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墨書 Inktalez
Living Funeral
I glanced at Hu Qingming, then at Nian Chen, whose eyes were filled with concern.
Zhang Xun's gaze was also flickering uncertainly.
I said to the two of them, "Don't worry."
As soon as I finished speaking, I stepped into the coffin. Once inside, I lay down flat, and instantly, it felt like a tide was roaring in my ears. My heart raced as I tried to discern the source of the sound. Nian Chen said to me, "Fei, if anything happens, just knock on the coffin. I will definitely come to save you."
I nodded, understanding his words. Hu Qingming said, "There's not that much danger, Chen Fei. I'm going to close the coffin lid now."
"Okay," I replied, not saying much more. Zhang Xun and Hu Qingming quickly helped me close the lid. Darkness enveloped me instantly. After the lid shut, the sound that had been like a tide grew louder.
I stared at the coffin lid when Zhang Xun said to me, "Chen Fei, I've left a gap for you to breathe."
I acknowledged him with a sound of understanding. Time passed slowly; suddenly, I heard someone call out, "You’re here." At first, I thought someone outside the coffin was calling me, but when I leaned closer to listen through the coffin board, I heard nothing.
Taking a deep breath, just then, my eyes were suddenly covered by a hand. The voice said to me, "Come with me." He took my hand and led me forward. As we walked, the darkness faded away.
When he lowered his hand, I stepped out from the darkness and found myself lying among a pile of corpses. I stood up from the heap of dead bodies and was initially startled but then froze for a few seconds—wasn't this the person from my last dream?
He stood there smiling brightly among the dead bodies while I was also standing in that pile. Was this some kind of hint?
So many corpses; there were so many beneath me.
At that moment, someone called out to me, "Young Master, are you alright?" I looked at the person in front of me and asked, "Why are there so many dead people here?"
The person in front of me was dressed in old-fashioned clothing, looking like a servant. He grabbed my hand and started running forward. "There's a battle going on; can we avoid casualties? Let's hurry home."
Home. The servant pulled me along. I had come here to save someone, but I hadn’t managed to do that and almost lost myself in the process.
I said, "Yes, yes, I came here to save someone." Memories began to surface in my mind—finding someone, finding someone. Suddenly, I heard a cry. Following the sound, I realized it was coming from a pile of corpses. I shook off the servant's hand and walked toward the heap.
I pushed aside the bodies and finally discovered a girl among them. She looked about five or six years old and appeared pitiful, her face smeared with dirt and blood. I pulled her out.
The servant called out to me, "Young Master!" I replied, "What’s the rush?"
He insisted, "We can’t afford to be slow; there’s likely another battle this afternoon."
I retorted, "Let them fight; what does it have to do with me?"
The servant wanted to say more but fell silent when I glared at him. The girl was crying bitterly. I wiped the tears from her face and said, "Don’t cry; I’ll take you away from here right now."
"But my parents are dead," she replied.
Now I recognized who this girl was—she was Nian Chen. The servant asked, "Young Master, have you found the person you were looking for?"
I answered, "Yes."
"This girl? Young Master, you never mentioned knowing such a girl before."
The servant urged me, "If you've found her, let’s go home; otherwise, the Master will be worried."
I took Nian Chen's hand and walked forward. Perhaps at this moment she shouldn’t be called Nian Chen; although she seemed reluctant, she ultimately followed me.
"Young Master, you really are something! You woke up this morning and took me to find someone, but instead of looking for anyone specific, you ended up here. I didn't expect we would actually find someone. Did you have a dream about it last night?"
I replied that I didn't know. At that moment, my face was covered in blood. I had followed the servant for over an hour before arriving in front of a house with the words "Chen Residence" written at the entrance. I froze, as I still had memories from before.
I thought to myself that I must be dreaming right now, and in this dream, I would remember everything from the past.
All the good and bad would be restored, returning to its original form.
The girl had stopped crying by now, and I asked her, "What is your name?"
She replied, "My name is Feng Li."
I murmured that it was a nice name. Once inside, someone called out "Young Master," which felt somewhat unfamiliar to me, so I nodded in acknowledgment. Feng Li appeared a bit timid. I told the servant, "Take her downstairs to change into some new clothes."
The five or six-year-old girl looked fragile, yet Feng Li refused to go. "I won't go with him; I want to go with you."
