Chen Lin wandered around outside for several days, but in the end, he returned to Wild Dog Alley.
He had already established that the people of Wild Dog Alley had not been purged. Nana only devoured souls when she killed and was not "contagious." The residents had fled simply because they feared Nana had not left and they would be caught in the crossfire.
As for the man in fine robes and the others-
They were all experts from the town's Zhou Family. Wild Dog Alley belonged to the Zhou Family's territory, so they had come to remove the corpses and prevent a plague.
And that milky-white downpour-
That, too, had been a spell cast by the man in fine robes, meant to wash away the traces of evil specters. There was nothing more to it.
"Oh, Ergou's back too! You've got a bit of luck, boy. Now that Qin Dasheng's dead, nobody will make you empty his chamber pot anymore. How about emptying mine instead?"
As Chen Lin walked into the alley, a woman with a barrel-like waist leaned against her doorway, winking and making faces as she teased him.
He ignored her.
He glanced at her, then went into his room.
The woman felt a chill run through her entire body, as though some ferocious beast had fixed its eyes on her. She hunched her neck, which was nearly as thick as her head, and hurried back inside.
Chen Lin closed the door.
Sitting on the hard plank bed, he concentrated on his thoughts.
The main reason he had returned was that he needed to use Lin Ergou's identity.
To earn a high score on this mission, he needed to act as Lin Ergou, not himself.
All three of Lin Ergou's wishes involved turning his life around and