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墨書 Inktalez
Living Funeral
The mirror reflected something behind me. It was subtle, but I paid close attention. I turned my head and saw a pattern on one of the tiles behind me.
However, it was clear that this pattern had been drawn on, as it had become somewhat blurred by the moisture in the bathroom.
I stared at the pattern on the tile for a few seconds before I wiped it with my hand. Sure enough, the red mark quickly stained my hand.
How could there be such a pattern in Uncle Liang's house? It must not have been there originally; someone must have drawn it later.
I lost my train of thought in the bathroom when Gao Ling called my name from outside, asking if I was okay. I replied that I was fine.
I opened the door and let Gao Ling come in to take a look.
After a few glances, Gao Ling said, "Isn't this that pattern? How does Uncle Liang's house have it too?"
Gao Ling was the type who wanted immediate answers once he knew there was a question, so he eagerly called for Uncle Liang. Uncle Liang arrived quickly, and Gao Ling asked, "Uncle Liang, do you know about this pattern?"
Uncle Liang looked puzzled for a moment and then said, "This pattern seems to have been drawn by Hua."
"What?" I asked in surprise.
Seeing my astonishment, Uncle Liang said, "Wait here." He then left and returned a few minutes later with a notebook in hand, which also had a similar pattern drawn on it.
Gao Ling asked, "Did Hua draw all of these?"
"Yes," Uncle Liang confirmed. "But it's been some time since he did. I thought this was part of his art assignment. Is there something wrong with this pattern?"
Gao Ling wanted to speak but I interrupted him by shaking my head. "No," I said. Uncle Liang sighed, saying that Hua usually behaved well and he never expected him to encounter such difficulties. I reassured Uncle Liang that everything would be fine.
Uncle Liang responded, "I hope so." Then he turned to me and said, "It looks like your hand is still bleeding. I have some gauze at home; I'll go get it for you."
We left the bathroom together. As we were leaving, I glanced back at the pattern on the tile and the one in the notebook. Could Hua Zhongxie be related to this pattern? What secret was hidden within it?
When we reached Hua's bedroom, he had been tied up again, and the blood on his mouth had been wiped away.
Gao Qing sat beside Hua with a furrowed brow. When she saw me arrive, she asked, "Are you okay?" I assured her I was fine. Gao Qing continued, "Logically, if the Cinnabar is cleared, there shouldn't be any issues. Why is it still like this?"
It seemed like Gao Qing was asking us, but also questioning herself.
Gao Ling seized the opportunity and said, "Sister, if you can't handle it, don't force yourself. Let me help you." Gao Qing retorted sharply, saying that as long as he didn't make things worse, that would be enough.
Hearing this, Gao Ling's temper flared immediately; she wanted to lash out but was interrupted by me. I said, "The Cinnabar on his forehead might indeed be problematic, but even if we wipe it away, the Evil Energy may not dissipate so quickly. Besides, the Evil Energy might have already entered his body long ago."
Earlier, I had seen Hua's eyes turn blood-red. Being possessed to such an extent made it clear that exorcising him would not be a simple task.
At that moment, Gao Qing looked at me intently and said, "It seems like your blood had some effect just now."
I shook my head to indicate that I didn't know.
Hua had fainted by then, his expression remarkably peaceful. I approached him and pried his eyes open to take a look; I noticed that the redness in his pupils had vanished.
Seeing me crouched down, Gao Qing suddenly asked, "Who exactly are you?"
I glanced at her; her face was filled with doubt, but her delicate features still made her look charming. I told her my name. Beyond that, there was nothing more to say because my identity was that simple.
When Uncle Liang brought over some gauze, I quickly bandaged myself up. However, Gao Qing suddenly grabbed my wrist and pressed down a few times. I swiftly pulled my hand away and asked, "What are you doing?"
Gao Qing replied, "I’m just curious about you."
I didn’t hold it against her. After finishing the bandaging of my wound, I stood up because I had several questions for Uncle Liang regarding that traveler.
