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墨書 Inktalez
As the town's population grew, high-rise buildings with elevators became increasingly common. Elevators brought great convenience to people's lives, but like everything, there were potential dangers. Beyond elevator accidents, strange occurrences also took place in these small spaces. Elevators were devoid of sunlight year-round, and if the occupancy rate of a building was low, the energy within could become stagnant. This small space could turn into a gathering place for negative energy. What I want to share with you is the story of a lost soul trapped in an elevator.
There was a girl named Liu, who was somewhat willful and had her share of hardships. She lived in a high-rise area of Qifu New Village in Panyu, sharing my surname. Initially, I didn’t know her, but this incident brought us together, creating a bond between us.
In the first half of 2014, by chance, I came across a chat in a feng shui discussion group where Miss Liu shared an elaborate story. I thought she was seeking help regarding feng shui adjustments and decided to take a closer look. Upon reading, I realized it wasn’t about feng shui at all.
I clicked on her profile picture; she appeared to be a very innocent-looking girl. Although I wasn't sure if it was really her, I found myself adding her as a friend. It wasn’t that I was being lewd; it was just that I had some free time and felt I could help with the situation. The gender of the person didn’t matter to me at all. I hadn’t written any additional information on my profile; if she added me and was willing to talk, I would help her resolve her issue. If she declined, then I wouldn’t interfere further. However, she added me right away and greeted me before I could even say anything.
She mentioned that she often saw me discussing feng shui matters in the group and recognized me. Since that was the case, I directly stated my purpose: I had seen what she wrote in the group and if she believed me, I could help her look into it.
She replied, "Really? This has been bothering me for some time now; I’m afraid to use that elevator." I urged her to tell me more about what happened.
She explained that sometimes she worked late and returned home past eleven o'clock. The building where she lived had three elevators: two passenger elevators and one freight elevator, which was wooden inside. The passenger elevators had mirrored doors and were mostly surrounded by mirrors.
I told her not to focus on the elevator details yet but rather on the strange occurrences she couldn’t explain.
She recounted that one night after returning home past eleven, every time she entered the lobby, the elevator on the far right would automatically open.
At that moment, there was no one around; the button for going up wasn’t lit either, yet the elevator opened by itself.
I asked if it might be one of those automatic sensor elevators.
She insisted it wasn’t; none of the other elevators did that—only that particular one did.
I suggested perhaps someone living above pressed the button for the first floor and forgot something before heading back up, coincidentally allowing her to see it open.
She admitted that was what she initially thought too and didn’t think much of it as she stepped into the automatically opening elevator. Once inside, however, she felt a breeze flowing through because there was no air conditioning in that elevator. After closing the door, she noticed a faint wind blowing inside.
I explained that elevators aren’t completely sealed; it’s normal for air to flow while they’re in motion.
She agreed with my analysis but said what happened next left her without an explanation.
I asked her what happened next.
She told me they lived on the 25th floor. She pressed the button for 25 since there was no one else around and didn’t pay attention as she looked down at her phone while waiting. When the elevator stopped, she didn’t check and simply exited. To her surprise, when she looked up, she found herself on the fifth floor instead. Moreover, after stepping out, the elevator door remained open; not thinking much of it at first, she stepped back inside. As soon as she entered again, the door closed immediately behind her. Not daring to look at her phone anymore, she focused on watching the changing numbers until it reached 25.
When it finally displayed 25, she hurriedly walked out only to find herself confused again—the sign outside read 15 instead of 25. She stepped back into the elevator to check again; sure enough, it showed 15 now! But she distinctly remembered seeing 25 when she first entered! Just then, as if responding to her anxiety, the door closed once more behind her. She felt nervous now and kept staring at the numbers as they changed again until they finally reached 25 once more when the door opened again. She rushed out only to discover it was actually on the 23rd floor—not 25!
She was truly frightened this time. In Guangzhou, many high-rise elevators do not have a fourth floor, and her residence was no exception.
