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墨書 Inktalez
"Don't!" Aunt Li grasped Molin's hand, kneeling down with tears and snot streaming down her face. "I beg you, he's my only son. I can't lose him. No matter how much money you want, I'll give it to you. I just ask you to save my son, please, please."
Looking at Aunt Li reminded me of Widow Wang, so I leaned closer to Molin and whispered, "To prevent a second Widow Wang, why not give it a try?"
Molin shot me a glare and said, "Try what? Right now, we can only stop him before he wakes up. It's already dark, and who knows if something will happen tonight. We must use the Ink Binding Line to restrain him."
"The Ink Binding Line? Is it sold here?"
"I have some, but I didn't bring it."
"What should we do then?"
"Here’s the plan!" Molin pulled out a piece of blank yellow talisman paper and looked at his middle finger, muttering to himself, "I know there might not be any vermilion here; I guess I'll just use my own blood?"
As he bit into his fingertip, Aunt Li suddenly mentioned that she had vermilion at home, which she bought last month. Molin looked regretful, but he couldn't waste the blood from his finger. He quickly drew a talisman and placed it on Little Scar, who immediately went still.
"Is that all?"
"It can only control him temporarily." He turned to Aunt Li and instructed, "Go prepare a rooster for me, along with a bowl, a knife, ink, glutinous rice, strong cotton thread, and vermilion. Be quick about it. I'll seal this room; no one is allowed to enter without my command."
"Okay, okay! As long as you don't kill my son, anything is fine."
Aunt Li hurried off to gather the items. I turned back to Molin and asked, "What do you need all that for?"
"Making the simplest Ink Binding Line is the only method we have right now; we need to control the situation first. Random fighting will only cause trouble, so we have to make them believe."
In such a village, the bonds between ordinary people are strong. No one can bear to see someone die for no reason, and sometimes the actions of outsiders can provoke public outrage. The only solution is to make them believe, even though it is difficult; it must be done.
"We should lock the windows first and then check on the injured outside."
"Okay." Molin and I secured the room, leaving only the front door, which we locked with wire. Then we headed to the courtyard, where Uncle Li was tending to their wounds one by one.
"This is the medicine for your injuries. Take it three times a day at home. If it gets inflamed after three days, come back to me or go directly to a big hospital."
"Uncle Li."
When Uncle Li saw me come out, he smiled faintly, but then his expression turned serious. "What happened to Little Scar? Last time he came back at night, he told us to prepare glutinous rice and eat glutinous rice porridge. He even wanted to sleep on a bed made of glutinous rice. I was worried because he had an injury on his neck but wouldn't let me see it. I never expected it would turn out like this."
"Uncle Li, don't worry; there will be a solution."
I couldn't tell Uncle Li that Little Scar would be fine because saying that after what had happened would be a lie. But I also couldn't bear to see this strong man looking at me with tears in his eyes.
The greatest pain in life is not just romantic entanglements but also the bonds of blood and kinship. The separation of life and death that runs deep in one's bones is the most profound suffering.
"What are you doing?"
Suddenly someone screamed. I looked up to see Molin grabbing a person's arm and cutting open their bandage with a knife, then making a quick slash around it. The person was clearly unhappy. "Hey, what are you doing?"
"Does it hurt?"
"Are you asking me if it hurts after you cut me?" I recognized the person as Yang Shuo, a large man.
"Does it hurt or not?"
Despite his size, Yang Shuo was afraid of confrontation. After Molin shouted at him, he trembled slightly and shook his head, "Not really."
I observed the injuries on several people; all four had wounds on their hands, thankfully not bites.
Molin released him and made a cut on the hands of the other injured individuals as well. The three of them claimed it didn't hurt much.
"What happened?" I asked softly as I approached him.
"The wounds are surrounded by black mist, and the sensation of pain is gradually fading. It's likely Corpse Poison," Molin said, then turned to Uncle Li, "Has anyone been bitten by Little Scar?"
"Yes, Li Fei has. He's lying in the next room; I just applied medicine to him."
"I'll go take a look." Molin dashed inside, leaving the rest of us exchanging glances. I could only smile awkwardly at Uncle Li. "Uncle Li, could you please get some Glutinous Rice to apply to their wounds? Then you all should go back and drink Glutinous Rice porridge. Remember to get plenty of sunlight and stay active."
Yang Shuo and one of the dark-skinned men had gone with us last time and knew what Molin had said about Little Scar. The dark-skinned man had even expressed disbelief at that time.
Now, upon hearing my words, both of their faces turned pale as they stammered at me, "It can't be true, right?"
"You'll know once you see Little Scar. If you don't want to die, hurry up!"
