Chapter Thirty-Eight: The Mysterious Stranger

I walked over to Ashuang and leaned casually against the bar. Fortunately, she hadn’t noticed my true identity. I slid the glass toward her and, imitating a scene from the movies, said, “Miss, you seem troubled. Care to talk?”

Ashuang ignored me entirely, downed the cocktail in one gulp, and I found myself instinctively snatching the glass from her. “You can’t drink like that—it’ll ruin your health,” I said.

She laughed. “And who are you to me? How I drink is none of your business. Would you please leave?”

Her words stung me, but I couldn’t just walk away. “Fine, I’ll drink with you,” I replied. I grabbed a few bottles with unfamiliar names from behind the bar, just like Sister Fei would, and set them down.

I opened one, poured two glasses, and said, “Here you go,” draining my own glass in a single gulp.

Ashuang stared at me in surprise, enunciating each word: “That’s not how you’re supposed to drink this.”

My face flushed with embarrassment, but thanks to my mask, she couldn’t see it. I mumbled an excuse, “Well, I like it this way.”

Honestly, the drink tasted terrible downed like that.

I watched as Ashuang added something to the next glass, then slid it over. “This is Gin Alexander. Try it—it’s a new recipe I’ve been learning. I might have made a mistake, so forgive me.”

I hadn’t expected her to know how to mix drinks. I took a careful sip of the Gin Alexander. But as a demon corpse, all earthly flavors had long faded for me. This was no exception. Still, I couldn’t say it was bad, so I nodded. “Not bad. Shows promise.”

She smiled faintly, finished the drink she’d prepared for herself, and then walked away, leaving me alone at the bar.

Watching her retreat, a chill ran through me. Just as she was about to reach the door, a group of men surrounded her, pulling and shoving. Aunt Fei was nowhere to be seen in the bar.

Seeing them, anger flared in me. I could never tolerate such lowlifes harassing the woman I liked. I grabbed a beer bottle, strode over to what seemed to be their leader, smashed the bottle over his head, and pulled Ashuang behind me.

I thought she would cower behind me like a timid girl, but I was wrong. She stood her ground, pushed me behind her instead, and without a word, landed a solid kick to the stomach of the nearest man.

I was stunned. I’d never expected a girl to be so strong. Gentle on the surface, perhaps, but her pride was fiercer than anyone I’d ever met.

By now, people in the bar were arming themselves and closing in. If we didn’t escape, even a taekwondo master would be beaten to death. With so many eyes around, I couldn’t use my supernatural powers openly. So, without a word, I grabbed Ashuang’s hand and ran out of the bar.

No sooner had we left than a group of more than twenty men chased after us, shouting, “Catch them! Don’t let them get away!”

I held Ashuang’s delicate hand, weaving through the crowded street until we were cornered in a dead-end alley. All this time, I still wore the mask—Ashuang had no idea who I was.

Even cornered, I couldn’t help but notice how soft her hand felt in mine. I wanted to hold on forever, but I let go and stepped forward to face the twenty-some thugs alone.

At six feet tall, I shrugged off my jacket, revealing the bronze skin beneath my shirt. I tossed the jacket aside, made a mocking gesture at the crowd, gripped a steel pipe, and charged into the fray.

If I were an ordinary person, I’d never have stood a chance. But now, with my supernatural abilities, these men were less than nothing to me.

My long hair, grown out, hid my red eyes as I unleashed my powers. In no time, I scattered them all—they fled in panic.

Amid the scattered knives and pipes, I saw Ashuang standing there dazed. I didn’t need to ask; I knew she couldn’t believe what she’d just witnessed.

I dropped the steel pipe, walked over to her, and said, “They’re gone. You can go home now.”

I thought Ashuang would flee, like that girl I’d once met by the sea—always running from trouble. But I was wrong again. She didn’t leave. Instead, she pulled some tissues from her bag and gently wiped the sweat from my face.

A virgin in his twenties, faced with a girl tending to me so tenderly, I stood there awkward as a bride on her wedding day, not knowing what to say. I simply watched as she dabbed at the exposed skin beneath my mask, bit by bit.

My face began to flush. Just then, Ashuang reached to remove my mask.

No way could I let her do that. I quickly covered my face. “Uh, listen, I’m too ugly under here—I’d scare you. Tell you what, let me walk you home instead.”

Seeing my reluctance, Ashuang pouted. “Fine then.”

We walked in silence. When I’d seen her to her door, I told her she shouldn’t go to that kind of bar anymore, then left.

Just as I descended the stairs, a shadow flashed past me, heading toward the factory district in the western suburbs.

The gust of wind left in its wake made it clear it was coming for me. Without hesitation, I sped after it. Maybe this person knew something about Old Ma.

Just as I was about to catch up, the black shadow vanished. Looking around, I realized I was already in the western factory district.

This was the birthplace of the city’s factories. Even so, at night it was deserted except for a few workers on late shifts—you’d rarely see anyone out walking.

Suddenly, I felt a chill behind me. He had appeared.

But he didn’t feel like a vampire or a demon corpse.

So who could he be?

...

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