The shadow took out a Copper Coin from his pocket and tossed it into the water tanks that were placed at the entrance of almost every shop here. The Copper Coin floated on the water without any sign of sinking.
The shop faintly emitted a ghostly glow.
The shadow walked in.
Moments later, a delicate-faced woman peeked out. She appeared surprised to see two living humans standing there at this hour.
She reached out her hand and waved, as if testing whether they could see her.
Lin Shuyou stared wide-eyed, unblinking, as if he truly couldn't see her.
He felt he was performing well, without showing a hint of flaw.
Li Zhiyuan spoke: "I'm thirsty and would like to come in for a cup of water."
The delicate woman hesitated for a moment, then nodded. She removed one of the door panels to enlarge the entrance, gesturing for them to come in.
Li Zhiyuan walked in.
The delicate woman asked, "Is this person behind you blind?"
Li Zhiyuan: "No."
The delicate woman looked puzzled. Once they were inside, she replaced the door panel, shutting out the outside world.
Lin Shuyou curiously asked, "Brother Xiao Yuan, why did she say I'm blind?"
Li Zhiyuan: "She's a living person, waving her hand in front of you. Why pretend you can't see?"
Lin Shuyou: "..."
The shop's interior hadn't changed, retaining even the original counter.
Inside, where Yin Meng used to keep coffins, there were now several racks lined up, filled with clothes and hats.
From a clothing store perspective, the inventory was clearly insufficient, suggesting it wasn't specifically rented for selling clothes but rather to serve as a cover.
Behind the counter sat a thin man with a normal upper body but atrophied legs. He was sitting cross-legged on a chair, facing the shadow in a raincoat, likely engaged in a Walking Yin discussion.
Li Zhiyuan didn't intentionally listen to their conversation. He sat on a nearby bench, accepting the tea the delicate woman handed him with a word of thanks.
The transaction over there concluded, and the shadow rose to leave while the delicate woman opened the door for it.
The man opened his eyes, showing fatigue, but forced a polite smile and asked:
"May I ask what brings you two here?"
Li Zhiyuan: "Revisiting an old place, just wanted to have a look inside."
Man: "Are you the original owner of this shop?"
Li Zhiyuan: "It belongs to a friend of mine."
Man: "I see. We're in the business of Walking Yin. When we chose locations at night, we found that the entrance of this shop was always frequented by wandering spirits. Since it was vacant, we approached the street management to rent it.
As you can see, business is quite good."
In business, the most important thing is foot traffic.
This shop is located in the middle of Ghost Street, a relatively poor location. Regardless of what business you do, as long as it thrives, other shops will open at either end to siphon your customers.
Of course, Yin Meng's business was dismal not necessarily due to the location. After all, which tourist would buy a coffin while shopping?
When Yin Meng's grandfather first opened the coffin shop, business might have been decent. But as the county developed and tourism grew, it turned into a tourist street.
Even though there's little human traffic, the ghost flow here is ample.
This is thanks to Yin Meng's grandfather, who, even while comatose in a coffin, would rise at night to do business, gradually accumulating ghost energy and building a reputation.
The man introduced himself as Zhang, named Zhang Chi, and his sister is Zhang Xiuxiu; the siblings are from Fuling.
Old Zhang's family has been living by fortune-telling for generations, but they've suffered a series of misfortunes: either born disabled or developing rare diseases in adulthood.
Upon hearing this, Li Zhiyuan could basically confirm that someone in Old Zhang's family had broken the rules.
In the fortune-telling business, generally, there are no divine retributions, and revealing the secrets of Heaven is inconsequential. Li Zhiyuan himself is skilled in this, and it's almost habitual for him to first assess a stranger's face.
True karmic backlash comes if the purpose of revealing the secrets is for personal gain. Human nature is inherently greedy, especially for those with abilities—this greed is nearly uncontrollable.
But if you profit from it, the Heavenly Dao will make you repay doubly, maybe not by punishing you directly, but by letting your descendants be born with original sin.
Yet, knowing this, there are always those who tempt fate in this line of work. Remove the incompetent fraudsters, and those who genuinely know their stuff typically have some defect, forming a stereotype that without a handicap, there's no real skill.
Zhang Chi did not formally introduce his family, so Li Zhiyuan briefly responded with their names, keeping it concise.
His intention was merely to sit and revisit, and then leave in time to catch some sleep before presenting at a meeting tomorrow morning.
However, as he stood to take his leave, Zhang Chi stopped them, saying: "Better wait a while longer. It's not very suitable to leave now."
Lin Shuyou: "Why?"
Zhang Chi: "For ordinary people, walking the night road now wouldn't be an issue, but you two can see those things. Leaving now might influence you."
Zhang Xiuxiu glanced at the clock and said: "Brother, it's time; they're about to arrive."
Zhang Chi extended his hand to his sister, saying: "Xiuxiu, help me over there."
The chair he sat on was a wooden wheelchair. Xiuxiu wheeled him from behind the counter to the entrance, then assisted her brother out of the wheelchair, onto a cushion to kneel.
Next, Xiuxiu began arranging the offering table, setting up candlesticks and a fire bowl on the inner side of the shop's threshold.
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