Merchant of the Underworld

The old man in front of me was very close to me. She was so thin that every bone was clearly visible. The green and red blood vessels under her pale skin were like a dense network. Her eyes were shining brightly on her thin face. , as if he could see through everything.

I was startled by her sudden appearance, but she very calmly took the gift box in my hand, bumped it gently, curled her lips as if she was a little dissatisfied, and left with difficulty, holding on to the wall.

I looked at her back, feeling indescribably strange.

It happened that the scene just now was seen by the dean, and she explained to me with a smile: "People have weird tempers as they get older. She has always been a loner. If she says something, don't take it seriously. go."

I smiled at the dean and said nothing more.

Uncle Chen was lying on the hospital bed in the room, with an unspeakable look of horror in his eyes. However, he had suffered a stroke, and his mouth was crooked and his eyes were crooked, unable to say a word. The seemingly gentle son-in-law discussed with his wife worriedly: "With my father-in-law's health like this, how can I safely go on a business trip? Should I send him to the hospital for a checkup quickly?"

On the contrary, Uncle Chen's daughter comforted him: "Didn't you say that the contract you want to sign this time is very important? Just go ahead and go. It will be the same if I stay to take care of my father."

With her assurance and comfort, her husband didn't say much. He just found a basin and a towel and planned to wipe Uncle Chen's body.

The daughter replaced the withered bunch in the vase with the flowers she bought. While busy, she talked to Uncle Chen: "Dad, do you like this bunch of flowers today? They are lilies, which are the best for your health."

Uncle Chen's eyes widened with difficulty, and he looked at her in horror, as if he was looking at a terrifying monster.

The daughter smiled at him: "Dad, what's wrong with you? Do you want to eat an apple? I'll peel one for you."

The son-in-law was holding a thermos bottle and preparing to get hot water. He happened to see me at the door and asked in surprise: "Who are you looking for?"

I quickly smiled at him and said, "I am a member of the charity club. We have prepared some gifts and cakes to express our condolences to the elderly." As I said that, I politely handed over the gift box in my hand.

"Oh, thank you." The son-in-law's tone was a bit unfamiliar. He didn't say anything after taking the things. He even looked at me with some suspicion. I couldn't stay any longer, so I turned around and went to another room.

The gifts were distributed quickly, and in the meantime there was an elderly mother-in-law who mistook me for her little son and kept holding my hand and complaining about why I hadn't come to visit her recently. It wasn't until the dean came over that she rescued me from her hands. When Yin Xinyue found me, I was squatting in the corner panting. She asked me curiously: "What happened to you? Did you meet the big bad wolf? "

"More terrifying than the big bad wolf!" Thinking of the scene where the mother-in-law held my hand tightly and scolded her while wiping her tears, I was really speechless.

Yin Xinyue patted me on the shoulder to comfort me: "The people here are old and have been alone for too long. It is inevitable that they have some mental problems. Our handsome and charming shopkeeper Zhang Da should not be the same as them. You come with me. I leave you with a simple and safe task."

Yin Xinyue's so-called simple and safe task is actually to go to the kitchen to help wash vegetables. Including charity clubs and volunteer college students, there are suddenly so many mouths in the nursing home, and the workers here alone are definitely not enough.

Because Yin Xinyue has a virtuous face, she was assigned to the logistics department by the fat captain. As her family member, I naturally had to follow her.

Washing vegetables is more suitable for me. At least I can stay away from the elderly.

But before lunch was ready, Uncle Chen's son-in-law left in a hurry while making a phone call. Uncle Chen's daughter sent him to the gate of the nursing home and waved goodbye to him with a smile on her face.

After Uncle Chen's son-in-law drove away, Uncle Chen's daughter's smiling face disappeared little by little under the bright sun.

She had a cold face, and there was no extra emotion in her eyes, as if she had torn off the mask that had been covering her face, revealing her true face. She sighed softly, looking a little tired, and returned to Uncle Chen's room expressionlessly.

Seeing that I was distracted, Yin Xinyue came over curiously and asked, "What's wrong? You have washed the coriander into rotten vegetables."

I winked at Uncle Chen’s daughter: “That woman is a bit weird.”

"What's weird?" Yin Xinyue followed my gaze and asked, "Could it be that you're too sensitive? Ever since you started the femininity business, everything seems weird."

"No, no, no, this time it's not a fetish, it's just that this person makes me feel something is wrong." I looked at the back of Uncle Chen's daughter with a puzzled look on my face.

Yin Xinyue smiled and said: "Forget it, don't think about it. Are you afraid that I will feel uncomfortable staring at other women?" Because of her joke, I didn't care about anything else, and just stayed with her picking and washing vegetables. After working for more than an hour, it was time for lunch.

The old people ate very little, but because someone came to talk to them, everyone was very happy and their appetite was much bigger than usual.

Uncle Chen's food was delivered personally by the fat captain. When she came back, she said: "Uncle Chen's daughter has left. Uncle Chen is too tired and has no appetite. I will feed him when he gets better."

gone? The son-in-law stepped forward and the daughter left behind. What happened?

After dinner, everyone gathered in the activity room to chat. The old people were recalling the difficult life of their youth. I was bored and quietly found an opportunity to go outside to bask in the sun.

When I was bored, suddenly a sneaky figure came into my eyes. The man was thin and small, with a sinister look on his face like a mouse. He didn't look like a good person at first glance. Could he be here to steal things from the old people?

Originally not planning to meddle in other people's business, I couldn't sit still anymore when I thought of this, and followed them quietly.

I saw that rat-like man ducking into Uncle Chen's room. I was slightly startled, but still couldn't help but the cat came under Uncle Chen's window. At this moment, the window was half open, so I could just hear the conversation inside.

I carefully poked my head out and saw a mouse-like man half-kneeling in front of Uncle Chen's bed, taking out a dirty cloth bag from his arms like a treasure. Uncle Chen, who was originally in low spirits, his eyes lit up immediately when he saw the cloth bag. He wanted to prop up his body anxiously, but he couldn't do anything, so he could only make strange babbling noises.

The mouse smiled and unfolded the cloth bag, revealing a tightly wrapped and aged pestle inside.

The front end is engraved with a glaring Vajra, which represents the Buddhist protector, and the back end is a gleaming three-sided thorn. This demon-conquering pestle is made of pure copper, and due to its age, it has developed a little patina, and there are some bright red blood stains on the thorn tips. , seems particularly weird.

I looked at the Demonic Pestle, and something moved in my mind. It was obviously a yin object, and the blood stains on it seemed to remind me that it was a very difficult yin object. Why would Uncle Chen, an old man, get mixed up with such a thing? ?