Why does the laundry stay open all night when most customers drop off during the day, and what's behind that heavy curtain separating the two businesses? Which patrons use the back entrance that connects both establishments, and why do the police avoid this block during their regular patrols? What's really being washed in those basement tubs?
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If you want happiness for an hour — take a nap.
If you want happiness for a day — go fishing.
If you want happiness for a year — inherit a fortune.
If you want happiness for a lifetime — help someone else.― Chinese Proverb
Mr. Ying was an old Chinese man who owned a dry cleaner and a chinese souvenir shop on the outskirts of town. Though he seemed like a kind and harmless old man to those who visited his shops, there was a dark secret hidden behind the curtain of his establishment.
In the back of the shop, there was a door that led to a dimly lit room. Inside, there were rows of beds lying on the floor and opium pipes scattered about. This was Mr. Ying’s opium den, where he would lure unsuspecting victims to become addicted to the drug.
But little did anyone know, Mr. Ying was not just a simple drug lord. He was a worshipper of ancient Chinese deities, and he believed that by offering the souls of his addicts to these deities, he would be granted immortality.
As the years went by, the number of missing people in the town began to rise. Many suspected Mr. Ying, but no one could prove it. One day, a group of curious teenagers decided to visit the old man’s shop. They found the door to the opium den and ventured inside. What they saw was unlike anything they had ever imagined.
The walls were adorned with strange symbols and the air was thick with the smell of burning opium. Mr. Ying was there, surrounded by his addicted followers. He welcomed the teenagers, inviting them to partake in the drug and join his cult.
But the teenagers knew that they needed to escape. They ran out of the shop, but as they did, they heard Mr. Ying’s laughter echo through the streets. They knew he would come for them, and they were right.
The next morning, the town was in shock when the bodies of the teenagers were found, their souls taken by Mr. Ying to offer to his deities. No one knew how to stop the old man, and soon enough, more and more people began to disappear. It was as if the town was under a curse, and the only person who knew how to break it was the one who had created it.
And so, the townspeople avoided the shop at all cost, whispering rumors about the old man who owned it, and the horrors that lay within. But for those who dared to enter, it was too late. They would never come out again.
