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墨書 Inktalez
Despite the incense breaking, the Second Master continued his actions without pause. He picked up a large basin filled with a mixture of chicken blood and dog blood rice and began to spread it into the small grooves in a specific order, chanting a spell every three steps and performing a Hand Spell every seven steps. Although the progress was slow, it flowed smoothly. Just as I inserted the last stick of incense, the Second Master called for me to stop. He instructed me to wait until he finished scattering the rice before inserting it and advised Li Bo and another companion to return first, as we were unaware of the tomb owner's birth and death dates, fearing it might disturb the spirits. As cultivators, we were not overly superstitious about such matters.
My master stood by without moving, but he had added a Great Seal and three talismans to his hands, staring intently at the Roasting House's location. The sky had not yet completely darkened, but there was no sunlight left. Given the abilities of the White Shirt Spirit, its appearance here was not out of the question.
Once the Second Master finished scattering the rice, he gave me a knowing glance. Understanding his cue, I promptly inserted the last stick of incense into the earth.
Suddenly, a gust of wind began to blow. Just as I placed that stick of incense, the previously sunny weather turned into a fierce gale, causing the incense buried in the ground to sway back and forth. The distant trees stood still, indicating that this place was anything but ordinary.
Even without looking at the distant trees, one could clearly feel the chilling aura surrounding us. Regardless, this Yin Cave had existed for over a hundred years and was known as a great evil site; it was fortunate that there were no ominous clouds or thunderstorms accompanying its accumulated Yin Qi.
The cold wind invigorated me momentarily, but my body felt increasingly fatigued, as if I lacked strength for any task. Fortunately, we had already burned all necessary Joss Paper earlier; thus, this wind would not significantly affect our upcoming Ritual.
As soon as the cold wind began to rise, my master approached. He raised his hand and affixed three talismans onto the partially constructed wall of the Roasting House. Those talismans remained motionless amidst the gusts of wind, seemingly unaffected by their presence in another realm. At the same time, the surrounding winds diminished considerably. My master then took up the Great Seal and forcefully pressed it against a deep hole connecting to the Tomb. This hole led directly into the Yin Cave. With the Great Seal sealing off its entrance, the cold wind instantly dissipated. My master spoke in a low voice: "It's even more dangerous than I imagined. Zhang Tuozi, can you complete the Ritual in three minutes?" The Second Master nodded and casually tossed out a set of divination sticks.
This divination was not meant for summoning the White Shirt Spirit but rather for informing the Earth God that we were about to breach this great evil Yin Cave. After tossing out the sticks, he instructed me to pour gasoline into the groove—not filling it completely but ensuring all blood rice was soaked. Gasoline evaporates easily; thus, both pouring and igniting it needed to be swift.
Upon reaching the Tomb's entrance, we needed to pour a specific amount inside. This measurement wasn't based on depth; each type of grave has its own specific chant for destruction rituals that must be sung aloud while using a particular small funnel placed over the hole to pour gasoline into—keeping it consistently eight-tenths full. From the moment I began singing until finishing my chant, I would pour gasoline inside—no more and no less.
After pouring gasoline into all grooves, we would then start pouring into that small hole angled inward so that fire could travel down into the tomb itself. Once all gasoline inside burned away without waiting for black smoke to escape, we would seal off that entrance for three hours—effectively destroying this malevolent site as previously mentioned by the Second Master with just one fire. Some might wonder how gasoline could burn without oxygen inside; it's simple: there isn't much gasoline used and burning requires less oxygen than one might think; moreover, it's not entirely sealed off—Li Bo had opened this tomb months ago without worrying about oxygen levels inside.
Once all preparations were complete after just over two minutes, I began pouring gasoline into the hole. My master removed the Great Seal and dropped two more talismans at its entrance before pressing down with it again—indirectly sealing off that opening.
As I started pouring gasoline, the Second Master began chanting spells while moving toward an ignition point. He timed it perfectly; just as flames began spreading along the groove, his chant concluded precisely at that moment. I quickly moved aside from the gasoline barrel and watched as flames surged downward with sizzling sounds echoing from within. Moments later, black smoke began billowing from that small hole; then, taking a stone from nearby, he pressed it against its entrance and sealed around it with glutinous rice while dripping several drops of chicken blood on top of it.
After everything was done, Second Master squatted on the ground, panting heavily, and the chilling atmosphere around us immediately dissipated. He turned to look at the blood-soaked rice in the crisscrossed grooves, which had now turned black. Only a few grains had popped into popcorn, some still crackling.
"Come on, hurry up while it's hot," Second Master said to me. I was momentarily taken aback and replied, "Second Master, we can't eat this. Besides, I'm not hungry."
