King of beasts

"I only ate two pieces of bread for three whole days, and my hunger kept me awake at night. Fortunately, I paid the rent one month in advance and could continue to live in that dark basement without having to go outside to endure the harsh winter weather. Unusually cold wind.

“Finally, I got a job, keeping vigil at the hospital, keeping vigil at the morgue.

“The night in the hospital was colder than I imagined. The wall lamps in the corridor were not lit and everything was dark. I could only rely on the little light seeping out of the room to help me see my feet.

“The smell there was very bad, and from time to time, deceased people were stuffed in body bags and brought in. We cooperated to help move them into the morgue.

"This is not a very good job, but at least it allows me to buy bread, and I can also use my free time at night to study. After all, no one wants to come to the morgue unless there are corpses that need to be delivered or transported away for burning. , of course, I don’t have enough money to buy books yet, and I don’t see any hope of saving money at the moment.

"I have to thank my former colleague. If he hadn't left suddenly, I might not have even been able to get such a job.

“I dreamed of being able to rotate my duties during the day, but now I always go to bed when the sun comes up and get up when night falls, which makes my body a bit weak and my head occasionally throbs.

“One day the movers arrived with a new body.

“I heard from others that this is my former colleague who suddenly resigned.

“I was a little curious about him, so after everyone left, I pulled out the cabinet and quietly opened the body bag.

“He was an old man, his face was blue and white, with wrinkles everywhere, and he looked scary in the very dark light.

“He didn’t have much hair, most of it was white, and all his clothes were taken off, not even a piece of fabric was left for him.

"I saw a strange mark on his chest. It was green and black. I can't describe the specific appearance. The light was too dark at the time.

"I reached out and touched the mark, but it was nothing special.

"Looking at this former colleague, I was thinking, if I keep doing this, when I get old, will I be like him...

“I told him that I would accompany him to the crematorium tomorrow and personally take his ashes to the nearest free cemetery so that those responsible for these things would not find it troublesome to just find a river and throw them away in a wasteland.

"This will cost me a morning's sleep, but fortunately, it's Sunday soon, so I can make up for it.

“After saying that, I made the body bag and stuffed it back into the cupboard.

"The lights in the room seemed to be getting darker...

“After that day, every time I went to bed, I always dreamed of a thick fog.

"I had a premonition that something would happen in the near future, and that sooner or later something that could not be called a human would come to me, but no one wanted to believe me. They felt that my spirit had changed in such an environment and that kind of work. It's not normal anymore, I need to see a doctor..."

A male customer sitting in front of the bar looked at the narrator who suddenly stopped:

"Then what?"

The male guest was in his thirties, wearing a brown tweed jacket and light yellow trousers, with his hair flattened and a simple dark round hat on hand.

He looked ordinary, like most people in the tavern, with black hair and light blue eyes. He was not good-looking or ugly, and lacked obvious features.

The narrator in his eyes is a young man of eighteen or nineteen years old, with a tall and straight body, slender limbs, the same short black hair, light blue eyes, but deep facial features that can make people's eyes bright.

The young man looked at the empty wine glass in front of him and sighed:

"Then?

"Then I'll quit my job and go back to the country to come here and brag with you."

As he spoke, a smile appeared on his face, with a somewhat narrow smile.

The male guest was startled:

"Are you bragging about what you just said?"

"Haha." A burst of laughter broke out around the bar.

The laughter subsided for a moment, and a thin middle-aged man looked at the slightly embarrassed guest and said:

"Foreigner, you actually believe Lumian's story. He tells it differently every day. Yesterday he was an unlucky guy whose fiancée broke off his engagement because of poverty. Today he has become a corpse-keeper!"

"Yes, talking about thirty years on the east side of the Serenzo River and thirty years on the right side of the Serenzo River is just nonsense!" Another tavern regular followed.

They are all farmers from the large village of Kordu, wearing short jackets of black, gray or brown.

The black-haired young man named Lumian supported the bar with both hands, stood up slowly, and said with a smile:

"As you know, this is not a story I made up. It was all written by my sister. She likes writing stories the most, and she is also a columnist for "Novel Weekly"."

After saying that, he turned sideways, spread his hands to the foreign guest, and said with a bright smile:

“It seems like she wrote really well.

"Sorry, you misunderstood."

The ordinary-looking man wearing a brown tweed jacket was lifeless. He stood up and responded with a smile:

“Very interesting story.

"What do you call it?"

"Isn't it common sense to introduce yourself before asking others?" Lumian smiled.

The guest from out of town nodded:

"My name is Ryan Koss.

"These two are my companions Valentine and Liya."

The latter sentence refers to the man and woman sitting next to him.

The man is in his mid-twenties, has yellow hair with a little powder on it, and his not-so-large eyes are a darker color than lake blue. He is wearing a white vest, a blue tweed jacket and black trousers. He is obviously confused before going out. Get dressed up.

He looked quite indifferent and rarely looked at the farmers and herdsmen around him.

The woman looked younger than the two men, with long light gray hair tied into a complicated bun and a white veil that served as a hat.

Her eyes were the same color as her hair, and she looked at Lumian with an undisguised smile. She seemed to be only interested in what just happened.

