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墨書 Inktalez
Living Funeral
"Is it not possible to use the Hundred Ghosts Diagram?" I asked.
Zhang Xun replied, "We cannot let the Hundred Ghosts Diagram accumulate too much resentment."
I didn't understand why Zhang Xun thought this way, but isn't the Hundred Ghosts Diagram meant for capturing ghosts? The ghostly eyes seemed ready to burst through the door. Zhang Xun said, "Keep lighting the incense."
I nodded, but even with the incense, I felt it wouldn't hold for long.
"I'll go find Yellow Cloth," I said.
However, just a few steps away, the manager of the massage parlor suddenly called out to me. I replied that I had it.
I cursed under my breath, feeling as anxious as an ant on a hot pan. I said to him, "Why didn't you bring it out earlier?"
The manager looked a bit embarrassed and said, "How about yellow underwear?"
I was taken aback for a few seconds before responding, "That works." I urged him to hurry and take it off. The manager complied and quickly removed the underwear. I took it from him—damn it, it still had a smell, but at that moment, I couldn't care less.
I turned to Zhang Xun and said, "I've got it."
Zhang Xun instructed, "Spread it out."
I complied, and then Zhang Xun began reciting incantations. I held onto the underwear tightly. Soon enough, the ghost reappeared; however, as soon as it emerged, it collided directly with the underwear, causing me to crumple it into a ball.
"Set it on fire," Zhang Xun commanded.
At that moment, Gao Ling pulled out a handful of ghost money and lit it. I tossed the yellow underwear into the flames. Almost immediately, a series of horrifying screams erupted from the fire. The screams grew louder and louder before gradually fading away until they finally disappeared.
Gao Ling and I exchanged glances while Zhang Xun wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead.
"Is it dead?" Gao Ling asked.
Zhang Xun nodded slightly, acknowledging the question.
"Is it really dead? Has this ghost been subdued?" the person in charge asked. His face was pale, and upon hearing this, Zhang Xun finally snapped back to reality and replied, "That's great, that's great. Thank you for your hard work, masters."
At that moment, the person in charge was so flustered that he hadn't even put on his pants. I reminded him, and he hurriedly dressed, his face flushed with embarrassment.
Gao Ling was a businessman and was very clear about things. After the matter was settled, he expected payment. However, Zhang Xun said, "The issue isn't resolved yet."
The person in charge had already prepared to hand over the money but withdrew it upon hearing those words.
Gao Ling could only watch helplessly, unable to do anything. Finally, he asked, "Brother Zhang, what else is unresolved?"
Zhang Xun replied, "The ghost downstairs burned four Joss Papers; something's not right. There’s definitely something suspicious here."
"The ghost downstairs?" Both Gao Ling and the person in charge expressed their confusion.
I found it strange too; that person in black had indeed burned four Joss Papers downstairs.
Zhang Xun had nothing more to say and suggested, "Let's go take a look."
I nodded and followed Zhang Xun downstairs while Gao Ling resumed negotiating with the person in charge about the price since having an additional ghost would certainly change things.
By this time, it was already past midnight. When Zhang Xun and I reached downstairs, the ghost had vanished, but the fire pit remained. The flames were still roaring inside it. As we approached the fire pit, a blood-red character suddenly appeared before us.
It was the character for "death."
Seeing that character made my body involuntarily shudder, a chill creeping into my heart.
Zhang Xun's expression also darkened as he looked at the character for death. He realized that four Ghost Money notes had been burned continuously before; he hadn’t paid attention to it earlier, but now he did.
I asked Zhang Xun, "How did you find out?"
Zhang Xun replied, "The real ghost is probably not the one that died, but the one downstairs. Yang Qi, that ghost has Yang Qi on it."
Yang Qi? How could a ghost have Yang Qi? Ghosts are supposed to be made up of Yin Qi. If it has Yang Qi, isn't that a bit strange?
Zhang Xun said, "That ghost has already set its sights on you and may take action."
Suddenly, I remembered Uncle Ghost. Last time, Uncle Ghost seemed to want to use me to bring his wife back to life. Could this ghost be someone like Uncle Ghost? Damn it, thinking back on what happened is terrifying; I don't want to go through that again.
So I asked Zhang Xun, "Is there any good way to deal with this?"
