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墨書 Inktalez
Is this a realm of chaos? Is this a land of ignorance? Is this what people call hell? But why does it feel so desolate?
"Is anyone there? I'm a newly dead ghost..." I shouted into the void.
Silence enveloped me, not even an echo in response.
As I wandered slowly, a sense of sadness washed over me. I thought about my father; he would probably be heartbroken. Although he usually didn't say much, I knew he cared. As for Er Gouzi, they might be happy now—no one to bully them anymore.
And what about my master, whom I had never met? What kind of master doesn’t teach their disciple any real skills for self-defense? Now, it seemed that a random water ghost could easily take me out.
I had no idea how long I had been walking when I noticed a dazzling light flickering ahead, like stars in the summer sky.
As I approached, I realized it was a massive inverted bowl-shaped transparent barrier. Inside, a blue dragon and a phoenix were intertwined, swimming endlessly.
In the center of the Dragon and Phoenix Presenting Auspiciousness, there seemed to be a person sitting—thin and frail. Their head hung low on their chest, as if they were dozing off while chanting or meditating.
They looked to be about my age.
"You finally arrived..."
Suddenly, a voice echoed unexpectedly, startling me. I looked around and pointed at myself, asking, "Is that me? Who are you?"
"Hehe... Who am I? I am you!"
The voice replied with a strange laugh.
It was ethereal and elusive, echoing around me like a three-dimensional sound that came from all directions, making it hard for me to discern its source.
I was lost in my thoughts when, out of the corner of my eye, I suddenly caught sight of that person from "Dragon and Phoenix Presenting Auspiciousness." The head that had been bowed low was now raised, revealing eyes filled with a venomous hatred fixed on me.
A chill ran down my spine, and I took a few steps back. That gaze was like a venomous snake lurking in the darkness, slithering over me, reeking of foulness and coated in a sticky liquid.
What sent a shiver down my spine even more was that person's face—his face looked exactly like mine.
I trembled as I asked, "Who are you? Why do you look just like me?"
He laughed maniacally. "Who am I? Everything here is thanks to you! Have you forgotten? Heh heh... It doesn't matter if you've forgotten. I'll make you remember bit by bit."
His laughter turned sinister, and his voice grew cold.
Just as I was about to ask for clarification, a deafening sound of "Long Yin" and "Feng Ming" almost shattered my eardrums. A blinding light flashed before my eyes, momentarily blinding me.
Everything faded like a dream, returning to stillness.
I curled up on the ground, clutching my head as I rolled around. My mind felt like it was being pierced by countless needles, and the pain was unbearable.
Damn it, didn't they say that after death one wouldn't feel pain anymore? It seemed all the adults' words were just lies to deceive children.
I kept banging my head against the ground, hoping to stop the pain with more pain. Yet this agony that penetrated to the bone showed no signs of easing.
Sweat dripped from my forehead like beads, and a metallic sweetness filled my mouth. Then everything went dark before my eyes. Had I died again? Or had I fainted?
I was trapped in a cycle of nightmares, headaches, and unconsciousness. Meanwhile, I had no idea that chaos had erupted outside.
At that moment, I was lying on my bed, the straw mat beneath me soaked with sweat, darkening its color.
My father held me tightly in his arms, his eyes red as he shouted, “I told you not to be disobedient, and now look what’s happened. You deserve this pain!”
Yet his voice was choked with emotion.
Beside us, Er Gouzi and the others had red eyes, watching as I writhed in agony on the bed.
“Uncle, we really didn’t go to Qingshan Lake. We just found a deep pool to splash around in. The rat even had a contest with Ling Feng to see who could dive deeper, but Ling Feng took a long time to surface. We were all terrified…” Er Gouzi sobbed as he recounted the events.
I thrashed like a madman in my father’s embrace, striking him with surprising force, nearly pushing him away several times.
“Er Gouzi, go get some rope. Monkey, you’re fast—run to Village East and find Ling Er Xiezi,” my father instructed urgently.