With a glare, Second Master retorted, "I told you to fill the grooves with soil while it's hot. Remember to bury the unburned incense with it."
As long as I didn't have to eat this popcorn, I was fine with anything else. I grabbed a hoe and quickly filled all the grooves with the excavated soil. This grave-destroying ritual was finally complete.
After stomping on the filled grooves a few times to settle them down, I felt much more at ease. Turning to look at my master, I saw him staring intently at a spot to the right behind the Roasting House. Following his gaze, I noticed the White Shirt Spirit standing there, glaring at my master with jealousy and resentment. My master snorted coldly and ignored it, turning away with his Cloth Bag. Upon hearing this commotion, Second Master also looked over. After seeing the White Shirt Spirit, he showed little reaction, merely huffing before getting up and leaving. Just as I was about to make a show of huffing too, the White Shirt Spirit gradually faded away into the encroaching night. I paid it no mind and followed my two masters out of that place.
Upon reaching the foot of the mountain, we ran into Li Bo, who sincerely invited us to his home for dinner as a gesture of gratitude. This was expected; such courtesies were essential in rural villages, and we naturally did not refuse. When we arrived at his house, a table full of dishes awaited us, including dog meat—presumably from the dog Li Bo had cooked after taking its blood. This dog had been fortunate enough to die for this purpose; its next life would likely be better off. As for dog meat, I refused to eat it; dogs are good friends of humans, especially for people like us.
After hastily finishing this gratitude banquet, we bid farewell to the Li family. My master and I needed to return to that old house to search for the White Shirt Spirit. Since Second Master couldn't contribute further regarding that matter, he headed home first while my master and I continued towards the village where the old house was located.
The distance between the two villages wasn't far; we arrived in about half an hour. By then, it was completely dark—no moonlight or streetlights—so we relied on our Flashlight for illumination. Once again outside that old house, we didn't bother greeting Boss Ning. This time my master didn't go through the front door but led me around to the back entrance of the large residence. Behind it were two pig pens and a shed for storing straw, which connected to the Main Hall.
Turning off the Strong Flashlight and switching on a smaller Flashlight, we slowly approached the door where the White Shirt Spirit had retreated last time. My master pulled out two talismans from his bag and affixed them to the door before gently pulling it open and sealing it with a third talisman. Although it was dark outside now, it was still early—around eight o'clock—not exactly prime time for Spirit Gods to be active; they wouldn't dare confront us head-on at this hour.
After completing these tasks, we circled back to the front door of the Main Hall. The door was ajar; directly opposite was a spirit altar. If this Spirit God needed to hide during the day, it would most likely be in that altar area. Although there were no offerings anymore, there were still remnants of incense—one of those places favored by Spirit Gods. My master stood at the entrance confidently looking inside but saw nothing unusual. He gently opened the door and placed several talismans on it before turning towards the Stove House.
I followed silently behind him, waiting for his instructions. This Spirit God was no ordinary one; even though we had destroyed its Yin Cave, we still lacked fresh chicken blood talismans. Additionally, during our grave-destroying ritual, an ominous wind had swept past me, significantly lowering my Yang Qi.
Entering the Stove House without pausing, we headed straight into a second room filled with many jars of pickled vegetables. Here my master stopped and began using a compass to determine the Spirit God's location and distance. After studying it for a while, he put away the compass and said, "Set up an array to summon Five Spirits here; I'll go next door." As he spoke, he walked into an adjacent room separated from this old house's Main Hall by just one door.
I nodded excitedly; my medium-level Five Spirits finally had a chance to meet their elder brother! Suppressing my excitement, I lit red candles and set up offerings as I began summoning Five Spirits. As I finished reciting the incantation, an armored Five Spirit General gradually materialized before me more clearly than ever. I felt elated and casually remarked, "Long time no see, old buddy." The Five Spirits nodded expressionlessly before closing their eyes to sense the Spirit God's location. However, this time was different; after just two seconds of closing its eyes, it opened them again with an expression of concern and suddenly turned sharply towards a corner diagonally across from us.
I followed its direction and immediately understood what was happening. The White Shirt Spirit appeared abruptly in that corner, its expression cold as it glanced at my old partner before turning to stare at me and saying, "A trivial skill like yours? I can easily scatter your Five Spirits." Without pausing, it lunged directly at my Five Spirits.
The existence of the Five Spirits was solely to capture ghosts; in their minds, there was no fear, only the question of whether they could succeed. Even the weakest Five Spirits would charge at a Spirit God without hesitation, regardless of whether they could win. So when the White Shirt Spirit charged toward them, they did not retreat but instead rushed forward to meet it head-on.
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