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墨書 Inktalez
Living Funeral
Thick smoke billowed from the fire, and I turned my head to take another look. No matter how I looked at it, something felt off!
I spoke up, "No, it's not the Ghost Festival. What is that old woman burning for Ghost Money?"
Since this food stall was right by the road, I could see clearly. Otherwise, I wouldn't have said anything. Gao Ling said, "Fei, are you drunk? It's not the first or fifteenth day of the month; who would burn Ghost Money?"
I replied, "Just look behind you!"
However, as soon as I finished speaking, Gao Ling looked back and said there was no one there.
Huh? The person really was gone! But they were just there a moment ago! I told Gao Ling that someone was indeed burning Ghost Money. Then I asked Zhang Xun, "Did you see it?"
Zhang Xun had seen it.
I continued, "I knew it."
At that moment, Zhang Xun suddenly grabbed my wrist and said urgently, "Hurry up."
What was going on? Zhang Xun said we should just go and stop asking so many questions. I quickly got up, and Zhang Xun stood up as well. I felt something was about to happen. I told Gao Ling to hurry and pay the bill.
Gao Ling, slightly tipsy, asked, "What's wrong? Why are you suddenly in such a rush?"
Zhang Xun replied, "Don't worry about him; let's hurry and chase after them."
My head felt a bit dizzy too, but looking at Zhang Xun's serious expression made me realize he wasn't joking around. We both dashed towards the road. The owner thought we were trying to skip out on the bill and called after us. I shouted back that someone was paying.
There weren't many cars or people on the road.
So we ran straight across. Zhang Xun hadn't drunk much, so he was fully aware of what was happening. I might have been running too fast because soon enough, I felt nauseous and started to vomit.
I asked Zhang Xun what was going on.
Zhang Xun replied, "The person who just burned the Joss Paper has some issues." He continued, "I feel like I've seen her somewhere before." I said to Zhang Xun, "You’re not drunk too, are you?" After throwing up, I felt much better.
Zhang Xun said, "No, I just can’t remember right now."
I remarked, "Where are we supposed to find someone at this hour? The city is just too big compared to the countryside. With so many houses, if that person slips into a certain alley, it could be really hard to track her down."
At that moment, Zhang Xun and I felt like headless flies.
I suggested to Zhang Xun, "Maybe we should just forget it; after all, it’s just a few sheets of Ghost Money."
But Zhang Xun stood still, muttering, "Something's not right! I have this feeling that I've seen that old woman before."
He kept pondering this question, looking somewhat distressed. Seeing his expression, I said, "If you can't remember, then let it go."
However, just as I finished speaking, I suddenly coughed up blood. In that instant, it felt like my heart had been pierced by something sharp; the pain was intense.
There really was something wrong. I couldn't have just coughed up blood for no reason. Wiping the blood from the corner of my mouth, I stared at Zhang Xun.
Zhang Xun asked me, "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," I replied. But why did I suddenly cough up blood? Could it be because of that old woman? But she hadn’t come near me at all; she hadn’t been close from the beginning.
We were standing by the roadside across from a food stall.
Zhang Xun was still deep in thought when suddenly a light seemed to go off in his head. "I know who she is!" he exclaimed.
"Who?" I asked eagerly.
Zhang Xun said, "It's the Old Witch." Of course, I had no idea who this Old Witch was. I waited for Zhang Xun to explain further. He murmured to himself, "Why would she come out? And why would she burn Ghost Money behind your back?"
"This doesn't follow the rules!"
Zhang Xun muttered to himself for a moment before suddenly asking me, "Fei, do you feel unwell anywhere?"
I shook my head, saying that aside from spitting blood earlier, everything else was normal.
Zhang Xun called out, "Old Witch, is that you?" He shouted her name three or four times without receiving any response.
I couldn't help but ask, "Who exactly is this Old Witch?"
Zhang Xun replied, "She's definitely not a good person."
