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墨書 Inktalez
Most of my friends have probably heard of one or more places where people mysteriously drown. Even if they haven't, they've likely heard of water ghosts. You might say, "What nonsense! It's just a lazy water spirit." Science has reported on it.
But let me tell you, no, no, no! Has science shown you photos? Why is it that in places where people drown, there are always water spirits? If the number of these spirits is so small, why aren't they considered protected animals? Of course, I'm not questioning science, nor am I trying to lead anyone to overturn the existence of water spirits. Experts say they exist, so we should believe in their existence, even if I haven't seen one myself.
After all, we live in an era that values science. Many things may seem far-fetched, but science still provides explanations. In an effort to keep up with the times, I find myself doing things contrary to science while wholeheartedly supporting it. I wonder if this counts as a psychological quirk. Anyway, let's get back to discussing water ghosts...
The formation of water ghosts is quite a mysterious phenomenon. There are two conditions: one is accidental drowning, and the other is expected drowning. In short, it's about dying by water.
Those who have read the earlier content should know that a person has three souls: Heaven Soul, Earth Soul, and Human Soul. After a person dies, the Heaven Soul ascends to heaven, the Earth Soul goes to the underworld, and the Human Soul lingers around the grave. If there are no obsessions or grudges, they usually dissipate slowly over forty-nine days. However, if there are obsessions that refuse to leave and they manage to escape the pursuit of Yin Chai, they will remain in the human realm as spirits that I often encounter and need guidance to depart.
Three years later, the three souls can reunite and enter reincarnation. As for what one becomes in the next life, it truly depends on one's karma. Those who have committed numerous wrongdoings will undoubtedly fall into hell or even be reborn as animals. Thus, living a righteous life ensures a humane reincarnation. Karma is a well-worn topic.
Some friends often ask me why bad people seem to live so well; where's their retribution? If I told you that the limping stray dog you saw on the street last night was a traitor in its past life, would you believe me? There are countless beings in this world; some can ascend the food chain while others become spirits.
Returning to my story—I tossed my pen aside onto a stack of uncut yellow paper and got scolded by my master for it.
The victim was from a family in the neighboring town; I’ve forgotten their surname. There were five members in total, but the eldest son and daughter had gone out to work, leaving only the husband, wife, and their youngest son at home. The youngest son was just a few years older than me and was also at an age where he could start working.
Here’s what happened: three nights ago, the husband and wife were arguing fiercely at home. In rural areas during that time, domestic violence was still prevalent among couples. I don't know what they were arguing about; all I observed was that the wife had a submissive personality. After being hit by her husband, she couldn't think straight and left the house in the middle of the night. The husband was too angry to care and didn’t chase after her. However, their youngest son heard the argument stop suddenly and initially thought nothing of it. After a few minutes passed and sensing something was off, he left his room.
Seeing that his mother was missing, he asked his father where she had gone. His father simply said she wanted to die and let her go die. The youngest son thought this was strange—how could someone just die? In rural areas like theirs, there were only three common ways people ended their lives: jumping into a river, hanging themselves, or drinking pesticides.
After ruling out two options, he ran outside. About two hundred meters from their house was a pond—a fish farm contracted by a villager—this was the only pond in the village. It wasn’t very big; smaller than a reservoir but still sizable enough with shallow water—less than 1.8 meters deep at most. He grabbed a flashlight from home and hurried to search by the pond. Before reaching it, he spotted his mother standing at its edge as if hesitating whether to jump.
He called out "Mother" several times as she cried and expressed her despair about wanting to end her life. The two spoke back and forth for quite some time until finally his mother agreed not to do anything foolish after being persuaded by him. Just when he thought he had convinced her and she began to turn back homeward after taking a step back, he moved closer to support her when suddenly she took a step forward and jumped in with an "ah!" That sound was clearly not one of despair but rather fear as she fell into the water while crying out for help.
The incident unfolded quickly; without thinking much further, he jumped in after her. Many people may not have seen those kinds of fish ponds in rural areas—they differ from swimming pools—not every part is equally deep; it's like a cooking pot where it's shallow around the edges but deepest in the center. This pond wasn't large; according to his description later on, its deepest part was less than 1.8 meters.
By the time he jumped in, his mother had already reached the middle of the pond—not calmly walking down but being dragged under instead. The splashes from the surface indicated urgency as he swam toward her while his father arrived at the pond's edge upon seeing his wife jump in without hesitation; he pulled out the drain plug and jumped in after her.
Fortunately for them, since it wasn’t a large pond they quickly reached each other’s sides despite it being dark—his flashlight used batteries which didn’t work well underwater—so they relied on faint moonlight and sounds to navigate their positions. When he reached them he found his younger brother desperately holding onto their mother's hand while she struggled beneath the surface due to her shorter stature; meanwhile he seemed able to surface occasionally for air.
The male protagonist was a good swimmer, and upon seeing the situation, he dove into the water. He wanted to lift his wife up, but it was a water ghost looking for a substitute. You had narrowly escaped, but the Resentment and Yin Qi remained within you. While this wouldn't lead to death, it would be difficult to cure unless that water ghost was dealt with; otherwise, recovery would be challenging.
