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墨書 Inktalez
"Where?" Molin immediately reacted, stepping closer to me. At that moment, a strong wind blew, causing the green branches and leaves to dance wildly. When I lowered my hand and looked again, there was nothing there.
I pointed straight ahead and said, "I can't be mistaken. I just saw Xiaoya over there, just like the last time she appeared, with Lin Shan attached to her. They are one."
Molin rushed over, but there was nothing there except for the rustling leaves. "Did you see it wrong? I don't sense any resentment."
"None?"
The aura of an ordinary ghost is usually the most sensitive to practitioners, so when Molin said he felt nothing, I instinctively thought I must have been mistaken. We wandered around the forest for a while before heading back.
"If Lin Shan finds out we came here, will she become wary?" I pressed my hand against my chest, where a sporadic pain lingered. The flowers had already bloomed, but I didn't mention it to Molin.
"She doesn't need to be wary at all. After all, we're in the open while she's in the dark. We should be the ones on guard unless there's something nearby that she wants. In that case, she would be cautious if we approached her. But I hope you really did see something earlier; that would save us time searching."
I understood what Molin meant. Lin Shan was here looking for something that countered her, and I had always been curious about what that was.
"Do you know what her countering object is? If not, and we can't find her whereabouts, what should we do? Did your Shishu say anything? Was that person Chitaki?"
"Not Chitaki or Shishu."
After saying this, Molin pressed his lips together tightly, his gaze wandering, and I guessed what he was thinking.
With my hands behind my back, I stood on my tiptoes to get closer to him and said word by word, " Molin, don't tell me your Shishu didn't say anything at all?"
Molin frowned, and I was almost at my breaking point. "Can your Shishu be more reliable? To mention a countering object without saying what it is? This place is so vast! And your master last time said 'hurry—hurry' in Tianshan but let Jun Chong make a trip for nothing and even put him in danger. Clearly, the thing is right in the city; your master Shishu wouldn't be messing with us, would they?"
I found that since that day, I couldn't say the words "Soul Bell," and I wasn't sure if it was that man's doing.
"How is that possible!" Molin protested, blushing. "They're just getting older; sometimes their minds don't work well—everyone makes mistakes. I'll take responsibility for Jun Chong!"
"What are you going to take responsibility for?" I felt a weight on me and helplessly closed my eyes, not needing to think to know who was holding me. Chitaki leisurely glanced at Molin and then at me, smiling slightly. "Are you going to take responsibility for Anxin? What did you do to Anxin? Just say it, and Shishu will help you!"
"Shishu, stop messing around and drink your wine."
Molin seemed to be in a bad mood, even treating the usually respected Chitaki this way. Chitaki immediately put on a pitiful expression, leaning on me and wailing, "Oh no, I must be getting old; my words aren't being heard anymore. Little Mozi used to never defy me, but now he talks to me like this. Boohoo..."
"Alright, say what you want," Molin said in a defeated tone. Chitaki perked up, raising the nearly empty bottle of wine in his hand. "Treat me to some drinks."
"…"
Both Molin and I wore expressions that suggested we had expected this all along.
So the three of us walked back together. Chitaki's every action was carefree; sometimes he would pull grass or pick flowers while humming a tune, making it seem like he was out for a spring outing. Molin and I followed behind in silence.
By the time we entered the village, it was already dusk. Although the village was small, it shouldn't have been completely deserted. The emptiness felt eerie, with stalls left unattended as if their owners hadn't returned home in time.
I felt an inexplicable panic. "What's going on here?"
"I don't know; could something have happened? Let's go check it out."
"I'm not going," Chitaki said lazily, yawning and pointing to a nearby restaurant. "There's no one here; I'm going in for a drink."
I was somewhat worried about the villagers but didn't pay much attention to him. I grabbed Molin's hand and ran toward home since our house was closer to the village entrance.
As I approached, I saw my mother standing at the door, looking around anxiously. "Mom."
"Why are you back so late? Where have you been? I thought something had happened to you too! Your grandfather took people into the mountains to look for you!"
Her words made me inexplicably feel that the incident at Widow Wang's house had been exposed. Just as I was unsure how to explain, I heard Molin calmly say, "We just went for a walk in the back mountains. What happened?"
"About an hour ago, Widow Wang's house caught fire for some unknown reason. A huge blaze burned down the entire place. The village chief and others found two charred bodies inside, resembling Big Pie and Fool, but Widow Wang is missing."
Molin asked, "An hour ago? Are you sure?"
"Absolutely! I went to help too." My mother stretched her neck anxiously to look outside. "Your grandfather still hasn't returned; I'm so worried."
Molin and I frowned simultaneously. An hour ago, we were still in the back mountains. I gently tugged at Molin's sleeve. "Could it be that a small spark has ignited a prairie fire?"
