Although Dongguo Magu Hutong was located in a chaotic area of the eastern city, it was a place where various social classes held in some awe.
An Immortal Lady lived there, renowned far and wide. It was said she could communicate with ghosts and spirits, and even noble families would quietly invite her to perform rituals when faced with difficult problems.
A young man with delicate features curiously observed his surroundings.
The low, dilapidated houses, the clutter piled in corners, the dirty water flowing on the ground, and the occasional sounds of children crying and laughing—all of this was novel to the young man.
This novelty was hidden beneath caution.
Those idle men sitting against the walls, casting their gazes toward the young man, made him more careful.
This was a place he had never been before, and scenery he had never seen.
But when he reached a fork in the road, the young man stopped, his eyes showing a hint of confusion.
After pausing for a moment, the young man had no choice but to approach a woman carrying a laundry basin back home and ask, “Auntie, could you please tell me how to get to Magu Hutong?”
The woman glanced at the young man, noting his clean and delicate face but extremely ordinary clothes. Her gaze immediately became subtle. She jerked her chin and said, “Just go that way.”
The young man thanked her and headed in the direction she indicated.
The woman tightened her grip on the laundry basin, watching the young man’s back with words unsaid. Finally, she shook her head and hurried towards her home.
The young man had only walked about a hundred paces when a man in his early twenties spat out the grass root he had been chewing and blocked the young man’s path. With an insincere smile, he said, “Little brother, where are you going? Why don’t you stay and play with Big Brother for a while?”
The young man frowned slightly for a moment.
The young lady had instructed her to dress as a man when coming to such a place to avoid trouble. Could this person be blind, wanting a “stinky boy” like her to stay and play?
This young man was A-Man disguised as a boy.
A-Man was tall and in her teens, so wearing men’s clothing didn’t look out of place at all.
Hmm, the young lady had also said that if people still came to cause trouble despite the male disguise, then use the money to resolve the issue.
A-Man firmly remembered her mistress’s instructions and took out a few copper coins from her pouch, placing them in the young man’s hand.
The young man was startled, then blew on one of the copper coins and smiled, “Little brother is quite sensible, but big brother didn’t approach you for money.”
Then it must be that the money wasn’t enough!
A-Man took out another string of copper coins and placed them in the young man’s hand, though she felt somewhat regretful.
It was a pity that her mistress had repeatedly instructed her to avoid trouble if possible. Otherwise, she could have picked up this weakling with one hand and thrown him against the wall.
The young man hadn’t expected this ordinarily dressed youth to produce so much money.
Although A-Man had only given copper coins, this was a poor area where most people lived hand to mouth. These copper coins were enough for one person to eat meat buns for several days.
The young man’s gaze fixed on the pouch hanging at A-Man’s waist, and he rudely snatched it away.
A-Man clenched her fist, suppressing her anger, and said, “I’ve given you all the money. Can I pass now?”
The young man chuckled again, “Don’t be in such a hurry, little brother. Big brother isn’t after your money.”
He just wanted the money as well.
“Then what do you want?” A-Man asked, her eyes catching sight of several idle men eyeing them greedily from not far away.
“It’s for you, little brother. Big brother took a liking to you at first sight.” The young man had become more brazen due to A-Man’s constant yielding.
A-Man coldly looked at the young man and held up three fingers.
“What does that mean?”
“My master says, things shouldn’t go beyond three times.” A-Man stepped forward expressionlessly, closing the distance between them.
The young man felt something pierce his body.
The sensation was strange. He could feel the resistance of flesh and blood against the object, yet he felt no pain at all.
The young man looked down and saw a golden hairpin stabbed into his lower abdomen, with most of the pin still outside. The lifelike magnolia flower on the pin’s head seemed as if it could emit fragrance.
At this moment, a thought suddenly flashed through the young man’s mind: if he ran away now, would this golden hairpin belong to him?
But for some reason, the young man’s legs were firmly rooted to the ground, unable to move a step.
“It doesn’t hurt, right?” A-Man’s tone was chilling, sounding indescribably eerie to the young man’s ears.
The young man’s head buzzed, and cold sweat instantly soaked his back.
It didn’t hurt. He didn’t feel any pain.
Why didn’t it hurt? How could it not hurt?
The small portion of the golden hairpin left in his lower abdomen didn’t scare the young man. He was a street thug, after all, and such an injury wasn’t much to him. But seeing blood without feeling any pain made the young man’s heart crawl.
In broad daylight, had he encountered a ghost?
This place wasn’t far from Magu Hutong, where the Immortal Lady who could communicate with ghosts and spirits lived. So perhaps it wasn’t impossible to encounter a ghost occasionally?
“It doesn’t hurt, right?” A-Man’s calm voice sounded again.
“N-no, it doesn’t hurt—” The young man’s tongue-tied in a knot.
“That’s right, it shouldn’t hurt. It will start hurting at midnight tonight, and it will get more painful at that time every day after.” A-Man’s voice grew lower and lower, like invisible threads tightening around the young man’s throat, making him feel like he couldn’t breathe.
So he’s just a coward. I don’t know why the young lady wants to use someone like this.
Contempt flashed in A-Man’s eyes as she whispered, barely audible, “If you don’t want to eventually die from the pain, remember to take this golden hairpin to the second private room on the second floor of the Five Blessings Tea House at noon three days from now.”
The young man only came to his senses after A-Man had turned into the alley ahead.
“A-Fei, why are you standing there like an idiot?” His usual companions gathered around him.
“It’s nothing—” The young man quickly pushed away the person who had patted his shoulder and ran off.
Whether what that strange youth said was true or false, he couldn’t let others see this golden hairpin!
“Is A-Fei sick or something?” The person who had been pushed away cursed.
“Look at this!” One of them pointed at the ground excitedly.
They looked down and saw spots of blood on the ground, their faces changing color.
“Damn, did A-Fei run into some real trouble?”
“I always thought A-Fei’s hot temper would get him into trouble. Let’s scatter, scatter.”
The group walked back to the wall and resumed their idle demeanor.
A-Man entered Magu Hutong and stopped in front of a house with a jade rabbit lantern hanging outside.
The house was old but seemed intact, though the wooden door showed deep traces of age.
A man knocked, and soon a young girl opened the door.
“I’m here to see the Immortal Lady.”
The girl was accustomed to this and pulled the door open, saying, “Come in.”
A-Man followed the girl inside.
The room was filled with wisps of fragrant smoke. A middle-aged woman with her hair in a Taoist bun sat cross-legged, her eyes slightly closed, giving her quite an otherworldly appearance.
Hearing the movement, the woman opened her eyes. “What do you seek?”
“Are you Immortal Lady Liu?” A-Man came before the woman and asked calmly.