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墨書 Inktalez
Living Funeral
I asked, "Is something wrong?"
Zhang Xun knocked three times on the door and then said to me, "Chen Fei, everything has its limits."
"What do you mean?"
After I spoke, there was no response from outside the door. I called out to Zhang Xun, but no one answered. At that moment, Lin Xue said to me, "Does Chen Lang know I'm here?"
I paused for a few seconds and replied, "How could he? It's impossible. With his personality, if he knew you were here, he would have acted long ago. Don't worry, I'll handle everything."
Lin Xue nodded and said, "Chen Lang, what if she finds out about me?"
I reassured Lin Xue, telling her not to worry because I was here. In truth, I suspected that Zhang Xun might have already noticed something, but I didn't want Lin Xue to be concerned, so I pretended that Zhang Xun hadn't discovered anything.
Lin Xue and I lay on the bed.
Then Lin Xue asked me, "Chen Lang, do you agree with my earlier suggestion?"
I replied that I needed to think about it. Lin Xue understood; after all, she was a ghost and I was human. Humans and ghosts are on different paths, and any child born from such a union could be problematic. I had seen ghost babies before, and they were truly dangerous.
Lin Xue seemed relieved by my response.
Just as I was about to drift off to sleep again, there was another knock at the door. I exclaimed in frustration, "Is this ever going to end?"
Gao Ling's voice came from outside the door. "Get up! There's been an incident at the massage parlor."
I had no choice but to get out of bed and open the door, asking what was happening. It was only around one or two in the morning.
Lin Xue had already left, and Zhang Xun was waiting in the living room. I could only say, "Alright, let's go."
We exited the room and headed towards the massage parlor. Zhang Xun didn't say a word. Upon arriving at the massage parlor, the manager looked flustered and said, "Masters, you finally made it."
Gao Ling asked, "What's going on? Didn't you say not to open?"
The manager replied, "There was some commotion inside earlier, and I was worried something might happen tonight. That's why I called you all over."
It was already one or two in the morning; logically, it should have been closing time. Yet, they were still open, clearly engaged in some shady business.
Zhang Xun said, "It's not time yet; don't open the door. No matter what noise comes from inside, you shouldn't worry about it."
The manager responded, "But without a master here, I can't feel at ease. If a customer accidentally wanders in during the commotion, it wouldn't be good."
At this point, Gao Ling spoke up, "Since you want us here, you must pay us extra for overtime."
The manager said, "I had already prepared for that. Here, this is a red envelope for you masters."
Gao Ling reached out and took all the red envelopes while Zhang Xun and I received nothing. We then moved to stand by the door of the previous massage room to listen for any sounds. However, there was no noise coming from inside now. After standing there for a moment, Zhang Xun said, "Arrange a room for us to sleep in."
The manager quickly agreed and led us to a couple of rooms that were usually reserved for the boss.
Of course, we weren't there just to sleep.
However, Gao Ling believed that this was meant for sleeping. She lay directly on the bed, turned on the air conditioning, and prepared to rest. Zhang Xun said nothing; there was little Gao Ling could do here, so she figured she might as well sleep.
At that moment, around one or two o'clock, Zhang Xun was staring out the window, not quite sure what he was looking at.
I asked Zhang Xun, "Is there something outside?"
Zhang Xun replied, "You see someone downstairs burning Joss Paper."
With the Ghost Festival approaching, it wasn't unusual for someone to start burning Joss Paper early. I walked over to the window and glanced down, spotting a person in black clothing burning paper below.
I said, "What's so strange about that?"
Zhang Xun responded, "It's not strange for the living to burn paper, but it's odd if it's the dead."
"The dead."
Zhang Xun continued, "Is there a dead person by that fire pit? How could we see them?"
Zhang Xun explained, "They want us to see them on purpose."
"Why?"
"Because they think they're not dead. They still believe they're alive."
I looked at Zhang Xun in confusion. He added that many ghosts were like this; sometimes when you saw someone on the road at night, they might not be alive—just hard to distinguish in the daylight, but easier to identify at night.
