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墨書 Inktalez
It shook its head slowly, remaining silent, conveying that it was not afraid of me. Its expression was quite bewildered. Before I could ask anything further, it crawled out of the large water tank with movements reminiscent of a mischievous child. I was astonished; why didn’t it float? Had it not learned how? Just as I was pondering this, it lost its grip and fell from the edge of the tank. Although it made no sound and showed no signs of pain, the sight made me want to laugh; what a clumsy creature.
After getting up, it stood still in place, tilting its head and staring at me expressionlessly. It seemed that without my prompting, it didn't know what to say, and it showed no embarrassment about its earlier fall, as if it hadn’t been the one to stumble.
I smiled and asked, “Little one, does it hurt?” It shook its head again with the same blank expression, appearing harmless.
I took a step toward it, and to my surprise, it suddenly retreated two steps back against the wall. It moved quickly, but when it hit the wall, there was no sound. Its form seemed to distort slightly, yet its facial expression remained unchanged. Seeing its reaction made me think that perhaps because I wasn’t afraid of it, it had started to fear me instead. After all, others had always been scared of it; encountering someone who wasn’t afraid must have startled it. It reminded me of a village dog that barks at passersby; if you run away, it chases after you barking, but if you pick up a stone as if to throw it, it runs away instead. This theory also applies to some spirits.
Noticing its retreat, I quickly stopped in my tracks. After putting the compass into my cloth bag, I spread my hands and said, “Don’t be afraid; I mean no harm. Do you know you’re already dead?”
After asking this question, I expected it to react nervously, but contrary to my expectations, it calmly replied without any expression: “I know. I’m a ghost. People who come here are usually afraid of me. I've been here for a long time; that old man over there is too.” Before finishing its sentence, it slowly crawled back into the water tank and squatted down until it gradually disappeared from view. It seemed that after manifesting for too long, it could no longer maintain its presence.
Was that old man also a ghost? Or had he also been here for a long time? This little ghost didn’t clarify before vanishing. I scratched my head in confusion over what it meant to say. However, being young and lacking memories or resentments seemed to indicate that there were no strong attachments keeping it from reincarnating. If I didn’t help it out somehow, perhaps it would never find its way to reincarnation; after all, it was still just a child.
I found a piece of wood and placed it over the water tank before sticking two confinement talismans on top. I needed to send them off properly but first had to deal with the old man mentioned by the little ghost. To avoid any mishaps during the call of souls ritual, sealing him first would be wise.
After last night’s events, I returned to our camping corner where Brother Mao said if I didn’t come back soon he would come looking for me. “So what did you find?” After he asked this question, Xiao Yu and Zhang Min turned their gazes toward me as well. I glanced at my watch and shrugged before saying, “Things are alright; there are two—one big and one small. In a bit, I’ll go guide them along; they’re just lonely souls—quite pitiful.” Brother Mao nodded and began organizing his things again while Xiao Yu handed me a cigarette saying, “Pitiful? They were grabbing onto me when we ran out earlier; almost got me killed! From what I see, you and Brother Mao are so capable; why not just shatter their souls?”
“Xiao Yu! What nonsense are you talking?” Brother Mao couldn’t hold back anymore and scolded him directly. I felt somewhat uncomfortable too but slowly replied: “Shattering souls is akin to executing someone in our world—if not worse. Just because they grabbed you doesn’t mean you should shatter their souls; your life matters while theirs doesn’t?”
“But they’re already dead!” Xiao Yu argued stubbornly.
“Ha ha! Let’s hope when you turn into a ghost after death you’ll still think like that.” After saying this, I ignored him and sat down on a moisture-proof mat with my eyes closed in thought.
Silence enveloped us as everyone pondered their own thoughts until past midnight when I suddenly stood up and startled Zhang Min who had been dozing off beside me. I felt a faint chill wash over me; after pulling out the compass for a closer look but finding nothing unusual—perhaps I was just overthinking things—I decided not to wait any longer. I called out to Brother Mao that we could go send off the souls now. Without hesitation, Brother Mao stood up and said simply: “Let’s go.”
