The Mysterious General Store

Beneath the dim yellow lights in the shade of the trees, Gu Jianlin scowled and corrected her. "First of all, I didn't buy what you think I did. Second, you should know that we're siblings."

"Is that so?"

Su Youzhu took a sip of brown sugar water. She was clearly feeling much better than before. Then she raised her long, curled lashes and said quietly, "But we're not related by blood, and we're not even on the same household register."

Gu Jianlin was at a loss for words. Thinking it over, he realized she was right.

They weren't even adoptive siblings. In essence, this so-called brother-and-sister relationship was no different from playing house.

"What do you think about all day?"

He glanced at the time on his phone. "Let's go eat something outside. The school will be locked down soon."

Su Youzhu hesitated for a second, then pressed her lips together and stood up. A gust of cold wind blew past, and she visibly shivered.

Gu Jianlin glanced at her petite, slender frame and could only take off his jacket and drape it over her shoulders.

At one meter eighty-five, he was naturally wearing a roomy jacket. It covered her completely, making her look cute and adorable.

Su Youzhu froze, and the look she gave him grew even stranger.

Yeah, and you said you weren't trying to earn brownie points.

She gave the jacket a careful sniff. It smelled pretty nice.

"Next time something like this happens, remember to call me."

Gu Jianlin glanced at her and said it as if offhandedly.

Usually, when something like a period happened, most girls had close friends they could turn to. Even if they hadn't prepared anything themselves, they could ask a friend for help. They wouldn't have to curl up alone on a chair in such an awkward predicament.

It seemed Su Youzhu wasn't very popular at school.

More precisely, she wasn't very popular among the girls.

Most boys couldn't understand that girls' social circles were relatively complicated. That had always been the case; they just kept their conflicts behind the scenes.

That was why, at first glance, everyone seemed to get along.

But if you paid attention, it was easy to notice.

Even though their Class Seven, Senior Year, had been formed by combining classes.

In any social circle, no one liked the person who stood out too much.

Su Youzhu was a classic example of an outsider. Her grades weren't good, but she was exceptionally pretty, and she'd already learned how to dress herself up. More than two-thirds of the boys in the school had had their eye on her.

On top of that, she was rather solitary and didn't talk much.

Even among the boys, she was so hard to approach and so difficult to pursue that they gradually gave up.

Of course, Gu Jianlin had only noticed this recently. He hadn't cared about anything at school before.

"I just went out to the bathroom to sort things out."

Su Youzhu raised her exquisite, snow-white face, then waggled her dark-screened phone. "It just ran out of battery."

Gu Jianlin grunted and led her toward the school gates.

The two siblings crossed the dimly lit basketball court and running track, brushing past all kinds of students.

Quite a few people saw them walking together and gave them curious looks.

"They seem to have gotten the wrong idea," Gu Jianlin suddenly said. "Doesn't that bother you?"

They had never told anyone that they'd unexpectedly become siblings, not even the school administrators or teachers.

Walking together could easily make people mistake them for a couple.

Su Youzhu showed no expression. "Why should it bother me? I'm not planning to get a boyfriend. You're the one who should worry. If you keep hanging around me, it'll be harder for you to find a girlfriend."

Gu Jianlin shrugged. "I'm not planning to, either."

Su Youzhu glanced up at the boy.

The truth was, she had her own reasons for not dating.

Fengcheng No. 2 High School might be the best high school in the city, but good grades didn't prevent teenage rebellion. Lots of people at school seemed to party harder than anyone else, but as soon as they sat down in class, they'd start drilling practice problems like their lives depended on it. They were that driven.

Gu Jianlin was different. He seemed to have no desires. He always dressed simply and neatly, never getting close to anyone around him. He wasn't passionate about any particular hobby, either, and never seemed to vie for or take part in school activities or positions.

Sometimes she'd see him reading in the library, staring blankly at a spot, or playing basketball by himself.

Even gaming was just a way to make a little money as a hired player.

