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墨書 Inktalez
They say that on nights when the Black Wind rises, trouble is most likely to occur. In the pitch-black darkness, the stars collectively hide away, leaving only a solitary crescent moon hanging in the sky. Occasionally, heavy clouds drift by, obscuring the lone source of light.
A chilling wind blows, and the shadows of the trees sway, rustling softly.
I feel as if I am dreaming, my body weightless and devoid of sensation.
The scenes in dreams change rapidly; in the blink of an eye, I find myself in a classroom of the Old Teaching Building. Not far away, four girls are gathered around a worn-out desk. In the center of the desk lies a piece of paper covered in writing, with a small plate turned upside down on top, summoning the Spirit of the Plate.
“Spirit of the Plate, Spirit of the Plate, come quickly… Spirit of the Plate, Spirit of the Plate, come quickly…”
Aside from their faint calls, everything else is eerily quiet until a fifth hand appears beneath the plate.
“Do you want to play with us?”
A blood-soaked face suddenly looms before me, its white skin contrasting sharply with its black eyes that stare intensely at me. It grins widely, and its mechanical, hoarse voice grates against my eardrums and nerves.
“Yes, let’s play together!”
“Lin, Lin You?”
I jump back in shock.
At that moment, all four girls turn to look at me in unison. Each of their faces is smeared with blood, and they smile at me with unsettling kindness as they extend their hands.
It is only then that I recognize them as my classmates.
In this moment of confusion, I realize I cannot move my body. Although they are seated, numerous hands extend from their bodies to grip me tightly, their sharp nails digging into my flesh.
I struggle desperately to pry their hands away. To my surprise, when I touch those hands, they collapse like building blocks. As they fall to the ground, they suddenly transform into writhing black worms that crawl toward me.
“Ah—”
I screamed and turned to run, but they pursued me relentlessly. Just as I reached for the doorknob, a cold hand pressed down on my movement.
"Anxin, don't run. Play with us."
I turned around to see Lin You, her eyes and nose crawling with wriggling insects. As she spoke, those bugs fell from her mouth, making me feel nauseous. Yet she seemed unfazed, still smiling at me.
Behind me, several others surrounded me, reaching out with pale faces. One of them had an eye popped out by the insects.
They held me tightly this time, and I couldn't break free. "No, let go of me! Let go!"
"If you don't play with us, you'll die."
I didn't know when Lin You had picked up a knife, her vacant eyes devoid of color. The blade rose and fell with a cruel precision. I watched in despair as it descended toward me, unable to suppress my scream any longer.
"Don't—"
I leaped up from the bed, realizing it was just a nightmare.
After everything that had happened recently, I was particularly sensitive to such things. It was only three in the morning, and sleep eluded me. The more I thought about it, the more frightened I became. I grabbed my phone and called Lin You, feeling relieved when I confirmed she was at home.
My mouth felt dry, so I decided to get some water. As soon as I got out of bed, I remembered that this wasn't my home.
That night, after Jun Chong had burned the female ghost in my house, he forcibly dragged me to Chu Fan's apartment outside the neighborhood, claiming that the feng shui of this area was harmful to me.
I couldn't refuse because of Lin You's life hanging in the balance. But this so-called friend not only failed to help but sneakily handed me something under the guise of "making sure I'm protected."
Just thinking about Lin You's sly grin made me feel defeated.
Chu Fan's apartment was spacious; it was said that the Chu Family had connections in both business and politics. Moreover, Chu Fan's uncle was the mayor of The City. Lin You told me that if I could marry into the Chu Family, my future would be secure.
To that, I could only smile wryly because not only did I not like Chu Fan, but the real Chu Fan was already dead.
I stepped outside but didn’t see Jun Chong; only Chu Fan's body lay on the sofa. The thought that I was not only living with a ghost but also had a corpse with me sent chills down my spine.
As I circled around the edge of the sofa, I quickened my pace, but before I could get past, a hand grabbed my wrist, and I screamed in fright.
“Help… me… help… me…”
A weak voice came through in broken whispers. Slowly, I opened my eyes to find that it was Chu Fan’s corpse holding my hand. He didn’t speak; instead, a blurry White Shadow floated beside him. I couldn’t make out who it was, but it seemed the voice was coming from its mouth.
“Who are you?”
“It’s me.”
Suddenly, Jun Chong in dark robes stepped out from behind the White Shadow. In an instant, the shadow vanished, and the grip of Chu Fan loosened.
“What just happened—”
“Just a wild ghost.” Jun Chong wrapped his arms around me from behind. “Don’t you have class tomorrow morning? Go to sleep.”
“Okay.”
I didn’t argue and walked toward the bedroom. I glanced back at Chu Fan on the sofa; no matter how I looked at it, he was still a corpse. Yet, there lingered a trace of the grip on my wrist, which meant that at that moment, Jun Chong must not have been possessing him.
Thinking of that faint plea for help, I suddenly wondered if Chu Fan’s soul was trapped just like mine had been when that woman occupied my body—was Jun Chong keeping him locked away?
…
With too many thoughts weighing on me, I trudged through the day with panda eyes and yawned listlessly. Meanwhile, Chu Fan appeared lively and full of energy. After the last incident, everyone at school knew we were a couple; there was both envy and jealousy swirling around us.
“Wait for me after class.”
Chu Fan kissed my forehead casually as if no one else were around. I felt somewhat resistant but didn’t dare show it too obviously because to me, Chu Fan was just a moving corpse. Imagine hugging and cuddling with a corpse while pretending to be affectionate—that feeling was even harder to bear than being with a ghost.
Chu Fan keenly sensed my resistance, a glimmer of light passing through his eyes as he left without saying a word.
As soon as he was gone, I noticed Lin You with a sly grin on her face. She placed a hand on my shoulder and mischievously said, "Was last night too intense? Those dark circles under your eyes could rival a Bichon cat."
"Intense your head!" I shot her an angry glare, still worried about her after that dream. "I was scared half to death from the dream last night."
"Is that why you called me last night?"
"Yes." I nodded and explained, "I dreamt that you and Lin Shan and the others went to play Spirit of the Plate, and one by one, something happened to all of you."
Suddenly, Lin You, who had been walking beside me, stopped in her tracks and turned to look at me. "How did you know we went to play Spirit of the Plate?"
I was taken aback. "You really went to play Spirit of the Plate?"
"Yeah, just last night at midnight, in the Old Teaching Building. I had just gotten home when you called me."
"Oh my— you really went?"
The more I thought about it, the more anxious I became. What a coincidence! I had dreamt about them playing Spirit of the Plate, which felt like just a dream to me, but in reality, it had actually happened.
Gripping Lin You's hand slightly trembling, I took several deep breaths before managing to speak. "Besides you, were Lin Shan, Yang Qing, Tian Tian, and Xiaoya there too?"
Lin You widened her eyes and reached out to touch my forehead in surprise. " Anxin , can you tell fortunes? How do you know all this?"
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