I still had doubts, but in the end, I chose to refuse Lü Qiaolan.
Lü Qiaolan merely smiled, withdrew her hand, and put the talisman back around her neck.
Zhuang Huai drove very slowly, not only because he was watching our surroundings, but also because the floodwater in the city hadn't completely receded.
When he finally parked, the three of us saw the two-story building again. For a moment, none of us moved.
There were quite a few buildings around the archives, and the archives itself was rather run-down. It was an old building—not the kind of old building in a big city that was steeped in history, but a dilapidated old house. It looked no different from the residential buildings commonly seen last century, with none of the feel of a designed structure.
The archives had a rolling shutter for a door. That seemed rather comical, too. Without the sign hanging outside, anyone would have thought it was a private shop.
It looked like there was no one at the archives.
In the end, we got out of the car.
Someone was busy clearing things out of the tobacco and liquor shop next door. Zhuang Huai went over to ask. The people inside did know two or three of the archives' employees, but the power was out and communications were down, so they couldn't get in touch with them.
"...I think one of them lives in that residential complex up ahead. I've forgotten which building. He's an old man who looks really fierce, and he seems like a bad-tempered sort. Likes to drink. Oh, right, you could try knocking and calling out. I remember one of the archives staff lives inside the archives. He's alone, with nowhere else to go. He's worked there his whole life, so he lives