Chapter 49: A Meal of Meat or Self-Reflection?
This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation
The youngest daughter of the ghostly mother was overjoyed, feeling a wave of happiness wash over her as she was recognized for the very first time. She clung to Wan Qiu’s arm, her face alight with glee and excitement.
Inside their home, an overpowering, almost suffocating odor hung in the air. Despite this, Wan Qiu found himself entranced by the little girl’s infectious smile, feeling a strange reluctance to leave this peculiar, yet somehow endearing, environment.
Around Wan Qiu, shadows began to gather ominously. Abruptly, the sound of footsteps echoed from outside, followed by the unmistakable noise of someone fiddling with the lock.
The young girl, previously radiating joy, suddenly tensed, her smile fading. She turned to her elder sister, worry creasing her brow, and said in a troubled voice, “Those bad people are back again.”
Alarmed, Wan Qiu hurried to the door and peered through the spyhole. He observed two figures in the corridor, clad in the unmistakable garb of the Investigation Bureau, moving stealthily and marking each door as they passed.
Wan Qiu noted a chilling difference in these investigators compared to Gao Ming. Their attire had eerie black symbols, and their faces were etched with a grim urgency as if they were on a life-or-death mission.
“These investigators…” Wan Qiu mused, sensing something amiss.
The little girl’s anger flared as she recalled, “They’ve been here before. The nosy man living across the hall… they killed him.”
Wan Qiu was puzzled, “Investigators hunting down residents? How can they combat ghosts?”
“They’ve consumed meat, not the kind our mom prepares,” the elder sister explained with a grave tone, gripping her sister’s hand tightly. “But meat from the Shrine Restaurant. Stay inside, be safe and don’t wander.”
As she uttered these words, a knock resounded on their door.
…
Meanwhile, Gao Ming had been patrolling the Sishui Apartment complex for some time, but it was eerily quiet. There were no shouts or cries for help. It seemed like any ordinary building.
“Yan Hua’s usually so impulsive; there should have been some disturbance by now. Could they be hiding from some danger?”
Gao Ming knew his colleagues well; they were a team that typically ignored the unique rules of the building, save for Zhu Miao Miao.
The hallway grew more silent. Aside from Gao Ming and his two companions, it seemed like no other residents were venturing out.
As they descended the stairs, they started noticing greasy marks, and by the time they reached the ground floor, a tantalizing aroma of meat filled the air.
Surprisingly, Gao Ming, who normally showed little interest in food, felt a sudden hunger.
No guide was needed; the alluring scent beckoned them onward.
Only the long-term inhabitants of Sishui Apartment knew about the secret level beneath the building.
Exiting the stairwell, they discovered no units on this underground level, only walls decorated with signs framed in red on white backgrounds.
“Is this an underground restaurant?” they wondered aloud, gazing at the signs whose paint was peeling off heavily, with edges cracked and weathered, reminiscent of inverted coffin lids dangling above each doorway.
As they ventured deeper, they discovered restaurants lining both sides of the hallway, undoubtedly the origin of the enticing meat scent.
The old, cluttered advertising signs hanging outside each restaurant instilled a sense of unease, almost as if they could be pulled into one of these eerie establishments.
Lured by the rich aroma of meat, Zhu Miao Miao reached out and inadvertently brushed against a restaurant door.
Behind this wooden barrier, there was movement. Suddenly, the door swung open to reveal an old man draped in black cloth.
The old man bumped into Zhu Miao Miao, causing the black cloth to fall off, revealing his disfigured body. He was missing his ears and right eye and had only one arm. Despite his horrific appearance and fresh wounds in place of his ears, his expression was one of relief, as if he had finally resolved a longstanding burden.
He quickly scooped up the black cloth, covered himself once more, and scurried upstairs.
“Please, come in and take a seat,” a male voice beckoned from inside the restaurant.
Gao Ming, carrying Zhao Xi and followed by Zhu Miao Miao, cautiously led the way into the establishment.
This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation
The restaurant, converted from a rental unit, was compact and empty, devoid of other customers or visible staff. It contained only basic wooden tables and plastic chairs. Being underground, it lacked windows, and the potent meat aroma hung heavily in the air.