"Okay, okay, we're going now." Yang Shuo looked pitifully at Uncle Li. "Uncle Li, do you have any Glutinous Rice?"
"What is this for? Can it heal wounds?"
"It can't, but it's a lifesaver for us. Please, Uncle Li."
"Alright! You all wait here."
Before long, Uncle Li returned with Glutinous Rice for them. I smiled lightly and went over to Molin. As soon as I entered the room, I saw Molin standing very straight, looking down at the person on the bed who lay still with closed eyes. The bandages had already been removed and tossed aside by Molin.
"What happened?"
"Look at his wound; there are two distinct bite marks, and the surrounding area is slightly swollen with dark energy."
"Why isn't he moving?"
"Ugh, I knocked him out."
"…"
"He's definitely worse off than the one outside. What should we do?"
Molin furrowed his brows and lightly bit her lip. "First, let's seal him up like we did with Little Scar."
Just then, Aunt Li knocked on the door from outside. "Anxin, I've prepared everything."
"Thank you, Aunt Li. We'll be right there. Please leave the things in the yard."
Molin bit the finger he had just wounded again, using the blood to draw a talisman on Li Fei's forehead. I asked, "Is one enough? Should we make a few more?"
"Cinnabar can suppress corpses; as long as it's not from the fifth generation or above, it should be fine." Molin waved his hand impatiently. "Let's first make the Ink Binding Line."
It was my first time seeing the creation of the Ink Binding Line. Molin dipped the Cinnabar to draw a talisman, then grabbed a rooster and bled it into a bowl. He mixed in some ink and glutinous rice evenly, then picked up the talisman. I couldn't tell what he chanted, but the talisman ignited spontaneously. He placed it into the bowl and stirred everything together before pouring it over a bundle of cotton thread.
"Is that it?"
"Not quite." Molin looked around the yard and finally retrieved a small round stick from a corner. He poked it into the center of the cotton thread so that one could hold both ends without getting their hands stained with ink.
"It may be a bit crude, but it'll do!"
As soon as he finished speaking, I saw my grandfather and several villagers approaching the door. My grandfather shouted at me, "Anxin, you’re not allowed to go to the back mountain anymore. Come back with me."
"Grandpa, I know you're worried about me, but something happened here, and we can't leave now."
"What could possibly happen from just a few injuries?" One elder beside him looked displeased, clearly frustrated from searching for us.
Just as his words fell, a low growl echoed from inside. Molin's expression changed, and I felt a chill run down my spine; that sound was somewhat familiar. We exchanged glances. "Could it be—didn't we seal the doors and windows after putting up the talismans? How is this possible?"
"But there's no mistaking that sound, and it's getting stronger. You stay here; I'll go check it out."
Molin turned and ran off. I wanted to follow but was grabbed by my grandfather's hand. "Gu Anxin, listen to me!"
"But Grandpa, something's wrong with Little Scar! I can't just ignore it; you won't be able to handle this. Just hide for now, and I'll explain everything later."
The roars from inside grew louder, sending a wave of panic through Yang Shuo. He knew all too well that running away at this moment was the only option. As he fled, he shouted, "Don't bite me! I don't want to become a monster!"
His words prompted several injured individuals to flee as well, leaving only the Li couple behind.
Aunt Li's face filled with worry upon hearing Little Scar's roar. She turned to rush inside, but I quickly grabbed her arm. "Aunt Li, you can't go in there. It's too dangerous. Right now, Little Scar has lost his senses and won't recognize you. You would be putting yourself in danger."
"What should I do then? He's my only son! How could he end up like this?"
"What's wrong with Little Scar? What did that kid do earlier?"
Aunt Li buried her face in Uncle Li's chest, crying uncontrollably. The stern-looking uncle seemed to have a short temper; hearing Aunt Li's cries, he shouted, "Why are you crying? What happened to Little Scar?"
"He was captured by Big Pie earlier. We were using glutinous rice to treat his wounds and prevent the corpse poison from relapsing. But the glutinous rice at home was mixed with japonica rice, which is not yang and can't prevent corpse poison. That's why Little Scar turned into a zombie. But just now, Mo Lin clearly used a talisman to temporarily stop him. As long as the talisman doesn't fall off, he should be fine. How could this happen?"
"It's all my fault! If I hadn't given him the japonica rice, he wouldn't have gotten into trouble. It's all my fault!"
Aunt Li's sobs echoed through the air, and Fierce Uncle seemed unconvinced. "Why are you saying such things? How could there possibly be zombies?"
"Why can't there be? Just because you haven't seen it doesn't mean it doesn't exist." I snapped back, feeling frustrated. He looked ready to reprimand me when Grandpa spoke up, "We all saw how Little Scar was just now; he definitely wasn't like an ordinary person."
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