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墨書 Inktalez
The night was as deep as a pool of thick ink.
Outside Shijia Village, the dense forest was particularly quiet. Yun Niang, dressed in dark clothing, walked carefully over the fallen branches and leaves. She knew that she would soon reach the grave where Sister Yun had been buried.
Strange bird calls echoed above her, sounding as if someone was straining their voice to speak, sending shivers down Yun Niang's spine. Just as she stopped to search for the source of the calls, she heard a series of rhythmic sounds nearby.
That sound was familiar to Yun Niang. More than half a year ago, she had infiltrated the Yun Family under the guise of a newlywed at her master's command. The Yun Family followed the customs of welcoming a new bride, complete with drums and gongs accompanying the bridal sedan chair. The sounds echoing in her ears now were those of the wedding procession.
A midnight wedding was clearly unusual, especially since this forest was not a common route for the Village Chief's weddings or funerals. Yun Niang concealed herself in the shadows and drew her short sword.
The sounds of drums and gongs grew closer, and soon Yun Niang spotted the procession. In the pitch-black night, it seemed as if the wedding party radiated its own light, casting a faint silver glow in the darkness. The bearers dressed in bright red wedding garments carried the sedan chair past her, and in a moment of daze, she found herself inside it.
"Damn it, I've been caught!"
Yun Niang cursed inwardly while carefully observing her surroundings. The sedan chair was small, barely fitting her alone. She touched its inner walls and discovered that it was made from red paper.
A paper sedan chair was only used for the dead.
Holding her short knife, Yun Niang gently lifted the curtain of the sedan chair and saw that outside was still pitch black; however, she could vaguely make out the outlines of trees in the darkness. It seemed that although she had been caught, she remained within the dense forest. Just as she contemplated whether to burst out, a sudden gust of wind swept through, causing the entire sedan chair to sway violently.
Outside, lanterns adorned with large joy characters swayed in the night like an old man on his last breath, ready to flicker out at any moment. As Yun Niang struggled to steady herself, she cautiously used her sword to pry open the seams of the paper sedan chair, hoping to slip out unnoticed.
At that moment, however, the gust of wind abruptly ceased, and a thick fog emerged ahead in the forest. When that thick fog enveloped her vision, Yun Niang realized it wasn't white but a vivid red!
Wherever the thick fog passed, those drummers and bearers of paper sedan chairs seemed frozen in place before quickly bending and shrinking away with a "crack" as they ignited into flames.
Yun Niang was no stranger to bizarre occurrences; since following her master, she had witnessed many extraordinary events. She had even learned various supernatural skills herself—such as completely changing her appearance or controlling puppets imbued with life forces, even devouring souls. She knew she wasn't a demon but neither was she an ordinary person.
What unfolded before her certainly sent a chill through Yun Niang's heart; however, if they thought they could scare her easily, they underestimated her too much. As she watched the thick fog approach with an air of menace, she quickly used her short sword to tear open another seam of the paper sedan chair. The fog advanced with a chilling aura but slowed down as it reached the front of the sedan chair.
Finally managing to create an opening in the paper sedan chair, Yun Niang cautiously stepped out. Just as her feet touched the ground, two hands suddenly grasped her tightly. Looking down, she realized these hands did not belong to any paper man bearer but were instead rotting and foul-smelling hands reaching up from beneath the ground. They clutched at her ankles as if they were fused with her flesh.
"You're asking for trouble; how dare you grab my foot!"
Yun Niang quickly leaned forward, her hand raised with a knife, severing the decaying hands. The rotting hands fell to the ground, causing a swarm of maggots to scatter and crawl away.
A cold wind blew, making Yun Niang shiver involuntarily as she turned to look. In the thick red mist, a black figure emerged. Yun Niang squinted her eyes and saw the shadow slowly approaching her. However, due to the darkness and the fog, she couldn't make out who it was. She cautiously glanced at the figure, positioning her short sword across her chest, her expression turning cold.
Soon, the figure stood right in front of Yun Niang. When she finally recognized him, she was momentarily stunned. The person before her was none other than Young Master Ma, who had died an untimely death—Yun Dajie's fiancé.
"Young Master Ma?"
Yun Niang tentatively called out. Hearing her voice, Young Master Ma stiffly turned his neck and slowly raised his head. Yun Niang could finally see his face: it was deathly pale, smeared with dirt, his features rotting and deformed, with several maggots crawling in and out of the decayed flesh. His mouth hung open slightly, exposing teeth that made one feel nauseous just by looking at them.
