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墨書 Inktalez
Old Zhang was nothing like Liu Bi; he resembled an ordinary Spirit God, his face as pale as paper, gaunt and emaciated, dressed in a Funeral Garment. His expression was stiff, and his eyes held that characteristic emptiness of a Spirit God. A wave of deathly aura emanated from him, making anyone who looked at him feel uncomfortable.
When Old Zhang appeared, Chen Ying was terrified. She turned to pull open the door and run outside, but Liu Bi quickly slapped his hand on the door and said with a hint of schadenfreude, "Aren't you the one who wanted to see a normal ghost? Why are you running away now that he’s here?"
I laughed heartily and added, "Exactly! Why run? Take a good look at a normal ghost."
Chen Ying turned to look at me and said, "You perverted creep! How many ghosts are you hiding in your house? Let me out; this is too scary." As she spoke, her eyes flickered, seemingly wanting to glance at Old Zhang but too afraid to do so. Her hands kept twisting the doorknob.
"He is Zhang Zhen's father," I said calmly.
Upon hearing this, Chen Ying's movements slowed down. Eventually, she released her grip, sighed deeply, and turned around to bow to Old Zhang, sincerely saying, "I'm sorry."
Throughout it all, she never dared to open her eyes to look at Old Zhang. As for Old Zhang, he offered no response; he remained under the umbrella, unable to perceive the outside world due to his limited abilities. He had no idea who this girl was.
I said, "Alright, can we talk about how to save his daughter now?"
Chen Ying nodded but remained silent, seemingly unable to face Old Zhang—whether out of fear or difficulty in confronting him was unclear. She turned again to prepare to pull open the door.
Liu Bi interjected, "Wait! He can't stand the light of day. Let's wait until he goes back inside before opening the door."
I told Old Zhang, "You should go back under the umbrella for now." Old Zhang nodded woodenly and slowly faded from my sight.
Once Old Zhang was inside, Liu Bi released his grip on the door. Chen Ying opened the door and stepped outside. Just as I was about to follow her out, Liu Bi asked, "Hey bro, can I join the discussion?"
I nodded and stepped out of the study.
In the living room, I pulled up the sliding door and curtains on the balcony before Liu Bi finally emerged.
"Why can you be out in daylight when he can't?" Chen Ying asked Liu Bi curiously.
Liu Bi grinned and boasted, "I'm not afraid of anything except sunlight. If it's cloudy or rainy, I can still go shopping. What do you say? Want to hang out with me?"
"Alright, enough of that. Don't be so shameless," I teased Liu Bi.
Once we were all settled down, I said, "Chen Ying, we need your help with something small."
"Alright, tell me what I can do to help," Chen Ying said earnestly.
I nodded and continued, "First, you need to help find out where your dad has put Zhang Zhen's soul, and then you need to come up with an excuse to get him out of the way."
"Is that all?" Chen Ying asked.
I shook my head. "That's it; we'll take care of the rest."
"But how am I supposed to know where my dad has put Zhang Zhen's soul?" Zhang Zhen asked, puzzled.
"It must be somewhere in the house, in a room without windows, similar to my study. Does your house have such a room?" I said firmly. Souls are usually kept in objects, and those objects can't just be placed anywhere; they need to be in a dark environment.
Chen Ying thought for a moment and replied, "Yes, there’s a room on the second floor that my dad never lets me enter. The door is covered with all sorts of talismans. But that room does have windows, although they're always covered with black curtains."
"The second floor? You live in a standalone house?" Liu Bi interjected.
Chen Ying nodded. "Yes, when I was little, my dad told me that there were ghosts in that room—very fierce and scary—and warned me never to go in there."
"That should be the room. Now tell me where you live; the sooner we handle this, the better. It would be best if we could do it tonight to avoid any complications," I said.
Without hesitation, Chen Ying replied, "Okay, I'll send you the address shortly. What time are you going? I just need my dad to take me to the movies, but it can't be too late—no later than 11:30."
