Who was sending me these messages one after another? Earlier in the day, they had warned me to be wary of Zhang Kun—and they had been right. Zhang Kun had intended to harm me. Now, this same person was warning me that it was dangerous outside the pharmacy and urging me not to leave. I didn't know what to do.
"Why are you just standing there?" Xu Nuo noticed me lingering at the doorway with my phone in hand. She sat up on the bed, grinning. "Finally scared of dying, are you?"
I turned to glance at Xu Nuo. Her delicate features always wore a trace of childlike innocence. Dressed in the traditional Miao attire, she resembled Zixuan from Chinese Paladin, otherworldly and ethereal. But when she spoke, she never seemed to take things seriously, often leaving me feeling thoroughly embarrassed.
I rolled my eyes at her. Forget it—I'm a grown man, not worth bickering with a girl. Without a word, I walked out of the room.
The pharmacy door was still ajar. A strange smell hung in the air—not the familiar scent of herbs, but something far more putrid, like the stench of rotting flesh.
I looked out through the doorway. The world outside lay in utter silence. Not a single star shone in the sky.
It was nearly four o'clock. I gathered my things and began setting up a makeshift bed on the floor of the pharmacy. As annoyed as I was by Xu Nuo's words, she had a point. And after receiving that ominous message, I wasn't about to risk stepping outside.
"Excuse me, is the owner of this pharmacy here…" A low voice echoed beside my ear as I packed.
That unbearable stench peaked all at once. Covering my nose, I turned toward the voice.
A man stood in the doorway, his entire body dripping wet. He wore a tattered raincoat and stared at me in silence.
"The owner is out of town… I… I'm just here helping out!" I struggled to keep my voice from trembling.
"No matter," the man said. "Let me ask you something—has a child come by here recently to buy medicine?"
My mind went blank in an instant. Could this be the boy's father? Xu Nuo had once said that only souls with either kindness in their heart or immense resentment could enter the Herb Fragrance Shop. The man before me certainly wasn't here out of kindness.
"N-no… I didn't see anyone…" My voice faltered, barely coherent.
The man glanced at the clock hanging in the center of the pharmacy, then murmured, "That's strange… Xiao Hao said he bought the herbs right here…"
I stared at the man with the half-ruined face, ready to dash back into the room and call Xu Nuo for help at any moment.
"Forget it. Kid, I want half a ginseng root… Do you have any?"
All I wanted was for him to leave. I quickly retrieved the leftover half root from the medicine cabinet and handed it to him. Without so much as a glance, he passed me a handful of outdated currency and left the shop. The clock struck four.
The stench began to dissipate with his departure, and I finally exhaled in relief.
"You're still here? Not planning to leave anymore?" came the clear jingle of silver ornaments—Xu Nuo had emerged without me even needing to look back.
I turned to face her, intending to say I wasn't going anywhere. But when I saw her expression, the words caught in my throat.
"Who just came by?" Xu Nuo's short hair framed a face now furrowed in concern, her gaze locked on the silent street beyond the door.
I told her everything that had just happened. As she listened, her face drained of color. "You said… you gave him the ginseng?"
Her reaction made it clear I'd messed up—again. I nodded stiffly.
"Well done. While others wish for a longer life, you're eager to die quicker, huh?" she snapped, furious. "That ginseng carried the boy's scent. Giving it to him was like telling the ghost that you were the one responsible for his child's death. Congratulations—he's coming for your life now!"
Fear crept up my spine. I begged her to help me. After a long silence, she finally relented.
"Fine. For my junior disciple's sake, I'll help you out. But that ghost is powerful—even my master might not be able to handle it. I'll do what I can."
She told me to get some rest for now and promised to give me instructions in the morning. Exhausted from the day's events, I lay down and tried to sleep. But I noticed that Xu Nuo remained busy in the pharmacy, fiddling with various items until dawn. She didn't sleep a wink.
"Alright, finally done!" she declared as she tossed bundles of supplies at me and yanked me up from my makeshift bed.
Groggy, I stared at the piles of bags. "Are… are we running away?"
"Run from a ghost? You think that'll work?" she shot me a withering look. "Is there a funeral happening nearby? Somewhere with a lot of deaths?"
"Don't look at me like that," she quickly added when she noticed my expression. "I'm not cursing anyone—I'm just asking!"
Normally I wouldn't know anything about local funerals, but today I did. The Zhang ancestral hall was holding a joint funeral for thirteen people. I doubted there was anywhere else with more deaths than that.
I told her about the Zhang family. Upon hearing about the thirteen dead, Xu Nuo clapped her hands. "Perfect."
She noticed my strange look and paused—clearly realizing she'd said something inappropriate. But instead of apologizing, she just glared at me. "What're you staring at? Hurry up and grab the bags—we're heading out!"
"Heading… out? To where?"
"Obviously to the Zhang ancestral hall! We need to be back before midnight. If we're late, even my master won't be able to save you!" Without another word, she walked out of the pharmacy, empty-handed and as carefree as ever.
I grabbed the bags and rushed after her. "Xu Nuo, wait! Why are we going to the Zhang ancestral hall?!"
"Call me Senior Sister!"
She never told me what we were doing there. But on the way, I kept catching her sneaking glances at me with a mischievous smile. When I turned to look at her, she'd immediately put on a serious face. That made me feel even more uneasy.
At the city center, every cab driver refused to take us to Zhangjia Village the moment they heard where we were going. In the end, I had to pay double to get a motorcycle taxi to take us, but even he would only go as far as the neighboring village.
Only later did I learn why. Today was the day of the Zhang family's funeral procession. And with thirteen deceased, each with a different elemental alignment, it meant almost everyone would clash with at least one of them. That's why the drivers had refused.
During the ride, Xu Nuo sang Miao folk songs the entire way. I didn't understand the words, but her voice was stunning. Even the driver was so moved, he gave us a discount.
After we got off, we walked another thirty minutes before arriving at the entrance of Zhangjia Village. I don't know if it was my imagination, but the moment we arrived, the sky seemed to darken.
This visit felt very different from my last. As we stood at the village gate, not a single sound could be heard. The entire place was deathly silent.
"I thought you said today was the funeral? Why is it so quiet?" I asked, bewildered.
4o