Congratulatory Gift

On an early winter afternoon, the sun was still brilliant, but the air had already taken on a lingering chill.

Leaving behind the surging crowds of the Pedestrian Street and turning into a narrow alley beside it, Zheng Qing no longer saw the lush greenery from his first visit. Instead, the ground was carpeted with fallen leaves in shades of gold and red.

The alley was still deep and quiet. But the moss-covered corners of the walls had gradually lost their dampness in the dry, cold air, and the cracks between the bluestone paving slabs beneath his feet no longer held the rustling chirps of insects. Hemmed in by the silent high wall on the left and the quiet buildings on the right, the place seemed all the more bleak and lonely.

The young government-funded student raced over the dead leaves and soon arrived before the familiar black gate.

Compared with his first visit, the Institute of Abnormal Life looked much neater and cleaner now.

The rust on the iron gate had been thoroughly scrubbed away. The long white nameplate had been repainted, and the gold foil between its large characters had been carefully replaced. The Talisman Boards hanging on either side of the gate had invited back two Door Gods: Shentu and Yulei sat within them in imposing poses, staring sternly at the gate. Zheng Qing had not seen those Door Gods playing cards on the wall in quite some time—he had no idea when that had changed. Even the golden-eyed White Tiger at Yulei's feet had its tail raised, baring its fangs as it paced back and forth between the Talisman Boards, looking thoroughly devoted to its duty.

The ivy climbing the blue-black walls on either side of the gate had also been trimmed neatly. Perhaps because the