13 Mingke Street

Chapter 67 Night Run

Just a few days after the weather cleared up, the rain annoyingly came back. A rainy day in deep winter can be considered a form of punishment. When you're outside, raindrops will sneak into every crevice of your clothes. When you're inside, the dampness and coldness brought by the water can give you the illusion that you've already moved into a coffin.Karen sat at the entrance of the living room, flipping through a book in her hand. It was a book given to her by Eunice, titled "Diary of Fantasies". The author's name was "Robert" and the protagonist was also named Robert. In the book, Robert was a guy with an exhibitionist tendency who enjoyed running naked at night. The story was divided into diary entries, recording the bizarre and absurd experiences Robert had during his nightly runs.

For example, one day while he was night running, he passed by a night market stall and saw an old couple cooking their own heads in a pot. The pot was bubbling and the voices of the couple could be heard inviting him to try the new flavor at their stall.One day while he was night running, he passed by a small bridge. On the west side of the bridge, there was rolling lava, while on the east side, the river was frozen.One day, while he was night running, he passed by a post office and saw a group of postal workers crazily stuffing piles of letters into their mouths. Their bellies bulged like small mountains, and with the help of other postal workers, they were forcefully stuffed into mailboxes....After this diary entry, the book ends with the following words:After that day, I suddenly felt bored. I don't know if it was because night running became boring or because being naked outdoors became boring.When Karen first read this book, she felt like it was Dante's "Divine Comedy";Because many scenes in the book did not seem like earthly sights.

But there are indeed many metaphors in it, but whether this is really the author's intentional allusion or the reader's forced reading comprehension, it is unknown.Because the author Robert chose to hang himself a year after the release of this book, which added a lot of mystery to this book, and there are even many books analyzing "The Dream Diary".At this time, Mina, Lente, and Chris came back with three umbrellas.They completed the final exam yesterday and went to the school to pick up their report cards at noon today. It has to be said that the teachers at their school are really fast at grading.From their expressions, Mina looked calm. She has always had good grades, and the final exam was just a formality;Chris had a smile on her face, so her grades should be good too;Lente seemed a bit... emotionally low.Among the children of the Inmerleis family of this generation, girls generally have better grades than boys, and the previous "Karen" also had average grades.But now Karen doesn't have to go to school anymore, and Lente has lost a comrade in the same trench, so he has to face concentrated firepower alone."Not doing well on the exam?" Karen asked Lente.

Lun nodded."Then go tell your mother about your grades quickly, and promise her that you will work hard next semester while she's in a good mood these days."Upon hearing his brother's reminder, Lun's eyes lit up and he immediately ran to the basement to find Aunt Mary.Not long after, Lun came back with a smile on his face. Obviously, he had passed the final exams and his mother didn't scold him, hit him, or confiscate his collection of cards. Instead, she really did as his brother said and reminded him to work hard next semester."Hehe, brother."Lun, who had completed his tribulation, finally entered a happy state during winter break."Lun, come mop the floor!" Mina shouted to her little brother from the second floor."Coming, sis!"Lun ran upstairs.Karen knew that Aunt Mary was in a good mood these days. It was her birthday two days ago, and Karen had prepared a sumptuous birthday dinner for her aunt. Of course, these were not the most important things.

The most important thing is that, at the dinner table, Dis personally raised his glass to Aunt Mary:"You have worked hard, for the family business, for Mason, for the children at home."Aunt Mary, who received affirmation from her father-in-law, drank the red wine in her cup and then buried her head and cried for a long time.In fact, she wanted to laugh, but sometimes being too happy can manifest as crying.Dis's position in the hearts of his family members is completely different, so his personal affirmation to Aunt Mary is of great significance.In the two days after the birthday dinner, Aunt Mary was practically walking on air, humming her favorite cheerful tunes. This morning, when Mrs. Mark came to complain as usual about her flowers being picked by guests offering condolences, Aunt Mary actually took the initiative to apologize and offer compensation.This sudden change left Mrs. Mark at a loss. She didn't want Aunt Mary's compensation, but instead angrily pulled out a few plants herself. Perhaps she was just looking for a fight.Closing the book, the cover had a sentence printed on it:"You think you're running honestly, but you can't exchange it for true visibility."Karen silently counted the days on her fingers. Excluding today, there were only two days left of the seven days Dis had mentioned.

