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墨書 Inktalez
"Grandpa, what's going on?"
As soon as Grandpa saw me, he frowned and said, "Go play over there, don't come here to cause trouble."
"Oh come on! I'm just asking, Grandpa." I tugged at his hand playfully. Grandpa sighed and quietly said to me, "I don't know what's happening these past few days. Every morning we find dead poultry with their necks bitten off. At first, we thought it was some wild beast, but after waiting all night, nothing showed up. This is the countryside; many people rely on poultry for their livelihood. With this happening, they are all demanding an explanation from the village chief!"
No sooner had he finished speaking than someone in the crowd rushed out, pointing at a dead rooster on the ground and shouting, "Village Chief, this can't go on like this! You know my family's situation best. So many chickens and ducks are dying for no reason; how am I supposed to make money now?"
"Exactly, Village Chief! This year I finally managed to secure a deal, relying on these chickens and ducks to earn money. Now that a whole bunch has suddenly died, if I can't deliver on time, I'll be ruined! Can you bear to see that happen?"
"Village Chief, you need to think of a solution! Village Chief!"
One complaint after another echoed through the crowd. The village chief was a kind-hearted middle-aged man in his sixties. He usually greeted me with a smile and invited me over for treats, but now his face was clouded with worry, clearly troubled by the situation.
"Everyone, please calm down," Grandpa suddenly spoke up. I knew he had a good relationship with the village chief. "This matter is strange. I think we should send some people to keep watch tonight and see what’s really going on."
"But it could be one house one moment and another house the next; how will we know which one will be next?"
"That's simple enough. We can gather the poultry in one place; if there’s nothing else around, it will naturally target that area."
Molin suddenly stepped forward to speak. I tried to pull him back but failed, so I could only stick out my tongue and follow him out. The village chief smiled slightly when he saw me. "Is Anxin back?"
"Hello, Village Chief!" I greeted cheerfully. "This is my friend Molin. He just couldn't help but chime in; I'm sorry about that. We'll be leaving now."
"Wait a moment." Grandpa suddenly called us back, stroking his white beard as he said, "What this young man said makes some sense. Village Chief and everyone else, how about this: each family can bring one poultry and place it in a visible spot at the village entrance tonight. We can keep watch and see who is behind this."
"Yes, that's a good idea."
"Alright, that's settled. We must catch this beast."
"Then it's decided," the village chief said as he stood up. "Tonight, I'll take a few young people with me to keep watch."
"Wait a minute." Molin suddenly interrupted, and I was taken aback as he continued, "I'm also young; let me help. You should stay home and wait for news, Chief."
"This kid's not bad," the village chief said, clearly pleased with Molin, and even my grandfather showed approval in his eyes. "Is Anxin your girlfriend?"
My face flushed, and I quickly explained, "Of course not. We have something else to attend to, so we'll be leaving now."
I dragged Molin out, then put my hands on my hips and glared at him. "What were you thinking! If things go wrong—"
"It won't go wrong; that's the smell of death."
"What? The smell of death?" I made a face at him. "You sensed that from a few dead chickens?"
"What kind of expression is that?" Molin was so angry he looked like he might blow up.
"Oh. Is it a ghost?"
"There can't be ghosts without the smell of death! Are you an idiot?" Molin felt a sense of defeat and insisted on explaining, "Only corpses emit that smell; it's likely Zombie. Or perhaps someone disturbed an ancient tomb and got contaminated by the death aura inside. Although it's faint, it's unmistakable."
As he said this, I immediately sensed the seriousness of the situation and didn't dare to retort. Instead, I asked directly, "How did you sense it?"
"Actually, I noticed this aura when I entered the village yesterday; it just wasn't strong. But today, seeing those poultry with blackened wounds faintly emitting the smell of death made me think that the strange occurrences here are related to this death aura."
A chill ran down my spine. While it's true that mountain villages often have their share of strange tales—like what happened at Picturesque—that place was a resort with many people around, which meant stronger life energy to counteract such things. Plus, Jun Chong was there at the time.
Now this place is an ordinary rural village, surrounded by mountains and forests. The population here is less than half that of a resort, mostly consisting of the elderly, women, and children. The most important thing to note is that Zombies are different from ghosts; ghosts usually just scare people and won’t kill unless there’s a deep-seated grudge.
Zombies, on the other hand, carry Corpse Poison by nature. If a person is bitten, they could die, and some might even turn into Zombies. They are far more terrifying than ghosts. What’s worse is that Jun Chong is no longer around, leaving only a half-hearted Taoist priest.
Molin noticed my gaze and expressed slight displeasure. “What kind of look is that?”
“What if it really is a Zombie? How confident are you? Or you could call Qian Qian over; even though she’s also a Zombie, she likes you and would definitely side with us. Plus, she’s a Drought Demon, so regular Zombies would steer clear of her. We could just subdue them.”
I had to think carefully; if things went wrong, I would need to evacuate the villagers to minimize harm.
