Carefree Path of Dreams

As the silver moonlight fell, darkness covered the sky.

“I must be crazy!”

A black figure appeared at the corner of the street, with a cap covering half his face. It was Simon!

He had no idea why, but because he was curious, after walking into that store and seeing that Voodoo Rituals, he seemed to have a recurring voice in his heart.

“Hiss… Obtain it! I must obtain it!”

Even so, the cost of one gold punk was clearly too much for him.

Nevertheless, Simon decided to do things his own way, a way that should not be done during the day.

During his rebellious youth, he had done many things that made adults detest him—heavy drinking, depraved parties, fighting… In fact, he had even learned some quick money-making skills from an old swindler.

“I noticed the store’s lock is very easy to pry open… I can probably take some other items with me too…”

While walking on the empty streets, Simon felt his reason gradually return. “But… why do I believe there are occult powers in this world? Still, being able to buy the store from Old Man Javier means that the store owner must be pretty rich!”

Even he did not realize that while his rational self had always refused to believe in the existence of extraordinary powers, many other unknown factors were still pushing him closer to the store.

Crunch! Crunch!

After walking past the street corner, Simon suddenly heard the sound of what appeared to be chewing.

“It’s already so late at night, so who’s out here eating and making such loud noises?”

With a trace of curiosity, he walked forward slowly and entered a dark alley.

The end of this alley was a wall and even a few stinky garbage cans by the side.

At this time, however, two black figures were lying on the ground and seemed to be devouring something.

Bloop!

Simon suddenly felt his limbs turn cold as he swallowed his saliva and backed away slowly.

It seemed like his actions were still too loud as the two black figures turned around, showing blood-shot eyes.

With the help of the moonlight, he could even see a corpse lying on the ground, with a ripped-opened stomach. The corpse had wide-opened eyes, and all kinds of internal organs were spilling out with fresh blood.

“Ahh!!!” Simon screamed and started running away fearfully.

In the dark night, this scene reminded him of the legendary ghouls.

Ca Ca!

Ca Ca!

Behind him, the footsteps were getting closer and closer, bringing a burst of strong wind.

Simon only felt a surging force hit him before he fell onto the ground shortly after.

He hurriedly rolled forward and turned around to see the two ghouls approaching.

They were wearing black trench coats and had dried-up skin, appearing to have lost their vitality, and their hands had sharp claws. With blood-shot eyes full of desire, they stared at Simon.

“Ghouls! Ghouls are real!!!”

Simon was sweating profusely in disbelief.

The sharp claws and rotten mouths dripping with drool were constantly getting closer.

“No! No! I don’t want to die!”

He felt wetness between his legs as his hands supported his body to crawl backward. A deathly premonition flooded his heart.

Seconds later, just as the ghouls extended their sharp claws and were about to touch his face, Simon suddenly thought of something and immediately recited out loud:

“When lightning surges and thunder erupts,

grant me peace and protect my valor.

When lightning erupts and thunder surges,

light from the evening prayer set my mind at rest.

Go away, evil spirit, leave along with thou…”

His eyes lost focus as he subconsciously recited it in his head as well.

When the two ghouls heard this sound, they suddenly stopped moving forward and instead moved backward while making threatening gestures, full of unwillingness.

“The protective talisman from Voodoo Rituals actually works?”

Simon was slightly dazed, but when he saw that the ghouls were about to move forward again, he continued shouting with a trembling voice, “Go away, evil spirit, leave along with thou!”

Under the incantation, the two ghouls slowly retreated into the darkness and disappeared without a trace.

“Hu…” Simon let out a deep breath, feeling that his legs had gone so soft that he could no longer stand.

Swish! Swish!

Suddenly, an ear-piercing whistle rang out from not too far away.

If it were a minute ago, Simon would have been more than happy to look for those inspectors for help.

But now, he was hesitant.

After all, there were records of the crimes that he had committed before. Furthermore, he was out here planning to do something bad tonight.

If caught, he certainly had no explanation for this, especially with the corpse.

At the thought of the corpse, Simon quickly stood up and fled the scene.

Otherwise, how would he explain himself to the inspectors? Would he really tell them that ghouls had attacked him? He certainly did not want to be sent for psychological evaluation.

“That Voodoo Rituals book… I must obtain it!”

At the thought of the ghouls and the magical incantation, Simon’s eyes lit up, feeling like a huge door had just opened in front of him.

…

In the early morning, Fang Yuan opened his store and stretched lazily. “Good morning, Mr. Fred!”

“Good morning, Mr. Andy!” The fat man opposite him was clearly slightly regretful. “What good weather… Hey, isn’t it normally your maid who opens the door?”

