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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter Sixty-Six: Encountering a Ghost
I frowned and ignored him. Then he said, "How about I take you to Liu Family Village? You see, these mountains connect to each other, and you’ll definitely get lost wandering around in them."
I replied, "Thank you for your kindness, but as the saying goes, people walk the sunny path while ghosts pass through Yellow Springs. Humans and ghosts are on different paths; we are not meant to cross."
When the Old Man heard this, he suddenly became very angry, glaring at me and coldly scolding me before storming off.
Seeing him leave, I finally let out a sigh of relief, thinking how close I had come to falling into the Old Man's trap. He was trying to lure our souls by asking if we wanted him to guide us. If I had agreed, then our group might never have left this mountain tonight. After all, he was walking the Yellow Springs Road, which is not meant for the living. If we had agreed earlier, we would have unknowingly followed him into the afterlife.
The Wang Team was puzzled and asked why the Old Man left so suddenly.
I told them it was because he realized he couldn't manipulate us, so he had no choice but to give up.
The Wang Team nodded in understanding, albeit somewhat confused, and then stayed close to me as we continued on our way.
However, just a few steps later, I suddenly stopped again because the road ahead had transformed into a sunny avenue. What had previously been a weed-choked bluestone path was now a wide road suitable for horse-drawn carriages.
I turned back and asked the Wang Team, "When you came here last time, did the road widen like this?"
The Wang Team looked at the completely different road before them in horror. One of them said, "No... no! The last time we walked was all through overgrown paths until we reached Liu Family Village. Even in the village, it was filled with weeds. How... how did such a big road appear now?"
Then one of them rushed to another officer and said, "Xiao Li, we didn’t see this big road last time, did we?"
The officer named Xiao Li nodded vigorously: "No, we didn’t see it. Could it be that we took a wrong turn tonight?"
Wang Team replied, "That’s impossible; we followed the Bluestone Path all the way here. How could we have gone wrong?"
Several other officers who had previously been to Liu Family Village also said they remembered taking that same path last time; there was no way they could have made a mistake.
Everyone insisted they hadn’t taken a wrong turn, yet here appeared a completely different wide road before them, which indeed left everyone bewildered.
When encountering such a situation, everyone naturally turned their gaze towards me, waiting for me to make a decision.
I thought for a moment and said to everyone, "Tonight, we must have encountered something supernatural. Since everyone clearly remembers that we did not take a wrong turn, this wide road in front of us must be the work of some ghost or spirit. However, this shouldn't be a problem; as long as everyone follows me and ignores anything we encounter on the road, we will be fine."
Since we had not taken a wrong turn, there was no need to turn back, so I suggested that we continue forward. I wanted to see what kind of tricks they were trying to play.
Thus, we stepped onto the wide bluestone avenue before us. For some reason, as soon as we walked onto the road, we felt thick night fog enveloping us. Shining our flashlights ahead revealed endless darkness; we could not see the end at all.
At this moment, the road was no longer winding or uphill; it stretched straight and flat ahead.
As we walked, I stopped again because someone was running towards us—a woman dressed in red. The woman was beautiful, with an alluring face. Her thin clothing resembled light gauze, making her enchanting figure appear almost translucent.
Although we were walking on such a strange road, suddenly seeing such a seductive woman made me hear some detectives behind me swallowing their saliva, clearly captivated by this nearly half-naked lady.
The woman looked somewhat panicked as she rushed in front of us and grabbed Team Leader Wang's arm, crying with a tearful expression, "Brother, help me!"
Under normal circumstances, if these detectives saw such a beautiful woman asking for help in distress, they would definitely lend a hand. However, at this moment, Team Leader Wang was more cautious; he looked at me as if asking what to do.
I pulled her hand off Team Leader Wang's arm and asked her, "Sister, what are you doing?"
Seeing me push her hand away made the woman somewhat angry, but she continued crying and said, "Someone is chasing me and wants to kill me. I'm so scared; can you help me?"
The woman appeared pitiful enough that any man would feel sympathy and want to be a hero. However, I knew that this was a trap; she was trying to lure us into danger. If I agreed to help her, it would mean agreeing to die in her place.
She was deliberately exploiting everyone's compassion; anyone who sympathized with her or wanted to step in because of her beauty would fall into her trap. Thinking this through, I coldly smiled and said, "If someone wants to kill you, it's none of our business. Don't block our way; hurry up and get lost."
The woman became furious; she glared at me and stomped her foot before angrily leaving.
Just as I was about to breathe a sigh of relief after she left, Team Leader Wang tugged at my shirt corner and pointed ahead in terror, saying, "Sir... there’s someone else coming!"
