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墨書 Inktalez
He sent a meeting address instead of the address for Azure Mountain. I got out of bed, brushed my teeth, and washed my face.
They were still asleep when I left alone. I met Chen San at a shop, and he looked much better than before.
Xiaoru was not by Chen San's side.
After I sat down, we exchanged no words as they both lit a cigarette.
I had lost track of Ke'er, which put me in a bad mood.
"Are you going?" Chen San asked straightforwardly.
Without hesitation, I replied that I would go. I asked Chen San if he had also received a petal. Chen San looked puzzled and asked what petal I was talking about.
I stared at Chen San in surprise as he explained that he had only received a text message saying that I was to go to Azure Mountain. He then showed me the message.
It contained just a few brief words.
I didn't say much; I just felt that this might be another trap.
I took a sip of tea and asked Chen San, "Where is Azure Mountain?"
Chen San suddenly seemed lost in thought. I urged him on; I didn’t want to waste time. If the Reincarnation Flower from the River of Despair had really been taken, then it would either have to be reclaimed or I'd die there.
The Reincarnation Flower had to be mine. My thoughts became somewhat extreme.
Seeing my urgency, Chen San stopped pondering and said directly, "Azure Mountain is an old name from hundreds of years ago; it’s not called Azure Mountain anymore."
I asked what it was called now.
"Now it's called Burial Dragon Ridge," Chen San replied.
Hearing the name Burial Dragon Ridge made my heart sink, for I knew where it was. Burial Dragon Ridge was steep and high, located in a mountain range in the central region. Legend had it that ancient emperors often went there to pay their respects, yet no one had ever climbed the mountain. The first reason was the steep slopes, and the second was that it was said to be the resting place of the Dragon Vein, making any ascent a sign of disrespect.
However, times had changed, and such taboos were no longer as significant. Recently, I had heard that the government was planning to develop the area into a brand new tourist attraction.
Azure Mountain and Burial Dragon Ridge—Chen San seemed to know that Azure Mountain had been called Azure Mountain for hundreds of years, which suggested he must know something more.
I waited for Chen San to continue.
But he didn’t say anything further; it seemed that was all there was to it.
I asked, "Is that all?"
Chen San confirmed that there was nothing more to say. It appeared he really had nothing else.
I decided not to press further. We then discussed our departure date before parting ways.
I took out a photo of Wuren and glanced at it. At that moment, I noticed the background of the photo—it was blurry yet clear, hidden deep within the mountains.
Damn it, some people could clearly explain things face-to-face but chose to play tricks behind one's back.
I had no intention of delaying any longer; I quickly planned to set off for Azure Mountain.
I had Wang Wei settle Wind Tree, and then I took him and Clay Bodhisattva to prepare for departure. Chen San was with Xiaoru, which didn’t surprise me at all.
We took the high-speed train and after several transfers, we finally arrived at Burial Dragon Ridge.
At the foot of Burial Dragon Ridge, there was a small mountain village with just over a dozen households. Upon arriving, the first thing I noticed was the fresh air, and there were no signs of development here.
We entered the village. Of course, we first looked for a place to stay before searching the mountains for Wuren.
Once inside the village, the locals were quite welcoming. It didn't take long for one family to accept us, and they were actually the first ones we asked.
The host was an elderly woman. Wang Wei inquired about her children, and she said they had all gone out to see the world and were making money elsewhere.
There were five of us, so we were somewhat cramped.
However, it didn’t matter; we weren’t planning to sleep just yet. We quickly asked the old lady to find a local person familiar with the situation in the mountains.
This person was a middle-aged man who was taciturn.
I showed him the photo directly, but to my surprise, he lost his composure upon seeing it.
He said, “How do you have his photo?”
I asked what was wrong.
The middle-aged man suddenly displayed a look of terror on his face and said, “He’s dead. He died years ago.”
"Is he dead?" I asked.
"Yes, he is dead. We saw him die with our own eyes."
We had witnessed it firsthand, and my purpose in showing the middle-aged man the photo was not to point out the person in it, but rather to draw his attention to the blurred background behind him.
That blurred background was likely the place I needed to go.
However, once the middle-aged man realized that my inquiry was related to the dead man in the photo, he became reluctant to guide me.
I told him not to be afraid, but he acted like a coward, refusing to go up the mountain. Finally, I snapped, "Damn it, are you even a man?"
When the middle-aged man heard me insult him, he got angry and retorted. I was ready to throw a punch, but Wang Wei stepped forward and pulled out a few hundred Renminbi from his pocket.