Seeing us stand up made Xiao Yu and Zhang Min jump up simultaneously saying: “I’m going too!” I looked at them and nodded in agreement; they could join us. Both Brother Mao and I walked ahead knowing they probably felt insecure alone. Besides, they both seemed firm believers in ghosts or had encountered them directly before so they weren’t overly cautious.
With my nod of approval, Brother Mao added: “Since Xiao Liu has agreed then let’s go—but one rule: no matter what you see don’t scream loudly or show too much fear. My master has said that if someone gets scared enough they might attract spirits.”
I confirmed: “Yes, that’s true which is why we keep unrelated people away during rituals—to avoid interference with the ceremony—and when I call out for souls later on you must keep your heads down and not stare directly at them for more than three seconds; any consequences will be your responsibility.” After saying this, I slung my cloth bag over my shoulder grabbed a flashlight and headed toward the kitchen behind the small archway.
As I walked over there Brother Mao followed closely behind while Xiao Yu and Zhang Min trailed right after us. Just before reaching the large water tank Zhang Min suddenly screamed out loud. At that moment I saw the wooden board on top of the tank shift slightly followed by a talisman dropping onto the ground which shook twice as if trying to detach itself from the board above. In a panic, I dashed forward to steady the talisman while reciting part of the Soul Requiem chant. After reattaching the talisman securely on top of the tank I placed two Zhenhun Talismans on there as well before turning back to glare at Zhang Min saying quietly: “What are you screaming about?”
She covered her mouth and whispered two words that left me utterly exasperated: “A mouse.”
Brother Mao tapped his forehead, clearly at a loss for words, and then asked, "Xiao Liu, you sealed it in the water tank, right?" I confirmed that the water tank was indeed its habitat; I just didn't want it to disturb us while we were sending another one. I had initially planned for him to keep an eye on it here, but since it chose the water tank, there was no need to have someone specifically watching over it. "Let's go to another room," I said.
Brother Mao still held the Peach Wood Sword, and so did Xiao Yu. I wanted them to put the Peach Wood Sword down; it wasn't of much use, but I didn't want to offend them. Fortunately, the Peach Wood Sword was unsharpened, appearing to the Spirit God like a bundle of cotton—no threat at all, let alone any deterrent or protective effect. As we reached the door of the side room, I whispered again: "No matter what you see later, don't get excited. After I call out the souls, keep your head down and eyes closed." I wanted to ask them about their Birth Charts to see who should turn around, but I ultimately gave up since I had no idea when the old man mentioned by the Little Ghost had passed away.
Upon entering the circular archway, my eyes fell upon four side rooms facing each other. Three of the doors were intact and closed, while only one door stood open. I took out my compass and checked; it pointed directly at the open door. Steadying myself, I walked toward that room while keeping an eye on the compass's reaction.
As I got closer to that side room, the compass reacted more strongly. I knew for sure that it was inside that room. Brother Mao and the others quietly followed me in. The interior of the room was equally dilapidated, containing only two broken Wooden Beds and two collapsed low cabinets. The room was quite spacious, with a large empty area at the foot of the beds. Across from the door was a wooden window that was also rotten; if we used talismans, we wouldn't be able to seal off the doors and windows. If it decided to run away, there would be no way for me to stop it.
Fortunately, the compass indicated that it remained inside the room; even after we entered, there were no additional supernatural reactions, which relieved me. After looking around for a bit and finding that it hadn't revealed itself yet, I decided to call it out using the Call of Souls method.
I borrowed some items from Brother Mao and set up a simple Soul Calling Array before starting the Call of Souls. This small-scale Call of Souls didn't take long; as long as it was within this range, it could be summoned.
