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墨書 Inktalez
I looked at the two Paper Men, who resembled us, standing motionless by the license plate, their eyes Hollow and devoid of life.
"Can this really deceive anyone?"
"It's like turning stone into gold. This much skill is no problem for me. We'll wait here at this bus station; you see, they also have a Ghost Chain in their hands. With this, I can sense their every move and word."
Molin seemed quite proud of this. I scoffed, "If you could really turn stone into gold, would you be so poor?"
His expression darkened, and he punched me without hesitation. "I'm poor because of you! Every time I run into you, you make me do extra work, which causes my master to cut my pay. So you have to provide for my food and lodging."
"Hey, come on! It's clearly your master who's taking advantage of you. If you think I'm a hassle, why do you keep dragging me along? Maybe I should just go back!"
As I spoke, I tried to pull that ghost chain away, but no matter how hard I tugged, it wouldn't budge. Molin raised an eyebrow arrogantly. "If you could break it, Chitaki would probably call your master. This thing was something she worked very hard to obtain, and I had to beg her for a long time to get it."
"Is it really that impressive?"
"Of course. This chain belongs to the Black and White Impermanence. Once it locks onto a ghost, there's no escaping."
"So Chitaki stole it from the Black and White Impermanence?" I exclaimed in surprise. "That's quite something!"
"Are you tempted to become her disciple?"
Before I could respond, a sudden light appeared in the dark—a bus headlight approaching us. The brightness was so intense that I couldn't tell if it was the last bus or that Ghost Bus.
"Come here."
Molin pulled me into the shadows on one side, leaving the two Paper Men standing still as we waited for the vehicle to draw near.
The bus came to a slow stop at the bus stop with three loud "dings." I noticed the bus number was "444," which I didn't recall existing in this city.
Just like the last time I saw it, the top of the bus had cables that resembled decorations. However, from my previous distance, I hadn't noticed that the bus lacked ordinary tires; instead, it had train-like axles, which rested on tracks extending across the hard ground.
With another three "dings," I cautiously tugged at Molin's hand. He nodded and curled his right pinky finger. I noticed a red thread tied around that finger, its other end connected to the man known as Paper Man. As he moved, he pulled the woman's hand toward the open bus door.
Being able to see ghosts allowed me to notice that the entire bus was filled with them—some were Azure Fang, others were bloodied and disfigured, all different in appearance, quietly sitting in their seats with their gazes fixed on the men and women outside, revealing a longing hunger.
Molin's finger moved again, and the man led the woman onto the bus. Just as the door was about to close, a delicate voice called out from behind, "Wait! Hold on! Take me with you!"
Molin and I immediately felt anxious. The newcomer was a young woman in slender high heels that clicked sharply against the ground as she ran quickly. In no time, she reached the bus door, so fast that even Molin couldn't use his talisman to create a barrier to stop her.
"What do we do?"
"That damned woman," Molin spat in frustration. "She just barged in! If something goes wrong, you have to make sure Jun Chong doesn't obliterate me!"
"…"
"Hey! What is that?"
The woman screamed. Following her voice, I turned to see Molin's figures made from Paper Man suddenly collapse into Paper Man on the ground, black Ghost Chains clattering onto the bus with a sharp sound.
The ghosts inside the bus began to wail in terror; even the driver started trembling.
"What did that woman do?!"
Molin jumped out in anger. With a swift motion of his hand, Ghost Chains flew out from the vehicle. Seizing this opportunity, the driver shut the door and slammed on the gas, speeding away. The bus quickly vanished into the darkness, taking all traces of its path with it.
The night grew dark again, leaving only the three of us standing by the roadside, staring at each other in silence.
The woman, dressed in professional attire and looking quite capable, touched her head in frustration and said, "I finally managed to catch a ride, and it doesn't take passengers. How annoying."
"I think you're the annoying one for ruining our plans!"
Molin sometimes had a short temper, and it was no surprise he was angry that this woman had disrupted his scheme.
Only then did the woman turn around. Her delicate features were adorned with light makeup, her fair skin flawless, and her oval face appeared youthful. Yet her attire gave off an air of shrewdness.
"What are you shouting for, kid? Don’t you have any respect for your elders?" The woman seemed unfazed by Molin's anger. Instead, she noticed me behind him and suddenly winked, smiling slightly. "Out here for a little affair? Oh dear, you should have said so! If I had known, I wouldn't have come out to spoil the fun. I ran so much I almost died from exhaustion." She playfully patted Molin on the shoulder. "Next time, I won't bother you guys like this. Haha!"
"Shut up!" Molin couldn't hold back any longer and shouted at her, "That was a Ghost Bus! We were trying to investigate clues, and you ruined it!"