Yun Niang gripped her short sword tightly as she watched Young Master Ma, who seemed to have just crawled out from the ground, while she slowly backed away. Young Master Ma showed no intention of pursuing her; he merely stood still, staring at Yun Niang with his decaying eyes as she retreated step by step, emitting a chilling laugh.
Yun Niang darted through the dense forest, the dim moonlight seemingly possessing a spirit of its own, illuminating only the area directly above her head. The bright red mist began to swirl around her again, wrapping around her like a long red wedding gown trailing behind as she ran.
A circular grave mound came into view; she recognized it from when Yun Dajie was buried—she had been there as a stepmother at that time. Yun Niang halted and began to recall the path she had just taken. She remembered that she hadn’t run in this direction because Young Master Ma had been blocking her way at that time.
In the dense forest, common people often lose their way, especially in a panic. Therefore, Yun Niang didn’t believe she could have stumbled upon this place by accident. The surrounding red mist still hadn’t dissipated; Yun Niang was almost certain that she was still caught in someone’s scheme.
She tightened her grip on the short sword to calm her slightly panicked heart. Taking a deep breath once and then twice, just as she lifted her head to observe her surroundings again, she saw Young Master Ma once more. The half-rotting young man stood right in front of her; as she looked up, he reached out and suddenly grasped her neck tightly before pulling her close. Then, a face filled with greed slowly approached Yun Niang's fair face.
"Damn it!"
Yun Niang cursed inwardly and thrust the short knife into Young Master Ma's body. The blade pierced through him; he let out a painful groan but stubbornly brought his rotting face closer to hers, greedily trying to consume her.
Streams of white vitality flowed continuously from Yun Niang's mouth and nose into Young Master Ma's decaying mouth. Yun Niang finally experienced what it felt like to have one's soul drained; pain gradually appeared on her face as her muscles began to wither away slowly. Before long, her originally delicate features transformed rapidly like a dehydrated fruit.
In Yun Village, an incense stick on the table suddenly snapped in half. Mo Xu looked quietly at the broken incense and sighed softly.
Behind him, a door that was slightly ajar was pushed open, and a man walked in. Dressed in dark clothing and standing with his back to the sunlight in the shadow of the wooden door made it impossible to see his face clearly.
"Are you satisfied now? Sending my most capable subordinate to the sacrificial altar, I can't believe you thought of that." Moxuyou turned around and looked into the man's cold eyes. "After all, Yun Niang came out with you. Don't you have even a shred of sentiment for the past?"
"It's not that I don't care, it's just that there's nothing I can do," the man replied coldly. "I would like to go myself, but do you think that thing would look at me?"
Moxuyou squinted and smiled. "That's true; that thing has quite a discerning taste. Even I might not catch its eye. By the way, how's the Fox Demon? I heard she fainted from crying when she saw Bell's corpse. The fox from Qingqiu isn't so easily deceived. If it finds out that Bell's death was actually arranged by you in secret, do you think your fate will be any better than Yun Niang's? And what about the Fox Demon? If she learns the truth later, how do you think she will treat you?"
"At worst, I'll be skinned alive and left with no complete corpse!" The man spoke nonchalantly, as if he didn't take these matters to heart.
"What are you planning to do about the Yun Family? With Yun Niang dead, that old thing from the Yun Family is likely to lose control. You’ve probably raised everything that needs raising by now; you'd better handle it properly. The one in the deep palace can't wait any longer."
"Don't worry, I've already made arrangements for the Yun Family matters. As long as that fox and the Fox Demon don't interfere anymore, after tonight, all traces will be wiped clean."
"If you're not planning to let them interfere, why did you attract them in the first place? Moxuyou, what exactly are you plotting?" The man's gaze darkened as he looked at Moxuyou with a hint of hostility.
"I have my own calculations for this matter; it's just not the right time yet. When the time comes, you'll naturally know," Moxuyou said while pinching his long beard. "Have you sent someone to deal with the secret passage under the Tomb? I originally planned to use Yun Niang to lure the fox and the Fox Demon over last night, but unexpectedly, you intervened. Although we both work for that person, our methods differ. I won't pursue last night's incident, but from now on, you stick to your own path while I tread mine. We should each rely on our own abilities and avoid interfering with each other. If we delay something important, neither of us can afford the consequences."
The man twitched his lips and glanced at Moxuyou without saying a word.
Moxuyou shrugged and pointed toward the door. "It's getting late; you should head back!"
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