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墨書 Inktalez
On June 1, 2013, Children's Day, a holiday I had cherished since childhood, I found myself reflecting on the joy it brought. Although I had developed a strong physique typical of an adult, I still maintained a childlike heart. Even though this holiday no longer belonged to me, I decided to visit an amusement park or a nearby park to see the innocent and lively smiles of children, to feel their pure spirits, and to listen to their laughter like silver bells.
Just as I was about to head out, the doorbell rang. Confused, I opened the door. Through the security door, I saw three young people—one man and two women. One of the girls was familiar to me; she was a former victim named Wang. I had helped her with a sudden incident in the past, and she had come to my house once for assistance. Just that one time was enough for her to remember my address; I couldn't help but admire her impressive memory.
After opening the door, I looked at them with curiosity. At first, I didn't recognize Miss Wang until she called out to me, "Brother Liu." Then it clicked. Seeing their hurried demeanor and noticing that one of the girls looked unwell—her dark circles were heavy and her complexion pale as if she hadn't slept in days—made me concerned.
I quickly opened the door wider and let them in. The young man expressed his gratitude, saying, "Hello, sorry for the intrusion," as he helped the girl inside. She offered me an apologetic smile. "Make yourselves comfortable," I said while casting a questioning glance at Miss Wang. She explained, "They are my friends; they’ve run into some trouble."
"Got it," I replied. "Come on in."
I wanted to ask why she hadn’t given me a heads-up before coming over, but then realized she didn’t have my number. Once they settled on the couch, I closed the door. My home's layout meant that the front door faced the kitchen door directly; thus, upon entering, one could see straight into the kitchen. To counteract this door conflict, I had hung a feng shui compass on the kitchen door to ward off negative energy that could hinder financial stability.
However, after closing the door, I noticed that the compass on the kitchen door was spinning. Though it was just a compass, it could react in the presence of spirits.
I was startled and immediately understood something: there were more than just three people who had entered. The reason I said they had just come in was that there couldn’t have been any spirits in my home before.
Once they were seated in the living room, I said, "Please stay put for now." Instead of rushing over to them, I focused intently on the compass for a while longer to gauge the spirit's location and intensity of its resentment. What puzzled me further was how unstable its reactions were; not only could I not pinpoint its location, but its behavior was also particularly strange. This odd response indicated that there were indeed spirit gods present—and more than one at that. No wonder that girl appeared so distressed.
I poured three glasses of water and walked over to the sofa with some confusion. I was eager to understand what circumstances had led her to attract two spirit gods simultaneously.
They sat side by side on the sofa, with the girl in poor condition sitting in the middle looking quite tense. I placed the water on the coffee table; they didn’t reach for it but sat awkwardly instead.
"Don't be so nervous," I said. "Let’s discuss what’s going on; perhaps I can help you resolve it."
As I spoke, my gaze remained fixed on the young man, signaling him to take charge of explaining since he seemed likely to know more about their situation and articulate it better. He noticed my gaze and understood my inquiry before responding, "Hello Brother Liu, my surname is Zeng; this is my girlfriend Xiao."
"Alright," I said. "Why don’t you tell me how your girlfriend ended up like this?" He seemed unprepared for my interruption or unsure how to express himself clearly; he paused for a moment before taking a few sips from his glass of water and clearing his throat as if he were a student about to confess something wrong—making me feel slightly embarrassed.
I pulled out a cigarette and offered it to him in hopes of easing his tension. Just as I was about to light it up, I noticed both girls present and apologized before putting it down again. "Zeng," I encouraged him gently, "just say what you need to say; it's alright."
He nodded and wiped sweat from his forehead; clearly anxious despite the air conditioning keeping our living room cool.
Seeing him like this, I felt a bit restless myself. I turned to Miss Wang and said, "You might as well tell me." Miss Wang seemed less reserved, as she had interacted with me before and knew I was a friendly young man with a serious exterior but a passionate heart. Through her explanation, I began to understand the situation.
It was like this: Miss Xiao had been plagued by nightmares for several months. Every few days, she would have the same recurring dream, where children would pull her hair accompanied by cries. Sometimes, she would dream of looking in the mirror only to see a child behind her. There were even instances where she experienced a dream within a dream; she thought she had woken up from a nightmare only to be startled awake again after washing her face in the bathroom, where she saw the shadow of a child.
Not only that, but she also frequently suffered from sleep paralysis. If she went to bed after midnight, she would feel someone tugging at her hair while half-awake, hearing loud shouts in the voice of a child. After finally falling asleep, she would wake up with a terrible headache, as if her scalp were about to split open.
