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墨書 Inktalez
I was carefully examining the booklet left for me by Yin Li, which detailed the Void Spirit. Suddenly, the door to the study was pushed open, and I turned to see Hu Fang standing there. I felt a surge of joy; ever since the funeral, she had moved into my home but had locked herself away for days, refusing to come out. No matter how much Li Zhisheng and I urged her, she wouldn’t open the door, and she hadn’t eaten or drunk anything for several days. I was genuinely worried about what would happen if this continued.
Before I could say anything, Hu Fang swayed slightly and whispered, “Do you have any water…” I quickly replied, “Yes, yes! Just wait a moment.” I helped her to the sofa in the living room and poured her a glass of water. She snatched the cup from my hands and gulped it down in one go.
Fearing she might choke, I patted her back gently. “Take your time; no one is trying to take it from you.” Looking at her haggard face, I asked with concern, “Do you want something to eat?” Upon hearing the word “food,” she immediately turned her face towards me and nodded vigorously. Seeing her like that made me unable to hold back a laugh.
I chuckled, “Just sit tight; I’ll go get you something to eat right now.” As I rummaged through the cupboards, I found that all we had were some noodles and a few eggs. For the past few days, Li Zhisheng and I had been eating takeout or instant noodles, so we hadn’t prepared any proper meals. I called out to the living room, “We only have noodles; is that okay?”
But there was no response from Hu Fang. Instead, I heard the sound of the door opening, followed by Li Zhisheng’s voice: “Oh—there are noodles? Save me a bowl!” Realizing he was back, I glanced at the noodles in my hand and said, “There’s not enough for both of you; it’s just enough for Hu Fang. If you want some, go buy your own.” At this point, Li Zhisheng must have noticed Hu Fang sitting in the living room because he didn’t say anything further.
After eating and taking a shower, Hu Fang seemed to shake off her previous gloominess and appeared much more spirited. Then Li Zhisheng began recounting what had happened earlier that day. “I went out on some errands today and passed by an exhibition hall. I decided to take a look inside. To my surprise, I found this…” He held up his phone for me to see.
I took his phone and looked closely at the image displayed on it; my eyes widened in astonishment. It was a stone tablet with a design identical to the one on my chest. However, the accompanying annotation didn’t mention ‘Hao’ but rather ‘Nine Death Star Map.’ Confused, I quickly asked Li Zhisheng what it meant. He smiled and explained, “At first, I thought what you have on your chest was just ‘Nine Stars,’ but after our encounter with the Four Corners Game, it became clear that it’s not just Nine Stars but Hao as well. When I stumbled upon this item today, everything clicked into place. Look closely at the bottom of that stone tablet; there’s a very fine inscription.”
I zoomed in on the photo and indeed saw a very fine line of text at the bottom; however, it wasn’t in simplified Chinese characters and was completely unreadable to me. “It looks like there’s some kind of symbol or writing there; do you know what it means?” Upon hearing my question, Li Zhisheng paused thoughtfully as if considering how best to explain.
After a moment of silence, he began: “In this world, there are two extremes: yin and yang; in human life, there are two paths: life and death. Naturally, these Nine Stars also encompass life and death. There exists a book that records matters related to these Nine Stars; I've only heard older generations mention it before. The Nine Lives Star Map allows living beings to extend their lives while the Nine Death Star Map is used to awaken the dead. What you possess should be the Nine Lives Star Map; however, that female ghost you encountered earlier indicates its function…”
His sudden explanation filled me with unease. First came the Box, then being marked with Hao Yin; now this imprint had changed as well. My intuition told me that I was gradually approaching the truth behind all of this. But why was this item being showcased in an exhibition hall? What exactly was its origin?
With these thoughts swirling in my mind, I interjected: “Since your exhibition hall has this display, let’s stop guessing blindly and go ask the curator directly for clarification!”
Li Zhisheng continued explaining without noticing my distraction; after my interruption, he glanced at Hu Fang who had fallen asleep beside us after eating and said softly: “So just us two then?”
“Yeah, it seems like Hu Fang needs her rest,” I replied before we set off towards the exhibition hall Li Zhisheng mentioned.
Upon arrival, I realized it wasn’t at all like the large exhibition halls I had imagined but instead exuded an antique charm. The modest exhibition space housed dozens of artifacts—bronze wares, jade pieces, iron tools—most of which were unfamiliar to me. Li Zhisheng seemed uninterested in any of the other exhibits as he led me straight toward a display case tucked away in a corner.
I leaned over the counter to take a closer look. It was indeed the stone slab that Li Zhisheng had shown me on his phone, but seeing it in person felt different. The slab was predominantly a deep black color, and every line appeared incredibly smooth, seamlessly connected without any visible breaks. The overall effect was fluid and harmonious. Although I couldn't quite grasp the intricacies of its craftsmanship, if it were made by ancient hands, it was certainly not the work of an ordinary person.
