Otherworldly Affairs Office-Chapter 61 Uninvited Guest

Returning to Hu Wenjun’s home, a table full of steaming, locally-flavored sumptuous New Year’s Eve dinner had already been set up one by one. Pei Yan, feeling helpless, wanted to help but was pushed down by Auntie Hu to sit beside the elder.

In a little while, when all the dishes were served, Hu Wenjun’s elder brother led the room in raising their glasses to toast, hoping that the coming year’s days would continue to be peaceful, smooth, and prosperous. Then it was time to eat; with the Hu Family’s warm reception, Pei Yan became less reserved, and amidst the laughter and swapping of drinks, the atmosphere inside was harmonious and joyous.

After they were full and satisfied, the leftovers were cleared, and a mahjong table was set up with the background noise of the Spring Festival Gala. The Hu Family sisters-in-law accompanied the old couple in playing mahjong, while the two brothers sat beside them drinking tea, eating peanuts, and chatting about the trivialities of work and life over the past year.

Pei Yan accompanied Wenwen to play mobile games for a while, and just like that, time quickly flew past ten o’clock. Auntie Hu called on Hu Wenjun’s two brothers to replace her in playing mahjong, while she and her sister-in-law got up to the kitchen to make dumplings.

Hu Wenjun had just settled at the mahjong table when he got up and shouted to Pei Yan, "Xiaopei, go take my daughter out to the door and set off the firecrackers I bought, then take her to set off some fireworks, we’ll come back and eat dumplings!"

"Hey, good!"

Outside the Hu Family’s front door, after lighting the firecracker fuse, Pei Yan hurriedly pulled Wenwen aside. The two covered their ears, laughing foolishly amidst the crackling of firecrackers in the entire alley. At that moment, Pei Yan unexpectedly relived some childhood New Year’s memories; after all, setting off firecrackers during New Year was something he hadn’t done in years.

Pei Yan crouched beside Wenwen, handing her the lit spinning fireworks, and watched as she raised the firework tube high toward the sky, each colorful bead bursting into vivid fireworks amidst loud bangs.

Seeing the happy smile on the little girl’s face, Pei Yan’s mood gradually brightened as well. He smiled and kept taking various fireworks and firecrackers from the box, handing them to her to light.

Just then, the big black dog lying at Hu Wenjun’s doorstep suddenly stood up and started barking furiously towards the entrance of the alley. Pei Yan looked up, and a piercing car light shone in; squinting to make out the car’s shape, Pei Yan’s smile slowly froze, and his face grew increasingly grim.

"Wenwen, go inside." Pei Yan patted the little girl’s shoulder and instructed.

Wenwen said unhappily, "No! There are still so many fireworks in the box that haven’t been set off!"

"Listen, we’ll set them off over the next few days. Go inside and tell your dad those two cars that followed us during the day have entered the village." Pei Yan stood up, picked up the fireworks box, casually threw it into the yard, and pushed Wenwen into the courtyard, turning to close the iron gate, coldly watching the newcomers stepping out of the two cars.

During the day, he had noticed these two vehicles under Captain Hu’s watchful eye, but eventually, seeing them turn to another place, he didn’t give it much thought. Yet at this time in this place, once again spotting them, recalling Captain Hu’s expression back then, a sense of unease surged in Pei Yan’s heart. He hoped he was overthinking.

A young man sporting a baseball cap, dressed in fashionable clothing with glasses, walked over to Pei Yan with a smile, extending his hand, "You must be Pei Yan, right?"

"You must be mistaken! I’m Hu, everyone in our village is surnamed Hu, not Pei, I don’t know." Upon hearing him bluntly calling out his name, Pei Yan’s heart skipped a beat. His gaze swept past the seven or eight silhouettes following the young man, lighting the cigarette in his mouth, with hands tucked into his pockets and leaning against the iron gate, chuckling as he spoke.

Hearing this, the young man was momentarily taken aback, turned to look at the person beside him who nodded at him, shook his head in ridicule, "Pei Yan, you’ve only been in this village for a day, and you learned this Northeast-accented Henan dialect quite poorly indeed."

"Not poorly, I think it’s quite accurate!" After instructing his wife to care for the family and not go out, Hu Wenjun, donning a coat, walked out of the house, standing in the yard loudly shouting.

Pei Yan moved aside to give Hu Wenjun, who stepped out of the gate, a space, and smilingly asked, "Uncle, do you think my hometown dialect is accurate?"

"Accurate!" Hu Wenjun finished, eyes coldly fixed on the young man in front and asked word by word, "Who exactly are you all? What do you want from my nephew?"

"Captain Hu, let’s not pretend, we all know very well who we are, don’t you already have a hunch in your heart? I’m here today to take Pei Yan away, I don’t want to cause too much trouble, and it would be bad if you and your family were accidentally hurt." The young man removed his cap, slicked back his hair, and spoke threateningly.

Pei Yan, hearing them repeatedly mention his name, wondered, "Captain Hu, who exactly are they?"

"A bunch of maggots living in the dark corners, hidden from the world." Faced with the young man’s verbal threats, Hu Wenjun remained very calm. As his daughter entered the house to find him, a WeChat message also arrived on his phone. After reading it, he felt assured, while internally he cursed Gu Shenghui for using Pei Yan and himself as bait. But outwardly, he still had to maintain a facade of calm as he leisurely spoke.

"Hahaha!" After hearing Hu Wenjun’s appraisal, the young man sneered repeatedly and mocked, "Maggots hidden from the world? Captain Hu, in this regard, aren’t we the same? There’s no difference, right?" Saying so, the young man looked up at the sky, feigning a thoughtful expression and continued, "I believe there isn’t. Since as maggots hidden from the world, why can’t I choose a better and freer way of living!"

Upon finishing, he turned to Pei Yan with temptation, "Now, how much salary do they offer you per month, three thousand, five thousand? At most, it’s two thousand right, and you still have to be regulated at the risk of your life, why suffer? Come with me, and easily earn over ten million a year."

"Sounds a bit like a pyramid scheme!" Pei Yan, with a cigarette between his lips, blew his nose and curiously asked, "Can I ask what I do to earn so much in a year? Is it killing people?"

"Killing people? No, no, no, we have many businesses; killing is just a small part of many businesses. If you don’t like slaughter, we can also switch some tasks for you, commercial espionage, underground fighting, if you’re interested in other realms, we also have special hunters for alternate dimensions, compared to where you are now, not only is the income higher but it’s also more professional."

"Don’t paint yourself like a white lotus. Killing, raping, human trafficking, drug dealing, aren’t these things something you all engage in too?" Listening to the young man finish, Hu Wenjun snorted coldly.

"Still better than you all, we never force talented people into doing things they don’t want to do. So what if it’s killing? So what if it’s rape! As proof of humanity’s evolution to a higher level, we have the right to enjoy such privileges, freely releasing our desires."

Saying this, the young man put his hat back on, arms spread, excitedly said, "While you take your salary and willingly play the dog, what result do you get in the end without even a respectable official identity! You think you’re saving the world, but I think in these thousand-plus years without you, the world hasn’t said to have descended into chaos right, what meaning does your existence have? Ah!" As he finished speaking, his followers behind him let out a wave of contemptuous laughter.

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