They nodded in agreement. The master turned to look at me, and I confidently nodded back.
The master said, "Why are you just nodding? You should first take out the items to dispel the Yin Qi."
I hurriedly opened my backpack and handed them to the master. After he dispelled the Yin Qi, he wrote out a prescription for traditional Chinese medicine. I knew that traditional medicine could assist in exorcising evil and dispelling Yin, but I didn't know the specifics of the prescription. I had asked the master before, and he said it was simple—just Sedge combined with some blood-nourishing and energy-boosting herbs.
After completing all of this, the master said, "Let's go check by the pond."
The male protagonist hesitated for a moment but then led us toward the pond. Although it was daytime, it was already dusk, and the sky was gradually darkening. We reached the pond's edge in a short time, but most of the water had been drained. The master asked what had happened, and the male protagonist explained that since he had released a lot of water that night and there were many fish inside, the contractor decided to catch all the fish and drain most of the water.
The master nodded and said, "Then let's go back and have dinner; we can only come back at midnight." I understood what he meant because without water, we couldn't fish for souls; he was preparing to wait until midnight to forcibly Call of Souls.
Dinner was sumptuous; the tea oil stir-fried Duck was particularly delicious. However, our enjoyment was brief. After an agonizing wait until midnight, an exciting moment was about to arrive. The master stopped his conversation with the male protagonist, stood up, and said it was time to get down to business. He then asked if the male protagonist wanted to join us. The male protagonist gritted his teeth and said gallantly, "I'll go with you." His younger son wanted to come too but was stopped by him. Thus, the three of us set off with two Flashlights toward the pond. Upon reaching our destination, the master first illuminated a Water Bowl to locate the general position of the water ghost.
It was a place overgrown with weeds beneath a Jujube Tree, sheltered from sunlight. The master then instructed us to step back as he began to Call of Souls. I won't disclose the steps or techniques; all I can say is that he performed them with remarkable skill and fluidity.
The male protagonist watched intently since he couldn't understand what was happening. After about a few minutes, I noticed that the master's body began to tremble as if he were exhausted. Just as I thought about going over to support him, he suddenly stopped his movements and pointed with his right hand toward a patch of weeds. I shone my Flashlight over there and discovered a humanoid figure lying among the weeds—its limbs unusually thick and its skin tinged with blue. Its head faced us, but its complexion was pale—like someone who had been soaked in water for too long.
To be honest, seeing a water ghost for the first time exceeded my expectations. Although I wasn't afraid, my stomach churned... I didn't know if all summoned water ghosts appeared in this form, but that state of Spirit God was something I couldn't accept. This is why I never took on jobs involving water ghosts—even though I was an excellent swimmer known as "Little White Dragon in Waves." I know you might be ready to grab your knife after reading this line, but please put it down; you wouldn't be able to harm me anyway.
Back to the point: as soon as I saw the water ghost, so did the male protagonist. Indeed, experience speaks volumes; he wasn't frightened at all but instead walked over alongside the master while I forced myself to approach despite my churning stomach.
The master asked him to take a closer look and think carefully—wasn't this person who fell into the pond four years ago after suffering from illness while plowing? The male protagonist scrutinized closely and replied, "Yes, that's right; aside from slightly larger hands and feet, there hasn't been much change. It's definitely him."
The master nodded slightly before I asked him why it looked so weak.
The master explained that once it left the water, it became weak; plus, he had cast a talisman to bind it.
Then I said, "Is it time to Send Soul now?"
The master nodded. He then asked the male host for the location of the Spirit God and the Tomb. After receiving the directions, the master stood behind the Spirit God and began the Send Soul towards the direction of the Tomb. His technique was strange and very different from the usual way of Send Soul. However, I had no desire to learn it on the spot. First, because the master's movements were too fast for me to remember; second, because I had already secretly resolved not to engage with water ghosts; and third, because that method was indeed very complex and difficult.
After sending the soul, the master took three strands of algae that originally belonged underwater from beneath the water ghost and handed them to the male host, saying they should be boiled with traditional Chinese medicine. He mentioned that after drinking it for seven days, he would be almost fine. Then he reminded the male host that once he recovered, his whole family should go to that grave to burn some incense and Joss Paper to thank it for sparing their lives. Afterward, we returned to the male host's home. The male host took out a Reward and a basket of duck eggs. The master accepted the Reward but declined the duck eggs, suggesting that they be given to the family of that water ghost instead, as they needed to pay their respects.
After saying this, we headed back. On the way, I asked the master where that water ghost had gone.
The master replied that it hadn't found a substitute, so it couldn't achieve Reincarnation. To prevent it from harming others again, it could only be dispersed.
I asked why they still needed to pay their respects.
The master said that was what they should do. Having regained two lives, they should understand gratitude.
I then asked if he wasn't afraid of accumulating karmic obstacles by dispersing it.
The master admitted he was afraid but felt there was no choice. He added that in the future, both of us needed to continue doing good deeds to eliminate karmic obstacles. Then we fell silent as I watched his thin figure from behind. I thought to myself that even though the master was so powerful, he also had his own helplessness. Others were no different.
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