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墨書 Inktalez
"Did I scare you?" Master Yun asked coldly without turning his head.
At that moment, Deng Kun and Wu Qian glanced over. It was clear that although it wasn't their first time here, they also seemed a bit uneasy.
It was no wonder, really; anyone would find it hard to accept that a coffin was placed right in the center of the living room. Moreover, this coffin didn't look new at all; the wood was damp, and it appeared as if it had been buried for a long time before being dug up.
I took a deep breath and shook my head. "Master Yun, I'm fine."
"Good," Master Yun nodded. "Come here."
He then told Deng Kun and Wu Qian, "You two can do as you please."
Wu Qian and Deng Kun quickly responded politely, and then Master Yun ignored them, walking over to sit beside a square wooden table next to the coffin.
I nodded and stepped toward Master Yun, but the atmosphere in the room felt uncomfortable. For some reason, it seemed quite cold inside.
The light wasn't very bright either, and the only window had been covered with cloth by Master Yun.
What struck me as even stranger was when I sat down at the wooden table beside him; he instructed Deng Kun and Wu Qian to close the door.
Even though it was daytime, the light in the room instantly dimmed further. The Yin Qi felt thick; I even had a sense of having entered a haunted house.
"Don't mind me; I don't like strong light. It's blinding," Master Yun explained when he noticed my anxious expression.
I quickly shook my head. Although I was quite bothered by it, I couldn't bring myself to say so. I just said it was fine and looked at him with words unspoken.
Master Yun continued to gaze at me, and we locked eyes in silence. The room fell into an eerie stillness.
After staring for a moment, Master Yun finally spoke, "Do you know why I say your life is in danger?"
I instantly perked up at his words, as this was exactly what I wanted to know. I hurriedly replied, "Please enlighten me, Master Yun. Save my life."
Master Yun neither nodded nor shook his head but said, "It will be very difficult to save you."
His words sent a chill down my spine, leaving me feeling utterly lost.
But soon, I caught sight of Deng Kun standing nearby, and a glimmer of hope ignited within me. I quickly pointed at him and said to Master Yun, "He—he was saved by you, right? Then you must be able to save me too. Please, Master Yun."
"Ah," Master Yun shook his head and sighed. "You are different from him."
"What makes me different from him?"
"Your birth is different, your fate is different—everything is different," Master Yun said mysteriously.
I was immediately puzzled, unable to comprehend what strange fate I might have or if there was something unusual about my birth that related to being haunted by a ghost.
Seeing my confusion, Master Yun continued, "If I’m not mistaken, you were born during the Yin Month, on the Yin Day, at the Yin Time."
Upon hearing this, I couldn't help but feel a surge of admiration for Master Yun. I nodded and said, "July fourteenth. According to my mother, I was born around seven in the evening."
"Seven—exactly at seven, not around seven," Master Yun interjected suddenly with unwavering certainty.
Though I had no idea how he knew the exact time of my birth and why he was so sure about it, my respect for him deepened even further.
But I curiously asked, "Master Yun, what is the difference between them and those?" Of course, I was referring to Deng Kun and his group.
"Of course there is," Master Yun replied calmly. "Because the time of your birth is not simply the Yin Month, Yin Day, or Yin Time, but rather the time of utmost Yin."
My expression changed, and an instinctive sense of foreboding arose within me.
Sure enough, Master Yun's next words made my face pale even more.
"Do you know what utmost Yin means?"
I shook my head, and Master Yun continued, "Then you should know that July fifteenth is the Ghost Festival."
I nodded; this was part of traditional culture that almost everyone knows. However, I had been an atheist before, so I hadn't paid much attention to it.
Now, however, as he mentioned it and I recalled the time and date of my birth, I suddenly felt a wave of panic in my heart.
Master Yun ignored my reaction and continued, "On July fifteenth, the Ghost Gate opens wide for the Yokai Night Parade. This saying is known by almost everyone, but very few truly believe in it."
"But there is a certain error in this saying because the actual opening time of the Ghost Gate is on July fourteenth. July fifteenth is merely the last day for those wandering spirits and wild ghosts to return to the Underworld."
I nodded in agreement with Master Yun's words. In this world, aside from the older generation, there are indeed very few who truly believe in superstitions.
Especially among young people today, after being exposed to new ideas, they are even less likely to believe in any talk of demons. Thus, notions like the opening of the Ghost Gate or the Underworld are purely nonsense to them.
Yet I was curious and somewhat confused, so I asked Master Yun what all this had to do with my birth.
Master Yun did not respond to me but continued, "In addition to these points, there are four key time periods throughout the day known as the time of utmost Yin, also called Zheng Time."
“Zheng Time, what is Zheng Time?”
This term felt fresh to me; it was the first time I had heard someone mention that there were four distinct time periods in a day, and I couldn't help but ask.
“Mao Time, Noon, Midnight, and You Shi; that is, from five in the morning to Seven, from eleven in the afternoon to one, from five in the afternoon to Seven, and between eleven at night and one in the morning. These four time periods are what we call Zheng Time.”
At this point, Master Yun’s expression suddenly grew serious. His deeply sunken eyes turned toward me, and he said coldly, “You were born on July Fourteenth, precisely at Seven in the afternoon, which is You Shi. Each of these times falls under the Yin aspect, so your fate is linked to Yin. Being born during this time is inherently a mistake, destined for a short life. That’s why I say saving you will be difficult.”
Before Master Yun could finish speaking, my face had already turned pale as I absorbed his words. I was utterly shocked.
I had never realized that my birth time was so ill-fated; it felt as if my very existence was a mistake, a sin.
“There’s one more thing.”
It seemed that Master Yun felt my shock wasn’t enough. He continued, “In addition to all this, you have already absorbed Yin Qi, which has invaded your organs. Your lifespan is nearly over; that’s why I say your days are numbered.”
“Perhaps you should return to see your parents and prepare for your final arrangements,” he said as he stood up. He then addressed Deng Kun and Wu Qian, who had been quietly listening nearby. “I’ve said all I needed to say; you can take him now.”
Having heard everything Master Yun said, they didn’t know what else to say. Wu Qian looked at me with pity before sighing and going to open the door.
I sat there in a daze; Master Yun’s words had overwhelmed me, leaving me unable to process everything.
“Let’s go,” Wu Qian said softly as he approached me.
I instantly realized what was happening and shook my head repeatedly. From what Master Yun had said earlier, it seemed he had a way to save me, so I still held onto a glimmer of hope.
I pushed Wu Qian's hand away as she tried to pull me back, standing up and walking in front of Master Yun. I was about to kneel down when he stopped me with a firm grip, his voice low and serious. "What are you doing?"
"I'm begging you to save me, Master."
"I know you must have a way to help me. I'm still young; I don't want to die. Please, you have to help me." At that moment, I couldn't care less about anything else; I just clung to him desperately.
Perhaps feeling a bit helpless due to my persistence, Master Yun finally sighed again and agreed, saying, "Then I'll give it a try."
"Thank you, Master Yun."
Hearing his agreement filled me with excitement, and a smile finally broke across my face.
However, what Master Yun did next was something I found hard to accept—he instructed me to lie inside the coffin in the living room.
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