I thought, so did she just scheme against me? Zhang Xun calmly confirmed, "Yes, she did scheme against you."
I was speechless.
What should we do now? But I didn't feel anything particularly wrong. Zhang Xun suggested we look for her and see if we could find her. So we quickly began searching, but we scoured the area and still found no one.
Can this old lady move that fast?
At that moment, Gao Ling called me and said, "Fei, where are you guys?"
Gao Ling's voice still carried a hint of drunkenness.
I replied that we were looking for someone.
Gao Ling asked, "Are you looking for an old lady?"
I responded, "Yeah, have you seen her?"
Gao Ling said, "I saw her; she's right next to me." Upon hearing this, I hurried toward the food stall. I called Zhang Xun to relay the news, and he acknowledged it with a quick response that he would be there soon.
However, when I arrived at the food stall, there was no sign of any old lady—only Gao Ling sprawled on the table snoring away.
I called out to Gao Ling, trying to wake him up. After several attempts, I finally splashed a cup of water on him, and he started to come around.
I asked Gao Ling, "Where is the old lady?"
He replied, "What old lady?"
I clarified, "The old lady we were with?" Gao Ling then said, "Oh, your old lady? She has already left."
I glanced at Gao Ling but didn’t blame him; there was really nothing to fault him for. I asked him, "Did she take anything with her?" Gao Ling shook his head, still not fully sober from the alcohol.
Zhang Xun looked around and said, "Let’s just head back for now."
I nodded in agreement. Since Zhang Xun hadn’t been drinking, I let him drive. After settling the bill, we got into the car. On the way, I asked Zhang Xun, "So who exactly is the Old Witch?" He hadn’t answered me before, but my curiosity got the better of me, so I asked again.
Zhang Xun replied, "The Old Witch lives off the dead; her life is also tied to the dead."
If that’s the case, then we’re also living off the dead; it’s just that our lives are intertwined with theirs. That statement seemed contradictory! What kind of life can a dead person have?
I looked at Zhang Xun skeptically. He sighed and explained, "She sleeps in a coffin and eats Kuan Yin Soil instead of regular food."
Kuan Yin Soil? Not eating regular food? Isn’t that eerie? How does she survive?
Zhang Xun continued, "The Old Witch has quite a history. During the Great Famine three years ago, countless people starved to death. People began eating tree bark and roots, boiling wood to eat it, and some even resorted to cannibalism."
In their desperation to fill their stomachs, people became ruthless. Eventually, someone discovered a substance called Kuan Yin Soil. This Kuan Yin Soil is white and granular, resembling flour. People started using it to make steamed buns.
However, while this substance could fill you up, it couldn’t be digested. Many people died from it back then, but some got used to it and never changed their eating habits for life.
The Old Witch is one of those people. Moreover, the Kuan Yin Soil she consumes is particularly special; it’s dug up from graves.
At that moment, Gao Ling mumbled in his sleep, "What dead people? Where are there any dead people?"
We ignored Gao Ling, and Zhang Xun said, "This Old Witch is ruthless. She once appeared in our Zhang Family Village when it was devastated. And you know what? You once slept in the coffin she used."
Upon hearing this, I felt a sudden chill run down my spine.
The car was not moving fast, but the cold wind kept pouring in through the windows. The gust made me shiver, and I became more alert.
I asked Zhang Xun, "Why did I sleep in her coffin?"
Zhang Xun suddenly replied, "Although this Old Witch is cruel, the coffin she slept in is something special. There’s no coffin in this world that can compare to the one she used."
That sounded quite eerie to me.
In fact, I was starting to believe that I had lived for 198 years, but there were some things that simply couldn't be explained. For instance, how could I have childhood memories? Of course, this wasn't the time to ponder that.
I turned to Zhang Xun and asked, "If the Old Witch is so powerful, why was her coffin taken away?"
Zhang Xun replied, "That's because Jiang Changsheng was involved."
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