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墨書 Inktalez
Zhong Kui's Diary
Fatty and the other person curiously asked me what was going on. I recounted the contents of the phone call, and they exchanged glances and laughed, both cursing Qingfeng Daozhang for being such a peculiar character, still unwilling to spend money at this critical moment.
To be honest, as soon as I heard Qingfeng, I knew someone was up to no good. After all, Yue City is a major city; how could there be no Taoist influence? Why should such a large contract be monopolized by a bunch of out-of-town Taoists from Star City? Moreover, given Qingfeng Daozhang's stinginess, he probably wouldn't even leave any soup for others. So, it was only natural for others to want to stir things up and make some noise. Hey, country bumpkins from Star City, don’t hog such a big cake all to yourselves; share some so we can all enjoy it together. Otherwise, hmph, I'll make you regret it.
The three of us shifted back to this topic, continuing to drink and chat about how men should play dead to avoid being asked for money when Fatty suddenly slapped his forehead hard, looking regretful.
“What’s wrong?” I asked in surprise.
“Ghost Brother, you need to call Qingfeng Daozhang right away! We’re willing to go help in Yue City!” Fatty urged.
“What do you mean?” Both Kong Xuan and I were increasingly puzzled.
“A business trip! This way, we can go to Yue City for quite a while!” Fatty said with excitement.
“Right! How did I not think of that!” I also slapped my forehead and quickly took out my phone to dial that number again. Kong Xuan was beside me, nudging Fatty on the shoulder and praising him repeatedly, saying that Young Man had been quite clever lately and had considered the issue thoroughly.
The call connected, but a woman answered on the other end. This was a public phone, and the person who had just called had already left. After hanging up and cursing under my breath, I was relieved to find Qingfeng's number still saved in my phone. I dialed it again, and after ringing for a while, Qingfeng finally picked up: “This is Zhong Gui. Since you’re not coming, don’t bother calling; roaming is expensive!”
“Who said we’re not coming? We’ll be there right away; just tell me where!”
“You guys? How many are you? My five hundred per person is not for every single one of you!” Upon hearing this, Qingfeng immediately clarified: “Even if you bring a hundred people, I’ll only give you five hundred!”
“Fine!” I replied with a mix of laughter and tears. As long as it meant we could go to Yue City for a break, even if we didn’t get paid, we would still go.
After giving us the location, Qingfeng couldn’t help but ask in confusion: “Why have you suddenly become so agreeable?”
"Since we are friends, right? So, if our girlfriend calls you, you have to admit that something is going on!" I couldn't help but remind him.
"No problem, it's just a word. But the payment needs to be adjusted, four hundred each!" Qingfeng Daozhang laughed heartily and hung up the phone.
———————————— A Moment of Shock ————————————
Fatty and I took the train to Moon City overnight. Yes, a train, not a high-speed train, because there were no high-speed trains at night.
As for why we were in such a hurry, it was because we witnessed Aijia Yu dragging Kong Xuan away from the late-night snack stall to do homework. Seeing Kong Xuan's desperate expression, almost in tears, Fatty and I shivered and immediately decided to rush to Moon City overnight.
By the time we arrived in Moon City, it was already the afternoon of the second day. I called Qingcheng to clarify the situation. When I called last night, it was Guo'er who answered the phone; now it was Qingcheng's turn to be on duty. They both have independent consciousness and do not interfere with each other.
We took a taxi and quickly arrived at Moon City Funeral Home. Unlike Star City, even if you are wealthy, you cannot set up a Spirit Tent for rituals in this area unless you are the secretary of the municipal committee. However, that being said, if someone has reached the position of municipal committee secretary, they would be even more cautious and careful; how could they possibly leave any evidence for others?
Qingfeng Daozhang greeted us at the door and led us to a secluded corner, handing us two sets of robes. His voice seemed less hoarse: "Change into these; at least you can blend in for three thousand each!"
After changing into the robes, I casually asked Qingfeng some questions about what supernatural phenomena had occurred so that I could target my approach accordingly; after all, playing tricks is just a few moves.
Qingfeng had quite a good memory and recounted the supernatural events one by one.
First, the candles in the mourning hall always extinguished by themselves. If they were regular candles, it would be understandable as a gust of wind could blow them out. The problem was that Qingfeng Daozhang used electric candles to save costs; once plugged into the power supply, the top of the candle would light up with a bulb surrounded by red cloth. When there was wind blowing from below, the red cloth would flutter, making it look like candle flames from afar.
Under normal circumstances, these electric candles should not malfunction without a power outage. However, they did behave abnormally. At first, Qingfeng thought it might be a poor connection and carefully checked the power supply socket but found no issues. He even bought several new electric candles from a grocery store; they worked fine when he purchased them but started malfunctioning once they arrived at the funeral home. Moreover, these issues always occurred around one o'clock in the morning when the candles would extinguish by themselves.
