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墨書 Inktalez
In the corner of the dungeon, a large cauldron was set up, with two members of the Ghost Gate Cult busily working nearby. Beside them was an enormous table.
The table was smeared with blood, and scattered across it were severed arms, hacked off from people's bodies.
I couldn't help but feel a chill run down my spine; no wonder the people here had become disabled—they had lost their arms.
"Little brother, what should we do?" Captain Wu was clearly shaken.
I took a deep breath, feeling as if something heavy was pressing down on my back, making it hard to breathe. "Let's rescue them first."
I instinctively glanced at the severed arms on the table, a wave of nausea washing over me.
Captain Wu nodded and was about to rush out when the child grabbed his arm. "Wait! Do you think the Ghost Gate Cult members are fools? The ones guarding this place can't be ordinary people."
The child's words reminded both Captain Wu and me, and we turned our gazes toward him. The child continued, "Those two are the Left and Right Protectors of the Ghost Gate Cult."
"Left and Right Protectors?" I looked at the child in surprise.
The child nodded confidently. "Yes, don't be fooled by their appearance; they are Bat People."
"Bat People?" Now it was Captain Wu's turn to be astonished, his eyes wide and mouth agape, giving him a comical look.
"Yes, it's a form of Ghost Technique that involves grafting after death," the child explained.
I shifted my gaze to the two figures in the corner. Slowly, I began to notice something amiss. At first, I hadn't seen anything unusual, but as I kept staring at them, I noticed thick black mist surrounding their bodies. Within that mist loomed massive bat-like forms.
"There's such a Ghost Technique? How is the Ghost Gate Cult so sinister?" Captain Wu remarked.
"Indeed, there are many dark aspects to the Ghost Gate Cult. Many Guardians and Hall Masters have merged with animal bodies like this; it allows them to escape the laws of human existence—aging, illness, and death."
"How do we deal with them?" Captain Wu glanced over and asked the child.
"Don't rush, let's observe for a bit," the child replied.
Our gazes shifted back to them; they remained unaware of our presence, busying themselves with whatever was in the pot.
After a while, we heard some noise coming from the entrance. The child's expression immediately turned tense as he whispered, "This isn't good."
I asked him what was wrong.
The child furrowed his brow and said, "It’s possible that the most important members of the Ghost Gate Cult have arrived."
My heart sank at his words, and my face paled. Setting aside whether we could handle the newcomers, just dealing with those already trapped was troublesome enough. Now, with more people arriving, it felt like things were getting even more complicated.
At that moment, the child pointed into the air as if drawing something. Within just a few seconds, I felt a chill surrounding us, and I sensed a disturbance in the air.
"What is this?" I asked the child.
He turned back and said, "I've created an environment for us. Hurry and come inside; it’s safer this way. If we stay together like this, our presence is too strong and could easily be detected by the Ghost Gate Cult."
Captain Wu and I nodded. After the child finished speaking, a landscape painting appeared before us.
This was the illusion created by the child. Without hesitation, Captain Wu and I stepped into the painting. Once inside, I realized it was an incredibly beautiful place, giving off a sense of being immersed in nature, even though it was all just an illusion.
When Captain Wu entered, he too was captivated by the scenery. At that moment, the child followed him in. Seeing Captain Wu so entranced, he reached out and gave him a hard tap on the head, saying, "Captain Wu, do you want to die in here? This is an illusion! The worst thing you can do is get lost in it. If you become too absorbed, it's like being dead—no one can save you."
The child's words hit Captain Wu like a bucket of cold water, snapping him back to reality.
"Ah, are you that scared?" Captain Wu's face turned pale, and he no longer dared to act as he had before.
The child looked at Captain Wu with a serious expression and said, "Of course, so you shouldn't get too obsessed."
Captain Wu and I nodded earnestly. Just then, a group of people appeared.
They looked quite strange, with Ox-Head and Horse-Body features.
"They can't be Ox-Head and Horse-Face, can they?" Captain Wu asked curiously.
"No, Ox-Head and Horse-Face are Yin Officials in the Underworld. They only appear for special occasions, and even in the Underworld, there are treaties that bind them," the child explained.
"Then why do they look like Ox-Head and Horse-Face?"
"They're not the same; you'll see in the future," the child said playfully as he glanced at Captain Wu.
Captain Wu was momentarily stunned, and when he realized it, his face turned red with anger. We noticed that everyone in the group was holding a basket.
"What is that for?" I couldn't help but ask out of curiosity.
"That's for carrying human flesh. Look, those two Guardians just tossed an arm into the pot and added something," the child said.
Captain Wu and I looked over just in time to see those two Guardians washing a human arm clean before throwing it into a large pot. They stirred it and pulled out something from their pockets that looked like some kind of liquid.
"That's Corpse Dissolver," the child explained.
"Corpse Dissolver," Captain Wu and I said in unison.
The child nodded and said, "This Corpse Dissolver is a unique potion of the Ghost Gate Cult. It harnesses the power of human flesh to enhance one's evil energy. Do you remember what I told you? The people of the Ghost Gate Cult don't eat white rice like you humans do; they consume the bodies of animals and even the flesh of humans."
Captain Wu made a grimace of disbelief, and I felt a wave of nausea wash over me.
They poured the Corpse Dissolver into a pot, which immediately began to boil, releasing a very strange odor.
"Left and Right Protectors, is the human meat soup ready? The Master can't wait any longer," Ox-Body said to the two individuals.
"It'll be ready soon. Why the rush? Good things take time," the person on the left shot an annoyed glance at Ox-Body.
"At this pace, it's been hours. If we delay the Master's Feast of Demons, we'll all be in trouble," Horse Body remarked.
"Alright, alright, it's almost done. Just bring out the serving vessels," one of them replied.
They placed their baskets on a nearby long table and took out the serving containers from within.
"What is this? It looks just like a Heart," Captain Wu exclaimed in shock.
Before my eyes, they pulled out pulsating Hearts from the basket. My eyes widened; these were indeed Hearts. The people of the Ghost Gate Cult were truly twisted.
They opened up the Hearts and scooped out what was inside. Once prepared, they handed the Hearts to the Left and Right Protectors.
The Left and Right Protectors carefully accepted the Hearts they were given, which only fueled my curiosity further.
In the next moment, I was astonished as I watched them pour the meat soup from the pot into the Hearts.
"What... what is this?" Captain Wu's voice grew increasingly agitated.
"That's Heart Soup," the child said calmly.
"What is Heart Soup?"
"It's what the Ghost Gate Cult calls it. It involves using a living person's Heart to wrap and cook human flesh soup, but only at very important moments. I just heard them mention that there will be a Feast of Demons soon, which makes me curious. Are they inviting anyone other than humans? If they are colluding with those from the heavens and the Underworld, then humanity is truly doomed." The child's expression grew serious.
I suddenly recalled the words of Ox-Body and Horse Body.
"If that's the case, we need to stop them," my tone turned grave as well.
"Yes, Brother Wang Niu, wait for my command. Now is not the time to act; the real opportunity will come after they obtain the Heart Soup."
"Understood."
After they filled each Heart with human flesh soup, they placed them into a basket and exited the basement, with us following closely behind.
They continued walking, seemingly heading somewhere. When they reached a large tree, they stopped and lined up, making strange sounds.
"Are they chanting a spell?" I asked.
"I don't know, but it feels like they're opening a passage," the child said, eyes fixed on them.
As soon as the words left their lips, a burst of golden light erupted from the tree in front of us, instantly blinding us. We quickly covered our eyes, and when we opened them again, those people had vanished.
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