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墨書 Inktalez
Thinking about it, I didn't share these thoughts with him because I knew he had already made his choice, and with my current abilities, I couldn't change anything. So I asked him, "Did that master you encountered not help you at all?"
The shopkeeper shook his head. "No, he just told me that someone would come to help me in the future. Then he left, and I haven't seen him since..."
"It seems there are still many prophetic masters in this world..." I murmured to myself, feeling a mix of admiration and anger at the indifference of that so-called master.
"So what do you plan to do next? Do you have any plans?" I asked.
"You finally got to the point..." The shopkeeper continued, "After years of investigation, I've discovered that the residents who are said to be 'sick' are actually possessed by a strange spirit. This spirit controls their minds and souls, causing them to act contrary to what one would expect. Moreover, it seems these spirits are all under the control of a core spirit, which appears to be hidden in the Mine where that wealthy merchant extracted ore."
"But despite numerous attempts, I've never been able to enter that Mine. Each time I approach its entrance, an unseen force guides me elsewhere, preventing me from exploring further..."
"Are you asking us to help you enter this Mine?" I asked in confusion.
"Yes, but not entirely. I hope you can accompany me inside because I feel the Yin Qi within is too powerful for me to handle alone," the shopkeeper said, looking somewhat worried.
I was about to ask another question when Li Zhisheng stepped forward before me. "How can you be sure that's where the so-called core is? What if it's a trap or a more dangerous place?"
The shopkeeper glanced at Li Zhisheng. "Actually, it's no surprise that you would doubt me. You may not believe my words, but surely you trust your own eyes..." He looked up and down at Li Zhisheng and continued, "If I'm not mistaken, you must have Soul Burial, but..."
The shopkeeper hesitated slightly; it seemed he was wary of Li Zhisheng, slowly stepping back two paces. Seeing this, Li Zhisheng explained, "Don't worry; right now I only have the burial aspect, no soul. I won't harm you..."
Seeing Li Zhisheng like this, although the shopkeeper still seemed somewhat confused, he relaxed his tense nerves upon hearing that he wouldn't be harmed. "I don't know how you managed it, but it shows you indeed have the ability to help me eliminate the spirits here. Since you possess Soul Burial, then you must also be able to see spirits. Tonight, follow the spirits and you'll find out."
Li Zhisheng furrowed his brow and said, "Don't think I don't know. Going out at night here will get you infected. What are your intentions in making me go out at night?" His tone carried a hint of accusation.
The shopkeeper hurried to explain, "I think you've heard the residents' warnings, but they've only got it half right... We usually believe that evil spirits roam freely at night, but that's not entirely true. In fact, in our line of work, we divide the twenty-four hours into four time periods: weak yang, extreme yang, weak yin, and extreme yin. Yin lasts from ten at night until ten in the morning, while the rest of the time is yang."
"To be more specific, the time from ten at night to four in the morning is considered extreme yin, from four in the morning to ten in the morning is weak yin, and after that is extreme yang and weak yang. Then it cycles back to extreme yin, and so on..."
Li Zhisheng seemed a bit impatient as he interrupted, "What does this have to do with us?"
I listened with great interest, thinking perhaps I could find some other clues from this information. However, I was cut off by Li Zhisheng's remarks.
I didn't stop him because I knew that what was happening right now was more important; we could ask about these matters later.
The shopkeeper, slightly annoyed at being interrupted but unable to express it due to our request for help, maintained his composure. "Don't rush me; I'm just getting to the point..." He cleared his throat and continued, "Actually, the residents believe that danger only comes after midnight. In reality, those vengeful spirits are already roaming the streets by ten o'clock; they just recover from their weak yang state then and don't have enough energy until midnight when they become active."
"So we can take advantage of this and investigate their origins while they're still weak. But we must return before midnight; otherwise, it will be dangerous..."
After hearing this, I took out my phone to check the time—it was already past nine at night. If we were going to act, it had to be now. I thought for a moment and said, "In that case, let's move quickly. After all, except for Yao Long, we are all already infected. Plus, with Hu Fang still unconscious, if we don't act soon, it could be dangerous."
Death Apostle agreed with my plan and asked the shopkeeper, "Since we're going to investigate further, we need to know where the mine is located. Can you tell us where it is?"
The shopkeeper replied, "It's not far from here. Exit the shop and turn right; after crossing three streets, you'll see a road leading to the mountain. Follow that road for about ten minutes and you'll reach the mine."
After hearing this, I nodded and said, "Alright then; let's head out..." Just as I was about to turn and leave, Death Apostle grabbed my arm and whispered, "Are we just going like this? Are you sure about leaving Hu Fang behind?"
Hearing him say that, I understood what he meant. After hesitating for a moment, I turned to Yao Long and said, "Yao Long, how about this? You haven't been infected, so you stay here to take care of Hu Fang and this boss..." I deliberately emphasized the word "boss."
Yao Long immediately caught on. He nodded and picked up Azure Spirit, walking over to where Hu Fang lay by the table. After that, Death Apostle, Li Zhisheng, and I turned and left the grocery store together.
Once outside, I noticed that some shops were already packing up to close for the day, and a few pedestrians were hurrying home, perhaps because their homes were far away.
We followed the direction indicated by the grocery store owner. After a while, a path leading to the mountain stream appeared before us. The path was unlit and seemed quite dark.
At that moment, I had no time to think too much. Without hesitation, I took out my phone for light and entered the uphill path. It seemed like many people had walked this way before; it wasn't too steep. A few minutes later, we arrived at an entrance of a mine illuminated by lights.
From a distance, the entrance looked deep and dark; aside from the light at the entrance, there was no sign of illumination inside, making it seem exceptionally eerie. Occasionally, a cold wind would blow out from within.
Just then, Li Zhisheng caught up from behind. As soon as he saw the mine entrance, he pointed at it and said, "It looks like that boss didn't lie to us; quite a few Vengeful Spirits have already emerged from there and are heading in our direction..."
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