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墨書 Inktalez
The village elder said that many things, over time, acquire a spirit and become sentient.
In a certain household, there was a painting depicting a group of people going to the market. It seemed to have been hanging on the wall since the establishment of the People's Commune and remained there until the Household Responsibility System was implemented.
However, many years had passed, and not only had the painting not faded, but the figures in it appeared even more vibrant and lively.
At that time, there was no electricity in the countryside, and oil lamps consumed a lot of oil. People generally had dinner early and went to bed relatively early. Yet for some time, this family was frequently awakened at night by strange sounds: the creaking of a handcart, the snorting of a donkey, the swishing sound of a shoulder pole, and what seemed like a group of people chatting back and forth... When dawn broke, they asked their neighbors what was happening during the night. A large group of people had passed through the alley? The neighbors all claimed they hadn’t heard anything.
As time went on, this family began to feel uneasy.
They invited a master from Three Li Five Villages who was known for his Daoist practices to come and "take a look" (which in our area means to settle matters).
Although the master did not wear a Daoist robe or yellow crown, he carried tools such as a compass and Peach Wood Sword. From the moment he entered the alley, he began to sway left and right until he reached their courtyard but found nothing unusual.
The master was quite puzzled; such occurrences as described by the family usually indicated the presence of spirits or monsters, and with his abilities, he should have discovered something.
The family was very hospitable. Regardless of whether the master found anything or not, they invited him inside for tea. At that time in rural areas, houses were generally connected regardless of how many rooms they had. Only when children grew up or when there were many people would they use mats or sorghum stalks to create simple partitions. This household still had young children, so their three main rooms were open to each other. Upon entering, the master immediately noticed the painting hanging above the bed.
He called the homeowner over: "Take a look at this painting; is there anything unusual?"
The homeowner came over to inspect it closely but shook his head afterward.
The master instructed him to reach out and touch it. At that moment, the homeowner discovered something strange: what had once been a thin piece of paper now protruded oddly, as if the figures of people and trees in the painting had become three-dimensional!
The owner was also startled: the painting depicted a newlywed young man pushing his Daughter-in-law on a Unicycle, while Porters and Laborers hurriedly transported goods on a Donkey and carried cargo with a Shoulder Pole... Familiar Market Goers were seen chatting and laughing!
The master reached out and took down the painting, using a Peach Wood Sword to toss it into the Hearth: "Anything can become a spirit or a monster over time. This painting is old, and the characters and animals depicted have gained consciousness. They dare not cause trouble during the day but become restless at night. What you hear at night is everything portrayed in this painting!" Once the painting was burned to Ashes, the Household no longer heard those strange sounds at night.
There was another similar story about a Household with a daughter who had just turned eighteen, at the age of First Love. That spring, she began dreaming of a handsome young man visiting her at night. At first, they exchanged Sweet Nothings, but eventually, he stayed overnight in her room... However, he always left When the Rooster Crows, and the girl would wake up afterward.
As time passed, her mother noticed something unusual about her daughter: despite their difficult life, the girl was becoming increasingly plump. When her mother realized that she hadn’t seen any signs of Menstruation for two consecutive months, she finally panicked.
No matter how much her mother pressed her, the daughter insisted she was innocent and had never behaved improperly! Yet, her belly continued to grow.
Such matters were considered a great disgrace in rural areas at that time, and the girl's father was furious.
The girl's Aunt, a Person of Cultivation, heard about it and rushed over. She comforted her crying Niece, who felt wronged and shared the Dream she had been having. After listening to her Aunt's advice, the girl nodded in agreement.
That night, in the Dream, the handsome young man came again. In the middle of Cloud and Rain, when he got up to dress and leave at When the Rooster Crows, the girl quietly tied a piece of Knitting Yarn to his clothing while he wasn’t paying attention; he didn’t notice in the dark.
When morning came, the Aunt led her brother and sister-in-law along the yarn trail and discovered that it was tied to a huge Gray Herb in their backyard.
The elder said that this perennial Gray Herb had become sentient and transformed into human form to seek pleasure and cause trouble in the world.
—What happened to the girl afterward? Don't ask me; the story ends here.
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