delivery man

chapter4

This is beyond the normal way the platform system works. I contacted customer service, who stated that they have no record of this order in their system.

"What's the order ID?" Customer Service asked.

"GH8571," I replied.

The caller was silent for a moment, then Hakuna said in a strange tone, "The format of this order ID doesn't conform to our system rules. Our order IDs all start with numbers, no letters."

Hanging up, my cell phone screen suddenly went black and then came back on, displaying the same order, but the countdown had already begun: 59:59, 59:58, 59:57...

Old Wang and I immediately rushed back to the small temple to find Taoist Master Lin. Daoist Master Lin's expression grew more and more serious as he listened to our findings, "I see. It's not just Li Ming's ghost that's haunting us, but an even more ancient and evil being is behind the manipulation. Li Ming is just one of the links, and you, most likely, are the next one."

"What do you mean?" I asked in disbelief.

Taoist Master Lin explained, "In folklore, there is an existence known as 'Hungry Ghost Dispatcher'. They were originally the little ghosts of hell, responsible for guiding the dead souls, but for some reason they were relegated to the status of 'Hungry Ghosts', forever hungry. In order to fill their hunger, they would entice the living to complete tasks for them, thus acquiring new dead souls."

"You mean, that room 2304..."

"It's most likely a portal to the netherworld," Daoist Lin continued, "and that so-called 'takeout order' is actually a trap to get you to knock on the door of your own accord, giving that 'hungry ghost messenger' a chance to grab your soul."

I recalled the strange order note: "Knock three times on the door." And the voice behind the door, "Not the door. Knock on me three times."

Everything began to become clear - Li Ming had become a "hungry ghost", not because of his own resentment, but because he had been taken over by a more powerful being, and had become its tool. And now, it's after me.

"What am I supposed to do?" I asked in desperation.

Daoist Master Lin took a deep breath, "There are two options. One is to hide and wait for the Mid-Year Festival to pass, its power will diminish, but it won't disappear, and it will come back next year for the Mid-Year Festival. The second is to tackle it head on, but it's extremely risky."

"How do I fix it?" Old King and I asked in unison.

Taoist Master Lin stood up and walked over to an ancient cabinet, taking out a wooden box, "This is the 'Soul Suppressing Bell' that my master passed down to me, which can briefly bind the movements of ghosts. If we can find the weakness of that 'Hungry Ghost Differential', we might be able to get rid of it."

He placed a small brass bell in my hand, "When you face it, ring this bell and then quickly recite this incantation." He handed me a slip of paper filled with odd writing.

"But," added Taoist Lin gravely, "you must find its true identity, its name, or the cause of its death. Otherwise, the spell will not work."

I looked at my cell phone screen and twenty minutes had passed in the countdown: 39:45, 39:44, 39:43...

"Time is running out," I took a deep breath, "I have to make a trip to that address."

Old Wang immediately said that he wanted to accompany me, but Daoist Lin stopped him, "For this kind of thing, outsiders interfering will only make it more dangerous. He must face it alone."

Lao Wang nodded reluctantly, but insisted on driving me to the entrance of the Rongfeng neighborhood.

"Be careful," he handed me a walkie-talkie, "contact me immediately if there's anything out of the ordinary, I'll be right outside."

I nodded my head and walked into the Rongfeng neighborhood with the Soul Suppressor Bell and the spell note in my pocket.

Night had already fallen, the neighborhood was unusually quiet, hardly any people could be seen. The streetlights flickered, casting my shadow on the ground, twisting and distorting it like a ghostly figure.

Arriving downstairs in building 17, I took a deep breath and pushed open the door to the building. The elevator was still malfunctioning and I had to take the stairs.

Every time I went up a level, I felt the air around me grow more chilly, as if there were countless pairs of eyes watching me in the darkness. The countdown on my cell phone's screen kept decreasing: 19:58, 19:57, 19:56...

When I finally climbed to the 23rd floor, I was out of breath. At the end of the corridor, where the wall should have been, now stood a door with the number clearly visible: 2304.

I gulped and walked slowly toward the door. As I approached, the temperature around me plummeted, and my exhaled breath turned to white mist.

Standing in front of the door, I could feel something squirming inside, waiting for me. I touched the Soul Suppressor Bell in my pocket to make sure the spell note was still on me, then took a deep breath and raised my hand to knock on the door.

"Knock, knock, knock."

I counted clearly and made sure I knocked three times, no more, no less.

Immediately that familiar raspy voice came from inside the door, "Finally."

The door opened slowly and it was so dark inside that nothing could be seen.

"Come in," said the voice, "your 'take-out'."

I stood in the doorway, not moving.

"I'm not going in," I try to keep my voice steady, "I'm just here to deliver."