Aunt's birthday night, Eunice also came; Yesterday, Karen also went to Eunice's house for afternoon tea.Karen clearly noticed that Mrs. Jenny was preparing to move, and she even asked Karen if she gets seasick.In short, the day is gradually approaching."Ring ring..."The phone rang.Karen walked over and answered the phone:"Hello, this is the Inmores Funeral Home.""Hello, I'm looking for Karen Inmores."The voice on the other end of the phone was a gentle man."What can I do for you?" Karen asked.

"Can you please let Karen answer the phone? I have a gift of life that I want to give to him.""Sorry, Karen is not at home right now."Karen hung up the phone.Is there already a telecom fraud going on?At this moment, Mina walked over and handed a letter to Karen:"Brother, I forgot to give this to you when I came back. It's for you.""Who is it from?" Karen took the envelope and noticed that there was no recipient written on it."It's from a priest named Simon. He approached us on the tram and said he was good friends with Grandpa. Then he asked us who was the smartest among us and said he would give that person a gift. I wasn't going to answer because I thought he was strange. But Lunt said you, Karen, are the smartest in the family, and then Chris immediately agreed."

"That priest gave us this letter and asked us to come back and give it to you, brother.Brother, do you think that priest might be a fraud?""It's possible," Karen cautioned, "you should be careful next time.""Well, he got off the car after giving us the letter.""Okay, I received the letter. By the way, there's some yogurt I made in the fridge, go share it with Chris and Lint.""Okay, brother."Mina hugged Karen and gave him a kiss on the cheek before running off with a smile.Mina, who was usually quiet and well-behaved, suddenly became more expressive. This was not because she had changed, but because she, being perceptive and sensitive, may have already noticed something.Karen sat back down and opened the envelope:"Hello, when you read this letter, congratulations, you are the lucky one chosen by fate."

"I will lead you into the true staircase of this world, and show you the true scenery of this world.If you are willing,Tonight at 8 o'clock,You can go to the entrance of the Minke Street Church, I will be waiting for you there.Your guide - Simon.""Ha ha."After reading the letter, Karen laughed.The format of this letter naturally reminded him of all the scam emails that used to fill his inbox in his past life.However,After laughing,

Karen's expression also became serious.It was both a phone call and a letter, and the location was the same church where Grandpa started working. It's okay to make fun of it, but it's self-deception to take it as a scam.However,"Shh..."Karen tore up the letter."Huh, only a fool would go."Karen went upstairs, and at that moment, he saw Dis coming down.As soon as their eyes met,Karen immediately spoke:"Grandpa, a priest sent me a letter through Mina, and there was also a phone call earlier looking for me. They said I was the lucky one chosen by fate and invited me to meet them at the entrance of the church on Mink Street at 8 o'clock tonight. The sender is Simon."

"Report completed.Dis nodded, indicating that he understood.Karen then stretched lazily, it was time for him to prepare dinner."You don't have to prepare dinner.""Hmm?""Come with me.""Okay, Grandpa. I'll go get the car keys... Oh no, Grandpa, Uncle Mason has already taken the hearse out, he has business today.""We can walk.""Okay, Grandpa."Karen followed Dis to the first floor, where several black umbrellas were placed on the inside of the living room door."

After all, the umbrellas in the funeral society are not suitable for too many rich colors.Dis walked in front with an umbrella, Karen followed behind with an umbrella, and the grandfather and grandson entered the rain curtain.Karen didn't ask Dis where he was going, just followed along, but the direction was not towards the location of the church.When they reached the intersection, Dis stopped and Karen stopped as well.A taxi passed by, Dis waved and the car stopped in front of the grandfather and grandson.Karen went forward to help her grandfather open the back door of the car and let him get in first, then she sat in the passenger seat.It turned out that when Grandpa said to walk, he meant to walk out and take a taxi.Grandpa said the location, West Street Cemetery.Twenty minutes later, the taxi stopped at the entrance of the cemetery. It was a small cemetery, and it was already "full", and its location was not considered downtown but not in the suburbs either.Unlike the taboo of living next to a cemetery in the previous life, the citizens of Luo Jia City actually have no major resistance to having a cemetery near their residence. To a certain extent, houses closer to the cemetery are even more popular. Of course, the premise is that the cemetery must be well maintained, not the style of a chaotic burial ground.