"A broken stone slab, yet crafted with such skill. If this was just for aesthetics, then the person who made it must be insane..." I muttered to myself as I examined the slab. Suddenly, a deep voice came from behind me: "You're not wrong; the person who made this is indeed a lunatic."
I quickly turned around to see a slightly plump middle-aged man standing there. He leaned on a cane and wore a black tailcoat. He smiled at me and then glanced at Li Zhisheng. "Is this your friend?" I looked back at Li Zhisheng, who remained silent but nodded slightly.
Noticing that they seemed to know each other, I introduced myself briefly out of politeness. He chuckled and said, "I'm the curator here. My surname is Si, with 'Tu' as my given name. It's the character for death, pronounced in the fourth tone, like 'master and disciple.'"
I thought I must have misheard him and asked in confusion, "Death? Did I hear that right?" He laughed softly: "Almost everyone reacts like that when they hear my surname. Yes, you heard correctly. It's an ancient surname that's rarely used and even less known."
I was intrigued by this revelation, but he seemed unfazed. "I heard from your friend that you have a pattern on you similar to the 'Nine Death Star Map'?" I nodded in agreement and unbuttoned a few buttons of my jacket to reveal part of the pattern for him to see, asking if he knew its origins.
He gestured for both me and Li Zhisheng to follow him and led us into a room at the back of the exhibition hall filled with various ancient books.
Upon seeing the room full of books, Li Zhisheng appeared excited. He pushed me aside and eagerly approached the shelves to examine them closely. The Death Apostle didn't mind Li Zhisheng's enthusiasm; instead, he searched through the shelves and pulled out a book to present it to me. Looking down, I realized it was indeed the same book titled "Divine Anomalies Classic" that Li Zhisheng had shown me earlier.
"I've seen this book before; it doesn't contain anything related to the Nine Stars," I stated confidently as I looked at the book handed to me by the Death Apostle. He simply pushed it closer to me again: "You may have seen this book, but I'm sure you haven't seen everything it contains."
After hearing this, I took another careful look at the "Divine Anomalies Classic" in his hands. It was noticeably thicker than the one Li Zhisheng had previously shown me. The Death Apostle continued: "The first part consists of forty-seven entries, while the second part is precisely the Nine Star Chart. Therefore, the full title should be 'Divine Anomalies Classic: Nine Star Chart.'"
Upon hearing this, I quickly took the book from his hands and began flipping through it. The first half was almost identical to what Li Zhisheng had given me before. However, when I reached the latter part, I was astonished to find an entire page dedicated to illustrating a diagram—the Nine Star Diagram!
The following page also depicted the Nine Star Diagram but mirrored in orientation. As I flipped back and forth between these two diagrams, I noticed that aside from their positions and directions being reversed, they were nearly identical. I exclaimed in surprise: "Could this be what they call nine lives and nine deaths?"
The Death Apostle patted my shoulder: "It seems you've already grasped some concepts; what I know is quite similar to what you’ve discovered. But there's one thing you definitely don't know..."
His words piqued my curiosity as I paused my page-turning and looked at him earnestly: "Please go ahead." He leaned closer with his hands resting on his cane and whispered: "I know what you're currently doing; the author of this book was doing exactly the same thing as you."
I was taken aback and hurriedly asked, "The same thing? You mean..." I rolled up my sleeve to show him the blue mark on my hand. The Death Apostle withdrew slightly and straightened his posture, saying, "Indeed."
"How did you come to know this? What evidence do you have?" I furrowed my brow and pressed on. The Death Apostle pointed to the book in my hand. "The answers you seek are all within this. When Yin becomes Yang, it is the day of the earth. Above and below, only then can it be known."
After saying this, the Death Apostle turned and walked out, leaving me stunned by his words. I had thought I would find the answers I wanted here, but instead of resolving my questions, I was left with even more confusion, which frustrated me greatly.
No matter how much I pressed him afterward, he insisted he only knew that much and refused to elaborate further. My intuition told me he knew far more than he let on, but no matter what, he wouldn’t share any additional information. I couldn’t force him, so I had to let it go.
As for the book "Divine Anomalies Classic: Nine Star Chart," when I asked the Death Apostle if I could borrow it for research, he replied, "This book is as good as waste paper to me. Even if sold, no one would collect such an obscure title. Consider it a gift."
Thus, Li Zhisheng and I left the exhibition hall with the chart in hand. On the way back, Li Zhisheng seemed lost in thought about the book he had seen, chattering away about its contents without seeming to hear a word of my conversation with the Death Apostle.
I didn’t pay any attention to what Li Zhisheng was saying either. Sitting in the car on the way home, I fixated on the book in my hands, replaying the Death Apostle's words in my mind: "I know what you are doing right now; the author of this book was doing the same thing at that time." And that strange phrase: "When Yin becomes Yang, it is the day of the earth. Above and below, only then can it be known." It left me utterly perplexed.
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