Upon hearing this, I asked if she had been to the hospital. After asking, I felt a bit foolish; given her condition, it was obvious she must have sought medical help first before coming to me, as medicine is the orthodox approach.
To my surprise, it was Mr. Zeng who answered me this time. He said they had gone to see a doctor and had undergone treatment for several months without any improvement. So they came to me hoping for some luck. Hearing this made me feel somewhat disheartened; his words were so direct that it seemed he had no real hope left.
Though I was displeased, I still politely said, "I'll give it a try and see if I can help you." He nodded, appearing as if he was just trying his luck.
I gestured for Miss Ning to continue speaking. She told me that was all there was to it; there was nothing else.
Just as I was about to speak, Mr. Zeng asked again, "How do you charge? If you can't solve it, do we not have to pay?"
At this point, my impression of him plummeted. It seemed that money mattered more to him than his girlfriend's well-being and reflected an extreme skepticism towards me.
I replied, "Yes, it's not fair not to charge. The price is X. Is that acceptable?" He seemed to think the price was a bit high; it was slightly above average. However, my fees are usually based on the individual—sometimes I charge just a token amount while other times I'm more than willing to set a higher price without guilt. Nevertheless, he agreed and added casually, "As long as you can cure her, money is no object."
I scoffed at his words; if money were no issue, why did he take so long to consider? But I didn't call him out on it. Instead, I directly asked him, "Did your girlfriend have an abortion?" He replied affirmatively.
I continued, "Was it after three months of pregnancy?"
"Yes," he said. "It was 15 weeks along."
I asked why they decided to terminate it and why they waited so long.
He explained that it was an accidental pregnancy and they only discovered it when it had already been over three months.
I pressed further: "With her period being absent for so long, didn't you ever think she might be pregnant?"
He replied dismissively, "She often has irregular cycles; how could I remember all that?"
His tone was firm as if he believed he was justified in his ignorance. I slammed my hand on the table in frustration and thought to myself: aside from remembering your surname Zeng, what else can you recall? Seeing me lose my temper made him shrink back immediately; he lowered his head and fell silent.
For such an irresponsible man, I felt there was no need for politeness. The key issue was that he remained oblivious to his irresponsibility while acting superior as if nothing were wrong with him.
I continued firmly: "If you can't remember anything at all, then don't say anything." Seeing my anger rise caused both Miss Xiao and Miss Wang to jump in surprise.
I apologized and then asked Miss Xiao if she had undergone two abortions, or perhaps more.
Miss Xiao nodded and said there had been three: two last year and one in February of this year.
I asked her why she had to terminate the pregnancies.
She replied, "We aren't married yet, and he doesn't agree either. He says the burden is too great."
I didn't want to delve into the usual clichés or criticize them any further. People who can repeatedly make such choices are often impervious to advice or criticism. I could see that Miss Xiao was passive; all the decisions came from Mr. Zeng. All the consequences were his doing, yet it was his woman who had to bear the brunt of it. Aside from hesitantly contributing some money, he bore no other responsibility.
The world is indeed unfair, much like in movies where the instigator goes unpunished while the executor suffers dire consequences. However, now that I had encountered this situation, I was determined to make Mr. Zeng taste the bitter fruit of his actions. My idea of a lesson wasn't about fighting; after all, I considered myself a civilized person.
Although I was confident I could take on two of him, that wasn't my style. I stated directly that of the three children they had lost, two remained. At this moment, I intentionally used "you" to refer to both of them, but I was really speaking about Miss Xiao alone. As soon as I finished speaking, Mr. Zeng suddenly stood up and exclaimed, "Where are they? Where are they?" He looked around frantically and patted himself down, never once glancing at his girlfriend.
At that moment, I was certain that Miss Xiao held no place in his heart. This only strengthened my resolve to teach him a lesson.
The Infant Spirit is a type of spirit left behind due to abortion or death within six months of birth without proper rites performed for it. Not all stillborn infants become Infant Spirits; specific conditions must be met for their formation, such as abnormal abortions or multiple terminations.
An Infant Spirit is neither human nor ghost nor deity nor demon; it exists as a form in the Yang realm. The natural condition for an Infant Spirit to leave is only after its own lifespan has ended; only then can it be classified as a ghost and enter reincarnation. It possesses stronger resentment than a ghost but has limited abilities—highly targeted, unconscious, and thoughtless.
Dealing with such spirits cannot involve leading them away or dispersing them; some can be transcended through rituals while others require finding a medium to reconstruct their golden body for worship until their lifespan ends. However, such cases are rare.
