He waits in fear for dawn, knowing that once it arrives, he will regain his calm and forget the events of the night.

  Consider this evening: a barber long deceased suddenly reappears. As soon as the barber appears, he speaks to him in a creepy, stuttering voice: "I, I, I died, died unjustly—" Song Ke can't see his face, not even a shadow. Song Ke can only imagine what he looks like.

  He seemed to see the barber tremblingly standing by the bed, holding a sharp razor in his hand. Song Ke was terrified that the barber would reach over, hold his head, and then make a cut with the sharp razor across his face and head, and finally, across his neck.

  The barber, with his stuttering words, told Song Ke his death story:

  One deep night, someone climbed over the wall and entered the barber's house. That person was the bandit Chen Lantou. Chen Lantou pointed a box gun at him and dragged him out of bed. The barber was so terrified that he even wet his pants. Chen Lantou said to him, "Don't be afraid; I just need a shave because my hair is too long."

  The barber nodded repeatedly, "Okay, okay, I'll give you a shave—"

  Chen Lantou put away his box gun and said, "Damn it, a person who can't even speak clearly can still get a clean haircut and even become the most famous barber in Tang Town. What kind of world is this!" If it were an ordinary person, even if the mayor of Tang Town sat in front of the barber, the barber wouldn't be afraid and might even make a few half-hearted jokes with the person getting a haircut.

  But this was the notorious bandit Chen Lantou, known throughout the dozens of miles around Tang Town, who had come to him for a haircut. How could his legs not tremble? Not only did his legs tremble, but his hands and lips trembled as well. The barber never expected that his trembling from fear and his instinctive stutter would cost him his life. The more he cared about the man in front of him being a ruthless killer, the more his life was in danger.

  If the barber could have approached cutting Chen Lantou's hair with the same calm mindset he would use for an ordinary person, treating his massive head like a taro, then perhaps he would have lived a few more years. After the barber shaved Chen Lantou's head, he wanted to clean it up a bit more, but his trembling hand accidentally cut through the back of Chen Lantou's head. The barber was terrified, holding the razor and unsure of what to do. Chen Lantou touched the injured area with his hand and felt the blood.

  Blood made Chen Lantou's wild side come out. He licked his blood-stained fingers and coldly said to the barber, "Are you trying to kill me?" The barber, holding a razor, fumbled to expin, but his mouth only produced a garbled sound: "I, I, I, want, want, no, no, kill, kill—" Before the barber could finish a complete sentence, Chen Lantou's gun went off, and the bullet pierced through the barber's forehead...

  As the ghost of the barber was narrating the cause of death to Song Ke, a mysterious figure in white appeared at the door of the painting studio. The mysterious figure stood in the darkness, breathing heavily. A mangy dog ran over from the darkness.

  It stood about ten feet away from the figure, whimpering continuously. The figure took a few steps back, and the dog moved a few steps forward. The figure stopped, and the dog stopped too, whimpering at the figure. Thunder rumbled, and the wind swept through the town street.

  After a brief standoff, the figure and the dog turned and walked away. Raindrops the size of beans began to fall, followed by a torrential downpour.

  Just as the man in white ghostily left the town, the door of the coffin shop opened, and two people entered the shop one after the other. Just then, someone got up to go to the bathroom and saw the two people entering the coffin shop.

  After finishing in the bathroom, this person stealthily approached the door of the coffin shop and pressed his ear against the door. He heard a sound that made his heart race—a moaning sound of a man and woman in the throes of passion. This person was Zhu Gu, a security guard from Tang Town.

  Zhu Gu grinned wickedly in the dark and quickly headed towards Emperor Alley.

  Yang Fei'e's face was flushed, her eyelids swollen. In the dim red light, she hatefully scrutinized Zhong Qi, who was lying beside her. She felt like killing him. Several times, she wanted to stab him in the heart with scissors, but she just couldn't bring herself to do it, even though her lower body was in excruciating pain, almost to the point of death, already rotting and oozing thick blood.

  Yang Fei'e could only imagine killing Zhong Qi again and again using various means. Just as she was unleashing her imagination, she heard the urgent knocking sound coming from outside the Xiaoyao Pavilion.

  Zhong Qi was woken up by Yang Fei'e's push. He angrily scolded Yang Fei'e, "You filthy bitch, are you looking to die? You can't even let me sleep for a bit!"

  Yang Fei'e said, "Just now, Mama Li was outside calling for you, saying something happened!"

  Upon hearing Yang Fei'e's words, Zhong Qi immediately jumped out of bed and quickly fished out a box gun from under his pillow. "What happened?"

  Yang Fei'e said, "I don't know what happened; Mama Li told you to hurry to the door."

  Zhong Qi quickly put on his clothes and rushed out of the Xiaoyao Pavilion.

  Seeing Zhong Qi come out with a flustered expression, Zhu Gu approached and whispered a few words into Zhong Qi's ear. After hearing Zhu Gu's words, Zhong Qi's teeth chattered, "Are you serious?" Zhu Gu replied, "I swear it's true. If there's even a hint of a lie, let me be struck by lightning!" Just as Zhu Gu finished speaking, a thundercp echoed from the sky, and Zhu Gu trembled all over.

  Zhong Qi said, "I'll go talk to Mayor You about this matter first and see how he handles it. Damn it, You Wuqiang, how could he do such a heinous thing!"

  About half an hour ter, the gates of the town office swung open, and a group of security personnel rushed out. Armed and holding torches, they surged towards the town street under the leadership of Zhong Qi and Zhu Gu. The rain was getting heavier, and indeed, this was an unsettling night.

  The mangy stray dog was still whimpering at the door of the painting studio. A day had come, but Song Ke still hadn't seen San Laizi. San Laizi's disappearance wasn't important to the people of Tang Town. They would only think of him when someone died, calling him to dig graves because the graves he dug were rge and deep, and there was an indescribable sense of peace for the dead.

  Song Ke felt that he was like San Laizi, an ordinary person who was dispensable. They both lived for the dead. Waking up at noon, Song Ke pushed open the attic window, and a warm breeze rushed in, bringing sunlight.

  A ray of sunlight snted through the clouds, just right to shine on Song Ke's face, casting a yer of orange-red over his pale complexion. The sun quickly retreated back into the clouds, but even so, the sky brightened significantly, and a faint shadow of the sun could be seen.

  Song Ke let out a long sigh; the rain was finally stopping. Was the gloomy rainy season coming to an end? Breathing in the fresh air wafting in through the window, he felt his stomach growl. His gaze fell on the Huji Snack Shop diagonally across from the art store.

  Song Ke stepped into Hu Ji's Snack Shop. The shopkeeper's wife, Hu Ersao, greeted him with a smile, "Painter Song, what would you like to eat?"

  Song Ke said, "A bowl of wontons and two pieces of fried buns."

  Hu Ersao replied, "Please sit and wait a moment; it will be ready soon."

  Song Ke watched as Hu Ersao, unfazed, tended to two pots—one frying buns and the other boiling wontons. Song Ke didn't understand why the people of Tang Town called wontons "banshi." Since arriving in Tang Town, he rarely cooked for himself, mostly eating whatever he could find at snack shops. One thing puzzled him: he had never seen Hu Ersao's husband, Brother Hu. Some said Mr. Hu was a carpenter, working away from home for years, only returning during the New Year.