Wang Wei said that if money could solve the problem, then it wasn't really a problem at all.
He looked confident, but the middle-aged man showed no appreciation for it and tossed Wang Wei's money onto the ground.
He muttered, "What good is money if you don't have your life to spend it?"
Damn it, he had a point.
Clay Bodhisattva chimed in, "Saning Brother, beat him up."
I was about to take action when suddenly a cool breeze swept through, and then I heard a voice.
Everyone clearly heard it, and the middle-aged man was instantly terrified.
Seeing him like this, I didn't say anything more and told him to go back.
Otherwise, it was really disheartening to watch. After hearing my words, the middle-aged man hurriedly left the mountain.
We headed up the mountain, and as I looked at the background in the photo, I thought that if someone wasn't familiar with this mountain, they probably wouldn't be able to find that place at all.
Legend has it that this mountain is home to the Dragon Vein.
Wang Wei couldn't help but ask, "Is the person in this photo really dead?"
Regardless of whether they were dead or alive, I had only one purpose for coming here. I took out my phone to check for a signal, but as expected, there was none.
I asked Chen San and the others if they had any signal, but they also said no.
However, not long after the middle-aged man left, a scream suddenly pierced the air. We were momentarily stunned, but once we reacted, we hurried toward the direction of the scream.
When we arrived at the location, we discovered a corpse.
Seeing the body made my heart sink because this corpse...
I turned the body over and saw a face that filled me with dread—it was Wuren, the one who had given me the photo.
At first, I thought it was the middle-aged man who had died, only to find out it was Wuren.
I checked the body; it had already breathed its last. Immediately, I wanted to see if there were any souls around. Sure enough, when I looked, I discovered a soul.
I quickly reacted and chased after it.
The soul was drifting swiftly in the wind, and I pursued it, with Chen San closely following. It felt as though something had changed in Chen San since he came back to life.
However, I couldn't quite pinpoint what had changed.
The soul led us forward, but soon it vanished into an opening. I was panting from the chase.
Wang Wei, Xiaoru, and Clay Bodhisattva quickly caught up with us.
The beam of our flashlight illuminated the area as I took out a photo to compare. I focused mainly on the tree trunk in the background, and upon comparison, I confirmed it was a match.
My heart nearly sank with relief; I said this must be the place.
"Then let's go in," unexpectedly said Clay Bodhisattva.
The atmosphere here was somewhat eerie as our flashlights flickered through the darkness.
"Saning Brother, can I follow you?"
I absentmindedly replied that it was fine, but Xiaoru cautioned, "Saning, it's a bit dangerous here; we need to be extra careful once we go in."
I nodded and acknowledged that I understood.
I stepped inside first.
Clay Bodhisattva said he would follow me, and Chen San took up the rear.
Once I entered, a foul stench of decay hit me, but when I shone my flashlight around, I discovered it was just the carcasses of some wild animals.
At the beginning, the walls on both sides were uneven, but after walking for a while, they gradually became smooth.
Wang Wei remarked, "This place can't be where the Dragon Vein is buried, can it?"
I didn't respond. The beam of my flashlight illuminated the area, but Wuren's spirit seemed to have vanished without a trace after entering here.
This could be considered a passageway. The further we went, the more ornate it became; at the back, it was even decorated with red silk, though it seemed quite old.
When I touched it, the red silk instantly turned to dust.
However, this straight passageway felt endless. Despite its changes, it continued to stretch on. Eventually, I came to a halt.
"Something feels off," I said.
I glanced back and called out to Chen San. He responded, and I realized that this passageway was barely wide enough for one person; if two people walked together, it would be quite cramped.
In such an environment, ensuring safety from front to back was crucial.
So when Chen San answered me, some of my doubts were alleviated.
"Saning Brother," Clay Bodhisattva said, "I have a feeling there might be something fun ahead."
I had grown accustomed to Clay Bodhisattva's nervousness.
I continued walking forward, but I was more cautious than before. After taking a few steps, yellow flags appeared on the wall.
One after another, the yellow flags bore some blood, as if guiding us onward. I carefully moved forward, occasionally glancing at these yellow flags.
As I walked further, murals began to appear on the walls, depicting monks.
"This place is really strange; it has everything," Clay Bodhisattva remarked. Indeed, it was peculiar; there was truly everything here.
The earlier yellow flags had intricate patterns on them, and I couldn't help but speculate that they might be related to Taoism. Now there were also Buddhist statues; this place must have connections to Buddhism.
With both Taoists and monks present, what else could be missing? But why was I even thinking about what might be missing? Just then, something appeared before me.
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