Under the illumination of the gas wall lamp in the tavern, the woman named Liya showed off her pretty nose and gracefully curved lips. She was definitely a beauty in a countryside like Kordu Village.

She was wearing a white pleated cashmere tight skirt, an off-white coat and a pair of Marcel boots. She also had two small silver bells tied to her veil and boots. When she walked into the tavern just now, they were jingling all the way. It is very eye-catching and makes many men stare straight at it.

In their eyes, this must be a fashionable dress only found in big cities like Bigor, the provincial capital, and Trier, the capital.

Lumian nodded to the three outsiders:

"My name is Lumian Li, you can just call me Lumian."

"Lee?" Liya blurted out.

"What's wrong, is there something wrong with my last name?" Lumian asked curiously.

Ryan Kos explained to Liya:

"Your last name is scary. I almost couldn't control my voice just now."

Seeing that the farmers and herdsmen around him looked puzzled, he further explained:

"Anyone who has been in contact with sailors or maritime merchants knows that there is such a saying spread across the five seas:

"I would rather encounter those pirate generals or even kings than a man named Frank Lee.

"That person's last name is also Li."

"Is he scary?" Lumian asked.

Ryan shook his head:

"I don't know, but since there is such a legend, it must not be bad."

He stopped the topic and said to Lumian:

"Thanks for the story, it's worth a glass of wine, what do you want?"

"A glass of 'Green Fairy'." Lumian was not polite at all and sat down again.

Ryan Kos frowned slightly and said:

“‘The Green Fairy’…absinthe?

"I think I need to remind you that absinthe is harmful to the human body. This drink may cause insanity and cause you to hallucinate."

"I didn't expect Trier's popularity to have spread here." Liya next to her added with a smile.

Lumian said "Oh":

“It turns out that people in Trier also like to drink ‘Green Fairy’…

"For us, life is hard enough, and there is no need to care about a little more harm. This kind of wine can help our spirits to relax even more."

"Okay." Ryan sat back and looked at the bartender, "One cup of 'Green Fairy' and another cup of 'Spicy Heart' for me."

"Spicy Heart" is a famous fruit soju.

"Why don't you give me a cup of Green Fairy? I told you the truth just now, and I can also tell you the whole situation of this kid!" The thin middle-aged man who was the first to expose Lumian told stories every day The man shouted dissatisfied, "Outlander, I can see that you still have doubts about the authenticity of that story!"

"Pierre, you can do anything to get a free glass of wine!" Lumian responded loudly.

Before Ryan could make a decision, Lumian added:

"Why can't I tell it myself, so I can have an extra glass of Green Fairy?"

"Because they don't know whether to believe what you said." The middle-aged man named Pierre said with a proud smile, "Your sister's favorite story to tell the children is 'The Boy Who Cried Wolf'. She is always a liar. You will definitely lose credibility.”

"Okay." Lumian shrugged and watched the bartender push a glass of light green wine in front of him.

Ryan looked at him and asked:

"May I?"

"No problem, as long as your wallet is enough to pay for these drinks." Lumian didn't care.

"Then have another cup of 'Green Fairy'." Ryan nodded.

Pierre suddenly smiled:

"Generous foreigner, this kid is the most prankster in the village, you must stay away from him.

"Five years ago, he was brought back to the village by his sister Auroer and never left again. Do you think, before that, he was only thirteen years old, how could he go to the hospital to be a cadaver? Well, it's the closest to us. The hospital is in Liège down the mountain, and it takes a whole afternoon to walk there.”

"Take it back to the village?" Liya asked keenly.

She tilted her head slightly, bringing out the tinkling sound.

Pierre nodded:

content. Blood-colored rain, with sadness, falls into the mortal world.

The earth was hazy, and there was a ruined city, silent and lifeless in the dim red rain of blood.

The city is in ruins and everything is withered. Collapsed houses can be seen everywhere, as well as blue-black corpses and pieces of meat, like broken autumn leaves, silently withering.

The streets that used to be bustling with people are now desolate.

The sandy dirt road that used to be bustling with people is no longer noisy now.

Only blood and mud mixed with minced meat, dust, and paper were left, indistinguishable from each other, which was shocking.

Not far away, a broken carriage was stuck deep in the mud, full of sadness. Only an abandoned rabbit doll hung on the shaft, swaying in the wind.

The white fluff has long been soaked into wet red, full of eerieness.

The turbid eyes seemed to have some residual resentment, looking lonely at the mottled rocks in front of them.

There, a figure was lying down.

This was a boy of thirteen or fourteen years old, his clothes were torn and covered with dirt, and he had a broken leather bag tied around his waist.

The young man squinted his eyes and remained motionless. The biting cold penetrated his worn coat from all directions and spread throughout his body, gradually taking away his body temperature.

But even though the rain fell on his face, he didn't blink, staring coldly into the distance like an eagle.

Following his gaze, he saw a skinny vulture gnawing on the carrion of a wild dog, seven or eight feet away from him, observing the surroundings vigilantly from time to time.

It seems that in this dangerous ruins, if there is the slightest movement, it will instantly rise into the air.