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墨書 Inktalez
Gravekeeper
Master Ma supported Hao Dafu, saying, "You all need to inform everyone in the village. If anyone is left behind tonight and ends up being harmed by Lian, don't blame me. Also, take this opportunity to continue searching for Old Xu. If we don't catch him, I fear there will be other troubles."
"Understood!" Hao Dafu immediately agreed.
I felt something was off. In truth, if I left the village now, I would be fine, but I didn't want to go. I wanted to see who was behind this; damn it, they actually wanted to harm everyone in our village.
My dad kicked me lightly and said, "Fei, there's nothing for you to do here. You should head back to school this afternoon."
I smiled at my dad and replied, "No rush, Dad. I'm setting out now; I'm afraid Lian might follow me later. Just wait a bit; Master Ma seems quite capable."
In the afternoon, I stayed at home since I still needed to keep an eye on Xu Bansian.
The village was bustling with activity as many people searched for Xu Bansian's whereabouts, but of course, they wouldn't find him.
As the sun began to set, everyone in the village stepped out of their homes, including the elderly and children. No one dared to stay in the village any longer.
My parents took Dayu and headed toward the mountain as darkness approached. Everyone was clearly afraid that Lian might suddenly appear. Now that everyone was gathered together under Master Ma's guidance, they felt much more at ease.
I walked inside the house and found Xu Bansian.
Xu Bansian lay in the corner of my room; I had brought him some steamed buns, but he hadn't eaten any. I felt that Xu Bansian was nearing his end.
"Grandpa Xu," I said, "what should we do now? Everyone in the village has gone up the mountain. Won't Lian find you here?"
Xu Bansian waved his hand dismissively. "It's fine; I'm nearly dead anyway. What do I have to fear from Lian? Fei, this whole situation feels strange. I've thought about it for a long time, but I can't figure out who in Shantai Village is behind all this."
I sat down across from Xu Bansian and said, "You're right, Grandpa Xu. Who would stuff a Black Cat into a coffin? What could his purpose possibly be?"
Xu Bansian shook his head. "I've lived in Shantai Village for fifty or sixty years. I could count every person in this village with my eyes closed. The only one I can't see through is your grandfather. Aside from him, everyone here is just a bunch of ignorant, ordinary old farmers. There's no one who would think to use a Black Cat or Cat Evil to raise the dead; it's simply unimaginable!"
I listened to Xu Bansian's analysis.
He continued, "Once Lian becomes a Zombie, aside from seeking revenge on her enemies, she will run rampant throughout the village and even go to other villages to kill. I really can't understand what benefit there is in doing that."
Both Xu Bansian and I fell silent for a moment before he said, "Alright, Fei, help me up. I can't drag you down with me. I'll go back home and wait for death; there's nothing more I can do about this situation. As a dead man, I shouldn't concern myself with the living. Fei, take my advice and leave tomorrow; never come back to this mountain village again."
I nodded.
I helped Xu Bansian back to his home. Then I grabbed a flashlight and headed toward the Mountain.
The entire village was eerily quiet; if someone were to sneak around now, it would be quite thrilling.
Our village's back mountain was covered in woods, and besides the forest, there were some air raid shelters. This place used to be a base during the Anti-Japanese War; the famous Tai'erzhuang Battle and Railway Guerrillas happened not far from here.
The air raid shelters were dark and gloomy. In addition to them, there were also trenches dug into the Mountain. It was usually quite eerie here; we children didn't dare come play alone.
Seeing Master Ma leading our group toward this place made me feel uneasy. If Lian were to suddenly appear here, she could likely kill quite a few people.
Before long, I caught up with the villagers ahead.
They were all discussing what Master Ma had brought them here for.
"Wow, wow..."
Suddenly, a child began to cry.
Then, seven or eight babies started wailing as well, and the cacophony of cries made the villagers feel a bit uneasy.
"Master Ma!" the village chief, Hao Dafu, called out.
Master Ma was walking at the front. Hearing the chief call him, he turned around to look.
"Hao Dafu: Master Ma, is this... is this the wrong way? This is the old forest; there are dangerous things inside. We villagers are too afraid to go in."
"What are you worried about with me here? Don't you trust me?" Master Ma snorted.
Hao Dafu quickly replied, "No, no! Right now, you're our only hope. It's just... do we really have to come here?"
