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墨書 Inktalez
Master Xiao and Sayo, known figures in the realm of orthodox Taoism, had become quite familiar to everyone. Coincidentally, it was once again the Ghost Festival, and I had just finished recounting a story from the 2013 Ghost Festival. Seizing the moment, I decided to share an incident from the 2014 Ghost Festival as well. This particular event was filled with twists and turns, and resolving it took several days. Initially, I planned to save this case for a later date, but for the sake of continuity and clarity, I opted to write it out now.
To give a brief overview of the Ghost Festival, its origins trace back to Taoism, while Buddhism refers to it as the Ghost Festival as well. In ancient China, the fifteenth day of the first, seventh, and tenth months were designated as the Ghost Festival, Upper Yuan Festival, and Lower Yuan Festival respectively: the Ghost Festival is a day of blessings from the Heavenly Official; the Upper Yuan Festival is a day of forgiveness from the Earth Official; and the Lower Yuan Festival is a day for water officials to relieve troubles. Thus, during the Ghost Festival, offerings are made to wandering souls and spirits. Taoists believe in three deities: Heaven, Earth, and Water—collectively known as the Three Officials. The Earth Official is referred to as the Second-Rank Forgiving Earth Official. It is said that during the Ghost Festival, which falls on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, this official descends to Earth to forgive sins and assess merits and demerits while the gates of hell are wide open. Whether or not the Earth Official truly exists or comes to our world remains unknown to me since I have never seen him.
Many friends assume that the Ghost Festival only occurs on the fifteenth day of the seventh month; however, this is not entirely accurate. In southern regions, the entire month of July is referred to as Ghost Month. Consequently, many believe that all of July is a time for honoring spirits. In some areas, it is said that starting from July, King Yama allows deceased ancestors to return for half a month. Thus, customs such as welcoming ancestors on the first day of July and sending them off on the fifteenth are preserved in certain locales. Other places claim that the Ghost Festival spans seven days around the fifteenth; there are numerous interpretations with their own significance. As for how many days constitute the Ghost Festival, I cannot provide a definitive answer due to regional variations in customs and beliefs. However, I can assert that during the first half of July, there will indeed be an increase in souls appearing among us. After July sixteenth, things generally return to normal; hence I consider July sixteenth as an endpoint while July fifteenth marks the main festival date. Therefore, I believe that the scope of the Ghost Festival encompasses three days: fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth. This refers specifically to festival days rather than suggesting that souls only appear during these three days. In reality, some souls begin emerging from another realm at the beginning of July; they simply remain unseen and unfelt by ordinary people. As long as we avoid wandering in places heavy with Yin Qi at midnight, we need not fear much from the Ghost Festival. Most spirits merely come to visit our world without causing any harm; they too have their own constraints.
This time was an exception; originally this task belonged to Master Xiao. Like last time when he couldn’t handle it himself, he reached out to me again.
On July thirteenth of last year’s lunar calendar early in the morning, Master Xiao called me asking if I was free. I was puzzled since just last month we had wrapped up that matter concerning a wig factory together—why was he contacting me again so soon? I replied, “Whether I'm free or not depends on what you need. Every matter has its priorities; if you just want to chat idly with me, then I'm definitely busy…” Master Xiao said, “Stop joking around; let’s get serious. We’ve encountered something sinister again and it’s quite troublesome—I’m feeling a bit helpless.” “Alright then,” I said; he must have been genuinely facing an issue for him to speak so earnestly over the phone.
Master Xiao cleared his throat and explained: “Initially we thought this was just an ordinary ghost causing trouble before I arrived here; however, after seeing things for myself, I realized that it would be difficult for us two alone to handle it.”
“Wait a minute,” I interjected. “If you two can’t manage it alone then who else is there?” My curiosity piqued because like me since his initiation day he had always been a lone wolf—he never sought help from anyone else besides me when faced with tough challenges.
He chuckled and said: “There’s also a junior disciple who hasn’t officially graduated yet; my master suggested he come along for some experience so I brought him with me. But don’t worry—despite not being fully initiated yet, he has good talent and can think outside the box like you; he won’t hold us back.”