Standing at the entrance of the cemetery, you can see a wooden house inside, which should be the caretaker's house. However, the door is closed now, so the caretaker is probably not at home.Dis walked along the gravel path and then brought Karen to a joint tombstone.This should be a joint burial of a couple with the surname Smith."Today is the anniversary of your father and mother."Karen remained silent.According to etiquette, he should kneel down and passionately cry out, "Father, mother, your child has come to see you."But Karen couldn't bring himself to do such an exaggerated emotional display, especially in front of Dis. It was not allowed in this setting.However,Karen still held up his umbrella, took a step back, and bowed to the tombstone.After bowing, Karen asked, "Are their remains buried here?"

Dis shook his head.Oh, that's the Tomb of the Dressed.Karen remembered that Puer had said that the bodies of clergy members would be collected by the major churches, as it was an important material. What Mrs. Molly had previously requested from herself was the purified body.The surname on the tombstone is Smith, not Inmoleis. Is it to deceive others and avoid being disturbed?Karen glanced at Dis from the corner of her eye. Dis had personally killed Karen's parents because they had been heavily contaminated and were no longer human, not even conscious beings. So their memorial day was also Dis's day of sorrow. For someone who valued family so much, it must have been difficult to kill his own two family members.Dis stood there in silence for a long time.Karen stood by his side, looking down at the puddle in front of her being slowly hit by raindrops.Finally,Dis turned around, seeming to want to leave. Karen quickly followed.

"Grandpa, do you come here every year on this day?" Karen asked.In the previous memory of "Karen", there was no memory of accompanying her grandfather to pay respects to her parents."Yes." Dis replied, "Every year, I will choose a tombstone, stop and stand for a while.""Hmm, hmm?" Karen widened her eyes, "So, the owner of the tombstone that Grandpa just visited was?""The Smith couple, isn't it written on the tombstone?" Dis asked back.So, it's not even a real grave, and the fake name is just my naive imagination. The couple buried under that grave are really a couple with the last name Smith that I don't know!"Is it surprising?" Dis asked.Karen pursed her lips and said, "It's a bit surprising, but I can understand. Even if there is grief in my heart, a photo, a flower, or a ray of sunlight can be a way to express and remember.Grandpa deliberately found a cemetery and chose a tombstone, which is already very comprehensive in terms of form.""Form, ceremony." Dis chewed on the two words, "Yes, you're right."

"Then what's next..." Karen asked, "Choose another tombstone?"Dis shook his head and said:"The rain is getting heavier, let's go home. It's too formal and not good."Karen and Dis walked out of the cemetery. Fortunately, the driver who had brought them here earlier seemed to have athlete's foot and was standing there...picking his feet.But it's not convenient to take a taxi on a rainy day, so Karen still helped Dis open the back door. After Dis got in, Karen ran to the other side and sat down next to Dis after opening the door."13 Mingke Street.""Okay, sirs."...Back at home, standing at the door.Dis reached out and put his hand on Karen's shoulder, patted it and said:

"Go home." This scene had happened once before, but at that time, Dis was filled with murderous intent. Now, he was full of kindness. However, just as Dis pushed open the door... Karen suddenly stopped in his tracks. He suddenly remembered something, this wasn't right! The image from that day appeared in Karen's mind again - he was holding a golden retriever, and Dis was standing next to him. Then, Dis reached out and placed his hand on Karen's shoulder, asking him a question: what was ahead? At that time, Karen thought that it was a test from Dis, and only by answering "home" could he touch the softness in Dis's heart and protect his own life. But because of Mr. Hofen's actions, Karen had a preconceived notion. In reality, Dis never had any intention of killing him from the beginning.

So...The images in Karen's mind began to shift, the perspective stretched and moved to the back.In front,From left to right, and also from front to back,There was a golden retriever being led by a leash, crouching on the far left and also the front,Behind the golden retriever was Karen, holding the leash,And behind Karen, with his hand resting on her shoulder, was Dis;..."Karen.""Grand...father..."

"Karen, where is this?""Home!!!"As I shouted out the answer in my hoarse voice,In the scene,The hand on my shoulder from Dias was actually a protective gesture, placing me under his protection. At the same time, Dias turned his head and looked behind, his gaze filled with killing intent.That killing intent was not directed at me,But at the blurry figure standing behind me at that time, or even across the street...