Grocery Store No.514

Ring ring ring

The rapid bell sounded, and the store door was pushed open hardly. A man and a woman came in from the outside. The man’s face was pale, his Yintang was faintly black and his eyes stared at people with his scary appearance.

The woman’s face was also not good, but her eyes were much clearer. She said nervously, “Ah-jun, let’s go to the hospital, your face looks bad.”

The man’s head did not move, his eyes slowly looked at the woman. Sluggish and bizarre, he said slowly, “No hospital. I’m hungry, I want to eat.”

Since the man came in, the bell on the door of the store has been ringing, even when the door is closed and no one touches it, it still rings. The man turned around stiffly and looked at the bell, with a hideous look on his face, a sharp cry came out of his throat, “It’s so noisy!”

Seeing this, Sun Ming felt a little terrified. Even the woman beside the man showed a look of fear. She took two steps back, distanced herself from the man, and asked in fear,  “Ah-Jun, you… what’s wrong with you?”

Sun Ming pulled the woman’s sleeve, pointed to the shadow of the man on the ground, and said in horror, “You…look…”

The woman looked down and saw that there was a shadow behind that man’s own shadow. The woman screamed in fright, took two steps back again, and grabbed Sun Ming’s clothes tightly.

The bell was still ringing, and the grim expression on the man’s face became painful. He covered his head and shouted in pain, “Stop, stop!”

The voice sounded sometimes male and sometimes female, so terrifying.

Seeing this, Jiang Chengyan wanted to step forward and ask about the man’s condition, but Ling Hua’an grabbed his wrist and said in a strong tone, “stay!”

Jiang Chengyan paused, seeing the man’s face become more painful he frowned and said, “he doesn’t seem to be right. Hua’an, you let me go first. I’ll check him.”

When Sun Ming heard this, he quickly pointed to the shadow on the ground and said, “Don’t come here!”

Jiang Chengyan looked at the ground with a shocked look in his eyes, and he was stunned in place.

Ling Hua’an silently recited the incantation, he looked straight in the direction of the female ghost. As he recited the incantation faster and faster, the sound of the bell became more and more rapid. The female ghost stared at Ling Hua’an with her blood-red eyes open. Her arms full of maggots stretched out, and her sharp nails were about to pierce Ling Hua’an’s neck.

Seeing it Ling Hua’an took out a piece of paper talisman, bit his finger, and wiped his blood on it. The paper talisman suddenly moved without wind and went towards the man’s forehead like a sword.

“Ah!” A sharp scream followed and a puff of blue smoke rose from the female ghost’s forehead with a chill wind blowing up in the store. The things on the shelves were blown down one after another. The bell at the door suddenly flashed, with the female ghost injured by the paper talisman, instantly disappeared.

The chill wind also dissipated, and the store returned to calm.

Under the gaze of everyone, the man fell to the ground, motionless, not knowing he was alive or dead.

A struggling look appeared on the woman’s face, and then she hesitated to step forward. Ling Hua’ad then said, “Sun Ming, call the emergency number.”

Only then did Sun Ming recover from the shock, and hurriedly called the emergency number.

The woman plucked up the courage to push the man. Seeing that the man was back to normal, she became a little bolder. She carefully checked on his breath and whispered, “Ah-Jun, Ah-Jun… wake up, wake up…”

The man’s body suddenly moved, causing the woman to fall to the ground in fright. Sun Ming’s heart also raised to his throat. They looked at the man in horror and were too scared to move.

“Ugh~” The man let out a groan before slowly opening his eyes. Although the bottom of his eyes was dazed, it was a lot clearer than before.

The woman breathed a sigh of relief when she saw this, and hurriedly stepped forward to help the man. She sobbed, “Ah-jun, are you okay?”

“Ah-jing?” The man looked around blankly. He tore off the paper talisman on his forehead, then asked, “what’s wrong with me? Why am I here… What place is this?”

Seeing the man return to normal, the woman hugged the man and cried, “Ah-Jun, you just scared me to death…wū wū¹……”

Sun Ming passed the two of them and came to Ling Hua’an’s side. He said excitedly, ” Laoban, Laoban… are you the ghost hunter like in the movie? Which sect do you belong to, and do you still take disciples?”

“No, I’m just a small boss of a grocery store.”

“How is that possible? I saw it just now. There was a woman close behind the man’s shadow, he also spoke in the woman’s voice. He must be possessed. There was also a paper talisman attached to his forehead, was it a spell to hunt ghosts written on it?” 

Sung Min paused, “Laoban, do you know? My favorite is the ghost movie played by Master Lin. I wanted to be a master ghost hunter since I was a child, but people around me said that there is no such thing as a ghost in this world. When they heard my wish, they considered me a fool. But today I have opened my eyes. So can you accept me as your apprentice?” 

Jiang Chengyan who had a super righteous view finally came back to his senses and looked at Ling Hua’an with a complicated expression. What happened today made his worldview crack, but he stubbornly glued it together.

“What kind of ghost? There are no ghosts in this world. All the plots in the movie are fictional. He is sick, not possessed. The shadow just now is just a matter of light. Sun Ming, don’t talk nonsense.”

Sun Ming retorted, “Impossible! If the shadow was a matter of light, what about the chill wind that just blew? Also, the things on this shelf fell to the ground?”

“There may have been a small-scale earthquake just now, and these things fell down because of the shaking of the ground.”

The sense of wind just now was so obvious. Jiang Chengyan didn’t believe himself when he said that. But his worldview established in the previous 30 years could not be overthrown so easily.

“But…”

Ling Hua’an interrupted Sun Ming’s words and said, “Sun Ming, something fell on the ground, so why don’t you hurry to clean it up.”