Since she had reached the 23rd floor, the next level would be the 25th. She didn’t dare to enter the elevator again, even though the door remained wide open. She quickly turned and walked to the adjacent emergency exit, climbing the stairs until she reached her home. Once inside, she immediately shut the door, unable to comprehend what had just happened.
I asked her if anything else occurred after she got home. She replied that nothing happened because she went straight into her bedroom and locked the door, not coming out until the next morning.
At that moment, I had a realization: this girl lived alone. I hurriedly feigned concern and asked, "Do you live by yourself?" She confirmed that she did. With this in mind, I resolved to help her.
I inquired further, "And then what happened?" She recounted that she encountered the same situation several times when entering the lobby; the elevator would automatically open, but she didn’t dare to step inside. Instead, she waited for the other two elevators and managed to avoid any issues.
After some time, she had to work late again and returned home to find no one around. As she entered the lobby, that same elevator opened automatically once more.
Ignoring it, she pressed the button for one of the side elevators. However, something strange occurred.
She said that before she even touched the button for the adjacent elevator, it lit up on its own. I asked if perhaps she had mistakenly pressed it without realizing.
She insisted that no, she hadn’t touched it at all. The two elevators next to each other shared a button. So aside from the leftmost elevator that remained open, the middle elevator quickly descended.
When its doors opened, she stepped inside. Having ridden that elevator many times before, she didn’t think much of it. However, after entering and before pressing any buttons for her floor, the doors closed unexpectedly. After pressing her desired floor, the doors opened again in an odd manner. Startled, she hurriedly exited; as soon as she stepped out, the doors closed behind her and the empty elevator ascended.
She pressed a button again and soon after, both side elevators opened up. She walked into one of them and went directly up to the 25th floor without any incidents along the way.
Listening to her story was quite chilling; honestly, if I were in her shoes, I would be scared too. It wasn’t so much about fearing a real spirit inside; rather, I was worried that if a spirit were to take control of the elevator and send it plummeting downwards, there would be nowhere to escape.
I asked her to recount in detail what happened last night. She responded with surprise, "How did you know something happened last night?"
I explained that I saw her mention it in our group chat.
She continued with her story: last night when she returned home after 11 PM, as soon as she entered the lobby, the left elevator opened again. Terrified but with no choice, she pressed buttons for the other two elevators. The middle elevator was already on the first floor and opened immediately; however, recalling her previous experience, she hesitated to enter. Strangely enough, despite not stepping inside, its doors remained open while she kept pressing buttons until finally, the rightmost freight elevator opened up. She stepped inside and pressed for the 25th floor; as it began ascending but stopped at the 5th floor instead of continuing up.
When it stopped there, she tried to close the doors but couldn’t get them shut no matter what. Exiting from that freight elevator brought her face-to-face with the middle elevator arriving at the same floor with its doors wide open—this terrified her even more. Just then, a door across from them swung open revealing a middle-aged man stepping out.
Startled at first but relieved upon seeing another person—like encountering a family member—her courage returned somewhat. The man glanced at her before stepping into the middle elevator without noticing it was going up; quickly following him in, she pressed for 25th floor ahead of him. He hadn’t realized this elevator was ascending either and attempted to exit for another one just as its doors closed behind them both. Thus accompanied by this man, they safely reached their destination on the 25th floor together.
Feeling fortunate about this turn of events as they exited together—her apartment was just a right turn from where they stepped out—the moment she did so, however, that right-side elevator door suddenly swung open again.
She gasped in surprise; noticing that man hadn’t yet left either he hurriedly asked what was wrong.
With someone else present now easing her fear somewhat, she replied casually: "Nothing much; just startled because that elevator opened unexpectedly." Thanking him before heading home herself.
However, when opening her door later on, she distinctly heard a series of eerie giggles echoing around her.
At this point in her tale, I couldn’t tell if those laughs were merely figments of her anxious mind or something more sinister at play because such occurrences with elevators could hardly be chalked up to coincidence anymore. If not due to some mental instability on her part—her coherent recounting suggested otherwise—it could only mean there was indeed something supernatural deliberately messing with her life.