I understood what was happening; it meant that the people walking on the street at night might not all be alive—there could be ghosts among them.
At that moment, Gao Ling stepped outside and said, "Is there a ghost appearing?"
I asked what was going on.
Gao Ling replied, "I heard someone making strange sounds, like 'ee-ya' and 'mm-hmm.' It sounded really odd. Could it be a ghost calling out?"
I thought to myself: This guy is definitely a clueless virgin. But wait! Even though Gao Ling hadn't experienced anything, he must have seen some films. Still, the sounds in real life are different from those in movies.
Seeing us lost in thought, Gao Ling asked, "Did you guys not hear that?"
Zhang Xun and I shook our heads simultaneously. Zhang Xun suggested, "Maybe it's something we can't hear in this room. Come with me to my room and listen."
I nodded and followed Gao Ling over. Once we arrived, Gao Ling said, "Listen."
However, neither Zhang Xun nor I could hear anything. Yet Gao Ling seemed to have heard something. I told him I didn't hear anything at all, but he insisted he did. I wondered if he was just imagining it.
Gao Ling paused for a few seconds and then said, "Maybe I am!"
Zhang Xun and I exchanged glances, speechless. Time quickly passed, and dawn was approaching. Thankfully, the night had been uneventful; however, the ghost that had been burning paper had done so all night long and only disappeared in the morning.
Zhang Xun and I opened the door and discovered that Yin Food had indeed been completely consumed.
The chicken was left with nothing but bones, and all the fruits were gone as well. The person in charge had woken up late and, upon seeing this scene, asked us what had happened.
"Zhang Xun said, 'Let's do it tonight.'
When night fell, Zhang Xun was at it again. After three attempts, he finally made his move on the fourth.
Zhang Xun remarked, 'This ghost is almost ready; we can take action now.'
On the fourth attempt, Zhang Xun instructed Gao Ling and me to hold a rope dyed with rooster's blood at the entrance while he went in alone.
I asked Zhang Xun if everything was alright. He reassured me, 'Don't worry, it'll be fine.' With that, he stepped inside, and a few minutes later, there was a commotion from within.
About a quarter of an hour passed without any sign of Zhang Xun. Concerned, I called out, 'Zhang Xun, are you okay?'
There was no response from inside. Gao Ling suggested, 'What if Brother Zhang got into trouble? Should we go in and check?'
Fearing for Zhang Xun's safety, I nodded in agreement. Just as the door opened a crack, a shadow darted out but was quickly bounced back by the Red String.
A piercing scream echoed through the air, sending chills down my spine.
Zhang Xun shouted, 'Don't open the door!'
Gao Ling and I hurriedly closed the door again. After another minute, Zhang Xun yelled, 'Open the door!'
I quickly swung the door wide open, and Zhang Xun emerged swiftly.
He instructed, 'Light the incense.'"
I responded with a sound and opened the backpack I had brought with me, taking out the incense. I lit it and handed it to Zhang Xun. He accepted the incense and then murmured, "Decree, please summon the General." As soon as he finished speaking, a gust of wind suddenly swept through the previously enclosed space.
Seeing Zhang Xun in this state, I guessed that the spirits here were not simple at all!
Zhang Xun did not enter; he stood outside instead. Time passed second by second. He instructed me to draw blood, and after I did so, he wrote the character for "Repress".
Zhang Xun murmured, "Two paths of Yin and Yang, one path for humans, one path for ghosts. When humans walk the Ghost Path, they shall be punished."
At that moment, I could see the ghost manifesting. Upon seeing it, the manager of the massage parlor was so frightened that he let out a strange scream. Zhang Xun's face broke out in beads of sweat, clearly showing that he was also struggling at this moment.
I searched for yellow paper but unfortunately could not find any.
Gao Ling was not around. After informing Zhang Xun, he told me that yellow cloth would work as well. I asked the manager, "Do you have any yellow paper or cloth?"
"No," came the reply.
I sighed; without it, we were in trouble.
Zhang Xun's expression turned grim. I began to ask if my Hundred Ghosts Diagram would suffice. After I finished speaking, Zhang Xun froze for a moment before shaking his head.
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