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墨書 Inktalez
Ruyi Rouge never receives guests in the early morning, but tonight is an exception.
The guest stands on the porch, the lantern above her gently swaying, casting a warm yellow glow on the ground.
Xing Ruyi can only see half of her face, the other half hidden in darkness. She wears a water-red dress that stands out in the winter night. Her hand is partly concealed in the wide sleeves of her garment, and when she speaks, her voice is soft, requiring Xing Ruyi to strain to hear her clearly.
"I am Winter Pearl. My mother once came to your shop to seek medicine for me."
"Visitors are always welcome. Please come in, Miss Winter Pearl!" Xing Ruyi replies, gesturing for Li Mao to dim the lights inside the shop.
Dongzhu looks up, revealing a grateful expression: "Thank you, Miss!"
With that, she gently lifts her foot and steps inside.
"Miss Winter Pearl, I came here tonight not only to thank you; your Yurong Powder worked wonders for me. But I also have some doubts and hope to find answers from you."
"There’s no need to be polite, Miss Dongzhu. Feel free to speak your mind," Xing Ruyi says as she pours a cup of tea. This tea was obtained by a fox from the underworld and is usually kept in the shop for passing Ghost Messengers, who are invited to enjoy a cup.
Winter Pearl lowers her head and takes a sip, smiling gently at Xing Ruyi: "This tea is very good!"
"I'm glad you like it," Xing Ruyi replies, pouring another cup for Winter Pearl.
"Actually, I know about Ruyi Rouge shop and have heard your story from others," Winter Pearl says, cradling the cup in her hands and watching the faint steam rise: "When I learned my mother had come to buy medicine from you, I wanted to visit because I also have some questions that I hoped you could help me with. But my mother wouldn’t allow it."
"Why not?"
"I don't know!" Winter Pearl shakes her head: "It probably started a few years ago when my mother forbade me from going out. At first, she wouldn’t let me out at all during day or night; it has been a bit better these past two years. Now I can come out at dawn like this just to get some fresh air. It’s thanks to this that I could come find you."
"What do you do when you go out at night?"
"What's there to do? Just wandering around, enjoying the night. You know, at this hour, it's hard to see anyone else on the streets besides drunken men, begging beggars, and the Night Watchman," Winter Pearl said, lowering her head. "In the beginning, I was so scared that whenever I heard the sound of the watchman’s bell from afar, I would hide. As for the beggars and drunken men, I dared not approach them. But later, I discovered something particularly strange."
"What was it?"
"I remember one night, I tried to walk quite far and ended up in front of the City God’s temple. Initially, I wanted to go in and chat with the City God, asking him when my husband would return. However, as soon as I got a little closer, I felt weak all over and had a splitting headache. I thought perhaps the City God didn't want to see me in such a state."
Winter Pearl covered half of her face with her hand.
Xing Ruyi sighed inwardly. It wasn't that the City God despised her; it was simply that humans and spirits are on different paths, separated by life and death. Although the City God also dealt with spirits, he wasn't someone like her who could approach casually. The fact that he hadn't sent her soul flying or dragged her back to the underworld for punishment was already a great mercy.
Though Xing Ruyi understood this in her heart, she couldn't bear to say it plainly to Winter Pearl and instead found some words to brush it off.
"It's late at night; everyone is asleep. The City God must also need rest after a long day. Since he needs to rest, he naturally has to close his doors and not allow outsiders to disturb him."
Upon hearing this, Winter Pearl realized she had been reckless. "I must go to the City God and personally apologize," she said, her expression softening slightly. "But there's another strange thing! That night when I returned from in front of the City God’s temple, I encountered a Night Watchman halfway back; he seemed not to see me at all and just passed right by."
"If I encountered a girl late at night, I might have done the same," Xing Ruyi replied.
"Why?" Winter Pearl asked.
"Quite simply! At dead of night, if a beautiful girl suddenly appeared on an empty street, it could either be a trap or some celestial fox spirit. If it were you, you'd probably keep your distance too."
Winter Pearl chuckled softly. "Thinking about it this way makes sense. A regular girl would likely be asleep by then. And if it were a daughter from a wealthy family, she definitely wouldn't be wandering around on the streets. Besides, with my face looking like this, I might have scared that old watchman into thinking I was a ghost!"
Xing Ruyi thought to herself: But aren't you a ghost? The watchman is just an ordinary person; how could he possibly see her?
"These thoughts have been weighing on my mind for so long; I've always wondered whether those people were strange or if it was me who was strange. After hearing your explanation tonight," Winter Pearl said, "the doubts in my heart have finally been resolved."
