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墨書 Inktalez
Ruyi Rouge Pavilion
When a person dies and becomes a ghost, anything related to the word "ghost" is inevitably connected to "death."
Since arriving in the Golden Tang Dynasty, Xing Ruyi has considered herself somewhat accustomed to various kinds of "ghosts." Not only ghosts, but she has also encountered many things related to them, gaining quite a bit of knowledge. However, this ghost screen is something she has never seen before.
She stared at the screen made of white paper and asked the fox, "What is the purpose of this ghost screen?"
"For common people, a screen can either serve as a decorative element or be used for privacy. After all, a bedroom is a private space, and the bed is meant solely for the couple. This ghost screen, however, has only one purpose: to reflect ghosts!"
"Reflect ghosts?"
Xing Ruyi thought of many possible answers but never considered this one.
"Could it be that this screen made of white paper functions like a demon-revealing mirror, capable of subduing demons and dispelling misfortune?"
Xing Ruyi approached the ghost screen and gently poked it with her finger. The paper was coarse and of poor quality, resembling something handmade at home; there was nothing particularly special about it.
"This paper is nothing extraordinary, and this ghost screen is not the same as a demon-revealing mirror. A demon-revealing mirror is a Taoist artifact that not only reveals the true form of ghosts and monsters but can also capture and subdue them. However, the user must be a Master. No matter how good a demon-revealing mirror is, if it's in the hands of common people, it’s just an ordinary mirror with no use whatsoever."
"I believe that! Remember our first encounter with Mo Xuyou? At the arms factory, when we parted ways, Mo Xuyou gave me a bronze mirror. At first, I thought it was just a more exquisite version of an ordinary bronze mirror. Later, I realized it was indeed the legendary demon-revealing mirror. You wouldn't believe it; it could actually reveal Li Mao's true form. Unfortunately, that mirror has little use left in my hands now. Thinking back on it, it's quite strange that Mo Xuyou gifted me such a mirror—what was he really thinking?"
"This person's thoughts are hard to fathom; outsiders find it difficult to guess his true intentions. Since he gave you the demon-revealing mirror, you should keep it. As for his reasons for giving it to you, since they are inscrutable, there's no need to dwell on them—just let things unfold naturally."
"It's not that I'm obsessively thinking about it; it's just that hearing you mention this ghost screen reminded me of that demon-revealing mirror. And thinking about the mirror inevitably brings Mo Xuyou to mind—a person full of schemes. As they say, 'the tree wants to be still but the wind won't stop.' It's been some time without news from him, which makes one feel uneasy. I'm just afraid that Mo Xuyou might stir up more trouble."
"With me around, there's no need to worry!"
The fox said lightly and gently led Xing Ruyi inside the screen.
"This ghost screen has its own story. There was once an official who loved all kinds of screens during his lifetime. After his death, his family wanted him to leave in peace, so they made a paper replica of his favorite screen while he was alive. This screen was supposed to be adorned with seasonal patterns; however, due to the carelessness of the paper craftsman, it was forgotten. As time passed and the auspicious moment for burial approached, the family had no choice but to move the unfinished screen into the mourning hall.
That very night, while keeping vigil over the deceased, family members saw through this screen that the dead man slowly rose from his spirit bed and even walked around in front of it. The news of haunting spread quickly. A passing feng shui master heard about this incident and went to investigate at the deceased's home, discovering the secret hidden within the paper screen."
"What was the secret? Did that feng shui master find out?"
"The paper screen, being closer to the corpse, has absorbed the corpse's aura and yin energy, which allows it to reveal the shadow of a ghost at midnight. The feng shui master, bold yet meticulous, only took a few glances before uncovering its secret. He even improved this ghost screen specifically for viewing ghosts."
"Viewing ghosts?"
"Are you familiar with the Seven Days of Returning Souls?"
"Yes. The seventh day after a person dies is known as the Night of the Returning Souls or Return of the Soul Night. In folklore, it is also called 'the first seven days.' On this day, the souls of deceased loved ones return home to bid farewell to their families. After these seven days, the deceased can drink Meng Po soup and reincarnate, concluding all ties from their past life. I remember that in my hometown, during the Seven Days of Returning Souls, families along the route would tie red cloth strips in prominent places to remind the spirits not to enter the wrong house."
"The customs surrounding the Seven Days of Returning Souls vary across regions but are almost identical. The feng shui master uses the unique properties of this ghost screen to help the family confirm whether their loved one's soul has returned home."
As soon as the fox finished speaking, Xing Ruyi exclaimed, "Ah!" and pointed at the center of the screen. "Fox, look! What is that?"
