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墨書 Inktalez
The sky was painted with a thick darkness gathering above the altar, as if it were about to fall at any moment. In the distance, the sun had already dipped below half the mountain peak, leaving everything in a state of half clarity and half murkiness.
The few beautiful girls who had remained silent all this time knelt in triangles beneath the circular platform, their movements resembling soulless puppets waiting to be sacrificed.
A man dressed like a Taoist priest stood nearby, holding a long sword in his hand, mumbling incomprehensible incantations.
Wang Er Gou looked at the three girls, who were not much older than his own children, and felt a pang of sympathy in his heart.
The Tough Leader cast an inquiring glance at Wang Er Gou, who nodded in response, signaling that it was time.
As darkness fell and the sun was nearly gone, Rugged Young Leader announced that the sacrificial ceremony could begin.
In truth, most of those present had no direct connection to this ritual. The only ones with a direct link were Wang Er Gou and the man resembling a Taoist priest.
The leader then asked the young boy for confirmation, and the boy nodded without hesitation.
At that moment, the sacrificial ceremony truly began! The first step: blood was to be offered. Without any hesitation, the girls at the three corners took their own lives. Blood flowed along the intricate patterns of the altar, spreading to every corner.
The Old Taoist's lips moved rapidly as he chanted continuously. Wang Er Gou looked at the three lives lying on the ground and felt a surge of compassion, reciting scriptures to guide their souls.
The ritual proceeded smoothly as the sun completely vanished. The mass of dark clouds above the altar began to churn ominously, rumbling with thunder and flashing with lightning.
The Old Taoist signaled for the rugged young man to kneel beneath the circular platform. He used a dagger to cut open his veins, blood flowing freely. It was clear that as his blood mingled with the altar's array, the patterns began to shift and change at an increasing speed until they became indistinguishable.
The Tough Leader knelt with his eyes closed in reverence beneath the circular platform. Suddenly, he opened his eyes wide and commanded, "Everyone step away from the altar!" At his words, everyone quickly moved away from the altar.
At that moment, the sky turned an eerie black. The swirling clouds stirred up a chilling wind that howled ominously. With a deafening crack, a massive thunderclap echoed through the air, followed by a flash of lightning that illuminated the entire sky.
The thunder roared incessantly, vibrating everyone's eardrums until they buzzed painfully. Wang Er Gou felt blood trickling from his ears and hurriedly covered them with his hands as lightning continued to strike, turning the night into a blinding white light.
The sturdy young man knelt there, motionless, unaffected in the slightest.
At that moment, something strange occurred. The altar cracked open, a fissure splitting through its center. It was as if the sky could no longer hold back its tears, and raindrops the size of beans began to pelt the ground. The circular platform spun incessantly, rainwater splashing off it and forming a curtain of rain.
Gradually, the altar ceased its expansion, and the array fell silent, coming to a halt with the last drop of rain. Flames reignited in the darkness of the night.
The Old Taoist stopped muttering, but his face turned pale as if washed with water. He then spat out a mouthful of crimson blood.
The sturdy young man slowly opened his eyes and gradually stood up. When Wang Er Gou looked at him again, he sensed that something had changed within him, though he couldn't quite pinpoint what it was.
Suddenly, a roar from a wild beast echoed nearby, and soon various animals gathered around. This time it wasn't just three "divine beasts," but all sorts of creatures were drawn in, with plants swaying toward this direction as if all living things were converging here.
Time seemed to pause for a second; in the next moment, all the animals lunged forward, causing everyone to tremble in fear, thinking their end had come. However, these animals had no intention of targeting them.
They leaped over the obstacles of the altar without hesitation and jumped into the fissure.
The scene was grand and spectacular; these animals leaped in as if unafraid of death. After about twenty minutes, the number of animals gradually dwindled until none remained.
This was a "sacrifice," an earth-shattering offering made at such a cost of life.
At that moment, the array began to change again, consuming energy as the fissure started to heal, revealing an opening in another direction.
Wang Er Gou thought that the previous spectacle would repeat itself, but it did not; this time it was calm. He failed to notice that the surrounding plants were slowly losing their vibrant green.
The Tough Leader observed everything calmly, unlike them who were stirred with turmoil inside.
He exhaled a breath of stale air; now was not the time for celebration. Soon he would have to descend into the altar. After about a quarter of an hour, he signaled for everyone to prepare to gather.
After assigning the tasks, everyone entered the altar through the cave entrance. There was a staircase, and the material appeared to be Bronze Casting. It was hard to describe what kind of existence this was.
Such grand craftsmanship! Bronze was once a rare material in ancient times, yet here it was, extravagantly forged, defying belief. Yet, it stood before everyone, forcing them to accept its reality.
As they approached the cave entrance, a chill swept over them. Everyone steadied their nerves. The Old Scholars were incredibly excited, completely forgetting their earlier fears; anything in this place could provide them with a lifetime of study.
