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墨書 Inktalez
Seeing me say this, he stopped his intention to get up and continued to sit against the wall, smiling at me as he said, "Hello, Taoist. Let me introduce myself. My surname is Liu, and my name is Liu Bi. I've been a ghost for a few years now, but for some reason, I can't go below." His voice was youthful, definitely younger than mine, and with a light tone. As a Spirit God, he seemed completely unafraid of me, a Little Taoist, even hinting at wanting to be friends.
"You're just bragging. Don't play tricks on me; answer a few questions first," I pretended to be dissatisfied. As the saying goes, when talking to people, speak their language; when talking to ghosts, do the same. It’s important to communicate based on the other party's character—this applies to both humans and Spirit Gods.
He straightened up immediately upon hearing this and said, "Alright, Taoist, ask away. By the way, what’s your surname? From your tone, it seems you’re not too happy with me calling you Taoist. Also, I really am called Liu Bi—like the dagger."
I was left speechless by this remark and could only reply, "We're from the same family; my surname is also Liu. 'Taoist' really doesn't sound good."
"Okay then, I'll call you Brother Liu. What do you want to ask?" He sat up straight, though his tone was still somewhat playful.
I felt a wave of sweat at this interaction. Until now, I had always held the initiative in conversations with Spirit Gods, but now it seemed that before I could even start asking questions, he had already taken the lead.
Seeing that this Spirit God didn’t mean any harm and was just being mischievous, I relaxed my guard. I put away the Cinnabar Ash and talismans into my pocket and pulled out a stool to sit down. Once settled, I looked at this old man who called me Brother Liu and felt a strange sensation in my heart.
I asked, "Uh, first of all, why did you possess Li Da Ye? If it was just for Joss Paper, couldn’t you just find any shopkeeper at a sacrificial supplies store and have them burn Joss Paper? There’s certainly more Joss Paper in those stores than in any production crew."
With so many questions swirling in my mind and not knowing where to start, I chose to ask about what puzzled me the most.
As I spoke, he nodded continuously as if he were fully cooperating. After I finished asking my question, he slapped his thigh and said, "Brother Liu! It's not as simple as you think! My possession has conditions; I can’t just possess anyone. Even if I could possess someone, I wouldn’t be able to control them so perfectly. The reason I’ve reached this level is that all the conditions are met."
"What conditions?" I asked curiously; I genuinely didn’t know what mysteries lay within this.
He replied, "The conditions are simple yet complex. You only need to burn paper at midnight on a full moon night at a crossroads. However, usually when people burn paper for worshipping purposes, they have an object of worship in mind. So under those circumstances, I can’t possess them unless the person burning the paper has no intention of worshipping at all—doing something ritualistic without any sincere thought behind it is when I can possess them. Additionally, there must be more than three Wandering Souls nearby trying to snatch the Joss Paper to help me gather Yin Qi."
I nodded; indeed as he said, if the worshipper isn’t sincere, then it’s not true worship but rather summoning spirits. If luck is on their side, the wandering souls might just take the Joss Paper and leave. But if they encounter greedy spirits instead, they should be cautious; they might end up being pestered for money. This is why some people often experience strange occurrences after worshipping at crossroads—those greedy ghosts are seeking wealth.
At the crossroads in the wilderness, aside from paying respects at graves, there are two important things to keep in mind. First, when offering prayers, one must be specific with names; otherwise, the wandering spirits might think you are making offerings for them. If that happens, the ritual loses its significance—not only will the items burned not reach the intended recipient, but you may also attract greedy spirits. Second, when burning paper offerings, it is essential to set aside a few sheets to scatter outside. Just a few sheets will suffice to allow passing spirits to partake as well. They understand the concept of exchanging wealth for peace better than humans do. If they know you are making offerings, they will refrain from bothering you. In fact, if other spirits are curious and approach, they might even help ward them off.
This Li Da Ye has clearly been taken advantage of by this Liu Bi Spirit God.
