Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
It was already the third watch of the night, and in the dense forest, there was no one around, not even a ghost. The man muttered to himself as he reluctantly took steps, finally stopping in front of the Tomb.
This grave was discovered by Dog Er from the village. He had watched as the body was buried. It belonged to a Water Spirit, a young woman with black hair and fair skin, her eyes closed as if she were asleep. The man imagined what she looked like—black hair, fair skin—perhaps just like the Daughter-in-law that the Village Chief brought back from the city.
His heart felt a bit itchy, like it had been scratched by a cat, so he scratched it a couple of times. It turned out that scratching only made him hungrier. He hadn't eaten anything since yesterday, and with no money to spare, if he couldn't dig up something soon, he might be the next one buried in the ground. He cursed softly and rubbed his stomach.
At that moment, he spotted something—something he desperately needed. It was a bowl filled with Dumplings, with a pair of chopsticks resting beside it.
Suddenly, he remembered that today was Winter Solstice, and according to local customs, offerings were made. He guessed that the family of the woman in the grave had left this bowl of Dumplings in front of her tomb out of longing.
He thought that even if these Dumplings weren't frozen solid, they should have been cold by now. To his surprise, they were still slightly warm.
The man scanned his surroundings cautiously and listened carefully to confirm that he was the only living person in the graveyard before using the chopsticks to pick up a dumpling and put it in his mouth.
The Dumpling was filled with meat, tender and juicy; biting into it filled his mouth with flavor, and the oil from the Dumpling flowed down his throat along with it—a truly delightful sensation. After swallowing two Dumplings in quick succession, he slowed down and began to savor them.
In addition to the savory meat flavor, there was a hint of sweetness in the Dumplings. The man was rough around the edges and couldn't quite place what that sweetness reminded him of, but deep down he envied the life of the woman in this grave. These Dumplings were clearly made specifically for her and had that sweet taste.
"Damn it, rich families really know how to enjoy life; even these Dumplings are different from ours. This meat is probably fine Lamb; it's so tender. That sweetness must be to mask any mutton smell—after all, it's from a maternal family; they have standards!"
As he rambled on while eating from the bowl, he quickly approached the bottom of it. Just then, there was a sudden "pop," and a cold object pressed against his face.
Instinctively, he let out a shout, nearly dropping his chopsticks. Regaining his composure, he reached up to touch it; it turned out to be a piece of paper—soft and unclear in color—but he guessed it was either white or yellow since there was a square hole in its center. Given that this was a graveyard for the dead, it must be paper money offered to the deceased.
Cursing under his breath, he tossed the paper money onto the ground and slurped down the last two Dumplings before carelessly throwing the bowl aside.
"Magnetic~"
A faint sound reached his ears as he turned back to see phosphorescence rising from where his bowl and chopsticks had fallen. The phosphorescence flickered in place like a blue eye watching him.
This wasn't his first time doing such things; he recalled when he was eight years old—the first time following his boss to dig up graves and opening a coffin. Back then, he was involved in collecting shadows; inside that coffin lay not a delicate Water Spirit but rather a shriveled old corpse. Being bold, he squeezed into the crowd and took advantage of others' distractions to reach inside and pull something out from its eye socket.
It was a Jade Butterfly; according to his boss's words, it could fetch three or five meals worth of wine money. But because of his bravery, his boss rewarded him with that Jade Butterfly. He felt elated and excited at that moment and vowed to follow his boss for life. However, ultimately, his boss fell victim to that coffin seller's charm in Luoyang City and lost not just his soul but also his life.
After his boss died, their group scattered. Besides being bold, he hadn't learned any other skills and could only rely on helping others move corpses for food. But dealing with dead bodies wasn't like other jobs; they weren't always available, so going hungry became common for him.
Thinking of this, the man reached into his collar and touched the Jade Butterfly he carried close to him. He kept this item for sentimental reasons, hoping for good luck, and also to give it to a woman he liked as a token of affection when he met her. But now, he was already in his thirties, and there was no warm bed beside him. It wasn't that he hadn't found someone he liked; rather, none of the women he fancied were willing to be with him.
The man spat on the ground and looked at the grave mound, muttering, "I hope there's really a young lady lying here. It doesn't matter if she's pretty; at least I could have some fun. Damn it, being poor means tightening my belt even more. It's been two or three years since I've been close enough to smell a woman's scent."
Thinking of women made his heart itch again. He quickly circled around the grave mound and finally found the hole that Dog Er had mentioned.
