Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Hearing this, I was even more delighted. Binzi, unable to contain his excitement, asked, "Old lady, do you know where that esteemed person with the surname Yin is currently residing?" Liu Old Lady smiled at Binzi and replied, "He lives at Old Wang's Family at the village entrance. Is there something urgent you need to see him about?"
Binzi took a moment to compose himself, putting away his earlier urgency, and smiled back, "No, no, I just thought he sounded a bit like an old friend of mine. I wanted to pay him a visit."
With that, Binzi stood up to leave. Just as he reached the door, Liu Old Lady called out to him. It wasn't safe for him to go out now; if he accidentally saw the Azure Stone, it could be dangerous. After pondering for a moment, Binzi said, "That stone is on the right side of this house, while the east end of the village is on the left. I won't look back." He then pulled out a red cloth strip from the cloth bag hanging at his waist and tied it over his eyes. Turning to me, he said, "Keep an eye on the path for me. If there's anything in front of me, remind me." I glanced at the old lady but saw nothing more to say, so I walked over to Binzi and patted his shoulder. He understood and grabbed the doorknob, pulling it open and stepping outside.
I stood at the doorway directing Binzi: "A little to the left... a little to the right... there's a pit ahead..." Just as Binzi was halfway through his journey, he suddenly seemed to sense something. He yanked at the cloth covering his eyes with his left hand and then spun around abruptly. I wanted to stop him, but it was too late.
I froze in place as terrifying possibilities flooded my mind. After a moment, seeing that Binzi was just standing there without any incident and was eagerly waving for me to come over made me feel something was off. I turned back to look at Liu Old Lady only to find her seat empty; she had quietly moved beside me without my noticing. My heart sank as I realized something was wrong, and I turned on my heel to run.
However, just as I took a step forward, powerful hands dragged me back into the house. I stumbled and fell heavily onto the ground. Pain shot through me as I rubbed my eyes; when I opened them again, there was no longer any sign of a house—only piles of broken bricks and tiles. The person who claimed to be Liu Old Lady had vanished without a trace. At that moment, Binzi was crouched beside me tying that red cloth around my neck. In desperation, I pushed his hand away and shouted, "Are you trying to strangle me? Who are you really?" He remained calm and replied, "Now is not the time for questions. Just tie this around your neck; I won't harm you. Everything we saw before was an illusion." He handed me the red cloth again. Noticing that he also had a piece of that same red cloth hanging around his neck, I took it from him and tied it around mine.
Seeing that I had complied, Binzi stood up and prepared to leave. I hurriedly got up to follow him. The scene before us had changed drastically; many of the quaint courtyards and earthen houses had transformed into heaps of ruins—only a few buildings retained their original form. What struck me as even stranger was that the Azure Stone we had seen earlier was now glowing softly; its eerie light cast ghostly shadows on our faces. I quickly called out to Binzi to take a look at it, but he didn't even turn his head and continued walking toward a house in the east.
Reluctantly, I followed him.
Binzi reached the front of a house and kicked open its door. At that moment, it felt as if a light bulb went off in my head; most of my lingering questions were suddenly answered. Without hesitation, I exclaimed, "You are that so-called esteemed person with the surname Yin!"
Binzi paused in surprise before bursting into laughter and asking, "When did you figure it out?" I stepped forward and snatched away two cloth bags hanging from his waist, waving them in front of him: "It was when you brought these along! Would an ordinary person carry items meant for exorcism when going out? Plus, since you arrived in Zhenkang County as if everything had been planned out beforehand—it’s all been under your control! I've always wondered about your story: why didn't anything strange happen when you encountered that Box for the second time? Even if you lost your right arm during your first encounter with it due to Hao Yin's curse—by your second encounter with it you should have been free from that curse! So why weren't you marked again by Hao Yin? And now Lao Yang has also encountered the Box but wasn't marked by Hao Yin either; logically speaking he’s just an ordinary person! I've seen what happens when an ordinary person encounters this Box! So can we assume that even Lao Yang is just another illusion created by you? Surely what happened before my arrival—the Box being stolen which led to someone's death—was unexpected for you? That’s why Lao Yang's responses seemed so vague! And when I spoke with Lao Yang earlier it must have been like talking with you too; so when you heard about this matter you weren’t surprised at all! The moment you kicked open that door earlier everything clicked into place! Your only flaw was revealing where that so-called esteemed person with the surname Yin lived through that illusion of Liu Old Lady! And yet you chose this moment to expose yourself!"