“You mean Morigu?” Fang Yuan smiled. “She was busy throughout the night, so I got her to make coffee.”

“Throughout… the night?” Fred’s eyes widened as he suddenly felt an immense hit to his confidence. “I really admire you, Mr. Andy. What’s your secret?”

“Secret? Very simple…” Fang Yuan stopped talking when he turned his head and saw a lady returning with a breadbasket.

“Lucy, good morning!” Fred and Fang Yuan exchanged glances and ended their conversation sensibly. “You’ve finished purchasing bread so quickly?”

“En…” The female neighbor, Lucy, looked slightly distracted. “Gentlemen, have you heard? Just two streets away from us, there was a homicide, and the entire scene has been sealed up.”

“Robbery? Or murder?” Fred was evidently interested.

“Neither… I’ve heard the scene is… very horrifying!” Lucy looked terrified as she ran home.

Fang Yuan shrugged, returned to the store, and picked up a newspaper.

Half an hour later, the first customer entered the store and angrily slammed a small bottle on the counter. “I want a refund!”

“It’s you, Nietzsche!” Fang Yuan yawned casually. “Once sold, no refunds!”

“You’ve clearly said that this was Spirit Awakening Water, but after using it last night, I didn’t see or feel anything!” Nietzsche argued.

“Young man, this is authentic Spirit Awakening Water. Didn’t you hear me say that there’s only a ‘certain probability’ of it working?!” Fang Yuan shrugged.

“You…” Nietzsche was speechless, his eyes revealing indignation at how unscrupulous Fang Yuan was.

“Sorry to disturb you!” A female inspector in black uniform and carrying a gun walked into the store and presented her ID. “I am Probationary Inspector Vivienne, and I have something to ask the owner!”

“That’s me! How may I help you, beautiful lady?” Fang Yuan smiled and stepped forward.

This female inspector had well-proportioned muscles like a cheetah and a healthy and beautiful stature. The serious expression on her face made Nietzsche suddenly not dare to speak, but he glanced at her sneakily.

“It’s about the homicide that happened last night. I need to carry out some routine inquiries. Do you know Mr. Capone?”

“Capone? No, I don’t know him!” Fang Yuan shook his head.

“A witness said that he was in this store yesterday afternoon!” The female inspector looked suspicious. “He was wearing a blue checkered shirt and black leather shoes…”

“Oh, him!” Fang Yuan suddenly realized. “He was an unfamiliar customer, and it was his first visit. Ma’am, you should know it’s impossible for me to remember the name of every single customer. But he was indeed generous and wealthy, and he bought my ‘Ghoul Claw Talisman’. I have to admit that he has fantastic judgment because that was a rare treasure of my store…”

After hearing this, Nietzsche rolled his eyes.

“Talisman?” The female inspector narrowed her eyes slightly.

“Yes. Made of pure silver and inlaid with a fragment of a ghoul’s claw… priced at five silver sol!” Fang Yuan explained honestly. “What happened to him?”

“Attacked and confirmed dead…” Inspector Vivienne replied expressionlessly. “We didn’t find any talisman on his body…”

Smack!

Fang Yuan punched his fist against his palm. “I know! It must be robbery and murder! The thief must have great judgment to know the value of this talisman…”

Even Vivienne rolled her eyes a little. “Mr. Andy! Please do not make unnecessary conjectures! Did Capone say or do anything unusual when he came here yesterday?”

After a series of questions, she put away her notebook. “Thank you for your cooperation. Before the case comes to a close, I have the authority to subpoena you at any point in time!”

After the female inspector left, Simon walked in with an extremely pale face and poured coins onto the counter. “One gold punk! Quickly give me that Voodoo Rituals!”

Morigu collected the money, not looking pleased at all.

She had waited all night for the thief, but nobody came.

“Okay, it’s yours now!” Fang Yuan did not care about how Simon had collected the money and handed the red book over.

This large transaction caused Nietzsche’s eyes to open wide.

At this moment, Simon hesitated for a while before asking with a trembling voice, “Mister… do you believe that this world has… ghosts and monsters?”

“Of course!” Fang Yuan replied with hesitation. “Otherwise, where do you think all these mysterious items in my store came from?”

“Then, is there anything wandering around here? For example… ghouls?!” Simon stared at Fang Yuan’s eyes.

“Ghouls? I don’t know…” Fang Yuan shrugged. “But if you’re troubled by ghouls, I recommend you purchase a Ghoul Talisman! It’s only five silver sols!! However, a talisman like this is only for those with a firm heart and mind. Otherwise, it can easily attract the hostility of ghouls…”