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墨書 Inktalez
The so-called office is just a converted classroom, filled with documents and desks. Anyone who wants to enter has to sit at a desk. Moreover, this classroom is close to the restroom, but fortunately, not many people use it, so there isn't any strange smell.
"I'll introduce you to someone. From now on, for matters related to us, just contact the two of us. Of course, we are quite busy, so don’t contact us too often unless you encounter something you can't solve—we may not always be available," Brother Wen said, his earlier gentleness replaced by a cunning expression typical of a leader.
"How do I contact you? Also, should I contact Night Wanderer at night?" I guess I had resigned myself to the situation.
"Pretty much. I'll give you something shortly that you can use to contact us. And you should know that Night Wanderer and I are not the only ones in our positions. Night Wanderer and Sun God are just titles similar to supervisors; there are others with those titles as well. However, you probably won't meet them."
"Oh," I obediently replied. After all, he was my direct superior; I had to listen to him.
"Xie Bian, Xie Bian," Brother Wen called out into the empty office. "Where is everyone? Where did they go?"
The temperature in the office suddenly dropped several degrees, and it felt somewhat eerie, reminiscent of when I summoned the Hungry Ghost that possessed Lin Miaomiao—had that girl called home to resolve her issues yet?
"What are you shouting about? Am I as free as you?" A voice echoed from the empty office, sounding like a ghostly wail. "What's up with that kid behind you? He doesn't look like one of those things."
"Come out already; who are you scaring? If you come out, I'll introduce you," Brother Wen casually sat down at a desk. "Yin Zheng'an, an agent sent from above; from now on, we'll coordinate with him."
"This weak agent?" A figure slowly emerged. "Don't let him die here; I don't want to handle another one."
The person who appeared was dressed in white, with squinted eyes and a faint smile at the corner of his mouth. At first glance, he looked quite handsome, reminiscent of Nicholas Tse, but unfortunately, his eyes were too squinty. He wore a tag around his waist that read four characters—You Are Here! He stood about 1.7 meters tall and was quite thin, giving off an odd vibe.
"Xie Bian shares a name with Xie Bi'an; most people call him White Impermanence," Brother Wen casually explained. "From now on, living matters are handled by me while dead matters are under his jurisdiction. If something happens at night involving the living, just contact Night Wanderer and Black Wuchang."
I realized this person carried an aura of death; he was actually a Ghost Messenger from the Underworld. I wasn't unfamiliar with White Impermanence; he used to be good friends with Black Wuchang. There was an incident where they planned to go out for some fun but got caught in a heavy rainstorm. Old Bai went to get an umbrella while Old Black waited for him. However, as the rain poured harder and Old Black stubbornly waited for Old Bai without moving, he ended up drowning. When Old Bai saw his friend had drowned, he couldn't bear it and followed suit. Later on, Yama took them both in because they showed such loyalty to each other. Unfortunately, Old Black never got to see Old Bai again before he died; his face turned black with anger over that fact while Old Bai hanged himself later on, which resulted in his tongue being elongated.
"Hehe," Sun God suddenly chuckled lewdly as if he had read my thoughts. "Usually we would have a City God here as well, but due to special circumstances, we don’t have one established here. By the way, if you have any questions, you can ask the local deity; do you know what he's called?"
"Isn't it something like calling out 'Old Land Deity' and poking him with a stick? I've seen Journey to the West; that's how that monkey calls out."
"Then just wait to be scammed by that old man," Old Bai said, pulling at his lips and speaking slowly. "Do you think the elderly nowadays are so easy to bully? If they hear something they don't like, they'll cause a scene. Only that monkey is afraid of them; last time they even scammed The Immortal Who Helped Them Up, calling it What Peak."
"Here," Brother Wen handed me a rather thick brick. "Use this to contact us in the future. I've set up the number for you. If you need to reach the land, just find the old man."
That brick turned out to be a phone, one that had clearly been used for many years. The gaps between the buttons were filled with dust, as if it had just been dug up from somewhere. Yes, a Nokia. Well, it could still serve as a weapon—this thing is sturdy and would definitely hurt if thrown at someone!
"If you think it's too shabby, just replace it yourself. Just pull out the SIM card inside. Oh, and make sure to activate it before using," Brother Wen said irresponsibly, looking like a Northern School's Marketing Master. "Also, this card can be used as a regular phone card, but you have to call it Phone Bill and pay double!"
"Why double?"
"To prevent anyone from tracking us down using this phone card, so it's set up as a Global Roaming Card," Old Bai said impatiently. "If you need anything, just contact me; I'm very busy and need to leave now."
With that, White Impermanence vanished, leaving me holding the 'phone' in a daze. Would it even work if I pressed 11? Even if it did work, would the police come to arrest me and send me to a mental hospital or would they catch Old Bai and Brother Wen? — The chances of them arresting me seemed much higher!
"Old Bai is different from me; he has to manage many things. For us Sun Gods, as long as you don't mess up during your shift, everything will be fine. They also have to deal with capturing wandering souls, which keeps them quite busy. Your main task is to help them share some of that burden."
"You want me to capture souls?" I asked in surprise. Had I suddenly evolved from a temporary worker to a Ghost Messenger?
"Not quite; you just need to catch some Stragglers. Don't worry; those fish won't show up in a way that can swallow you whole. How about this: why don't you take on a task first to give it a try?"
"I'm willing to try, but I don't have any spiritual power right now," I shrugged my shoulders nonchalantly.
"That's fine; I have nothing going on either. I'll go with you; that should work."
"Okay!"
"Hey, Old Bai, is there any simpler task available right now? I want this kid to get familiar with the process." Brother Wen took out his Mi Phone and dialed a number; it seemed he was talking to Old Bai. "Alright, the garden behind the school? I'll take him there right away!"
Brother Wen hung up the phone; there was a small ghost in the garden behind the school that he was preparing to take me to familiarize myself with the process.
On the far left side of J University, there is a small garden with a gazebo along the wall. Outside the wall, there is a fairly large park built along a river, where many people usually go for walks during dusk. The garden at J University is essentially a larger green space, with several osmanthus trees planted and some stones casually placed on the lawn for sitting and resting.
"Brother Wen, I can't see anything right now," I could only say to Brother Wen, after all, he was the one guiding me.
"Put this on." Brother Wen handed me a pair of sunglasses. "This is something from below; once you wear it, you'll be able to see a bit."
I put on the sunglasses, and sure enough, in the far corner of the garden, there was a shadow crouching there.
"What is that?" I asked.
"Not a ghost; it seems to just be some kind of energy," Brother Wen replied, not very certain himself.
As we got closer to the shadow, Brother Wen suddenly made some chaotic hand gestures. "I'll go left, you go right; let's go together!"
"What do your gestures mean?" I asked curiously.
"Don't humans usually do something like this?" Brother Wen asked back in confusion. "Don't you think it sounds more powerful when you make some hand gestures while talking?"
Suddenly, the crouching shadow stood up, facing both me and Brother Wen...
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