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墨書 Inktalez
Zhou Hong, a Grave Robber, entered the Human Cave filled with restless spirits, and the danger was evident.
Moments later, the remaining six of us rushed to the cave entrance. Mao Ruiliang stood at the threshold, blocking the way to prevent anyone from recklessly entering. He shouted into the darkness, "Meng Biao, Zhou Hong, if you can hear me, come out!"
There was no response from within; only the echo of his own voice returned.
"Meng Biao once said that as long as you don't use Daoist Techniques to disturb those spirits inside, you'll be fine. Zhou Hong doesn't know Daoist Techniques; Meng Biao should be well aware of that, so they shouldn't be in any life-threatening danger," I said while peering into the cave.
Zhang Chuanzheng chimed in, "Yes, yes, Liu Shidi is right. Let's wait here at the entrance until dawn before we go in and take a look."
"By the time dawn arrives, they might not even have bones left! Do you have any sense?" Master Xiao said anxiously.
"Well, just because there's no life-threatening danger doesn't mean there isn't any danger. We need to go in and get them out. Whatever dragged Meng Biao inside indicates that it's not an ordinary spirit," I replied.
Mao Ruiliang shone his flashlight at the cave entrance; a few meters in, there was a bend that obscured our view. Taking a deep breath, he said, "Let's go in. Everyone be careful not to disturb the spirits inside. Once we find them, we’ll drag them out."
With that, Mao Ruiliang stepped into the cave, and I followed closely behind.
Since this was not a man-made tunnel, the rocks and walls inside were uneven and treacherous. After walking a few meters and turning a corner, the space opened up dramatically.
Before we even entered the expansive stone chamber, the air quality deteriorated significantly. A faint yet pervasive stench of decay filled the cave—not the smell of rotting corpses but rather that of withered branches and leaves.
Upon entering the spacious stone chamber within the Human Cave, we were all taken aback by what we saw. Countless white bones lay haphazardly on top of scattered stones; some were covered with tattered cloths that had mostly rotted away. The ground was a chaotic mix of stones and bones, making the entire cave resemble a purgatory of sorts—horrific and unbearable.
It was an indescribable feeling that forced me to recall the tragic scene from long ago: two or three hundred people trapped inside this sealed Human Cave while thick smoke poured in from outside. The people inside began to cry out for mercy helplessly, but those outside showed no compassion whatsoever. Gradually, one by one, they succumbed to suffocation in their desperate struggles.
The entire cave was chillingly eerie; cold winds swept past us continuously, and faint wails could be heard in the distance. We held our breath in tense silence, unsure of what to do next. I shook my head vigorously and carefully searched for Meng Biao and Zhou Hong with my flashlight.
Suddenly, an odd sound came from the right side of the stone chamber—it sounded like someone being dragged across the ground. I quickly turned my flashlight to the right and shone it directly onto Zhou Hong's face.
At that moment, Zhou Hong no longer resembled the honest and simple person he once was. With a fierce expression on his face, he was straddling Meng Biao, delivering punch after punch to him, while Meng Biao lay unconscious on the ground.
"There!" I whispered, disregarding the white bones beneath my feet as I hurried towards them. The others snapped back to reality and followed me as we rushed over.
Something was wrong with Zhou Hong; he was either possessed or had encountered something sinister. As I reached their side, I reached out to pull Zhou Hong away, but his strength suddenly surged, and he easily shook off my grip.
"He’s possessed! Everyone, don’t use Daoist Techniques; just get him out of here," I continued, attempting to grab Zhou Hong again.
Master Xiao and Liu Zhiqiang, both large men, quickly came over to help. They each grabbed Zhou Hong by the shoulders and underarms, pulling him away from Meng Biao. I lifted Zhou Hong's legs, and together we hoisted him up.
"Quickly, let’s get him out first," I said softly. They both acknowledged with a grunt and struggled to control the still-struggling Zhou Hong as we moved towards the cave entrance. I was kicked twice by him as I held his legs.
Meng Biao remained unconscious. Zhang Chuanzheng and Mao Ruiliang supported him from either side as Wang Xiaolu illuminated our path. We carefully stepped over the scattered bones as we slowly made our way out of the cave. The atmosphere was heavy with silence; no one spoke a word, only the sound of bones cracking underfoot echoed in the cave. Just as we reached the entrance, we heard a bustling noise from inside—there were cries, shouts, and even laughter.
After much effort, we finally pulled both of them out of the Human Cave. Zhou Hong was still thrashing about while Meng Biao remained in a deep slumber. Looking up at the sky, the darkness before dawn had faded, and the east began to glow with light; daybreak was near.
We had originally planned to guide all the spirits here to peace tonight, but not only had we failed to complete our task, but we also faced this major incident that left everyone feeling unsettled. By the time we got them both back to camp, everyone was utterly exhausted.
One by one, they lay on the grass without wanting to speak; they had no energy left to prepare food either. Meng Biao had merely been knocked out and wasn’t seriously harmed. Zhou Hong gradually calmed down and fell asleep. Only Wang Xiaolu seemed slightly better off; having done less physical work, she started a fire and began cooking noodles for everyone.
After breakfast, everyone regained some strength. While Meng Biao continued to sleep soundly, Zhou Hong woke up first.
He looked around in confusion and asked, "What happened? Did someone pull Meng Biao into the cave? Is he okay?"
We all stared at him; at that moment he seemed like a completely normal person—so different from who he had been before he passed out. Had the spirit that possessed him already left?
"You were possessed and knocked Meng Biao out. Eat something first; next time you encounter such a situation, don’t rush in recklessly," Mao Ruiliang said as he handed him a bowl of noodles.
