Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
In a daze, I saw the person who had jumped down swimming quickly, yet still not approaching me. I leaned against the bottom of the water, face up, feeling a force pulling me from behind. The pull was not heavy, but it was certainly not light either.
The pain at the back of my head intensified, and my consciousness began to fade. As I opened my mouth, water rushed into my mouth, filling it with a strong metallic taste that was hard to bear, making it increasingly difficult to breathe.
Weakly closing my eyes, I felt that person grasp my hand. Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through my back as if I had collided with something. A piercing cold surged in, raising the hairs on my body and sending chills through me. Startled, I immediately opened my eyes.
Everything around me was pitch black. I looked left and right, realizing I was no longer in the water. The spot where I had been hit no longer hurt, but when I touched it, I found it covered in blood. My feet touched solid ground; I could walk freely.
"What is this place? What happened to me?"
Suddenly, a beam of light pierced my vision, and then the lights turned on. A door opened on one side, and Qianqian emerged from the room, her expression vacant, eyes lifeless, and body stiff as she walked forward step by step.
Unknowingly stepping on something, she dropped her phone. Without stopping, she stepped on it again, shattering the screen.
"Qianqian?"
I was astonished; wasn't she dead?
Qianqian didn’t seem to hear me as she continued walking toward the hotel exit.
I followed her and noticed she was heading toward Four Sisters Spring. Passing through the hotel lobby, I glanced at the digital clock; the date displayed was from last night—when we had first arrived here.
"Could it be that I've gone back in time to see how Qianqian died?"
With this question lingering in my mind, I followed Qianqian to Four Sisters Spring. She stood between two hot springs where I had stood earlier today. Not long after, Xiaohua approached from the other side.
Clearly displeased, Xiaohua opened her mouth to scold her. "You shameless person! Why did you call me here?"
"Let me show you how you died."
Qianqian's voice sounded strange, somewhat weak and scattered, each word trembling as she spoke. She pointed at the hot spring beside Xiaohua, a bizarre smile creeping across her face.
I leaned in to take a look, and to my shock, the reflection in the water showed Xiaohua's lifeless body from today in the guest room.
Xiaohua immediately exploded with anger. "I told you I didn't do anything today! Are you deliberately trying to mess with me, using this false image to deceive me? I've seen through you; you're just being dramatic!"
Fuming, she turned to leave, and Qianqian didn't chase after her. Instead, she stood there, staring blankly as Xiaohua walked away, a chilling smile lingering on her lips.
The moonlight cast a silver glow over everything. Qianqian remained rooted to the spot when suddenly the water began to ripple violently at her feet. The hot spring surged, as if something was about to emerge from within.
Qianqian still didn't move until a smooth black stone floated to the surface in the center of the water, bound by a thick iron chain.
My eyes widened in shock. Could that stone be the one worshipped by this hotel?
It was about the size of a soup bowl, its surface glossy yet reflecting no light at all; it was as dark and thick as ink, sending an inexplicable chill down my spine.
"Hehe." A ghostly laugh suddenly echoed, startling me and waking Qianqian from her stupor. She looked around in confusion, equally startled. "How did I end up here?"
"Because you are the next victim! Before everyone dies, I always let them see me! Only then will your souls cling to me after death, allowing me to devour your essence and grow stronger. This time, the flavor of your soul is quite nice; if I get more like this, I can finally leave this cursed place and do whatever I want."
"Ah—ghost—"
The stone suddenly flew toward her. Qianqian was terrified and bolted away. I stood frozen in place, watching the stone with a strange feeling. Just as Qianqian took off, the stone stopped in my direction and then fell into the water with a splash.
From behind one of the stone pillars emerged a woman. I gasped; it was none other than Gossiping Aunt.
What is happening?
Red lines flickered in her eyes, resembling a ghostly light that sent chills down my spine, her entire being filled with the resentment of a Vengeful Spirit.
"How could she carry such heavy resentment? She's clearly human."
Although I couldn't perceive it as distinctly as before, I could still sense the weight of her resentment. Yet, when I had interacted with her earlier, I felt nothing of the sort.
The stark contrast left me even more puzzled.
Since I couldn't escape, I had no choice but to go and take a look.
I followed the aunt back to the hotel. The On-duty Staff was slumped over the front desk, asleep. Qianqian's screams as she rushed inside failed to wake them.
Qianqian ran in a panic, shouting for help, but no one responded. I remembered hearing screams and footsteps during the night; it must have been Qianqian's cries for help.
As Qianqian passed by the door where she discovered the body, it swung open, and a hand yanked her inside with such force that she resembled a small mouse.
The door slammed shut behind her. Just as I reached out to knock, another hand seized my wrist. The suddenness startled me, but thankfully that hand arrived just in time; from behind that ordinary door burst forth the head of a Blood-colored Wraith, its mouth wide open, lunging for my hand.
