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墨書 Inktalez
Living Funeral
I glanced at Zhang and then at the woman. She was truly beautiful, surpassing Lin Xue in every way. Zhang said to me, "Stop staring; your eyes are about to fall out. Get in the car."
Once I regained my focus, I headed toward Zhang's car. The woman looked at me as well, but Zhang didn't introduce us, nor did I ask.
I sat in the back seat while the woman took the front. I asked Zhang, "Where are we going?"
Zhang replied, "You'll know when we get there."
I didn't press further; perhaps I was a bit tired. I closed my eyes in the car and dozed off. When I woke up, the car had already stopped in an open area. It was very quiet here, clearly an uninhabited zone.
The air was fresh, and I took a deep breath. I asked Zhang, "Is it time?"
Zhang said we needed to go a bit further before continuing. Soon, we arrived at the entrance of a cave. However, we didn't enter immediately.
I stared at the dark opening, which had been obscured by dried vines, making it quite hidden. Zhang turned to me and said, "Chen Fei, before we go in, I need to tell you a few things."
I nodded for him to continue. He explained that once inside, he would blindfold me. No matter who called me or spoke to me, I shouldn't follow or respond to anyone. "Do you understand?" he asked.
I nodded again. Perhaps worried that I hadn't grasped it fully, he repeated himself and added, "Chen Fei, I'm not joking with you. If you don't listen to me, you might die in there."
Hearing this made me respond, "If I don't go in, won't I be safe from dying?"
Zhang was momentarily speechless after my remark. After a moment, he managed to say, "You're not wrong; if you don't go in, you won't die. But let me tell you this: going in might allow you to live longer."
As he spoke these words, he glanced at the woman, but she remained silent throughout our exchange—like a beautiful vase in my eyes.
I fell silent as well until Zhang turned to the woman and asked, "Do you have anything to add?"
The woman looked at me and said, "You've become haggard."
I: ...
Her voice was truly pleasant to hear, but her abrupt statement left me at a loss for words. However, she quickly added, "I'm going to need you to do something difficult this time; please let me take some of your blood."
As she spoke, she pulled out a bowl. I had seen her hands empty just moments before, and now I had no idea where she had gotten it from.
I replied, "I can go in, but you need to tell me what we're going in for."
Zhang, the chubby guy, sighed and said, "If we don't go in soon, it will be too late. Can't you see that she's already here?"
I really had no impression of this woman, but I recalled the video Zhang had shown me earlier. There had been a woman in that video; could she be the same one?
I asked, "Who is she?"
As soon as I spoke, both Zhang and the woman froze. However, the woman quickly smiled and said, "My name is Nian Chen."
"Nian Chen?" I repeated softly, but I had no real memory of her.
Nian Chen handed me the bowl as if begging for something and then asked Zhang for a knife. Without hesitation, I allowed my blood to be drawn. In the end, Nian Chen gave me a piece of white cloth to bandage the wound. She said, "Alright, we can set off now."
Zhang handed me a piece of black cloth and instructed me to cover my eyes. I asked them, "What about you two?"
Nian Chen quickly followed suit and covered her eyes with the black cloth as well, but Zhang did not. He pulled out a rope and said, "You two hold on to this rope tightly and don’t let go." Nian Chen replied, "We will."
I nodded in agreement.
At this point, we had covered our eyes. It was already dark here, and with our eyes covered, it became even harder to see.
After preparing everything, Zhang still hadn't moved. Finally, he spoke up again: "Once we go in, just listen to me. If I run into any trouble, don’t worry about me—even if I die in there."
I paused for a few seconds before saying firmly, "No way."
Zhang Fatty said, "Why not?"
"We'll definitely come out together in the end."
At that moment, I uncovered the black cloth, and I saw that Zhang Fatty was holding a paper lantern. On each side of the lantern, there was a character written: one for 'human' and the other for 'ghost.'
Zhang Fatty said, "That's enough for me."
"Let's go." He instructed me to cover my eyes and then led us into the cave. Everything started off well. After walking about one or two hundred meters, I heard the sound of flowing water, followed by the sound of crying.
It wasn't just one person crying; it was a chorus of cries, overlapping and sending chills down my spine.
I walked in the middle, Nian Chen was at the back, and Zhang Fatty was in front holding the rope. Since my eyes were covered, I couldn't see anything, which made me feel insecure and slowed my pace. Zhang Fatty didn't say a word during this time.
I had no idea how far we had gone when I suddenly heard someone calling my name. It was her—Chen Fei. She told me she was very pitiful and asked for my help. Then she reached out and grabbed my hand, saying, "Take me with you."
I had no words; not a single one.
Nian Chen behind me and Zhang Fatty in front also remained silent. It was eerily quiet except for this woman's voice. She urged me, "Don't go in there; it will be more dangerous. Open your eyes and look at me, look at me."
Her voice was urgent as she continued, "If you take me out, I will treat you well for a lifetime. Really, I will only be good to one person for my entire life. I'm so lonely here, so lonely." Her tone carried a hint of sorrow.
She reached out to touch my cheek but didn’t remove the black cloth covering my eyes.
She pulled me back from moving forward and warned, "People die in there; they die! Once you go in, you'll never come out."
I wanted to ask her who she was; the words were on the tip of my tongue when suddenly someone kicked me from behind. The question got swallowed back down.
I felt an eerie chill creeping over me. Not long after, the woman’s voice let out a terrible scream—her cry was piercing as she shouted for help.
My heart raced; I was intensely curious about what kind of place this was. Just as we hadn’t walked far, suddenly a pair of hands grabbed my neck, shaking it violently while threatening to choke me to death. A wave of suffocation surged over me, and I instinctively kicked out with all my strength—Damn it! They almost choked me to death!
I held back my anger and cursed inwardly. After delivering a kick, the guy who had been choking me stumbled back. But he was clearly a madman, quickly charging at me again and grabbing my throat once more.
I was furious and kicked twice in succession. As I kicked out, my foot was caught, and I fell to the ground.
As I hit the ground, someone immediately grabbed me from behind. Nian Chen said to me, "Fei, hold on."
Hearing that voice filled me with strength. I got up from the ground, and whatever was choking me—whether it was human or ghost—let out a sound that promised retribution.
I stood up, and Zhang Pangzi moved quickly with the rope he was holding. After a while, the cries and screams faded away. At that moment, I heard the sound of flowing water again. Zhang Pangzi then said, "It will get more dangerous from here, Nian Chen, you should drink some blood."
Nian Chen responded with an acknowledgment. Zhang Pangzi turned to me and said, "Chen Fei, I’ll carry you from here."
"Why do you want to carry me? I can walk on my own."
Zhang Pangzi replied, "Do you think I want to carry you?"
At that moment, my curiosity about this place peaked. Were those people crying earlier all ghosts? I asked Zhang Pangzi this question.
He didn’t answer but simply said to me, "Get on my back."
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