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墨書 Inktalez
The next day, everyone woke up around noon. After having lunch, the four of them set off for the train station. Once they passed through ticket inspection and entered the station, they stood quietly on the platform, waiting for the train to arrive.
After a moment, an announcement echoed through the speakers: "Train K1408 is about to arrive. Please stand behind the yellow line." As the voice faded, passengers on the platform turned their gazes toward the direction of the incoming train.
With a loud whistle, the train rolled into the station. "Which carriage are we in?" Hu Fang asked, lifting her bag.
Meng Zhuang raised his ticket and replied, "Carriage four." With that, they made their way into carriage four.
It wasn't peak travel season for tourism or return trips, so the air inside the carriage was quite fresh, unlike during the Spring Festival when it was filled with various unpleasant odors.
Following the corridor, they quickly found their berths. I had a lower bunk, Hu Fang was in the middle bunk above me, Meng Zhuang was above her, and Li Zhisheng occupied the lower bunk across from me.
After settling their belongings, the four of them sat on the lower bunks chatting. "How long until we arrive?" I asked Meng Zhuang. He glanced at his watch. "It's two-thirty now. If there are no delays, we should arrive around this time tomorrow. But the train only goes to Guiyang; after that, we need to transfer to a bus and then walk a bit to reach our destination."
"That's so troublesome..." Hu Fang complained. Hearing her, Meng Zhuang looked a bit embarrassed and said, "There's nothing we can do; it's a poor mountain village."
However, Li Zhisheng didn't seem bothered by it: "I'm not put off by the hassle; I'm just wondering what we should do during this time. We don't have any playing cards—are we just going to chat aimlessly?"
Hu Fang pulled out her brand-new phone and waved it around: "We can play on our phones! If all else fails, we can just sleep." With that, she began fiddling with her phone.
"Since we're out here, we might as well treat it like a trip. Playing on your phone is so uninteresting..." I said as I snatched Hu Fang's phone away. She exclaimed and reached out to grab it back.
Seeing us in a playful tussle, Li Zhisheng intervened: "Alright, alright! We're adults now; stop messing around..." He shot me a glance that suggested I should return Hu Fang's phone.
Reluctantly, I handed over the phone. Hu Fang huffed as she snatched it back from my hands. Li Zhisheng continued, "Since there's nothing else to do, how about I tell you all a story?"
"What? Are you going to tell us about your ancestors?!" I exclaimed with excitement.
"Something like that," he replied with a grin. "But it's not entirely about them. You see, my ancestors were Yin Masters, so they encountered quite a few unusual events. However, most of what they did is not something they were willing to share with me. What I know is only a small part of it—most of it I've learned by secretly digging through their notes. The story I'm about to tell you isn't directly related to them..."
After listening, even though this matter had nothing to do with Li Zhisheng, I was still quite interested and looked at him, saying, "It doesn't matter if it's not your family's business; as long as it's interesting, that's all that counts. We're just passing the time anyway."
Hu Fang and Meng Zhuang also turned their expectant gazes toward Li Zhisheng. He cleared his throat and began, "The story goes like this..." With that, Li Zhisheng started to tell his tale.
Several years ago, I wasn't as wealthy and free as I am now; in fact, there were many times when I was so busy that I didn't even have time to eat.
One night, I was in the office working late with a colleague on a contract that was due the next day. Since I hadn't eaten all day, by midnight, I could no longer bear my hunger and asked my colleague if he had anything to eat.
He casually tossed a whole box of chocolates at me. "Here, take this to tide you over." I was curious why a grown man would keep an entire box of heart-shaped chocolates in the office, so I asked him, "Why do you have so many love chocolates here? Come on, admit it—did some girl give them to you?"
Coincidentally, it was February 14th, Valentine's Day. Suddenly remembering this, I teased him further, "Oh, I get it! A girl confessed her feelings to you yesterday. You must be quite the charmer!"
However, my colleague's expression darkened at my words. "Don't mention it. I had been dating a girl for several years, but we broke up yesterday..." He paused his relentless typing.
"After dating for so long, how could it end just like that? Was there some misunderstanding?" I asked with concern. He sighed deeply. "Well, since I'm already feeling down and have no one else to vent to, I might as well tell you..."
He fell silent for a moment before continuing. "Yesterday was our five-year anniversary. I had planned to propose to her and had bought roses and chocolates; I even had a ring ready. That night, I wanted to surprise her without telling her in advance and went straight to her house. But when I arrived at her door..."
