Lin Banxia said in alarm, "Police Unc—big brother, why do I have to take a trip to the police station?"

The officer held up a pair of handcuffs. "Why did you say he was crawling on the ceiling?"

Lin Banxia: "Isn't that how it always goes in ghost movies?"

The officer asked: "Which ghost movie?"

Lin Banxia rattled off a string of ghost movie titles, leaving the officer stunned. After a long moment, the officer said faintly, "You certainly have broad interests."

Lin Banxia: "You flatter me."

When he was in university, his roommates loved watching horror movies. Every time a ghost appeared, they would be scared out of their wits. Despite several of them being sturdy guys over 1.8 meters tall, they would either cover their eyes or scream pathetically. The worst of them would even hide behind him, leaving Lin Banxia exasperated.

Hearing Lin Banxia's innocent tone, the officer's expression softened a bit. He asked a few more questions, like where he was last night and what his relationship with Wang Jinqiao was. Seeing that Lin Banxia answered everything candidly, he waved his hand, signaling that he could leave. He did, however, add that if Lin Banxia had any clues, he must report them to the police station. Lin Banxia agreed to everything and beat a hasty retreat, slipping away as fast as he could.

Regardless of anything else, Lin Banxia knew from the look on the officer's face when he took out the handcuffs that he was definitely not joking. He left the building and hurried home.

It was just dawn, and signs of human activity were beginning to appear on the streets.

Lin Banxia got off at the bus stop and casually bought some breakfast from a stall there, munching on it as he walked home. The early spring chill made him feel a bit cold in his thin clothes, but the freshly fried spring roll in his hand was warm. It was filled with glutinous rice, minced meat, and diced ham, and its crispy skin made for a perfect combination.

Lin Banxia had never been picky about food, so he was quite content. As he walked, he glanced at the time. It was just past five o'clock; Ji Leshui was probably still asleep.

In early spring, the sun rose a bit late. Looking up, the entire residential complex was pitch-black, save for a few streetlights that glowed like faint fireflies. In such an environment, any light shining from a window would easily catch one's eye.

Munching on his spring roll, Lin Banxia noticed a lit window in a nearby building.

'There are other people living in this complex?' Lin Banxia was a little curious. His work schedule was unusual, so not only did he rarely run into people in the complex, but he seldom even saw lights on in the buildings. As he thought this, his gaze involuntarily fell upon that lit window.

The window was on a lower floor, so he could clearly see a woman standing silhouetted against the light, seemingly looking out.

'What is she looking at?' The thought had just popped into Lin Banxia's mind when he saw another figure. This figure was much taller and larger than the woman and seemed to be holding an axe-shaped weapon. It appeared abruptly behind her.

The woman, unaware, remained standing silently by the window. But the person behind her had already slowly raised their hand, along with the axe they were holding—

Lin Banxia's eyes widened. Before he could react, he saw the person bring the axe down. In an instant, the woman was decapitated, and blood splattered onto the window as dark spots.

Seeing this, Lin Banxia's first reaction was to call the police. He pulled out his phone, about to dial 110, when the light in that window suddenly went out. In the dim morning light, a blood-soaked hand pushed the window open. Seeing this, Lin Banxia reflexively took a step back.

Clearly, his action was the right one, because the next moment, the person threw a round, spherical object out of the room. The object landed heavily on the path, then tumbled all the way down to Lin Banxia's feet.

Lin Banxia looked down and saw clearly what the object was. It was a woman's head, neatly severed at the neck. But even so, she wasn't dead. Her bleeding eyes stared at Lin Banxia, her mouth ceaselessly and miserably crying for help.

Lin Banxia was instantly at a loss. Now he wasn't planning on calling 110 anymore; he decided to call 120 directly. Seeing the situation, he wasn't sure if she could still be saved.

The woman suddenly began to scream, her cries shrill and terrifying, like a wailing asura.

Lin Banxia froze for three seconds, then quickly said, "It's okay, it's okay, I'll call 120 right away! Who's the murderer? Do you have any last words? Say them all now!" He quickly dialed 120 and rapidly explained the situation.