I said, "Alright, I think I understand."
She replied, "Can you help me? I can't take the elevator after 10 PM; I'm about to lose it."
I responded, "First, thank you for your trust. I'm more than happy to help you. If it's convenient for you tonight, just send me your phone number and address. I'll come by after eleven."
She said she was too scared to do that. I reassured her, "You don't have to come with me; I can go alone." She sent me her phone number and address and asked if I wanted to charge her for it and how much.
I replied, "Let's discuss payment after the issue is resolved. What amount would you be comfortable with?"
She mentioned a figure that was slightly more than I expected. However, thinking it over, considering she had a place to stay alone, it probably wouldn't be too much.
I said, "I'll give you a fifty percent discount. Anyway, I've been quite free lately..." When she heard my offer of a discount, she paused for a moment before asking, "So you'll come over tonight, right?"
I confirmed, "Yes. Have you asked any of the neighbors if they've experienced anything like this?"
She said she hadn't because she wasn't familiar with anyone in the building.
I replied, "Alright then, I'll come by tonight. If nothing unusual happens, I'll give you a call." I noted down her number, closed QQ, and waited for the evening... Of course, I also changed into something a bit more presentable.
When it was around 10:30 PM, I packed my things and set off. Since it wasn't far, I arrived at Miss Liu's building before 11 PM. I have to complain about the visitor registration at Qifu New Village; they required a driver's license for registration which I hadn't brought. If it weren't for my eloquence and quick thinking, I would have had to run back to get it. Fortunately, that wasn't necessary.
When I reached the address she provided and parked my car, I walked directly into the spacious lobby and saw the eerie elevator she mentioned—there were indeed three elevators. As she described, there were very few people around at this hour. However, there was a security door at the entrance that required a code. Initially planning to call Miss Liu, I decided instead to send her a text message. After a while, she sent me the code. Entering it allowed me access to the lobby.
Although it was late, the lobby was well-lit and didn't seem frightening at all. I waited there for a moment; the elevator didn't open automatically. After stepping closer and still seeing no movement, I pressed the button myself. At that moment, the elevator doors opened; if it hadn't opened by now, it must have been broken. Stepping inside the elevator, the doors closed behind me without me pressing any floor buttons; thus, it remained still. Taking out my compass for a quick check revealed a faint response—barely noticeable. A weak signal greeted me with a slight acknowledgment as I prepared to unlock the security door. Smiling slightly as a response to its greeting made me realize how cautious she was since her security door was locked from the inside with a key.
Once she had the key ready to unlock the door, my compass suddenly reacted strongly in my hand. I quickly shouted loudly, "Wait! Don't open it yet!" When I looked up at her while speaking, I saw a shadowy figure vanish behind her. My sudden shout startled her greatly—and apparently also startled her neighbor next door.
Suddenly, the door next door swung open. A man in his thirties peered through the security door at me and asked bluntly, "Who are you? What were you shouting about? It's late; shouldn't you be sleeping?"
This situation was technically my fault; thus, I had no reason to argue back. Apologetically, I replied, "It's nothing; we were just playing around—sorry about that." He then closed his door and went back to sleep. Turning back to Miss Liu, she smiled apologetically at me—a smile that mirrored one from her photo but lacked some of its charm in person.
Suddenly, I thought of a serious issue: her photo must have fallen victim to one of the four great Asian sorceries: the Chinese Photo Editing Technique.
Just to clarify, the four great Asian sorceries are: Korean Cosmetic Surgery, Thai Gender Reassignment Surgery, Japanese Makeup Technique, and Chinese Photo Editing Technique.
However, considering that almost all girls in China have had their photos edited in some way, I felt a bit more at ease. Since we’re on the topic of the four great Asian sorceries, I might as well mention the three divine beasts of Asia: Japanese Ghosts, Korean Bastards, and Chinese Internet Trolls.
