Although I'm young and strong, I'm not immortal. I truly don't have the stamina or skill to satisfy two women in one night.
I hastily declined Chloe's request, making up some excuse about urgent business. After comforting her with a few words about getting rest, I headed home.
When I returned to the tattoo parlor in the early morning hours, I was completely exhausted. The moment I lay down on the bed, I was out cold - I had no idea how many times that Nuwa's Forsaken Shade had worn me out.
I woke up at noon. My first question upon waking was whether Antonio had returned.
Stein shook his head. "Still no news. The kid wasn't answering his phone last night, and now it's turned off completely. No idea what's going on."
Even though Antonio was a capable fighter, I was starting to worry. What if something had happened to him?
Stein suggested, "It's not too late. Why don't we go look for a nunnery now? I checked - there are only three in Vervicity: one on the eastern hillside, another on the western side, and one up north."
All three were in different locations and directions. We couldn't be certain which one Antonio had gone to, but since he hadn't returned, I guessed there was an 80% chance he'd gone to Dreaming Nun's nunnery. If it had been a normal nunnery, he wouldn't have gotten lost for this long. I believed he must have encountered something unusual.
Searching blindly would likely waste more time. To be efficient, Stein and I would need to split up. But first, I thought we should visit Markus, who had been in contact with Dreaming Nun and might know something useful.
Stein hesitated. "Markus is a ghost. Are we really going to seek out a ghost?"
"Don't be scared," I said. "Markus isn't some vicious spirit. Besides, I still have unanswered questions - I need to find him for explanations. And it's broad daylight - are two grown men really afraid of one ghost?"
My words left Stein dumbfounded. Though still somewhat fearful, he followed me.
I was puzzled - after spending so much time with my grandfather, how could Stein still be so afraid of ghosts?
Stein explained, "Once bitten, twice shy. I was nearly killed by a vicious ghost before - came close to death. If not for your grandfather, I'd probably be pushing up daisies by now."
I was surprised - Stein had never mentioned this before. Curiosity got the better of me, and I pressed him for details.
Stein shook his head. "Better not talk about it." His face turned extremely grim, clearly uncomfortable just remembering the incident.
Since it was clearly a sensitive matter for him, I couldn't force him to talk about it. I'd have to wait until he was ready to open up. But judging by his tone, it must have been extremely dangerous - the kind of situation where he nearly lost his life.
Markus had previously told us which supermarket he worked at. Stein and I took a cab and arrived in about forty minutes.
As soon as we entered the supermarket, we began looking for staff to question. Eventually, one of the supermarket managers approached and asked why we were looking for Markus.
I explained we were old friends of Markus from out of town. Since he'd only given us the supermarket address and not his home address, and we urgently needed to find him, could they please have Markus come out?
The manager sighed and shook his head. "Markus has been dead for a long time."
Neither Stein nor I showed surprise - we'd expected this - but we pretended ignorance and quickly asked what had happened.
The manager explained that during heavy rain one day, Markus had carpooled home with his coworker Brzenska. They'd been in an accident halfway, killing both Markus and Brzenska instantly along with the driver.
Some nearby employees suddenly began whispering about how Markus might have died horribly. They mentioned sightings of him in the supermarket - once hiding between shelves where three employees simultaneously saw him before he instantly disappeared. They all claimed Markus's ghost haunted the supermarket.
"Enough! What era do you think this is? Stop with these feudal superstitions!" the manager shouted at the employees. "Where would ghosts come from? Let one appear before me if you dare!"
If such rumors spread, they could damage the supermarket's reputation. Of course the manager was angry - who would shop at a "haunted" supermarket?
After the manager's outburst, everyone fell silent except one older aunt who muttered, "Manager, you'd understand if you worked the night shift..."
"What? Still talking nonsense?" The manager turned on her. "Do you want to keep your job?"
His renewed anger frightened all the employees into scattering.
I tried calming him: "Don't be angry. Actually, that aunt has a point. Some things are better to believe in than not. Better to respect what might exist than dismiss it completely."
The manager glared at me but said nothing, clearly wanting us to leave. Before going, I asked for Markus's home address. The process wasn't smooth - it ultimately took slipping him a hundred-dollar bill to get the information.
Strangely enough, we had only taken a few steps when I suddenly saw a man appear behind the manager - someone who seemed completely invisible to him.
The manager was about to take the elevator when the man approached and pushed him down with one hand.
The manager screamed as he tumbled down the stairs. The man had a dark, shadowy face. After letting out a sinister laugh, he rolled his eyes and disappeared. The supermarket lighting was already dim, and being indoors, no sunlight reached this area.
I wanted to investigate further, but Stein pulled me away. "This isn't a place to linger," he said urgently. "The supermarket's feng shui is terrible - downright sinister. We should leave immediately."
Once outside, Stein pointed out the surrounding locations: "Look - to the east is a hospital, south a slaughterhouse, west various meat shops selling dog, beef and rabbit. This 'Three Deaths' configuration surrounds the supermarket. Combined with its positioning where little sunlight reaches, creating extreme yin energy - no wonder this place is haunted! Ghost sightings here aren't surprising. Let's not get involved."
Stein's explanation made me realize the supermarket's inherent problems. No wonder Markus, Brzenska, the little girl ghost and others appeared here.
That foul-mouthed manager probably offended the supermarket's ghosts, though his fall shouldn't cause serious injury - just a warning.
I made a mental note never to return to this cursed place.
Stein and I took another cab to Markus's residence.
Since Markus had been renting (not owning) and wasn't local, I wondered: If he died, was his place rented to someone else? Where did his ghost reside?
With these questions, we knocked on Markus's door. Bizarrely, Markus himself answered.
Stein and I exchanged uneasy glances. Stein visibly paled - after all, we were facing a ghost.
"What brings you here?" Markus asked curiously, seemingly unaware of his own death.
When the door opened, the light seemed to bother him. He raised a hand to shield his eyes, visibly uncomfortable. "Why's the sun so strong today?" he complained.
Actually, sunlight was minimal - just a faint glow at his doorstep.
"Get inside!" Markus, increasingly distressed by the light, quickly pulled us both in.
His hands felt corpse-cold. Stein shuddered violently and whispered, "Maybe we should go..."
"Go where? Stop being such a coward," I thought. This Markus might be a ghost, but he showed no intention to harm us - didn't even realize he was dead.
Reluctantly, Stein stayed.
Inside, Markus's apartment was dark as night. Heavy black curtains blocked all windows, and no lights were on.
Markus explained, "I work night shifts, so I sleep days. The darkness helps." As if to prove a point, he snapped on a lamp, claiming light didn't bother him.
Then Markus asked if I'd come to give him a Tattoos of Gods and Ghosts.
I nearly laughed bitterly. "You're dead - why would you need ghost tattoos? You are a ghost!" Of course, I kept this to myself.
Instead, I cautiously asked about the bald woman - the one Webster called Dreaming Nun.