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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 9: Receiving a Ghost Order
Once something terrifying happens, I, Ma Qi, am the one who bears the brunt of it.
I can't delete the forum; I can only reinstall the system. If that doesn't work, I'll have to change the hard drive. In any case, I need to get rid of all this and never register for any forums here to solicit business again.
I’m determined; when I decide to do something, I do it. I immediately reinstalled the system, and by the time I finished, it was already dawn. Before I knew it, I had fallen asleep at my computer. I slept deeply and didn’t dream at all until I was jolted awake by a loud knocking at the door. The first thing I did was glance at the clock.
Fatty, it’s not even five o'clock yet! Why are you waking me up so early?
I got up, swaying as if still half-asleep. I glanced at the computer; the system had been successfully replaced. There was no time to check if the Ma Wu Funeral Home forum still existed. Fatty seemed to know I was awake and shouted from outside, “Brother Qi, there’s another order! Are you brave enough to take it?”
So early in the morning someone is placing an order? But then again, with every death comes a birth. Life and death are dictated by fate; no one knows when they will leave this bustling world or what they will become in their next life. Therefore, death is always present.
However, Fatty is being quite insensitive; his voice is filled with an inexplicable excitement.
Funerals are inherently sad affairs. As a funeral home, we don’t need to appear sorrowful to meet the expectations of a funeral, but we also shouldn’t act like Fatty does when he gets a business opportunity—like he just found treasure. His face is flushed with excitement, resembling a ripe tomato, red with a hint of purple.
For us in this line of work, it's steady profit; I prefer things to be simple and unremarkable. A thriving business in death isn’t a good omen. Seeing him so foolishly ecstatic makes me furious; I shot him an annoyed glare and said, “Be more composed.”
“Yes, Brother Qi.” Fatty can never manage to look somber; sigh—this kid needs help.
“You didn’t tell them that I have an order in progress?”
“I did; they insisted on seeing you.”
“They insisted on seeing me?” Puzzled, I walked out and saw two elderly people standing by the counter. They had their heads bowed and hands hanging limply at their sides, looking like two bundles of straw tied up in a rice field.
As we approached, Fat Yi chattered away beside me: “Brother Qi, those two are strange; they keep their heads down and won’t look at me. They also know our grandfather.”
Who could they be? Could they be old friends of Grandpa?
I walked out with Fat Yi and indeed saw two elderly men standing by the counter with their heads drooping low.
They were dressed in dark blue clothes, their faces shrouded in shadow. Even as we stepped outside, they didn’t lift their heads.
It wasn’t even light yet; for them to come to the funeral home means someone important must have passed away. Could it be another sorrowful occasion where white-haired people send off those with black hair?
I whispered, "Elder, if you need my help, please let me know."
Hearing my voice, one of the two elders slowly lifted his head and cast a deep glance at me. I couldn't help but gasp as I looked into his eyes. A chilling sensation pierced through my entire being, as if his icy gaze was drilling straight into my soul.
I shivered slightly and pulled out a notebook from the drawer at the counter, pretending to take notes while asking questions.
"What is your name, how old are you, what is your height, shoe size, and the exact time you left?"
"Nian Fa, twenty years old, 175 cm tall, shoe size 44 and a half, left last night at midnight," the old man replied before lowering his head again, looking like a child who had made a mistake and was being reprimanded by a teacher.
"Master Nian, do you know my grandfather?"
"We've known each other for decades. He took care of my old partner's affairs," Master Nian said. My heart sank; this was Master Nian's partner! I swallowed hard and glanced at Fat, who looked equally pale with fear. I instructed him calmly, "You follow the address provided by the elder and match it with the deceased's information. We need to go check it out."
"He’s in the hospital mortuary," Master Nian added, leaving Fat and me exchanging glances. Was it appropriate for us to go to the mortuary?
"I'll place two orders; this is your payment." The old man didn’t look up but slid a card across the counter. It appeared to be a bank card, likely from China Construction Bank.
"Elder, our policy is to settle accounts later."
"Please." Throughout this exchange, Master Nian's partner had not said a word or even looked at Fat or me. I thought that someone must be eager for them to leave; it was the first time we had encountered such an atmosphere in the shop.
Fat's earlier excitement had vanished completely; he realized just how unlucky he was to take on such a grim order so early in the morning.
With that single plea, the elderly woman turned and walked out the door. The old man followed her stiffly. Fat and I involuntarily looked after them—instantly, a chill ran down my neck.
Fat's eyes widened in shock. "Brother Qi, should we really go to the hospital mortuary? This feels too eerie." The bank card lay quietly on the counter like a hot potato; I hesitated to reach for it, and even Fat, who loved money dearly, just stared without making a move.
"Taking money to help others avert disaster—aren't you going to give it a try?"
Fat stuck out his tongue and glanced outside. "It's still dark; is this really the right time to go?"
"Now you're scared? Why didn't you think they weren't human from the start?"
"They came in looking for you; I thought having an order was a good thing. Besides, when Grandpa was around, didn't we also get orders in the dead of night?"
"Don't mention Grandpa to me." Fat looked confused as he scratched his head. His thick eyebrows twitched as he reluctantly went to prepare incense and joss paper.
I looked at the time; there was still an hour until dawn. Fat was busy preparing things, so I decided to check the dark room.
Upon entering the dark room, the smell inside was perfectly normal. I recalled the empty shell placed in the coffin, and a shiver ran down my spine, making me feel a bit uneasy. I reached out and effortlessly pushed open the lid of the coffin. The first layer revealed that empty shell, with a complete head and the rest being a dried-up skin bag.
The coffin was of good quality, at least serving its purpose of preservation. A faint pleasant wooden scent wafted through the air as I solemnly recited a spell and prayed! I hoped to uncover the lair of the Li Gui soon; finding it would allow me to destroy the curse placed on my grandfather's corpse.
"Grandpa, Ma Qi is unfilial. I regret not learning your skills properly back then, which has led to how difficult and embarrassing things are now. Please don’t blame me; just wait for me for a while." I inserted a stick of incense into the burner and glanced at the candle before deciding to go to the hospital with Fat.
Seeing that the candle was burning normally eased my mind a bit. I locked up the shop and stepped out with Fat Yi, heading straight for the hospital.
Early in the morning, we chose to take a secluded route to avoid encountering traffic police and minimize vehicles on the road. This way, we could also evade any surveillance cameras capturing my dilapidated motorcycle with a hefty passenger squished on the back seat, nearly pushing me to the front.
We took a shortcut that led us through a large area of artificially planted mangroves. A hundred meters past the mangroves was an overpass; we planned to pass underneath it and then turn left to reach the street leading directly to the hospital entrance.
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