"Never mind him, let's just eat our own."
Yu Daohen said, picking up a piece of meat and putting it in his bowl. He then took a few large bites, his eyes suddenly turned serious. He walked to the counter, took out his Soul Suppressing Stone short sword, and headed for the door, still chewing his food. He mumbled indistinctly, "Wo ku qi ni lang, dai zai nie li" (I'm going out for a bit, you stay at the shop).
Outside the shop, Yu Daohen glanced around before heading towards a small alley.
Yu Daohen had a nagging feeling of unease. He decided to follow the man to see what he was up to.
After following for about twenty minutes, he reached a corner. The man in ancient attire turned, and Yu Daohen quickly followed. When he rounded the corner, the man in ancient attire had vanished without a trace.
Yu Daohen cursed, "Damn it, if you knew I was following you, you could have said something. You got my hopes up for nothing."
With that, Yu Daohen turned and walked out of the alley. He knew the man was definitely watching him from somewhere.
Watching Yu Daohen leave the alley, the man in ancient attire on the rooftop sighed, "Alas, how can he not detect such a strong aura?"
Yu Daohen walked out of the alley but didn't return to the shop. Instead, he headed towards the old street.
Around seven in the evening, Yu Daohen took a taxi to an old street on the border between Yangzhou and Jiangdu. He got out of the taxi and looked at his surroundings.
This place was nothing like the old street where his shop was located. The surrounding houses had mostly collapsed, essentially making it a demolition zone.
In front of the old street was a small stall selling Jianbing Guozi.
Yu Daohen walked over, a smile on his face. "Grandpa, one Jianbing Guozi with two eggs."
The old man selling Jianbing Guozi smiled. "Alright, please wait a moment, young man."
Yu Daohen nodded. The old man finished making the Jianbing Guozi and handed it to Yu Daohen. "Thirteen yuan."
Yu Daohen took the Jianbing Guozi and pulled out a twenty-yuan bill from his pocket, handing it to the old man. He smiled, "No need for change. I have a question for you, elder."
The old man sized up Yu Daohen and took the twenty-yuan bill. "What do you want to ask, young man?"
Yu Daohen pointed to the abandoned old street behind them and asked, "Grandpa, what's the situation with that old street back there?"
The old man turned to look at the old street behind them, then turned back and began to explain to Yu Daohen.
"This old street used to be inhabited. About two years ago, the government suddenly decided to transform this entire old street into a tourist attraction, so everyone moved out, house by house."
At this point, the old man's face broke into a proud smile. "My family also moved out."
Hearing this, the smile on Yu Daohen's face gradually disappeared. As the saying goes, a 'demolish' sign on a house wall means they're driving Bentleys and BMWs. It turned out he wasn't as well-off as this old man.
"Grandpa, it's been two years, and the houses have collapsed. Why haven't they started construction yet? Did something go wrong?"
Yu Daohen was puzzled. Something unusual must have happened. There must be a problem.
The old man coughed and lowered his voice. "Young man, you guessed right. Something did go wrong."
Yu Daohen's interest was piqued. "What happened?"
The old man glanced around to make sure no one was nearby and began to speak. "On the very first day of demolition, strange things started happening. The first demolition worker on night duty died inexplicably. At first, they thought it was just a sudden illness, but to their surprise, another one died the next day. Everyone thought it was a coincidence, but what was even more bizarre was that people kept dying for five consecutive days."
At this point, the old man's face showed a hint of fear as he continued. "Later, they invited a master to take a look, but guess what happened?"
Yu Daohen shook his head. "What happened?"
"It was one thing after another. Not only did the master get himself killed, but from that day on, two people died every night."
Yu Daohen found it all rather strange. Logically, the Supernatural Affairs Bureau should have handled this. "What happened after that?"
The old man sighed. "After that, this place became what it is today."
Yu Daohen nodded. This was a ghost street. Such an incident couldn't be unrelated to Liao Wensheng. After all, he was the Qianhuang of this place; no one would dare to cause trouble without his permission.
Yu Daohen took a few bites of the Jianbing Guozi and asked the question he most wanted to ask. "Grandpa, you've already moved out, so why are you still selling Jianbing Guozi here?"
The old man chuckled. "Who doesn't want more money?"
Yu Daohen gave a dry laugh, masking his embarrassment. He had initially felt pity for the old man selling Jianbing Guozi alone and had given him a few extra yuan. But he hadn't expected that he was the one who was actually short on money.
The clown was himself.
After chatting with the old man for a while longer, Yu Daohen finished his Jianbing Guozi and checked his phone. It was almost half-past eight, and it was time for him to set off.
Yu Daohen walked directly into the old street. The Jianbing Guozi vendor next to him quickly stopped him. "Young man, are you trying to do something foolish? What are you going into there for?"
Yu Daohen smiled. "Don't worry, Grandpa. I'm strong and fearless, not afraid of ghosts or spirits."
The old man looked at Yu Daohen. While he wasn't exactly burly, he could still compare to the old man in his youth. However, his complexion was pale, indicating a weak constitution (kidney deficiency).
Author's Note:
Today's update is at one in the morning (my phone fell on the ground while riding my electric bike yesterday).