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墨書 Inktalez
“Master, what happened to our classmate?” In the haze, it seemed like the Fatty was asking. With a splitting headache, a cold hand like a chicken claw rested on my wrist.
“It’s just a fever and fainting caused by the shock; it’s nothing serious,” an extremely old voice replied.
“If it’s nothing serious, why has he been unconscious for half a day and still can’t wake up?” The thin man protested. “ Bucktooth, Fatty, we need to get the boss out of here and to the hospital; we can’t just sit here!”
I struggled to open my eyes, trying to push away the pale face that was staring at me in my mind. “No need, I’m fine!”
“Amitabha!”
Beside me sat an old monk with white hair and beard. His loose skin was a copper-brown color, as if there was just a layer of skin draped over his bones. He had no muscle but wore a serene expression that made my tense nerves involuntarily relax.
The roaring sound continued. Looking through a stone hole, I could see the Golden Snake dancing wildly and hear the Thunder rumbling as heavy rain poured down.
A few people helped me sit up, and I realized we were in a stone chamber. A coarse cloth blanket covered me, and beneath me was a thick mat woven from wheat straw.
Aside from these, there was nothing else in the room. Looking outside at the lightning and thunder, rainwater occasionally blew in.
We looked like refugees hiding from a nuclear strike in a movie!
“Where is this place?” I asked.
Everyone’s faces changed color as they exchanged glances but no one answered me.
Struggling to get up, I leaned out of the stone hole to look down; it was an unknown height of sheer cliffs. Looking up revealed towering walls that seemed to rise like knives.
We were halfway up a mountain in an ancient temple.
The old monk had only one small pot and two wooden bowls, which couldn’t provide for all of us. Fortunately, we had bought some supplies before setting out—sausages, instant noodles, bread, drinks—and everyone ate and drank haphazardly.
I used my phone’s light to guide us into the main hall. The brightly colored clay statues looked particularly eerie under the glow. A cold wind blew through the hall, causing the statues’ garments to flutter. Jiang Xiaoli shivered behind the boys, her teeth chattering. “Don’t look!”
As darkness fell, there were no extra stone chambers or bedding; even if there were, no one dared to go out alone. The five of us could only squeeze onto one stone bed, tugging at a single blanket back and forth.
We decided that as long as it didn’t rain, we would leave here tomorrow.
The sound of thunder mixed with rain grew louder; speaking and listening became difficult until we simply fell silent in the dark night, looking at each other.
Fear washed over me again. I wanted to close my eyes and not see the bizarre flashes of light during the storm. Suddenly, with a flash of lightning illuminating the open hole, I saw Su Qing’s pale face with blood seeping from her eyes fixed intently on me. Although I couldn’t see her body, I felt she was trying desperately to crawl into the stone chamber.
Looking at the other four people, they were all slumped over their knees, deeply asleep.
I wanted to call them but couldn’t make a sound. I wanted to kick them but found that not even a hair on my body could move.
I closed my eyes again when something cold and slimy touched my forehead. Startled, I opened my eyes to find a snake head with a Y-shaped tongue writhing in front of me. In panic, I threw myself off the stone bed!
My arms could move, but my legs felt as if they were lost. A chill breeze swept over the back of my head, and I dared not look back. I desperately crawled along the ground towards the hall, feeling the ominous presence of the Death Gaze close behind me, the hissing of its serpent tongue echoing in my ears.
Struggling to reach the Great Hero Hall, I thought that under the radiant light of the Buddha, both the serpent and the Death Gaze would vanish. But when I looked up, I was horrified to see that the Buddha statue in the Great Hero Hall had turned its back on me!
On the altar, a massive Black Cat glowed with piercing green eyes. The cat seemed to traverse between realms!
A pale face emerged in front of me, its bloodshot eyes fixated on me as its serpent tongue swayed before me, slowly reaching towards my eyes. I opened my mouth wide but couldn't catch my breath or make a sound.
Suddenly, the ground beneath me sank, and I felt myself falling into a dizzying abyss. The wind howled in my ears, accompanied by cries that sometimes seemed distant like whispers from the heavens and at other times clear as if right behind me.
Finally, my limbs regained movement, but the sights around me shattered my courage. What remained of statues of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Arhats?
A long river blocked my path, its waters black and reeking of decay. A bridge spanned across it, with a stone tablet at its entrance inscribed with “Naihe Bridge” in blood-red seal script.
In terror, I turned around, only to find that the darkness behind me was endless; I could no longer see the way I had come. Gritting my teeth, I stepped onto the bridge. On the other side lay a desolate wilderness with a towering city gate at its end, above which loomed the words “Fengdu City” in characters as large as a fist.
My legs trembled uncontrollably while an unseen force pushed me forward against my will. Flanking the city gate were grotesque Ghost Messengers wielding iron chains and steel forks, their cold gazes fixed on me.
“They can’t see me; they can’t see me!” I muttered to myself as I was dragged into the gates of hell. The air was filled with wails and ghostly flames flickering ominously.
I tried to close my eyes and cover my ears, but it was futile; the scene and sounds were soul-chilling. The imposing yet terrifying Yama's Hall loomed before me.
Dressed in black robes with a golden crown, an intimidating old man held a ledger of life and death along with a Judge's pen. The Ox-Head and Horse-Face figures flanked him, their icy stares piercing through me.
“Kneel!” commanded the Judge loudly. My legs buckled beneath me, collapsing to the ground.
Behind the Judge, a large mirror displayed scenes from my past twenty years like a film: bullying male classmates, tormenting female classmates, filming upskirt shots of a female teacher who nearly fell into depression because of it, and negatively impacting a male teacher’s life...
Here, the ghosts are the embodiment of justice!
And I, I am almost overflowing with evil.
Is this the cycle of heavenly retribution?
Two Ghost Messengers approached, ready to shove me into a boiling cauldron of oil. On one side, a man with disheveled hair and an indistinguishable face was being driven by a Whip to step barefoot onto Knife Mountain. On the other side, a blood-soaked man was being sawed open from the top of his head by a Big Saw. The Ghost Messenger wielding the saw occasionally glanced at me: soon it will be your turn...
"Help! Help!" I cried out as I jolted awake, drenched in sweat, four anxious faces staring at me.
Ignoring them, I stumbled out of bed and headed straight for the old monk's meditation room.
The old monk sat cross-legged, quietly chanting scriptures.
I knelt reverently on the mat before the statue, bowing my head in prayer, causing those behind me to feel a deep sense of solemnity.
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