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墨書 Inktalez
I was afraid that Agen hadn't understood, so I added, "Quick, untie the red rope from the rooster!"
Agen was completely stunned, standing there motionless like a puppet. Having experienced a few strange events myself, I could accept it. I understood Agen's reaction! But the situation was urgent, and I had to shout at him!
"Agen! Damn it, Sister Lian is in danger!"
As a simple farmer, Agen had never encountered such a scene and was already scared stiff. It was only then that he snapped back to reality. In his panic, his hands trembled as he tried to untie the rope from the rooster's feet. However, the red rope around its beak turned a living knot into a dead one. He gasped for breath, and with a sudden jerk, he let the rooster fly away. With its beak blocked, it couldn't make a sound.
The shadow of White Soul behind me seemed startled when a rooster flapped towards it. Loosening its grip, I seized the opportunity to grab a bamboo nail and drove it in with all my might. White Soul returned like lightning, and Sister Lian's body twitched slightly.
"Son of a bitch, give me back my Brother Huzi! Agen, quickly cover Sister Lian with Autumn Leaf!" At this moment, Agen seemed to regain his senses and hurriedly pulled out a yellow leaf from his pocket to cover Sister Lian's eyes.
Autumn Leaf wasn't anything special; it was just an ordinary leaf picked from the first batch that fell on the day of the autumn equinox, weighing exactly three taels and three fen. As the Ancestors said, "A single leaf falling signifies autumn!" Autumn belongs to metal, which carries heavy Killing Intent. Trees sense the earth's energy and shed their leaves to avoid being eroded by Killing Intent, thus evading the pestilence of spirits. Hence the ancient saying goes, "A leaf obstructs the eye, preventing one from seeing Mount Tai." If someone's eyes are covered with Autumn Leaf, their soul can be completely hidden; after three days, even Demons would be deceived.
Seeing that the soul was gone, the dark figure clearly panicked. It let out a fierce howl filled with resentment and lunged directly at me, its fingernails suddenly extending over ten centimeters long, glossy black with a metallic sheen.
"What the hell! Why is everything dirty coming at me?" I retreated several steps; nothing was faster than this Dirty Thing. Lu Jianguo saw this and pulled out his mountain whip, cracking it twice at that Evil Spirit. The whip struck it and sent up clouds of white smoke.
The Evil Spirit staggered back several steps. With the faint moonlight illuminating it, I finally got a clear look at what it was. It had disheveled hair and half its nose was missing; its upper lip had a gash. Its face was pale without any vitality, blood-red eyes filled with resentment, and its tongue extended long. It wore several pieces of human skin as clothing—bloody and gruesome.
"This is human skin blood clothing!! Could this be the Jealous Woman Ghost? This thing is deadly!" Lu Jianguo frowned upon seeing it; his face darkened immediately. "The mountain whip hasn't been used for years!"
According to Mausoleum Secrets, the Jealous Woman Ghost was extremely jealous in life; abandoned by her husband, she died in rage. After death, she transformed into a vengeful spirit that particularly hated men. Any young man who fell under her Charm Technique would have their entire skin stripped off to make clothing for her to wear. When she killed her tenth victim, she could walk in daylight; upon killing her hundredth victim, even Talismans and enchanted water would no longer frighten her.
"Light the lamps!"
I quickly responded by taking out seven iron lamps from my backpack. Chanting an incantation while pointing my finger at them caused all seven lamps to ignite simultaneously.
Lu Jianguo wielded his mountain whip and stepped forward confidently. With his right hand holding the whip and his left hand extending like a sword pointing at its tip—a technique known as "Using Sword as Whip." Only those who reached mastery could execute such moves effortlessly. I watched in awe; his presence felt as imposing as Mount Tai or the Big Dipper.
Clearly intimidated by this aura, the Jealous Woman Ghost kept retreating; even the chilling wind began to dissipate throughout the forest. Lu Jianguo stepped lightly over broken ground strewn with weeds and rocks as if walking on flat ground. He sprinted towards the Jealous Woman Ghost; crouching slightly before leaping up high, he thrust his whip at her. To my astonishment, sparks of electricity erupted from the whip as it struck her; she was sent flying amidst swirling blue electric light while her body twisted and convulsed! Several pieces of human skin clothing fell off her.
With each strike of the mountain whip, the seven iron lamps flared up dramatically—the flames reaching three feet high. As Lu Jianguo swung his whip up and down, those lamps flickered brightly and dimly in response.
Agen was already stunned; the rooster was frightened by the flickering lights, frozen in place on top of Agen's head, not daring to move an inch.
"Get that chicken's beak off, you idiot!" I shouted at Agen, who seemed to have lost his wits. I struck him with the Peach Wood Sword, and it was only after the heavy blow that he snapped back to reality and forcefully tore off the red string binding the rooster's beak.