He looked around before lighting a lamp he carried with a fire starter. This lamp was custom-made, using oil extracted from the Eternal Lamp found in the tombs of those Wealth and Honor families. According to legends, the Eternal Lamp in the Emperors and Ministers tombs was made from Shark Oil, which was particularly precious. Those not from Emperors and Ministers families also wanted to use this kind of Eternal Lamp after death but couldn't find anyone to refine shark oil, so they paid people to bring back some Corpse oil instead, claiming the effect was the same. The boss had once considered this approach but ended up with very little oil from a Corpse dug up from who knows where, and the smell nearly suffocated everyone.
The lamp in his hand was also modeled after the Eternal Lamp found in tombs. It had a double-layered body with an inner container for lamp oil, and the wick was soaked in aged vinegar. The outer layer contained water to cool the lamp oil. While it wasn't as effective as the Eternal Lamp in tombs, it still provided some light when going into a grave.
The man crouched down and crawled through the hole. The grave wasn't large; bending down allowed him to see the coffin right away. Unlike other coffins, this one was dark red, adorned with golden threads on both the lid and body. It was his first time seeing such a strange coffin, sending chills down his spine.
"Clack... clack... clack..."
He approached the coffin, stopped, gritted his teeth, and began to touch the cold lid. To his surprise, there were no nails on it.
"Damn it, could it be that someone got here first? Is that rascal Dog Er trying to trick me into coming here for nothing?"
Cursing inwardly, he pushed the coffin lid open slightly.
"Squeak... squeak..."
As the lid opened, a faint sweet fragrance wafted out. The man could clearly hear his own heartbeat as he slowly crouched down and peered through the gap into the coffin...
Xing Ruyi woke up after a short while because she heard ghostly wails in her dreams. Opening her eyes, she saw that the campfire was still burning brightly, illuminating the handsome face of the fox beside her. Chang Tai leaned against an old tree across from them, his sword resting beside him; his eyes were closed, and it was unclear whether he was asleep or awake.
The fox had also been closing his eyes; when Xing Ruyi woke up, his beautiful fox eyes opened as well.
"Awake?" asked the fox, tightening the blanket over Xing Ruyi. "Are you cold?"
Xing Ruyi shook her head and glanced deeper into the forest. "Not cold! I had a dream about when I first met you; I was just savoring it when I suddenly heard ghostly wails. I didn't know if that crying sound was from my dream or reality, so I woke up."
"Don't be afraid! Don't be afraid! Those ghosts won't dare disturb you!" said the fox soothingly, patting her gently as if comforting a child. "In remote places like this, it's normal to encounter some lonely souls or wild ghosts. Especially those sentimental ghosts who rarely see anyone; it's inevitable they'll cry or make a fuss. If you find it bothersome, I'll take care of them."
"Forget it, they didn't come to bother me, it's just that the crying was a bit loud and I heard it." Xing Ruyi straightened up but still leaned against the fox's embrace. "Is Qingqiu as cold as it is here? Do you Fox Clan live in caves or houses? If you live in caves, you'll have to help me find some dry grass because I can't sleep on that hard stone bed."
"Well, what if I let you lie on me? Would you still be able to sleep?"
"Of course I could!" Xing Ruyi pulled the fox's arm over her neck and leaned back. "Did you not see earlier? Not only could I sleep on you, but I also slept very soundly. Of course, being woken up by that female ghost's crying doesn't count; it just shows that my sleep is too light."
"Your sleep is indeed not very good!" The fox nodded. "As the saying goes, doctors cannot heal themselves; it seems this saying from your world is quite true."
"Could it be that your Qingqiu healers can heal themselves?"
"Our Fox Clan rarely gets sick," the fox said, holding Xing Ruyi's wrist. "From the perspective of your Traditional Chinese Medicine, you should have insufficient kidney yin, which fails to nourish the heart spirit, leading to these symptoms. You could take some yin-nourishing and calming herbs for adjustment. For example, the Angelica Six Yellow Pill made from Angelica, raw and cooked Rehmannia, Coptis Root, Scutellaria Baicalensis, Huangbai, and Huangqi. Angelica and the two Rehmannias nourish yin and blood as the main ingredients; the three Huang herbs clear heat while Huangqi strengthens the exterior as auxiliary ingredients. When we reach the next town, I'll have Li Mao buy some for you."
The fox continued pressing on various acupoints like Neiguan, Sanyinjiao, Taichong, and Baihui to temporarily relieve her local soreness caused by an uncomfortable sleeping position.
Xing Ruyi enjoyed the fox's massage while speaking in a pitiful tone, "I really do have insufficient kidney yin because my yin and yang can't harmonize!"
The fox was taken aback for a moment before shaking his head and laughing.
"It won't be long; once we get to Qingqiu, your yin and yang will naturally harmonize."
Comment 0 Comment Count