I looked at Feng Li in surprise. Her gaze was distant, but her tone was very firm. The servant said, "Young Master has things to do; you should come with me." He tried to pull Feng Li away, but she wouldn't budge.
I told the servant not to pull her and said, "Then come with me."
As soon as I finished speaking, a bright smile spread across Feng Li's face, though her eyes were still glistening with tears. For some reason, I thought of Bai. I instructed the servant to lead the way and found a maid. I told Feng Li, "You go wash up and change inside; I'll wait for you at the door."
Feng Li replied, "Okay."
Then she took the maid's hand and went inside. The servant stood beside me and said, "Young Master, you should go see the master now."
"Master?"
The servant grunted in response, and I said, "Wait a moment, I'll go with her later."
The servant replied, "If you go too late, Master will definitely be angry."
I had no reply. After waiting for a while, Feng Li walked out from inside, looking much cleaner after some grooming. I glanced at Feng Li and said, "Let's go."
Feng Li obediently responded. The servant led the way, and soon we arrived at a separate courtyard. The servant pointed to a room and said, "Young Master, it's right here."
I looked at the room; there was a black-and-white Bagua Diagram hanging at the entrance. I quickly approached and knocked on the door.
The servant advised me, "It's better not to bring this girl inside!"
Feng Li tightly grasped my hand, as if afraid I would let her go. I reassured her that it was fine. I raised my hand and knocked on the door three or four times. A voice from inside called out, "Come in." I pushed the door open and stepped inside.
Once inside, I saw a figure with their back turned. I called out, "Father."
He turned his head to look at me, then sighed heavily. My father said, "Have you figured it out?"
I looked at him but didn't respond immediately. He continued, "There’s a problem with your fate; someone has tampered with it. Fei Er, you’re smart enough to have noticed this by now!"
I froze for a few seconds as memories surged in my mind, but I couldn't recall everything completely; however, I knew that the person before me was my father.
I shook my head.
My father sighed and said, "When you were born, a Daoist visited and told me that your life would be fraught with difficulties. You were born during the night, and a Ghost Messenger came to take your soul, but the Daoist chased it away."
He then noticed Feng Li and asked, "Who is she?"
I replied, "I brought her back from a pile of dead bodies outside."
Father said, "The situation outside is chaotic. Have you thought about how to survive?"
I shook my head and said, "No."
Father continued, "Well, this afternoon a fortune teller will come by. You should stay home and wait for him."
I nodded in agreement. Father glanced at Feng Li and added, "She has very bad luck and a thin fate; someone like her shouldn't be kept around." He frowned as he spoke.
Feng Li was frightened and hid behind me. I told my father, "She's just a child; she doesn't understand anything."
Father looked at Feng Li again and said, "You two can go now."
As I stepped outside, my servant asked, "Young master, did the master scold you?"
I instructed him to take me back to my room and bring some food. He complied, and as I walked ahead, I began to think about everything around me. Bit by bit, the servant said, "Right now, the Taiping Army and the Hunan Army are fighting fiercely; we need to be cautious for our safety!"
I didn't respond to him and continued walking forward.
The servant added, "But you don't have to worry, young master; even the Ghost Messenger can't take your life. You're tough."
I returned to the room, where Feng Li was sitting on one side. I glanced at Feng Li, and tears quickly slid down her cheeks. I asked her, "Why are you crying?"
Feng Li replied softly, "My parents are gone, and I'm sad."
So many people had died, yet Feng Li was still alive; it was clear that her fate was quite resilient. I looked at her again. Feng Li had thin lips, which usually indicated that such people often had little fortune. I asked her when she was born.
"April 4," she answered.
At that moment, food arrived. After we ate, I asked Feng Li, "What do you want to do in the future?"
"I don't know, but I feel like you're a bit strange," Feng Li said earnestly.
I responded, "What do you mean strange?"
"You just look a bit odd. Your face is so pale, as if a woman has put on a layer of powder. Plus, your hands are very cold—really cold—and you're sweating a lot. Are you afraid of something?"
I looked at Feng Li in surprise and then glanced at my own hand. Using my other hand to touch it confirmed that it was indeed very cold and clammy with sweat. I thought to myself that she was quite observant.
Feng Li continued, "Tell me, what are you afraid of?"
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