Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
The sound of a motorcycle interrupted what Xiao Rou's Father was about to say. He appeared dazed, and the incantation on his lips ceased abruptly. With the sudden stop of the chant, the four remaining spirits behind the coffin lost their intent to attack. Instead, they turned towards the rope hanging from the beam, gazing up at the knot tied in it. Slowly, they floated upwards until their heads slipped into the loop of the knot. Then, as the rope tightened, the spirits hung there expressionlessly, resembling the scene I had witnessed through the hole for the first time, though now there were significantly fewer of them.
The motorcycle's roar caused Xiao Rou's Father to halt his control over the spirits, indicating that he likely recognized who was approaching. Before long, voices could be heard from outside.
“Is Boss Zhou inside?” A familiar voice inquired; it was Master Li, Xiaorou's Master.
“He should be. Old Xu and Old Pan have already gone in, and those two young fellows are inside as well. Master X said there are only spirits in there and told us not to enter. We should just wait outside,” came Master Zhang's voice. Clearly, Master Zhang and his apprentice had been keeping watch outside when their master and Master Pan arrived.
“Alright, I’ll go take a look,” replied Master Li.
...
“Have you given up on treating him? My Master is asking you a question; are you mute?” Master Xiao chuckled.
“Humph,” Xiao Rou's Father snorted coldly. “Impudent junior.”
“I was wondering why there have been so many cases of Yin Gu Poison around here in recent years; turns out it’s your doing. With so many legitimate paths to wealth available, why resort to such underhanded methods to make money?” Master Li stepped through the small door and spoke sternly.
I was utterly confused by this; wasn’t Master Li supposed to be someone who raised insects? Logically, he should be allied with Xiao Rou's Father. Why had he suddenly turned against him and begun questioning him?
“Why do you meddle in my affairs? How I conduct myself is my business. As long as I don’t harm you, why do you seek to deal with me?” Xiao Rou's Father seemed aware that this matter could not end well.
“Why involve yourself with insects? In terms of heaven, what you’re doing is morally reprehensible; in terms of earth, you’re recklessly raising insects that harm living beings; in terms of humanity, those afflicted by Yin Gu suffer immensely; in terms of souls, nurturing these spirits leads to their destruction. All of this is merely for one purpose: profit. Why do you think we oppose you?” Master Li spoke with righteous indignation.
What Master Li said made sense; as the saying goes, poison is used against people, and insects are used to harm others. Using insects can torment individuals without causing death and leaves no evidence behind. Thus, many began to create insects and sell Poison, providing tools for those with malicious intent.
As soon as Master Li finished speaking, silence fell over the room. Everyone turned their gaze towards Xiao Rou's Father, seemingly waiting for him to defend himself. I was no different.
Unfazed, Xiao Rou's Father laughed mockingly: “Mr. Li, don’t elevate yourself so high and mighty. Because my Yin Gu harms others, haven’t you also received plenty of jobs to dispel poisons and earned quite a bit? Without my insects, when would you have had the chance to showcase your abilities? The honors and respect you receive are all thanks to my support.”
“You refuse to repent! I’ve never charged anyone for dispelling poisons; I only ask for a meal or drink in return. Hasn’t Xiaorou told you this after being with me for so long?” Master Li’s face turned pale as he shouted angrily.
"Stop talking so much. Just tell me how much you want," Xiao Rou's Father said arrogantly, seemingly very confident.
Perhaps in his eyes, everyone was motivated by money. Moreover, this matter had little to do with us, and there was no animosity involved; it was merely a trivial sense of justice in his eyes, which he likely found quite amusing. To him, our opposition was simply an attempt to swindle him.
He found us ridiculous, but we found him equally laughable. Money is certainly a good thing, but there are far more precious things than money. Some people live and die for money, fighting for it their entire lives, only to end up with nothing but money in the end. Objectively speaking, isn't that somewhat absurd? Xiao Rou's Father had lived half his life, yet his thoughts were so shallow.
"Why waste words on him? So what if he has money? If you're so rich, why not use your money to kill us right now?" Master Xiao, who had a temper since childhood and harbored some resentment towards the wealthy and unkind, charged directly at Xiao Rou's Father after hearing his offer and seeing the Yin Marriage hanging steadily from the ropes above. He had no more reservations. In a fit of rage, he rushed toward Xiao Rou's Father. I wanted to stop him, but it was too late. I glanced at Master Pan, whose expression was calm and inscrutable, as if he had anticipated this situation.