As soon as Molin heard Qian Qian's name, he shuddered and waved his hand irritably. “Don’t worry. I’ve dealt with Zombies alongside my master before. As long as it’s not a Drought Demon, we’ll be fine.”
I still felt uneasy. “But what if it is?”
“Do you think there are many Drought Demons? It takes millions of years for a Zombie to evolve into a Drought Demon. Excluding freaks like Qian Qian, it’s not common at all. Forget it; I’m done talking to you.”
Molin looked at me as if I were foolish and turned to leave without further explanation. I touched my face and pouted. “You’re the foolish one!”
“Hey there, did the Little Girl have a fight with her boyfriend?”
A teasing voice suddenly rang in my ear. Before I could turn around, I felt a weight on my shoulder—a disheveled woman leaned against me, burping and holding up a bottle of alcohol.
“Who are you?”
It was broad daylight with the sun shining brightly overhead, so I wasn’t afraid she was something sinister.
“I am—” The woman leaned heavily against me, and I could feel the tension beneath her thin clothing; she was surprisingly elastic. I felt like I was outmatched. “Forget it; let’s talk about whether that guy is your boyfriend.”
“……”
I was speechless, not knowing where this woman had come from. Not only did she reek of alcohol, but she also seemed overly concerned about my personal affairs.
I struggled to pull her off me. Upon closer inspection, I noticed she had the same messy hairstyle as Molin, but beneath the tangled hair was a face that could only be described as classically beautiful—broad forehead, high nose bridge, full lips. Even with her pale complexion, she was striking.
“What are you staring at? Have you fallen for me?”
“……”
So it turned out she wasn’t quite right in the head. Ignoring her, I turned to leave, but her voice called out from behind, “Next time, treat me to a drink.”
“Who’s treating you to a drink?”
I clicked my tongue, unsure where Molin had gone. Since my mother had called me back home, I sent him a text message, though I wasn’t sure if he would receive it due to the poor signal in the village.
It wasn’t until dusk fell that Molin returned from outside, covered in dust. I had no idea where he had been. I planned to suggest he take a shower before dinner, but he grabbed my hand and pulled me aside, whispering, “Do you know if there are any ancient tombs around here?”
“Ancient tombs?” I shook my head. “I don’t know, but there are plenty of Ancestral Tombs. Although the environment here is underdeveloped, it’s still a place with good feng shui. Many outsiders pay to be buried here, but I haven’t heard of any ancient tombs.”
“Ask your grandfather or go talk to the village chief.”
“Why?” I was puzzled. “Are you planning to rob a tomb? Then sell the treasures? So now you understand why being a Taoist doesn’t provide much funding!”
“Gu Anxin, is your brain filled with nonsense?”
Faced with Molin ’s annoyance, I grinned and said, “Nope, my brain is filled with thoughts of you! Hahaha.”
"Treat me like dirt. Gu Anxin, you really want to die, don't you? Stop right there."
I turned and ran, but Molin caught up with me. My grandfather shook his head helplessly and called us over for dinner. "Stop messing around, come eat."
Ignoring Molin, I headed inside. Just as I reached the threshold, my whole body jolted, and the foot I had raised didn't come down. Molin caught up and playfully tapped my head, saying smugly, "Have you learned your lesson? I'm not someone you can easily fool."
I had no time to pay attention to Molin's teasing; I was in a state of shock. If I hadn't misinterpreted things earlier, at that moment, I sensed Jun Chong's presence. Although it was faint, it was unmistakable.
I turned back to gaze into the endless night, but there was no sign of him anywhere. A wave of disappointment crept into my heart. "Jun Chong, are you nearby? Why won't you show yourself?"
But no one answered me. My mother was urging us on; we had important matters to attend to that evening, so I couldn't afford to delay. Yet the stirring in my heart refused to settle.
Since Molin was going, I knew being alone would only lead to more wild thoughts, so I pleaded with my grandfather to let me join them. At first, he refused, but it was only after Molin spoke up for me that he relented.
A few strong young men from the village joined us in waiting at the entrance. They were sturdy enough to match two of Molin's size and held shovels as they squatted on either side of the village entrance, waiting endlessly.
The clouds drifted overhead with the wind, obscuring the moonlight intermittently, while a few stars accompanied us in solitude. It was summer, and the countryside was filled with mosquitoes; many people were scratching from bites. Eventually, Molin pulled out a small bottle said to repel insects and shared it with everyone.
By midnight, there was still no movement at the village entrance. The group began to grow restless; perhaps waiting in one spot was a mistake, and some suggested leaving.
My legs felt numb from squatting. As I lifted my head, I caught a glimpse of a figure darting past the edge of the moonlight—Three Thousand Black Strands floated long and ethereal. My heart skipped a beat as I stood up, but suddenly a sharp pain shot through my stomach. As I knelt down in that instant, I saw two tall shadows approaching the village entrance.
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