Under Stella's pressure, I had no choice but to leave the tattoo parlor and wander around aimlessly. Since I didn't know Harper well enough to guess where she might be, I could only walk randomly and occasionally ask passersby.
Unfortunately, after describing her appearance to people, everyone just shook their heads saying they'd never seen her.
After two hours of searching, my mouth was dry and I was exhausted. Realizing this approach wasn't working, I thought if I continued like this, I'd collapse before finding Harper. Besides, I couldn't afford to waste time like this - I needed to make money.
That's when I remembered Hames, Chloe's former boss whom I'd somewhat befriended earlier when helping him with the Kuman Thong situation. As a wealthy, well-connected guy, he might be able to help more than I could wandering alone.
I asked Stella for Harper's photo and sent it to Hames. He responded immediately, telling me to wait while he had his people look into it.
While eating a bowl of beef noodles, Hames contacted me saying they'd found her - in a bar. He said Harper had entered five days ago but never left, staying there the whole time.
Grateful for the lead, I thanked Hames and headed to the bar. However, since it only opened at night, I had to wait until evening. Meanwhile, I updated Stella, who came to wait with me.
Stella questioned the information's reliability, saying Harper was a good girl who wouldn't visit such places, let alone stay for five days. "What would she even be doing there? Working as a bartender?"
I shrugged helplessly. "I don't know. We'll have to verify when we get inside. But someone like Hames wouldn't give false information - it would make him lose face."
After an agonizing wait, we finally entered the packed bar that evening. The noise was deafening, making normal conversation impossible.
Stella's attractive figure immediately drew swarms of men like flies. It took considerable effort for her to shake them off. I worried what might have happened to a girl like Harper in such an environment.
Bars attract all sorts of shady characters. For a good girl like Harper to stay five days here... she might not have survived unscathed.
The crowded conditions forced Stella and me to split up. The dim lighting made searching extremely difficult, with writhing bodies packed together like maggots, their eyes filled with desire and numbness.
Just then, I spotted a girl whose back looked remarkably like Harper's. My heart leapt as I hurried over and tapped her shoulder. But when she turned around, I nearly jumped out of my skin. While her back resembled Harper's, her face... well, it could only be described in four words: utterly horrifying! This was the legendary "backstabber" - mesmerizing from behind but terrifying from the front.
"Like what you see, handsome? Want to buy me a drink? Maybe we could find a quiet place to... share our hearts?" The girl tilted her head suggestively, making me nearly vomit up my earlier beef noodles.
I said nothing, simply giving her the middle finger.
"Tch. Why bother me if you're not interested? Pervert." The girl cursed before storming off.
As I prepared to leave too, I suddenly noticed an old man sitting nearby. I thought to myself, "What's an old man doing in a place like this? How bizarre!"
Curious, I glanced at him - and immediately felt a strange sense of familiarity. After a moment's recollection, it hit me: wasn't this old man... fucking Peng Zu? The same Peng Zu who'd appeared on that human skin banner, naked while leading an army of headless ghost soldiers?
I froze. But that old man's from what era? He's been around since Emperor Yao's time, through the Xia and Shang dynasties. If he's still alive now, he wouldn't just be an old monster - he'd be something beyond human.
Could those legends be true? Does this guy really have immortality?
No way. Absolutely impossible. Must just be someone who looks like him.
When I looked up to study him more closely, he'd vanished. Scanning the room, I spotted him near the exit, apparently preparing to leave.
Without hesitation, I chased after him. But when I reached the door, he'd disappeared completely. Something even stranger - while this bar opened onto a main street surrounded by other crowded entertainment venues that should have been bustling, after chasing him outside I found... no one.
The streetlights had taken on an eerie dark yellow hue. Dark shadows darted about, and I seemed to hear horrible sounds everywhere - laughter, sobs, wails, screams - as if the street had suddenly plunged into hell.
I shuddered, confused but instinctively knowing I should rush back inside.
Just as I turned, all sounds ceased. Only then did I notice I'd stepped on something.
Looking down, I saw a black flag bearing a large "ghost" character with skull designs.
This appeared to be a ghost flag. And it looked strangely familiar.
Come to think of it, this ghost flag was identical to the one Peng Zu had been holding - exactly the same, no difference at all.
Strangely, after I lifted my foot, the street lights returned to normal and the area became bustling again, filled with people coming and going. Many bar patrons were now looking at me with strange expressions.
What was happening? Could the bizarre events just now have been triggered by me stepping on this ghost flag? Who would leave a ghost flag lying in front of a bar?
Putting that aside, this ghost flag was extremely eerie. Just looking at it gave me chills, and I didn't dare pick it up. After some hesitation, I turned and went back inside.
Peng Zu, the ghost flag, that human skin artifact - I'd encountered two of these tonight. The thought made my head spin. Better to find Harper and get out of here!
Back in the bar, I searched a while longer, but now even Stella had disappeared, let alone Harper. I had no choice but to call her.
After three unanswered calls, I wondered - was it too noisy for her to hear her phone?
Just as I hung up, I suddenly spotted a familiar figure at a table with three men and three women. One of the girls was Harper!
Harper was lying in the arms of a middle-aged man, occasionally nibbling his ear and whispering intimately. The man wore a lecherous smile as he kept pouring alcohol into her glass.