A low chuckle came from the darkness inside the door, "You know this isn't really takeout, right? You also know that you're not the first delivery person to come here."

I tightened my grip on the spirit calming bell in my pocket, "Who are you? Why are you staring at me?"

"It doesn't matter who I am," the voice became lower, "what matters is who you are."

"What do you mean?"

"Don't you think it's strange? Why is it always the delivery guy? Why you? Why on the Midwinter Festival?" The voice inside the door gradually became clearer, sounding like an old man, "Because you, like me, are messengers who bring things from the dead to the living. Only, I deliver death, while you deliver food."

My heart raced, "You're... Shinigami?"

A creepy laugh came from inside the door, "No, I'm much lower than the Grim Reaper. I'm just a guide, a relegated netherwoman, an perpetually hungry hungry ghost errand boy."

At that moment, a thin figure slowly emerged from the darkness inside the door. It wore a tattered black robe, its face was withered, its eye sockets were deep-set, and the corners of its mouth were torn to the base of its ears; it was the same horrible face I had seen that night. But this time, I could see its appearance more clearly.

On its chest hung a bronze plaque with an odd symbol and a line of small characters engraved on it. By the faint light of the corridor, I vaguely recognized that it was a name: Judge Zhao.

"A long time ago, I was a minor magistrate in the underworld, responsible for guiding the souls of the recently dead to hell," it continued, its voice sounding as if it had come from far away, "but because of a moment of greed, I stole the tribute and was punished by being made a Hungry Ghost, eternally starving, forever wandering on the border between the Yang and the Netherworlds."

Its eyes emitted an eerie green light, "I have found a way to alleviate my hunger - every year, during the Mid-Yuan Festival, I entice a living person to work for me, deliver a special 'takeout' order, and then take his yang energy and soul."

"Li Ming..." I mumbled.

"Yes, he was one of the many poor men I tricked. But he wasn't strong enough, and he was soon under my control. And you..." It gazed at me, "You have that red rope and the protection of the Taoist priest, I can't control you directly. So, I had to lure you to come forward to deliver this 'takeout' order."

I gripped the soul bell in my pocket tighter, "So, who is this 'take-out' order for?"

Judge Zhao revealed a ghastly smile, "Of course it's for yourself. To be precise, it is for your soul. Once you step into this room, your soul will be taken away by me, and your physical body, will become my new puppet, continuing to find my next prey for me."

My heart shook as I finally realized all the mysteries-that basement, that repeated order, that eerie knock on the door, were all set up by this evil spirit with one purpose: to harvest my soul.

"Why did you pick me?" I continued to stall for time, secretly preparing to use the Soul Suppressor Bell.

"Because you live in that basement, just like Li Ming," Judge Zhao replied, "It's a 'soul guide' that I set up, and any outrider who lives there will be tagged by me. And the Mid-Yuan Festival, when my power is at its strongest, is the perfect time to carry out my plan."

It slowly approached me, "It's almost time, are you going to come in by yourself, or do I have to invite you in?"

At this point, the countdown displayed on my cell phone screen was down to the last minute: 00:59, 00:58, 00:57...

I knew it was time to act.

I quickly pulled out the Soul Suppressor Bell from my pocket and shook it vigorously. The crisp ringing echoed in the narrow corridor, and Judge Zhao jerked back, letting out a howl of pain.

"Judge Zhao, the eternally stranded and fallen yin man," I read aloud as I unfolded the incantation note given to me by Daoist Lin, "By heaven and earth, by sun and moon, I summon the gods of hell this day to reclaim this lost soul!"

Judge Zhao's body began to twist and a look of fear appeared on his face, ''How do you know my name? Impossible! You can't possibly know!"

"You told me yourself," I continued to shake the soul-suppressing bell, "the brass plate on your chest that says your name and identity."

As the incantation was recited, a dazzling white light shot out from the Soul Suppressor Bell and enveloped Judge Zhao's figure. It let out a mournful scream as its body began to dissolve, as if it was being scorched by a blazing fire.

"No! I can't go back! I'm not full yet!"

Its figure became more and more blurred, and finally turned into a wisp of green smoke that dissipated into the air. At the same time, the door of room 2304 began to twist and distort, and finally disappeared completely, revealing the original wall.

The countdown on the phone's screen came to a screeching halt, and the spooky order disappeared completely.

I sat paralyzed, drenched in cold sweat, but inside I felt a wave of relief I'd never felt before.

Shortly afterward, Lao Wang contacted me via walkie-talkie and asked if I was safe. I simply told him it was all over and then used my last strength to go downstairs and leave this nightmare place.

Later, we went to see Taoist Master Lin again and reported to him what had happened. After listening, Taoist Master Lin nodded, "You are very brave and lucky. That Judge Zhao has been sent back to hell to receive his punishment and won't come out to haunt us again for a short time."

