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墨書 Inktalez
Hearing Hu Fang, I hurriedly stopped the car and asked, "What should we do now?" She shook her head, "We can only get out and search on foot. According to the information I've gathered, once we get close to Fengmen Village, all electronic devices will lose signal, as if something is blocking them."
I looked at the two "elders" in front of me with some concern. "That may be true, but can you both manage on foot?" Hu Fang opened the car door. "We have to manage, whether we can or not." She pulled Li Zhisheng out of the car with her.
I also got out to check the surroundings and said to them, "I've looked up some information too. That village is located in a gorge and built against the mountains. If we're walking, it looks like we'll have to climb."
With that, the three of us started making our way up the slope toward the Mountain. Since Hu Fang and Li Zhisheng were both extremely frail, I had to carry all of our luggage by myself. The mountain path was rugged and steep; they needed to support each other just to make it up.
Since I couldn't possibly carry them both up the Mountain, I walked ahead, trying my best to clear away the bushes in their path to make it easier for them. Suddenly, I stepped on a loose stone, slipped, and fell to the ground. My neck and face were scratched by the bushes, leaving painful marks that made me grimace.
Seeing me fall, Hu Fang asked with concern from behind, "Where did you fall? Are you okay?" I stood up and brushed off the dust from my clothes. "I'm fine; just scraped a bit." At that moment, I noticed a piece of wood lying on the ground that resembled the mark on my hand—it looked quite peculiar. My curiosity piqued, I picked it up and put it in my pocket before continuing forward.
Not long after, I spotted some buildings ahead—mud brick houses and stone structures. The windows and doors were all wooden but had fallen into disrepair over the years. "This must be Fengmen Village," I muttered before turning back to shout at Hu Fang and Li Zhisheng who were trailing behind, "We've arrived! Up ahead should be Fengmen Village."
With that, I set down my luggage and helped them both up. Although Li Zhisheng appeared older than Hu Fang, being a man meant he still had more strength than her when I assisted him.
Hu Fang looked around anxiously and asked, "What do we do next? What's our plan?" I smiled slightly. "We find someone. This Fengmen Village may be a ghost village, but my intuition tells me there must still be someone living here. There are thirty-nine houses in total; even if we check each one thoroughly, it shouldn't be too difficult."
Hu Fang seemed puzzled by this and muttered under her breath, "Where would a ghost village find people..." Li Zhisheng let out a soft hum. I thought he might have an objection but then remembered he couldn't even recall that poem; asking him wouldn't help anyway. Just as I was about to start searching house by house, Li Zhisheng suddenly grabbed my arm.
I turned around and asked, "What's wrong?" He didn't say anything but just shook his head at me; perhaps he didn't want me to go alone. Frowning at him, I said, "Now that we're here, we have to try even if there's danger ahead. Besides, look—it’s getting dark. If we don’t hurry up, we might be in trouble." With that, I pushed his hand away.
Afterward, I set up a simple tent for them to wait while I ventured alone into Fengmen Village. As soon as I stepped into the village, an icy chill washed over me. This chill wasn't from the cold; it was because of the oppressive Yin Qi in this village—it felt as if it pierced through my very bones.
I wrapped my clothes tighter around me and glanced at the sun, which was about to set. The dim yellow sunlight spilled over the village, making it seem as if the entire place was about to enter another world. Through the broken door, I looked at the dark doorways, as if something might crawl out from the shadowy corners within at any moment.
The mountain village, built against the hills, was eerily silent; there were no sounds of insects or birds. A gust of wind blew through, causing the dilapidated wooden windows to creak. As I walked, I scanned my surroundings, hoping to find traces of human existence. However, contrary to my hopes, aside from some animal bones and portraits hanging at the doorways, there were no signs that any living person had ever been here.
After searching around for a while, I began to feel a sense of despair. "According to the poem, 'Prosperous Scene' seals the door, 'Danwei' seeks a person. If I'm not mistaken, the latter part is likely an acrostic poem, and the name of the person I'm looking for should be 'Sheng Dan.' Furthermore, if I seek based on the end, that means this person should be at the tail end of 'Fengmen Village,' right?"
As I furrowed my brow and walked, deep in thought, I suddenly saw Hu Fang supporting Li Zhisheng as they slowly approached me. It turned out I had circled back to where I had entered before.
Seeing me return, Hu Fang hurriedly came up and asked, "Did you find any clues?" I shook my head helplessly. "Did I get it wrong? Is this not Fengmen Village?" "This is indeed Fengmen Village," she said, pointing to a patch of weeds nearby where a stone tablet stood. The words "Wind Gate" were faintly inscribed on it.
Just as I was feeling puzzled, Li Zhisheng's hand suddenly jerked violently. He trembled and said, "I... I can't take it anymore. We need to go down the mountain to the hospital!"
