Chapter 92: Character Setting

Chen Ling pondered for a moment, then followed.

As the enforcer responsible for Frost Street, Chen Ling needed to keep track of the population. Even natural deaths required documentation, let alone the possibility of a serious crime.

Besides, he also wanted to know who on Frost Street had died to warrant such a large commotion.

Under the dim sky, Chen Ling trailed behind the group, following them to a wilderness area on the back mountain. Along the way, people whispered things like "better to send him far away" and "don't come back," which left Chen Ling increasingly confused.

Under Boss Xu's direction, several physically strong residents began shoveling dirt. Soon, they cleared a space large enough for a coffin, and they slowly lowered the coffin into it.

"Alright, cover it with soil, then burn some spirit money... and it's done."

Boss Xu threw the bag containing two hearts in with it, and the others immediately began burying it.

As the large red coffin disappeared beneath the soil, everyone felt a slight sense of relief. Their whispers grew louder.

"Now, it should be completely over..."

"They say this place has good feng shui; I hope he rests in peace."

"After we go back, we should get a tombstone for him on the next street. Just a dirt mound looks creepy... I keep feeling like he could come out again."

"No way, he couldn't actually turn into a ghost, could he?"

Boss Li and the others also squatted down. He produced a basin from somewhere, lit some spirit money, and threw it in. A cold wind swept across the wilderness, scattering another bag of spirit money from his hand all around.

In the dim light, a figure voluntarily stepped forward, bending down to pick up the scattered papers one by one for him.

"Thank you," Boss Li said, unable to make out his face.

"You're welcome."

Boss Li was startled, suddenly finding the voice familiar.

The person, holding the spirit money, walked to the freshly lit brazier and fed the papers into it one by one. As the flames grew stronger, the person's face gradually emerged from the shadows.

"By the way, Boss Li, who are you burying?" The firelight illuminated part of Chen Ling's face as he slowly looked up.

Boss Li instantly froze.

He blinked hard, as if he had seen a ghost!

"Old Li, you're burning that spirit money too slowly. We're already done here," Boss Xu said, approaching Chen Ling, who was still squatting with his back to him.

"Finish up quickly; everyone needs to go back and rest."

"You... you you... he... he!!" Boss Li's face turned ashen. He pointed a finger at Chen Ling, unable to articulate a complete sentence for a long time.

"Who's 'he'?"

Boss Xu looked down in confusion just as Chen Ling looked up at him, the firelight illuminating half of his face from below, making him appear pale and eerie.

"Boss Xu," Chen Ling suddenly remembered something, "where are the peaches I wanted?"

Audience Expectation Value 3Audience Expectation Value 3Audience Expectation Value...

Boss Xu's eyes widened abruptly. He stared intently at Chen Ling's face for a long moment, then his eyes rolled back, and he fainted on the spot.

"Boss Xu?"

"Hey, what happened to Boss Xu?"

Seeing this, the others immediately gathered around, unsure of what had happened. Just then, a figure stepped forward and helped him up.

"What's wrong with him?" Chen Ling frowned slightly.

The midnight wind swept across the wilderness, lifting the spirit money in front of Boss Li and scattering it around Chen Ling...

The next moment, everyone's breathing hitched... They stood rooted to the spot like statues. After a few seconds, they turned in terror and sprinted down the mountain!

Watching everyone flee from him as if they had seen a ghost, Chen Ling's eyes were filled with confusion.

"A-Ling?" a voice came from nearby.

"Uncle Zhao." Chen Ling looked at Uncle Zhao, the only one who hadn't run, and couldn't help but ask, "What's going on?"

Uncle Zhao looked at him with a complicated expression. After a long silence, he let out a sigh...

Half an hour later.

Under the cover of night, the door to Zhao's Breakfast Shop was pushed open.

Uncle Zhao lit the kerosene lamp, heated a bowl of soy milk from the back kitchen, and handed it to Chen Ling on the table.

"'A demon that eats human hearts'?" Chen Ling's face showed a hint of astonishment after hearing Uncle Zhao's description. "I don't..."

"They all said they saw it. That day on the street, you took hearts out of a bag and handed them to each of them... They were all terrified," Uncle Zhao said, looking at him with a complicated expression.

"A-Ling... I've actually heard about your parents and Ah Yan too. I understand how you must feel right now... But you mustn't go down any evil paths."

The scene of himself being surrounded by the bosses on the street that day immediately flashed through Chen Ling's mind. But what he had handed out were clearly peaches...

Wait.

Chen Ling suddenly remembered the moments when the "Audience Expectation Value" increased every time he handed out a peach, and his expression turned grim.

He seemed to understand what was going on...

No wonder that person had fallen at his doorstep that day and then given him three kowtows with a backhand motion; it turned out they had taken him for a psychopathic killer.

"After you handed out the peaches, you went to the Ancient Repository of Military Arts... During this time, rumors about you have become increasingly bizarre. Some say you're a reincarnated demon, others that you have psychological issues. Even outside of Frost Street, people have heard about you."

"...It's all a misunderstanding." Chen Ling struggled for a long time before he could utter that sentence.

"I also think it's probably a misunderstanding."

Uncle Zhao got him a few more tea eggs and rambled on, "But you need to be careful; these rumors will affect your image... If this continues, no one will dare to come near you."

Chen Ling had been traveling hard and hadn't had many full meals. He now peeled several tea eggs and popped them into his mouth, gulping down the soy milk on the table.

"I'll find a time... and explain it to them."

Chen Ling replied helplessly after finishing his meal.

Things had escalated to this point, which was not what he wanted at all... But the mischievous people in the audience were simply too perverse. He had no idea how much his image had been distorted without his awareness.

As the two spoke, a weary figure walked across the street and pushed open the door.

"Chen Ling?"

Zhao Yi was startled to see Chen Ling in his home, then spoke irritably, "Why are you here eating at my house in the middle of the night?"

Zhao Yi was, after all, a rough person. Even now that Chen Ling was an enforcer, he showed no humility. He remained as overbearing as he was in childhood and found Chen Ling displeasing no matter what.

Most importantly, when his father had previously misunderstood that he liked men, Zhao Yi had thought about it for a long time and still felt something was off. He suspected that Chen Ling might have been secretly causing trouble... but unfortunately, he had no evidence.

Seeing Chen Ling now, he naturally didn't put on a good face.