The 120 operator was not as calm as he was. After hearing Lin Banxia's description, she cursed him for being a psycho and immediately hung up the phone.

Lin Banxia: "..." 'Sorry, ma'am, it looks like you can't be saved.'

The woman was still screaming. This time, her eyes were no longer on Lin Banxia but had fallen on something behind him. Lin Banxia sensed it, but before he could turn around, he felt a huge shadow loom over him. He saw the shadow on the ground; behind him was a tall figure, currently raising a sharp axe and swinging it down heavily toward him.

Lin Banxia dodged to the side, throwing himself to the ground. When he looked back again, he found that the shadow behind him, along with the head on the ground, had all vanished, leaving only an empty path. He looked up at the window and saw only a tightly shut frame and endless darkness.

Lin Banxia silently got up from the ground, dusted off his knees, and went home.

When he got home, Lin Banxia thought Song Qingluo was sleeping, but he didn't see him. So he went to knock on the door next door. After a moment, Ji Leshui opened the door with a head of messy, bed-head hair.

"Sleep well?" Lin Banxia greeted him.

"Slept well." Ji Leshui yawned.

"Want to come over for breakfast?" Lin Banxia asked.

"No, no." The moment Ji Leshui heard it was next door, he immediately perked up. He said, "You've worked all day, you should go get some sleep."

Lin Banxia grunted in agreement, then said casually, "I seem to remember you were really scared in the complex one day. Did something happen?"

Ji Leshui remembered that night's experience and shivered spinelessly. He said, "Why are you asking about that?"

Lin Banxia said, "It just suddenly came to mind, so I thought I'd ask."

Ji Leshui scratched his head and recounted what had happened to him that day in detail. When he mentioned someone jumping out of a window, Lin Banxia asked if he remembered which window it was.

Ji Leshui said, "I remember. It was the building right next to ours. I forgot the exact floor, but it shouldn't be very high, otherwise I wouldn't have seen it so clearly."

Lin Banxia said "oh," and told him to go wash up and get ready for work.

Ji Leshui didn't think much of it. He said goodbye to Lin Banxia and turned to go back inside.

Lin Banxia returned to his apartment, took a hot shower first, and then got into bed. Normally, if there was nothing to do at work, he would take a nap at night. But after what happened last night, he was worried about Liu Xi's condition and didn't dare to sleep. Now, lying in bed, he was quickly overcome by a deep drowsiness. Lin Banxia closed his eyes and, in a matter of moments, fell into a deep sleep.

He didn't know how long he had slept, but Lin Banxia vaguely heard the sound of a door opening in the living room. He opened his eyes, checked his phone, and saw that it was already noon. Lin Banxia slowly crawled out of bed and saw Song Qingluo in the living room. Following behind Song Qingluo was a strange person. The person wore a hat, sunglasses, and a large mask, completely bundled up from head to toe. Even their exposed fingers were covered by gloves, with almost no skin visible.

Lin Banxia's steps toward the living room suddenly halted. Song Qingluo saw him and said, "Lunch together?" He raised the bag in his hand, which was filled with freshly bought groceries.

Lin Banxia asked cautiously, "Where did you go?"

Song Qingluo said, "Out to run some errands."

Lin Banxia: "You went alone?"

Song Qingluo looked at Lin Banxia with confusion.

Lin Banxia said, "Behind you... there seems to be someone following you." He thought of the woman he had seen at the funeral parlor, who seemed to be followed by something that no one else could see. It definitely wasn't human, but he didn't know what it was.

Song Qingluo said, "Oh, I know. That's my friend."

Lin Banxia immediately breathed a sigh of relief. He rubbed the corners of his eyes and said that work had been stressful lately, and nothing looked human to him anymore...

Song Qingluo said, "But he can't be in the sun. You should close the curtains."

The nerves that had just relaxed in Lin Banxia immediately tensed up again. He stared at Song Qingluo with wide eyes. "Can't be in the sun? Can he eat garlic?"

Song Qingluo: "..."

The person couldn't help but laugh.