"Step back!"
With a swift single-handed seal, a flash of white light appeared, and the creature vanished instantly.
Still shaken, I looked at the woman standing before me, which only added to my confusion.
"Xiao You?"
Lin You, dressed in pure Bai Su attire, wore an unprecedentedly serious expression as she stared at the tightly closed door, pulling me away to maintain a certain distance from it.
"This is Death Rebirth. If you touch it, the Blood-Red Skull will devour you, and your soul will vanish forever. That is absolutely not allowed! Conversely, even if you miraculously escape, theoretically, you could change the fate of the deceased and save her, but the prerequisite is that you must possess powerful spiritual energy. Furthermore, the soul of the deceased must be intact. Qianqian's soul has already been completely consumed by that black stone; it cannot return."
The expression Lin You wore while saying this was something I had never seen before. It was serious and earnest, yet there was a strange unfamiliarity to it, as if she were a relative I had lived with all my life but suddenly realized I did not truly know.
It was like the most familiar stranger.
"Xiao You, how do you know all this?"
Lin You faced me, her usually playful face now rarely showing such gravity. I looked at her in silence as she quietly gazed back at me, finally offering a bitter and helpless smile.
"Because I am from the Su Family. Anxin, I'm sorry; I lied to you. When you asked me back then, I should have answered truthfully."
"Actually, it was I who didn't dare to ask. I was afraid that if I did, our differing positions would affect our friendship." I bit my lip and said, "But thinking about it later, no matter what, we are each other's best friends, right? Moreover, the truth of my past life lies within the Su Family. Whether you acknowledge it or not, I am going to the Su Family."
"No! Absolutely not!" Lin You firmly rejected my statement with great intensity before softening her tone. "Anxin, even if I beg you—considering our years of friendship—you must not delve into the past of your previous life."
"Why not?"
Lin You's sudden strong attitude and pleading tone left me momentarily unable to process her words. Before she could begin her hesitant response, the door opened slightly, releasing a strong stench that hit me like a wave. I immediately covered my mouth with my hand, feeling quite uncomfortable.
"Come with me." Lin You grabbed my hand and pulled me to the side. "Right now your soul is separated from your body; it's not like Dream. She has now opened a killing spree; the resentment emanating from her will sense your presence. If you are discovered, there will be no escape."
"Me?"
"Yes." As Lin You led me outside, she continued speaking. "Anxin, remember my words: always protect your own soul no matter what. This soul is hard-won; it is different from the Guardian Pearl. If you lose the Guardian Pearl, you'll merely become a shadow again. But once your soul dissipates, it will be gone forever."
The heart paused for a moment. Although I didn't ask, I knew that it was Lin You who saved me from the Necromancer that day.
But she was hiding it from me, and it shouldn't just be because of our differing positions. Jun Chong and the Su Family weren't the kind of sworn enemies who would fight on sight; they were just annoyed with each other.
Moreover, Jun Chong had mentioned that if I encountered trouble in the Demon Realm, I could seek protection from the Su Family. So even if Lin You was a Yin-Yang Master of the Su Family, it shouldn't affect our friendship.
Yet she had been keeping secrets, and there were many hidden truths in her earlier words.
"Did that aunt kill Qianqian and Xiaohua?"
"Yes, it was her."
Lin You slowed her pace, walking step by step forward while pulling me along. At that moment, I felt an ethereal aura emanating from her—powerful and pure, yet not entirely reassuring.
"She has a pure Yin constitution, but her soul is unstable. It's a common side effect of frequently having her soul leave her body. I suspect she must have been controlled by the spirit within that stone. A soul like hers can return to the surface appearing normal, but after a certain period, it will go mad. At night, it's easy for her soul to leave her body, and the stone commands her to kill and seize souls. You heard what the stone said earlier; it's a type of Nether Stone specifically used to condense souls—an extremely rare gem. Once a stone gains sentience, it can develop various thoughts like a human. When I went underwater to save you, I saw it bound by Curse Chains; however, five out of six chains were broken. This means someone had previously discovered that this stone had gained sentience and was filled with malevolent thoughts, so they sealed it here. The more evil or pure a soul is, the more power it provides to the stone. Once the force of the condensed soul increases enough, the last Curse Chain will break, allowing it to completely leave this place and transform into a spirit form. It could then freely attach itself to souls anywhere, making it very difficult to deal with."
It took me a while to digest Lin You's words. If she weren't knowledgeable in this area, she wouldn't know so much. There was no way for me to refute what she said.
"So that's why the police haven't caught the murderer?"
"Yes, because it's a soul killing; nothing shows up on surveillance." Lin You reached the entrance of Four Sisters Spring and tightened her grip on my hand. "Anxin, I'm taking you back."
"You all are not allowed to go anywhere."
Comment 0 Comment Count