Cluck, cluck, cluck!
A series of frantic clucking sounds erupted, causing the Jealous Woman Ghost to curl up in fear. The rooster suddenly lunged at her, scratching wildly like it was trying to catch insects. The Jealous Woman Ghost let out a piercing scream. Lu Jianguo struck down with the mountain whip like a rain of blows, forcing the Jealous Woman Ghost to revert to her original form.
Typically, ghosts appear in the most tragic form they had before death. When a soul is about to dissipate, it often returns to its usual appearance from life, regaining some of its intelligence.
"Er Ya?"
Seeing the Jealous Woman Ghost return to her true self, Agen seemed less afraid.
"Agen bro, I don't want Soul Shattering."
"Heh! Even if I were willing to let you go, would these dozen or so owners of human skin let you off?"
"Master! I didn't kill them. I'm innocent! Those dresses are so beautiful! Please give them back to me!"
"Is this what you mean?" Lu Jianguo teased as he lifted several pieces of human skin clothing with his whip. Upon seeing them, the Jealous Woman Ghost screamed several times and shook her head repeatedly. It turned out that a ghost's illusion could only deceive those deeply obsessed—similar to hysteria. To outsiders, what they saw was the true form of these items. It seemed that a more powerful ghost had transformed the human skin clothing into beautiful garments, tricking this Jealous Woman Ghost into thinking they were new dresses.
"Don't try to argue; you, Jealous Woman Ghost, wearing human skin clothing, deserve your fate!"
"I really didn't kill these people!"
"Stop defending yourself; it's time for Soul Shattering!" Lu Jianguo's face darkened as he recited incantations and formed hand gestures. He spat a drop of blood from his tongue onto the whip and struck down hard. "Hmph! Even if I turn into an Evil Spirit, I won't let you off..." The Jealous Woman Ghost let out a chilling scream as she transformed into black smoke and vanished without a trace! Afterwards, we recited a section of the Rebirth Mantra together; even though she was an Evil Spirit, the grievances of this world still needed resolution.
After much effort, we managed to summon Sister Lian's soul back but needed three days to deceive the ghosts. Thus, we took turns carrying Sister Lian home. She lived alone in Mountain Hollow with only her elderly mother at home; though the house was bare, it was kept clean and tidy. Understanding the situation, Agen saw tears in her mother's eyes as she repeatedly thanked us in her local dialect. We reminded them not to remove Autumn Leaf within three days; they nodded vigorously in agreement.
After resting for a night, it was already May twelfth the next day. We were anxious; the day for Spirit Offering was approaching fast, yet this strange matter still lacked clarity. We sought out Agen and asked him about the story of Er Ya.
The story takes place six months ago.
After working in the city for a while, Er Ya returned to Baisha Village, staying cooped up at home, wearing a dress and giggling at herself in the mirror, refusing to step outside no matter how much anyone called her. The two sisters, Er Ya and Da Ya, were quite different; Da Ya was ugly and short, while Er Ya was exceptionally beautiful, one of the most stunning girls in Baisha Village. Three months later, Er Ya's mother was diagnosed with a terminal illness and decided to arrange marriages for both Da Ya and Er Ya. Er Ya caused a scene, suddenly acting as if she had transformed into a different person. Then, a Nun arrived in the village. Da Ya was said to be made of human wax, her bones could be ground into Cinnabar Powder, which was believed to grant longevity—something that Er Ya's family remained unaware of.
Before long, suitors for Da Ya began to appear one after another. Er Ya constantly urged her mother and even offered her own jewelry and savings from work as a dowry for her sister. Eventually, Da Ya had a grand wedding, but not long after, news spread that Da Ya had hanged herself.
Whether she truly hanged herself is debatable. However, it was said that her death was gruesome; those in the know revealed that her situation was dire, and ultimately, her body could not even be found.
Her mother fell ill and soon passed away as well.
Yet, Er Ya seemed to remain cheerful, spending her days trying on different dresses in front of the mirror.
Later on, Er Ya also disappeared.
Then rumors began to circulate about a seductive fox spirit in the mountains that lured young men. In Baisha Village, six or seven young men had already died in the back mountains; when they were discovered, their skins had been stripped off and their innards eaten.
We listened to the story with sympathy for Da Ya and frustration at Er Ya's foolishness. Of course, we knew that Er Ya wasn't mad; she was dead—transformed into an Evil Spirit. A spirit that seduced young men, skinning them alive and devouring their innards—unforgivable and deserving of death!
Lu Jianguo frowned after Agen finished the story. "No, that's not right. Er Ya isn't the real culprit!"
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