On the ghost screen, Xing Ruyi saw a shadow—vague and indistinct, resembling a person yet not quite human.
"Is that a ghost?"
The fox did not respond but instead held Xing Ruyi's shoulders and silently turned her in another direction.
"Yun Sheng!?"
Xing Ruyi instinctively covered her eyes but couldn't help peeking through her fingers to steal another glance at Yun Sheng. At that moment, Yun Sheng had left the bed and approached the ghost screen, removing his outer garment. What Xing Ruyi had just seen was Yun Sheng's body, riddled with wounds beneath his clothing.
In that instant, Xing Ruyi recalled a story previously told by Mo Xu You. The story featured a beautiful boy named Jin Yu who had an unusual desire for death and possessed half of Mountain Spirit bloodline. Due to Mo Xu You's forbidden technique, he was able to die and come back to life; however, because of this same technique, he had to repeatedly transform from human to skeleton and back again over time. Ultimately, Jin Yu chose to end his long life and bid farewell to such a torturous existence.
The Yun Sheng before her resembled Jin Yu from Mo Xu You's tale. Beneath his meticulously chosen garments lay a body nearly decayed. Xing Ruyi watched as he sat in front of the ghost screen, illuminating a dim red lamp while painstakingly stitching together his tattered body.
Silver threads intertwined with dark threads as bone needles pierced through his flesh, sewing together broken fragments. Soon enough, those stitched areas began to slowly recover, smoothing out scars until they appeared whole again.
Just as Yun Sheng was about to stitch up the last piece of torn skin, Hui Niang opened her eyes. She lay on her side in bed, looking at Yun Sheng before softly saying, "Indeed, you are not my husband!"
Yun Sheng turned to look at Hui Niang, his eyes filled with a chilling intensity.
"Hui Niang, are you confused? Of course I am your husband." He inserted the bone needle into his skin and slightly covered the still unstitched areas with his clothing. Rising up, he looked at Hui Niang: "Don't forget that tomorrow morning we need to return home. Sleep now; it's getting late."
"What's wrong? Are you afraid, monster? What are you afraid of? Afraid that I will expose your true nature, or afraid that I will reveal the truth about how you turned into my Husband, hiding in this broken shop?" Hui Niang said coldly with a smile. "Let me tell you, I've remembered everything. I remember how I saved you; I remember how you deceived me and even used my sympathy and my in-laws' greed to enter my home; I remember how you used dark magic to manipulate my in-laws to kill; I remember how you caused the death of my Husband; I remember how you killed my parents, and I also remember your precious lair. By the way, I have good news for you: all your treasures are gone; I burned them. One fire, and everything was reduced to ashes, leaving nothing behind."
"What did you say?" Yun Sheng's eyes shifted from icy cold to filled with resentment. He rushed in front of Hui Niang, gripping her chin tightly, forcing her to meet his gaze.
"I... all those ghostly things in your cave are gone! You can no longer find anything to patch up your broken body. You are dying! You can no longer harm others!"
Hui Niang smiled too, but that smile was hollow, devoid of anything. Xing Ruyi saw her slowly raise her right hand and then reach through Yun Sheng's clothing, firmly grasping the bone needle and pulling it out with force.
Yun Sheng let out a pained cry and immediately released his grip on Hui Niang's chin, looking down at his body. The threads that had been sewn into his body were pulled away along with the bone needle, and the previously repaired body quickly returned to its damaged state.
"Look! This is your true form! You harmed my husband, killed my parents, and used my in-laws' greed to help you kill. But people act and observe; monsters act and observe as well. In the end, I have remembered everything while you have only wasted these years of time, leaving behind nothing but your own broken body. Your cave is gone; all those cocoons you've carefully nurtured are gone; even the Human Skin Brocade made from my mother's flesh is gone. You can only watch as your flesh slowly peels away from your body until death!"
"Hmph!" Yun Sheng let out a cold laugh. "Do you think if I die, you can still live?"
"Live? Why would I want to live! The moment you killed my Husband, I no longer wanted to live." Hui Niang swayed as she stood up and walked toward Yun Sheng, staring at his face with eyes full of resentment. "Even if you wear a face identical to his, you will never be him. You are not Yun Sheng, and you will never become Yun Sheng. You are just a monster, one that hides in a cave and is too afraid to show its true face to anyone!"
"Yes! I am a monster!" Yun Sheng stared into Hui Niang's eyes and let out a strange laugh. "What did you just say? That I would never dare show my true face to anyone! Yunhui, if tonight I let you see my true face, would you dare look?"
With that, Yun Sheng placed his hand on his face and gently pulled it down!
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