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墨書 Inktalez
"Miss, what's wrong with you?" Shun suddenly clapped his hands in front of me.
"Huh?"
"You've been distracted since we got back last night."
"...Did you really not see any shadows last night?" I hesitated to ask.
"We didn't see anything suspicious. How about you?" Shun turned to the three others.
They thought for a moment and all shook their heads, indicating they hadn't seen anything.
"That's strange, because I definitely saw something. The first time was in the memory of that Male Ghost, and the second time was when I walked out of his memory and returned to reality."
The four of us looked at each other and fell silent.
"Could it be someone from Siyimo..." I speculated quietly.
"Maybe. She might have already taken action. If what you said is true, then it's likely they are behind this," Shi said.
"But that shadow... it felt so familiar. Who could it be?"
"Alright, Miss, why think so much? If it really is someone from Siyimo causing trouble, we'll have plenty of chances to encounter them in the future. Just watch how I deal with them!" Shun pouted.
"Indeed. Well then, let's prepare to head south!"
...
The five of us walked through the tranquil night.
Some fear the darkness, while others enjoy it; the difference lies in how one perceives it. In truth, more often than not, we are simply afraid of confronting our own lonely hearts...
At midnight, when the Eerie Energy is at its peak, it is also when those strange conspiracies begin to reveal themselves.
"Miss, look over there." Shun walked up beside me and whispered.
I followed his finger to where he was pointing, and saw what appeared to be a woman's silhouette.
This place was somewhat secluded, but the scenery was quite nice, with wild chrysanthemums blooming around, about half a person tall, bursting with vitality.
The woman stood deep within the flower thicket, her long black hair elegantly pinned up, adorned with a few scattered white pearls. She wore a green cheongsam, and a red shawl fluttered gently in the breeze. Her graceful figure matched the scene perfectly; she seemed to be in her thirties. If this picture were set in daylight, it would be considered charming, but in the stillness of the deep night, it inevitably felt somewhat eerie.
"Why not spare her life? The urgent matter now is to find that group of Siyimo." Shun suggested.
"...Are you saying—she's not human?" I asked in surprise.
"Of course not. Miss, what's wrong with you? Don't tell me you didn't notice this at all?!" Shun seemed even more astonished than I was.
I stood there in a daze, murmuring to myself, "I feel like she is human..."
"How is that possible?! She has no vitality at all; she is dead!"
"I... I clearly sense a life force from her—" My tone was somewhat flustered. What was going on?!
"There's definitely something wrong," Shi said. "Wait a moment, don't act rashly. Let's see what she's up to."
The woman's back occasionally moved slightly before returning to a standing position, and soon after, she bent down again, repeatedly doing so.
"Is she... sketching?" I speculated.
But why would she come here to draw at this late hour instead of going home to sleep? Even if she were human, her mental state seemed questionable.
"It looks like she's drawing something," Shun also remarked.
"Let's go take a look. I still don't feel right about this; there must be something strange going on here," I said.
...
"Ma'am, are you alright?"
I stopped at a distance from the woman and tentatively spoke up, worried that I might scare her at this late hour.
The woman turned her head, momentarily stunned, looking at us with confusion.
Ah, she was definitely a charming and graceful lady. With delicate features and an ethereal aura, it was easy to imagine that this person had been an extraordinary beauty in her youth.
Moreover, I still felt she was human.
"It's quite late; I think it would be best for you to go home. If you have any difficulties, I can help you," I said.
"Thank you, young lady. I would like to stay here and paint a little longer," the woman replied, turning slightly and bowing formally to thank me.
I waved my hand dismissively; there was no need for such formalities—
"Ah—!"
"Miss!" The four of them immediately shielded me from the woman.
As she turned, I caught a glimpse of the painting in front of her. It was too bloody, too horrifying!
The canvas depicted a woman who looked just like her, dressed in tattered clothes, bound helplessly to a wooden stake, covered in blood, with her eyes tightly shut.
Even more terrifying was the pool of blood left by the woman in the painting, accumulating at the bottom of the canvas, and then it began to drip down onto the ground!
This... the smell of blood was real!
Looking towards the ground, I saw three bodies piled up on one side; the crimson paint was actually real blood!
"Oh? You noticed?" The woman elegantly covered her mouth and laughed, maintaining her beautiful facade.
"Are you human or a ghost?!" I shouted.
"What's wrong? Do I not look human?" The lady gently caressed her face and smiled, "Such a beautiful face, it truly doesn't resemble what a human should have."
"This woman is disgusting. Miss, hurry and send her to hell!" Shun said from the side.
"That's useless," Shi replied. "She is human."
"What do you mean?"
"The one trapped in the painting is the female ghost; this woman is indeed human."
"...What is going on here..."
"Ah, you discovered that too?" The woman's exaggerated expression showed surprise as her eyes widened slightly.
"This woman must be crazy!" Shun scoffed, walking around as if feeling uncomfortable.
"Regardless of whether she is human or a ghost, there are dead people and a female ghost here; I cannot ignore this." Looking again at the scene before me, it was truly disgusting.
"Madam, who is the woman in this painting? She looks a lot like you," I asked with a forced smile.
"Hehe, really? I think so too. She is my twin sister; everyone praises us for being beautiful and good-looking," the madam replied with a laugh.
