Chapter 20: Uncle Ye, You Must Brace Yourself Mentally
At Ye’s Noodle Shop.
After closing the door, Old Ye quickly raised his hand and sniffed. Still no scent. But he knew the stench must be strong.
He hurried to the back room, grabbed some cologne, poured a handful into his palm, and rubbed it onto his face, neck, and arms.
As he rubbed, his hand suddenly froze.
He looked suspiciously at his forearm, which had been withered and dry, only to see fine, slender hairs sprouting from it.
In disbelief, he plucked one out and examined it closely. Soon, he frantically scratched at the hairs as if trying to remove them all.
At that moment, someone knocked on the door.
Outside came the voice of Lin Jingyu.
“Uncle Ye, why did you close the door? Please open it.”
It was A-Yu.
Old Ye quickly composed himself and forced a stiff smile.
Silently he muttered, “Don’t lose your temper, don’t lose your temper, can’t lose your temper, don’t scare A-Yu.”
When he opened the door and saw Su Chen, Old Ye was taken aback.
“A-Yu, what are you—”
Su Chen instinctively twitched his nose; the corpse aura was even stronger.
He then carefully studied Old Ye’s face.
Age spots and wrinkles spread everywhere, and his complexion looked normal.
But his face seemed to be covered in a layer of fine fuzz.
Su Chen’s heart skipped a beat.
Lin Jingyu was quick-witted and found an excuse. “Uncle Ye, my friend is really good at fortune-telling. You’ve been waiting for Brother Awang to come back, right? Instead of waiting blindly, why not have him calculate an exact date? That way, Uncle Ye, you have something to look forward to.”
Ah Biao caught on and quickly praised Su Chen, mentioning how he accurately predicted Sun Feiyan’s accident yesterday and Kong Aiqin’s encounter with her husband and his mistress at the hospital today.
Old Ye’s eyes lit up. He invited them inside and poured three bowls of hot water.
Su Chen glanced at Old Ye’s hands holding the bowl.
They too were covered in fuzz.
Able to boil water, unafraid of fire or water, moving nimbly, and growing fuzz on both face and hands—this was a fur zombie.
But most zombies were vicious and cruel; how was it that the zombies in this world were so unusual?
Lowering his gaze to conceal his expression, Su Chen took a sip of the hot water before saying, “Brother Biao, please close the shop door.”
Ah Biao was startled but quickly got up and shut the door.
Although puzzled, Old Ye soon understood.
This young man probably didn’t want outsiders to hear his son Awang’s birth chart—what a considerate youngster.
He pulled a chair over and sat down, then spoke.
“Young man, my Awang was born on September 13, 1952, at 3 p.m. Help me calculate when he’ll come home.”
The strong cologne scent made Lin Jingyu and Ah Biao instinctively pinch their noses. Lin Jingyu gave a dry laugh at Su Chen, shrinking back slightly.
The fortune-telling was just an excuse; he hadn’t expected Uncle Ye to actually want to do it and not oppose it.
Su Chen remained calm and began calculating with his fingers.
Old Ye’s eyes fixed tightly on Su Chen, as if staring a hole through him.
Ah Biao sensed something was wrong and started chatting to distract.
“Uncle Ye, why have so many people said your braised noodles have been too salty lately? Are you still ill and not recovered?”
Lin Jingyu quickly chimed in, “Yeah, Uncle Ye, you should rest more if you’re not well. Don’t overwork yourself; when Brother Awang comes back with his wife and kids, you’ll need to take care of your grandkids.”
Old Ye smiled brightly.
“Yes, yes, I must get better. I’m waiting for Awang to come back, waiting to hold my grandchild.”
But the moment he finished speaking, his expression darkened. Without close inspection, a shadow seemed to fall over him.
Lin Jingyu murmured to himself: Uncle Ye is acting strangely.
He exchanged a glance with Ah Biao, and the two grew alert.
If they felt this way, Su Chen was even more wary.
With his barely initiated cultivation, he could barely handle a freshly turned purple zombie, let alone the higher-level white, black, green, and now fur zombies.
