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墨書 Inktalez
Although Old Black and Old Bai are part of the same unit, they are truly different individuals. Old Bai is aloof and never says more than necessary, while Old Black is quite the opposite; being with him feels like chatting with a friendly old neighbor, and conversations flow naturally.
As we walked and talked with Old Black, he explained that their Ghost Messengers are different from deities. Deities must go through a formal approval process and have only one path to descend to the mortal realm. Ghost Messengers, especially Wuchang Ghosts (who specialize in Soul Reaping, with Black and White Impermanence as their leaders and industry benchmarks), can come to the human world at any time. They even have a special passage that allows them to quickly teleport to their target. For instance, Old Black just teleported here.
I asked Old Black if this passage could be used to teleport living people. He said it was possible, but whether they would still be alive afterward was uncertain...
In our conversation, we arrived at the forest featured in Wang Ni's story.
Stone Village is surrounded by high mountains with very few flat areas, especially the village we just came from, which seemed embedded in the mountains. However, upon reaching this place, we found a large open area; aside from the path we entered on, mountains blocked the other three sides. The trees grew densely and chaotically, but strangely, there was no sign of life here—no typical sounds of insects chirping or birds singing. Everything felt perpetually eerie.
"Indeed, something is off," Old Black said, frowning as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Yin Zheng'an, I don't know much about feng shui; can you see if there's anything wrong with this place?"
"I don't really understand it either," I replied. "But I notice that sunlight can reach here; why does it resemble a corpse-rearing ground?"
A corpse-rearing ground is an evil terrain in feng shui. They are mostly oriented northward and cannot receive sunlight for long periods, making them damp and sinister—ideal for gathering Yin Qi and Resentment, which can easily lead to Corpse Transformation. For example, our common Zombies!
"Exactly!" Old Black seemed to have an epiphany. "A corpse-rearing ground! This is like a corpse-rearing ground! But it seems this isn't a natural one."
"Is there such a thing as an artificial corpse-rearing ground?" I asked.
"There is. I once dealt with a great evil who used soul-binding techniques to gather people's souls in one place, nurturing Yin Qi with Resentment and turning a cave into a hell on earth. That cave became a place for rearing corpses and remains so to this day."
"What happened to that great evil afterward?"
"It was suppressed and condemned to never be reborn."
"Can such places develop into corpse-rearing grounds at night?" Wang Ni, who had been silent until now, asked.
"Theoretically yes, but how many souls would it take to cultivate such an expansive area?"
"Shall we go in and take a look?" I suggested.
"No, I'll go in, and you all wait outside for a bit," Old Black said firmly. "I am a Ghost Messenger, so methods for dealing with spirits are ineffective against me."
"Alright, what do you want us to do?"
"If this place has really turned into a corpse-raising ground, then whatever you do will be useless. How about this, Yin Zheng'an, can you draw a Fire Talisman?"
"Are you planning to burn down this forest?"
"If possible, that would be one way. Also, prepare more Exorcism materials, like dog blood or something."
"Okay!"
Old Black was a Ghost Messenger, so nothing could hinder him. He floated directly into the woods.
"Little Anzi, you go back and prepare; I'll keep watch here," Wang Ni said to me as she saw Old Black leave.
"It's fine; I usually have Fire Talismans prepared. As for Exorcism, this will do." I took out the item hanging around my neck.
When I apprenticed under Pervert, he gifted me three magical artifacts: a Sword Sheath, a Seal, and the Octagonal Taiji that I always wore around my neck.
Pervert's Taoist lineage includes Chen Tuan, who drew the first Taiji Diagram. The Octagonal Taiji was made based on that first diagram and possesses the righteous energy of Taoism. This righteous energy is an unparalleled treasure for Exorcism.
I handed the Octagonal Taiji to Wang Ni. "You take this; it's more effective than any dog blood or whatever."
"And you?" Wang Ni looked at me with concern.
