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墨書 Inktalez
As I watched the blood flow more and more, spilling over the edge of the table, it gradually changed from red to black. It seemed almost alive, slowly pooling on the ground. A thought flashed through my mind: "This Box is problematic; I need to find Lao Yang." With that thought, I dropped the takeout in my hand and rushed forward, tearing down the curtains in a frenzy. I hastily wrapped them around the Box, intending to carry it outside. The moment I picked it up, I felt a tremor; it seemed as if something inside was trying to escape.
At that moment, I couldn't afford to think too much. I ran outside with the Box in my arms. Habitually, I dashed to the elevator, frantically pressing the button for down. After a few attempts, I remembered that the elevator had been out of order during my last delivery. Turning around, I intended to head for the stairs when suddenly the elevator doors opened. Without a second thought, I stepped inside and pressed the button for the first floor. The doors closed behind me, and the elevator began its descent. The numbers on the display started counting down: 111109... When it reached 1, I eagerly awaited the doors to open, but instead, it continued moving—-1---4… Staring at the flashing numbers, I froze. My building only had one underground level and one above ground for parking. In a panic, I pressed every button in vain; the elevator showed no signs of stopping.
Finally, at level -1, the elevator came to a halt, and the doors slowly opened. Outside was the same familiar scene: flowerbeds, a fountain, and a woman squatting beside her baby carriage soothing her child while a few elderly people chatted in a nearby gazebo. Tentatively stepping out onto the solid concrete floor felt just like any other day; everything seemed normal except for the malfunctioning elevator. "Could it really just be a broken elevator?" I wondered as I glanced back at the closed doors, still showing no abnormalities.
Just then, I felt a damp sensation in my hands and looked down at the Box wrapped in curtains. The light blue fabric was now stained deep black with Black Blood oozing from within, accompanied by a foul stench of decay. At this point, there was no time to hesitate; I tightened my grip on the Box and sprinted toward the district entrance, praying desperately, "There has to be a car! There has to be!" It felt like some bizarre twist of fate had struck me with something I'd never encountered before. As I ran, Black Blood continued to seep from the Box, staining my fingers.
In no time, I was panting heavily by the roadside at the district entrance. Behind me lay a trail of black blood where I'd run through; its stench grew stronger and nearly suffocated me. To my shock, it seemed as if those bloodstains were moving toward me. With no time to think further, I quickly scanned my surroundings for a taxi. After searching around frantically, I spotted one parked at a corner waiting for passengers. Without hesitation, I rushed over and yanked open the door before jumping into the back seat.
Gasping for breath, I shouted to the driver in front: "Driver! Hurry! To Hongxia Road!" Without turning his head, he slammed on the gas and sped away. All I wanted was to reach Lao Yang's place quickly; hopefully he hadn't closed up yet. Lifting my blood-stained hand to check my watch, I wiped off some of the blood only to freeze in shock—the hands pointed directly at 5:00. "Isn't that when I'm supposed to be home? Has time stopped since then? Or is my watch broken because of this black blood?" Just as confusion set in, I felt the car accelerating faster; everything around me blurred due to our speed.
"Slow down! Slow..." My words caught in my throat as I realized that the driver was actually a mannequin—a display dummy from a clothing store! In panic, I tossed the Box onto the passenger seat and grabbed hold of its head with all my strength, pulling it into the back seat before twisting my body with all my might into the driver's seat. Just as we were about to crash into a tree ahead, I yanked hard on the steering wheel to swerve right. The car narrowly missed colliding with it but smashed into my left side mirror instead with a loud crash; shards of glass flew everywhere and cut across my face. Pain shot through me but there was no time to dwell on it—I slammed on the brakes hard. Due to our speed and sudden stop, inertia sent me crashing into the steering wheel; tears streamed down my face as blood gushed from my nose.
Fortunately, we came to a stop. Wiping away blood from my face and nose with my shirt helped me regain focus; ahead lay Lao Yang's shop not far away. Rushing back for the Box I'd thrown onto the passenger seat earlier proved futile—it had come undone during our abrupt halt. Desperately bending down to search for it yielded results beneath where I'd been sitting.
Finally spotting it under the passenger seat without bothering to wrap it again, I reached out for it eagerly. The moment I grasped it tightly, an unsettling feeling washed over me as I pulled it out—there was already a crack forming at its bottom! Perhaps due to our earlier collision more Black Blood began pouring out through that gap while more pooled around me inside.
