Chapter 274: Yang-ge

I stared into that person's eyes, and it took me a while before I finally said, "Thank you, uncle…"

"Uncle…?" He didn't seem to like that title. "Calling me uncle is not as good as calling me 'Zhuque Daren'."

"Zhuque Daren?" I was a bit confused. We're not in ancient times anymore, so why would someone refer to themselves as 'Daren'?

But Zhuque Daren had indeed saved my life.

If he hadn't appeared, I would have definitely died there.

He must be a very kind person.

"Little sister, you've made a great decision today," Zhuque Daren said with a smile. "From now on, you won't go hungry, and no one will bully you."

"Ah?"

"The evening is approaching, so come with me." Zhuque Daren waved his hand and stepped outside the door.

Once outside, I could see he was wearing a bright red feathered cloak.

"Zhu—Zhuque Daren, where are we going?" I hurried after him.

He pointed to a nearby open area, where a shimmering door had appeared.

"You are now a 'Shengxiao', and every evening, you must go to the 'Liezhe'. That's the first rule," Zhuque said. "I wish you luck in making new friends."

"'Shengxiao'… 'Liezhe'… friends?" I didn't understand a word of it.

But in the blink of an eye, Zhuque Daren had vanished.

Was he some kind of immortal who came to save me?

As the surroundings grew darker, I had no choice but to keep walking toward that glowing door. It seemed like a door from a myth, floating in the air but leading to another place.

I slowly stepped through and found myself in a long hallway, with wooden doors on both sides. At that moment, many people wearing masks were emerging from the rooms, and instead of stopping, they all headed toward the other end of the hallway.

When I turned around, the glowing door I had entered through was gone, leaving only a wooden door behind.

"What's going on…?" Was I supposed to have come out of a wooden door too?

"Get out of the way, don't block the path." A gruff voice sounded behind me.

I jumped in fright and quickly stepped aside. That's when I saw a tall man wearing a white tiger mask standing behind me.

"What the… How can someone be so short?" He looked at me with disdain and then walked ahead without another glance.

"Ah…" I realized what was happening and hurried after him. "Uncle!"

The tall man froze at those words, then slowly turned back.

"What…?" His tone softened instantly.

"Uncle… hello…" I bowed my head slightly to him and asked, "May I ask where this place is?"

He looked at me with a complicated expression, then said slowly, "This is the 'Liezhe', a resting place for the 'Shengxiao'."

"'Shengxiao' resting place?" I didn't quite get it. "Why would I come to the 'Shengxiao' resting place?"

The tall tiger uncle seemed to freeze again.

I thought he might explain, but after a long pause, he finally said, "How old are you?"

"Uncle, I'll be ten soon," I answered seriously.

"Ten…?" He blinked. "Are you hungry?"

"Hungry…?" I felt a bit embarrassed and touched my head. "I… I am a little hungry…"

"Come on, I'll take you to eat." He reached out his large hand and held mine, making me feel warm.

We had only walked a few steps when another uncle emerged from one of the doors.

He was wearing a snake skin mask, and he had a bad smell about him.

"Hey!" The snake uncle called out. "Well, if it isn't Little Hu! Haven't seen you all day, and you've found a little girlfriend?"

"Piss off." The tiger uncle's tone was very rude. "Do you want me to tear you apart?"

"Ha ha ha ha!" The snake uncle burst out laughing for some reason. "You want to tear me apart on the 'Liezhe'? Come on, come on… Let's see what Yang Ge has to say about that."

"Then I'll break your fingers." The tiger uncle said fiercely. "If it weren't for Yang Ge, I'd break each of your ten fingers one by one."

"Oh, come on…" The snake uncle put his arm around the tiger uncle's shoulder. "We're sort of 'classmates', so why get so worked up?"

"Piss off." The tiger uncle shook off his hand. "What's this about a 'little girlfriend'? Watch your mouth."

"Ha ha! Isn't it obvious?" The snake uncle bent down to look at me. "A lolita-style little mouse? Nice one."

I swallowed nervously and looked into his eyes as I said, "Un—uncle, hello…"

As soon as I said that, the snake uncle froze.

"Huh?" His face changed, and he quickly turned to the tiger uncle. "Are you kidding? That voice… This is just a kid!"

"You just figuring that out?" The tiger uncle shook his head. "What kind of nonsense were you spouting earlier?"

"I… I…" The snake uncle hurriedly slapped his own mouth. "Damn, how was I supposed to know?! But why is this happening?"

"Enough talk—let Yang Ge figure it out." The tiger uncle pulled me closer and looked around, asking, "By the way, what about that old black one? Is he dead?"

No sooner had he spoken than the door in front of us opened.

A person wearing a black sheep head mask walked out.

He gave the three of us a cold glance and then headed in another direction.

"Damn it…" The tiger uncle cursed. "We're both 'Sheep', but seeing him makes my blood boil."

"Oh, well…" The snake uncle patted him on the back and then bent down to me. "Little one, you must be starving. Uncle will take you to eat."

I smiled awkwardly. If the snake uncle hadn't shown up, I probably would have been eating by now.

The two of them each took one of my hands and led me through the crowd of masked people.

The tiger uncle seemed really intimidating, as many people made way for him along the path.

We followed the black sheep uncle for a long time before stopping at a door.

I was curious—every door here looked the same, so how did they know where to go?

The black sheep uncle knocked on the door and said respectfully, "Yang Ge, we're here."

"Come in." A man's voice came from inside.

The three of us slowly pushed the door open and entered a room that looked like a dining area.

The table was covered with all sorts of food, and I was completely stunned.

There was roasted chicken, ribs, fish, and many things I didn't recognize!

As I swallowed, I noticed the person sitting at the table.

He wasn't wearing a mask; instead, he had a real pure white sheep head, like a monster from "Journey to the West".

His cold gaze lingered on me for a moment, then he looked up at the tiger uncle and said, "Hu, what are you doing?"

His voice sounded young, more like a "brother" than an "uncle".

"Yang Ge…" The tiger uncle led me forward. "Something strange happened—a child has become a 'Shengxiao'."