Sun Ming looked at Jiang Chengyan, then at Ling Hua’an, before replying, “Oh, I’ll clean it up now.”

Sun Ming went to clean up, while Jiang Chengyan stood there in embarrassment. He glanced at Ling Hua’an,  before lifting his feet towards the man and woman. He helped the man up together with the woman.

The woman supported the man, turned to look at Ling Hua’an, and said gratefully, “Thank you Laoban!”

Ling Hua’an didn’t speak, just nodded with a smile.

At this moment, the siren of the ambulance sounded.  Jiang Chengyan helped to send the man to the ambulance and watched until the car drove away. Then he turned and looked at the glass window. After hesitating for a moment, he opened the door of the store and said, “Hua’an, the team called me just now and said they were looking for me. So I’ll go back first.”

Wang Lei whispered, “Lie, he didn’t answer any phone calls at all just now.”

Disappointment flashed across Ling Hua’an’s eyes, and he just faintly responded without speaking.

Jiang Chengyan was keenly aware of Ling Hua’an’s emotions, he struggled for a moment but choose to left. He is very confused now, and he doesn’t know how to face Ling Hua’an. It’s better to stay calm first.

Wang Lei snapped, “He just left? If Laoban hadn’t rescued them, all those people wouldn’t have survived. What a fool!”

“He is a police officer, encountering this kind of psychic thing is difficult to accept. It’s understandable.” Although he said that, Ling Hua’an was a little disappointed.

Wang Lei was hesitant to ask, “Laoban, do you really like Captain Jiang?”

Ling Hua’an nodded, “I like him. But I don’t think much about being in a relationship. It will be good if two people can be together, but if it can’t… I won’t force it.”

Wang Lei pouted and said, “Laoban I always feel that Captain Jiang is not as good as Yan Yu. Why do you fall in love with such a fool?”

Ling Hua’an said with a bitter smile, “It’s hard to explain a feeling, I didn’t expect it either. But Wang Lei, it’s not been a long time, your guts seem to be much bigger than before.”

Wang Lei was stunned for a moment, then smiled embarrassingly and said, “I’ve stayed with Laoban for a long time, and I have also practiced my courage.”

While cleaning up the mess, Sun Ming paid attention to Ling Hua’an’s movements. Although Ling Hua’an’s voice was deliberately lowered, Sun Ming could still hear his words. He secretly looked at Ling Hua’an, and sure enough, he seemed to be chatting with someone, but there was no one in the store except him unless it was a ghost. Sun Ming secretly took out his mobile phone and took a few pictures of Ling Hua’an.

Wang Lei looked at Sun Ming, “Laoban, that Sun Ming is taking pictures secretly.”

Ling Hua’an didn’t speak, he put on his earphones and listened to the music.

Sun Ming clicked on the photo he had just taken and looked at it carefully. Except for Ling Hua’an, he didn’t see anyone, not even a shadow. He frowned and muttered in a low voice, “No, it shouldn’t be like this. Didn’t the movie say that the camera can capture ghosts?”

Sun Ming reluctantly started taking pictures in all corners of the grocery store. His eyes were almost out of his socket when he looked at all the photos. He was stunned because he didn’t find a ghost. Wang Lei followed him around. Wherever he went, Wang Lei also went, but Sun Ming could not see him with his naked eyes. Seeing that the time had reached ten o’clock, Sun Ming still had no intention of getting off work.

Wang Lei said with amusement, “Laoban, it’s already ten o’clock, and this person hasn’t planned to get off work yet. He is too energetic to take pictures.”

Ling Hua’an smiled helplessly and said, “Sun Ming, it’s ten o’clock, you can go back.”

“Laoban, there is no class tomorrow. I can accompany you for a while.”

Ling Hua’an shook his head, put on his earphones again, and did not intend to pay any attention to Sun Ming.

Another hour passed, and Sun Ming still found nothing. He reluctantly took off his apron and said, “Laoban, then I’ll go first.”

Ling Hua’an pointed to the thermos bucket on the table and said, “You can take this braised pork rice with you. I haven’t opened it yet. It should still be warm. Take it for supper.”

The disappointment in Sun Ming’s heart dissipated in an instant,  he carried the thermos bucket and said, “Since I ate the food made by Laoban last time, I always felt a little less delicious when I ate other foods. Today I have been blessed.”

Ling Hua’an smiled, “Go back, be careful on the road.”

Sun Ming moved his eyes, before opening his mouth with a flattering smile, “Laoban, you see I walk at night every day, and it is easy to attract dirty things. Can you also give me a life-saving talisman? I can buy it with money. You can deduct my salary this month.”

Ling Hua’an was amused for a while. He thought for a while before pulling out a paper talisman from his pocket, “This talisman, I can give it to you. But you can’t spread it everywhere. Can promise me?”

When Sun Ming saw it, he hurriedly responded, “Yes, definitely! I understand that it can’t cause social panic. Laoban, don’t worry, I will keep this matter tight-lipped!”

Ling Hua’an said seriously, “Since you promised. You must keep it, otherwise, there will be karma.”

Sun Ming saw the situation also seriously and said solemnly, “Laoban, do not worry. I always keep my word!”

Ling Hua’an handed the paper talisman to Sun Ming, “keep this talisman close to your body. Ordinary ghosts won’t dare to approach your body, but it’s not omnipotent, so don’t do bad things.”

“Thank you Laoban, I will remember it!”

~~~

🔔Cafe’s Memo 📝:

Captain Jiang ◕︵◕

The next update will be on Monday, 18 July. I’m kinda busy this week, so see you on Monday ヽ(◕‿◕)ノ

1. The crying sound ↺