Barely after the three finished paying at the grocery store’s cashier for a blob of lard and a small cut of butter, Gloria’s phone rang. Her heart dropped a beat when she took a look at the name of the caller, it was Luoshan Zi.

“What happened? Did the oil bubble?” Gloria immediately put her friend on speaker.

“Yes, it bubbled. The one in the middle.” Luoshan Zi sounded like she was deliberately lowering her voice to avoid being heard: “The bubbles are still small and - not very fast, so I am not sure how urgent it is. But I think you need to come back.”

“How fast are the bubbles? And how big are they?” Gyuu Park immediately asked: “And - could you tell me if the drops changed color in any way?”

“Hold on.” Luoshan Zi put her phone down for a quick moment, then came back: “No - no change in color. The bubbles are - maybe slightly less than one bubble per second, and the size is very very small, like a hole made by a threading needle.”

“Alright - looks like we still have a bit of time before it actually hits.” Gyuu Park nodded and let out a sigh of relief.

“Have you heard from the community watch and patrols team?” Tae Kuo asked: “We called them a while back, anything?”

“No - I’ll call again. But sounds like they are very busy at the moment, and curses are not their top priority.”

“Fucking hell.” Gyuu Park took a deep breath, shaking his head: “Now, Ms. Zi, remember, let’s set up a code. If you hear us knocking at the door, ask us a random question that no one else knows the answer to.”

“No problem.” Luoshan Zi said: “And? What else should I do?”

“Oil, if you have oil, start boiling some oil. If not then water. If anything unclean tries to get in, splash it. Or if you’re comfortable, prepare something that could produce fire.” Gyuu Park answered: “And then - candles, just in case the power cuts. Get some candles, check everyone’s position at all times, stay still. And - oh! Hide all the mirrors and do not leave any still water around.”

“Understood. Anything else?”

“Keep everyone in the same room, don’t go unaccounted, not even going to the bathroom.” Tae Kuo added: “Make sure you have a visual on everyone at all times.”

“Okay. Come back as soon as possible!”

“Young folks, you want candles?” The kind and warm looking old woman at the cashier asked the three: “We have some really nice candles, made the old way, with beeswax, cinnabar and tiny grains of soaked sticky rice. You want some? Three dollars for one pack, six per pack.”

“... hmm, I’ll take two packs.” Tae Kuo thought after a while: “And traditional rice wine? Do you have it?”

“Oh! Oh!” The old woman’s eyes lit up: “I have! I have a jar right here, freshly made this month, you want some?”

“Yes. Please.” Tae Kuo nodded.

“So - what is this rice wine for?” When they were on their way back, Gloria asked.

“Nothing, I just need a drink. Life’s tough these days.” Tae Kuo sighed, twisted open the simple wooden lid on the clay jar, then poured some of the wine directly into his mouth. “I kinda need it. I’ve dealt with shit before, and I - I need a drink if I’ve got a bad feeling.”

“Give me a hit.” When Tae Kuo put the jar down, Gyuu Park took it from him and poured some into his throat: “Glad to know that I am not the only one.”

Gloria sighed, her fingers clenched tighter on the bags she was carrying: “Let’s go. Even if we have some time, it’d still be better if we get back earlier.”

“On it, on it.” Gyuu Park passed the jar back to Tae Kuo.

They sped up their pace on their way back, even though they were still carrying quite a bit of extra weight on themselves.

“Uh-oh. ” When they reached the gate of the community, they were just in time to see three men in slightly raggedy uniforms with community watch and patrol team’s red armbands going through the gates.

“That’s all the men they sent?” Tae Kuo frowned.

“Hey! Hey!” Gyuu Park rushed over and stopped the three men, who, when turned around, turned out to be quite of age and were in shape to do anything physical. “Are you here responding to a call?”

“Yes - we’re here to help with a lady named - Luoshan Zi.” The leading man was also the youngest, who was wearing a pair of thick glasses.

“Okay, but we called for a potential child kidnapping, and a curse. ” Gyuu Park said.

“Yes, but those are speculative circumstances, now that we are understaffed, we cannot respond to this kind of reports with too much manpower.” The leading man looked at his fellows on both sides. “But trust us, we are very experienced investigators for similar matters.”

“Can’t they send anyone else?” Gloria asked, almost facepalming but could not due to her arms carrying bags.

“I’m afraid no, missy.” The man adjusted his glasses and sighed.

Gloria sighed, then forced a smile on her face: “Alright. Let’s go up there - ”

“Help! Help!” Just this moment, a scream exploded from the building above: “Someone took my son! Someone took my son!”

Gloria, Gyuu Park and Tae Kuo immediately looked up, it seemed to be coming from somewhere near the top of the building.

“Go go go!” Gloria immediately pushed her Qi to speed herself up even more, rushing through the front gate and into the building. Gyuu Park and Tae Kuo followed, leaving the three members of the community watch and patrol team members behind.

The air in the stairwell was abnormally chilly and still, with a hint of rot and foul smell lingering. When she narrowed her eyes, she could even see tiny dark particles roaming the air. Something unclean and ominous was afoot.