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墨書 Inktalez
The immense pressure made it hard for me to breathe. My steps grew heavier, but the belief in survival kept me moving toward that beam of sunlight, ignoring the pain in my feet. I could no longer utter any incantations, not even a cry of anguish. If things continued like this, I would surely be crushed to the ground before reaching the light.
“Xiao Liu, Xiao Liu, how are you?” Master Pan's anxious voice came from the cave entrance. He couldn’t block the entrance because it would obstruct the sunlight.
I looked up at the slanted opening above and wanted to call for help, but no sound came out. The silence was perhaps the best response; Master Pan must have understood that.
As expected, seeing my lack of response, Master Pan shouted from the entrance, “Silently recite the Exorcism Spell! Use all your strength and smash it with my bell!” After saying this, he began to loudly chant a spell.
Understanding his words, I didn’t dare waste any time and silently recited the incantation in my mind. With all my might, I swung my right hand back and blindly tossed a few Soul Binding Talismans behind me. Struggling to turn my head, I saw the Senior Master’s sinister face floating just a meter behind me. I opened my mouth and shouted, drawing the blood-marked right hand back to grab the bell, using all my strength to smash it toward the Senior Master.
With a loud clang, the bell struck hard and wobbled before falling to the ground. The Senior Master let out a cry and froze for several seconds.
Master Pan's bell was a magical artifact, a treasured item of our sect, so its power was considerable. It was during those few seconds that I dashed into the sunlight. Feeling its warmth on me, I scrambled up the slope without looking back; no matter how powerful that Senior Master was, he couldn’t withstand sunlight—after all, he was a spirit and could not bear exposure to it.
As I reached the cave entrance, angry and unwilling roars echoed behind me—harsh and ethereal sounds that were quite unsettling.
Seeing me climb up, Master Pan reached out and pulled me out of the cave.
Once outside, I realized how warm the sunlight was; my exhaustion made me reluctant to move.
“Let’s take a break,” Master Pan said, pointing to a nearby patch of grass. I nodded and crawled over to it, lying down on the grass as I finally felt that life still lingered within me—light and comfortable.
But after a brief moment of relief, various pains began to manifest throughout my body. I felt uncomfortable all over, especially in my injured foot; even slight movements sent waves of pain coursing through me.
Master Pan observed me for a moment before squatting down to prepare a bowl of Talisman Water. He handed it to me and said, “First, let’s dispel the Yin Qi. We’ll set off again once you feel better.”
When I looked into the bowl, I noticed there was very little water inside. The cup from Master Pan wasn't big, and there was still some water left from yesterday, clearly saved for me.
I sat up and took the small bowl of Talisman Water that Master Pan handed me. I gave him a grateful glance, lifted the bowl, and drank it all in one go. There was too little water and too much talisman ash, making it hard to swallow, but I had no choice but to drink it.
Only after I finished did Master Pan pick up the phone and dial a number.
"Hello, Old Xu? When are you coming back?" On the other end was my Master.
"The situation is a bit complicated; it's not easy to handle. You should come back first and we can discuss it," Master Pan said before hanging up. He turned to me and said, "Your master’s bus will arrive tonight; he should be here by tomorrow morning."
I replied, "Alright, thank you, Master Pan." I was already thinking about giving him a red envelope later.
Master Pan smiled slightly and then sat down, saying, "Don't be so polite; I'm doing this for myself too. If I don't get you out safely, Old Xu will deal with me. Haha."
I chuckled softly and slowly closed my eyes, beginning to enjoy the warm sunlight streaming in.
I was utterly exhausted. Before long, during my brief moment of Kung Fu practice, I fell asleep with my eyes closed. I didn't know how long it had been when I was awakened by the sound of stones clattering near the cave entrance. Opening my eyes and looking up, I saw Master Pan moving stones at the entrance, seemingly preparing to seal it up again. I hurriedly got up and limped over to help him with the stones.
Once we finished sealing it up, Master Pan sprinkled a bit of chicken blood on top and then used a brush to draw three talismans on the largest stone. He asked me to take out all the cinnabar on me and sprinkle it in the gaps between those stones. After that, he said to me, "Can you walk? Then let's head back."
I stood on my tiptoes and said, "Sure, let’s go. First, we need to find Dr. Wang to check your foot." Dr. Wang was the only barefoot doctor in our village, specializing in traditional Chinese medicine with remarkable skills in treating various ailments; he even had expertise in exorcising evil spirits.
