His fingertips tingled as if electrified, and his heart melted into a mess. Ban Xia lowered her gaze and sighed at just the right moment.
“If it’s inconvenient, Director Ruan, you don’t have to consider it,” she said softly. “Honestly, they shouldn’t have sent a young woman like me to work in the Sanitation Department. Sales for this… well, they’ve been dismal.”
“I’ll take it!” Director Ruan blurted out. “Our institute has 416 female employees. I’ll get… five packs for each of them!”
Ban Xia smiled sweetly, tears of gratitude shimmering in her large eyes. She quickly added, “I also have a new product—33-centimeter overnight pads. You might consider getting five packs for each of them as well.”
This new product wasn’t at hand but packed in an unopened box in the corner of her office. Ban Xia moved to pick up the box, bending over to carry it to the table to open it.
Just then, a sharp ringing filled her ears. That damned tinnitus—it was acting up again!
Qi the Master’s voice suddenly echoed clearly in her ears:
“Ban Xia, you must not obsess over money and material gain. You need to clear your heart and cultivate kindness. Otherwise, you will exhaust the goodwill destined in your life, and a great calamity will befall you!”
“Goodwill? What a joke. Do I even have goodwill in my fate?” Ban Xia snorted coldly, shifting the box she was carrying one step forward.
The clock struck 1:30, and the company’s soothing music played, urging employees to resume work.
But her tinnitus grew worse. The music felt like thunderclaps, shaking her skull until it buzzed relentlessly.
“The goodwill will run out, and then a great calamity will arrive!” The sentence exploded in her mind like a grenade detonating within her. A flash of white light engulfed her vision, and for a fleeting moment, she lost consciousness.
A minute later, the music stopped.
Director Ruan stood frozen, his mouth forming an O.
Ban Xia was gone.
In broad daylight, with no lightning, no power outage, and no apparent cause, Ban Xia—along with the box of 33cm ultra-long overnight pads—vanished into thin air.
* * *
Dark. Pitch-dark. Utterly pitch-dark.
These were the only words that came to Ban Xia’s mind to describe her current state.
There wasn’t a sliver of light, not a trace of warmth. Ban Xia felt as though she were standing in an ice cellar, with dampness creeping up her legs like climbing vines.
“Sss… sss… sss…”
Something brushed past behind her, its movement light, but the air it stirred was sticky and cold.
Ban Xia stayed still, clutching her box of 33cm overnight pads tightly.
Something drew closer. She could feel it just behind her. The cold, clammy wind felt like a snake slithering onto her neck.
“Drip… drip… drip…”
A rhythmic sound began behind her, like water dripping from an improperly closed faucet.
The water began to spread. Ban Xia felt her feet grow wet.
Suddenly, a glow appeared, illuminating her surroundings. In front of her, a soft light emerged, resembling a crescent moon gently piercing the darkness.
Ban Xia took a step forward and realized the “crescent moon” was actually a curved blade. Its owner had just unsheathed it, and it radiated a soft, gentle glow.
She couldn’t see the person holding the blade clearly. She only saw someone sitting cross-legged, their grip on the blade relaxed, their long fingers elegant but exuding a wearied air.
* * *
“Why are my pants always damp? Why… why are they always damp?!”
The voice behind Ban Xia broke the silence. It was sharp, like nails scraping across a chalkboard.
She turned around, using the glow from the blade to see everything clearly.
“Damp… damp… always damp…” the figure continued, repeating the words louder and louder, lamenting his eternally wet pants.
But he had no pants.
To be precise, he had no legs.
From the waist down, he had been severed by a single, clean cut. Now, only his upper body floated midair.
For a moment, a quiet wind passed through the empty space where his lower body should have been.
Then, blood began to drip from his waist. Drip… drip… drip… the sound echoed steadily, one drop after another.
“Why?! Why are they always damp?!” the figure suddenly screamed, his voice rising to a crazed pitch as he hurled himself through the air, directly at Ban Xia.
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