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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 027: Black Key
When I woke up, my mind was still a bit hazy. I didn't open my eyes and just lay on the bench, lost in thought. I wondered where Lime was; it had been so long without a call. The **path had already been sealed off by the government, and I couldn't just barge in there. Otherwise, I would either get caught for questioning or definitely get lost!
I irritably sat up, but at the moment I opened my eyes, I suddenly saw someone sitting next to me! I was startled, completely unaware that this person had been sitting there for who knows how long!
"Awake?" The person's voice was very calm, as if it came from a distant place—ancient and ethereal.
I looked at him and immediately smiled, saying in surprise, "Lime, when did you get here? You didn't even wake me up!" What I really wanted to say was, could you not appear so suddenly and silently? It's quite frightening!
He didn't answer my question but instead looked at me seriously and said, "You look very weak."
"Really? Maybe it's because I've been busy lately and haven't slept much," I yawned and admitted tiredly.
"You haven't encountered any other issues?" He looked at me skeptically, his gaze so clear that it made me snap to attention. Grabbing his arm, I hurriedly said, "I have a friend who needs your help!" With that, I recounted Dabao's situation from start to finish.
He looked at me with little change in expression, but I knew he was listening. So I nervously asked, "Is there still hope for him?"
He nodded lightly and said, "There is a way, but you can't be certain." He looked at me as if he had no expression yet was questioning something. Suddenly he asked, "Have you considered what the outcome of your contact with him might be?"
"What outcome?" I stared at him blankly, unsure why he was asking this. Although being with a ghost was somewhat unsettling, Dabao was my brother—he died because of me...
"Do you really believe he won't harm you?" Lime countered. I immediately assured him that he wouldn't, but then he asked, "Why can only you see him when others cannot?"
I wanted to argue but couldn't find any reason to do so. Indeed, he said others couldn't see him; why could only I see him? Was it because I was somehow special?
"You've absorbed quite a bit of his yang energy these days. Wait until your strength recovers before following me in."
"No..." Regarding Dabao, I didn't want to think about those dirty places, so I had to change the subject and asked, "I've rested enough. How do we get in?"
Lime sighed lightly and said, "Let's go at night; there are too many people during the day. Besides, you know someone has been watching you."
I nodded. I knew that even during the day, for someone like Lime, he could go wherever he wanted without any issues, while I couldn't. I didn't have those skills and had many questions. But it seemed he sensed my thoughts and stood up, saying, "Let's talk more on the mountain."
So I bought two tickets, and after taking a car to the mountain, I continued walking with Lime. The deeper we went, until it was just the two of us, I finally couldn't hold back my curiosity and asked, "I felt like that Living Dead recognized you. What did he say to you?"
"Living Dead?" Lime chuckled and glanced at me before slowly replying, "He didn't say anything."
He clearly said something! Forget it; since he didn't want to talk about it, I suppressed my urge to pry further and asked, "What did you take out from that coffin? It seemed like that one called Xianxian was very angry for not getting anything."
"Just a key," Lime replied casually. My eyes widened as I asked, "Is it the Black Key they are looking for?"
Lime nodded and then pulled out a key from his pocket. I immediately took it from him. The key looked very old and was unlike any modern key; it was almost as long as my two pinky fingers combined, completely black but seemed to have other colors mixed in. It felt cool to the touch and had an oddly eerie vibe.
Perhaps seeing how much I cherished it, Lime generously said, "You can keep it."
"Why? Isn't it safer with you?" I blurted out but then regretted it immediately, wanting to slap myself for trying to convince him to take it back when I clearly wanted it.
I looked at Lime, who smiled helplessly and said, "It can save your life."
"Really? Then I must keep it safe!" Knowing that Lime was genuinely considering my well-being made me feel even more touched. I carefully placed it in my pocket but felt uneasy, so I took it out again and put it in the inner pocket instead. Then I cheerfully asked, "How many keys are there in total?"
"Many," Lime replied as if he had anticipated my question and showed no surprise.
"Really? Could it be..." A bad premonition suddenly struck me, and hesitantly I asked, "This one isn't fake, right?"
"True or false, false or true; when false becomes true, true is also false. You will know the truth after trying." At this moment, Lime seemed interested in playing with words.
I blinked, still unsure whether the key was real or fake, so I asked, "Have you tried it?"
"What do you think?" Lime teased me with a glance, still not revealing whether the key was genuine or not. Perhaps even he wasn't sure. After all, those who hide secrets would not easily let others find the real key. Regardless of its authenticity, keeping it safe was definitely a good idea!
I followed Lime as we walked continuously, winding around without knowing where we were. All around were mountains and trees, lush and green. Occasionally, I could see clear streams flowing by; it was truly a landscape of rolling peaks and misty skies. Various strange rocks and scenery exuded a sense of natural spirituality, reminding me of a famous line from Liu Zongyuan's poem: "In the pond, there are hundreds of fish, all seem to drift aimlessly without support!"
After admiring the view for a while, I began to feel exhausted, so I found a place to rest with Lime. After all, it was getting late, and we should take a break before heading to the path.
As night fell, all the beautiful scenery was hidden beneath darkness. Lime and I had entered the forbidden area of Wawushan—the swamp. To be honest, I was curious when we first came in, but now I had no interest in being curious anymore. Walking under the dense branches, I suddenly felt so small and powerless. The moonlight quietly filtered through the gaps in the leaves, casting mottled shadows on the decaying branches and leaves. Although autumn was approaching, the chill here still made me feel cold. I closely followed Lime, afraid of getting lost if I wasn't careful.
"Hey, Lemon, where's your sword?" I had been meaning to ask about it since we started walking but had forgotten for a moment.
"The sword?" Lime glanced at me and shook his head helplessly. Then he lifted his clothing slightly and drew out a beautifully crafted black long sword from his waist.
"This is actually a soft sword!" I couldn't help but exclaim. Lime smirked slightly before wrapping the sword back around his waist; covered by his clothes, it looked completely normal.
...
The further we went inside, the colder it felt around us. I couldn't help but wrap my clothes tighter around myself. Suddenly, I heard Dabao say, "Mad Zi, is that person your new friend?"
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