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墨書 Inktalez
Before I left, I called Second Uncle to inform him. He had always advised me not to wander around unnecessarily and to stay at school as much as possible. There are many people here, and if something happens, even if one cannot shout for help, someone might notice in time.
When he heard I was going to Henan, Second Uncle initially disagreed. What if something happened while I was alone in a different place? I explained that a classmate had gone missing there and that a close friend was also present, so I had to go. Second Uncle understood the importance of loyalty. After considering it for a moment, he asked if I wanted to bring a few Ajan along for assistance.
I felt bad about bothering Second Uncle again since I hadn’t been able to help with the situation in Thailand. Besides, I was just going to Wangsheng Mountain to take a look; there was no certainty that anything had actually happened. Moreover, Ajan specialize in matters related to spirits; if I were to encounter kidnapping or extortion, they would be of no help. Otherwise, why would I go through the trouble of finding a martial arts disciple for protection?
Seeing that my mind was made up, Second Uncle didn’t press the matter further. He was indeed overwhelmed by the jade situation; the Azhans had spent many days researching without any leads. They had already agreed that if anyone went missing again without reason, they would immediately head to the Myanmar Jade Mine. Second Uncle understood that he could no longer make decisions regarding this matter. When it came to life and death, the Azhans would not show him any leniency.
After reminding Second Uncle to take care of himself, I left school and headed to Henan.
Wangsheng Mountain, also known as Luo Fu Mountain, is located near Pingdingshan City in Henan. There aren’t many attractions in this area, so few people visit. When I arrived nearby, the surroundings were desolate. With the cold winter approaching, everyone was hiding in their warm homes; who would have the time to wander into such remote mountains?
I took out my phone and checked; the signal was strong. I tried calling Qin Senior Sister and Ma Rulong, but neither call went through. It seemed they were not here.
Looking up at Wangsheng Mountain, I saw auspicious clouds at the peak—there were no ominous signs. After some consideration, I ultimately decided to climb up and take a look. Regardless of whether I could find Qin Senior Sister or not, at least I would have tried my best.
Although Wangsheng Mountain isn’t very high, even two or three hundred meters can take several hours to climb. By the time I reached the top and saw the dilapidated Taoist temple, I was out of breath. I shouted a few times near the temple but received no response; only the wooden door stood wide open.
I walked inside and looked around; it was empty and eerily silent as if it were a dead place. After searching around without finding anyone, I planned to leave. Just then, I noticed that the table meant for offerings was slightly askew. The empty bowls on it were all tilted as if someone had disturbed them. Looking down at the floor, I unexpectedly discovered drag marks.
Two long drag marks suggested that someone had been forcefully pulled away from where they lay on the ground. Judging by the irregular angles and the numerous handprints surrounding them, it seemed that whoever had been dragged away had struggled at that time. Almost immediately, thoughts of Qin Senior Sister and Zheng Xuejie crossed my mind; if two people had been dragged away from here, aside from them, I couldn’t think of anyone else who might fit that description.
But who took them away? Could there really be a robber here?
Many criminals like to hide in the deep mountains to escape punishment. With such a vast mountain, not to mention the police, even sending in dozens of police dogs might not guarantee finding anyone. The possibility that they encountered a criminal is not nonexistent, but having long been in contact with strange events, my first thought was of something supernatural.
Since Ma Rulong also disappeared, even though I didn't know if his disappearance was related to Senior Sister Qin's, I would rather link them together in my mind.
Following the not-so-obvious drag marks, I made my way to an open area outside the temple. The drag marks disappeared abruptly in the clearing, as if two people had suddenly flown away. I was puzzled; could they have been carried away from here? After thinking for a moment, I began to search around the mountaintop to see if I could find any traces of others coming and going.
However, the withered grass and trees made it difficult to spot any signs. By the time it was almost dark, I still hadn't found any useful clues.
At that moment, my phone rang. I checked and saw it was Hu Xiaoyi calling. After answering, Hu Xiaoyi asked me what to do about the Fortune Goddess Tablet in the dormitory and whether anything needed to be offered.
