Wrapped up in a daze, Chen Yang walked out of the basement and into the alleyway.
It was on the cusp of midnight, the alley was pitch-black. Many households had long since turned off their lights and retired, combined with the futile expectation that any streetlight would illuminate this shabby alley, the darkness was certainly daunting.
Having lived here for a dozen years, Chen Yang was unphased by the darkness. Making a few right and left turns in the alley, he arrived at a somewhat spacious open space.
Despite the modest size of the space, it hosted a temporary stall selling some late-night beer and barbecue. At present, a few bare-chested young men were sitting around having a drink.
Starving, Chen Yang walked over and called out, "Uncle Wang, let me get two bottles of beer and thirty skewers of beef."
"Oh, it's you, young Chen, still awake at this late hour?"
Uncle Wang, as referred to by Chen Yang, was in his forties, having manned this barbecue stall for over a decade, he was quite familiar with Chen Yang, who lived nearby.
"I'm hungry and thought of grabbing some late-night snacks."
Chen Yang responded nonchalantly, then gave the stall a closer look, "Hmm, besides the beef skewers, give me ten quail egg skewers, ten potato skewers, ten pork loin skewers, and ten chicken wing skewers."
"That's quite a lot, you sure you can finish it all?"
Uncle Wang was taken aback. That was more than what one person could eat.
"Yeah, a friend has come over to my place. So please pack it up. I'll take it home after it's ready."
Chen Yang lied without a change in his expression.
"Oh, if that's the case, wait a moment."
There were five tables at the stall, three young men occupied one, and Chen Yang naturally took a seat at another one.
Once he sat down, Chen Yang didn't know what to do. Usually, he would pass the time by playing games on his phone, but after the strange events of the last night, he didn't feel like playing around with his phone.
He sat there in a daze, the three young men at the adjacent table were deep in conversation.
"Monkey, quit bulls****ing. A water ghost? Do you still believe in such superstitious nonsense?"
The bleached-hair youth, dismissing it after downing a pint of beer, scoffed.
"I'm not bulls****ing. If you don't believe me, ask Brother Liu. He was there at that time."
Monkey's eyes bulged while he glanced at Brother Liu sitting next to him.
Brother Liu wasn't about to admit it, doing so would make him look like a coward. He laughed it off, "Ghosts? What ghosts? Monkey, you're drunk."
"Who, who's drunk? Brother Liu, don't you remember? Last night at East Suburb Park ..."
Monkey got agitated.
"Slap!"
Brother Liu, annoyed, gave Monkey a smack on the back of his head, "Told you, you're drunk. I was at home sleeping last night. Who went to the East Suburb Park?"
Even Monkey, despite being slow on the uptake, understood what Brother Liu was hinting at, and quickly shut up.
The bleached-hair youth burst out laughing, "Monkey, you're actually a decent sort, except that you're too cowardly. If you want to hang out with Brother Liu, you can't be a coward. If word gets out, it'll make Brother Liu look bad, you know?"
"I..."
Monkey mumbled something but in the end, he didn't dare to speak up in front of Brother Liu.
"BTW, there's something going on tonight, want in?"
The bleached-hair youth asked casually.
Brother Liu's eyes lit up, "What's up? Are we going to..."
"Hehe..."
The bleached-haired youth signaled with his eyes, directing the attention of Brother Liu and Monkey to Chen Yang's back, sitting at the other table waiting for his barbecue, "See that kid? Let's pick on him tonight."
Brother Liu exchanged a glance with Monkey, excitement filled their hearts. They had heard about this brazen guy named Wang Rui who had been involved in some real fights and dirty work. They never thought they would be working with him tonight.
Wang Rui, the bleached-haired youth, watched the excited faces of Brother Liu and Monkey, giving a "resigned" smile. He casually brushed his hand against the dagger in his trouser pocket, feeling indifferent.
He had committed robbery in the area no less than five times, selecting secluded areas for his deeds under the cover of night. He had been successful every time, without any police ever investigating the cases. This emboldened him and this time he wanted the other two to experience it first-hand.
