I remember that day, there were no customers, so I took out my phone to play as usual. But at that moment, I came across a terrifying murder news.
A man was carrying a knife in his left hand and a human head in his right, parading through the streets before surrendering himself to the police.
The news was horrified to hear that the man was a famous director with a net worth of at least several billion. Given his reputation and wealth, it was hard to imagine that he would commit such a brutal murder.
The horror of this news did not stop there.
Less than an hour later, another man walked into the police station carrying a severed leg. This man was also prominent, a big boss in the catering business, owning more than a dozen restaurant chains.
Over the next few hours, people continued to turn themselves in at the police station, each carrying a severed limb or draped in human skin. There were six in total, all of high status, either famous directors or wealthy individuals.
This case was so shocking and bizarre that it was quickly reported in detail, attracting the attention of hundreds of millions of netizens.
Why would such wealthy and high-status individuals commit such cruel murders, and more than one at that?
Later, the dismembered body was pieced together to form a female corpse, whose identity was also quickly investigated. She was a minor celebrity in the entertainment industry, named Wang Xin.
When questioned about the reason for the murders, the six killers' explanations were eerily consistent.
They claimed that Wang Xin had always been a woman they kept on the side. But one day, she seemed to change, becoming irresistibly charming. It was as if she had hooked their hearts!
Considering their wealth, women like her were usually mere playthings; they should not have had such feelings.
But whenever they could not see Wang Xin, they felt unbearably distressed, as if they couldn't breathe. They could not live without her.
Wang Xin seemed to be fully aware of this, and she started making incessant demands for cars, buildings, villas, buy, buy, buy, spend, spend, spend. She was like a bottomless pit, continuously devouring their wealth. Wang Xin also loved gambling, with money flowing out like water.
If they ever refused her demands, a nine-tailed fox with half a human face would appear at night to threaten them, saying that it would eat them if they did not comply.
They were terrified and had no choice but to satisfy her endless demands. But even the deepest fortunes cannot withstand such squandering. In less than a week, she had bought hundreds of villas, various luxury cars, diamonds, antiques, and gambled daily. They were completely drained of their wealth.
Once Wang Xin had sucked them dry, she was ready to kick them to the curb.
But they couldn't bear to leave her; they panicked. These men were intelligent, largely responsible for their own success. They knew they had no more worth to Wang Xin and that she would eventually leave them.
To keep her, they resolved that she must be killed! The money was gone, and they did not want to be left with nothing.
The first to act was the famous director. After stabbing Wang Xin from behind more than a dozen times and decapitating her, he finally felt at peace. The suffocating feeling instantly vanished.
Knowing that he couldn't escape death, he went to the police station to turn himself in. The others could not resist following suit. When they each held a part of Wang Xin's body, they all smiled.
This incident was already horrific and mysterious. Once the words of these individuals were made public, it sent shivers down everyone's spine, and countless versions of the story started circulating.
Some said Wang Xin was keeping a fox spirit, which was why she could charm these rich men, but it turned on her, leading to her tragic end.
Others speculated that she had cast a spell or used some poison on them.
There were all kinds of theories, but only I knew it was because of Underworld Tattoo!
However, Underworld Tattoo was not the main factor that killed Wang Xin. It was her greed!
Underworld Tattoo was mysterious, and with its help, Wang Xin could achieve her desires effortlessly, but it was her greed that was the root cause of her demise.
Had she stopped earlier and not been so greedy, the outcome might have been different.
Wang Xin died, dismembered by six people, an utterly tragic end. And the fate of those six people was not much better.
That night, I had a dream where Wang Xin came to me, saying she was in pain, then handed me a needle to sew her torn body. If I did, she would sleep with me.
I was so terrified that I pushed her away and told her not to come near. But she didn't listen. Her severed head rolled to my feet like a soccer ball, and she kept crying out in pain.
At that moment, a fox emerged from the tattoo on her arm, with half a human face and blood-red eyes. With its gaping maw, it devoured Wang Xin as she pleaded for my help. But I was paralyzed, my body rigid as wood.