The coffin itself was over half a meter high, supported by two benches underneath. It must have been at least a meter tall. Master Xiao's large frame made it difficult for him to squeeze through the middle, so he chose a more challenging method—jumping over from above.
If it were a pole over a meter high, it would be easy to jump over with both hands pushing off. But this was a coffin—wide and over half a meter across. Jumping directly over it was quite difficult, especially since the coffin was only supported by two benches beneath it, making it unstable.
Master Xiao leaped into the air, placing his hands on the coffin marked "Soul Gathering Coffin" as he attempted to jump over it. However, things did not go as planned; instead of clearing the coffin, he exerted too much force and collapsed one of the benches underneath.
With a loud crack, one of the bench legs broke. Since that short leg was on our side, the coffin lost its support and tipped toward us. Realizing something was wrong, Master Xiao hurriedly jumped back just as the coffin lid came crashing down.
"Ouch!" Master Xiao let out a pained scream as the coffin lid landed directly on his foot.
Coffins are typically made from cedar or pine wood and are incredibly heavy. A light coffin weighs several hundred kilograms while heavier ones can exceed a thousand kilograms. During burial ceremonies, eight strong men are needed to carry a coffin with considerable effort. Although the lid may not fall quickly, its weight is significant; being struck by it would be unbearable.
When I heard Master Xiao's cry, I intended to help him up. However, when I caught sight of what was inside the coffin, I felt an overwhelming urge to vomit.
I saw it clearly; Master Xiao must have seen it too. The moment he laid eyes on it, he forgot about his pain and quickly pulled his foot back, stumbling several steps until he collided with me and finally stopped. With a look of sheer terror on his face, he ignored his injury and ran behind me to start vomiting.
Inside the coffin were two corpses clad in tattered clothing. Their hands had been severed and lay atop their bodies. The two corpses were stacked one on top of the other inside the coffin. A layer of red liquid coated their surfaces—indistinguishable whether it was blood or something else. That alone wasn't too shocking; after all, we had seen corpses before. However, what made it particularly unsettling were the countless tiny holes—about the size of a pinky finger—covering their bodies.
On their legs, bodies, and faces were numerous Blood Holes resembling honeycombs; something seemed to be writhing within them—something pitch black. Under the flickering candlelight, its reflection was particularly striking as glimmers danced within those Blood Holes on the corpses.
If you think there are bugs inside the Blood Hole of the corpse, you are mistaken. There are many insects clinging to the surface of the body, particularly around the facial features and the navel. Those insects on the outside keep writhing, as if they are tearing and fighting for a prime spot to inhabit.
The sight becomes increasingly disgusting, yet I couldn't help but want to look.
“Indeed, it seems there are corpse worms,” Master Li said helplessly. “This means Xiaorou is indeed your assistant.”
I couldn't decipher Master Li's meaning, but suddenly remembered that these two corpses must belong to Master Zhang's clients. I forcibly shifted my gaze and said to my master, “These two corpses should be Master Zhang's clients.” My master nodded and turned to shout towards the door, “Old Zhang, come in and see if these are your clients.”
The expressions of Master Pan, Master Li, and my master remained calm. However, Master Xiao was crouched on the ground, continuously retching and letting out low, pained moans. I couldn't tell if he was disgusted or hurt by the coffin lid; perhaps it was both. At that moment, I felt a sense of schadenfreude, curious about which sensation was more unbearable.
Xiao Rou's Father's expression tightened at the moment the coffin fell to the ground, but he forced himself to suppress his emotions and remained still, merely watching us coldly.
Upon hearing my master's call, Master Zhang and Brother Zhou walked in. When Brother Zhou saw Master Xiao crouched on the ground looking unwell, he didn't check the corpse but instead asked Master Xiao what was wrong. Master Zhang, however, did not linger; he walked straight towards the fallen coffin. When he saw what was inside, he wasn't surprised or angry; instead, he glanced at Xiaorou's father, tears beginning to well up in his eyes. Before long, tears filled his eyes completely. With a thud, Master Zhang knelt before the two corpses.
Thank you for your support!
Comment 0 Comment Count