Before Su Youzhu had started living with him, a few girls in her dorm had wanted to pursue him. She'd often heard them talking about him, but in the end, they always reached the same two-word conclusion.

Boring.

At the time, Su Youzhu had thought those girls probably just didn't know him well.

People could be one way on the surface and completely different in private.

But after seeing him at the hospital, she learned that her roommates had been right.

Whether he was unconscious or had later woken up,

the thing he did most was stare out the window, his eyes blank. After he left the hospital, aside from being busy with his father's affairs, he was obedient to an unbelievable degree.

It was hard to imagine that anyone in the world could be that strange.

You could tell that he wasn't happy, but beyond that, you couldn't figure him out at all.

Gu Jianlin had no idea what the girl beside him was thinking. As soon as they walked out of the school gates, he saw the brightly lit snack street across the road. It was packed with people, and a rich aroma wafted toward them.

People streamed along the street, including plenty of people wearing school uniforms who were clearly not students.

A quick profile was all it took for him to pick out seven or eight of them.

"What do you want to eat?"

He turned to ask her.

Gu Jianlin had realized that there might be danger soon, so they needed to head back early after eating.

Su Youzhu thought it over seriously. "Anything. I'd like something hot."

Gu Jianlin nodded. "Then let's get Wild Wonton."

Feng City's wonton stalls were one of the old town's local specialties.

Many years ago, before his parents divorced, his father often took him to the little stall downstairs for a late-night snack. They'd have two bowls of wontons and a plate of barbecue, eating until well past two in the morning, when his mother would come drag him home.

It really brought back memories.

The Wild Wonton stall across the street was fairly authentic. Quite a few people were lined up outside, and they'd have to wait at least ten minutes.

As they stood in line, Gu Jianlin saw the girl frown in pain again.

He sighed. "Should we go buy a heat patch for you first?"

Su Youzhu froze, then said softly, "You even know about those? You sound experienced."

Gu Jianlin kept a straight face. "These days, even elementary school kids know how to use Baidu."

He headed instinctively toward the left side of the snack street, where there was a twenty-four-hour convenience store.

But when he reached the entrance, he found that the store had closed and changed owners!

The convenience store that had been there before was gone for some reason. In its place stood a general store.

It didn't even have a name.

Gu Jianlin was a little surprised. The convenience store had definitely still been open two days ago.

The general store carried a faint scent of sandalwood. It smelled expensive. Old-fashioned shelves lined the walls, looking as though they'd been there for years, while the goods on them were brand new.

The interior was also completely different from before. It had a musty, old-fashioned feel, and the mottled walls seemed to carry the weight of another era. Paintings and calligraphy hung on the walls, some of them covered in dust.

It didn't look like a new store at all.

"Welcome, you two."

A man greeted them with a smile.

He wore a suit and had neatly combed-back hair. His features were full and well-defined, and his eyes were warm and deep. At first glance, he looked like a British aristocrat from a TV drama, or perhaps a business tycoon.

He stood behind the counter, wearing a friendly smile.

Behind him stood an old antique cabinet, filled with all kinds of curious trinkets: a statue of Guanyin, a large golden toad, a pair of jade thumb rings, a blue-and-white porcelain vase, and a bronze wine cup.

An old man in a wheelchair listened to a radio comedy routine while fiddling with six copper coins on the counter.

A thin curl of incense drifted silently through the store.

An old, dark, heavy-looking clay tablet sat on the counter. It looked as though it had been there for ages.

A young man in a white suit stood before the counter, staring at the tablet for a long time. At last, he turned away in disappointment. "Let's go."

"You're not going to keep looking?"

A graceful young woman with golden hair asked him.

"I can't make anything of it. Neither can my younger brother."

The young man in the white suit shook his head, then bowed deeply to the old man and turned to leave.

The young blonde woman bowed as well, then left after him.

A Maybach was parked by the street. Once they got in, it drove off.

Gu Jianlin frowned, instinctively sensing that something was wrong.