Song Qingluo walked to the living room, closed the curtains, and said with a hint of exasperation in his tone, "What are you thinking? Do you really think vampires exist in this world? I already told you, there are no ghosts in the world."

After the curtains were closed, the bundled-up person began to remove their gear piece by piece, revealing pale white skin and a head of snow-white short hair. He seemed to have some foreign ancestry; his pupils weren't black but had a faint pinkish hue. At first glance, he looked like a beautiful elf straight out of a movie.

"Sorry, I have albinism," he said with a smile. "I can't be exposed to the sun. I didn't scare you, did I?"

Lin Banxia finally understood and said apologetically, "My apologies! My apologies!"

Song Qingluo said impatiently, "Hurry up. I don't plan on treating you to lunch."

The person had a very gentle demeanor and didn't get angry at Song Qingluo's words. He turned and carefully put down the backpack he was carrying, then took out a box the thickness of an arm. The box was exactly the same kind Lin Banxia had seen in Song Qingluo's home. The color and texture looked identical; only the size was slightly different.

"When are you going to inspect it?" the person asked slowly.

"Now," Song Qingluo replied.

"Here?" The person seemed a bit surprised. He subconsciously glanced at Lin Banxia. "Is he a newcomer?"

"No," Song Qingluo said.

The person was even more surprised. He said, "Aren't you in the middle of a Natural Aging process? Why is there an unrelated person around?"

Song Qingluo spread his hands. "You'll have to ask them about that. Alright, Li Su, you can go out first. I'll talk to you after I've inspected the goods."

So the person's name was Li Su, a rather ordinary name. Upon hearing this, Li Su put all his gear back on piece by piece, gave Lin Banxia a meaningful look, and turned to leave. Lin Banxia felt a bit restless and whispered, "Do I need to go out too?"

Song Qingluo waved his hand, signaling for him to sit down.

How could Lin Banxia dare? He stood to the side, at a complete loss. He felt like he was witnessing an illegal transaction. If he kept watching this damn thing, he was afraid he'd be silenced for good.

Song Qingluo didn't look at him. His long eyelashes lowered as he gazed at the arm-sized box in front of him. A small lock hung on the box. He first inspected the box with a serious expression, and after confirming there was no damage, he took out a key and inserted it into the lock.

Lin Banxia was naturally curious about what was inside the box, but Song Qingluo's expression made him nervous as well, and he stood by without daring to move.

Song Qingluo gave a light twist of his fingers, and the lock came off. He didn't rush to open the box. Instead, he unhurriedly took out a pair of black gloves from his pocket, put them on snugly, and only then did he open the box. As Song Qingluo lifted the lid, a peculiar scent wafted out.

It was a fragrance Lin Banxia had never smelled before. At first, it was like plants growing in snow and ice, refreshing one's spirit. But the scent quickly changed, the fresh aroma becoming thick and cloyingly sweet, even hiding a faint, almost imperceptible hint of blood. In Lin Banxia's mind, some deliberately forgotten memories suddenly surfaced. He once again saw that detestable cabinet, and the large hands constantly pounding on its doors. The small child, not even knee-high, didn't dare to cry out, just curled into a ball, wishing he could disappear from this world. But the terrifying pounding constantly frayed the child's nerves, as if telling him he would never escape this horrifying hell.

Lin Banxia snapped back to reality from his memories and saw Song Qingluo sitting opposite him, his hands clasped together. Those eyes, as dark as an abyss, were gazing at him.

"Was it a happy memory?" Song Qingluo asked softly.

"No," Lin Banxia said softly. He tried to force a smile, but the corners of his mouth wouldn't lift. Seeing this, Song Qingluo said gently, "If you don't want to smile, don't."

Lin Banxia pressed his lips together.

"Sorry," Song Qingluo said. "I thought it might bring back some happy memories for you." To his right, the box had been locked again, but the lock had changed color from its original white to the same black as the box. He slowly took off his gloves, opened the window to air out the room for a while, then closed the curtains again and called Li Su, who had been waiting outside.

"It's done," Song Qingluo said.

"You... opened it in front of him?" Li Su looked at Song Qingluo in astonishment.