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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter Four: Crossing the Paper Bridge to Life
At this moment, Wang Mazi's Grandfather spoke up, saying that his son was about to go down. He was worried that his son would get lost and be scared, so he wanted to wait for him and take him away.
I said, "Your son is fine; it's not time yet. You should hurry and leave!"
Suddenly, Wang Mazi's grandmother began to cry. "I miss my son; I won't leave." While crying, she shouted loudly into the house, calling out Uncle Wang's name, saying things like, "Son, oh son, your mother misses you. Come out and see your mother; let me take you away from this suffering."
Hearing this made me quite frightened because there were too many cases where people whose time had not yet come were taken away by their relatives before the Ghost Messenger arrived to collect their souls.
If the visitor were a wandering ghost, I would definitely not hold back. However, since it was a member of the Royal Family who came, calling for the soul was merely an expression of longing for their son, so I couldn't be too forceful.
As I shouted just now, instead of scaring the ghost away, I frightened Wang Mazi and his mother even more. Seeing me talking to the empty air at the door, they understood what was happening.
At that moment, I couldn't afford to delay. I hurriedly told Aunt Wang that her in-laws had returned to take Uncle Wang away. "Don't worry about anything; just curse at me if you want. They are standing right at the door!"
I had no other choice; Uncle Wang's mother kept calling for him. The only way to make them leave was for his family to drive them away with curses.
Upon hearing what I said, although Aunt Wang and her son were terrified, they quickly followed my instructions.
Aunt Wang raised her voice and began to curse loudly. Whether it was because her in-laws had treated her poorly in life or because she was genuinely worried about Uncle Wang, she cursed with great fervor.
Have you ever seen a daughter-in-law arguing with her in-laws? Have you ever seen a shrew yelling in the streets? That’s exactly how Aunt Wang was at that moment!
With such a fierce scolding from Aunt Wang, the relatives who came to take Uncle Wang truly fled from her wrath.
While Aunt Wang was shouting at the door, I didn't remain idle either. I hurried back to Uncle Wang's bedside and began chanting spells towards the Paper Figurine dressed in Uncle Wang's clothes...
"Life and death, death and life; let a little ghost replace life and death. Today, the king's substitute passes through; little ghost leads the soul; soul goes to the underworld; spirit lives on as king; Western Mother King guards..." As soon as I finished chanting the spell, I pressed my finger on the forehead of the Paper Figurine and shouted "Command!" Suddenly, the Paper Figurine moved as if possessed by a ghost; its eyes blinked open and it began to move...
Paper Figurine Although it has come to life, it does not move as freely as a living person. Have you ever seen those robots made by folk experts on television?
The Paper Figurine in front of me walks like that, shaking with every step, extremely stiff, its eyes blinking repeatedly, and its face, painted with red watercolor, bears a sinister smile. If an unsuspecting outsider were to suddenly witness this scene, they would surely be terrified.
Aside from giving off an eerie feeling, the Paper Figurine is not particularly frightening. It continues to walk with stiff steps from Uncle Wang's bed out of the Room, heading straight for the paper bridge at the threshold...
I understand that whether Uncle Wang can survive this time depends on whether the Paper Figurine can safely cross the paper bridge.
As soon as the Paper Figurine steps onto the paper bridge, a mysterious strong wind suddenly kicks up, blowing sand and stones around, causing the Paper Figurine to sway left and right, looking as if both it and the bridge might be blown away.
Seeing this situation, my heart tightens; I realize something is amiss. I look outside and see that the relatives of the Royal Family, who had just been scolded away by Aunt Wang, have returned.
Not only that, but two towering figures follow closely behind the Royal Family relatives. One has a head resembling an Ox-Head, while the other has a head like a horse's, each holding an Iron Chain and Shackles.
I am startled; isn't this just Ox-Head and Horse-Face?
I am quite frightened. I could still scold away those relatives of the Royal Family, or even force them if necessary, but who would dare to scold or hit Ox-Head and Horse-Face? That would be courting death!
The current Paper Figurine, buffeted by the sudden strong wind, is struggling to maintain its balance, let alone cross the bridge. Moreover, with the arrival of Ox-Head and Horse-Face, the chilling Yin Wind intensifies, and I genuinely worry that the Paper Figurine might be blown away.
