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墨書 Inktalez
Gravekeeper
It only took a second for Brother Wang to remember. He picked up his phone and discovered there was still a signal. He quickly connected the call, and a woman's voice came through. Then he heard Brother Wang say, "Good wife, I can't come home tonight. I... I brought a guest to Beisheng Village, and then... then I ended up in a haunted house."
"Ah? Beisheng Village? Honey, what are you doing there! Didn't you hear? There have been so many deaths recently, all of them had their hearts ripped out!" The woman on the other end sounded frightened and shouted.
Brother Wang was already scared, and hearing his wife's words made him roll his eyes and nearly faint.
He sobbed, "Wife, if... if I die, please don't remarry right away. You should mourn for three years before finding someone else. During that time, don't look for another man. I've bought you a lot of tools on Taobao; you can use those to quench your thirst, but please don't make me wear a green hat. Otherwise, I'd be unhappy even as a ghost..."
"Honey, shut up! Where are you right now... beep beep beep..."
Before he could finish, the call dropped with a series of beeping sounds. Brother Wang looked at his phone and saw that there was no signal anymore.
He raised his head to look at me and said, "Brother, did you hear that? This place is really a ghost village. So many people's hearts have been eaten. There's definitely something wrong with this village, and yet you insisted on coming here. You've completely doomed me. Well... whatever, if I'm going to die, I might as well sleep through it to avoid suffering." With that, Brother Wang took off his shoes and climbed into bed. It seemed he was quite open-minded about it.
I sat on the edge of the bed and thought carefully about everything that had happened. It all felt very strange: first, Wang Shao appeared in my dream asking me to come here for money; then I encountered a ghost wedding procession on the way; finally, I entered the village that felt lifeless. And now there was this suspicious woman who claimed to be Wang Shao's mother. However, from the photos hanging in the house and the awards posted on the walls, it was clear that this was indeed Wang Shao's home.
This series of events left me feeling unsettled.
I sat on the edge of the bed and placed the Peach Wood Sword next to my pillow. That way, even if there were ghosts at night, I would be ready to fight.
After lying down, Brother Wang reached out to wrap his arms around my neck.
I’m just a regular guy; I couldn’t tolerate such an embrace. I pushed him away and said, "You sleep well; you smell like smoke."
Brother Wang shrank back and replied, "We're about to die; you're worried about my smoke smell? Once night falls on our way to the Underworld, it'll just be the two of us keeping each other company."
"Stop messing around, go to sleep," I said. "This is Wang Shao's home. Wang Shao is a stunning beauty. What more could you want than to sleep in the bed of a beautiful woman?"
Upon hearing this, Brother Wang covered his face with both hands and exclaimed, "Damn it, no matter how beautiful she is, she's still a ghost! I'm sleeping in a dead person's bed... Forget it, if I'm going to die, then so be it."
I chuckled lightly, considering that Wang Shao couldn't harm me. Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes and somehow drifted off to sleep.
In my dreams, I felt an overwhelming heaviness in my body, struggling to breathe in the icy darkness surrounding me. I tried to open my eyes, to gasp for air, to scream, but it felt as if something was pressing down on me, rendering me immobile.
I fought to wake up, shivering from the cold yet unable to move. My consciousness began to clear slightly. In the dream, I realized I was experiencing sleep paralysis; I forced myself to awaken—I absolutely could not die here.
A river appeared in my dream. Without thinking twice, I jumped into the icy water filled with shards of ice, hoping it would jolt me awake.
The water was freezing to the bone, yet I couldn't wake up. I struggled fiercely, feeling as if I were drowning.
Suddenly, the sound of galloping hooves and cries echoed near my ears with great intensity. This sound had haunted me every night since I received that accessory at Fourth Uncle's house.
Hearing that sound calmed me down instantly; I knew I was still dreaming and just needed to wake up.
With that thought in mind, I slowly opened my eyes.
It was bright outside.
I felt an immense weight on my body and looked down to find Brother Wang, that Bastard, sprawled across my chest like an octopus. No wonder I felt like I was being pressed down by a ghost! Moreover, he had wrapped himself up in the blanket completely, which explained why I felt frozen like a dog in my dream.
Frustrated, I kicked Brother Wang's leg.
He rubbed his eyes and opened them. Upon seeing me, he grinned and said, "Wife, go back to sleep... Ah! What the hell! Who are you?"
Brother Wang suddenly sat up, looking at me, then slapped his forehead as he remembered that we weren't at home but in a haunted house.
I kicked Brother Wang, saying, "You rolled up the blanket and left me freezing all night. You're such a pig." I got out of bed as I spoke.
After a night of rest, I felt much better.
I chatted a bit with this Buddy and learned that his name was Xia. He had been driving a taxi for over ten years. Although he seemed a bit silly, he was actually quite kind-hearted.
Xia rubbed his eyes and said, "You really scared me. I didn't expect we would see the sun today."