As they ventured deeper, Wang Er Gou realized that this was not a sacrificial ceremony but rather an opening ritual. However, he dared not voice any doubts and simply followed along with the group.
Wang Er Gou walked ahead for a while, with a young boy closely following him and a girl trailing behind. Below the altar lay another world.
A Bronze World that defied belief.
Wang Er Gou spoke of this place, and even after many years, his eyes still revealed astonishment. He continued, saying that as they entered, their journey felt remarkably steady and safe.
Suddenly, the previously silent boy spoke up: "It's bad; we can't go any further."
The Sturdy Middle-Aged Man glanced at him and asked, "Is there a way?" The boy pondered for a moment before replying, "Life and death are our own responsibility." The Tough Leader was clearly struggling; he could feel something calling to him, something he was on the verge of obtaining. Retreating now would be unacceptable.
After calming down, the Tough Leader declared firmly, "Continue forward!" His words rang out with conviction.
The boy did not argue; his expression remained unchanged. Instead, he seemed confident. Wang Er Gou asked the boy, "What lies ahead?"
The boy shot him a cold glance and suddenly said, "If you want to survive, stick close to me!" Wang Er Gou fell silent in frustration.
The group pressed onward. The Old Scholars who followed were exceptionally excited, as if rejuvenated; they chattered incessantly about how this was a groundbreaking discovery that would surely shock the world when revealed.
Throughout it all, the Tough Leader paid no attention to them; perhaps those scholars were merely meant to serve as cover.
In the underground world of Bronze Casting, a cold and desolate atmosphere enveloped everything.
After walking for a while, they entered a circular cavern. There was an altar beneath as well.
Once everyone had poured in, the Old Scholars began their research and documentation along the way.
The altar seemed to respond to their presence, suddenly cracking open a fissure. At that moment, the Tough Leader's expression changed, clearly overwhelmed by an uncontrollable joy.
A hole appeared, roughly the size of a well opening. The Tough Leader rushed forward, and the young man intended to call out to him, but it was too late. By the time the leader realized what was happening, it was already too late.
The opening now resembled a wind tunnel; before the leader could steady himself, he was sucked inside. A scream echoed shortly after, followed by silence. The wind from the opening grew stronger. The young man urged, "We need to retreat."
The Old Scholars were engrossed in their studies and completely oblivious to the situation unfolding around them.
Wang Er Gou followed the young man as they ran towards the exit, with the young man reminding him not to stop. Soon after, several screams pierced the air, followed by gunfire.
Now, only Wang Er Gou and the young man were fleeing outside. The others had not made it out. They ran for half an hour before finally escaping.
It was likely that everyone inside had perished. At that moment, the opening of the altar outside closed up. The altar returned to its original state, with three innocent bodies lying on top.
Having narrowly escaped death, Wang Er Gou felt most grateful to this young man; next in line was Heavens, for granting him another chance at life.
Wang Er Gou and the young man could not bear to leave the innocent girls' bodies exposed in the wilderness, so they buried all three together.
As they descended the mountain, they noticed that all vegetation within a ten-mile radius had withered away. The young man murmured, "What a tragedy!" Wang Er Gou remained silent.
After leaving the mountain range, the young man bid farewell to Wang Er Gou. Although Wang Er Gou wanted to invite him to his home for a visit, he could only see the young man's pitiful expression looking back at him.
"Wang Er Gou" asked, "Brother, why do you look at me like that?"
The young man simply replied, "Your home has been destroyed." Taking advantage of "Wang Er Gou's" moment of shock, he vanished without a trace.
"Wang Er Gou" couldn't think about anything else; his family might have already met with disaster. Sure enough, upon returning home, he found corpses strewn across the floor—his butler, maid, and caregiver were all dead. When he entered the inner chamber, he saw that his wife had also perished.
At that moment, "Wang Er Gou" surprisingly did not shed a single tear. He remembered a talisman left to him by his master and opened it to find the message: "Leave this place quickly."
"Wang Er Gou" had always trusted his master's words. Suppressing his immense sorrow, he departed.
After he left, several others climbed over the wall in search of something. Once "Wang Er Gou" escaped that place of turmoil, he no longer traveled the world using Feng Shui; instead, he lived under a disguise with a mask.
For a period of time, he lived in a daze until he eventually began working in this profession. He changed his original name from "Mo Liang" to "Wang Er Gou," adopting a life of anonymity and completely transforming his former self and character.
As the years passed, "Wang Er Gou" had long since lost the proficiency in Feng Shui that he once possessed.
After recounting this story, " Seven " couldn't help but sigh in lamentation; fate always seemed to play tricks on people!
"Wang Er Gou" mentioned that he had been looking for opportunities to uncover the secrets of that place but had never found a suitable candidate. Now that he saw them, he realized he had found an opportunity.
" Seven " smiled but did not respond.
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