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墨書 Inktalez
In the end, Wei Ning couldn't refuse Lin Lingsu and had to agree, silently thinking to himself, "Grandpa, I only broke the rules once. It won't happen again."
"What are you mumbling about?" she asked.
"Oh, nothing."
"Hey there, handsome! Bringing your girlfriend for a photo?" The businessman assumed too much upon seeing Wei Ning and Lin Lingsu in matching couple shirts.
Wei Ning's face instantly turned bright red. Just as he was about to explain, Lin Lingsu interrupted with a teasing smile, "What? Do we look good together?"
Although Wei Ning was only twelve, he already looked like he was fifteen or sixteen. With Lin Lingsu being a girl who developed earlier, it was common for kids as young as seven or eight to call each other husband and wife. The photographer quickly chimed in, "Of course! A handsome guy with a beautiful girl!"
After the photographer finished developing the pictures and handed them over, Lin Lingsu asked for a pen and wrote something on the back of one photo. Wei Ning wanted to see it, but Lin Lingsu wouldn't let him.
As the light began to fade, Lin Lingsu glanced at her watch and exclaimed, "Oh no! My mom told me to come home for dinner. If I don't hurry back, my parents will be worried sick."
Wei Ning figured that Wang Tuozi would also be closing up shop by now and nodded in agreement. "I should head back too."
"By the way, can you come out tonight?" Lin Lingsu asked.
"Why?"
"How about we go to the cemetery tonight? Just the two of us. It’ll be so thrilling!"
Wei Ning stared at her as if she were an alien. He thought to himself, what kind of girl has such guts these days? Going to play in a cemetery at midnight?
Lin Lingsu's expression changed suddenly; she frowned and said, "You're scared? And yet you call yourself a Corpse Driver? What a fraud!"
"I'm not scared!"
"Then let's go!"
"No way."
"Coward, liar."
"Not true."
"Then go."
"Fine, I'll go."
Lin Lingsu's clever scheme had once again succeeded, and she felt a sense of pride as she said, "Alright, tonight at 1 AM, right here for the ghost date. Don't be late!"
It really was a "ghost date," Wei Ning thought.
"Ghost date, don't be late."
On his way home, Wei Ning found Wang Tuozi already there, immersed in his own world with headphones on, muttering to himself. He didn't notice Wei Ning's arrival. Wei Ning thought to himself that his master must be learning some profound incantation again. He walked over and gently tapped Wang Tuozi on the back.
"You little brat, you trying to scare me to death?" Wang Tuozi scolded while busying himself with the books on the table. "What took you so long to get back? Where have you been?"
Wei Ning casually made up an excuse and handed over today's earnings to Wang Tuozi. Instantly, Wang Tuozi's face lit up with joy, and he didn't bother to question Wei Ning further. After Wei Ning spent some time drawing fake talismans, Wang Tuozi seemed a bit tired. Before long, he yawned and washed his face with a basin of water before going to bed early.
In truth, Wang Tuozi didn't only sell fake talismans; sometimes he would close the door and make real ones by himself. However, he never let Wei Ning see them. According to Wang Tuozi's explanation, Wei Ning was still too inexperienced and unstable in his foundation; learning these things recklessly would do more harm than good.
Wei Ning had heard from Wang Tuozi that real talismans fetched high prices on the black market, but it seemed that Wang Tuozi never sold them. Wei Ning had asked about it once, and Wang Tuozi calmly explained that for someone practicing Taoism, wealth is merely an external possession—one can't take it with them when they die, so what's the point?
That night, after Wang Tuozi fell asleep, Wei Ning quietly got up and made his way to the place Lin Lingsu had arranged. She was already there and checked her watch when she saw him arrive. "You’re late, Mouse," she teased.
Lin Lingsu had changed into a pair of jeans and a white shirt that elongated her figure. While she lost some of her previous elegance, she gained a playful cuteness instead.
Lin Lingsu naturally took Wei Ning's hand and skipped along, feeling the warmth radiating from her grip, stirring an indescribable sensation within him.
However, Lin Lingsu's hand was indeed very soft, almost as if it had no bones.
People often have a tendency to gather together, even in death. In Xiangxi, where the ground is typically flat, the graves stretch out in undulating lines as far as the eye can see. To protect farmland, Grave Hill is usually built in sparsely populated areas, devoid of trees for cover, with jagged rocks scattered about. At night, it evokes all sorts of terrifying imaginations.
Tonight, the moonlight was dim and hazy, wrapping the earth in a layer of silver mist, which added an eerie aura to Grave Hill. Occasionally, wild dogs or cats would emerge, their presence imbued with an air of mystery unlike their usual demeanor.
Of course, no one would come here at night except for those who were lost or those like Wei Ning and Lin Lingsu who had foolishly wandered into this place.
Being a girl, Lin Lingsu felt her palms growing warm as she tightly held onto Wei Ning. She instinctively leaned back against him while her other hand nervously tugged at the hem of his shirt.
"Are you scared? If you are, we can head back now," she said.
Lin Lingsu straightened her waist defiantly and replied, "Who’s scared? I'm protecting you. Do you understand that?"
Wei Ning smirked slightly and said, "Really?"
The idea of wandering around Grave Hill at night had been proposed by Lin Lingsu herself; there was no way she would back down now. Even if she was scared, she would put on a brave face to avoid embarrassment in front of Wei Ning. "Don't believe me? Let's go to the very center of Grave Hill and see who dares not to go!"
"Fine! Let’s go then! Who’s afraid of whom?"
The two children were stubbornly competitive, each afraid that the other would sense their fear as they stepped deeper into the graveyard.
Suddenly, Lin Lingsu called out and stopped. "Ouch."
"What happened? Is something wrong?" Wei Ning asked.
"It's nothing; I just twisted my ankle a bit. Let's sit for a moment before we continue," she replied.
"Okay."
Grave Hill was illuminated by countless green lights, resembling cat's eyes. Lin Lingsu pointed at these green lights and asked, "Mouse, what are these things?"
"Cold Green Candle, commonly known as Ghost Fire, the residual yang energy left after a person dies."
Lin Lingsu wrinkled her cute nose and said, "Nonsense! Our teacher said that Ghost Fire is the phosphorescence produced when a person dies. You're just talking nonsense."
Wei Ning understood that discussing such matters with a modern-day "intellectual" was futile. Their preconceived notions would create a strong sense of identification that was difficult to change. Therefore, they wouldn't believe him; instead, they would consider him superstitious and uneducated.
Wei Ning simply chose to remain silent.
Suddenly, Lin Lingsu said, "Mouse, will you give me whatever I want?"
"Well..."
Lin Lingsu pointed at the stars above and declared, "I want the stars."
Wei Ning was speechless.
Lin Lingsu burst into laughter and teased, "Just kidding! You're so silly; you don't even know how to make a girl happy. When you grow up, you'll definitely have trouble finding a girlfriend!"
"How about this? You go catch some Ghost Fire for me, and we'll pretend it's the stars. How about that?"
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