I called my mom to let her know we were coming back and hadn't eaten yet. Master Pan also called Dr. Wang to ask him to come over to my house. After finishing the call, I limped along behind Master Pan as we descended the mountain and hopped on a motorcycle heading straight home.
When we arrived home, my mom was busy cooking. Upon seeing Master Pan arrive, she quickly moved chairs and poured tea. My parents knew Master Pan and recognized him as a senior in our field. Seeing me in this state made them understand that my recent work had not gone smoothly at all.
My mother asked me what was wrong and if I was okay. I simply said I was fine, just twisted my ankle and fell while hiking, and that I had already called Dr. Wang, who would be here soon, so there was no need to worry. She nodded, clearly not believing me, but accepted it nonetheless. After all, I was grown up and capable of making my own judgments, so I enjoyed a great deal of freedom at home.
Just as I was about to have breakfast, Dr. Wang arrived. I rolled up my sleeve to show him my ankle. He said, "It's good that it's just a sprain; it's not serious. I'll take care of it, but you need to bear with me."
Dr. Wang's technique was indeed skilled. Within a few minutes, after a sharp pain, I felt no discomfort except for the inability to put weight on my foot. After applying some ground herbal paste, there was even a cool sensation that felt quite soothing.
That day, I spent most of my time in bed. Master Pan stayed at home as he was waiting for the master to return.
The next morning, the master rushed back from out of town and came directly to my house without going home first. He checked on me and, confirming that I was fine, said, "Let's go upstairs and discuss this matter."
Once we reached the living room upstairs, I brewed a pot of tea and closed the door before carefully recounting the entire story from when I met Liu Jian at the class reunion. I described everything in detail, including some of my thoughts and of course Master Pan's contributions. I shared everything with the master, who afterward exchanged polite words with Master Pan, expressing gratitude for his help; otherwise, I might have ended up as a fool.
After finishing my account, the master began discussing strategies with Master Pan. I knew this matter was beyond my control since it involved Taoist affairs that naturally required some senior masters to handle. I couldn’t interject and could only serve tea and listen to their discussion.
They deliberated for quite a while before arriving at a plan: they would find three more masters to work together to send this senior master away. If that failed, they would forcibly disperse him; only as a last resort would they take such drastic measures. However, based on their judgment, it seemed possible to send him away—it just depended on whether the senior master was willing.
During their conversation, I had many questions but refrained from interrupting them. Once they finished discussing, I asked the question that concerned me most: "Master, does that senior master still have a chance to regain his Dao Heart?"
The master replied, "Yes, but by then he will have no choice."
I asked why that was the case. The master smiled but did not answer directly; he simply said, "You will find out tonight. By the way, you mentioned feeling other Spirit Gods around when you first went to that cave entrance."
I nodded in affirmation because I had indeed sensed a faint cold wind passing through—an indication of Spirit Gods present—and the feeling of that cold wind was different from what emanated from the senior master. So I was quite certain there were other Spirit Gods nearby that night.
"Can you estimate how many there are?" Master asked again.
I shook my head and replied, "I don't know. They're just passing Spirit Gods, so I didn't pay much attention. There shouldn't be many, and they were probably just passing through, so they shouldn't affect us."
Master nodded, remaining silent as he took out his phone to call the other three Masters. After receiving their responses, he said to me, "You should rest for a while. We'll go together tonight." After finishing, he quickly pulled Master Pan downstairs because they mentioned earlier that they would join my father for a game of cards.
By six in the evening, the other three Masters arrived at my house one after another. After dinner, we discussed the situation and settled on a plan to return to that cave and conduct a certain operation targeting the Senior Master.
One of the three Masters was someone I hadn't met before. According to Master, these teachers were all inheritors of the Senior Masters who participated in the Resurrection Plan back in the day. Therefore, they were quite proactive regarding this matter since it was related to their Grandmaster. This was beneficial for me as it saved me some expenses. Unfortunately, a few Senior Masters had already lost their lineages, making it impossible to find descendants to handle this matter.
This time, there were six of us going up the mountain: Master, Master Pan, the other three Masters, and me. Everyone was well-prepared; we spent nearly an hour drawing talismans at home alone. There were many other preparations as well, but I won't go into detail about them.
When we arrived near the cave, it was already past nine o'clock...
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