"Not human?"
Hearing Liu Fugui say this, Lu Fei and Tiger exchanged glances.
"If she's not human, what is she—a ghost?" Tiger, always eager for drama, gave Liu Fugui a thumbs-up. "Ghost Rider! Wow, Old Liu, you're impressive. I'm in awe!"
"Shut up!" Liu Fugui's nostrils flared in frustration, but he didn't have the energy to argue and chose to ignore him.
"Little Lu, I didn't mean to see Xiao Mei last night, but... I'm sure she's not human; she's some kind of monster!"
Lu Fei rolled his eyes. "Not on purpose? Didn't I warn you countless times not to go?"
"Little Lu, I did listen. I really didn't plan to see her," Liu Fugui said bitterly. "The night before last, I managed not to go, but for some reason, not seeing her made me restless. She must've cast some sort of spell on me!"
"She called me again last night. You should've heard her voice; it was utterly mesmerizing. Before I knew it, I was already there."
Lu Fei sighed. "And then?"
"When I got there, she started with her usual massage. The oil she used smelled odd, but it felt great. After each session, I'd feel full of energy, like I could go all night without resting."
Seeing Lu Fei and Tiger's disdainful looks, Liu Fugui gave a sheepish smile and quickly continued.
"After the massage, she went to take a bath. While I was lying on the bed, I suddenly realized, 'Why am I here again?'"
"I started to feel scared and wanted to get dressed and leave immediately. But curiosity got the better of me, so I glanced toward the bathroom..."
At this point, Lu Fei couldn't help but interject, "Are you sure it was curiosity and not lust?"
"Little Lu, hear me out first. I was genuinely curious," Liu Fugui said, caught between laughter and tears. "Xiao Mei has always been peculiar. Every time I see her, she wears a scarf around her neck, even when she sleeps."
"I once asked her why, and she said she liked scarves. I thought it was just a quirk, so I didn't think much of it."
"One time, when she was asleep, I tried to take off her scarf, but she woke up immediately and grabbed my hand."
"She was pretty mad, and it took me a long time to calm her down."
"But I didn't take it seriously. Since she liked scarves so much, I even bought her a few silk ones, but she never wore them, only the one she always had."
Liu Fugui sighed.
"I genuinely liked her. The time I spent with her brought me happiness I'd never felt before, making the past forty years feel wasted."
Tiger snickered, "Then just keep talking with her. As they say, better to die under the peony flower than live without excitement."
"Get lost! Can't you keep quiet?" Liu Fugui snapped. "It's not that I'm weak-willed; she put some spell on me!"
"Every time I came back from seeing her, I felt drained, like I'd been emptied."
"I thought it was just age catching up with me. But after you guys warned me, I realized something was off!"
"I mean, I'm no rookie. I've seen plenty of beautiful women. Why was I so entranced by her? Thinking back, she wasn't even that attractive."
Liu Fugui's chubby face tightened, his brows furrowing deeply.
"So last night, I figured, since I was already there, I should find out what was going on."
"I thought that when she took a bath, she'd definitely take off the scarf. I planned to sneak a peek and see what was up with her neck."
"And then... I saw..."
Liu Fugui's entire body trembled, eyes filled with terror.
"What did you see?"
Lu Fei and Tiger stared at him intently.
"I... I saw her take her head off and wash her hair under the shower..." Liu Fugui used all his strength to force out the words.
Lu Fei and Tiger gasped.
"She took her own head off to wash it? That's not human!" Tiger exclaimed.
"I told you she wasn't human!" Liu Fugui's voice shook. "I was so scared, I fell flat on my butt. I wanted to run immediately, but I wasn't wearing pants."
"I scrambled to put them on, but Xiao Mei must have heard me. She came out quickly, scarf back on, with her head on her neck again."
"Her hair was wet, and she smelled nice, but her head seemed slightly crooked, like it wasn't attached properly."
"I couldn't even look at her. I grabbed my clothes and ran without even putting them on."
"But she blocked the door and asked what I was doing."
"There was no way I could confront her. I told her the water was boiling at home, and I needed to check on it."
"She wasn't happy and wouldn't let me go, asking if I'd changed my mind and tried to grab my face."
"I panicked and threw my clothes at her. To my surprise, she screamed and fell to the ground, with black smoke rising from her neck."
"I didn't know what happened, but I ran for my life."
"I heard her calling after me, but I didn't dare look back. Soon, I couldn't run anymore, but luckily, there was a police station nearby."
"I heard these places have official authority and strong yang energy, so evil things don't dare enter. I pushed myself to get inside, and she didn't follow me."
"Wait, wait." Tiger laughed uncontrollably, "Old Liu, did you run out with nothing on?"
"In that situation, my life was at stake! Who cared about clothes?" Liu Fugui said, but his face flushed, and he quickly changed the topic.
"When I calmed down at the station, I realized that Little Lu's talisman was in my clothes. It must have hit her when I threw them."
"Thank goodness! Without that talisman, I'd never have escaped her clutches!"
"It was daylight before I dared go home. I put on some clothes and came straight to see Little Lu!"
Even now, Liu Fugui's face was pale with fear.
"Old Liu, so you really did run home naked?" Tiger teased, grinning.
"Naked? I, Liu Fugui, am a respected figure in Antique Street. Of course, I put on clothes before going home!" Liu Fugui said sternly.
"Where'd you get the clothes?"
"From a trash can. Is that a problem?"
"Really? Just like that, you found clothes?" Tiger sounded skeptical.
Under Tiger's persistent questioning, Liu Fugui hesitated and finally admitted he had used a piece of cardboard to cover himself as he ran home.
Tiger's eyes widened as he shouted, "Don't tell me the part you covered was your face!"