Gu Mo opened his mouth but didn't have a chance to speak.

The other person had already started advising him earnestly—

"You young folks just love to mess around. Of all things to play with, you choose this! Let me tell you, drawing symbols has many taboos. Don't use it to mess around. It's fine if nothing happens, but I'm afraid you might attract something..."

The old man probably assumed that Gu Mo was one of those young people who could make a game out of anything. But also, from his perspective, even though the person in front of him wore a hood and kept his head down so his face couldn't be seen clearly, he could still tell he was very young.

And his clothing didn't look like a Daoist's outfit or anything, so why else would he be buying these things here if not to mess around? The old man, being superstitious himself and getting on in years, immediately started to prattle on.

"Thank you for your concern, Sir..." Gu Mo noticed that quite a few people glanced over because of the old man's loud voice. He quickly lowered his head and shrank his body as much as possible, feeling grateful yet quickly saying, "I'm in a hurry. Please help me find it. If you don't have it, I'll buy it elsewhere."

"Ah... okay, let me check. There should still be some Yellow Paper. Vermilion, though... you'll have to buy that at a pharmacy." The old man knew he couldn't dissuade him, so he sighed, turned, and started rummaging through the booth.

Gu Mo also twitched the corner of his mouth. Do all these elderly folks believe in this stuff?

All of them spoke so seriously, like those who share strange tales and folklore in the neighborhood. This was even better, with detailed stories about taboos of drawing symbols, not to mess around, and how it's easy to attract things accidentally.

It's just... while thinking about this, his expression turned slightly serious. Is it possible that these things don't really exist in the real world? Have I been too quick to differentiate between "copies" and "reality," making me overly dismissive in this area?

Perhaps the fixed notions I formed were just because I was just an ordinary person before and had no chance to come into contact with this kind of truth?

This is also a possibility that shouldn't be dismissed lightly.

While Gu Mo was pondering and waiting for the old man's response, a couple at a nearby fruit stand was also observing him, mainly because the old man's loud voice naturally sparked their curiosity, causing them to look over.

After all, drawing talismans and the like isn't exactly a common thing. It's natural to be curious, and just like the old man, they were surprised after looking over, finding him too young and seemingly mysterious.

"Isn't this person wearing too much clothing? Aren't they hot?" The boyfriend mumbled softly, looking at Gu Mo's figure, noticing he was wearing a hoodie with the hood up, head down, completely obscuring his face. The boyfriend looked up in confusion, noticing the afternoon sun was still glaringly hot.

Although the clothes weren't too thick, there's no need to wear like that, especially in this weather, right? Isn't he afraid of heatstroke?

And wearing like that, you have to wonder if it's to avoid heat or a chill, or perhaps he can't be seen under the sunlight, and adding to that he's buying Yellow Paper and Vermilion to draw symbols... for a moment, the man thought of scenes from horror movies.

The girlfriend didn't respond, and he instinctively turned to look at her, finding her gaze fixed on that figure. He quickly tugged her and whispered, "Hey, snap out of it... what are you looking at?"

"Oh..." The girl reluctantly looked away. Although she couldn't see his face, she felt that there was something particularly attractive about him. When she wasn't paying attention, it was fine. But once she noticed, his presence felt like a magnet, impossible to look away from.

"What's there to see? We can't even see his face..."

The man said, a bit jealous, muttering to himself. He couldn't help but glance over as well, and suddenly his heart skipped a beat. Strangely, it seemed that the person appeared more pleasing to the eye now. Almost... appealing?

——Damn!

——I'm a guy too, and I have a girlfriend!!

Of course, his mind didn't jump to the conclusion that something was wrong with the other person. Just like most people, he attributed any strange thoughts to his own imagination instead of imagining it was due to some mysterious power controlling his thoughts.

So he was merely startled by the sensation that he must be having a mental lapse, thinking it was impossible that his identification as heterosexual was only because he had yet to meet the right person!

"Let's go, Xiao Li. We shouldn't stay here any longer..."

The man, sensing something was wrong and unwilling to acknowledge this possibility, decisively tugged at his girlfriend's arm, wanting to leave first.

"Hey, what's your problem!" The girl raised her eyebrows fiercely, breaking free from his grip, misunderstanding his intentions and getting a little angry, "Chen Xinda! Do you have to be like this? I just took one more look; I didn't do anything! Are you really so petty? You guys can look at other girls, right..."

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