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墨書 Inktalez
Just as I was about to lose consciousness, I heard a voice whispering in my ear, "Soul Guiding!" Immediately after, a sharp pain shot through my right hand. Someone had grabbed it and was scratching it fiercely, I couldn't tell if it was a knife or something else, but it felt like fire drilling into my heart.
This pain jolted me awake. I turned my head, but there was no one around—how strange!
However, when I lifted my right hand, I realized this was not an illusion. Damn it! In the darkness, I could see the palm of my hand was scratched all over, blood streaming down! Wait, where did that chanting go?
Ah! Just as I processed this, I couldn't help but cry out; my hand hurt too much! Without thinking about who did this, I was about to find something to bandage it when I suddenly heard movement ahead. Was it Xi?
I took a few steps forward, my vision clearing a bit. Not far away on the ground lay someone. Ignoring the pain, I cautiously walked a couple more steps. Although I still couldn't make out their features, I was sure it was Xi—the pink coat was a clear identifier, and her arm was wrapped in a bandage.
But what shocked me even more was that there was something on her!
To be precise, I didn't know if it was an object. As I got closer, it became clearer—it looked like the air above boiling water, somewhat illusory and lacking substance. I could vaguely make out the outline of a person, but their face remained unclear and their limbs were rather blurry. It resembled a shadow of a person!
I saw it (or him or her?) crouched over Xi, clinging to her like a layer of black mist, emitting faint sounds. I had no idea what it was doing; Xi remained motionless, and I had no clue about the situation. Panic surged within me.
I rushed forward to grab that thing. To my astonishment, my hand passed right through it as if it were merely an illusion; I reached out only to grasp nothingness. Even more astonishingly, although my hands couldn’t catch it, it let out a human-like wail—"Ah! Roar! Roar!"—arching its back and writhing for a moment before dissipating like mist!
What the hell! What was that thing? Even having witnessed many incredible things before, I stood there dumbfounded for a moment before snapping back to reality and hurriedly picked up Xi to run toward the elevator.
As I ran while glancing at Xi, she still had breath but her long eyelashes covered her eyes; she seemed to have fainted?
I couldn’t afford to think too much; seeing that the elevator would take time to arrive, I turned and bolted down the stairs to the first floor. When I finally stumbled into the First Floor Lobby, breathless and disheveled, I could no longer hold on and laid Xi down on the ground. With my left hand fumbling for my phone and my right finger dialing 10 quickly, I reported the emergency address.
In the lobby looking at Xi, I didn’t know what to do next. A few security guards and an armed police officer were approaching me; blood dripped from my hand onto Xi’s body as well—how could I explain this? Their gazes were already turning unfriendly.
Fortunately, just then I spotted Ah Huang walking in with Nong from outside—what perfect timing! I shouted, "Ah Huang! Nong!"
The two of them looked surprised upon seeing me and quickened their pace toward us.
Ah Huang's eyes widened in shock at our appearance. "What happened? Weren't you upstairs?"
I interrupted him. "This is a long story. Ah Huang, when the ambulance arrives, please send someone with us to the hospital. We also need to contact her school and family; I've got to return to the army tonight and can't handle these things."
Ah Huang nodded.
I turned to Nong. "Did you find anything?"
Nong shook his head and glanced at the nearby security guards, giving me a knowing look. "We've searched everywhere, and found nothing. The places we checked are completely clean."
I immediately understood his implication—no souls?! But where had their souls gone? I had clearly heard the phrase "Soul Guiding" in the underground garage; it couldn't be a coincidence. My mind raced as I pondered this troubling thought.
At that moment, Nong found some fabric to bandage my injured hand. Suddenly, I snapped back to reality. "Nong, come here!" I grabbed him and pulled him aside. "Look at this girl!" I pointed at Nong. "Can you see if her soul is still there?" I lowered my voice.
Nong frowned. "I can't tell."
Frustrated, I slammed my fist down. I was certain that someone was behind all of this, using some dark magic. What had happened to Xi?! I hoped I could save her in time!
Just then, the sound of an ambulance echoed outside. I quickly motioned for Ah Huang to help carry Xi out. A nurse from the ambulance came down and quickly bandaged my wounds, asking if I wanted to go with them. I shook my head.
Watching Ah Huang and the paramedics lift Xi into the ambulance, with a police officer assigned to follow, I felt a bit relieved.
As I watched the ambulance drive away, I took a deep breath and turned to Ah Huang. "Brother, this is truly sinister!"
Seeing the confusion on Ah Huang's face, I recounted everything from the beginning. I opened my bandage slightly for him to see; the bleeding had stopped, but there were still jagged cuts on my palm that were shocking to behold.
Ah Huang gasped. "Is it real?"
Could it be anything but? I retorted. I called Nong over and asked him to relay a message for me—to gather everyone after the rehearsal was done.
After sending Nong off, I told Ah Huang, "You go find someone who understands Japanese; I need to confirm something!"
Though Ah Huang didn't understand, he took out his walkie-talkie and began making arrangements. After finishing, he sighed and said, "I thought strengthening our security would prevent any incidents. Now we have another problem; I'll report this to the higher-ups."
I shook my head. "Don't report just yet; wait ten minutes before you do so—it'll be less reactive."
Ah Huang hesitated but ultimately stood quietly beside me without saying anything.
Before long, a police officer arrived with a chubby man wearing glasses. I directly asked him, "Do you understand Japanese?"
The man beamed. "That's me! I'm the only one in the station who has passed the Japanese oral exam. When I'm free, I help translate for others..."
He tried to continue talking, but I quickly interrupted him. "Sorry, it's an emergency. Listen to what I'm about to say; tell me if it's Japanese and what it means—please translate it for me!"
I needed his help because I couldn't remember that convoluted chant; all I could recall was a vague impression of its haunting melody.
I began to mimic that tone based on my memory, though some details were already unclear to me. What I heard was all muddled; I was just trying to piece it together. After a while, I looked at the Fat Guy.
He seemed quite confused, showing no other reaction. I felt a bit anxious and asked, "What's wrong? Isn't it Japanese?"
"Ah!" The Fat Guy snapped back to reality, scratching his head and adjusting his glasses. "It is Japanese, but with a bit of an ancient accent. You see, this way of speaking is rarely used nowadays; it's mostly found in rituals, ceremonies, or religious gatherings! Oh, regarding this ancient Japanese, the differences from modern Japanese aren't that significant. In fact, they use more hiragana..."
I ignored the Fat Guy who was rambling on by himself and turned to Ah Huang. "It's definitely him! He must be behind this! Send someone to follow him!"
"What evidence do you have?" Ah Huang had calmed down. "I need to report to the leader soon. Tell me how I’m supposed to explain your appearance and your current state. Think about it."
I was momentarily speechless. What I had witnessed would surely seem like nonsense to everyone else; it couldn't hold up as evidence. Given the current situation, I couldn't shake off suspicion myself. How could I explain this to the police or the Xia Family? I suddenly felt disheartened. If I couldn’t explain it properly, it would tarnish the reputation of our unit. What the hell! I genuinely felt worried.
Just as we were at a loss for what to do, a voice rang out behind us. "Officer! I have an important report!"
Who was it? We turned around to look!
(The story of Soul Guiding has come to an end; stay tuned for the next chapter, Soul Devourer! Love Like the Wind and The Work of Chasing the Wind will bring even more excitement tomorrow!)
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