"Alright, now for the second question. Since you've possessed someone, why don't you just buy some Joss Paper to burn yourself? Why do you need the director's approval to do it? And why did you leave your sister with him?" I asked.
Liu Bi pondered for a moment and muttered, "Right, why can't I just burn it myself? I completely forgot about that. Um... but I left my sister with the director because he filmed my friends. I need to get that Recording back. I left my sister's soul with him to scare him into giving me the Recording."
I replied, "Isn't that like taking off your pants to fart? Do you really think your sister's haunting ability can scare him into handing over the Recording? With your skills, it should be you going instead."
"Brother Liu, I'm ashamed to say it's not that I don't want to go. If I went as Li Da Ye and tried to scare him, what if he gets so startled that he refuses to let me film the burning Lens? If I detach from Li Da Ye's body to scare him, Li Da Ye would wake up in less than a minute. Once he wakes up, it'll be much harder for me to possess him again. So it's really difficult," it said dejectedly.
"That makes sense; so you're waiting for me," I inferred.
Upon hearing my question, its previously gloomy expression vanished instantly, replaced by a cheerful grin as it said, "Exactly! I've been waiting for you since I saw you on set. I knew Brother Liu was a person of integrity who wouldn't stand idly by in such matters."
As the saying goes, "Flattery is harmless." Although I'm not fond of people who flatter excessively, I appreciate a Spirit God who knows how to flatter—it shows that I have a good reputation among the Spirit God brothers. "Heh heh, you're absolutely right; I won't stand idly by in this matter. But let me tell you this: business is business. You shouldn't have possessed Li Da Ye. After we retrieve the Recording, I'll still have to send you on your way. Although I know you might be reluctant to leave," I stated. My suspicion about its reluctance stemmed from the fact that it had lingered in the human realm for several years and mentioned needing to burn Joss Paper for its sister to negotiate with Yin Chai. The reason behind its unwillingness to leave was unclear to me.
"Heh heh, no worries, Brother Liu. After everything is settled, do whatever you want with me—send me below if that's what you choose—but just don't feel sad about it," it replied, raising another question.
Just as I was about to ask what it meant by feeling sad, it suddenly stood up with an unpredictable expression on its face. When I asked what was wrong, it didn't answer but walked over and opened the door.
To me, the empty doorway seemed devoid of anything; however, it was certainly not empty at all—at least Liu Bi knew who had arrived. From its actions, it was clear that it was letting someone "in" through the door. Not having my eyes open meant I had no idea who it was; thus, I reached into my Cloth Bag, grabbing some items meant for self-preservation in case they decided to act out suddenly—I needed some form of defense.
Liu Bi closed the door and said, "My sister is back. She mentioned that the director drank some alcohol after you all left, so he quickly fell asleep and didn't pay any attention to my sister's harmless teasing."
"How could a Living Soul, which should lack language abilities, tell you so much?" I asked in confusion.
He nodded eagerly and replied, "After all, we are both souls, and she is my biological sister. There are always some commonalities in our telepathic connection, so I can easily understand her meaning. Brother Liu, time is really short. Let's cooperate. Tonight, we will delete the Recording, and tomorrow night we will burn the Joss Paper. The time given by Yin Chai is also limited. Moreover, I can't borrow Li Da Ye's body for too long. I know you have many questions about me, Brother Liu. Perhaps we can discuss them in detail once everything is settled."
"Alright, I can go get the Recording. How do you want to cooperate?" I asked, though my mind was still filled with doubts. However, I chose not to ask further; there were too many things in this world that were inexplicable to me. It was better to focus on getting things done for now. After all, he wouldn't run away. Although there were many aspects of him that puzzled me, I didn't believe I couldn't handle him.
PS: I didn't have time to write the six o'clock update today, so I'll make up for it with two chapters. Originally, there was no additional update planned for today, but I'll still write an extra one later. As for late-night snacks, I won't be going out to eat. Don't be mad, gentlemen; the next update will be before midnight.
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