一进屋，我便长舒一口气，经过这么长时间的礼遇，我其实已经没有信心了，如果对方真的不肯对我表示尊重，那我就真的没辙了。幸好那狼妖还算客气，让我惊讶的是，我竟然轻而易举地就把威廉姆斯救了出来。

我赶紧点了一支烟，平复了一下心情。威廉姆斯和另外两人站在我面前，低着头一动不动。

“关于今天的事情，我想不用我说了吧，你很清楚发生了什么，我几乎不知道我在这个世界中的地位，可你却让我陷入这种困境。直到今天我才知道纽约有狼魔，刚才遇到那只狼魔的时候，我的腿都快断了，幸好他心地善良，不然他要是真的反目成仇，我不知道该用什么办法才能救你。”

威廉姆斯连忙点头。“老大，我真的很抱歉。我错了。我没想到他会因为一个苹果而跟我争吵。我已经吸取了教训，再也不敢犯这种愚蠢的行为了。”

我夹着烟，手还在微微颤抖，“我从事这个职业才两个星期，除了召唤精灵，我什么法术都没有，今天的经历倒是让我大开眼界，以后要是再发生这种事情，你们谁也别想再来找我帮忙。”

“再也不来了，再也不来了！”

抽完烟，我深吸一口气，“好了，事情解决了，我也就不多说了，至于接下来该怎么办，我想你们心里都比我清楚，我刚才听约翰他们说，你还跟别人吹牛，自称是我的人，我的名字还有分量吗？你还敢这么肆无忌惮的吹！”

“当然了。以前他们经常欺负我们三个人。自从我告诉他们我现在是你们的雇员后，那些鬼魂就一直对我阿谀奉承。”

“哦？所以你认为你吹嘘是有理由的？”

他疯狂地挥动双手。“不，不。我不会再这样做了，我发誓。”

我真的不知道今天该怎么对待他，看着他们三个人低着头的样子，我心里有种想发火的冲动，却又不知该说什么。

“其他的事我就不多说了，最起码你得改掉你那个卑鄙的坏习惯——粘手指。”

“很好，很好，很好。我会克制住自己的，我保证。”

“算了算了，还是别说了，今天的事情倒是让我感兴趣了，作为死神，我到底是什么级别？难道我只是最低等的吗？”

见我不再追问，他们三人明显放松下来，开始闲聊，向我提供他们的见解。

原来，在冥界撒旦和审判者之下，就隐藏着我们死神。至于恶魔，等级也并不高。而且，从他们讲述的内容中，我才知道死神并非数量单一，而是成群结队的。否则，整个冥界就只有一个死神，怎么可能完成所有任务呢？按照他们的说法，死神，在我理解中，就相当于冥界的警察。

威廉姆斯告诉我，我们死神一旦消灭了一百个幽灵，就有资格晋升。据说，我们的职业分为几个等级。等级越高，魔法就越强大。像我这样的新手，本质上相当于学徒，因此没有任何超自然能力。

我在心里计算了一下，一个月能招收三只精灵，一年能招收三十六只，要招收一百只精灵，几乎需要三年的时间，看来还是遥不可及啊。我问威廉斯，之前我帮助过的精灵，比如爱丽丝和那小子，会不会也算在内。威廉斯说，按照他的理解，应该算。嗯，这倒是挺有意思的，不到半个月，我就已经招收了四只精灵，再多帮助几只，说不定一年之内，就能晋升了。不过，晋升之后，自己能获得什么力量，就不知道了。

“我父亲去世前是什么军衔？”

威廉姆斯停顿了一下，思考了一会儿。“我认为他已经达到了第六级。”

“啊？才第六个？我父亲不可能在几十年的时间里招募到六百个灵体吧？”

“当然不是，初次晋升，需要一百灵，第二次，二百，第三次，四百，第五次，八百，第六次……”

This progression bears a striking resemblance to the leveling-up system I encountered in online forums during my younger days. With each elevation in rank, the requirements double. By this reckoning, my father must have recruited at least 3,100 spirits over the course of his lifetime. What an extraordinary feat!

“When will I ever be able to reach the sixth level, like my father?”

Williams and the other two averred that, based on their knowledge, only a dozen or so Grim Reapers had managed to ascend to the eighth level over the past few centuries, and merely two or three had attained the ninth. As for the tenth, it appears that not a single one has emerged. My father's achievement of reaching the sixth level was already a remarkable rarity. Hearing this, I felt even more disheartened. It seems that I shall have to regard my father's accomplishment as my life's goal.

“Incidentally, let's shift the topic. James, you and the others had earlier informed me that the wolf demon was an extremely formidable adversary. However, having interacted with him just now, I found him to be rather amiable. Why the disparity?”

James curled his lip disdainfully. “He was merely showing you respect. His usual demeanor towards us is far from congenial. Moreover, I suspect he was simply reluctant to incur your enmity. In truth, he's been perpetrating all manner of nefarious deeds in private. In short, it would be advisable for you to maintain a safe distance from him hereafter.”

There was no need for him to say as much. I had no intention of provoking the wolf demon in the future. Nevertheless, a sudden premonition assailed me. I had the distinct feeling that this encounter would most assuredly not be my last with him. Alas, I could only hope that my intuition was inaccurate. I had no desire to embroil myself in further trouble.