"What about Li Ming?" I asked, "Is his spirit still wandering?"

Daoist Lin smiled, "When the main soul is suppressed, the subsidiary souls controlled by it will also be freed. Li Ming should already be able to rest in peace."

The next day, I moved out of that basement and found a new place to live with plenty of sunlight. Old Wang helped me contact another takeout platform, and I got back to work.

Life gradually returned to normal, but that experience left a deep impression on me. Whenever I pass by the Rongfeng neighborhood or deliver orders at night, I can't help but think of that horrible Judge Zhao and its Room 2304.

On the day of the Mid-Yuan Festival, I purposely bought some joss sticks and paper money, and found an open place in the countryside to pay tribute to Li Ming and those poor people like him who were killed by Judge Zhao. I hoped that their souls could rest in peace and no longer be trapped by evil spirits.

On my way home from worship, I received a delivery order. The pickup location was nearby and the delivery address was not far away, an ordinary residential neighborhood.

The order was taken, picked up and delivered, and all went smoothly. When I knocked on the customer's door, it was opened by a young girl, looking to be in her early twenties, who took the delivery with a smile on her face.

"Thank you," she asked suddenly as she took the bag of food, "Did you deliver a nighttime order on the day of the Chinese New Year Festival once before? Over in the Rongfeng neighborhood?"

My heart skipped a beat, "How did you know?"

The girl's smile became a little mysterious, "Because I've seen you there. I'm a resident of that building and I happened to see you standing in the hallway that night, talking to the wall."

"What did you see?" I take an involuntary step back.

"Nothing special, just you standing there alone, talking to the air, and then suddenly took out a bell and shook it." The girl c****d her head, "I thought you were drunk, so I didn't bother."

I was relieved that ordinary people couldn't see that door and Judge Zhao's presence.

"Yeah, I was probably too tired that day," I said perfunctorily, "Thanks for asking."

I was about to leave when the girl suddenly called out to me, "By the way, why did you knock on the wall three times that day? It was a strange move."

The blood in my body froze instantly.

"What?"

"It was that night when you knocked three times against the wall and started talking to yourself," the girl continued, the smile on her face fading into an odd one, "like this..."

She slowly raised her hand and knocked on the doorframe: thud, thud, thud.

Three strokes, no more, no less.

"Do you remember?" The girl's voice suddenly became hoarse, and her eyes flashed with a green light that didn't belong to humans, "Our agreement... Every year on the Mid-Yuan Festival... Deliver a special 'takeaway' order..."

I turned around and ran, but the corridor suddenly became incredibly long, and I ran for a long time, but remained in the same place. When I looked back, the girl was already standing in front of me, and her face began to twist and distort, revealing a face I was all too familiar with - Judge Zhao.

"I told you I'd be back," it grinned, revealing a mouth full of sharp teeth, "and this time, you won't be able to get away."

I awoke from my sleep in a panic, covered in a cold sweat. Outside the window, it was already light, and sunlight poured into the room through the curtains. I picked up my cell phone and looked at the date - two months before the Midwinter Festival.

It was just a nightmare. I took a long breath and got up to get ready to wash up.

In front of the mirror, my eyes were suddenly drawn to a mark on my wrist - it was three thin scratches, as if they had been scraped by a fingernail, like a... The mark of three knocks on the door.

My cell phone suddenly rang and I picked it up, it was an unknown number.

"Hello, is this Master Liu?" On the other end of the phone was a sweet female voice, "I'm the customer of your last delivery, would you like to take a private order? The tip will be generous this time oh..."

I hung up without waiting for her to finish, my heart beating wildly. The voice on the other end of the phone was exactly like the girl in the dream.

The cell phone screen lit up, displaying a new message:

Private message from "Anonymous": Don't forget our promise. On Chinese New Year's Day, Room 2304, Block 17, Rongfeng District. Knock three times.

Below the message, was a photo - a takeout delivery bag, placed in front of a door I knew well.

The door number is 2304.

And the date the photo was taken was, quite literally, this year's Midwinter Festival.

I know that the nightmare is far from over. Judge Zhao will return, and I, once again, will face the door that shouldn't exist, and the ever-hungry evil spirit behind it.

Only this time, I'm not sure I'll be lucky enough to escape again.

Whenever my cell phone beeps with a new order, I shudder in fear of seeing that familiar order number: GH8571.

I knew that sooner or later, that order would show up on my phone again.

And at that time, I would have to once again set foot on that long corridor leading to room 2304 and face Judge Zhao and its insatiable hunger.

Because it's a pact between us, a pact made in blood and soul.

Every year on the Chinese New Year's Day, we deliver a special "takeaway" order.

Knock three times.

Then, await the judgment of fate.