Confronting a fur zombie now was like beating his head against a stone.
Yet, the zombies in this world seemed different from those he knew. At least this one retained some reason; as long as it wasn’t provoked, perhaps it could be reasoned with.
Although the chance of success was slim.
Su Chen nudged Lin Jingyu with his foot, signaling him and Ah Biao to find an excuse to leave.
But Lin Jingyu, being kicked, glared at Ah Biao instead.
“It wasn’t me, Brother Biao. Why’d you kick me like that?”
Ah Biao frowned. “Nonsense, my leg didn’t move.”
“Not you? Then was it a ghost kick?”
...
Seeing the two about to quarrel, Su Chen felt a headache coming.
What useless teammates!
He took a deep breath. “Alright, stop arguing.”
Then he looked at Old Ye. “Uncle Ye, I’ve finished the calculation.”
Hearing this, Lin Jingyu and Ah Biao immediately fell silent, eyes burning as they stared at him.
“Uncle Ye, your son was weak since childhood. When he was three, he faced a great calamity but survived by a hair. Life remained hard, and he was often beaten and scolded.”
At the mention, Old Ye’s heart ached deeply.
Yet, he blinked without redness or tears.
After a long pause, he sighed and nodded. “It’s my fault. It’s all my fault!”
“Awang was born prematurely, as small as a kitten. But, but he was a boy, so I felt relieved and joined the army. Who knew that back home, they bullied mother and son? Even though, even though when I came home, they treated me well.”
Old Ye’s voice was stiff and hoarse, laden with bitterness and helplessness that Lin Jingyu and Ah Biao could sense.
But they knew nothing more.
“When Awang was three, his mother drowned protecting him and lost her life. Awang also fell into the water and had a high fever for a week. They didn’t care. A distant relative’s wife sent me a message. I rushed home from the army and hurriedly took him to the hospital, barely saving his life.”
Old Ye exhaled deeply.
Lin Jingyu suddenly widened his eyes, then silently turned away, pinching his nose.
The stench was unbearable!
This smell wasn’t that of a dead rat—it was clearly...
Suddenly, Lin Jingyu remembered.
Last summer, someone died in a shack on the outskirts of Cuicheng and wasn’t found for a month. He went to watch the commotion and, through connections at the police station, got a close look. As soon as he entered the shack, his nose was flooded with the stench.
It was this exact stench!
So it really was corpse aura.
But how could it come from a living person?
Horror flashed in Lin Jingyu’s eyes. After steadying himself, he continued listening to Old Ye.
“Later, I was discharged and came to work in Cuicheng with Awang, at a nearby textile factory. Someone introduced me to a match, and Awang got that wicked stepmother who always beat or scolded him. I spoke up a few times and got beaten and scolded myself. I... I was wrong. I thought what I learned in the army was for fighting enemies, not women, so...”
Ah Biao sighed. “Uncle Ye, Brother Awang was bullied so badly he’s timid even when playing with us now.”
Lin Jingyu recalled past events and nodded. “Yeah, thanks to Brother Biao for protecting him, or Awang would have been bullied outside even more.”
“Yes. So when Awang said he wanted to go to Nanyang, I opposed it. But he said he didn’t want to stay in this family anymore, didn’t want to see that woman...” Old Ye’s voice cracked as he fought back tears but couldn’t shed any.
Not wanting to seem strange in front of them, he looked back at Su Chen. “Young man, you must be accurate. Since coming to Cuicheng, I haven’t told anyone about these things. Awang didn’t know much then, probably still doesn’t.”
“Young man, I’ve lived this long and know you say this to make me believe you. I believe you. Old man believes you,” he said urgently, asking, “Please tell me, when will my Awang come home?”
In his heart, he prayed: please be soon, or I might not live to see it.
Su Chen took a deep breath.
“Uncle Ye, you must prepare yourself.”
Old Ye’s expression changed instantly.
The fine fuzz covering his face and hands began to grow rapidly.