling ling ling" bell sound was coming from that cart.
Seeing this, I let out a wry smile and shook my head.
It wasn't an underworld official collecting souls, just an old woman selling doufu nao.
However, it was already past three in the morning.
Who would be selling doufu nao on such a remote street at this hour?
And to whom?
Even though my head was a bit fuzzy, the thought that crossed my mind made me instantly vigilant.
I carefully scrutinized the old woman pushing the cart.
At the same time, I deliberately glanced at the ground to see if she cast a shadow.
After a quick scan, I found nothing amiss...
Mo Ting, still drunk, shook his head and let out a burp,
"Burp! Doufu nao, I love doufu nao the most.
Brother Qin, let's go.
Let's have a bowl of doufu nao to sober up..."
Seeing that Mo Ting wanted some, I nodded,
"Alright!"
With that, I helped him forward.
In a short while, we met the cart selling doufu nao.
I called out,
"Auntie, two bowls of doufu nao, please."
As I spoke, I instinctively took out my Eight Trigram Mirror.
Secretly, I shone it towards the old woman.
The old woman appeared to be in her sixties or seventies.
She was wearing a blue cloth garment, her hair was gray, and she had a mole on her forehead.
If she were an unholy entity, she would likely react when illuminated by the Eight Trigram Mirror.
After all, it was already three in the morning, and an old woman selling doufu nao appearing on this secluded street was inherently unsettling.
However, after shining the mirror on her, I detected no anomaly.
In fact, the old woman even warmly inquired if we preferred our doufu nao sweet, savory, or spicy.
She showed no unusual reaction whatsoever to the Eight Trigram Mirror's illumination.
Seeing no abnormality, I lowered my guard.
It seemed I had been overly suspicious...