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墨書 Inktalez
I was breathing heavily, and the boss's hand and the old lady's hand almost touched me at the same time. I couldn't quite catch what the boss was saying, but I heard the old lady's words clearly.
"Help me kill him..." she said, her hand brushing against my chin, sending a chilling wave throughout my body.
"Get revenge... help kill him..."
I couldn't help but gasp, thinking, who am I supposed to kill? It's not like I caused your death; even if you want revenge, it shouldn't involve me!
Though I thought this in my mind, I didn't have the courage to say it out loud. Instead, I stammered, "Who is he?"
"He is..."
But just then, a car pulled up in front of the barbecue stall.
The old lady's expression changed instantly. She left me with one last remark: "I will come back to find you," before she disappeared. A chill ran down my spine.
It was only then that I heard the boss's voice. "Hey, kid, are you alright? Who were you talking to?"
Ah! I snapped back to reality and replied to the boss, "I was just calling for my dog."
The boss looked at me with a puzzled expression.
At that moment, Little Black Dog stopped barking and came over to nuzzle my ankle. I glanced at the spot where the old lady had vanished and thought, isn't this ridiculous? She stole my box and now wants me to avenge her? What a fantasy!
I sat back down, and just then, someone got out of the car. The boss went to greet him, but he walked straight toward me.
"Uncle Zhang, what brings you here?" I was surprised to see Zhang Dexin approaching.
My mood had yet to settle.
"Didn't you go to the dilapidated temple?" Zhang Dexin asked straightforwardly.
For a moment, I was at a loss for words. Wasn't this akin to a power play? Whether or not I went there was my own choice, but given that he was Zhang the Fortune Teller, I could only respond politely, "No, I didn't go. I thought I'd come out for a bite to eat, and while eating, I lost track of time."
Zhang Dexin glanced at me and then broke into a laugh. I called out to the Boss for another drink.
I couldn't be sure if Zhang Dexin was a good person, but he definitely had some skills; otherwise, Wang Wei and that old lady earlier wouldn't have dared to confront him.
I remembered Zhang Dexin mentioning that others referred to him as Uncle Zhang the Fortune Teller. It seemed he had earned that title for a reason, but why was she so eager for me to visit that crumbling temple?
It was already past midnight.
After sharing a few drinks with Zhang Dexin, he casually chatted with me before getting straight to the point. "Young man, have you found that wooden box of yours?"
I took a sip of beer and replied, "Not yet, Uncle Zhang. I'm quite troubled about it."
Zhang Dexin's smile suddenly faded. He stared at me intently as if trying to see right through me. Under his gaze, I felt a chill run down my spine.
Taking a deep breath to ease the pressure, I called out to the Boss again for some barbecue. The little black dog eagerly devoured what I offered it.
"Hey, Uncle Zhang, how did you know I was here?"
Zhang Dexin paused for a moment before responding, "Borlun told me you liked eating barbecue here."
Oh, I acknowledged him without pressing further; it was a way for both of us to save face.
The two of us fell into silence for a few minutes. After a while, Zhang Dexin said to me, "Young man, you must visit the East City Ruins. I really feel a connection with you; otherwise, I wouldn't have asked you to go there so many times."
Seizing the opportunity, I asked without hesitation, " Uncle Zhang, what secrets are hidden in the East City Ruins?"
Zhang Dexin frowned slightly and replied, "There was once a High Monk in the East City Ruins. After he died, the Sarira that burned from his body was buried there. That's why there is spiritual energy in the East City Ruins. Since you carry Yin Qi with you, going there can help dispel it."
As I listened to Zhang Dexin speak earnestly, I nodded occasionally but didn't respond verbally.
Before long, we both found ourselves in an awkward silence.
Zhang Dexin eventually stood up and told me that if I found that Wooden Box, I must contact him immediately.
I promised him verbally, and after seeing Zhang Dexin off, I finally let out a sigh of relief.
That old guy must have been following me. Talking about a High Monk in the East City Ruined Temple—what nonsense! He and Wang Wei both wanted to trick me into going to the East City Ruins; there had to be some kind of conspiracy at play.
Wang Wei had also warned me not to trust Zhang Dexin.
I couldn't return to the hotel now; who knows if Zhang Dexin had someone watching me? Little Black Dog and I ended up having a late-night snack until around two in the morning before leaving.
At this point, that old lady hadn't come looking for me.
I wandered around aimlessly outside and eventually found a random inn to stay for the night. Before dawn the next day, I returned to the hotel.
I took the Wooden Box with me and boarded the train home. By the time I got home, it was already evening. As I stepped through the door, I felt a wave of relief wash over me.
However, upon entering my house, I noticed my father's face looked off. So, I asked my mother if something had happened.
My mother told me that there had been ghost sightings in the village these past few days.
I asked her what was going on, but she said not to worry, so I didn’t think much of it and set down the Wooden Box. I then asked her, "Have you prepared everything for Grandma's seventh day?"
She replied affirmatively and continued to busy herself with cooking.
While we were eating, my mother said to me, "Saning, your grandmother was most concerned about you when she passed away. You must come back for her seventh day. I was foolish to think I could hide this from you."
I assured her it was fine.
After dinner, I went back to my room to sleep. My mother specifically reminded me not to go out at night.
I lay in bed for a short while before falling asleep. After all the turmoil outside, it felt good to be home again. I had left Little Black Dog at the Pet Store.
In the middle of the night, I woke up groggily and needed to use the bathroom. In rural areas, the bathroom is usually outside, so I opened the door and stepped out.
At that moment, I heard someone call me "Brother." I turned around and saw it was my Third Uncle's grandson, Soybean.
I was taken aback for a moment before asking Soybean, "What are you doing out here at this hour?"
Soybean loved to play around, so when he heard my question, he replied, "Saning Brother, I heard you were back, so I came to see you."
I couldn't help but laugh at the kid and said, "You came to see me at this late hour? Do you have some mischievous plan?" After saying that, I glanced at Soybean and noticed his face looked a bit pale. But then I thought maybe he had just woken up in the middle of the night; people often look pale right after waking up. It could also be that he had been sleeping in the dark and was lacking some Yang energy in the morning.
"Brother, why are you up so late? Did you bring me a gift?"
I thought to myself that I had no time for gifts; I had been through enough myself these past few days. However, since Soybean asked, I reached into my pocket and pulled out twenty yuan for him, telling him to head back home soon.
Soybean took my money and suddenly flashed me a smile. For some reason, I felt a chill run down my spine as Soybean dashed off toward home with my cash.
At that moment, I was feeling much more alert. I glanced around; the houses in the countryside were sparsely distributed, so the view was mostly empty. A gust of wind blew by, and I suddenly felt a shiver. I hurried to the bathroom and relieved myself.
After finishing, I rushed back inside and crawled under the covers to sleep.
However, I hadn’t been asleep long when I felt a chill on my back. When I touched my blanket, it was completely soaked. I quickly got up, turned on the light, but to my surprise, the blanket showed no signs of being wet. I touched it again; it was quite dry.
I thought to myself that it must have been an illusion.
Holding onto the blanket, I soon fell asleep again. The next morning, just as dawn began to break, my mom called me awake.
But when she saw me, she was taken aback.
“Saning, are you okay?”
Still groggy, I replied that I was fine.
“If you’re fine, then why do you look so pale?” At her words, I instinctively touched my cheek.
“Maybe it’s because I didn’t sleep well last night,” I said.
My mom told me to get ready because we were going to pay respects to Grandma.
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