"It's fine; I'll just put on my Daoist Robe in a bit." The Daoist Robe itself cannot perform Exorcism, but I couldn't just leave Wang Ni alone; after all, this crazy woman is still a well-endowed girl.
Although Wang Ni and I had nothing to prepare, I still brought a piece of clothing with me. (I only had the clothes I was wearing when I left the Pervert.) It was the same outfit that Uncle Xing gave me, the so-called "school uniform." Although I later learned from Lin Miaomiao that I had been tricked by Uncle Xing, I was still startled when I opened this piece of clothing.
On the surface, this outfit looked exactly like a traditional long robe used in comedic performances, but it actually had a hidden purpose! It was a reversible garment; one side was a long robe, while the other side was a standard Daoist robe.
Because of the uniqueness of this clothing, I took it without a second thought. Looking back now, it seems I truly have some foresight.
I looked up; it was close to the hour of Chen, when the yang energy is at its peak (from 11 PM to 1 AM). In fact, people have many misconceptions about ghosts. For instance, ghosts are not afraid of light; they fear yang energy (not human yang energy, but the natural kind). Just as ordinary people can be affected by Yin Qi, if ghosts are invaded by yang energy, it can be quite serious for them.
"Yin Zheng'an! Run!" Old Black's voice echoed from deep within the forest. He sounded urgent and desperate, clearly in a perilous situation.
Upon hearing his voice, my first reaction was to turn around and grab Wang Ni. However, she ignored my intentions and suddenly unleashed a burst of flames from her body, charging fiercely into the woods.
At that moment, I finally understood that Wang Ni was indeed an extraordinary individual.
An extraordinary individual is someone born with special abilities. This phenomenon can be explained easily: such individuals may have been cultivators or some kind of supernatural beings in their previous lives. If they drank Meng Po Soup without finishing it while crossing the Bridge of Helplessness before being pulled into reincarnation by a Ghost Messenger, they would retain some remnants of their previous powers. Additionally, those with great merit might receive blessings in their next life, allowing them to use certain special abilities even without cultivation.
"What the hell! This is dangerous!" I watched helplessly as Wang Ni dashed into the forest without any ability to stop her. "Should I follow you or retreat?"
After much contemplation, I decided to withdraw for now. It wasn't that I was afraid; it was just that since Wang Ni had already attracted attention, I shouldn't sever my last connection. Moreover, Old Black was still in the woods, and from his earlier shout, it seemed something had gone wrong.
I took out my Nokia and dialed Old Bai's number again. Strangely enough, it wouldn’t go through.
"Sigh, what should I do?" As I felt anxious and restless, Wang Ni suddenly rushed out of the forest holding an old compass.
"Damn, she's fierce!" I marveled at how tough this woman was.
Wang Ni ran up to me and grabbed the collar of my Daoist robe. In a daze, I saw the scenery around us retreat as if we were on a train.
In the blink of an eye, we found ourselves back at the old man's house. After setting me down, Wang Ni promptly fainted.
"Old man! Open the door! Help!" I hurried to knock on the old man's door.
"Creek," the door opened, but it wasn't an old man who came out; it was a young man.
"What old man? What are you shouting about?" The young man panted as if he had just finished some work.
"What happened to the old man? There was an old man here when we came to stay last night. Never mind, big brother, hurry, help us!"
The big brother quickly noticed that Wang Ni had fainted on the ground and rushed to open the door, carrying her into the house.
The room was a mess, completely different from how it was when I entered last night. I could still see cobwebs and thick dust.
"What happened? How did you end up in this deep mountain Old Forest?" the big brother asked me.
"Has no one lived here for a long time?" I suddenly asked.
"Yeah, this village has been deserted for a long time. You’re just lucky; I was preparing to gather herbs. This is my family's old house," the big brother replied. "As for that girl, I checked her; she’s fine, just tired. A good sleep will bring her back."
I looked around the room, and a chill crept up from my feet.
In the corner, there was a Black and White Photo of the very old man from last night!
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