After it finished eating Wang Xin, the fox turned its grieving gaze towards me, laughing with a sinister "hehehe." I woke up in fright.
After waking up, I was covered in sweat, my clothes soaked through, and I could not sleep anymore. I was in bad spirits for a long time, plagued by nightmares, until a dwarf came to the tattoo parlor.
This dwarf was about one meter twenty in height but seemed to be in his forties, with a scar on his face. As soon as he saw me, he came up, hugged my leg, and wept bitterly, exclaiming that the gods were just, and the tattoo parlor had finally reopened. He had waited for twenty years, a full twenty years.
I quickly pulled him away and asked who he was and why he was shedding tears and snot upon arrival, which was quite disgusting.
The dwarf said his name was Zheng Xing, also known as Shorty Xing. He had worked in the tattoo parlor since he was ten and showed many photos with my grandfather and the daily routines of the parlor in the past.
Shorty Xing recounted how he worked in the tattoo parlor for ten years until my grandfather closed shop, telling him that it would reopen in twenty years but with a different owner. He had instructed Shorty Xing to return then.
"Twenty years! Do you know how I've lived these twenty years?" Shorty Xing began sorrowfully.
"How did you live? Playing Greed and Blue Moon?"
"These twenty years, I've been a beggar, moved bricks, cleaned toilets, I've lived a harder life than an ox, and my wages were meager. Finally, I've waited for you," Shorty Xing carried on, crying, then suddenly laughing, his emotions swinging between sorrow and joy, oblivious to anything I said.
I told him to calm down and that although he was a former employee, I was now the boss. He had to be clear about what he could do; otherwise, what was the point in hiring him?
Actually, activities associated with the underworld were quite fitting for someone with a disability like his.
For example, at Hong Wu's crematorium, the workers were mute because they didn't need to talk to the dead.
Or a blind bone fortune teller, a blind fortune teller – these tended to be even more accurate than normal people.
Dwarfs were also considered to have a disability, as such individuals were believed to lack full life destiny, their horoscopes were incomplete.
But even so, he needed to have some skill; I couldn't afford to keep someone who did nothing.
Shorty Xing assured me not to worry. Although he couldn't tattoo, he knew a thing or two about feng shui, yin and yang, fortune-telling, and ghosts. He had learned a lot during his time with my grandfather.
Dwarf Xing assured me to rest easy. Even though he did not possess the skill to tattoo, he had some knowledge about feng shui, divination, hexes, and spirits from the time he spent with my grandfather.
What's more important, he could help me attract customers. He had a grasp of the clientele from our previous business, ranging from ordinary folks on the street to high-profile figures in business and entertainment circles. He could indeed help me find customers and he wouldn't just take a salary without contributing.
"There's no need for a lengthy discussion. The salary during the probation period is five thousand a month, and after three months, it's eight thousand. Take it or leave it! If we get more clients, you can earn a commission as well, and room and board are included!"
Without further ado, the word 'customers' was enough to convince him to stay. Having customers was essential for business success. Being new to this desolate spot, it was impossible to secure any business deals; being able to work on a few regular customer orders per month would already be quite lucky. How else could I make a fortune?
"I'll take the job, thank you, young boss!" Dwarf Xing said with tears of gratitude. This was indeed much better than cleaning toilets or moving bricks.
At that moment, Xu Meng, whom I had not seen for many days, came by. She glanced at Dwarf Xing and gestured to me discreetly, as if it was inconvenient to speak in front of an outsider.
I said it didn't matter, this was a newly-hired employee, and whatever was to be said could be said openly. Eager to prove his usefulness, Dwarf Xing hurriedly served tea and water for Xu Meng.
But before Xu Meng could speak, Dwarf Xing suddenly grabbed her wrist. This took me by surprise, and Xu Meng angrily shook off his hand.
"What... what are you doing? Mouse, why is the person you hired acting like this?"
I wanted to scold Dwarf Xing too, but he explained that he did not mean any harm, he just wanted to feel Xu Meng's pulse because it seemed that she might be... pregnant with a corpseling.