I ignored him and climbed out of bed, surveying the room. It was quite shabby, but relatively tidy. There were several photos of Wang Shao on the walls, all taken during her high school days. They were simple yet she looked quite beautiful. I didn't have time to examine Wang Shao's appearance; my eyes wandered around the room, hoping to find her belongings.
In the corner was a pile of books. I walked over and opened a box, rummaging through it.
Xia got out of bed and saw me searching through the box. He whispered, "Hey, what are you doing?"
"I'm looking for a keepsake," I replied. Then I spotted a beautifully bound philosophy book titled "God's Eye." I took it out and quickly tore off the cover, revealing a card from the Industrial and Commercial Bank inside, along with a USB security token. I didn't pay much attention to them and quickly stuffed both items into my pocket.
Seeing my actions, Xia's mouth dropped open. He grabbed my collar and whispered urgently, "Hurry up! What are you really doing here? Are you a thief?"
I pushed Xia's hand away. "What do you know? I'll tell you later; I'm really Wang Shao's classmate."
Xia snorted and looked at the photos of Wang Shao on the wall, muttering, "How could such a beautiful girl die? By the way, where's her mother? Is that zombie old lady her mom?"
As soon as he finished speaking, there was a series of knocks on the door followed by an eerie voice saying, "Get up! Wash up; it's time to eat."
Xia and I exchanged glances. But since it was daytime now, even if this old lady was a zombie, we weren't too scared.
I opened the door and saw the old lady from last night standing in front of us, looking at us. Her hair was gray, her facial muscles were completely still, and her complexion was somewhat waxy.
Although she was old, I could still tell that this old lady was indeed Wang Shao's mother, as their features were quite similar.
I said, "Auntie, I'm sorry for the trouble. We came here in such a rush last night and didn't have a chance to inform you beforehand."
"It's alright. I'm happy you could come," the old lady replied, her voice eerie, and her lips didn't move at all; her facial muscles remained unmoving.
Xia Yi hid behind me in fear.
I felt a bit panicked too. Could this big white figure really be a zombie?
The old lady wiped her eyes; in reality, she hadn't shed any tears. Still, she said, "Wang Shao just left like that. As her mother, there were many times I wished I could just not live anymore. But seeing my daughter’s friends come to visit makes me feel quite happy inside, really."
Looking at Wang Shao's mother, a sudden thought struck me. I slapped my forehead and asked, "Auntie, is something wrong with your face? Have you been ill?"
Wang Shao's mother nodded. "When Wang Shao died, I cried so hard. That night was cold; I sat by her grave and cried all night long. As a result, I ended up with this zombie-like face. I went to the hospital, and the doctor said it was facial paralysis combined with trigeminal neuralgia. They only prescribed me anti-inflammatory medication. I've been taking it for two months now, but it hasn't helped. I wanted to go to a large hospital, but I don't have the money. So here I am."
Xia Yi listened and sighed in relief as she stepped out from behind me. "Oh my gosh! You scared me to death last night! I thought you were a zombie... Haha! By the way, what are we having for breakfast, Auntie? Later I'll take you to the traditional Chinese medicine hospital in town; there's an old doctor there who specializes in difficult and strange illnesses."
Wang Shao's mother thanked us repeatedly.
I thought for a moment; this facial paralysis seemed difficult to treat but not impossible. With acupuncture combined with herbal medicine, she could recover about eighty to ninety percent.
I said, "Auntie, I'm Wang Shao's classmate; I'm studying traditional Chinese medicine. After we eat, I'll go into town to buy some things and come back to treat you. You caught a chill while crying by the grave; don't worry."
Upon hearing this, Wang Shao's mother became even more enthusiastic towards Xia Yi and me, occasionally wiping her eyes.
I let out a sigh of relief along with Xia. It seemed that I had scared myself for no reason yesterday.
The three of us had breakfast together. I knew that Wang Shao had a younger brother, so I asked where he was. Wang Shao's mother explained that her son was in high school and only came home once a month.
Wang Shao's family was in a difficult financial situation; their house was in disrepair, and there was even less furniture inside. It was understandable, considering that Wang Shao's father had passed away early, leaving everything to rely on Wang Shao's mother alone. With two students in the family, it was truly not easy to make ends meet.
As Xia ate his noodles, he felt a pang of sadness. Not wanting to dwell on money matters, he asked, "Auntie, when Song Fei and I came yesterday, your village was all dark. What was going on? Also, did you have a murder case here?"
Wang Shao's mother nodded and spoke softly, "There really was a murder case, and it involved a Demon Slayer who has taken several people's hearts. Recently, in our village, as soon as night falls, every household locks their doors tightly. Those who can leave have gone into hiding, while those who can't only have the option to secure their doors. That's why I told you not to turn on the lights; that ghost is really terrifying and has caused quite a disturbance in the village."
Xia put down his bowl and looked at Wang Shao's mother. "Is it... really true that there are ghosts?"
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