Chapter 149: Drugged

“Boss, don’t you think this place feels kind of creepy?”

“Yeah, boss, I feel a chill running down my neck too!”

The tattooed man they called boss snapped, “Quit talking nonsense! It’s boiling hot, what chill are you feeling?”

But even as he spoke, he couldn’t help but crane his neck to look around.

Truth was, he also felt something was off tonight, as if someone was watching them from the shadows.

The four of them stood in pairs, back-to-back around the well—two facing south down the alley, two facing north.

They stood there, tense and alert for a long while, before suddenly relaxing at the same time.

“I feel like that creepy feeling just disappeared.”

“Me too. Just now it felt like we were being stalked by some dangerous beast.”

The tattooed boss wiped the sweat from his brow, still trying to sound tough. “Stop it already. You can see the end of this alley at a glance. What could possibly be lurking here?”

The smallest of the group muttered, “Boss, not everything can be seen with your eyes.”

Another chimed in, “Yeah, my grandma used to tell me, when she was little, she’d be cooling off in the yard and suddenly feel like someone was watching her. She’d look around and see nothing, and then she—”

He told the story so vividly that the other three couldn’t help but listen closely.

Three minutes later, all four burly men shivered at the end of the tale.

“Alright, enough! Don’t tell ghost stories at night—I can picture it too clearly!”

Actually, ever since the extreme heat started, the nights had been livelier than the days. But their post was in a remote alley, and even at night, hardly anyone ever came by.

Maybe it was the ghost story, but now, in the sweltering fifty-degree heat, they all felt a chill on their backs, as if someone was watching them from nearby.

“Quick, let’s talk about something else! I’m getting goosebumps here!”

“Come on, we’re all men here. Can’t you be a little braver?”

“Less talk, more chatting! Aren’t you usually the talkative one?”

Their usual routine at work was just chatting to kill time—after all, standing guard didn’t mean standing in silence all night.

Someone immediately started a new topic: “Hey, did you hear? Tomorrow at the boss’s birthday banquet, there’s not just going to be good meat and wine, but even some rare vegetables!”

“Really? I can’t remember the last time I had vegetables! Eating meat every day is making me sick.”

“Count your blessings. You’re complaining about meat? Do you know how many people are starving out there? We’ve got rice and meat—that’s a life of luxury.”

“I guess you’re right... but I still want vegetables!”

“Forget it, we’ll be stuck guarding the well tomorrow night anyway, no banquet for us.”

At this, their boss said, “I’ve already asked Zhao Si to pack some food for us. But don’t count on any vegetables—the others will snatch them all up, nothing left for us.”

The others brightened up. “Hey, as long as we get a packed meal, that’s good enough. The menu’s bound to be great—last time at the celebration feast, I didn’t get enough to eat!”

“The boss’s birthday banquet will definitely be better than the celebration feast. Even if we don’t get veggies, at least it’s an upgrade.”

As they talked about food, they practically started drooling, and the mood lightened up considerably.

But just as they were starting to relax, the two facing south suddenly squinted. “What’s that?”

They saw a figure slowly approaching from the distance.

“Someone’s coming!”

At the same time, the two facing north shouted, “There’s someone on our side too!”

From both ends of the alley, two figures were approaching, closing in on them from both directions.

The tattooed boss shouted, “Stop! Leave now, or don’t blame us for what happens next!”

The two figures ignored the warning and kept moving forward.

As they got closer, the guards finally saw their faces clearly.

One had a bizarre, blue-green face with fangs; the other’s face was bright red with protruding cheekbones.

“Ahhh!!”

“Ghosts!!”

In the dim moonlight, the sudden appearance of these two ghastly faces made the tattooed men scream in terror.

The boss was the first to recover, his brow furrowing as he barked, “There’s no such thing as ghosts! Someone’s just playing tricks!”

He swung his club at the red-faced “monster” on his side.

The others, overcoming their fear, joined in the fight.

With adrenaline pumping, their courage returned. Looking closer, they realized there were no ghosts—just two people wearing masks.

“Damn it, who’s playing dress-up to scare people here?!”

The smaller one in the blue mask shouted in a rough voice, “This is a robbery! Hand over the well!”

The tattooed men immediately understood—just two water thieves!

They’d guarded this well before and had dealt with robbers and beggars, but this was the first time someone tried to scare them with masks.

Realizing they’d almost been frightened out of their wits by a couple of petty thieves, their anger flared, and they fought even harder.

The six of them tangled together in a chaotic brawl.

No one noticed the fine white powder drifting into the well water and dissolving without a trace.

Before long, the four guards gained the upper hand and managed to pin down the two masked thieves.

Just as they were about to rip off their masks, the two suddenly broke free and bolted in opposite directions.

The guards wanted to give chase, but worried it might be a diversion, so they left two to guard the well while the other two each chased after a thief, gradually disappearing into the distance.

The two left behind breathed a sigh of relief.

“At least they knew what was good for them and ran when they saw they couldn’t win.”

“Damn, those ghost faces really scared the crap out of me for a second—I nearly pissed myself.”

“What, are you really that chicken? Did grandma’s ghost stories get to you?”

“Please! Like you weren’t scared? Your face was white as a sheet.”

Not long after, the two who had given chase returned.

“Well? Did you catch them?”

Both shook their heads—not a single thief caught.

One, panting heavily, complained, “They fought like amateurs, but boy, could they run! I chased one across three streets and still lost him.”

The other agreed, “Yeah, any further and I’d have gotten heatstroke!”

The two left behind tried to reassure them. “At least they didn’t get away with anything. Let’s stay sharp for the rest of the night and make sure nothing else happens.”

Meanwhile, on a deserted path nearby, the two masked figures stood facing each other and took off their masks.

It was An Nan and Gu Zhiyu."