Mr. Lam's words shocked me once again. Why would he know about Peng Zu? Why would he know Peng Zu holds the secret of immortality? And why was he seeking my cooperation? Was it because of my Tattoos of Gods and Ghosts?
"Haha, Mr. Lam, you do know how to joke. What immortality? That's just longevity. You've been reading too many fantasy novels, haven't you?" I played dumb.
Mr. Lam insisted, "Don't believe me if you won't, but this Peng Zu... he's actually not dead. He just staged his death to make the world think he was gone, when in fact he's still alive."
I froze. Was Mr. Lam serious? What exactly did he know?
"Mr. Lam, you shouldn't say such things or people might haul you off to a mental hospital. If Peng Zu didn't die, how old would he be by now? Does such a person even exist?" I said.
I suddenly wondered if Mr. Lam might be developing Alzheimer's. Some old people with that disease tend to talk nonsense.
"Haha, Mr. Tang, it seems you still can't accept certain concepts. Then there's no need for us to continue this conversation. But let me tell you this - Peng Zu is currently in Vervecity. If you change your mind, come find me, and we'll cooperate to search for the secret of eternal life." With these words, Mr. Lam picked up his cane and headed for the door.
Peng Zu is in Vervecity? How did Mr. Lam know such things?
Remembering the old man resembling Peng Zu we'd seen in the pub earlier, and that inexplicable ghost flag... was Mr. Lam actually telling the truth?
But I couldn't comprehend how someone from before the Qin Dynasty could still be alive today. Would that even be human anymore? That would be a monster.
"Why me?" I asked quietly before Mr. Lam left.
"Because... Peng Zu is also a Tattoos of Gods and Ghosts master," Mr. Lam said before his figure disappeared through the doorway.
Peng Zu, also a Tattoos of Gods and Ghosts master? Seriously? How does Mr. Lam know this?
This Mr. Lam was really something. He hadn't even finished his family lineage business, and now he wanted to pursue immortality. The man was truly greedy! Though admittedly, the latter was much more interesting than the former.
What do the rich value most? Life, of course. The prospect of living forever would be an irresistible temptation for them.
But what did it matter to me? I had no interest in immortality whatsoever. Besides, everything about Peng Zu was shrouded in mystery and gave me an eerie feeling. If possible, I'd rather not get involved. All I wanted was to make money and save my grandfather - everything else was irrelevant.
Although Mr. Lam sought my cooperation and his words did pique my curiosity, I wasn't particularly interested. I wanted to know about what he'd mentioned, but I didn't want to work with him. Plain and simple - satisfying my curiosity was one thing, but actually participating? Sorry, I wasn't willing to go that far.
After Mr. Lam left, I was distracted the whole day. The creepy old face of Peng Zu kept appearing in my mind. Since no customers came, I went upstairs for an afternoon nap, but slept poorly - haunted by nightmares of being drawn to some horrible, unfamiliar place.
When I woke, it was already dark. This had been my longest nap ever, and certainly not a restful one. I rose feeling weak and drained.
Around eight o'clock after dinner, a timid-looking couple arrived saying they wanted Tattoos of Gods and Ghosts to ward off evil spirits. Stein quickly ushered them in.
After some conversation, I learned the basics:
The man, Zabaleta, was in his mid-forties - tall, bespectacled, a programmer by trade.
The woman, Yuzmv, about forty, was a housewife.
They'd come because they'd encountered something supernatural and heard these tattoos could provide protection.
"Tell me exactly what's happening," I urged, "so I can design the appropriate tattoo."
Zabaleta explained they'd bought a new house, but within days of moving in, someone started knocking on their door every night. The strange part? Each time they opened it, no one was there. Yet the knocking would resume the moment they closed the door.
Once, Zabaleta waited by the door and peered through the peephole when the knocking came. Even weirder - the peephole showed nothing outside. This terrified him... could it be a ghost?
Figuring he'd done nothing to deserve haunting, Zabaleta installed a camera above the door to determine whether the visitor was human or supernatural.
The footage revealed bizarre shadows knocking - human bodies with animal heads: dogs, goats, various creatures. These figures would knock, then vanish as if evaporating.
As Zabaleta showed me the security footage, even I felt unnerved. The shadows moved in profoundly unnatural ways.
"Did you buy a murder house?" I asked. "This never happened before, but started when you moved in?"
Zabaleta admitted he'd considered the same possibility, but explained the house couldn't be returned after purchase. His research showed no history of deaths or incidents in the property, so it shouldn't be a murder house.
Not a murder house? Then why these bizarre occurrences? The shadows resembled demons, but if they were truly demonic entities, this couple would have died long ago. Besides, what demon would be so persistent yet pointless as to knock on doors nightly?
I turned to Stein. "Can you identify those shadows?"
The short man studied the footage for a long moment before suggesting they might be animal spirits - manifestations of animal resentment. Normally animals lack spiritual awareness; even slaughtered for food, they wouldn't harbor grudges.
"But certain animals are different," Stein explained. "Snakes, cats, foxes, weasels - when these spiritually attuned creatures suffer violent deaths, they may return seeking vengeance."
Yet the shadowy figures in the video appeared to be common livestock - pigs, cows, sheep, rabbits. Such animals shouldn't possess spiritual grievances. The situation grew stranger still.
After Zabaleta finished, Yuzmv added her own disturbing experiences - all occurring when her husband was away.
While preparing meals, butchered chickens and fish would suddenly come alive - chickens twisting to peck her hands, fish snapping at her fingers. Once, after steaming a fish and serving it, the cooked meal suddenly leapt up laughing at her, terrifying her into unconsciousness.
Worst of all were the invisible presences. Whenever Zabaleta was out, she felt countless unseen eyes watching her from every corner of their home.