281 The Son of Lamentation (1/2)
It was an afternoon in the downtown district. The shabby tavern’s door was pushed open. The smell of smoke and cheap alcohol that spilled out was thick enough to suffocate someone. In the noisy bar, the men smoking while playing cards turned and looked at the entrance.
A silhouette of a man stood under the harsh sunshine by the door. He had a cane and wore a bowler hat. Being so well-dressed, he seemed out of sorts here. However, everyone shivered involuntarily when they saw him. Through the murkiness, there seemed to be a pair of breathtaking eyes staring at them.
Across the long distance, they could see their own reflections in the eyes. Their reflections were pale like a corpse that had fallen into an abyss.
Deep inside the tavern, an old man with his back to the door turned around and saw the figure. He was stunned momentarily. Then he immediately waved, motioning for everyone to get out.
When everyone was gone, the newcomer sat opposite him, took off his hat, and laid it on the table.
”Long time no see, Mr. Ghosthand,” Ye Qingxuan said.
Ghosthand looked deeply at Ye Qingxuan. The hairs on his neck stood as if he saw something extremely eerie. After a short few days, Ye Qingxuan had…become even stronger. Even Ghosthand was gradually growing afraid of him.
”Mr. Holmes, you have recently become much scarier.”
”This is not what I want.” Ye Qingxuan smiled wryly. ”To be honest, I’d rather go out with sunglasses, but even then it doesn’t work.”
”It seems that you have gained a lot in Avalon’s Shadow.” Ghosthand withdrew his sight and pointed to the cards on the table. ”Shall we?”
Ye Qingxuan couldn’t help but laugh. He casually grabbed a joker and shook his head. ”Forget it. I am not confident enough to play cards with Ghosthand.” He put down the card on the table but it had somehow become a red ace. Soon, it went back to normal. The red ace had returned to Ghosthand’s hand.
He dropped the card and sighed regrettably. ”What a pity! I haven’t cheated for a long time. My hands itch badly.”
”How's the Shaman?”
”I would like to say that he has healed. However, he is still the same.” Ghosthand shrugged. ”He is still half dead but should hold on for a while.”
”That’s normal. With that kind of injury, it won’t be surprising whenever he dies.” Ye Qingxuan shrugged. Taking the checklist out of his pocket, he handed it over. ”I’m here today because I hope you can help me collect the things on here.” He paused and added, ”As soon as possible.”
Ghosthand waved his hand without glancing at the list.The bartender came to read the note on the table. After thinking, he whispered a few words to Ghosthand, who then said, ”Four days.”
”Ok.”
Ye Qingxuan was about to get up, but Ghosthand put a wine glass in front of him and poured the amber liquor into it.
”Since you're here, why don't we have a drink? You just scared off the guys I was drinking with.”
Ye Qingxuan looked at his lazy half-smile and shrugged. He accepted the glass. ”May we have many days ahead of us.”
Ghosthand toasted to him and drank up. ”How’s the taste?”
”Good.” Ye Qingxuan nodded. ”To tell you the truth, your taste is better than I thought.”
”In Avalon, the lower class of downtown district likes drinking 'kerosene' the most. It’s bad liquor but saves money since people just drink to get drunk. I used to like that kind of liquor. The more drunk I get, the faster my hands would become.” Ghosthand played with the cards. The colors changed at his fingertips. As if lamenting, he said, ”Then I got money, got a status, and no one called me a pickpocket anymore. They all called me Mr. Ghosthand. I became upper class so I gradually started drinking good things. Actually, until now...I didn't even know the name of this bottle.
”The Shaman always laughs at me and says I just like pretending. But a guy like me is already satisfied to pretend like this. Besides, people like me, we can’t do anything with our money in their hands except to buy some satisfaction.”
Ye Qingxuan fell silent. After a pause, he asked, ”Ever think of finding a woman? It might be better after you have a family.”
Ghosthand grinned. ”I’ve had two lovers but they both got married. One of them even had my kid, but sadly, he didn’t live long. He wasn’t blessed by God. These things bring me much more sadness than happiness. Mr. Holmes, some people aren’t suitable for the happiness of the ordinary man.”
”So you’ve never been happy?”
”I have but very rarely.” Ghosthand poured the wine for himself. Rather than pressuring Ye Qingxuan to drink again, he just drank it all by himself. ”Look at your life. How many times are you truly happy? Especially in a place like downtown. We can only try to live less miserably. Sinners like us probably won’t even get to enjoy heaven after death.”
Ye Qingxuan lowered his eyes. ”The Shaman said that he wants to save you all. Has anything changed?”
”Well, I guess there are some tiny changes.” Ghosthand scratched his head. ”But that’s enough since we used to have nothing. You see, Mr. Holmes, this is the place where the great men neglect. There are gutters, beggars, and prostitutes everywhere. No one has a future but the Shaman told us that people who have no future should also live with dignity. The inferior should also walk in the street with their heads up, even if they aren’t bathed in the same sunshine as the great men. We still need to die with dignity.”
”Is that what he calls ‘the rules of the dark world’?”
”Perhaps, I don't quite understand,” Ghosthand said frankly.
Seeing Ye Qingxuan’s startled expression, he could not help but laugh. ”But I’m always honored to have the chance to participate in it. The Shaman gave me dignity. He told me that a wicked man like me has a value in life too, so I’ll live for this value.” Saying this, he raised his glass.
”Mr. Holmes, I can see that you are also very confused. I hope that one day you will find your own value.”