It had been quite a few days since Father's departure, and I had yet to properly tidy up his room. Coincidentally, since I had planned to stay indoors today, I decided to give his room a thorough cleaning.

In truth, Father's room was furnished rather simply. There was a bed, a wardrobe, and a computer desk—nothing more. In half an hour, I had managed to pack up all his clothes. I set aside the particularly worn items for disposal, while the rest I planned to drop into the street-side clothing recycling bin later, hoping they might prove useful to the less fortunate.

After emptying the wardrobe, I noticed a small drawer. It was where we usually stored household documents and Father's old photographs. Since I was already sorting things out, I figured I might as well clear out any obsolete documents as well.

I recalled that when I was a child living on the west side of New York, I would often rummage through old family documents. Looking back now, I can scarcely fathom what the allure was. It had been at least a decade since I last gave those items a proper look.

Here was Father's university graduation certificate. Glancing at the photograph affixed to it, he seemed scarcely different, save for his thinner hair.

Hmm. It was remarkable that he had kept such an old relic—his work ID from 1986.

Continuing my search, I chanced upon my parents' photo album. Opening it, I beheld their blissful smiles, and my eyes immediately grew moist.

I stared at the album for a long while, lost in thought. It felt as though my parents had been by my side only days ago. So why was I now all alone?

I shook my head, dispelling such melancholy musings. I carefully arranged all the documents, unable to part with any of them. I resolved to preserve them all and revisit them during idle moments. To me, they were cherished memories I would never wish to forget.

After laying out all the documents, I happened to notice a corner of an old, yellowed piece of paper protruding from the upper left corner of the drawer. I gently tugged at it, only to find that it was snagged on something. Lowering my head to peer inside, I realized that, due to the drawer's low position, I couldn't quite make out what was obstructing it. Without further ado, I removed the drawer entirely and placed it on the bed. Only then did I discover that the paper was caught on a hard cardboard box, flush with the width of the drawer and affixed to the very back. Ordinarily, if one were merely retrieving items from the drawer, it would have been impossible to detect its presence.

I tapped the box a few times. It was wedged quite tightly, and I had no idea what it contained. I didn't dare to exert too much force, lest I damage it. Retrieving a steel ruler from my toolbox, I carefully pried along the edge of the box until, gradually, I managed to extract it. Opening the box, I found a sword approximately fifty centimeters in length, bereft of a scabbard. It was a jet-black blade. Unlike the silver swords commonly seen on television or for sale in stores, this one was entirely black, with a faint coppery sheen when held up to the light. Upon closer inspection, it appeared the blade had yet to be sharpened. Perhaps it was merely decorative.

Why had Father concealed such an ornamental sword in such an obscure location? Ah, perhaps it had something to do with his role as a Grim Reaper. Could this be the magical implement he had once wielded?

I meticulously wiped the sword clean and noticed another peculiarity that set it apart from other swords. The hilt and the blade were a single piece, unlike conventional swords where the hilt was typically made of wood or another material and the blade of metal. This sword seemed as though it had been carved from a single block of metal. Truly remarkable. After wiping, the sword glimmered faintly with a coppery metallic luster under the lamplight. It looked rather fetching. Since I had no inkling of its purpose, I carried it into the living room and placed it on the TV cabinet, where it made for a rather unique decoration.

我刚把抽屉重新安装好，公司的艾伦就打来电话，告诉我有一对新人来到办公室，想讨论婚礼当天的细节。他催我赶紧过去。我们的职业就是这样——平时没什么事可做，但当职责召唤时，我们必须迅速响应。

我到公司的时候，老板 Rick 和 Alen 都在。他们夫妻俩一直在等我，刚出门去街对面的便利店买饮料。

里克询问道：“萨姆，你把家里的事情都整理好了吗？”

“嗯，都处理好了。”我点点头。

“好，那很好。试着往好的方面想。如果你需要什么，尽管告诉我。”

“当然可以，里克。你可以相信我。”

我偶然在街上遇见了一位邻居，他的哥哥介绍我从事这一行。自从我搬走后，我们十多年没见面了。见面后，他告诉我，他现在从事婚礼策划。当时，这对我来说是一个完全陌生的行业。当时我 24 岁，我的朋友中没有一个结婚的。除了参加过几个表兄弟的婚礼外，我对婚礼几乎没有什么经验。

当我提到自己学的是播音专业时，他随口说道：“以你的学历，可以考虑和我一起做婚礼策划。”我不知道他是客气还是开玩笑，但还是信以为真。大学毕业后，我曾在电视台实习，但因为种种原因，一直没能拿到正式工作，最终不得不转行。听他说婚礼策划跟我的专业有点关系，我便决定去他的公司看看。就这样，在迷迷糊糊中，我正式踏上了这条职业道路。

但入行后，我发现真正的导师很少，除了一定的规矩和习俗，其他一切都非常灵活，几乎完全靠个人的随机应变能力。起初，他只是让我陪他去参加婚礼，教我观察和提问。但作为新手，我虽然能看，却几乎不知道该问什么。

我跟随他三四个月，参加了近十几场婚礼。最后，他开始为我预订婚礼。当我遇到我的第一批客户时，我对基本礼仪一无所知，只是在会议期间观察他，从未接受过正式指导。回想起来，我真的不知道我是如何设法应付最初的那些婚礼的。