A Guest in a Ghost House Chapter 53 The Panic in the Night Market Stall 4

As time went by, the young boy couldn't take it anymore and fell asleep on the table. The man with the crew cut, the driver and other man still sat in their seats and completely ignored the young boy who was now asleep on the table. It was quite a strange sight.

The boss looked over and began pacing, but couldn't brnig himself to actually approach them. I could tell he also knew that there was something wrong. As the group of young people, who ad been previously discussing the game, paid for their meal, the boss made a phone call and decided to hail a taxi himself to send the boy away.

It was late now and there were very few taxis on the street. After waiting for quite some time, there was still not a taxi in sight. The young men who were discussing the game were no longer waiting for a taxi. Instead, they sat back down at the table and began to eat once more. While the boss was rushing to get the orders in, the taxi driver stood up and slowly walked over to the boss. He walked with an odd pace. It looked as if he was a thief sneaking up on his desired item, noiselessly moving towards the grill.

"I'll drive him home." The driver finally spoke in a flat voice and it seemed detached from the actual social situation. It seemed earnest, but there was absolutely no emotion behind his words.

The boss subconsciously pulled the boy behind him and smiled stiffly, "No. No. Thanks. I've already called my friend."

It was as if the driver didn't hear what the boss had just said and continued to repeat his words, "I'll drive him home." However, there was some haste in his tone this time.

Even the boy began getting a bit scared and then just hid behind the boss. I looked up at the driver, whose face was pale and eyes were bloodshot. He looked a little terrifying. I couldn't even tell if the driver was a man or a ghost at this point. No person in their right mind would dare to take his car.

The boss rejected his offer again and the driver just stood there without saying a word. He went back to his seat and just sat there quietly.

As that strange even was going on, a phone began to ring, diminished the strange atmosphere that left the air tense and unnerving. I looked towards the direction of the sound and saw the panda girl take out her phone from her bag and have a look. She didn't answer the phone however, and just put it aside, let it continue ringing. It was pretty unusual though. Usually, if a phone isn't answered, it would usually hang up automatically after ringing a few times. However, the panda girl's phone didn't stop ringing and it seemed that it would never stop at all.

Everyone else also noticed this and looked towards the panda girl. If this was the only weird thing going on tonight at the night market stall, nobody would have batted an eyelash, but with everything that was going on tonight, it was really standing out.

After a long time, the panda girl finally answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hm."

"OK."

After a three-word exchange, she put her phone in her bag, then stood up and said to the boss, "Boss, can I have the check, please?"

With a happy expression, the boss quickly set up the bill for panda girl. The panda girl didn't leave immediately, instead she walked up to the taxi driver and asked him, "Sir, can I take your taxi?"

The boss stepped forward. He wanted to say something but then decided against it. I was trying to muster the courage to say something to stop the panda girl, since there obviously was something wrong with the taxi driver. When I was about to say something, the taxi driver refused the her request.

I couldn't help but wonder why. I really couldn't understand anything that was going on tonight.

Seeing that the taxi driver refused her request, the panda girl smiled slightly, returned to her seat and ordered some kebabs from the boss again. I could see very clearly that the boss was in a state of shock and frustration.

Absolutely no one was leaving the stall and the atmosphere was getting weirder and weirder. I hastened to urge Xiao Lingdang to leave but it was as if she had not eaten for a hundred years. She shook her head and just ignored me. What's more, she even had me order beer for her. She must have gotten in the mood for a few drinks after seeing the others drinking.

I had no choice but to ask the boss to bring me a bottle of beer. Taking advantage of the fact that he had to approach to give us the beer, the boss inquired quietly, "Will your friend still come? If he's not coming, please go home early."

The boss's voice was so low that I could hardly hear it. After finishing his sentence, the boss seemed afraid of being noticed by the others, and hurried back to grill and continued to barbecue.

After the boss' words, I could really tell he was a good guy. I think if I were the boss, I wouldn't want any normal people to leave, since it would mean I'd have more people on my side if anything went wrong. Of course, if he had seen the garbage bag full of uneaten kabobs under the table, perhaps I wouldn't have received so much kindness.

I looked at my watch and saw that it was three o'clock. I had no intention of leaving just yet. Since Xiao Lingdang was by my side, I still felt very safe. The boss and the boy who seemed to be his son were innocent people, so I didn't want them to be hurt by any ghosts. Perhaps this is why the boss was so kind, it inspired others to look out for him.

The young men, who were preciously talking about the game, stood up again and wanted to pay for their bill once more. Again, they walked out of the stall to wait for a taxi, but then soon returned to their seats.

Now even the behavior of the game enthusiasts, who I previously thought were absolutely not a problem, was starting to bother me. Their behavior was odd and I began wondering why they were hesitating to leave. Did they live too far? No, this was just a small county town and it was just a palm-sized place, there was no reason why they'd have to wait for a taxi.

It was a little cold that night but what really made people feel chills was the people in the night market stall, all of whom looked and acted very strangely.

I ordered some more kebabs, causing the boss to shout, "Excuse me, everyone. The kebabs are sold out." The boss's voice was trembling and he was holding the boy's hand tightly. I could clearly see that in the space under the grill, the boss had quietly tucked the kebabs into a corner.

Nobody replied or reacted to the boss' announcement, it was as if nobody had heard him. Some were just sitting there, doing nothing. The others were discussing the game or drinking.

The boss was clearly upset and said with a loud voice, "We're going to close the stall and we're out of kebabs!"

This time, somebody finally reacted to what he had said. One of the two business women walked over to the boss ready to pay her tab. Just as I thought she was going to check out, she suddenly pointed at the grill behind the boss and said in a cold voice, "There still are some left."

The boss began sweating and was left astonished. Were they both ghosts, too?

The boss laughed and blamed himself for having a bad memory. He then used his trembling hands to take the kebabs out from under the grill. He must be really regretting having prepared so many kababs.

The two business women began to chat again, while the boss continued to barbecue, nothing had changed.

Suddenly, the panda girl stood up and went towards the shadows on one side of the stall. I was surprised, but then realized that she may have been going to the bathroom. As I was averting my eyes out of respect, it suddenly occurred to me that the toilet was next to the stall and it was unoccupied, so why was she going into a place with no lighting?

Amidst my confusion, the panda girl had come out of the shadows, back first and her hands stretched out, pulling a pregnant woman, whose belly was quite large. She must have been pregnant for at least 7 or 8 months. Things were getting weirder and weirder.

Chapter end