"It was still burning when we left, so it's possible."
"You two can't go out; stay home with me. Not long after Widow Wang's house caught fire, something happened at Sister Li's place too. It feels like a season of troubles—one thing after another. I need to go back and call your dad to bring your grandfather home; it wouldn't be good if something happened to him."
Seeing my mother's worried expression, I held back my words. If I told her about my experiences, it would surely frighten her.
"Auntie, wait a moment," Molin suddenly called out to my mother. "What happened at Sister Li's house?"
"Isn't it about Little Scar? He got injured last night and has been resting at home these past few days. Around the same time as Widow Wang's fire, he suddenly went wild for some reason, attacking anyone he could bite or scratch. The villagers tried to stop him, but he’s surprisingly strong for his age. It took several strong men to knock him unconscious, and he probably hasn’t woken up yet. No one knows what’s going on."
"This is bad."
I had my doubts about what my mother said, and with Molin's exclamation, my suspicions were confirmed. I looked at him with uncertainty. "It can't be true, right? Glutinous Rice didn't work?"
"Only by seeing it will you know. Let's go."
"Hey, where are you guys going?" Mom shouted from behind us. "It's getting dark, hurry back."
"Mom, we're worried about Little Scar and want to check on him. You stay home and don't open the door for anyone!"
I had gone with Mom to deliver food to Aunt Li, Little Scar's mother, so I knew the way to her house. Fortunately, it wasn't far, and we arrived quickly. By now, the sky was darkening, and Aunt Li's house was lit up, even the yard was bright.
Several strong men were gathered there, including a few we had caught with last time. They were all injured to varying degrees, and Uncle Li, who was a doctor, was disinfecting their wounds.
"Hang in there; I'll take care of your wounds soon."
"Thank you, Uncle Li."
"Anxin!" I walked in with Molin. "I'm Anxin from the Gu Family."
"Oh, it's Anxin! Your grandfather and the others went into the mountains looking for you. Why didn't you say anything before going out? It made everyone worry. You should hurry home!"
"Uncle Li, I came to see Little Scar. He was fine before; how did he suddenly end up like this? And hurt everyone?"
Uncle Li sighed. "I don't know either. I just returned from gathering herbs in the mountains when I heard his mother say he suddenly didn't recognize anyone and started grabbing and biting people. His mother was worried and called the neighbors over. Just then, there was a fire at Widow Wang's house, and many people went to help put it out. Plus, they discovered you two were missing, so nearly everyone in the village came to help."
"A fire, going mad, missing?"
I propped my chin on my hand, feeling that things couldn't be this coincidental. Not only were these events happening simultaneously, but just our disappearance alone felt off. Molin and I had been wandering around the village these past few days, coming home early and late; Grandpa hadn't seen us or looked for us everywhere. Besides, dealing with a fire and someone going mad required a lot of manpower; typically, they wouldn't split up their forces to look for us.
Yet all three incidents happened at once; I felt certain something was being planned.
"Why are you standing there? Come inside," Molin pulled me into the room. As soon as we entered, the first thing I heard was Aunt Li's sobbing. She quickly wiped her tears and smiled, saying, "Anxin, what brings you here?"
"Aunt Li, I heard about Little Scar, so I came to check on him. How is he doing?"
At the mention of Little Scar, Aunt Li started crying again and pointed to the bed. After comforting her for a moment, I walked over to the bedside. Molin reached out and lifted the bed curtain. Upon seeing what lay beneath, I instinctively grabbed Molin's hand.
"How could this happen?"
Little Scar was tied up tightly on the bed, his hands and feet bound. His eyes resembled those of a panda, with bruises all over his face. His fingernails were long and had turned black, and he was surrounded by a dark aura, especially noticeable on his forehead.
Though his eyes were closed, his body trembled continuously as if he were instinctively struggling. The glutinous rice scattered on the bed had already turned black.
Molin picked up a handful of rice and frowned. He turned to Aunt Li and shouted, "Why is there regular rice mixed in with the glutinous rice? Didn't I say only to use glutinous rice?"
I nudged Molin. "I know you're anxious, but there's no need to be so harsh! After all, she's an elder."
Aunt Li was taken aback and explained, "We were running low on glutinous rice at home. I thought regular rice was similar, so I mixed it in for him to drink. But it should be fine, right?"
"His current state is because of your regular rice! Do you realize that once Little Scar wakes up like this, he won't recognize anyone and will lash out violently?"
" Molin." Seeing Aunt Li's pale face, I tugged at Molin again. He sighed heavily. "His body is stiff, his nails have completely turned black—there's no saving him now. The Corpse Poison has invaded; death is the only outcome."
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