“Don’t just stand there, come on in,” the man’s voice urged with a hint of impatience from the direction of the kitchen.
They hesitantly entered and settled at a table, examining a menu listing only dish names without any prices.
“Don’t look at me; this is my first time here too,” Gong Xi said, sliding the menu towards Gao Ming. “Maybe we should just order something?”
“Items without listed prices tend to be exorbitantly costly,” Gao Ming pondered. But before he could reach a decision, the door swung open abruptly, causing them all to jump.
They all turned towards the entrance in surprise, finding an investigator stumbling in. The person held a broken incense stick, his appearance disheveled, and his eyes mostly showing white, suggesting disorientation or delirium.
Without acknowledging the others, he snatched the menu and disappeared behind the thick kitchen curtain, leaving an unsettling silence over the room.
Minutes later, the investigator reappeared, cradling a piece of meat in his left hand – his right hand now missing.
Gaze fixated on the glistening and quivering meat, he took a seat, and without the use of chopsticks, he began devouring the flesh, seemingly enraptured by its flavor, the juices dripping down his hand.
As he chewed, his eyes lost all sense of reason, and his feasting became frenzied. He devoured not just the meat but also started biting into his own sauce-covered hand.
As the investigator gnawed and gnawed, blood began to mix with the juices, creating a gruesome sight. He looked down at his palm, now maimed and bleeding, his eyes vacant and haunted. Within them, black characters seemed to writhe and shift unsettlingly.
With a sense of disorientation, the investigator rose and staggered towards the door.
Zhu Miao Miao, visibly disturbed by the aroma of the meat in the restaurant, which seemed to stir deep, unspoken cravings within her, suggested, “Should we follow him to see where he’s going?” She felt an urgent need to escape the restaurant’s influence.
As they geared up to trail the investigator, the restaurant door inexplicably slammed shut on its own.
Though seemingly mundane, the door resisted all efforts to open it, defying Gong Xi’s persistent attempts.
“Are we trapped here until we eat?” Bewildered and overwhelmed by the meat’s scent, Zhu Miao Miao swung her fire axe at the door in desperation.
The dull thud that followed suggested the axe had struck something more akin to thick flesh than wood. Shockingly, the door remained intact, oozing blood from the axe’s impact.
Zhu Miao Miao raised her axe for another strike, but Gong Xi halted her, his voice urgent, “Look around! The walls… they’re moving in on us!” Indeed, the restaurant’s walls appeared to be slowly closing in, the space around them growing ever smaller.
The blood from the door added to the already potent meat aroma, making it almost unbearable.
“What would you like to eat?” came the unbothered voice from the kitchen, ignoring their attempts to escape and inviting them to order.
The overwhelming scent of meat was now affecting them all, especially Gao Ming, who felt a deep, almost primal hunger, both physical and psychological. It was as if invisible forces were tearing at their very souls, distorting their true selves.
Zhu Miao Miao’s eyes, now bloodshot, fixated on the plate from which the investigator had eaten. She shakily reached out, tempted to taste the remnants.
“Gao Ming!” In a swift motion, he shattered the plate and grasped Zhu Miao Miao’s hands, preventing her from succumbing to her urges.
“Why resist your own desires?” The voice from the kitchen was laced with enticement. “If you’re hungry, come and see for yourself in the back kitchen. You’ll come to love this place.”
“What kind of meat are you actually serving here?” Gong Xi, terrified yet unable to suppress his own craving for meat, questioned. He had never consumed meat from the building due to his grandmother’s teachings, but now found himself battling an overwhelming desire to indulge, even to the extent of self-consumption.
“Have you ever noticed how many residents in this building are missing body parts? Ever wondered where those parts end up?” The man in the kitchen chuckled darkly. “It’s all voluntary. They willingly trade their own flesh.”
“They’re consuming… parts of their own bodies?”
“No, they offer their flesh, but what they eat is the manifestation of their deepest desires,” the man corrected, his voice growing more sinister. “When all is permissible for trade, people dare to try anything in desperate times. That’s the essence of human nature.”