"What? Where's the beauty? She's ugly as an old woman!" Shun shouted, unable to hold back.
The atmosphere instantly froze, and the madam's expression darkened, as if something was about to crack...
"You said—I'm ugly?" the madam asked word by word.
"That's right, you're not just ugly, you're old too!" Shun retorted.
"No, that's impossible! I've taken her face and become beautiful!" the madam yelled angrily.
"Your face is fake? Hahaha, no wonder your expression is so stiff; it's hilarious!" Shun laughed.
"You... you all should die—!" the madam screamed as she charged at us!
"Lightning Flash—" I Swiftly launched my attack!
"Useless, human attacks are ineffective against her," Shi said.
The woman extended her long nails and lunged at me.
"Be careful, Shun!"
Her fingers aimed directly at Heart, and the violent aura surrounding her suggested that the three corpses on the ground had likely met their end from a single strike like this.
"Ah—!" Shun shouted.
What... it actually penetrated? The woman's hand passed through the area where Shun's Heart was located.
How is this possible?! She's just a human!
"Necklace!" I shouted.
Necklace?!
The woman wore an extremely luxurious crystal necklace around her neck, interwoven with purple and white, and at the bottom hung a large black crystal, within which something faintly stirred.
"Shatter it!" I said immediately after.
"Armored Serpent True Form," he hissed, launching himself toward the crystal necklace.
"Bang!" The sound of shattering echoed.
"Shun, how are you!" Shun fell to the ground, his breathing becoming rapid and his complexion pale.
Shun's attack power was not strong, and his defense was even weaker, yet he never expected to be injured by a human!
"Miss, look." Sha said.
With the shattered black crystal, a black petal slowly floated up, lingering for a moment before disappearing.
I understood; it was another trick of Siyimo!
I didn't expect them to tamper with the Demon and even spare no humans!
"If it weren't for the vile souls of you humans, I wouldn't have been able to succeed so easily."
That voice... it belonged to the man in the black robe!
"Who are you? Show yourself!" I shouted.
"This is just a small warning for you. Next time, it will be you who dies... Xi Meng."
I must know him; I definitely know him. It felt too familiar...
But damn it, I just can't remember who he is!
"Come out! Come out!" I shouted sharply!
All I received in response was silence.
"Ah, no, please, sister, spare me!" Over there, the woman was desperately running.
The ghostly figure in the painting stepped out, chasing after the woman.
"Since you caused my death, I am no longer your sister—"
"No, you can't blame me; it's them, all of them! Those men loved your beauty, while they mocked and belittled me. I couldn't accept it, I couldn't accept it!" The woman shouted.
"I told you before, beauty is only temporary; what matters most is the heart," the ghost sighed.
"Hmph, you're lying! That's because you have beauty while I am so ugly! Do you know how I've lived alone all these years? Every night, all I face is that ugly me! The one who can never dare to appear in the sunlight! Do you know how lonely I've been?!"
"So you used my face to kill so many innocent people?"
"That's right; they were greedy for beauty; they deserved it!"
"Sister, I never expected you to sink so low."
"It was you who forced me, all of you forced me!"
...
The woman, terrified, kept retreating until she suddenly turned around. In the moonlight, I saw her face.
Her features were unrecognizable due to the intersecting scars; she must have been burned by something.
"Sister, since it has come to this, come with me."
"No, no—!"
...
"Please, miss, spare my sister," the female ghost sighed as she pleaded with me.
"I can't help that," I scoffed. Not only did she deserve to go to hell, but she also had to endure all the most painful torments.
"My sister and I were identical twins, born from the same mold. When we were young, a fire broke out at home. Our father couldn't save both of us in time and was forced to choose one to take away. I happened to be the Lucky One, while my sister was rescued but suffered severe burns all over her body. From then on, she hid in darkness and dared not show herself."
"Since then, my sister became increasingly extreme in her actions, but our parents' guilt towards her only made her happy. Later, as we grew up, I didn't know that she had fallen in love with my husband. My Husband was a gentle and refined man. I once told him to care for my sister as he loved me. I never expected that this kind of familial affection would lead my sister to misunderstand and spiral out of control."
"My sister began an endless competition for everything I liked. I tolerated and stepped back until one day—she actually killed my husband with her own hands—"
"Who made it so that they all love you?" the woman said with a weary smile.
"It's not just him; even you are included. I hired someone to kill you. I hate you so much that even in death, I don't want to let you go. I will trap you forever in this painting, cursing you with the blood of the living, ensuring that you can never be reborn!"
"Sister, I didn't know—how could you hate me so much?" the female ghost said. "Miss, keeping her in the human world is more harmful to humanity than sending us to hell."
"Respected God of Hell, the one-hundredth generation Dream Soul Master Xi Meng is here to fulfill her duty and send the Faceless Ghost to hell. The night sings, the moon dances, all things no longer remain silent, light covers darkness, and dawn is approaching. Gates of Hell, open."
On the road to hell, you will no longer be alone.
Indeed, sometimes the living can be scarier than the dead. Is it greed that is wrong or the lonely heart that feels guilty?
...
"How is Shun?"
"I'm going back to treat his wounds," Sha said.
"Alright, let's go."
I found it hard to look at their faces... especially Zhi's.
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