Sticky rice

Late at night, with some light seeping out from the opposite side of the high wall and a small kerosene lamp, a small stall was set up.

Uncle Ming was still wearing that old bathrobe, with a cigarette butt clenched in his mouth. He held a spatula in one hand and the handle of the pot in the other.

Turbulent tongues of fire leaped out from the stove, chasing after the iron pot that was being tossed up and down. The flames occasionally shot into the pot, skimming over the distinct grains of rice and leaving behind a faint burnt aroma.

Yin Xiu was sitting at one of the five tables at the stall, the one in the most corner. He was quietly watching Uncle Ming stir-fry the glutinous rice, not saying a word.

It is said that when the people of Ingilia first saw the fierce flames bursting out from the stove, they thought that the people working in the kitchen were all fire-element magicians and couldn't help but sigh at the abundance of spiritual energy in Pan-Asia.

After learning the truth, the people of Ingilia disdainfully regarded the high-pressure stove as a barbaric way of cooking and believed that it was a waste of resources.

While Yin Xiu was lost in thought, Uncle Ming had already placed a plate of glutinous rice in front of him.

After gesturing for Yin Xiu to start eating, he pulled up a chair and sat down, lighting another cigarette for himself.

"Our main job as Taoists is to catch zombies, so we always carry a handful of glutinous rice with us, just like how a maintenance technician would carry a handful of coal with them."

As Uncle Ming spoke, he indeed took out a handful of coal ash from Yin Xiu's pocket and sprinkled it on the table.

"Glutinous rice can ward off zombie poison, find zombies, and occasionally when we're extremely hungry, it can also serve as a snack."

He took out a raw glutinous rice grain from his pocket and put it in his mouth, chewing it carefully as if he were savoring some delicious food.

"So every Taoist has a familiar rice shop, just to be able to buy glutinous rice at any time. And the rice shop won't casually raise the price for Taoists even during the most food-scarce times. This kind of relationship can often last for several generations.

When my great-grandfather came to Hong Kong Island, at that time, this place was still the territory of us Chinese people."

Uncle Ming knocked on the table. The table made of hollow plywood couldn't bear the force and shook unsteadily.

"There were no Taoists as powerful as my great-grandfather on Hong Kong Island at that time, so his business was very good."

"Look!" He pointed at an old five-story building in the distance, "That building was earned by him, with most of his life's savings."

Uncle Ming took another puff of his cigarette. The smoke came out of his nostrils, as if a steam engine was rumbling.

"In my generation, all the zombies have been caught and there are none left to catch. So I had to go and help people look at feng shui.

Damn it! There's no good feng shui left in Hong Kong Island. It's all been ruined by the Westerners. And I don't want to deceive people, so I just came here to stir-fry glutinous rice."

Uncle Ming seemed to have changed his usual taciturn nature and talked a lot. Yin Xiu just listened and wolfed down the plate of glutinous rice.

Wiping his mouth, Yin Xiu said earnestly, "It's very delicious."

"Do I need you to tell me that?" Uncle Ming gave him a sidelong glance. "Which of the neighbors around here doesn't know that my stir-fried glutinous rice is delicious?"

Suddenly, he reached out and knocked on Yin Xiu's left hand.

Yin Xiu hadn't wrapped the artificial skin around that metal prosthetic limb yet, so when his finger knocked on it, it made a metallic ringing sound, which was particularly clear at the midnight stall.

Uncle Ming adjusted his glasses that he almost never took off and asked, "Do you also like to modify yourself like the Westerners do?"

"I don't have that kind of leisure time."

Yin Xiu touched that arm and a bitter smile appeared on his face.

"When I was working in the factory, I accidentally got caught in the machine. The boss was kind enough not to ask me to pay for the machine repair. Later, I saw that this arm wasn't that badly damaged, so I took it to Temple Street and exchanged it for a metal prosthetic limb and put it on."

He had practiced this line of words many times. To outsiders, besides the bitterness, there was also a bit of mockery and a sense of finding joy in hardship in this smile.

It wasn't that Yin Xiu wanted to deceive people. It's just that he couldn't very well tell others that he brought this with him when he time-traveled and it was already attached to his arm when he opened his eyes. This secret that even Yin Xiu himself hadn't figured out would only bring him trouble if he told it.

Uncle Ming didn't delve deeper. He didn't particularly dislike these machines that came from the West, but he definitely didn't like them either.

He pulled on Yin Xiu's sleeve to cover that mechanical prosthetic limb.

"This thing is too eye-catching on the street. You'd better hide it and don't let others know about it."

Yin Xiu nodded. He knew Uncle Ming's good intentions.

There had been several cases in Guangmingli already. Drunk swordsmen were dragged into the alley, and the next day, all kinds of prosthetic limbs on their bodies would appear on the black market.

Metal prosthetic limbs were valuable, especially those that obviously came from big companies and were even rarer. Once they were revealed, it was inevitable that they would attract the attention of others.

Yin Xiu knew this very well, so he always wrapped the prosthetic limb tightly with artificial skin.

Uncle Ming took out another cigarette and lit it for himself.

"Anyway, today you did me a favor. If it weren't for you reminding me at the breakfast stall, I probably wouldn't have found that fox demon even after hiding for a few more days. Although that evil creature still got away, I owe you a favor."

"No, no." Yin Xiu waved his hands repeatedly. "If it weren't for you arriving in time, Uncle Ming, I would have already been drained dry by that fox demon and gone to sell salted duck eggs underground with the previous guys."

Yin Xiu's expression became serious. "Neither of us owes the other anything."

"You said it! We're even now!"

Suddenly, Uncle Ming changed from his previous amiable manner and became cold again. He turned around and left.

"This plate of fried rice is on me. If there's nothing else, go back and sleep. For your own good, don't tell anyone about today's events."

"..."

Although Yin Xiu had long known that Uncle Ming had a strange temperament, he was still taken aback by his sudden change. He sat there in a daze for a while before remembering the purpose of his visit tonight and quickly got up to call out to him.

"Uncle Ming!"

Uncle Ming turned around and looked at him suspiciously behind the round lenses. "What, is there something else?"

"Uncle Ming, I want to become your disciple."

Upon hearing this, Uncle Ming was stunned for a moment and then laughed, his voice filled with anger.

"Damn it, you son of a bitch, fuck you! Did I say all that for nothing just now? What's so good about being a Taoist in Hong Kong Island? Why do you have to choose this?"

He waved his hand as if he had seen something unclean. "Get out! Go on! If you want to act crazy, go somewhere else. If you don't leave, I'll call the people from Castle Peak Hospital to take you away."

Even though he was being yelled at like this, Yin Xiu still maintained his composure and just repeated, "I want to be your disciple."

Uncle Ming scratched his head in distress, looking very annoyed. "You guy, don't you listen? Why do you want to cultivate Taoism all of a sudden? Have you read too many novels?"

Seeing that Yin Xiu didn't answer, he raised his voice a bit.

"Come on, say something. Give me a reason. Why should I accept you? Come on, speak up!"

Yin Xiu's eyes were determined. "Time is running out. If I don't get a legal identity soon, I'll be expelled."

Uncle Ming stopped and looked him up and down. Then he chuckled again.

"Damn it! You're better than those people outside. At least you're honest."