Winter Pearl lowered her head and took another sip of tea.
"Actually, besides these two matters, some strange things have been happening around me. But my mother neither allows me to ask nor ever answers me."
"Oh? If possible, why not share them with me? This quiet night is perfect for listening to stories and helping others resolve their doubts. Although, I may not necessarily be able to answer your upcoming questions."
"Ruyi, it would be best if you could answer, but if not, that's fine too. These matters have been piling up in Winter Pearl's heart for a long time. I am very grateful that you are willing to sit here tonight and listen to Winter Pearl ramble." Winter Pearl said, standing up and bowing deeply to Xing Ruyi, then sitting back down and slowly continuing, "There are many things, and at this moment, Winter Pearl doesn't know where to start. These strange occurrences seem to happen naturally, yet upon careful reflection, I can't recall exactly when they began."
"For example..."
"For example, my mother no longer speaks to me."
"Your mother doesn't speak to you?" Xing Ruyi recalled various instances of Dongzhu's Mother and suddenly discovered a secret. Each time Dongzhu's Mother came, although she could hear her voice, she had never paid attention to her lip movements. Upon further reflection, it seemed that every time she spoke, her mouth barely moved.
"Did your mother used to talk to you? I mean when you were younger."
"My mother didn't say much, but back then she would still talk to me. Most of what she talked about was my father—how talented he was, how handsome he looked, how she left her hometown to come to Rouge Shop with him, and how they got married and had me. But after that, she stopped."
"Did she often tell you these things?"
"No! She only spoke about these matters for sixteen years, until the night before my engagement." Winter Pearl added quickly, "Oh, I don't mean that my mother repeated this for sixteen years; rather it took her a full sixteen years to finish telling those stories. Each year had very little content; only when she was in a good mood would she say a few more words."
"Did your mother ever mention where your father went?"
"No!" Winter Pearl shook her head. "I remember when I was very young and didn't understand much; I once asked my mother where my father had gone. But she just looked at me with red eyes and didn't say anything for a long time. Later on, one deep night, I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't find my mother, so I went out barefoot to look for her.
At that time, my mother was sitting in the yard with moonlight shining on her while wearing a very thin garment. I saw her looking down at a string of beads in her hand. I never asked about the origin of those beads because they looked roughly made and didn't seem like something bought from the market; yet my mother cherished them so much that I guessed they were a gift from my father."
Later on, as I grew up, I learned bits and pieces from the neighbors around me. I found out that my father had abandoned my mother and me, so I never asked about it again. After that, my mother's words became fewer and fewer, but she would still say a few things, like calling me to eat or reminding me to work carefully and not to get sick.
"When did your mother stop speaking?"
"I don't know!" Winter Pearl lowered her head. "I can't remember! It was probably before I realized something was wrong; my mother had already stopped talking. Sometimes, even when I begged her, she would just look at me without opening her mouth."
"She wouldn't even open her mouth?"
"Yes!" Winter Pearl sighed. "I think my mother might have encountered something else. She was afraid I would worry or be sad, so she acted that way."
"Your mother must be most concerned about you!" Xing Ruyi sighed lightly. "Besides your mother not speaking anymore, did anything else strange happen?"
"Yes! The candles in our house always flickered inexplicably and then went out. After that, my mother would light a red candle and let it burn brightly. There was also a very special fragrance in the air."
"Did your mother never mention the red candle and the fragrance to you?" Xing Ruyi recalled the decorations in Winter Pearl's home. As far as she remembered, she hadn't seen any red candles, but she might know the source of the strange fragrance.
According to legend, during the Eastern Jin period, there was a person named Wen Jiao who came to Niuzhu Cape. Seeing the water was unfathomably deep and rumored to contain many water monsters, Wen Jiao lit Rhinoceros Horn to illuminate the area. He saw bright lights underwater and strange shapes of water monsters—some riding carriages and some dressed in red. That night, Wen Jiao dreamed that someone maliciously blamed him for using Rhinoceros Horn for illumination. The next day, he suffered a stroke from a toothache after having a tooth pulled and died within ten days of returning to town. This is the origin of the story about "Rhinoceros Horn Illumination."
In ancient China, people believed that by burning Rhinoceros Horn, they could see supernatural beings invisible to the naked eye through the light emitted by it. In Winter Pearl's home, Xing Ruyi had once smelled the scent released when Rhinoceros Horn burned. That scent might go unnoticed by ordinary mortals but was considered very fragrant by spirits.
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