Chinese Internet Trolls are everywhere around us. If you’re reading this, I hope you can stop greeting others by insulting their parents. When you insult someone’s parents, you’re essentially inviting them to insult yours in return. I just want to ask, what have your parents done to deserve such treatment? It’s a form of disrespect. Acting out in anger won’t make you any more attractive; it will only make everyone laugh at you. Why bother?
Back to the main point: seeing her apologetic smile made me feel a bit embarrassed. After all, I had raised my voice too much. I had already seen that spirit disappear behind her, and the compass was reacting abnormally. I was worried she might get hurt since she hadn’t opened the door. If that spirit decided to harm her at that moment, I could only watch helplessly; I didn’t believe my aura could ward off spirits through a closed door.
I quickly recited an Exorcism Spell and pulled out the protective talisman my master had given me, slipping it through the gap in the security door. "Take this with you," I said. "Don’t look back, and then open the door for me." She seemed to sense that things might be a bit scary now and nervously prepared to unlock the door.
As she opened it, I anxiously watched behind her. Just as she inserted the key into the lock, that dark shadow reappeared behind her, seemingly trying to prevent her from opening the door. My heart raced; even though I was confident in my talisman—crafted from Thunderstrike Wood and passed down through generations—it was still unsettling.
Sure enough, although the spirit wanted to stop her, she managed to open the door. Once it swung open, I saw that shadow float into the room. After Miss Liu stepped aside to let me in, I hurriedly followed her inside. Beyond the living room was a small foyer with three doors wide open. The compass spun wildly; I couldn’t determine which room the spirit had entered. However, it was definitely within five meters of me as I rushed in, with Miss Liu trailing behind me, staring at me in confusion.
Feeling a bit flustered myself, I headed straight into the largest room—the master bedroom. As soon as I entered, Miss Liu followed me inside. Holding my compass carefully, I searched for any sign of the spirit but found nothing; instead, the compass's response grew weaker. Suddenly realizing something was off, I turned toward the security door—it was ajar and swaying slightly as if someone had just touched it.
I asked Miss Liu, "Didn’t you close the door earlier?"
She replied apologetically, "I did! But when I saw you rush into my bedroom, I got too nervous."
I sighed and said, "Ah, it must have slipped my mind to tell you to close it after all that. Please stand by the door." She looked at me apologetically again and said, "I’m sorry; I didn’t know."
I told her it was my fault for not being clear enough. "Let me think about what to do next," I said as I found a chair and sat down.
At least Miss Liu wasn’t overly frightened; she poured me a glass of water without interrupting my thoughts—a truly considerate girl. After thinking for a moment and taking a sip of water without speaking further, I stepped back outside and rang the doorbell of the neighboring house.
The same stern middle-aged man answered again. He looked impatient when he saw me but didn’t seem to be asleep; his television was blaring loudly.
"Excuse me," I said politely. "I’m your neighbor from next door; may I ask you something?" Hearing this made him open his door wider. I offered him a cigarette and lit it for him before asking, "When you returned home last night using the elevator, did you notice anything unusual about it?"
He thought for a moment before replying, "Nope! Sometimes when I come back after midnight, everything is normal; nothing strange ever happens."
"Alright then," I said gratefully before turning back into Miss Liu’s house where she sat anxiously on a chair.
"You’re safe with that talisman I gave you; don’t be afraid," I reassured her. "I have an idea of what’s going on now; I'm going out for a moment—just make sure to close the door."
She nodded in agreement as I left. After she shut the door behind me, just to be safe, I placed another talisman on it for protection against spirits.
Then I walked over to the elevator and was startled to find that two of the three elevators were stopped at the 25th floor. The door of the leftmost elevator was even open, as if inviting me in, saying, "Come on, step inside, hurry up."