In just a few minutes, I successfully called out that Spirit God. At that moment, Xiao Yu exclaimed in shock: "What the hell." I quickly hissed at him: "Close your eyes and bow your head, now!" Brother Mao and Zhang Min reacted quickly and lowered their heads immediately; however, Xiao Yu did not comply but continued staring at it while repeatedly muttering those vulgar words: "What the hell."
I didn't understand why he acted this way; one thing was certain—he wasn't possessed by a ghost; he was simply curious and wanted to take a closer look. He completely disregarded my warning as if it were just background noise. Internally sighing in dismay, I thought this would end badly.
Sure enough, three seconds later, the Spirit God I had just summoned floated directly in front of Xiao Yu and leaned its pale face close to him. This action turned Xiao Yu's face as white as a sheet. I hurried over and slapped Xiao Yu on the shoulder, saying in a low voice: "Close your eyes and bow your head!"
This time Xiao Yu obediently complied. I returned to the front of the Soul Calling Array; however, instead of going back to its original position, it bent down and tried to verify whether Xiao Yu had really closed his eyes by facing him closely. As it turned out, Xiao Yu had merely bowed his head without closing his eyes because his trembling legs indicated he had indeed seen that ghostly face.
Sighing inwardly—this was reckless behavior—I knew he would learn his lesson this time. By the time it finally left Xiao Yu's side three minutes later, it didn't approach the Soul Calling Array but slowly walked toward the door instead. I rushed over to block its path with a Soul Guiding Talisman and a Soul Summoning Spell to pull it back near the Soul Calling Array. After failing to communicate with it, I realized that it truly was a Wandering Soul with no consciousness left.
This situation was easiest for me; transforming the Soul Calling Array into a Soul Sending Array allowed me to send away this Nameless Wandering Spirit in less than ten minutes. After completing this task, I told them three: "Alright, it's done." Brother Mao and Zhang Min opened their eyes and looked around in surprise: "Is that all?"
I replied: "Yes, sent one away; there's still another one left. You two shouldn't go together; take Xiao Yu back to rest in the tent; he probably needs a week or so to recover."
After saying this, they turned their attention back to Xiao Yu. He still kept his head down while his legs trembled uncontrollably. Brother Mao patted him on the shoulder; he slowly raised his head but kept his eyes shut tight. Sweat dripped down his face as he remained dazed—I felt helpless because such self-inflicted fright couldn't be quickly recovered from.
The two helped Xiao Yu toward the tent while I walked alone into the kitchen. Silently setting up another Soul Sending Array, I removed that wooden board and took down all talismans. Once removed, the Little Ghost stood up from inside by itself; although expressionless, it seemed capable of understanding my Soul Sending Array setup and climbed out of the large water tank with some excitement. This time it didn't stumble; when it landed on the ground, it floated over instead.
I chuckled and said: "So you can fly! Were you just trying to make me laugh last time?"
To my surprise, it grinned widely; its previously hollow gaze now revealed a hint of anticipation as if it understood that this array could take it where it wanted to go.
I asked: "Do you know where Big Brother is sending you?" It replied: "To where I'm supposed to go."
"Then do you know where that is?"
"I know."
"Then tell me where."
"To a place where I can continue to grow."
"Well, yes, little one, I wish you well. I hope you can grow up happily."
What it said was true; reincarnation is a form of growth, and growth is an experience. However, I hope that its future experiences will no longer be in a cold fishbowl, but rather in a warm embrace of growth. Listening to its innocent response, I felt a sense of relief as I sent off this Little Ghost. What brought me even more comfort was that it wore a smile throughout, seemingly very happy. I didn't know how long this happiness had been absent from its life, but I felt honored to bring it back, even if this happiness came from parting. Yet, what is this parting if not a kind of blessing?
The next day concluded our exploration of the abandoned Hermitage. Xiao Yu spent a week recovering in the hospital as expected. For Brother Mao, Zhang Min, and Xiao Yu, they had merely gone through a genuine soul-seeing experience. For me, however, it was a true journey of growth.
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