With Qin Ze's warning, Cheng Erhu's eyes became much more obedient. When Duan Chen asked him questions, he would just answer with his head lowered. This man was very shrewd, not a simpleton like Liu Gang. He knew why the turnover rate for security guards at Jinlin Residential Area was so high, so he never felt curious when he saw those things at night, nor did he dare to follow and watch.
"Why did you come here to be a security guard, working the night shift? It's so dangerous, why not work the day shift?"
Cheng Erhu lowered his head, peeling chestnuts, and curled his lips in helplessness.
"My elderly mother is sick. I'm not highly educated, and this is the highest-paying job I could find. Plus, it's relatively idle, and doesn't require much effort."
This was the pressure of life.
Duan Chen nodded and took a few chestnuts from the table. Seeing Cheng Erhu's eager gaze, he smiled and said, "Don't worry, I won't let you take them for free. I'll give you money."
As he spoke, he transferred money to Cheng Erhu. The other man's expression improved slightly, and he became a bit bolder, no longer keeping his head down the entire time.
"Do you have a girlfriend?"
"I had a wife before, but she left, taking our son with her."
Upon mentioning this, Cheng Erhu seemed to have opened a floodgate. He chattered on with Duan Chen and Qin Ze, sometimes saying that agents like them must earn a lot, and sometimes saying that a rich young master like you surely wouldn't have to worry about food and clothing. In short, he said whatever came to his mind without any reservations, proving to be quite honest.
Soon, it was eight o'clock in the evening.
"Officer, are you going to eat? Those guys won't show up until past midnight. Won't you starve waiting that long?"
Saying this, he dragged a dusty box of instant noodles from the corner. They were braised beef flavored. He boiled water and prepared several cups.
"Don't mind the conditions, our security booth is just like this," he said with a simple, honest smile.
"We don't mind. We'll pay."
Duan Chen smiled. He didn't have much of a bad impression of Cheng Erhu and Liu Gang. They were just two young men working here to make a living. Earlier, when he threatened to send Cheng Erhu to prison, it was just to scare him, to prevent Yan Qiuren and the others from being harassed by his gaze again.
"You've met Liu Gang, right? I say that kid's quite lucky. His girlfriend is so well-behaved, and her face is so beautiful. She doesn't care about Liu Gang's family situation at all, and followed him wholeheartedly. Why aren't I that lucky to meet such a girlfriend?"
Cheng Erhu sighed.
Duan Chen and the others listened as if hearing a story, to pass the time, and dismissed it with a smile, not taking it to heart.
Soon, it was midnight.
Gongs and drums sounded in the distance, and people hummed indistinct songs.
"They're here!"
The few of them immediately perked up and crowded around the small window of the security booth.
Cheng Erhu didn't have the courage; he simply shrank into the corner as usual.
In Duan Chen's eyes, a long procession appeared.
At the head of the procession were several burly men playing suona. They had blank expressions, only blowing their instruments incessantly. Directly behind them was a sedan chair being carried, just as Liu Gang had described, it looked exactly like a scene from an ancient wedding procession. Behind the sedan chair was a long line of people, continuously singing songs.
"We're going after them!"
"Hey! At least leave someone to give me some sense of security!"
Cheng Erhu grabbed Duan Chen's sleeve.
"Qin Ze stays!"
"Yes!"
Qin Ze was slightly displeased. He had finally gone on a mission with Duan Chen, only to be made to watch Cheng Erhu here?
Cheng Erhu actually wanted to refuse. He felt Qin Ze's gaze as if he wanted to eat him, which was even more terrifying than the people outside...
Never mind, someone is better than no one.
Duan Chen walked out of the security booth and nearly bumped into the sedan chair. He waited there for a moment and, along with Yan Qiuren and the others, joined the end of the procession.
"Master, you should be careful. I have a bad feeling."
"Is that your ability telling you?"
Duan Chen frowned.
Yan Qiuren gave an awkward smile. "It's not really a bad feeling, just very strange. I can't quite explain it, but I feel this procession isn't just ordinarily weird."
"Okay."
Duan Chen became vigilant, nodding to Jia Yunlian to look after Mi Xueer.
"Understood."
Although she had inherited the sword techniques of the Unswerving Sword Saint, she was still too young and hadn't experienced many missions. If she panicked, her strength might drop significantly.
Of the four of them, only Yan Qiuren had no self-preservation ability. Duan Chen moved closer to her and reminded her, "Be careful."
Unexpectedly, the woman blushed shyly.
"Master~ Isn't this inappropriate?"
Duan Chen opened his mouth.
"What are you thinking?"
"Hey!" Mi Xueer's fierce voice came from behind.
Soon, the group followed the procession to the central square of Ande Residential Area. Several long tables had already been set up there. Duan Chen and the three women found seats near the front of the square, as everyone else was sitting haphazardly without any order.
The sedan chair landed on the open ground in front of the square. An old man, dressed in an ancient long gown, walked up to the sedan chair.
"This isn't quite what Liu Gang described. Where's the food?"
Jia Yunlian frowned slightly.
"It's here!"
Strangely, what was served on the table wasn't the "human heads" Liu Gang mentioned, but just ordinary dishes.
Duan Chen activated his True Sight and found that it was indeed just a table of ordinary delicacies.
In a corner of the square, a middle-aged man with sharp eyes and a heroic demeanor picked up a steamed bun in front of him and took a big bite. A boy of about fifteen or sixteen next to him, imitating his master, also picked up a steamed bun and started eating.
"Master... What... what's going on?"
The middle-aged man took a chicken leg from the table and took a bite.
"There are probably some ordinary people here, and this bride fancied one of them. Tonight, there will be a groom!"
"Wow! It can be like this?"
The boy was sloppy, wiping his nose with his sleeve before continuing to eat.
The middle-aged man looked at him with doting eyes.
"You brat, eat slowly, or you'll choke."
"Got it, got it."
"By the way, why haven't those guys from the Spirit Hunter Guild shown up yet?"
"Ah, maybe they're scared, or maybe they didn't take our commission seriously. Regardless, we can finally eat normal food tonight."
The middle-aged man shook his head and ate the food on the table like a storm. Except for him and his young disciple, everyone else acted as if they hadn't seen it, their eyes fixed intently on the sedan chair in front.
"Duan Chen, can this be eaten?"
Unexpectedly, Duan Chen directly grabbed a steamed bun and put it in his mouth.
"Please welcome the groom—!"
Before Duan Chen could swallow the steamed bun in his mouth, hundreds of pairs of eyes focused on him simultaneously. Their gazes were filled with a bright intensity that was incredibly eerie in the darkness of the night.
"Gulp—"
Duan Chen swallowed the steamed bun and froze in his chair.