"Sounds good. I'll come by at ten. After you send me the address, delete the message so your dad doesn't find out," I agreed.
Chen Ying stood up and said, "Where's your cup? I need to take my medicine."
I quickly got up and poured her a glass of hot water. She pulled out a large bag of pills from her backpack—various kinds—and took out about twenty capsules, swallowing them in two gulps. Perhaps she had gotten used to taking such quantities over time; to me, those pills didn't seem easy to swallow.
After taking her medicine, Chen Ying said, "Could you please take me to the subway station? My doctor told me I need to go back for an IV this afternoon."
I nodded and replied that it was fine; since it wasn't convenient for me to take her home, I would just take her to the subway station instead.
She picked up her bag and smiled as she said, "Thank you for your hospitality. I will make sure everything gets done." Although she said this with a smile, there was still a hint of sadness in her voice.
After sending off Chen Ying, I returned home to find Liu Bi still sitting on the sofa, seemingly lost in thought.
"What are you thinking about? Come with me tonight," I said to Liu Bi.
It glanced at me and then asked, "Brother, it seems that Chen Ying doesn't have much time left."
I nodded and replied, "Yes, she has a terminal illness."
"Does Old Man want to use Zhang Zhen's soul to revive Chen Ying after she dies?" Liu Bi continued to inquire.
I nodded again, remaining silent.
"Ah, what a pity. Call me when it gets dark," Liu Bi sighed and got up to head into the study.
Indeed, it was a pity. Such a cheerful, lively girl with a kind heart was about to leave this world. She was still so young, having not even finished college. Just as her beautiful life was beginning, she had to face death without any means of resistance.
Earlier in the afternoon, the car dealership called to say my car was repaired.
...
As soon as night fell, I entered the study and called out for Liu Bi, along with Old Zhang. I summoned Old Zhang to ask for Zhang Zhen's Birth Chart.
At eight o'clock, we left the house. Old Zhang wanted to join us, but I firmly refused. It wouldn't be of any help; it couldn't even enter Master Chen's home and might cause unforeseen complications. We drove the neighbor's car again since Master Chen might recognize my own.
A little past nine, we arrived near Master Chen's house. It was a row of villas, each one independent. Such houses were not cheap in Guangzhou. Liu Bi joked, "Look at all these Taoists living it up in their standalone villas while you're still struggling to pay your mortgage. Talk about failure."
"Mind your own business," I replied tersely, not in the mood for banter as I noticed the lights in Master Chen's house were still on, indicating they hadn't left yet.
I turned off the headlights and quietly waited in the car. After just a few minutes, I saw all the lights in Master Chen's house go out. Shortly after, a sedan drove out of the gate and sped away.
"Brother, they're gone. Should we make our move?" Liu Bi said, staring at the now-dark villa.
I looked around and noticed a faint flickering candlelight coming from a room on the second floor; they must be offering something there. Master Chen usually conducted ghost-related activities in that room.
I pointed to the room and said, "It should be in that room with the candlelight. Be careful when you go up; I'm afraid he might have some lingering spirits guarding the place."
Indeed, some people in the industry liked to keep lingering spirits overlooked by the Underworld to watch over their working space, preventing other Spirit Gods or thieves from wandering in and causing unnecessary losses.
"Don't worry, I'm not afraid of the guarding spirits," Liu Bi replied confidently.
I nodded, grabbed the Cloth Bag from the back seat, opened the car door, and walked toward Master Chen's villa.
I found a relatively hidden lawn behind the villa and set up a Summoning Array. In the center of the array, I placed a soul summoning talisman inscribed with Zhang Zhen's Birth Date and Time, along with a carved wooden object beside it, prepared to contain Zhang Zhen's soul.
Once everything was arranged, Liu Bi said, "I'm going up now. After I finish, I'll casually throw something down. You can start summoning once you see it."
"Yeah, make sure you throw it accurately; don't let it hit me," I cautioned him uneasily.
With that, today's update comes to an end. Everyone, please rest early; I will continue writing Liu Bi's story.
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