The Third Chapter: Burning Paper

Feeling depressed, I wanted to take a walk outside the house alone to clear my mind. Ivy and I lived in a bungalow on the outskirts of the city, with our own courtyard. Although it was comfortable to live there, it was a bit far from the city center, so the rent was relatively cheap.

Just as I walked into the yard, Teacup, contrary to its recent behavior, approached me as usual. This change in Teacup's behavior made me feel somewhat relieved.

Leaving the yard, I walked towards the nearby Rock Park, wanting to take a walk alone over there. As I reached the entrance of the Rock Park, I saw a person wearing a Lucas mask sitting nearby with a small stall set up.

Behind this 'Lucas', there was a fortune-telling flag with eight large characters written on it: "Above knows the Cold Palace of Chang'e, below understands the streets and alleys of flowers."

"Ha, now even the fortune-tellers are coming up with new tricks. Fortune-telling for money with a Lucas mask, ridiculous," I thought to myself as I glanced at the attention-seeking fortune-teller on the roadside and decided not to pay any more attention to him.

At that moment, a young white-collar woman walked quickly past me, and 'Lucas', who was originally sitting on a small stool, hurriedly stood up and called out to her, "Miss, wait! I see a darkening in your forehead recently, indicating a great omen of misfortune. Only I can help you unravel it..."

"Smack!" A loud slap rang out, and I couldn't help but chuckle as I stood by and watched the commotion.

"Don't hit my face when you're hitting people!" 'Lucas' complained while covering his old face that was revealed from behind the mask due to the slap.

The white-collar woman sneered, "You shameless old man! Hitting your face would be too light!" With that, she swiftly kicked between 'Lucas's' legs with her pointed high heels, displaying speed, strength, accuracy, and precision that couldn't be achieved overnight.

As the little farce came to an end, I continued on my way without stopping, heading towards the park gate. But as I passed by the fortune-telling stall of the old man, he suddenly called out to me, "Hey, young man, hold on!"

Upon hearing the old man's words, I turned around and said to him, "What? Are you still not satisfied with how thoroughly your 'eggs' were cracked?"

The old man chuckled at my words, straightened up, and put on an air of superiority, stroking his goatee with one hand while pinching it with the other.

"The Tai Yin is at the door, a great loss in small matters, secrets and harmony, encountering superficial things, all matters are of no benefit... young man, don't blame me for being blunt, I'm afraid your life won't last long!" he said with a serious expression.

His words lit a fire inside me, and I retorted, "Who do you think won't last long? Which mental hospital's walls collapsed and let you out?" I had always been wary of these fortune-tellers on the street, so I didn't want to engage with them any further. With that, I turned and walked away.

But the old man was relentless. He quickly caught up to me and grabbed my arm, looking at me solemnly as he said, "I just read your fortune. The lower and upper trigrams, all twelve earthly branches are unfavorable. You will meet a great disaster in the coming days!"

"Are you crazy? Let go of me!" I pulled my arm back from him and walked away. I figured he wasn't just a fortune-teller; he was likely suffering from a mental disorder. After all, who would wear a Lucas mask and set up a fortune-telling stall on the roadside? It was bizarre that he even had any business!

"Young man, don't rush off. Let me ask you, were you born on the 14th day of the Renshen month in the lunar calendar?" the old man called after me as I tried to leave.

Ignoring the lunatic, I kept walking. But the old man caught up to me once again, grabbing my arm firmly.

Feeling annoyed, I took out my phone from my pocket and warned him, "Don't touch me. Leave now, or I'll call the police!"

Unfazed, the old man continued, "Want to call the police? Go ahead. Even if the police come, they won't find out why there's always paper ash in your house, they won't find out why you always smell burnt, they won't find out how long you have left to live..."

His words hit me like a bolt of lightning, leaving me stunned on the spot.

"Who...who are you? How do you know all this?" I asked, astonished.

"I know much more than just that..." the old man said cryptically, looking at me with a meaningful gaze.

Staring at the old man, I had a feeling that he was not ordinary. None of the strange occurrences that had happened recently were known to anyone other than Ivy and me. How did he know?

"Who are you and how do you know all this?!" I demanded, staring at him intently.

"I am now irrelevant, and it doesn't matter how I know all this. What matters is, if you continue living with your girlfriend, you won't live past a week," the old man's tone turned resolute and ominous as he spoke these final words, sounding like a low growl emanating from deep within his throat.

Shaken by his words, I asked, "What do you mean by that?"

"It's simple. I'm just reminding you to pay for the reading. Thirty-five for one reading," the old man said, extending a grimy hand towards me.

"Explain everything clearly first, then I'll pay you," I insisted.

The old man shook his head, "Pay first, then I'll tell your fortune."

"Did you not foresee that I didn't bring any money with me today?" I challenged him.

He smiled slyly but remained silent.

His eerie smile and unwavering gaze made me uneasy, and I took a couple of steps back.

"I never give free readings, so if you don't have money, you can use your body as payment and marry me. Maybe then I'll consider helping you with this bloody disaster prediction," the old man leered with an evil smile.

"Go to hell!" I realized at that moment that the old man was undoubtedly a complete and utter lunatic, and a severe one at that.

After wasting enough time with the lunatic on the street, I turned and walked away, ignoring his calls.

...

Back at home, as I lay in bed that night, I had a dream. In the dream, Ivy was holding a knife and trying to kill me, and my body was covered in blood. She chased after me like a deranged devil, intent on tearing me apart and breaking my bones.

The next morning, I woke up from the nightmare, panting heavily. I looked at Ivy sleeping beside me and then glanced under the bed. There was no paper ash this time, but the eerie burnt smell still lingered in the room.

The night passed without incident, and when I woke up the next morning, Ivy had already prepared breakfast for me.

"Hudson, Leo and I are planning to go mountain climbing today. Do you want to come with us?" Ivy asked as we ate breakfast. It was the first time she had suggested going out since her personality had started changing. I remembered how much she used to enjoy mountain climbing, begging me to take her almost every weekend.

"I... I have to go to the office today. I won't be able to join you. Call me if you need anything," I replied without telling her the truth.

"Okay," Ivy nodded and fell silent.

After Ivy left, I hurried back to the bedroom and turned on the computer with a tiny camera installed. I retrieved the monitoring records from the bedroom from the previous night.

I hadn't told Ivy about the surveillance because it wasn't that I didn't trust her, but I was worried that she might be frightened if she saw something she shouldn't.

Sitting in front of the computer, I fast-forwarded through the footage until the scene changed at midnight. Ivy, who was sleeping peacefully next to me, suddenly opened her eyes without warning. She slowly sat up, then got out of bed and walked over to the closet with a dim flashlight in hand.

As I watched, a chilling sensation crept over me.

Ivy opened the bedroom door and windows to let air circulate, but what happened next was beyond anything I could have imagined! I saw Ivy tie a red rope around my finger, with the other end tied to her wrist. Then, she knelt beside the bed and stared at me with emotionless eyes.

The footage from the surveillance camera sent shivers down my spine, leaving me petrified. Everything happened so suddenly and unexpectedly. I felt like a leaf in a violent storm, battered and tormented, thunderstruck. I was frozen, staring at the computer screen.

Was this the woman who had been by my side for three years? Was this the woman I had once deeply loved?

In an instant, all the courage I had built up over more than twenty years, all my beliefs, shattered along with my love for Ivy.