At that moment, I dare not delay; if Ox-Head and Horse-Face approach, Uncle Wang will surely die. So I bite my finger and draw a symbol on the back of the Paper Figurine with my blood, activating an Incantation. Finally, the Paper Figurine stabilizes itself and steps across the bridge...
Fortunately, when Ox-Head and Horse-Face reach the doorway, the Paper Figurine has just crossed over the threshold of the Royal Family Main Entrance.
At this point, Ox-Head and Horse-Face do not suspect anything; they throw an Iron Chain around the neck of the Paper Figurine, locking it up.
Just as they are about to leave, Horse Face suddenly turns around and speaks to me with a horse's mouth: "According to the Book of Life and Death, your fate is sealed. You better stop meddling here and hurry back to keep an eye on your Shop. If you delay any longer, it will lead to serious trouble!"
After saying this, without caring whether I understand or not, they turn around and take away the Paper Figurine.
They may have left, but I was still stunned. What... is going on here?
How did that Horse Face know that I run a Shop? Damn, does he know me?
Moreover, he told me to hurry back and keep an eye on the Shop, or there would be big trouble. Big trouble? What kind of big trouble could happen at my Shop?
At this moment, I was completely confused...
After hearing Horse Face's mysterious words, I felt puzzled but didn't think too much about it. I figured he might be saying that I wasn't managing the shop well and was meddling in other people's business.
Speaking of which, the Paper Figurine had been taken away by Ox-Head and Horse-Face. The Paper Figurine was still visible to the naked eye, but at this moment, it wouldn't move anymore. It stood dazed at the threshold, and when the wind blew, the Paper Figure swayed unsteadily and fell to the ground...
But that didn't matter anymore; I instructed Wang Mazi to take the Paper Figurine bridge outside and burn it.
Just then, Aunt Wang shouted from inside, "Xiao Pan, wake up! Your uncle has woken up!"
Hearing this, both Wang Mazi and I were excited and rushed back inside. Sure enough, Uncle Wang had already awakened and was asking for water.
Aunt Wang was overjoyed to the point of tears and hurried to pour water for Uncle Wang. Uncle Wang then said to Wang Mazi, "Just now, I dreamed of your Grandfather and Grandmother. They said they wanted to take me with them. I wanted to go with them too, but I can't bear to leave you all..."
As Uncle Wang spoke, he sighed sadly, his face full of reluctance. There was reluctance for his parents and for his wife and children.
Perhaps that's how people are; as parents, which parent would be willing to abandon their children? Whether they are living or deceased...
Seeing that Uncle Wang was no longer in serious danger, I took my leave and returned to the Shop.
However, what I didn't expect was that while I had saved Uncle Wang, something big happened on my end: my Shop was on fire!
Just after leaving Wang Mazi's house, I ran into Li Yao'er from the Village, who rushed over to me and said, "Why are you still wandering around? Your Shop is on fire!"
This statement startled me, and in a panic, I ran towards the shop.
My shop is located at the entrance of the village, where there are three buildings in a row. My shop is in the middle, and the two buildings on either side are warehouses belonging to others.
Before I even reached the village entrance, I saw flames shooting up into the sky from that direction, clearly indicating that a large fire was raging.
As I got closer, I realized that it might have spread from the warehouse next to mine, which was now completely engulfed in flames, and my shop was also on fire.
At that moment, many people from the village arrived to help extinguish the fire. While we were trying to put it out, I asked Li Yao'er beside me how the fire started.
Li Yao'er said she wasn't too sure either but heard Uncle Liu mention that he saw a long flame suddenly shoot up from the west side of the village, which then spread to the entrance and ignited everything here.
What Li Yao'er said was truly bizarre; it made me doubt my own ears!
By the time night fell and we finally extinguished the fire, my shop had already been severely damaged.
Looking at my shop, which was reduced to a mess by the fire, I felt heartbroken and wanted to cry. Sitting dumbfounded in the darkened shop, I suddenly remembered what Horse Face had said to me at Wang Mazi's house—those mysterious words.
At first, they seemed mysterious, but now they sent chills down my spine. Horse Face warned me to keep an eye on my shop; otherwise, something big would happen. Now it seemed that something indeed had gone terribly wrong.
However, thinking back now, I initially believed that what Horse Face referred to as a big event was this fire. What I didn't realize was that what he meant by a big event was not this incident at all because this fire was just the beginning...
As for what major events occurred after the fire at my shop, that's a story for another time; let me explain later.
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