It was one thing for them to go out; however, after a few seconds, they would reignite automatically and stay lit for several minutes before extinguishing again as if someone were controlling them remotely.
This was the first strange occurrence; although it was odd, it wasn't particularly frightening since there were other sources of light. However, the second incident was somewhat alarming.
Qingfeng Daozhang brought fifteen people with him, making a total of sixteen. They divided into two groups of eight, rotating every six hours to perform rituals without rest.
The spirit hall was still constructed under Qingfeng Daozhang's direction, similar to the one at Golden Prosperity. It was also divided into two areas, separated by a black curtain. The front area was for performing rituals while the back area was for resting. However, this time, the coffin was placed directly in the middle of the main hall.
Everything seemed normal until around two in the morning, about half an hour after the incense began to behave strangely. Sounds began to emanate from inside the coffin—knock, knock, knock—like someone was knocking on a door.
The funeral home offered crystal coffins for viewing before cremation, arranged by their staff and filled with flowers. Naturally, this service came at a high price. However, the family of Sudden Death Girl was quite wealthy and insisted on using their own Redwood Coffin. They disregarded the tradition of sealing the coffin only after the funeral and had already closed it tightly after placing the girl inside.
A sealed Redwood Coffin began to make knocking sounds late at night, which terrified Qingfeng Daozhang and the others. Fortunately, there were many of them to bolster each other's courage as they shouted to pry open the coffin, only to find nothing inside except for the already cold and stiff girl.
Hearing this, I couldn't help but interrupt Qingfeng: "This family is so wealthy; they must have plenty of relatives to keep vigil, right? Even if there were no relatives present, there should be staff from the funeral home. How could they allow you to pry open the coffin?"
Qingfeng Daozhang displayed a strange expression: "The staff from the funeral home left as soon as the incense started behaving oddly. As for this family... they are indeed very wealthy, but only one person came from their side throughout the entire process. After explaining everything to me, he left. He said he was acting on someone else's behalf and wanted us to do everything at the highest standard; money was not an issue."
"What do you mean?" I asked in surprise.
"I mean that in this spirit hall, aside from Sudden Death Girl, there are only us sixteen people—no outsiders," Qingfeng Daozhang squinted his eyes, a peculiar glint in them. "I don't believe there are any spies among us. We are all orphans with no homes, raised in a temple."
I couldn't help but chuckle inwardly; spies? Did you watch spy films during your breaks at the temple? It's just a temple; why would anyone place spies there? To observe your meditation or listen to your chanting?
Clearing my throat lightly to mask my amusement, I said, "Let's put that aside for now. Are there any other supernatural events?"
Upon hearing my question, Qingfeng Daozhang's expression changed dramatically; he looked genuinely alarmed: "Yes, there is indeed one more extremely bizarre thing!"
Qingfeng was quite surprised by this expression. Although Qingfeng Daozhang could not compare to Kong Xuan, he was still a member of the Daoist Sect. Whether he could defeat a Demon was uncertain, but he certainly had experience. With experience comes courage; many things in the world are like this. Once you understand what is happening, fear dissipates. What truly frightens you is simply what you do not know.
Now, the astonished expression on Qingfeng Daozhang's face made it clear that he was completely unaware of what was about to happen.
"On the night before last, the night I called you, the incense candles flickered on and off, and there were knocking sounds coming from inside the coffin. I called a few people to lift the coffin lid, and then the sounds stopped. Since it was silent, I didn't bother with it and continued with my rituals," Qingfeng Daozhang said as he licked his lips. "Around three o'clock, I went to the back hall to check on my disciples."
Seeing my puzzled expression, Qingfeng smiled wryly. "The youngest among my disciples is only eleven years old. I brought him back from an orphanage four years ago. He has been a bit under the weather lately, so I needed to go in and check on him, and after covering Meatball with a blanket..."
At this moment, Fatty couldn't help but interject, "You covered Meatball with a blanket? What does that mean?"
"Meatball is my youngest disciple," Qingfeng explained. "In Taoism, everyone's title includes 'zi' at the end to sound more prestigious, like Guangchengzi, Chisongzi, Putizi... So, I named them all with 'zi' at the end."
"Meatball also has 'zi' in his name, no doubt about it!" I suppressed a laugh and shot a glare at Fatty, then turned back to Qingfeng. "Please continue!"
"After covering him with a blanket, I was about to leave when suddenly I felt something was off. When I turned around, I found nine people sleeping on the floor!" Qingfeng Daozhang's voice trembled slightly.
"Nine people?" I exclaimed and immediately asked, "Did some Taoists sneak in from outside to sleep?"
"I thought so at first too. I lifted the curtain to look outside and saw seven people still in the main hall. Then I turned back and counted again—yes, there were indeed nine people lying on the floor," Qingfeng Daozhang said, his face growing even more horrified. "But there are only sixteen of us in total; who is this extra person?"
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