"You think they're all idiots? With such a large gathering, they wouldn't miss a single Ghost Chain? If you let those two Paper Men slip away with you, you'd be in big trouble."
Her words stunned me and extinguished Molin's fury. We exchanged glances; could it be we had encountered a fellow investigator?
"Who are you?"
"Now you're asking for my name? Kid, learn to think more; even ghost hunting requires brains!" The woman shook her head and walked into the dark street without looking back, waving her hand over her shoulder. "I'm Akame."
"Akame?" I blinked. "What a strange name. Is she also a Taoist?"
"I don't know." Molin stared at her retreating figure and said, "Did you notice how quickly she moved from speaking to reaching the bus door? That's not something an ordinary person can do. While Taoists understand how to exorcise spirits, they are still just regular people; it's rare for them to possess extraordinary abilities. Only one type of person is born with some exceptional skills."
"Like who?"
Molin furrowed his brows and said in a low voice, "Onmyoji."
My heart skipped a beat. "The Su Family Onmyoji?"
"Every Onmyoji from the Su Family has a code name, but I've never heard of Akame. I need to ask around." Molin looked at the increasingly dark night and sighed, "It's getting late; there's no point in staying out tonight. Let's head back."
"Alright."
After returning, I slept soundly. The weather had been hot lately, and I hadn't gone out much—just visiting Shizui's shop occasionally, lounging in the cool room while sipping on drinks made by Shizui, playing with Tian Yuan, and waiting for Jun Chong to come back tonight.
After enjoying an ice pop, the front door was suddenly flung open by Molin. At that moment, someone inside was busy taking photos. Once Jun Chong was done, Shizui reopened the shop to continue business; after all, living among humans meant making a living was essential.
Shizui's business had always been thriving. Many people rushed to make appointments as soon as they heard the shop was open again, and sometimes I would help out.
Ignoring the curious gazes of others, Molin walked straight towards me. He grabbed Tian Yuan from my arms with one hand and took my hand with the other, pulling me outside while saying, "Hurry up and come with me; something's happened."
"What happened?" I couldn't resist him, but the sun outside was too harsh for my liking. Thankfully, Shizui tossed me an umbrella. "Can you slow down? What’s going on?"
"I sneaked into the police station today to check on the autopsy of those two bodies and found it in complete disarray. That's when I learned that those two bodies had turned to bones overnight. I went to see the bones and realized they had been meticulously stripped of flesh."
I felt a chill run down my spine. "Who could be so twisted? Aren't the bodies supposed to be kept in cold storage? The only ones who could access them are people from the station and the coroner. Could it have been the coroner?"
"I'm not sure. I wanted to check the surveillance footage but noticed a pair of eyes watching me from the shadows. I figured it must be that person who did it, so I decided to leave."
"Then why did you come find me?"
"I'm not looking for you." As Molin dragged me toward the precinct where the case was being handled, he tossed Tian Yuan into my arms and said, "Let the fox go in and copy the surveillance footage."
“Copy Monitoring?” I exclaimed in disbelief. “Are you crazy? How can Tian Yuan do that? Besides, it would be discovered the moment it goes in. Do you think everyone has an invisibility spell?”
“It’s a Fox Spirit!” Molin tugged at Tian Yuan’s fox ears and said, “To enchant people’s hearts is as easy as eating. Bringing things out is a piece of cake.”
“Hmph, so now you admit I’m a Fox Spirit?” Tian Yuan snorted, dissatisfied. “But it’s too late. I’m not going; if you want to go, you go yourself.”
“If you don’t go, I’ll roast you right now.” Molin grabbed the fur on the back of its neck, and Tian Yuan struggled violently. “I’ve heard that Fox Spirit meat is very nourishing; maybe it could help me open my heavenly eye for a while and become invincible.”
“Enough.” I snatched Tian Yuan back and held it in my arms, glaring at Molin. “Bullying an animal—do you have no shame? Tian Yuan, don’t bother with him. Hurry up and get the monitoring back; take him down in an instant.”
“…”
Although Tian Yuan was reluctant to do this, it was forced to go to the police station. I actually wanted to see how a fox could enchant people, but there was no opportunity. Not long after, Tian Yuan returned, bouncing into my arms and finding a comfortable spot to say, “This spirit is hungry; let’s go back and eat.”
I smiled, knowing it had succeeded. Holding it close, we walked back. When we reached the commercial street, a delicious aroma wafted from a shop by the roadside.
The fragrance turned into invisible fingers that teased my nose, enticing me to move closer.
“So fragrant.” Tian Yuan sniffed with its fox nose, clawing at Molin ’s hand and insisting, “Take this spirit to eat something delicious there, and I’ll show you the video.”
“Deal.”
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