I said, "That's none of your concern; just leave it there and don't touch it. By the way, if you and Liang Xi want it, you can take it; it's quite effective for attracting wealth."
Hu Xiaoyi asked, "Is it Authentic?"
I replied, "No, it's made by Ajan Master with a little bit of Yin Liao added; it's not too yin."
Hu Xiaoyi said he would pass on that since both he and Liang Xi were allergic to yin items and would get goosebumps just seeing them. Just as he was saying this, his voice suddenly cut off; it took two or three seconds before it returned. I couldn't hear what he said clearly and asked again. Just as Hu Xiaoyi was about to respond, his voice cut off again. It was intermittent and impossible to have a normal conversation.
Before long, the call ended. When I pulled the phone away from my ear and looked at it, I was shocked to find that there was no signal at all.
This is truly strange; when I first arrived at the temple, I had taken out my phone to check and it had full bars. Because of this reason, I never suspected there was an issue with the temple since Senior Sister Qin and Ma Rulong's phones had been unreachable. If they were near the temple, such a situation wouldn't occur.
But now, the signal had suddenly disappeared.
I suddenly remembered that the empty ground beneath my feet was precisely the location where Ma Rulong held the Extradition Ceremony. According to him, countless ashes were buried here, and his master had even captured a few Millennium Old Ghosts to suppress and refine them here. I had always been skeptical about the Millennium Old Ghosts, but I had indeed seen the ashes buried underground with my own eyes.
The scene of hundreds of spirits following the Soul Lantern to reincarnate was quite spectacular.
Thinking of this, I instinctively stomped my foot, and a muffled sound came from below, confirming it was definitely wood. I moved to one side, found the edge of the board, and forcefully pried it open. At that time, when I was lifting the board with Ma Rulong, I didn't feel anything unusual, but now doing it alone made me realize just how heavy it was!
After much effort, pushing and squeezing, and getting covered in dirt, I finally managed to lift the board. It crashed down with a loud thud, kicking up a cloud of dust. I quickly ran to the side to avoid it and waited for the dust to settle before approaching. By this time, it was almost completely dark outside, making it difficult to see what was on the ground. I walked back and forth along the square marks under the board, observing carefully. Ma Rulong said that many ashes were buried here; since they were buried, there must be an entrance. Knowing Ma Rulong as I did, this place must be an underground space; he would never be diligent enough to dig a big pit every time he buried ashes.
However, after searching for quite some time, I still couldn't find any entrance leading underground.
Having worked hard for most of the day without any results, I was starting to get anxious. My stomach growled with hunger, so I thought about heading down the mountain to get something to eat first. Before leaving, I looked at the wooden board on the ground and considered covering it back up to prevent any accidents. The board had many talismans drawn on it with Gold Paint; Ma Rulong had explained that these were used to suppress Evil Spirits.
However, when I approached the board and casually glanced at it, I was shocked to find that nearly half of the talismans drawn in Gold Paint had disappeared. Among the dense array of talismans, the blank spaces stood out conspicuously, like a blackboard filled with writing that had been partially erased.
I squatted down to examine the empty spots and noticed that they seemed to have vanished naturally. There were no signs of damage on the board; it was as if the talismans had dissipated on their own. I couldn't make sense of it and could only look more closely in an attempt to find some clues.
This place created by Longhu Mountain and the Maoshan Sect's Experts couldn't have gone wrong for no reason, especially these Gold Paint talismans that Ma Rulong had emphasized were obtained at great cost by his master. What exactly went wrong? Was it because of an issue with the talismans that Ma Rulong and Senior Sister Qin encountered an accident?
Just as I was deep in thought, my White Olive Amulet around my neck suddenly vibrated inexplicably. At that moment, I felt a tingling sensation in my back as if a needle were about to stab me. I turned around sharply but saw nothing in front of me; there was nothing at all. However, that feeling of panic inside me was unmistakable.
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