If we found it, we'd leave. If we didn't, then of course we'd stay. How long we stayed would depend on my friendship with Chen Xiaoqiu and my conscience—outsiders couldn't possibly guess. Even if we left, I could come back every few days.
If I'd said that to an ordinary person, it wouldn't have counted as a threat. But as an "Otherworlder," it was.
According to the security guard, people like me, who had some ability and could catch ghosts and ward off evil spirits, always caused a huge commotion in Huixiang, dragging the locals into trouble and causing deaths and injuries.
I didn't know whether that was true. I only knew that the people of Huixiang believed it. The security guard, Xiangzi, and the people at the hospital were all afraid when they saw me. An oddball like Chen Zian was probably rare in Huixiang.
My rather blunt words seemed to leave the old man stunned.
He studied me for a long while before letting out a long sigh.
The owner still hadn't come back. The old man rested his hand on the table, tapping the surface. He deliberated for quite a while before finally speaking. "I know, young man, that you can hear that crying. You must be capable, or at least have learned a thing or two. Stay in Huixiang a little longer, and you'll hear what people here say about your kind."
I wasn't very pleased with that opening.
But every conversation had to start somewhere if it was going to go anywhere.
The old man seemed torn about a lot of things. After saying all that pointless stuff, he shook his head helplessly.
"Have you heard the story about the village next door? The story of Crooked-Neck Village." This time, the old man looked at