Uncle Liang also seemed agitated and described the traveler's appearance. However, something about that description sounded familiar—like Brother Li's. After pondering for a moment, I quickly showed my phone to Uncle Liang since it had a picture of Brother Li on it.
Upon seeing it, Uncle Liang became excited and exclaimed, "That's him! That's him! Do you know him?"
I was momentarily stunned as waves of shock surged within me. How could this be possible? This was utterly unbelievable! My expression changed as Uncle Liang awaited my response. After a while, I shook my head but asked him instead, "Can you still get in touch with him?"
Seeing that I didn’t recognize him calmed Uncle Liang down a bit. He said, "That guy is nothing but a scoundrel who swindled my money and ran off. How could I possibly get in touch with him?"
It was almost dawn.
Uncle Liang gave Gao Qing some money to let us go out for breakfast while he stayed here to watch Hua.
Gao Qing didn't take Uncle Liang's money; we went out for breakfast on our own. The Evil Energy on Hua had definitely not been dispelled yet, and it seemed like there was something deeper going on behind this. It appeared to be related to the patterns, and Brother Li should be dead.
Could someone be impersonating Brother Li? But what would be the purpose of doing that?
The text message had been silent for a long time. I opened my phone and replied to the previous message, asking, "Are you really Brother Li? Are you truly still alive?"
I stuffed my phone into my pocket. Gao Qing still needed to buy some things and asked if we were going with her.
I declined, and seeing that I wasn't going, Gao Ling naturally decided not to go either. Gao Qing told me, "Come back tonight; I think your blood will help Hua."
"Sure," I replied. Gao Ling sarcastically remarked, "If it weren't for my buddy flying in this time, do you think Gao Qing could handle this?"
Gao Qing snorted coldly, ignored Gao Ling, and turned to leave.
Gao Ling asked where I was going, and I said I was heading to the Civil Affairs Department. Gao Ling agreed and quickly drove me there. Of course, I intended to check some records, but given my low status, there were some files I probably wouldn't be able to access.
So when I went there, it was Old Wang who had asked me to retrieve the files.
The staff inside looked at me suspiciously. Eventually, I showed them my funeral home work ID, and only then did the civil affairs personnel reluctantly agree to help, but they insisted we complete the necessary procedures next time.
We quickly obtained a document, but it cut off at the year 198; there was no information before that. When I asked the staff about it, they said if it was there, it was there; if not, then it simply wasn't.
Since that was the case, it seemed this lead had come to a dead end. I sighed and left the Civil Affairs Department with Gao Ling.
I pulled out my phone to check for any updates, but there was no sign of activity.
Old Wang seemed to have disappeared recently as well; his phone was unreachable. These people were leads, yet all these leads were broken.
Seeing my expression, Gao Ling suggested we might as well check at my uncle's house.
At this point, there was no better option, so I agreed to go. When I arrived at Old Wang's house, it was just noon. Upon entering, I found the interior dim and gloomy, likely due to poor lighting. As I made my way to the study, I noticed it was a bit messy, as if someone had rummaged through it.
Instinctively, I walked over to the pillar, only to discover that the patterns on it had been destroyed.
Gao Ling exclaimed angrily, "Damn it, did a thief break in?"
The destruction of the patterns raised suspicions—was someone trying to eliminate evidence? Did they not want anyone to know more? The windows in the room were open; it seemed someone had entered through them. Gao Ling began to search the house and found that nothing of value appeared to be missing.
"How strange!" Gao Ling said. "Nothing seems to be gone! It doesn't look like a robbery!"
I disagreed, insisting that something must have been taken. Just then, Gao Ling approached me and asked what was missing when suddenly something flew in through the window. Both of us instinctively ducked out of the way.
Gao Ling cursed, "Who the hell is throwing things around?" as he walked over to the window.
I picked up what had come in—a piece of paper wrapped around a stone. The paper had writing on it, but when I read what was written, I found myself momentarily stunned…
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