Looking at Li Zhisheng's trembling hand and his gloomy expression made me realize something was off all along. It felt as if a heavy stone was pressing down on my heart. At that moment, I finally understood.
I slowly walked over to Hu Fang and whispered in her ear, "Step aside and try to get far away. No matter what happens later, don't come over. Trust me!"
Hu Fang looked at me with surprise but soon returned to her usual expression. I moved past her and took hold of Li Zhisheng with one arm while my other hand slowly reached into my pocket.
Once Hu Fang had moved a bit further away, I suddenly pulled out an object from my pocket and placed it in my palm before slamming it onto Li Zhisheng's chest. He was taken aback by my action; before he could gather his thoughts, I quickly turned and kicked his leg. As he stumbled from the impact, I pressed down harder with the hand that had struck his chest, forcing him down onto the ground.
Li Zhisheng lay on his back beneath me, looking bewildered as he exclaimed, "Shen Shen Xu! What are you doing? I helped you; it's one thing not to help me back, but why are you trying to harm me now?" His face showed confusion as he glanced toward Hu Fang in the distance and shouted at her, "Hu Fang! Shen Xu is possessed by a ghost! Come save me!"
I glared at him with fierce eyes and smirked as I replied, "Are you still planning to play this out?! I've felt something was off all along; that's why I had you both go to the airport first before coming here—to prepare for this!" Pressing down hard on Li Zhisheng's chest again, I continued, "Soul Separation Spell—surely you recognize it! When a living person is marked by it, they gradually age; as for what happens when a ghost is marked... well, I think you already know! Who told you to do this?!"
Li Zhisheng seemed a bit flustered after hearing my words, but he was still unwilling to back down, continuing to wave his arms in the direction of Hu Fang. Meanwhile, Hu Fang remained where he was, watching us from a distance as I had instructed.
Seeing that this person refused to admit anything, I pressed my knee firmly against his flailing arm and said, "Do you remember when you brought me that letter from Wang Xian? Although I found it suspicious at the time, thinking back now, Wang Xian didn't commit suicide; you killed him!"
I tightened my grip on Li Zhisheng, who was trying to break free, but due to the fear of the Soul Separation Spell in my hand, he didn't dare struggle too violently. Seeing no hope in calling for Hu Fang's help, he put on a pitiful expression and pleaded with me, "I helped you complete the Four Corners Game, and now you're trying to harm me? This is ungrateful!"
I let out a cold laugh. "It was Li Zhisheng who helped me complete the Four Corners Game, not you! If I'm not mistaken, you must have been lurking within Li Zhisheng ever since Qiangzi died, waiting for an opportunity to seize my Void Spirit. The subsequent letters only confirm this. When I received the second letter, I suspected it wasn't written by a living person because a living person simply couldn't do it! And the third letter—the one where you caused Wang Xian's death—think about it: someone died right under the police's noses. Wouldn't there be someone guarding the scene? Would it be that easy for you to take away crucial evidence? You manipulated Wang Xian into trying to kill me just so he would die. Then you took the chance to lead me to the hospital, intending to use the hospital's Yin Qi along with your pre-prepared Guiding Wood and the effects of the Soul Separation Spell to drag me into the Underworld and strip away my Void Spirit. But what you never expected was that another Evil Spirit would ruin your plans! You thought you were invulnerable, but just now your actions reminded me of all the details! Because of the Soul Separation Spell's effects, you're on the verge of death yourself, yet you still want to go to the hospital?! Tell me, which hospital can cure a curse?!"
After hearing this, Li Zhisheng became agitated and hurriedly defended himself. "Look, I've also entered the Underworld; don't I have a Soul Separation Spell on me too?! If I've been possessed by a ghost, then that ghost must have been shattered by the Soul Separation Spell!" Seeing that he still held onto some hope, I replied, "It was Li Zhisheng's soul that entered the Underworld, not yours! They haven't reached their lifespan yet; they don't belong to Vengeful Spirits. Therefore, the Soul Separation Spell didn't kill them immediately. And you took advantage of this fact. I'll give you one last chance: tell me who made you do this and then get out of Li Zhisheng's body!"
At that moment, Li Zhisheng's expression suddenly turned ferocious, his voice transforming into a hellish Evil Spirit's roar as he bellowed without daring to move an inch. He glared at me with blood-red eyes and said, "Your friend has already been marked with a curse; if he's marked again, he's done for! Can you really bring yourself to do it?! Let go of me; maybe I can save him!"
I contemptuously curled my lips into a smirk. "Make a deal with a ghost? Forget it; he's practically dead already anyway. Besides, he's already been to the Underworld once; what's stopping him from going again? And this time you'll accompany him!" I gritted my teeth as I spat out those last two words with intense Killing Intent in my eyes.
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