If it had been before, I might have misjudged it.
But now, I had seen far too many ghosts. There was no way I could be wrong about Dog Chicken's condition.
One look told me he was entangled with something unclean. It just wasn't serious yet...
So I answered with certainty:
"No mistake. You must've come into contact with something. My master is Fish Mouth's Corpse Collector, so I know a little about this sort of thing."
Dog Chicken worked in the city too, selling used cars not far from Fish Mouth.
When he heard me mention Fish Mouth's Corpse Collector, he froze.
"You mean, that famous fishing guy? He fishes when there's nothing to do and collects corpses when there is? His shop's called Big Fish Fishing Gear Store?"
I felt a little awkward. I hadn't expected even my childhood friend to have heard of my master's reputation as a fishing enthusiast.
"That's right. My master does like fishing. That's his shop too."
I answered with a smile.
Dog Chicken looked at me in surprise, then continued.
"Ah! I went to your master's shop this morning to look for him, but he wasn't there! Couldn't get through by phone either."
"You went looking for my master?"
That came as a surprise to me.
He nodded repeatedly.
"Yeah! I went to find your master.
Ningzi, if you really can see this stuff, take a look at me.
I've really run into something bad. Honestly... honestly, I'm kind of scared. I came back to hide for a while.
This morning, one of my coworkers told me about him, so I went over. But the place was closed.
I asked the neighboring shopkeepers, and they said it had been closed for two or three days..."
My expression turned serious.
"What happened that