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墨書 Inktalez
I turned around and found it was Zhang Dexin, who was holding the compass. In the dimly lit temple, he resembled a Maitreya Buddha.
The old man must have been waiting for me, so I headed to his room. The door was made of wood, unpainted, looking as if it were in its natural state.
I raised my hand and knocked on the door.
"Knock, knock, knock..." After three knocks, the door creaked open.
I heard a voice from inside say, "Who is it?" The voice was old and hoarse, quite unpleasant to hear.
"It's me. I'm here to get something."
"Did you come alone?"
I glanced at Zhang Dexin. I was about to say there were two of us when he shot me a look, so I quickly changed my response and said, "Yes."
After I spoke, I waited for a reply from inside, but after a long time, there was still no sound. To be honest, I didn't even know what I had come to get.
With no response from inside, my impatience grew. I peered through the crack of the door and asked, "Is anyone there?" The light illuminated the room, and as I searched around, my heart sank because there was no one inside—truly no one. Yet just moments ago, someone had spoken from within.
Without hesitation, I pushed the door open and stepped inside, but saw nothing. The room was empty and eerily quiet; there was clearly no one here!
Zhang Dexin followed me in, his face displaying an odd expression.
We both had heard a voice coming from this very room just moments ago.
The space wasn't large but was quite simple; one could get a general idea at a glance. There was indeed no one here—really no one—but there had definitely been a sound earlier.
I felt a wave of anxiety wash over me. Could it be that I had encountered another ghost?
My breathing became uneven as Zhang Dexin took a few steps inside the room, glancing around casually. Suddenly, a terrifying scream pierced through the air from outside.
The scream immediately captured our attention.
We rushed out of the temple, but by the time we reached outside, the horrifying scream had already faded away.
It was pitch black outside, and the cold wind blew in, sending chills down my spine.
I nervously scanned the surroundings when suddenly a voice said, "You’ve arrived..."
The voice was so abrupt that it felt like I had fallen straight into an ice cellar, freezing to the core. Zhang Dexin quickly turned around and glanced a few times.
"Saning, it's fine; he’s a living person," Zhang Dexin called out to me.
I turned to see the Guardian from before, his face still bearing an unsettling look.
"Are you here to collect something?"
I nodded in response, then realized something and asked, "Were you at home earlier?"
The Guardian looked at me strangely and shook his head. Zhang Dexin and I exchanged glances. The Guardian rasped, "Come inside."
Zhang Dexin followed closely behind.
But the Guardian said, "This is your item; you can come alone to get it."
My heart sank; earlier there had indeed been voices coming from his house.
Zhang Dexin insisted, "That won't do. I'm his uncle; I need to go in with him."
The Guardian completely ignored Zhang Dexin's comment and walked straight inside. I snapped back to reality as the voice from within the temple echoed, "If you want it, come in and take it yourself; if not, then forget it."
I still didn't know what I was supposed to take. The woman on the phone had insisted I call Zhang Dexin over for a reason. I glanced at Zhang Dexin and thought that since I had come this far, it would be too cowardly not to take something. I puffed my cheeks, took a deep breath, and then exhaled.
I turned and walked inside.
Zhang Dexin's expression was somewhat stern as he asked, "Saning, do you want Uncle Zhang to accompany you inside?"
I shook my head and replied, "No need, I'll go in by myself."
Zhang Dexin then said, "If anything happens inside, just shout loudly. That person is alive, so theoretically nothing should happen. Just be careful."
I nodded and headed toward the temple.
It felt strange—very strange. During the day, everything seemed normal, but at night so many bizarre things occurred. The voice I heard earlier in the house and the terrifying screams from just now filled my mind.
As I walked into the temple, I suppressed my inner fear and doubts. However, once I entered the room, I found that the Guardian had closed the door behind me.
I sighed inwardly and ran to knock on the door. After a few knocks, it opened, revealing a kerosene lamp lit inside. The Guardian was sitting at the table.
As I stepped in, a chilling aura enveloped me.
"Turn off your flashlight; I'm not used to it," he said.
Upon hearing this, I turned off the flashlight on my phone. Once it was off, only the weak light from the kerosene lamp remained in the room.
I took a moment to look at the Guardian; thankfully, there was a shadow—he was alive.
The flame of the kerosene lamp flickered around, casting shadows that danced along with the Guardian's figure.
"What do you want to give me?" I asked, though I felt uncertain because I hadn't actually lost anything. If it weren't for the woman on the phone reminding me to come here, I wouldn't have even shown up.
The Guardian gave off an oppressive vibe. I waited for him to respond, but he seemed to deliberately test my patience by leaving me hanging.
The room fell into a deep silence, so quiet that only our breathing could be heard. He remained silent, while I struggled to contain my curiosity. Finally, I couldn't hold it in any longer and asked, "Sir, what are you going to give me?"
As soon as I finished speaking, Guardian suddenly erupted into a violent fit of coughing. His face contorted in a way that was already somewhat frightening, making him look even more terrifying as he coughed.
The coughing lasted for over a minute, and I almost thought he might cough himself to death. Eventually, unable to bear it any longer, I reached out to pat his back gently.
But as soon as my hand made contact, Guardian seemed enraged. Between coughs, he shouted at me, "Take your hand away."
His distorted face combined with his hoarse voice sent shivers down my spine.
I stood frozen in place, waiting for over a minute before his coughing finally subsided. When he looked at me again, his eyes were bloodshot and his expression was extremely unsettling.
"What I'm going to give you is..." he finally managed to say as he caught his breath.
My curiosity had been piqued long ago, and as soon as he opened his mouth, I quickly interjected, "What is it?"
Guardian fixed his gaze on me, his eyes burning with intensity. He continued, "What I'm going to give you is a corpse..."
A wave of turmoil surged within me at his words. I glanced at Guardian, thinking to myself that this was what he meant by something I had lost. Even if I lost myself, I would never lose a corpse!
My breathing quickened as I looked down at the old man’s shadow still lingering on the ground. It was the only sign that he was still alive and the only reason I felt somewhat reassured.
"A corpse? Whose corpse?" My voice trembled as I asked.
Guardian stared at me with an ominous glare.
"Whose corpse do you think it is?" he retorted.
I thought to myself, how would I know whose corpse it is? The idea of discussing corpses with him late at night felt unsettling.
"I don't know," I replied quickly. Regardless of whose corpse it was, it had nothing to do with me. Besides, how was I supposed to handle a corpse?
After a moment of silence, I remained quiet as well.
I was about to leave; this matter seemed unrelated to me, and the atmosphere here was particularly oppressive, to the point of suffocation.
"If there's nothing else, I'm leaving," I said, feeling that there was no need to linger any longer. Regardless of the circumstances, I had no intention of taking a corpse with me.
Just as I finished speaking and prepared to turn away, suddenly, the Guardian spoke up: "It's Soybean's body!"
Upon hearing this, I froze instantly. The image of Soybean flashed in my mind, and I felt a jolt of shock. Soybean was dead and had been buried.
Just the night before, Soybean had asked me to help him dig a grave, but I hadn't done it.
Thinking back on it now sent chills down my spine. Had the Guardian unearthed Soybean's body?
I looked at the Guardian; his face was lined with deep wrinkles that made him appear unsettling at that moment.
I voiced my confusion: "Did you dig Soybean's body out of the grave?"
As soon as I finished speaking, the Guardian suddenly broke into a strange smile.
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