"What is it?" Su Youzhu asked from behind him.

Gu Jianlin shook his head, keeping his expression neutral. He'd realized that there was something unusual about this general store.

At the very least, it was extremely well-off.

He'd made a quick profile of the place. The curious antiques gave him a strong sense of history and age.

Most of them were probably genuine.

As for the two people inside, he couldn't read them, either.

They had too many characteristics to count. They were a dizzying blur.

Most people in the world were simple. They had no thoughts of their own, routine jobs and lives, unremarkable experiences, and obvious traits. They were like a résumé, easy to understand at a glance.

But some people were different. They were like obscure books, filled with too many joys and sorrows.

They were hard to read.

Gu Jianlin had met people he couldn't read at first glance before, but the two people in the general store had a very unusual presence.

"Can I help you find anything?"

The man maintained his friendly smile.

Gu Jianlin came back to himself. "Sorry. Three heat patches, please."

The man smiled. "Of course. That'll be fifteen yuan. I'll get them for you."

With that, he turned and left.

Gu Jianlin took out his phone to scan and pay, continuing to survey the store. Something about it felt strange.

"Is something wrong?"

Su Youzhu noticed that his expression was off.

"It's nothing. Let's get our food and head back to bed early."

Gu Jianlin reminded her.

The old man at the counter never lifted his head. He kept his eyes fixed on the six copper coins.

Who knew what he was looking at?

Just then, a commotion broke out on the street outside, accompanied by the flashing red and blue lights of a police car.

"Make way! Everybody move!"

A chubby boy in a school uniform led the way, cursing as he walked. "Damn it, what a pain! Quit staring, all of you. Get back to school! You looking for a beating? Yeah, you!"

He pointed randomly into the crowd. A few students ducked their heads and hurried away.

Gu Jianlin frowned. He recognized the boy: the richest second-generation kid at school, and a notorious bully.

He hadn't even been qualified to get into Fengcheng No. 2 High School. Apparently, his family had spent a lot of money to get him in.

"Damn it, just let me catch that bastard! There are more and more perverts these days."

The chubby boy turned around. His expression changed as if he were trying to hold back a wave of nausea. "Ugh..."

He retched a few times, then looked up and spotted the general store. He hurried inside.

"Hey, boss, I'm grabbing a few bottles of water!"

The chubby boy slapped a ten-yuan note on the counter, went straight to the fridge, and grabbed several drinks. He gulped them down.

Only after he'd downed three bottles in a row did he notice the young man and woman at the counter.

"Well, if it isn't Brother Lin!"

The chubby boy's eyes lit up. "Out with your girlfriend? Wow, she's gorgeous!"

Gu Jianlin froze.

"It's me, Cheng Youyu!"

Cheng Youyu hurriedly added, "Don't you remember? I copied your test paper once!"

Gu Jianlin had indeed crossed paths with the chubby boy before.

During one set of exams, the guy had sat beside him and copied half his test paper before the proctor dragged him away.

Still, he'd always been quite polite to Gu Jianlin.

After all, Gu Jianlin was known at school for his good grades, but otherwise didn't attract much attention. And if anyone was lucky enough to sit beside him during an exam, he'd generously help them out. That was how the two of them had gotten along.

"Long time no see," Gu Jianlin said politely.

Su Youzhu, on the other hand, looked aloof and clearly didn't want to talk.

"Glad you remember me. Glad you remember me."

Cheng Youyu rubbed his hands together, grinning. "Anyway, the monthly placement exams are coming up. I'm counting on you, okay?"

Gu Jianlin gave him a strange look. "Sure, if we end up in the same room."

Cheng Youyu's face immediately broke into a wide grin. "That's a relief, Brother Lin!"

Just then, the police car slowly drove past outside. A few detectives were carrying transparent garbage bags.

Inside the bags were the corpses of cats and dogs.

"What's going on over there?"

Gu Jianlin asked curiously.

