Don't Eat Everything

The man in the portrait had an unfamiliar face. He gazed at Yin Xiu, who stood quietly with his eyes closed and his back against the wall, and spoke in a low, eerie voice. “You can’t believe everything that woman says.”

Yin Xiu opened his eyes and looked up. After meeting the man’s gaze, he silently closed them again. “You’re right, I can’t believe everything she says. But I think what she said about the mayor is mostly true.”

The man leaned over the frame and stared straight at Yin Xiu. “The mayor manages this whole town. Everything he does is for the townspeople. That woman is slandering him, pure and simple.”

“Weren’t you killed by the mayor and then locked inside a portrait? Why are you speaking up for him?”

The man in the portrait immediately retorted, “Of course not! Everyone in these portraits is someone the mayor protected. That woman chose us as sacrifices and devoured us for our bodies, so the mayor had no choice but to preserve our souls this way.”

Yin Xiu lowered his eyes and chuckled. “That’s a rather different story from what I heard.”

“You have to believe me. If that woman kills you, there’ll be no way out. Go to the mayor. He’s the only one who can truly spare your life. He’s a kind man.” The man in the portrait tried desperately to persuade him.

Yin Xiu looked up and studied the portrait for a moment before turning his gaze away. “I saw another man in the hallway earlier who spoke to me. He was very handsome, with the same distinctive refinement as the portraits hanging in the hallway during the day.”

“So what?”

“But you’re not nearly as handsome. Clearly, you don’t fit the mayor’s taste.”...