Ling Er Xiezi was the village’s soothsayer. In his sixties now, he still lived alone. According to the village elders, Ling Er Xiezi had once been able to see but had suddenly gone blind after encountering something he shouldn’t have seen. Some said it was punishment for looking at forbidden things.
When Ling Er Xiezi arrived, I was already bound tightly to the bed, my mouth stuffed with a rag. My father was afraid I might bite my own tongue in my delirium.
As soon as Ling Er Xiezi entered the room, he wrinkled his nose and said, “There’s a smell of blood and an aura of evil…”
Seeing my condition, my father could only resort to desperate measures. It would be too late to find a doctor in town now, so he called for Ling Er Xiezi, hoping for some help.
“Uncle! You’ve come! Ling Feng doesn’t know what kind of dirty thing he’s provoked! You must save him… I’m begging you…” My father was in tears.
Ling Er Xiezi grasped my father’s arm and stopped him from kneeling down. “We’re family after all. Besides, I’ve watched Ling Feng grow up. This child is unfortunate; his constitution is yin, and he carries calamity in his fate. He attracts evil things easily…”
Ling Er Xiezi's nose twitched as if it had caught the scent of blood, leading him accurately to the foot of the bed where he grasped my foot in his hand. Then, as if it were a hot potato, he tossed it back onto the bed.
It was only then that my father noticed several bloody holes around my ankle, surrounded by a large area of dark bruising.
"Uncle, what happened?" my father asked anxiously.
Ling Er Xiezi turned to Er Gouzi and asked, "Did you encounter anything strange while you were in the water today?"
Er Gouzi, somewhat intimidated by Ling Er Xiezi's nearly lifeless eyes that seemed to have become a mass of flesh, took a step back. "We didn't encounter anything strange. It was just Ling Feng competing with a rat to see who could dive deeper. Ling Feng stayed underwater for quite a while and then just floated back up..."
Ling Er Xiezi stroked his chin thoughtfully and nodded. "Ling Feng must have encountered a water ghost."
My father frowned and asked, "A water ghost? How did Ling Feng end up like this?"
Ling Er Xiezi snorted coldly. "It's fortunate he even made it back alive. You should know that water ghosts are the souls of those who drowned. They love to find substitutes. This type of ghost has a cold temperament; if one is harmed by its yin energy, the wounds are extremely difficult to heal, leading to nightmares until one is scared to death..."
"Fortunately, this child has great fortune and resilience to have survived an encounter with a water ghost; it's truly a miracle."
"Uncle, please, you must save Ling Feng," my father pleaded again.
Ling Er Xiezi waved his hand and sighed. "You know my limited skills. All I can do is treat Ling Feng's foot injury. As for anything else, I'm powerless."
He applied glutinous rice to my wounds while muttering an unknown incantation. He then took some dried mugwort and burned it over my injuries.
It wasn't until the glutinous rice stopped turning black that Ling Er Xiezi finally ceased his work and instructed, "I know what this child has been through. Since a master is willing to take Ling Feng as a disciple, it proves that he has a connection with the Buddha. You should place everything left by the monk on Ling Feng and recite some Buddhist scriptures for him. Alternatively, you could copy some scriptures and burn them; it might help Ling Feng."
My father respectfully saw off Ling Er Xiezi and turned back to find Er Gouzi and the others still there. "It's not your fault regarding Ling Feng. You should head back early to avoid worrying the elders at home. You can come back to visit anytime."
The Rat nodded and said, "Uncle, we're leaving now. I'll copy the Buddhist Scriptures when I get back and send them to Ling Feng later."
After they left, my father hurriedly placed everything that Master had left behind next to me.
However, my father couldn't read, so he couldn't recite the Buddhist Scriptures. Instead, he kept chanting the Six Character Mantra.
"Om Mani Padme Hum..."
"Om Mani Padme Hum..."
...
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