With that said, I pointed sternly at this person claiming to be Binzi and demanded, "What exactly do you want? Who are you really?"
Seeing my agitation rise as I tried to approach him again made Binzi attempt to calm me down; however, in panic—whether from fear or from suddenly uncovering the truth—I stepped back two paces.
Binzi sighed helplessly with a bitter smile: "Don't rush; everything has its reasons. Come inside and I'll explain everything slowly." Hearing him invite me inside made me wary of what trick he might pull next; I quickly retreated two steps while grabbing a stone from the ground threateningly: "Don't think about playing tricks! You better explain everything clearly right here; I'm not going anywhere!"
Binzi shook his head in resignation: "Alright alright! Just don't get agitated! Here's how it is: My surname is Yin; my name is Yin Li. My background is essentially a combination of Lao Yang's and Binzi's stories—except I've discovered Void Spirit myself and obtained this..." He pulled out a book from his clothing and tossed it at me while continuing: "This book contains everything related to Void Spirit written in words we can understand; it even allows one to merge with Void Spirit—but it comes at a great cost! As for what that cost is—you'll find out for yourself! This was kept inside that Box I brought along—and yes—I have indeed died before and have been eroded by Void Spirit..." He wiped his hand across his face under the dim streetlight which made him appear even more sinister in this environment.
After dispelling the illusions he continued: "I have now merged with my Void Spirit; one could say I've disappeared or one could say my Void Spirit has disappeared! Your reasoning earlier was quite impressive but there’s one thing you guessed wrong..." Suddenly he lunged toward me. As he tackled me down onto the ground while trying to hit him with the stone in my hand—his speed was too fast; he knocked it away before I could react! In panic, I clenched my fist and swung it toward his face just as he swiftly blocked my punch with his left hand shouting: "Don't move!"
He released my hand forcefully and snatched away both cloth bags I'd tried to take from him earlier with such speed that I couldn't respond in time. In an instant he flipped over and sprang up from the ground effortlessly. Using the dim streetlight as guidance—I saw him toss both cloth bags into the air before swiftly pulling on their strings causing their contents to spill out—a series of movements so fluid they left me dumbfounded.
Just as he reached out for those items falling from above—a sudden gust of wind rushed past knocking him against a crumbling wall with a loud thud followed by Yin Li letting out a muffled groan before spitting out blood onto what he held in his hands.
Realizing things were going south quickly—I scrambled up grabbing whatever had fallen on the ground without caring what they were—throwing them toward Yin Li's direction. Seeing something fly towards him instinctively made him reach out catching one item mid-air.
He looked at what he'd caught then shouted: "Thanks!"
Immediately after—he spat another mouthful of blood onto what he held before placing it beside him while yelling at me: "Get inside!" He pointed toward the room whose door he'd just kicked open moments ago.
Without saying anything further—I immediately dashed toward Yin Li but seeing my sudden movement made him think I'd misunderstood; he pointed toward another room shouting: "Over there!"
I ignored him and rushed right in front of him, picking him up and running into the room. As I ran, I shouted at Yin Li on my back, "Our business isn't finished yet! How could I let you trick me again!" With quick strides, I burst into the room. Once inside, I turned around and kicked the door shut with a force that sent dust raining down from the beams above.
I surveyed the dimly lit room; it was so dark that I couldn't see anything clearly except for a pile of straw nearby. I quickly laid Yin Li down on the straw and asked, "How are you? Are you hurt anywhere?" He raised his hand to touch his chest and coughed up some blood. "I'm afraid my internal organs have been shattered by the impact... You didn't listen when I told you to stay outside..." He coughed a few more times, and I couldn't help but feel like slapping myself for not heeding his warning.
Yin Li struggled to shift himself up, and seeing him trying to sit up, I hurried to support him. He patted his shoulder and said, "You guessed wrong earlier. What happened here wasn't an illusion created by me; it was the ghost from back then that hurt me. If I'm not mistaken, that Liu Old Lady is the first woman from our village who committed suicide by jumping into a well..."
Comment 0 Comment Count