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墨書 Inktalez
As I wandered into my rented room, feeling dejected, it was already past seven. I ordered a bowl of ramen at the entrance of the alley to settle for dinner.
When I reached the courtyard, I saw Zhou Shu fiddling with the Shaobing cart. The yard was dimly lit, and I stood in the shadows to greet him, “Zhou Shu, you’re back!”
I could clearly see Zhou Shu’s slightly hunched body shudder violently for a moment before he turned around to examine me closely. The smile on his face seemed a bit stiff. “Ling Feng, how did work go today?”
I sighed and replied, “Don’t mention it. I didn’t earn a single penny and ended up frustrated.”
“It’s okay; everyone stumbles when they first enter society. You’ll get used to it,” Zhou Shu said as he stepped closer, patting my shoulder in comfort.
“Thanks, Zhou Shu. I’ll head upstairs now.” Just as I was about to walk up the stairs, Zhou Shu called out to me hesitantly, “Ling Feng, are you adjusting well to that room?”
I looked at Zhou Shu’s strange expression and said, “Yeah, it’s fine.”
With that, Zhou Shu mumbled and returned to his own room.
I lay on my bed with my hands behind my head, staring at the ceiling. It was a patchwork of peeling white paint, revealing some darkened walls beneath.
I pondered that the route to the train station probably wouldn’t work out. First of all, no one even asked about it today. Maybe it was because I was too young or perhaps society had advanced so much that people no longer believed in such things? Secondly, having offended someone meant that I could forget about setting up a stall in that area in the future. If they caught wind of it, it would likely lead to trouble.
So right now, the pressing issue was making money. As long as I had money, I could rent a storefront and wouldn’t have to worry about being chased away.
But where would that money come from?
…
Lost in thought, my eyelids felt as heavy as lead, and before I knew it, I had fallen asleep.
Cold, bone-chilling cold.
I cursed under my breath, thinking, what is this? Are they trying to rebel? Even a wandering ghost dares to bully me? I can't even sleep soundly; do they really think I'm easy to mess with?
Fuming, I grabbed the obsidian prayer beads and jumped out of bed. Before me was a pitch-black void; not even a glimmer of light seeped through the window, as if I were surrounded by a pool of ink.
I furrowed my brow. I remembered that when I lay down, the light was on. Could it be that this area has lost power?
I pushed open the door to check if the whole place was in darkness. However, as I stepped outside, I found myself back in my own room. Skeptical, I walked back and forth several times, but each time, I ended up returning to my room.
It dawned on me that I must have fallen into an illusion or a maze.
I walked back to the bedside, sat cross-legged on the bed, closed my eyes slightly, and began reciting the Heart Sutra. The verses floated into the darkness like spells, emitting a faint golden glow. The inky blackness seemed to be slowly pulled away, and the room returned to its former state, with a warm yellow light streaming through the window.
The room was freezing cold; I couldn't help but shiver. It felt no different from an ice cellar. Looking at the silver frost covering everything inside, my inner fire flared up.
Being bullied by others during the day and haunted by ghosts at night—what kind of world is this?
I pulled out a fire talisman from my Qiankun Bag and was about to chant a spell when suddenly I saw a shadow reflected on the window, floating in mid-air.
Using the dim light outside as a guide, I stepped closer to see whether it was a ghost or a person causing trouble. But as soon as I looked closer, it nearly scared the life out of me.
A face as pale as if covered in flour was pressed tightly against the window. Because it was so close to the glass, its features were almost flattened, making it look like a faceless monster at first glance.
"Who are you? What are you trying to do?" I suppressed my fear and yanked open the door. The hallway outside was empty—nothing at all?
Peering over the railing down the stairs revealed nothing either.
I was filled with suspicion, thinking it couldn't be my imagination. I grabbed a flashlight and took a closer look at the glass. When I had just moved in, I had cleaned it to a shine, leaving no trace behind. However, under the beam of the flashlight, a clear imprint appeared on the glass, revealing a smudge.
This only deepened my confusion. I wasn't some great beauty, and I had only just moved in; who would be so bored as to spy on me late at night?
Could this person be a pervert? How could they possibly be interested in someone like me? The thought sent a chill down my spine.
The temperature in the room remained low, and I cursed under my breath, wondering what kind of restless spirit could be lurking around here, so unafraid of death.
Wait, they had already died once; shouldn't they fear being reduced to nothingness and dissipating into the earth?
The obsidian prayer beads in my hand emitted a dark glow, clearly sensing the thick aura of negativity in the room.
"Are you challenging my patience? Or do you think I won't dare to kill you?" I scoffed and shouted into the room.
Suddenly, a soft wind began to blow through the space. Though it was gentle, it felt like a response to my words—eerily reminiscent of a cat's cry in spring.
Humans and ghosts are on different paths; once a person dies, it's like extinguishing a lamp. They cannot linger in the realm of the living; otherwise, they become restless spirits, forever barred from reincarnation.
In the conventional sense, ghosts are merely wisps of energy that cannot speak. Unless they are filled with immense resentment—like a vengeful spirit that can disturb one's mind—most cannot inflict any real harm.
"Do you have something to say to me?" I asked curiously, almost as if talking to myself. If anyone saw me like this...
Another gust of wind swept through the room, sounding eerily like sobbing.
I thought to myself how strange this ghost was; it only woke me up from my slumber but didn't show itself. Did it know my abilities and still dare to appear?
In the dead of night, when sleepiness was at its peak, I didn't want to play riddles with this ghost. I reached out and turned on the lights in the room.
The incandescent light flickered several times before stabilizing. The presence of the Hungry Spirits receded like a tide. I was yawning as I walked towards the bed, and when I turned to sit down and take off my slippers, I inadvertently glanced at the window, and my heart sank.
Due to the low temperature earlier, a layer of frost had formed on the window, and now two crooked characters were written on the glass.
"Save me..."
So that Ghostly Wail was asking for my help? But why didn’t it show itself? The only possibility was that it was trapped somewhere. I carefully examined the square room, but I couldn’t make sense of it.
After the Hungry Spirits retreated, the temperature in the room rose, and soon the words "Save me" began to blur. The droplets of water flowing down from the letters looked like gaping wounds, grotesquely imprinted on the window.
I could only shake my head; I was nearly starving myself, and yet there was a ghost asking for my help?
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