As dusk approaches, the last trace of orange in the sky is swallowed up by gray and blue. Lin Feng squatted on the bluestone street corner, twisting a handful of dark red cinnabar between his fingertips, and carefully drew the last stroke of the dust-proof talisman on the yellow paper. The talisman was about to be completed, but the cinnabar on the tip of the pen corroded and turned black without any warning. It was as thick as ink and spread along the paper grain into a hideous stain.