Su Youzhu furrowed her brows, assailed by a foul stench.

Cheng Youyu clicked his tongue in disapproval and said indignantly, "Aren't there lots of stray cats and dogs near our school? A few girls go feed them after class every day. But when they went over today, all the cats and dogs had been killed. Their stomachs had been slashed open, and all their organs had been ripped out..."

Gu Jianlin frowned and turned to look at the blood-soaked plastic bags.

He couldn't make out much, but could just glimpse the gruesome bodies, gutted and torn open.

The blood had already congealed. With their organs removed, there wasn't much blood left outside their bodies.

Gu Jianlin walked a few steps closer, fought back the urge to gag as he sniffed the stench, and studied the corpses for a while.

"Disgusting."

Su Youzhu said quietly.

Cheng Youyu slapped his thigh and sighed. "You can say that again. If you two don't have anything to do lately, stay on campus. Don't go out. Things haven't been safe around the school."

As Gu Jianlin listened, he stared at the marks on one of the garbage bags and suddenly furrowed his brows.

He could see countless strands of spider silk on it.

There were traces of spider silk on the cats' and dogs' bodies, too.

And the wounds where they'd been cut open were irregular, unlike anything a normal blade would have made.

After a hurried reconstruction of the scene, he seemed to see a jointed limb, twisted like a bamboo stalk, slashing open their bellies like a knife and leaving them drenched in blood.

A spider.

It seemed a spider had killed these cats and dogs.

Just as he was about to take a closer look, an investigator carried the garbage bags away.

"How could it be a spider..."

He muttered to himself.

This time, he wasn't entirely confident in his reconstruction.

The lighting was dim, and he'd been too far away. He was afraid he might have been mistaken.

At that moment, the old man who'd been staring blankly at the coins finally looked up at him.

"Young man."

The old man said mildly, "Would you like me to tell your fortune?"

Gu Jianlin turned around. The old man behind the counter was smiling at him.

"Me?"

He pointed at himself.

"Yes, you."

The old man nodded. "Don't worry, it's free. I won't charge you."

Gu Jianlin hesitated. The old man did seem like the sort who believed in fortune-telling.

Still, he had some reservations about it. Sun the Half-Immortal downstairs had been a complete fraud, and his predictions had been pure nonsense.

But given how unusual this shop was, there was no harm in giving it a try.

"Sure."

The old man narrowed his eyes in satisfaction and pushed six copper coins toward him. "Here, toss them one at a time."

Gu Jianlin knew this was a method for deriving one of the sixty-four hexagrams in the I Ching. He did as instructed, tossing the coins six times.

The six coins landed in a row, some heads and some tails.

The old man glanced at him calmly and said, "Kan below, Dui above. The upper trigram is Dui, which represents yin and the marsh. The lower trigram is Kan, which represents yang and water. The great marsh drains away; the water plants, fish, and shrimp are left in desperate straits. Yang is below yin, and the strong are overshadowed by the weak. A wise man's talents are hard to put to use, and he finds himself in dire circumstances."

Gu Jianlin was silent for a moment. "Sir, what does that mean?"

The old man studied him closely. "It's the Hexagram of Distress. You can look up the details yourself when you get home. In my humble opinion, you're about to get into trouble."

Gu Jianlin stared at the hexagram without saying anything.

Cheng Youyu had watched the whole thing. He lowered his voice and said, "Brother Lin, am I the only one who thinks this old man doesn't sound like a very skilled fortune-teller..."

Gu Jianlin looked perplexed. He thought so too. The old man was even less convincing than Sun the Half-Immortal downstairs.

Unexpectedly, Su Youzhu asked with curiosity, "Sir, how can it be resolved?"

The old man replied calmly, "Thunder and wind reinforce each other; mountain and marsh share their energies; water and fire do not clash."

He paused. "Southern Gate of Life. The Gate of Life lies in fire."

4,800 words—first update. There'll be a second one at midnight. My sleep schedule has completely fallen apart lately. Please vote!