After leaving Chenghuang Temple, Yuhang walked on the nearly deserted streets.
Behind him stood his mother, watching him from afar, sighing ethereally, "Child, from the moment you activated your Sen Luo Eye, your fate was already sealed, and the road ahead will inevitably be full of hardship and danger. I have no other request; I just hope that you can keep your original intention, no matter how you may change in the future, you will always be Mom’s good son..."
The night grew colder.
Glancing at his watch, Yuhang realized it was already past ten o’clock, with not a single person in sight, only his shadow kept him company.
There were no buses at this hour, and after nine o’clock, taxis scarcely came this way, leaving Yuhang with no choice but to walk back to school.
Fortunately, it was only a fifteen-minute walk; singing a few songs would see him there.
"Ah~~ Wuhuan ah, you have one more ring than Sihuan..."
At this moment, Yuhang heard a sound reminiscent of tapping on bamboo tubes, sharp and clear, yet somehow strange to hear on these deserted streets.
The sound grew closer.
Yet this old street was only four or five meters wide, and Yuhang checked both in front and behind him, but still could not locate the source of the sound.
Yuhang turned his head again to look, only to see the dim streetlights and the lonely, empty street behind him.
Just as he turned back and took a step forward, suddenly, a vehicle emerged from the narrow alley beside him, barely wide enough for one person to pass through!
Yuhang then discovered that the source of the sound was right here.
This kind of street hawker’s cart was very common in Yuhang City’s old district, usually converted electric tricycles, selling mostly late-night snacks like wontons and dumplings.
The sound came from a bamboo tube tied to the side of the handlebar, which the vendor would strike several times after riding a short distance.
The vendor in front of him was an elderly granny, pedaling a converted old-fashioned bicycle, which made for slow progress.
She rode ahead of Yuhang, slowly moving forward, but the road in front was an uphill slope, difficult even for cyclists, let alone for someone pulling a stall behind them.
Without giving it much thought, Yuhang walked up and extended a hand to steady the stall, gently pushing it along.
The granny seemed much relieved and turned to look at him.
Yuhang smiled at her, and squinting her eyes, she smiled back.
Though the slope was steep, it wasn’t long, and soon they made it to the top.
Just then, three unruly young ruffians happened to pass by, crowding around the cart the moment they saw it.
"Hey, old lady, what are you selling?"
"Dumplings, wontons."
The granny’s voice was very hoarse, like a rusted saw blade grinding on wood.
"How much for a bowl?"
"Eight yuan for dumplings, six for wontons, if you want a ghost per bowl, it’s a total of ghost yuan."
"Haha, I didn’t expect you, an old lady close to death, to be so humorous," said a long-haired youth, laughing, "Just made a few hundred, so I’ll cover tonight’s meal; dumplings for everyone!"
Fearing that these youths might behave rudely, Yuhang stood by, pretending to be waiting for someone, and silently watched them.
The old lady got off the cart, hunched over, first pulled out a tray of dumplings from the clean drawer lined with an iron plate, counted forty-two dumplings, and then put them into the boiling hot water. She then covered the pot, took out three plastic bowls, and placed them into plastic bags; next, she took a thermos from the lower compartment and poured hot water into each.
She grabbed some tender green vegetables from the compartment and cooked them in the boiling water along with the dumplings for a short time.
"Old hag, are they ready yet? We’re starving to death!"
"Almost done, almost done."
The old lady’s voice grew more and more hoarse.
Soon, the dumplings were ready. The old lady skillfully divided the dumplings into the bowls, giving each one fourteen dumplings, and ladled the vegetables on top evenly.
"Hey, why don’t you add some MSG, salt, or something, how can we eat this without any seasoning?"
One of the young men stepped forward with a sour face.
"Hey, you don’t understand. I’ve been making dumplings for forty years, I guarantee they’re delicious! Eat up, then you boys can be on your way, hehehe..."
"Humph, if there’s no flavor, I’m not paying!"
The long-haired young man was the first to grab a bowl of dumplings, scooped up a dumpling with a disposable spoon, and started eating it with big bites.
At first, he had a look of disgust, but after chewing a few times, excitement appeared on his face, and he immediately praised, "Hey, these dumplings are really quite tasty!"
The other two young men heard this and quickly grabbed their bowls, and the three of them ate and loudly praised together.
"Not bad, not bad at all. It didn’t have much flavor at first, but as you keep eating, it gets more and more delicious!"
"Old lady, seems like you weren’t boasting after all. These forty years of dumpling-making weren’t for nothing."
All three declared that they would definitely bring more people to eat the next day.
After eating all fourteen dumplings, the three were satisfied and patted their stomachs. The long-haired young man was paying, and while smiling, he asked, "Hey, old hag, what do you use for the dumpling filling? It’s not only tasty but also very crunchy."
"Hehehe..." The old lady’s laughter sounded exceptionally grim in the night, "The dumpling filling, it’s made with your own finely chopped hearts. Of course, it’s delicious when you eat it."
"What the... uh! Ah! Waaaah!!!"
The long-haired young man was about to curse when he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest! Following that, the other two young men had blood oozing from their eyes, ears, mouth, and nose, and all three screamed and wailed in agony!
At the same time, to your horror, several pale skeleton arms suddenly emerged from under the feet of the three men, and those skeleton arms dragged the still-screaming young men down to Hell!
You subconsciously swallowed and involuntarily took two steps back.
You had been observing everything with your Sen Luo Eye, but you couldn’t find any clue because from beginning to end, you hadn’t detected any Yin Ghost Qi or higher-level Ghost Qi.
Forget it, it’s better not to meddle in others’ business anyway!
With that thought, you turned around and walked away!
"Young man, please wait a moment."
Oh no, oh no, you’ve been called out.
You stopped in your tracks, uncertain whether to leave or stay.
"Thank you for helping me push the cart just now, come, have a bowl of dumplings."
Saying this, the old lady hunched over, carrying a bowl of steaming hot dumplings toward you. Her face was covered with wrinkles, and with a sinister smile, she offered the dumplings.
To eat these dumplings, or not to eat?