He covered half of his face with one hand, revealing an expression of pain as if he were unwilling to relive that experience. Understanding what had happened without him needing to say more, I tried to comfort him. "There are plenty of fish in the sea; let the past be the past. Don't dwell on it too much; try to look on the bright side."
He shook his head and continued, "You can't imagine how it feels when you're outside the door and hear your loved one with another man..." His voice choked slightly under the light as tears welled up in his eyes.
My colleague was usually very strong-willed; he bore everything himself. Having known him for several years, I'd never seen him cry or heard him mention anything sad. But this time, I knew he must have suffered a tremendous blow.
Silently placing the box of chocolates back in front of him, I said, "If you're really feeling bad, you can go home. No one feels good about this kind of thing; besides, we've almost finished the contract anyway—I can wrap up the rest myself."
"I'd just be alone at home; it's better to stay here and work with you. At least there's someone around so I won't feel too suppressed." He picked up the box of chocolates and prepared to throw them in the trash but then remembered that I hadn't eaten yet and handed them back to me. "Are you really not going to eat? If not, I'll throw them away."
I almost refused again when my stomach unexpectedly growled loudly. Hearing it made him change from his earlier gloominess into a smile as he handed me the chocolates again. "Go ahead and eat; it's fine! I'll eat with you..." He took one from the box and popped it into his mouth.
Seeing this, I decided to stop being polite. While munching on chocolate, I returned to my work.
Time flew by, and before I knew it, it was two in the morning. I stretched at my desk and turned to my colleague behind me, saying, "Thanks for your hard work. We finally finished it. Let me treat you to some late-night snacks and a few beers. Are you in?"
He had already shut down his computer and walked over to pat me on the shoulder. "Sure, I was just wondering how to get home now." With that, I closed my computer as well.
Just as we were about to turn off the lights and leave, a sudden roar from the printer broke the silence.
"Did you forget to turn off the printer after using it?" I asked, puzzled. He looked just as confused as I felt. "I didn't use it at all..."
We exchanged glances, staring at the printer working away in the darkness. "Could it be malfunctioning?" I turned the lights back on.
"If it is malfunctioning, we might have to work overtime again..." he said while walking toward the printer, and I followed closely behind him.
As we reached the printer, he suddenly stopped. Not paying attention, I bumped into him. "What's wrong?" I leaned over to see what was happening with the printer.
The printer's indicator light was flashing erratically, but the plug wasn't even connected. Colorful photos were being ejected one after another.
In those photos was a young and beautiful woman standing under a willow tree, striking a seductive pose while flashing a sweet smile at the camera.
At that moment, standing next to my colleague, I could clearly feel his body trembling slightly. "What’s going on? Do you know something?" My intuition kicked in since I had started delving into supernatural matters; something told me this situation was more complicated than it seemed.
But my colleague appeared not to hear my question; he just stared blankly at the photos, shaking.
Suddenly, the images coming out of the printer began to change. Although the overall content remained the same, it seemed like the perspective was gradually closing in on the girl in the photo.
With each photo that emerged, the viewpoint drew closer until her sweet smile completely filled the frame.
Yet the printer didn’t stop there; it continued its work. At that moment, my colleague seemed to sense something amiss. He stepped back slowly, avoiding me as if trying to escape from the girl in the photo.
In the photos that followed, the perspective did not zoom in any further; instead, the girl's face gradually revealed deep wounds, so severe that the bright red flesh beneath the torn skin was visible.
As the wounds multiplied, the girl's facial expression began to twist into a grotesque snarl...
In the end, her lacerated face seemed as if it would burst out of the photo, displaying an expression of extreme ferocity.
Suddenly, a crisp sound echoed as the window opened slowly by itself, without anyone touching it. A gust of wind rushed in from outside, scattering the photos all over the floor.
My colleague looked at the pictures scattered on the ground, his face reflecting sheer terror. At that moment, the lights in the office went out abruptly. The sudden darkness startled me as well.
In the pitch black, I called out my colleague's name repeatedly, but there was only silence around me, interrupted only by the howling wind pouring in through the window.
Just as my eyes began to adjust to the darkness, a sharp sound of shattering glass broke the stillness, like thunder striking in a clear night sky, piercing through my heart...
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