Chapter 3, Direct and Decisive, The Credit Knife Seller

Twenty minutes later, the father and daughter arrived at the roadside of the square in front of the station. They had been parked for less than five minutes when a man approached, glanced at the license plate, and then reached out to knock on the car window

Lin Yuan was originally facing away from her. Upon hearing Lin Xianyu call her, he turned around, and his scalp instantly went numb. His daughter had a head so deformed pressed against her back that it was impossible to discern a face. The other person's hand was resting on Lin Xianyu's shoulder, with a pair of snow-white eyeballs hanging down on her shoulder.

The figure in the corner seemed to glance warily at the cow horn bone around Lin Yuan's neck, swayed a few times, and then dispersed.

Dad, are you calling me...

At this moment, the figure of the other party became quite clear; aside from the deformation of the head, there was not a single part of the body that was intact. Generally speaking, it seemed as though the other party was pieced together haphazardly.

Upon returning to the living room, she placed the kitchen knife on the table: "He said he would wait in Caofeidian for three and a half days. If there is something happening at home, we can take this kitchen knife to the hotel near the train station to find him"

The shadow seemed to have not listened to Lin Yuan at all, floating in front of Tu Shu and the other person, as if it wanted to approach yet was held back by some hesitation

"Woof, woof, woof..." The family living in the house adjacent to the Lin family, separated by a courtyard, raised two Labradors, which suddenly charged towards the fence dividing the two yards, causing a cacophony of barking that echoed through the air

Lin Yuan lowered the car window, and the other party bowed their head respectfully and said: "Mr. Lin, the person you are looking for has been found, they are in the hotel just ahead. They have been staying here for three days. The hotel owner said this person rarely goes out, only going out for about half an hour in the morning and evening before returning. At other times, they stay in their room. The first room on the second floor is the one you are looking for"

Lin Xianyu took the car keys out of his bag and said, "Let's go over there now"

Lin Xianyu buried his head in his arms and choked out, "Dad, is that a ghost?"

Lin Yuan's hand, which was holding the cigarette butt, stiffened slightly as he said in a somewhat dazed manner: "It should be... right? Sigh, what kind of sin have we committed, what is the old man doing"

"Father, is that you?" Lin Yuan said with some fear: "We are your family, we are here to pay our respects tonight, what are you trying to do? Have we ever been unfilial to you while you were alive?"

Lin Yuan pointed at the dilapidated figure and stammered, "You, did you not see?"

The drooping eyeball moved strangely for a moment, and Lin Yuan had a feeling that the single eye seemed to be staring at him

Lin Yuan pressed his lips together as he looked at the kitchen knife on the table, and then took out his phone to dial a number: "Help me find someone, approximately twenty-four or twenty-five years old, wearing a dark blue robe, with short hair... He should be staying at a hotel near the train station. Call me back as soon as you find him, as soon as possible, I need news within half an hour"

"Dad, do you remember?" Lin Xianyu raised her head and said urgently, "On the day of Grandpa's burial, a young man came to our old graveyard. He said that there would be a strange occurrence at home on the seventh day after Grandpa's passing"

The car arrived at the side of the train station square. After Lin Yuan stopped the car, he hurriedly pushed open the door and walked towards the hotel with Lin Xianyu. The two of them went straight through the lobby and ascended to the second floor. Upon reaching the door of the first room at the corner, before they could even reach out to knock, the door creaked open.

Lin Yuan pinched the cigarette butt that had burned down to the book, frowned and said: "The one who threw the kitchen knife?"

Wang Jingzhe was still wearing that long robe, with a canvas bag slung across his shoulder. He glanced at the kitchen knife that Lin Xianyu was holding and reached out, saying: "Give me the knife, and also... I need the money"

The cold wind in the Lin family's courtyard suddenly grew stronger, causing Lin Xianyu's hair to flutter. However, what was even more bizarre was that this cold wind seemed to be confined solely to the Lin family, as the treetops of the neighboring households remained completely still.

The two Labradors next door immediately quieted down and stopped barking. After being scolded a few times by their owner, they were taken back. Lin Xianyu and Lin Yuan suddenly slumped down.

Such matters, even if you speak of them, others may not necessarily believe you, and the impact could be detrimental

At this moment, regardless of how frightened they were, the inherent bond between father and daughter remained. Lin Yuan stepped forward, steeling himself as he grabbed his daughter's arm and forcefully pulled her towards him. Lin Xianyu suddenly found herself crashing into Lin Yuan's embrace, while the figure behind her seemed to be instantly repelled away.

In an era where online consultations are highly developed and supernatural thrillers are bestsellers, encountering something difficult to comprehend may lead to disbelief, yet one can still grasp a certain level of understanding

"Old Lin, what happened?" The neighbors next door saw two Labradors leaning against the fence and came over to ask.

Lin Yuan raised his arm, trembling as he pointed behind his daughter, his mouth agape but unable to utter a single word, the words stuck in his throat.

Suddenly, Lin Xianyu felt a tap on her shoulder, the spot where she was tapped felt a bit cold and piercing. Next to her left ear, she suddenly sensed a series of panting sounds, as if someone was blowing air into her ear

Iron mouth speaks directly, the gatekeeper is a debt collector

Lin Xianyu hurriedly jumped up from the sofa, went upstairs to her bedroom, and took out a plain-looking kitchen knife from her bag. At that moment, she found it a bit strange that an outsider who had just arrived in Caofeidian could possibly know when her grandfather's seventh day was. At that time, no one paid attention to the kitchen knife, but Lin Xianyu instinctively put it away.

The other party waved his hand and turned to leave: "No need to be polite, Mr. Lin. As long as we can handle the matters assigned from above, that is sufficient"

Lin Xianyu was about to cry; she saw her father standing right in front of her. Who was the person behind her, blowing air into her ear and resting a hand on her shoulder

Lin Yuan held the girl tightly, gasping in terror. In an instant, it seemed he remembered something, and he reached out to pull a piece of cow horn bone from around his neck. This was the horn bone of a Tibetan yak, which he had obtained from a high lama a few years ago

"Gudu" Lin Yuan swallowed hard, unsure of how to explain: "No, it's nothing"

"Woof woof, woof woof woof..." The two Labradors barked even more fiercely, their barks echoing far into the night, disturbing nearly everyone nearby.

Dad, Daddy... Lin Xianyu instantly broke down, crying and trembling, unable to move.

The ladder in the yard remains untouched on the ground, and the withered offerings are placed aside. In the living room, Lin Yuan is smoking, the sound of the cigarette making a "pada, pada" noise. Several cigarette butts are already stuck in the ashtray. Lin Xianyu is curled up on the sofa, hugging her arms, her gaze somewhat vacant.

The neighbors were bewildered, turning their heads to take a couple of glances and discovering that only the father and daughter were in the yard. Frowning, one of them asked: "What are you looking at? Isn't today the seventh day of mourning for your old man? It's about time, so why hasn't the ladder been burned yet?"

"Sorry for the trouble," Lin Yuan nodded. Lin Xianyu took out a few banknotes from his wallet and handed them over, saying softly, "Thank you"