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墨書 Inktalez
The shopkeeper noticed our unusual expressions and immediately understood what was happening. He pulled out two talismans from the pocket of his cotton coat, then bit his thumb, using his blood to mark the talismans with quick strokes. Moments later, he suddenly shouted and pressed one talisman onto my forehead and the other onto Li Zhisheng's.
Instantly, I felt a heaviness in my head, and suddenly my vision went dark. With a thud, I collapsed to the ground...
...
I don't know how long it had been when I rubbed my aching temples and opened my eyes. "What happened?" I muttered to myself.
"You’re still in the shop..." came the voice of the shopkeeper nearby.
Hastily, I got up and saw that Yao Long was also standing next to the shopkeeper. Behind them lay Hu Fang, Li Zhisheng, and Death Apostle, all placed on makeshift "beds" made of wooden planks.
Seeing this, I asked, "Did you stop us from getting sick?"
The shopkeeper nodded. "Indeed. I used the talismans to temporarily seal your souls within your bodies, putting you into a state of slumber to prevent you from harming yourselves. However, I'm not an exorcist or demon hunter; this is just a bit of knowledge I've learned from others."
"How long did you seal us?" I inquired.
The shopkeeper extended his hand and opened his palm. "Five hours. That's the most I could do. Based on my experience, as long as you avoid extreme yin energy, you should be fine."
"When we arrived here it was twelve o'clock. If I slept for five hours, it should be five o'clock now?" I murmured to myself. Just as I was about to take out my phone to check the time, the shopkeeper interrupted me: "No, it's only a little past three. The Void Spirit on you seems to possess quite powerful energy; it broke through my seal quite early."
As he finished speaking, I took out my phone and saw that it displayed three-thirty in the morning. Then I turned to look at Death Apostle and Li Zhisheng lying beside me and thought, "If what the shopkeeper said is true, then they still have at least another hour and a half of sleep."
With that in mind, I got up from the hard wooden "bed" and told the shopkeeper about what had happened to us in the Mine, asking him why it had occurred.
The boss explained, "Because that Mine has been cursed, it interferes with people's five senses and leads them to other locations. Although this sounds a bit like a hallucination, it is fundamentally different from one..."
"Isn't it just interfering with sight and hearing? Why is it two different things?" I asked, confused.
"A hallucination directly makes a person see things that do not exist; it directly affects the mind. This curse, however, acts on the soul, causing the soul to send incorrect commands to the body, leading to erroneous actions. It's similar to how those so-called 'diseases' affect you; they influence the soul, causing the body to act contrary to consciousness."
Hearing his explanation, I understood. When a person is in a hallucination, their actions are still controlled by their own consciousness, but this curse can make consciousness and behavior go in completely opposite directions.
"Since you've investigated all of this, have you found a way to break the curse?" I asked.
He shook his head and said, "No. After all these years, I've searched through every clue but found no way to break it. If I had a solution, do you think I would have ended up merging with the Void Spirit...?" He sighed deeply and continued, "The only thing I know for sure is that there might be something hidden in that Mine that controls these spirits, but I can't enter it, let alone know what's inside. Moreover, this thing requires something called Hatred to break. Only those who possess this ability won't be affected by the Mine's entrance curse."
Upon hearing this, I was taken aback. "Could he be suggesting that I use Hatred?! But right now not only is my mark about to fully form, but I'm also without Xie. If I lose control, everyone present will die..."
At that moment, Yao Long, who had been silent until now and noticed my anxious expression, asked me, "What's wrong? Can't you use it anymore?"
I nodded. "You know the situation here; I only have five tokens given to me by the Death Apostle on the plane. Not only can they not stop Hatred, but they might even struggle to keep my dormant Void Spirit sealed for long."
Upon hearing this, Yao Long knew a little about Gu Technique but only scratched the surface. He was even less familiar with curses and talismans. Frowning, he didn't know how to respond and simply tightened his grip on Azure Spirit, lost in thought.
At that moment, the shopkeeper heard me mention Xie and hesitated for a moment before slapping his thigh. "Are you saying you know how to use Hatred? As long as there's Xie involved, right?!" He seemed quite excited.
I explained to him, "What you don't understand is that Hatred seems to be a power that only those who have a living Void Spirit can use; I'm not sure why you can't. Although it's not difficult to use, controlling it is very challenging and could lead one to lose their humanity and harm innocents. Xie is meant to seal this power when absolutely necessary."
"Perhaps my Void Spirit is too weak..." The boss muttered before suddenly raising his voice. "However, I do have one token of Xie; it could be a treasure passed down from my ancestors! I've always been reluctant to use it; I never expected it would come in handy now..."
He turned and ran out of the room, leaving me and Yao Long puzzled. "How could a Feng Shui Master have a talisman? Did his ancestors also work as exorcists?" Yao Long murmured.
Although I shared the same question as Yao Long, I thought that perhaps they were used for self-defense or protection. After all, even if a talisman wasn't actively used, it could still serve as a ward against evil.
Just then, the shopkeeper entered, holding a dusty Wooden Box. He brought it in front of me and brushed off the dust with his sleeve. "Look, it's right here..." He lifted the box and slowly opened the lid in front of me.
At that moment, I noticed that inside the drawer-sized box lay only a single piece of paper, about the size of an ordinary talisman, roughly the length of a finger. In the dim light, it appeared particularly ancient.
I hesitated to reach for it, fearing that even a touch would turn it to dust. "Can this still be used?" I asked anxiously.
Seeing my skepticism, the shopkeeper took the talisman out with one hand and tossed the Wooden Box aside. Holding up the talisman, he said to me, "Since you mentioned talismans, you must have used one before. Whether it really works or not, just hold it and see for yourself." He handed the talisman to me.
I cautiously extended my hand to take it. However, as soon as I touched one corner of the talisman, I felt an intense heaviness that was completely different from what I had experienced with other talismans...
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