I replied: “Enough with your nonsense! That’s not what I meant! Just tell me why you feel helpless about this situation.”
Master Xiao chuckled again: “Apologies for my narrow-mindedness! This time’s victim involves a highway construction company whose crew is working near a village on road repairs. However, several strange incidents occurred over recent days—some night shift workers inexplicably developed high fevers while many items disappeared mysteriously from their site. Those who fell ill claimed they saw ghosts—one even reported seeing multiple spirits jumping around near their dump truck at night! Given that it's currently Ghost Festival season, it's not surprising if someone sees many spirits together; however typically ghosts appearing during this time are bound by Yin Chai restrictions—it’s already quite bold for them to be seen at all! Moreover allowing so many people to fall ill seems unrelated to those spirits… So I suspect there must be one source behind all this…”
“Hold on,” I interrupted again. “How many ghosts are we talking about?” Since this matter clearly related to those spirits rather than just one simple ghost—as otherwise Master Xiao wouldn’t feel so helpless—I needed clarity on how many were involved before proceeding further.
“I asked that worker who claimed he saw many ghosts,” he continued. “He estimated around five or six in total. Last night at midnight I went near their dump truck twice but only spotted four myself—I think there might be at most five there—but even if there were only three it would still be challenging for my junior disciple and me! These aren’t ordinary ghosts—they’re likely scouts released during this year’s Ghost Festival who somehow broke free from Yin Chai’s control! Spirits attempting to escape such restrictions don’t follow any logic—they can only be dealt with directly! So even though it’ll just be my junior disciple and me tackling this issue together—I still feel we lack sufficient odds against them—that's why I'm asking if you'd be willing to help us out! Of course—a major highway construction company won’t shortchange us on compensation—just come along and you’ll surely be satisfied.”
I thought for a moment, and Noble Integrity said, "Hearing you say that, it sounds quite dangerous. As your older brother, it's only natural for me to help you bear some of the burden. I've decided to go take a look. As for the reward, I'm not too concerned about it, but you should negotiate as much as you can. Those involved in government projects are all rolling in wealth. If you can ask for more, it counts as robbing the rich to help the poor."
He laughed heartily, looking quite pleased. "I understand this logic well. Since you've agreed, that makes things easier. There's another matter I can share with you. Haha..."
I felt like I was being set up again and said in a low voice, "You're trying to trick me again." "Actually, it's not a big deal. It's just that while digging a tunnel here, they discovered a small Magnet mine, and the place where the incident occurred happens to be near the tunnel. So I suspect your broken compass won't work here," he chuckled.
"Is that something to be happy about?" I said, slightly annoyed. This was still a minor issue; if the compass didn't work, why would I go? Without the compass, I wouldn't be able to find my way. What would I do without a specific location?
He replied, "So, clever me has thought of two solutions for you. The first is that we use the Call of Souls method to deal with them one by one. The second method is for you to waste some Cow Tears while I forcibly open my eyes. Although the duration will be short, we can take them out one by one, just like you mentioned last time at the Wig Factory. What do you think of these two methods?"
"Not much," I said dismissively. "The Call of Souls is completely impractical; they come together. Even if you could call one out at a time, do you think the other spirits would ignore it? Besides, do you think those ghosts coming out of the underworld can be summoned so easily by us little Taoists? The second method is even worse; my time with Cow Tears lasts no more than half a stick of incense. Your Open Eye Spell must be even shorter than mine. They are all underworld spirits; in such a short time, we might manage one or two, but once that time is up, we're just fish on the chopping block. If I remember correctly, you need at least half an hour to rest after each attempt, right?" I immediately dismissed his two plans; they were clearly thoughtless strategies from Master Xiao. I couldn't tell if I was too smart or he was too foolish.
"Oh... You have a point," Master Xiao said with an air of sudden realization before continuing, "If only we had the Yin-Yang Eye; then none of this would be a problem."
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