"I have to find Lao Yang quickly; he's my only hope," this thought echoed in my mind repeatedly. But now both of my feet were submerged in that foul-smelling black blood rendering them immobile while my hands lost feeling from being coated in too much of it. Spotting several passersby nearby made me shout for help urgently—but they walked by as if they couldn't hear or see me at all—lost in their own world while mine spiraled into chaos.
Seeing no hope for rescue from them left me relying solely on myself but panic only worsened matters further putting me at risk of sinking deeper into despair. So instead began analyzing my situation mentally: this black blood would bind me; staying immersed would lead me towards numbness like what happened with my fingers and wrists until ultimately consumed by it—able to seep through skin into nerves causing total loss of sensation! Suddenly struck by inspiration—I bent low shifting sideways before biting down hard on door handle with determination while leaning back—successfully opening it!
The Black Blood inside gushed out immediately allowing movement back into my legs! "It seems as long as most of me stays clear from this stuff its effects won't completely immobilize me," so without wasting another moment sprang out using both arms clutching tightly onto that crimson Box while stomping hard several times hoping sensation would return fully below! Yet after soaking in that Black Blood for too long still left them somewhat numb dragging heavy steps forward towards Lao Yang's shop where dark liquid continued flowing relentlessly from within...
I really wanted to throw this damn Box away and free myself from this nightmarish experience. However, another voice in my mind kept telling me to hold onto it. Every time I thought about tossing the Box aside, my arms instinctively tightened around it.
"Just a little longer, just a little longer. Once I get there, I will definitely make Lao Yang explain everything about this Box," I thought to myself as I dragged my heavy feet to Lao Yang's shop. The old sign was still there, but this time I could see the name: Yuxu Mipo. Remembering the stories Lao Yang had shared with me made everything suddenly clear; outsiders would never understand.
As I pushed the door open with my foot, I suddenly felt someone grab my shoulders. A voice called out repeatedly, "Hey, Buddy, Buddy, what's wrong with you..." Suddenly jolted back to reality, I found myself still in Lao Yang's shop, holding the Box in my hands, and miraculously, all my pain had vanished. "What happened to me?" I asked in confusion.
"You just stood there staring at that Box like an idiot. I thought you were going to scare me to death," Lao Yang replied. "How long have I been standing here?" "About ten minutes. What’s up? Are you interested in that Box?" He asked. I didn’t answer him; instead, I continued asking, "Is your name Yang Wei?"
Lao Yang was startled. "How did you know? Have we met before?" I fixed my gaze on the Box in my hands and replied, "No..."
Then I recounted everything I had foreseen to him. Lao Yang was astonished. "What you said about my past is indeed true, but this Box..." He pointed at the Box in my hand. "As for it, it wasn't passed to me by that person named Yin..." After pondering for a moment, he continued, "This is the Box that the Void Spirit led me to find when it possessed me. It never told me where the key was; I could only sense that it might be an ominous object. No matter what methods I tried, I couldn't open it, so I've just left it there."
Now, given everything I've experienced recently and how close I'd come to death, I couldn't help but believe Lao Yang's words—even if I didn't know whether they were true or just what I'd foreseen. "Can you still see the Void Spirit on me?" I asked tentatively.
Lao Yang nodded firmly. "Yes, and your Void Spirit has indeed never awakened." I quickly followed up with another question: "So just like what I foresaw, it will protect me until death?" Lao Yang shook his head. "That's difficult. In this world, everything has both good and evil; there's no absolute good or absolute evil. Just remember that your Void Spirit hasn't awakened yet—be careful and cautious unless you really need it; otherwise, it's best not to let it awaken."
I pressed further: "So even though it's my Void Spirit, I can't control it?" A look of sorrow crossed Lao Yang's face. "Exactly. Every Void Spirit has its own consciousness and cannot be completely controlled by anyone; otherwise, I wouldn't have ended up like this."
"I'm sorry for bringing up your painful memories," I apologized.
"It's fine, but regarding this Box..." Lao Yang shrugged slightly. "Since you've foreseen that it will bring you misfortune, it's better if you leave it here with me." Nodding timidly, I placed the Box back down.
Afterward, we chatted about some other trivial matters—mostly strange supernatural occurrences—and surprisingly enough, all these experiences piqued my interest in the Box even more. We exchanged phone numbers before parting ways. As the sun began to set and it was time for me to leave after saying goodbye to Lao Yang, just as my hand rested on the doorknob, I suddenly noticed a dark streak of blood slowly sliding down the back of my hand...
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