Having decided on their target, their glances became more intense and uncensored. Occasionally they would steal glances towards Chen Yang and watched him as he grabbed two beers and a large pack of barbequed food, paid up, and left. They quickly stood up to pay their bill too.
There were still some households in the area that hadn't gone to sleep, so the three of them couldn't move yet. They followed behind Chen Yang, keeping a distance of around ten meters, not rushing.
"Clang..."
They had only followed Wang Rui with the yellow hair for about twenty meters. Before he could react to the dagger he had just touched, two beer bottles rolled noisily towards them.
"Eh, did the kid drop two beer bottles?"
Brother Liu was taken aback, and Monkey kicked one of the bottles in surprise, saying, "The bottles are empty."
"Empty?
"Did he drink them that fast?
"Wang Rui with yellow hair wasn't thinking that much. He simply pulled out his dagger and whispered, "Keep up."
With the dagger in hand, he darted into the dark alleyway. Brother Liu and Monkey hurriedly followed, their footsteps echoing through the alley. To their surprise, the person who had initially entered the alley had disappeared in a matter of seconds.
"Where is he?"
Monkey grumbled.
"Eh, did he pass us by?"
Brother Liu also felt puzzled. Ordinarily, the walls on either side of the alley were made of building blocks, and there were no doors for anyone to hide.
In only a few seconds, no one could disappear without trace walking through this narrow alley.
Monkey took out his mobile phone and used it as a torch, illuminating the surroundings. There was no trace of the person in the narrow alley. Instead, the food bag at their feet and a scattering of fifty or sixty bamboo skewers were particularly noticeable.
Silence, the three fell silent.
In the end, Monkey forced a smile and said, "Could those be leftovers from that guy?"
"Ha, how could it be possible? Have you ever seen someone eat over sixty skewers in less than ten seconds?"
Wang Rui denied the suggestion immediately, particularly the notion of someone gulping down over a dozen chicken wings.
"Then, where is that guy?"
Brother Liu involuntarily shrank back.
"Er, he probably realized that we were following him and ran away."
Wang Rui could only offer this explanation.
Ran away that quickly?
Brother Liu was sceptical. The man had discarded the beer bottles in just a few seconds. Who could vanish without a trace in such a short amount of time?
Although they proposed these explanations, the three couldn't help but feel goosebumps creeping over their skin. Wang Rui was just fine, but Brother Liu and Monkey remembered their encounter with the "water ghost" in East Suburb Park the night before. It sent shivers down their legs.
"Ahem, we've had enough for tonight. Let's all go home, rest, and meet up another day?"
Goosebumps were almost visible on Brother Liu's body.
"Er, Brother Liu is right. We're all tired tonight, let's meet another day."
Having encountered something like this in such a remote alley, Wang Rui couldn't keep up the bravado and said goodbye.
"Can we leave the alley together?"
Monkey suggested with hesitation.
Wang Rui and Brother Liu glanced at each other, then joined together to scold Monkey: "You coward."
Despite their words, they both decided to accompany Monkey out of the alley.
Meanwhile, Chen Yang returned home, oblivious that he had scared someone again. He was still half-full, so he quickly cooked another pound of noodles. He didn't feel satisfied until he had swallowed the helping in a few gulps, soup and all.
Ah, when will this miserable life end?
Chen Yang felt indignant. He found another reason to loathe 'Right Hand': it had turned him into a pig!
No, not a pig.
Chen Yang quickly denied the comparison. How could he compare himself to a pig? He was a bottomless pit!
Parents often hope their children can eat a lot since it indicates good digestion and health. However, if a child could eat seven or eight times the average amount, no parents would laugh.
Chen Yang felt that his digestion was off the charts. He didn't even know who could save him from this predicament. He sometimes wondered if his stomach had turned into a food pulverizing machine, reducing food to nothing as soon as it entered, making him always feel hungry.