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墨書 Inktalez
After a long night, I finally managed to get up as dawn broke. My wife had been restless all night and had just fallen asleep. The book mentioned that native dogs could ward off evil spirits, especially the Black Dog.
I filled a mineral water bottle with my wife's urine, locked the door from the inside, and took a taxi to the Dog Market in the suburbs. The market was bustling with dogs of all breeds, including many mixed breeds, but there were no purebred native dogs in sight.
I wandered around the market for quite some time until I finally spotted a native dog. Its fur was a messy mix of yellow, white, and black. I poured my wife's urine on the ground, and it came over to sniff. Suddenly, it yelped and ran away.
I moved forward and poured out more urine, trying again. Most of the dogs reacted just like the first one—sniffing and then bolting in fear. I felt frustrated; could it be that native dogs were extinct?
Just then, a Black Dog suddenly darted out from the side. Its coat was sleek and shiny, its body strong and imposing. It fixed its gaze on me and let out a low growl that sounded threatening.
Startled, I turned to run, but it was much faster than I was. In just a few steps, it caught up to me and grabbed my pant leg in its mouth. With a sharp tug, I fell flat on my back.
"Oh my God, help!" I shouted as the Black Dog lunged at me, barking fiercely. I shut my eyes and waved my hands desperately while yelling, "Don't bite me, don't bite..."
After flailing for what felt like an eternity, I opened my eyes to find that the dog was barking at the bottle of urine in my hand.
"Da Hei, come back!"
The Dog Owner arrived just in time, scolding Da Hei and pulling me up from the ground.
"Young man, I'm really sorry. Are you okay?" The Dog Owner, a middle-aged man, looked at me with a face full of concern.
"I'm... I'm fine," I stammered, still shaken as I watched Da Hei retreat into his cage.
"What’s gotten into that dog today? I've never seen him so fierce," the man said, scratching his head apologetically.
"Is he a local breed?" I asked.
"Yes," he nodded.
"A male?"
"That's right," he confirmed again.
"Great!"
"How much is this dog?" I asked eagerly.
"What, you want him?" I nodded emphatically.
"Aren't you afraid he'll bite you?" the man kindly reminded me.
"After a while, once he's used to me, it will be fine," I insisted, determined to buy him.
"Sigh, nowadays people only want purebreds."
"This dog has been here for almost a year, and no one wants him," the man sighed.
"How about this, young man? Since I startled you earlier, I won't charge you anything."
"I'll give him to you for free, just take good care of him."
"Go on, from now on he’s yours," the man said, patting my shoulder.
I thanked the man and walked over to the dog cage. Da Hei bared his teeth and stared at the bottle in my hand, letting out a low growl.
When I brought Da Hei back to the neighborhood, it was already getting dark.
Worried about my wife, I hurriedly pushed the cage home.
"Ahua, Ahua..."
Suddenly, someone called my name from behind.
That voice... Oh no, it's Dad!
Just as I was about to turn around, Da Hei in the cage started barking furiously at something behind me.
I suddenly became alert.
When the dead call out the names of the living, it means they are calling for their souls. If you respond, your soul could be taken away.
My hair stood on end, cold sweat dripped down my back, and I froze in place.
Da Hei's barking snapped me out of my stupor.
With Da Hei by my side, I felt a surge of courage. Strangely enough, after Da Hei barked, Dad's voice disappeared completely.
"Da Hei, thank goodness you're here; otherwise, I would have been in big trouble." I forced my stiff legs to move forward again.
Once home, I rushed to the bedroom.
I opened the door and saw my wife still lying there; I finally breathed a sigh of relief.
But as I approached the bed, I was startled.
She lay there with her eyes tightly shut, lips pale, and her hair drenched in sweat. Her face was flushed, and she occasionally mumbled incoherently.
I reached out to touch her forehead—she was burning up.
I quickly went over to Da Hei's side.
"Da Hei, I need to take some of your blood to save her."
Da Hei seemed to understand what I was about to do; it let out a low growl but didn’t resist.
I gently stroked its head with a heavy heart.
"Once my wife wakes up, I'll make sure she cooks meat for you every day."
I took some blood and brought it into the bedroom.
I moved a stool and sat by the bed, dipping a pair of chopsticks into a bit of blood before dotting it on her forehead. Her eyelids twitched suddenly.
I followed suit, applying the blood to her eyelids, earlobes, nose, and mouth. As the blood dried, my wife's face was no longer as flushed as it had been moments ago. Before long, she slowly opened her eyes.
"Ahua, what’s happening to me..." Her voice was hoarse as she spoke. I poured a glass of warm water and helped her drink it.
My wife was feeling dizzy from the fever, and it took me quite a while to recount everything that had happened over the past two days. "If it weren't for Da Hei, we would have both been taken away."
After hearing my words, she fell silent for a moment before asking, "Why would Dad want to harm us? Will he come back?"
"I don't know. It just feels like there's more to this than meets the eye. How could Dad possibly want to hurt us?"
"But don’t worry; as long as Da Hei is with us, Dad won’t dare to show up easily."
She nodded and added, "We need to tell my parents about this."
I hesitated about whether to say anything, but she had already dialed the phone. Before she could finish speaking, my father-in-law exploded on the other end.
"What do you mean by gathering souls? Calling souls?"
"This is all nonsense! Are you filming a movie? What era are you living in? And you’re still university students!"
"Dad, it's true. Da Hei is a spiritual dog; it can ward off evil spirits. Thanks to..."
"Don't mention dogs to me!" My father-in-law interrupted her angrily. He had been bitten by a dog when he was young and had never liked them since.
"Fine, your mother and I will come over shortly!"
"Dad..." My wife tried to say something else, but the call had already ended.
My father-in-law and mother-in-law lived very close by, so they arrived quickly. As soon as they entered the door, my father-in-law glared at Da Hei, who was lying on the floor with an unhappy expression.
"Your father-in-law just left. For the next few days, your mother and I will stay here to keep you company."
"And also, you should get rid of that dog as soon as possible. You both are so busy with work, do you really have time to take care of it?"
My mother-in-law pulled my wife aside, asking her a series of questions.
"Don't be afraid; it's just that a family elder has passed away."
She continued, "Is it because of work stress? Maybe you should take a leave and relax a bit?"
I knew that no one would believe such things unless they saw them with their own eyes.
My wife was about to argue back when I stopped her.
"Alright, it's getting late. Let's all get some sleep. We can talk about anything tomorrow."
"Mom and Dad, no matter what happens outside tonight, please don't leave your room."
"What are you talking about, child? Yan Yan is timid; can't a grown man handle things?" my mother-in-law chided.
Sighing helplessly, I returned to my room.
It was already past ten o'clock at night.
My wife tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall asleep.
I asked her what was wrong.
She said that when she was in a daze, it felt like Dad had come back for her.
He wanted to take her away, but she didn't want to go; her body just wouldn't listen.
I reassured her that as long as she stayed inside the bedroom, everything would be fine.
Only then did she feel a bit more at ease and drifted off to sleep while holding onto me.
I don't know how long we slept, but suddenly we were startled awake by Da Hei's frantic barking from the living room.
We both sat up in shock.
I turned on the living room monitor and took a quick glance, instantly feeling a chill run down my spine.
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