Zhou Hong took the noodles and replied, "I don’t remember any of it at all. Is that spirit still inside me?"
Mao Ruiliang shook his head and said, "I don't know. It's daytime now, and even if there is something on you, it wouldn't emit much Yin Qi. However, I feel it shouldn't be on you anymore. I'll prepare a bowl of Talisman Water for you later to dispel the Yin Qi."
"Thank you, Mao Shixiong," Zhou Hong said, lowering her head to start eating her noodles.
Mao Ruiliang sat down beside me and asked, "Liu Shidi, do you think there are other Vengeful Spirits inside?"
I pondered for a moment, feeling quite puzzled. Logically, there should be other Vengeful Spirits present; ordinary Yin Souls wouldn't be able to pull Meng Biao into the cave. But if there were other Vengeful Spirits in the cave, why did they only knock Meng Biao unconscious after pulling him in? They could have easily killed him when they possessed Zhou Hong and grabbed a stone. Furthermore, since there were only two guardian spirits in this mountain and they had been dispersed by Meng Biao, who was this remaining Vengeful Spirit? Didn't that missionary say that the missionary was just an ordinary Yin Soul?
"I'm not sure either, Mao Shixiong," I replied. "There must be a somewhat capable Vengeful Spirit in the cave, but this Vengeful Spirit only knocked Meng Biao out without taking his life. That doesn't make sense to me. If it were the missionary from the White Lotus Sect, after Meng Biao had personally dispersed their two guardians and possessed Zhou Hong, it should have killed Meng Biao without hesitation."
Mao Ruiliang nodded and said, "That Vengeful Spirit should have left; it's no longer on Zhou Hong."
I said, "Alright, let's all take a break. Fortunately, Meng Biao is fine. After we perform the rites for these Yin Souls tonight, we can go back into the cave to look for that Vengeful Spirit."
Mao Ruiliang stood up and said, "Everyone should get some rest first to regain your strength. We need to head over early tonight to deal with things here before setting off. If we keep dragging this out, our food supply will run low."
...
At noon, everyone gradually woke up, and Meng Biao was also awake. When asked what had happened, he blushed and said, "Last night when I was at the cave entrance, I saw two Yin Souls standing inside. I thought there were just two of them and wanted to capture them first. But when those two Yin Souls saw me, they ran deeper inside. I didn't know what was happening at the time; it felt like I was compelled to chase after them. Once inside, I saw those white bones. When I realized something was wrong and tried to turn back, I passed out."
"Did you use any incantations?" I asked curiously.
Meng Biao shook his head and replied, "No. When I went in, I opened my eyes first to see how many Yin Souls were inside before leaving. Opening my eyes wouldn't disturb those Yin Souls."
Mao Ruiliang spoke with a somewhat stern tone: "You were led in by that Resentment because you were holding a talisman in your hand; you had already disturbed them. You should have come back out immediately instead of being curious and wanting to look around."
After hearing this, Meng Biao didn't argue; he simply nodded slightly.
As night fell, we made our way back toward the Human Cave again. I still suggested performing the rites together this time; they agreed because they understood that if each of us performed the rites individually, we wouldn't be as efficient as the three of us working together. If this continued, their performance gap would only widen further compared to ours.
This time, we didn't make it too complicated. The Soul Summoning Array was still necessary, and we continued with the Soul Guiding in batches. However, we surrounded the Soul Summoning Array with hemp ropes to prevent the wandering spirits from escaping. Even Zhou Hong joined in the exorcism. We set up according to the directions of Gossip, placing one person at each position: Qian, Kun, Gen, Dui, Kan, Li, Zhen, and Xun. Using the familiar Transcendence Spell, we focused on exorcising the spirits concentrated within the Soul Summoning Array.
I was still responsible for Soul Guiding. After leading a batch out, I stopped guiding the spirits and returned to my designated position to continue the exorcism. This batch of spirits could not exceed sixty-four; if it did, the process would slow down significantly.
The Transcendence Spell was much simpler than the Buddhist Rebirth Mantra. It consisted of only twenty-four four-character incantations. However, this ritual required everyone to chant in unison at a steady pace—about one word per second. Completing it took just over a minute. After finishing one round, we paused for about a minute to shout Soul Requiem. We repeated this eight times; once all eight rounds were completed, we could exorcise the spirits.
There were also shorter versions of the Transcendence Spell that only required chanting the incantation with focus. However, these shorter spells needed additional Methods of Feng Shui for support, making them more complicated than reciting the full incantation.
Once everyone was ready, I stepped into the center of the Soul Summoning Array and began chanting the Soul Summoning Spell. One by one, the spirits lined up and slowly emerged from the Human Cave. Once they reached the Soul Summoning Array, I pulled up the hemp rope to encircle them and ceased my Soul Guiding efforts. A few spirits that had already reached the cave entrance turned back.
I quickly returned to my position and began to shout: Supreme Edict...
“Supreme Edict, exorcise your lonely souls, all ghosts and spirits, blessed by four lives. Those with heads shall be exorcised; those without heads shall ascend. Whether killed by spear or sword, drowned or hanged. Clear deaths or hidden deaths, grievances and wrongful deaths; creditors and enemies seeking their lives. Kneel before my platform; Gossip shines bright; stand at Kan and emerge; transcend to another realm. Whether male or female, take responsibility upon yourselves; wealth or poverty is summoned by you. Command salvation for all beings; urgently transcend life; command salvation for all beings; urgently transcend life.” As I shouted the first line, everyone began to harmonize with my voice while adjusting their pace. By the fourth line, our chanting became synchronized like students reading aloud in class. In an instant, our chants filled the entire mountain...
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