However, I wasn't that foolish. I wasn't going in. Suddenly, the elevator dropped, and I had no idea how I would die. I stood at the door with a compass in hand. The needle was shaking wildly, pointing inside the elevator. I knew that the Spirit God was in there, even though I couldn't see it. I wondered why it wouldn't let me see it. If it wanted to mess with me, why hide? Even though I really wanted to go in, I didn't dare. So I stood outside, wasting time, and took out a bundle of Ink Fight Line. I surrounded the elevator door with it, leaving no gaps.
"If you want me to go in, then you better not come out. I'll go in and show you."
After setting up the lines, the elevator door began to close. I quickly reached out to stop it and tossed a handful of Grave Soil inside. Then I took out a small bag of incense ash mixed with Cinnabar and sprinkled that in as well. First, I recited the Soul Requiem, then followed it with the Soul Binding Spell. At that moment, I saw two footprints appear on the red incense ash on the white tiles inside the elevator. I knew it was now bound... Based on my previous experience, a bound Spirit God was equivalent to having its hands and feet tied, so it shouldn't be able to make the elevator drop directly.
Feeling confident, I stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for the lowest floor—basement two, which led to the underground parking lot. However, when we reached the 15th floor, the elevator dinged and stopped suddenly. My heart sank; could it still control the elevator like this?
Things were not as I expected; it wasn't the Spirit God operating it. Standing outside was a bald figure who assured me not to worry; she had almost finished and asked me to come in for something. She smiled and let me in. I immediately uncovered the cloth covering the Altar and opened a small drawer beneath it, pulling out a diary.
I turned to Miss Liu and said, "This is what's causing trouble. Once I take this away, you can rest easy." She nodded.
I asked her if she had bought this Altar.
She replied that it wasn't hers; it had been there when she moved in. The place was rented, and she thought it belonged to the landlord, so she hadn't discarded it—just covered it with a cloth. I told her that since it wasn't her Altar anymore and had been abandoned, she should find someone to throw it away tomorrow; keeping it at home was never good. She nodded again.
Then I checked my watch; it was almost midnight. "I should head back now," I said.
She replied, "It's so late. Why not wait until tomorrow?"
I felt my face flush and said, "It's fine; I'm not far away and have things to do." With that, I turned to leave.
"Wait," she said, "let me get you some money."
I replied that there was no rush. "Just transfer it to me after a week when everything is fine," I said hurriedly as I made my way home.
Rushing back home, I entered my study and took out the diary along with some tools for spirit communication. To be honest, I was very curious about what content could cause such an obsession in someone; however, that would be unethical. Suppressing my curiosity, I called it forth.
When it saw the diary in my hand, its reaction was one of excitement.
I asked if this was the notebook, and he confirmed it was. I told him to stand still while I burned it for him. Then I took the fire basin used for burning Joss Paper during my usual rituals for the Five Spirits and recited a spell to burn the diary. During the process, I noticed several photos tucked inside. They were selfies of him with another girl. The background was in an elevator, and there were words written on the back of the photos. Out of respect for him, I didn’t look closely at what was written, but I knew this was yet another Spirit God with a story.
Until I sent him off, I didn’t delve into the story between him and her; I had no right to know. Whether it was mundane or earth-shattering, their story belonged to them. I was merely his soul's Passerby, able only to help him leave without attachments. When he departed, he smiled happily, albeit foolishly. Though his face was pale, his expression was pure, like a child who had just received a beloved toy—satisfied and joyful. His joy infected me, and I felt as happy as a child myself. After taking a shower, I slept soundly that night.
A week later, Miss Liu contacted me to invite me to dinner, and I arrived on time. After we met, she seemed much more spirited.
I asked her if the elevator had been troubling her lately, and she replied that it hadn’t; these past few days had been the best sleep she’d had in a while. I smiled and reassured her that everything would be fine from now on; she didn’t need to be afraid anymore.
She placed money in a pink envelope with three large characters written on it: Thank You.
As she handed me the Red Envelope, she also returned my protective talisman. I told her that I still had one of those. "Keep it as a memento," I said. "The spirit that was attached to you is a good one; pray for him."
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