Chapter 3

When Qin Bing came to her senses, Xu Qing had already vanished into the vast night, the sobs turned into stifled sobs, and then into anxious calls, but all of this was far away from Xu Qing, who could no longer hear it.

Xu Qing wandered aimlessly on the streets, savoring the emptiness and loneliness in his heart. He didn't even know where he should go. It wasn't until today that he felt how unfamiliar this city was. Not far away was a park, and under the dim glow of the streetlights, he could vaguely see two rows of long stone benches.

On one of the stone benches, newspapers were spread out, and a long, rectangular object lay on top. Xu Qing slowly walked to the other bench and sat down. Turning his head, he noticed a disheveled old man lying on the nearby bench, his face covered with an old newspaper. The old man's snoring was deafening, like a dozen passionate sows roaring in unison.

Xu Qing, preoccupied with his own thoughts, lay down on the stone bench. A wave of drowsiness washed over him, and before he knew it, he had fallen asleep. After an unknown amount of time, Xu Qing felt a warm breath on his face, followed by a faint sandalwood scent entering his nostrils.

Surprised, he opened his eyes and saw a small fire burning beside the stone bench. The disheveled old man was sitting silently by the fire, continuously picking up a stack of papers and throwing them into the flames. Xu Qing, who was lying downwind, naturally felt the warmth on his face.

"What is this old man burning? Why does it have a sandalwood scent?" Xu Qing wondered. Driven by curiosity, he got up and walked over.

The old man had his eyes half-closed, muttering something under his breath, seemingly unaware of Xu Qing's approach. He continued to slowly pick up pieces of paper and toss them into the fire.

This time, Xu Qing finally saw clearly. The old man was burning a stack of yellow spirit paper with small human figures printed on it, but the source of the sandalwood scent remained a mystery.

Xu Qing shook his head, preparing to leave, but his pants suddenly felt heavy. Turning his head, he saw the old man had grabbed the hem of his pants.

"Boy, help this old man burn a few papers..." The old man's eerie voice sent a chill down Xu Qing's spine.

Xu Qing's pores tightened, and he shivered. He thought to himself, "Is this old man an escapee from a mental hospital? I have no relation to him, and besides, he's still alive. Why would he need to burn spirit paper?"

Burning spirit paper has always been a way to mourn deceased loved ones. The idea of a living person burning spirit paper for themselves was unheard of, so Xu Qing categorized the old man as a mental patient.

Seeing that Xu Qing was unmoved, the old man smiled, revealing a mouthful of white teeth, and didn't let go of his pants.

"Boy, just do me this one favor, come and burn a few papers for this dying old man!"

Xu Qing felt a pang of bitterness, gritted his teeth, and squatted by the fire, picking up a few pieces of spirit paper and throwing them into the flames. His eyes occasionally glanced at the old man's waist, which bulged, clearly hiding something, possibly a cold weapon.

He naively believed that when dealing with a mentally unstable person, sometimes going along with their wishes made it easier to get away. Just like a drunk person who insists they aren't drunk, a mental patient won't admit they are sick. If he angered the old man, it could be troublesome.

With Xu Qing's help, the stack of spirit paper was quickly burned. The black ashes, carried by the wind, floated in the air like dark butterflies.

"Thank you, boy. This is your reward for helping me burn the papers!" The old man slowly took out two stacks of crisp bills from his pocket and placed them in front of Xu Qing.

The bills were still sealed, each stack containing ten thousand yuan. Xu Qing picked up a bill and rubbed the edge with his thumb, confirming it was genuine, with a faint smell of ink.

With two ten thousand yuan bills in front of him, Xu Qing, who was in dire need of money, couldn't help but be tempted. Even one stack could solve his and his sister-in-law's current predicament. He also confirmed that the old man was indeed a lunatic, and a wealthy one at that.

Xu Qing was in dire need of money, but his conscience told him that if he greedily took money from a mentally unstable old man, it would be a matter of lacking virtue, not just money.

His lips twitched, and Xu Qing chose to put the money back, saying softly, "Old man, I can't take this money. Please put it away."

The old man's cloudy eyes flashed with a sharp light. He casually picked up the two stacks of bills and put them in his pocket, smiling, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes blooming like wild chrysanthemums. He lowered his head and muttered, "Good boy, not greedy, not hasty, a natural gem. I never thought I would meet such a successor before the golden-eyed soul returns to the netherworld. The heavens have truly been kind to me..."

Xu Qing didn't quite hear what the old man said. He rubbed his slightly numb knees and was about to get up and leave when the old man suddenly lifted his head, his pupils flashing with golden light, staring directly into Xu Qing's eyes.

"Boy, look into my eyes, look into my eyes, relax, relax..."

The old man's eerie voice seemed to have a magical quality, penetrating deep into the soul. The repeated, ethereal words drew all of Xu Qing's thoughts. He felt his mind go blank, his body stiffen, and then gradually relax, his eyes fixed on a pair of golden pupils.

Golden, a dreamlike color. A pair of alluring golden eyes in Xu Qing's pupils expanded tightly. All thoughts ceased at that moment, leaving only a brilliant golden world. He could feel a cool sensation in his eyes, swirling around his eyeballs and seeping in. The feeling was indescribably wonderful.

After an unknown amount of time, the golden eyes gradually dimmed. The moment the golden light completely disappeared, Xu Qing regained consciousness, finding himself sitting foolishly on the grass. There was no old man, no fire, not even the ashes of the burned papers.

Xu Qing scratched his head in confusion and rubbed his eyes, but found nothing wrong with himself.

"Was all of this just an illusion? No way. I remember helping a crazy old man burn papers last night..." Xu Qing stood up, ready to look around, but a bone-chilling cold wind suddenly blew into the back of his neck, making his hair stand on end. He didn't dare to look for the old man anymore and quickly ran away from the place.

Less than a minute after Xu Qing left, a pile of burned ashes appeared beside the stone bench, and a disheveled old man with a deathly pale face was leaning against the bench, breathing lightly. A faint smile of relief slowly froze on his lips.

Shortly after the old man's last breath, two dark figures appeared, quickly picking up the old man's body and disappearing into the first light of dawn.

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**End of Chapter**