Master Ma pointed ahead to the forest. "We must go into the forest! That Zombie's power is too strong; I need to borrow the Wood Spirit's strength to subdue her. If we stay out here, even with the whole village and myself, we wouldn't stand a chance against that Zombie."
Hao Dafu nodded and turned back to the villagers. "Everyone, just hold on a little longer. Once we reach that forest, everything will be fine. There's no need to worry."
Although Hao Dafu said this, it was clear that others were still filled with fear. In fact, not just them; I felt a shiver run down my spine as well. As for the babies, they continued to cry relentlessly despite all attempts to soothe them.
Fortunately, the forest wasn't too far away. Once they entered the woods, no one wanted to venture deeper. It was dark and foreboding; even with flashlights, they felt scared.
"Alright, this is far enough," Master Ma said. "Everyone gather together and sit down while I cast my spell. I just need to lure that Monster over here. At that time, there's no need for anyone to be afraid; just close your eyes and pray. Leave everything to me."
"Okay, thank you so much, Master Ma," Hao Dafu said repeatedly as he bowed.
The entire village sat down on the ground at the edge of the forest.
The ground was a bit damp, but everyone paid no mind to it.
Everyone followed Master Ma's instructions and turned off their flashlights. Then, Master Ma set up an Altar in front of him. He took a fire basin and sprinkled something inside, followed by placing Cypress Leaves, Sophora Branches, and Willow Branches on top. He then took out a talisman and waved his hand, causing the talisman to ignite.
Seeing Master Ma perform this trick, everyone praised him, believing he was quite capable.
I couldn't help but smirk; the burning talisman had already been proven to be a trick. It was quite simple, really—just utilizing the fact that White Phosphorus has a very low ignition point.
Master Ma tossed the talisman into the fire basin and loudly declared, "Everyone close your eyes and don't think of anything; leave the rest to me!"
I closed my eyes as well, but soon I felt something was off. It smelled terrible! I opened my eyes to see thick smoke billowing from the fire basin, swirling around us. The stench was unbearable, nauseating even.
I covered my nose and inwardly complained about what this Old Taoist was doing—how could this possibly attract the lotus?
As I pondered this, suddenly, I felt a chill run down my neck, making me shiver involuntarily.
In that moment, the babies had stopped crying!
I found it strange and peeked forward. Sister Wang was holding a baby in her arms.
Looking closer, I saw that the baby in Sister Wang's embrace had rolled its eyes back, its cheeks flushed red. I couldn't tell if it had fainted or what; it looked completely lifeless.
Startled, I quickly scanned the other villagers around me. They all had their eyes closed, as if an old monk were meditating.
Something felt off; how could everyone endure such a foul smell?
Just then, in the distance, a shadow floated towards us...
Seeing that dark mass, I was genuinely startled. I swallowed hard, my heart thumping loudly in my chest. Those shadows floated towards me like human figures from a distance.
I nudged Sister Wang in front of me.
The woman seemed as if she were asleep, showing no reaction at all.
The shadows drifted to the edge of the fire pit and then turned to look at the people in our village before floating closer to us.
Moreover, I noticed that even more shadows were drifting in from afar, and Master Ma—when I turned to look—was nowhere to be seen.
I knew something was terribly wrong; there was definitely a problem.
That damned fire pit hadn’t attracted the lotus but had drawn in so many… so many ghosts!
Those things were definitely spirits!
I got up and ran towards the fire pit.
The surrounding shadows watched me as they floated closer.
What the hell!
My heart raced to my throat. I maneuvered around them, knowing it had to be the foul stench from the fire pit that had summoned these entities.
More and more shadows approached me, buzzing with their mouths open, though I couldn’t tell what they wanted.
I initially thought about turning and running, but soon realized that when they got within half a meter of me, they stopped advancing.
I let out a sigh of relief, not caring too much anymore. I lifted my foot and ran toward the fire pit. When I reached it, I stepped in, feeling something sticky inside. I had no idea what it was, but the more I stepped, the more smoke billowed up, and the stench made me want to gag.
Looking around, I realized there was no water nearby. So, I simply pulled down my pants and urinated into the fire pit.
I was somewhat impressed with myself; even in such a tense situation, I managed to relieve myself. After I finished, the foul smell lessened significantly.
At that moment, I turned back again and realized things were looking grim.
Dozens of Shadows were crouched on the heads and necks of the people in our village, seemingly doing something.
I glanced at my parents; they were sitting there with Yu, all three of them with their heads lowered like corpses.
Three ghostly figures were hovering over my parents' heads.
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