Afraid to return, afraid, but I also can't stay here forever. Seeing those people walking westward, I had no choice but to follow them in that direction, thinking maybe there would be some clues over there. After about half an hour, I saw a square. On the square were two buildings, one of which looked like a train station, somewhat similar to our county town's train station. The other looked like a hotel, and those people wearing black clothes walked into that building one after another.

  There were still many people wearing black clothes who came out of the hotel and walked into the train station. Of course, all this was done in silence. Under the gray sky, only the occasional sound of a train whistle could be heard.

  I walked up to the building that looked like a hotel, gazing at the three-story structure. The exterior seemed old, as if it were made of red bricks. The large wooden door was wide open, with people in black clothes coming and going. Above the door hung a huge signboard with the words "Half Step More" written on it in crooked characters. It was a strange name, and I had no idea what it meant. However, the sign seemed to have some kind of magic power that made me feel like entering. Since I didn't know what else to do, I decided to go inside first. Just then, I noticed a small fortune-telling stall beside the building's entrance. A middle-aged man was dozing off in front of the stall; he was the only person there not wearing black clothes. He wore a green jacket with a small cape, similar to those worn during the Republican era on TV shows.

  But this already made me feel very close, so I didn't enter the door, but instead quickly walked to that small fortune-telling stall. I lightly knocked on his small table: "Uncle, uncle wake up."

  He slowly raised his head, saw me standing in front of him and seemed to be surprised. I also looked up at this middle-aged man. He was about 45 or 46 years old, with a small parting on the side of his hair, a square face, thin lips with a small mustache, and a sharp glint in his small eyes.

  He looked me up and down, then pointed at himself with his finger: "Young man, are you talking to me?" I thought this uncle was sick or something, I'm standing right in front of you, of course I'm talking to you. I nodded my head.

  The old man gazed into my eyes with an excited look, as if he had seen something valuable. He looked at me for about two or three minutes before speaking up and asking, "Young man, do you know where this place is?"

  Huh? This old man won't be the same as me, right? If I knew, would I still come to ask you? I shook my head, and that uncle smiled: "Then do you want to know?"

  This old man is really fond of teasing people, I swear to God, if we were in school and met such a poor master, I would have given him two slaps and asked him to focus on the key points. But although this uncle is quite shameless, judging from his appearance, he doesn't seem like a good person. Moreover, since we are not familiar with the local customs here, as the saying goes "when in Rome, do as the Romans do". Who dares not to lower their head? I had no choice but to speak humbly and politely to this uncle: "Uncle, do you know where this place is? How did I end up coming here?"

  This "you" of mine seems to be used just right, and the old man was quite pleased after hearing it. He looked at me with a hint of a smile and said, "This is the underworld, and you should already be dead."

  What? I thought you old man must be sick or something. I'm right in front of you, jumping around and full of energy, how can you say I'm already dead?

  My ninth uncle seemed to have read the six words "this old man is crazy" from my eyes, he said: "Young man, you should be able to see that there's something unusual here. That's because this is a place where only dead people can come."

  It's true that the scene here is quite eerie, like a movie special effect, but saying I'm dead is a bit too far-fetched.

  The old man continued, "If you still don't believe me, young man, then feel your heartbeat and see if it's three long beats followed by two short ones."

  I heard him say that and quickly covered my chest with my hand, damn! How can I not have a heartbeat at all!

  Just as I was stunned, I suddenly felt a heartbeat "thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump". Indeed, it was three long and two short! This scared me again, three long and two short, this is too eerie! Is what the old man said true? All of this makes me start to believe, wait a minute... The old man said that only dead people can come here, then who is he? Thinking about this, I felt cold sweat dripping down my back.

  The old man smiled and said, "Don't be afraid, young man. It's true that everyone here is dead, but they're not ghosts."

  What does it mean? I didn't understand, everything is too complicated. But for some reason, the old man's words made me feel at ease. It was as if there was some kind of magic. I asked in a hurry: "Uncle, can you tell me what this is all about? How did I end up here?"

  The old man pointed to the stool in front of the table and asked me to sit down, saying: "Okay, young man, I'll explain this place to you first. Also, I can't bear your 'uncle' title, just call me Ninth Uncle."

  My ninth uncle began to tell me about the situation in this place. It turns out that there are boundaries between gods, ghosts, and humans, but these three realms have many connection points. The place connecting the underworld and the divine realm is called "Three Paths Village." The place connecting the divine realm and the mortal world is called "Penglai." And the place connecting the mortal world and the underworld is called "Yin City." Usually, after a person dies, their soul is first taken to Yin City by ghostly messengers. At this time, the soul still doesn't belong to the ghosts; it's only after receiving the "ghost heart" at the "Half-Step Inn" that they can be considered a ghost. Afterwards, they board the "One-Step-Less" train to head to the underworld, where they await their fate. If they failed to receive the ghost heart or missed the train, these wandering spirits could only become lonely ghosts and wild demons, drifting aimlessly for eternity.

  I sat on the bench, entranced by what I was hearing. This was too surreal, just like a fantasy novel. I asked Ninth Uncle, "Ninth Uncle, am I dead too?" As soon as I thought about death, I couldn't help but feel sad. I thought of my parents and grandparents at home. Only now did I realize how important they were to me, raising me to be so big, and I had never repaid them. I'm only seventeen, and I'd die just like that? The thought filled my heart with reluctance and regret.

  My ninth uncle looked at me and said: "You may be dead, but you're not quite dead yet, because you still have a pulse."

  Not dead yet? What does that mean? I didn't understand most of what Old Man Ji said, but from his tone it seems like I still have a chance to be saved? I quickly asked Old Man Ji: "What do you mean by not dead yet? Do I still have a way to be saved?"

  He nodded and asked me to tell him my last memory in the mortal world, then asked for my name and eight characters of birth. Then he stretched out his thumb and rubbed it between his index and middle fingers, I thought he wanted money, so I told him: "I don't have any money." The old man glared at me, then closed his eyes without speaking and continued to rub. I got anxious and told him again: "I really don't have any money." The old man sighed and said: "A rotten wood cannot be carved."

  Ninth Uncle opened his eyes and said to me, "I've already understood the general reason. You should have been harmed by evil spirits. Fortunately, you didn't fall into the water for long, so your physical body should still be rescued in the hospital. So three souls and seven spirits left one soul and five spirits here."

  Yao evil is a monster, I suddenly remembered the story my grandmother told me, and hurriedly reached into my clothes to take out the pouch, opened it and took out the yellow talisman. The words on the yellow talisman were already unclear due to being soaked in water. Could it be that my grandmother's story was true? The old lady standing on the shore is Huang San Tai Nai?