Zhang Xun said, "Don't worry; it doesn't dare to act against you yet. Its Yang Qi is insufficient; it will have to wait. There may be more deaths coming."
I said, "But it still has to take action! By the time it has enough Yang Qi, it might be too late."
Zhang Xun acknowledged that.
This kind of twisted situation should be resolved sooner rather than later. Zhang Xun added, "Tomorrow is July 7th; the Ghost Gate will be wide open, and something might happen."
I took out my phone to check the time; indeed, tomorrow was the day the Ghost Gate opened.
Zhang Xun advised, "It's best not to go out tomorrow night."
I nodded in agreement, and then Zhang Xun extinguished the fire pit and called for me to leave. I asked him if we were going upstairs. He said we weren't going up anymore. I called Gao Ling, and she quickly came down.
Zhang Xun remarked, "Every year around this time sees the most deaths; many people die unexpectedly. In reality, they are taken away by ghosts."
Gao Ling asked, "Is it really that eerie?"
Zhang Xun replied, "Believe it or not. Anyway, it's best not to go out tomorrow night." We all got into Gao Ling's car when suddenly someone from management rushed out and asked, "You’re leaving? What about things here?"
"Zhang Xun said, 'Tomorrow, let all your employees take a break and stay inside. Also, give us five thousand yuan to buy a coffin.'
'What do you need a coffin for?' the manager asked.
'To bury a ghost,' Zhang Xun replied.
Upon hearing this, the manager didn't hesitate and handed over the money. Zhang Xun took the cash and said to him, 'Take the day off, and also, don't go out tomorrow night.'
The manager quickly agreed. After that, Zhang Xun had Gao Ling drive us away. Once we were on the road, Zhang Xun handed me the money and said, 'Buy a coffin for two thousand yuan tomorrow night; keep the remaining three thousand for yourself.'
If those words had come from Zhang Pangzi, I would have found them quite pleasant. But since they came from Zhang Xun, I still felt a bit uneasy.
Noticing my daze, Zhang Xun asked, 'Aren't you going to take the money?'
'Of course I will,' I replied. I took the money and split half of it with Gao Ling, entrusting the coffin purchase to Zhang Xun. We soon arrived home.
Zhang Xun turned to me and said, 'Chen Fei, whatever you do, don’t meet any ghosts tomorrow night.'
I wondered what I would do if a ghost insisted on seeing me.
Zhang Xun said, 'If a ghost insists on meeting you, just stick a piece of yellow paper on your forehead.'
I responded with an 'oh,' feeling that Zhang Xun was hinting at something. Then it struck me—was he referring to Lin Xue? I glanced at Zhang Xun, but he didn’t clarify anything.
Not wanting to pry further, I fell silent. After taking a shower, I prepared for bed; it seemed necessary for me to talk to Lin Xue.
Later that night, Lin Xue appeared in my room. I told her, 'You shouldn't show up tomorrow night.'
Looking at me, Lin Xue asked, 'Chen Lang, are you trying to chase me away?'
I assured her, 'That's not my intention at all. I'm not trying to send you away; I just want you to avoid appearing tomorrow night. You can come whenever you like afterward. Zhang Xun thinks your appearance tomorrow night might cause some trouble.'"
Lin Xue's expression softened after hearing my explanation.
"Chen Lang, I'll listen to you," Lin Xue said.
The night passed like this. Gao Ling and I went to buy a coffin together. We arrived at a Coffin Shop, and in the end, Gao Ling spent only a thousand yuan on a coffin, but the quality was very poor. This guy had the potential to be a shady businessman.
After paying for the coffin, the seller suddenly asked, "Are you buying this coffin for yourself?"
Gao Ling was clearly taken aback for a few seconds upon hearing this, then exploded in anger, "What the hell are you talking about?"
The coffin shop boss realized his words were inappropriate and quickly explained, "I didn't mean it that way. I'm sorry, I'm sorry."
Gao Ling retorted, "With comments like that, I don't know how your Coffin Shop stays in business."
But at that moment, the boss said, "My Coffin Shop is inherited from my ancestors. They left me a book called Funeral Matching Technique, which tells what kind of coffin suits what kind of person."
Hearing this, I thought to myself that this boss really had a cruel heart! It was just a cheap coffin purchase, and he was already cursing someone to death.
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