I looked up and sure enough saw an old woman approaching. She was dressed in pre-liberation attire and was completely soaked from head to toe. Water dripped from her body onto the ground with every step she took, leaving puddles behind. The old woman held a cane in her hand and was angrily muttering something to herself.
Seeing this scene, a detective behind me muttered, "Could it be a Drowned Ghost?"
Indeed, it was impossible for anyone to be in such a place, and the person in front of us, drenched from head to toe, looked particularly like the Drowned Ghost from folklore.
I didn't respond to their doubts because I didn't know whether that old woman was a Drowned Ghost or not, but one thing was clear: the newcomer was a ghost. Moreover, judging by her furious demeanor, she wasn't friendly.
Soon, the old woman approached us. Like the old man we encountered earlier, she was emaciated, with a face full of wrinkles and a sharp chin. Her disheveled hair clung to her head, and her pale complexion made her look extremely terrifying.
As soon as the old woman reached us, she deliberately blocked our path with her Cane. She continued to curse about someone being unfilial or something similar.
Seeing that the old woman had blocked the way, I said, "Grandma, why are you blocking our path?"
The old woman looked up at us and asked, "Lend me an umbrella and lend me some clothes."
Upon hearing this, I was immediately confused. I thought to myself, what kind of trap is she trying to set for us?
I tried to reply, "Grandma, I don't have an umbrella or any spare clothes."
When the old woman heard this, she angrily raised her Cane and struck at my feet, startling me into dodging. I thought to myself, what does this Old Lady want? It's not even raining now; why is she asking us for an umbrella? And now she's hitting me for not lending it to her.
After several attempts to hit me with the Cane without success, she became even angrier. So I quickly said, "Grandma, how about I burn you an umbrella and a few pieces of clothing tomorrow?"
The old woman glared at me and said, "I want a body umbrella and Willow Wood Garment. Is that possible?"
Hearing this left me stunned. What kind of umbrella is a body umbrella? What kind of clothes are Willow Wood Garments? Clothes made of willow wood?
I glanced back at the detectives; they were just as clueless and looked at me like idiots. So I helplessly said to the old woman, "Grandma, I've never heard of these things you want."
The old woman said resentfully, "The Yin cave has been built for a century; the mountain spring has changed its course; Leaky Roof has nowhere to go; lonely and helpless life is hard to keep!"
Now I understood. This Old Lady was here seeking my help. Perhaps she had seen my skills in yin and yang and specifically came to ask for assistance.
Of course, I understood what the old woman was saying. When she mentioned, "The Yin Cave has been built for a hundred years, the mountain spring has changed its course, the Leaky Roof has nowhere to go, and a lonely life is hard to sustain!" she was referring to her Yin Zhai, which has been standing for sixty years. Now that the mountain spring has changed its course and flows over her Yin Zhai, it has caused leaks. She is all alone, with no descendants, and her life is nearly gone as she is constantly submerged in water. That’s why she came to seek my help.
Now that I understood her intentions, I also realized what she meant by Body Umbrella and Willow Wood Garment. The Body Umbrella refers to her Yin Zhai, while the Willow Wood Garment clearly refers to a coffin. It seems this old woman wants me to find her a new Yin Zhai so she can be relocated.
Thinking about how pitiful this old woman is—lonely and without heirs—it's truly sad that even though her Yin Zhai has been soaked for years, she has no one to dream of or ask for help. Even in death, she suffers such hardships. So I said, “Surrounded by Four Mountains, welcoming from both sides; Water City Jade Belt, with beautiful peaks; Azure Dragon gazing back, White Tiger bowing down; Hall Layout spacious; Eight Nations tightly locked without a breeze—how does that sound?”
What I meant was to tell her that I would find a place surrounded by mountains, with a clear hall and prominent peaks that can gather wind and energy according to Feng Shui.
The old woman nodded in satisfaction and smiled as she said, “Excellent, excellent!”
Seeing that she was pleased, I asked her, “Where is your Yin Zhai located?”
She replied, “Mengshanwa, Yellow Earth Slope, Under the Shade of the Sophora Tree, Sit the Pig's Head.”
I nodded and told her I had noted it down. Just then, the old woman suddenly asked, “Are you going to Liu Family Village?”
I said, “Yes. Does the old lady have any advice?”
The old woman said, “Liu Family Village is uninhabited; vengeful spirits and evil ghosts occupy the village. Be cautious of Little Yin-Yang.”
Upon hearing this, I had to take it seriously. After all, I had just promised to help her, so she couldn't be lying. What she meant was that there were no living people in Liu Family Village; it was filled with vengeful spirits and evil ghosts.
After saying this, the old woman turned to leave and left behind a remark: “With eyes but no pearls walking seven steps will surely lead you out of the Ghost Market!”
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