If no measures are taken regarding lingering Infant Spirits, they can haunt a person for a lifetime. While not fatal, they can lead to a lifetime of misfortune and significantly diminish one's overall fate.
I couldn't send away the Infant Spirit using my usual methods nor could I disperse it, but I could attempt to transcend them. However, before doing so, I needed to make Mr. Zeng understand an important principle about how to conduct himself in life.
I planned to draw the spirit onto him so that Mr. Zeng could feel just how foolish his actions were. Although this might slightly damage my Yin virtue, I couldn't concern myself with that right now.
Since aborted fetuses do not have a Birth Chart, even calling upon souls wouldn't work for them. To be honest, I wanted him to see just how pitiful Infant Spirits are; they don't even get a chance to fully develop before being lost. I've seen those who died shortly after birth—they can cry out—but the sorrowful feeling makes me reluctant to engage with them because they are simply too tragic. The Infant Spirits resulting from abortions are even worse; they never even got a chance to glimpse this world yet exist with an identity that doesn't belong here. How could their resentment not be strong?
Some might say they've had abortions and nothing happened to them. That's because they were lucky enough to conceive a benevolent spirit that didn't wish to take out its anger on them. But if they had conceived a malevolent one? Just imagine what would happen: mild misfortune and weakness at best; severe nightmares and mental breakdowns at worst.
Returning to the matter at hand, Mr. Zeng's performance made me feel embarrassed for him as a man. However, since they had sought me out, I needed to take some action. The Infant Spirits should not be led away or scattered; if left to their own devices, who knows how many years it would take for them to depart? Therefore, all I could do was to guide them to the afterlife. Although Buddhism has many scriptures for this purpose, I chose not to use them, as they are simple and easy to perform, intending instead to teach them how to do it themselves.
We, Qiaoling, also have our own method of guiding spirits, and it is targeted—focused on one spirit at a time.
In handling this situation, I felt I may have acted somewhat improperly. At that moment, I was filled with anger and solely wanted to teach Mr. Zeng a lesson, so I planned to guide only one Infant Spirit. Using a spirit summoning technique, I drew out an Infant Spirit from Miss Xiao. Although it was invisible, when I pulled the Infant Spirit into the corner, I could clearly hear the sound of a baby crying. Perhaps due to its undeveloped vocal cords, the sound resembled that of a kitten's meow; the farther I drew it away, the louder it became.
When they heard this sound, they all trembled in disbelief.
Miss Wang had experienced such things before and was not very surprised. However, the scene unfolding on the sofa made me want to laugh: Miss Xiao was clinging to Miss Wang out of fear, while Mr. Zeng leaned against Miss Xiao in terror.
I wanted to ask him if he had felt any fear when he decided for his girlfriend to have an abortion. But I didn't have the leisure for such thoughts because the cries of the Infant Spirit grew louder and even resonated with the Infant Spirit within Miss Xiao, causing it to wail as well.
Hearing two cries at once, I instructed them to stay seated on the sofa. Yet Mr. Zeng suddenly stood up and moved far away from his girlfriend. I shot him a disdainful glance and felt increasingly sorry for Miss Xiao.
I recited the Soul Requiem and performed Hand Seals to stabilize the Infant Spirit I had summoned before beginning its guidance. As soon as I chanted the Transcendence Spell, the cries immediately ceased. I understood that perhaps it wasn't that it didn't want to leave; rather, it couldn't find its way home and thought its mother's body was its final resting place. Unfortunately, no matter how hard it tried, it couldn't return to the womb that had nurtured it and could only cling to its mother, seeking entry through various means.
My incantation seemed to help it find light and a place of rest, allowing its spirit to ascend.
After about a quarter of an hour, I successfully guided it away and was drenched in sweat because Qiaoling's ritual was no easy task. Moreover, my execution was quite clumsy; I shamefully had to refer back to my notes. However, in the end, everything went well—the guidance ceremony proceeded smoothly. By the time I finished all of this, there were no more cries.
Miss Xiao said she felt much better now; it seemed like everything was fine and there was no discomfort left. Mr. Zeng still dared not approach but asked cautiously if she really felt okay.
Hearing him call her "wife" made me feel nauseous. He clearly had no idea what those words represented or how heavy their meaning was.
I said that only one spirit had been sent away; they still needed to handle the other themselves. They must bear some responsibility for their own actions. Mr. Zeng seemed to start believing me and asked how they should send off the remaining spirit—could they do it at my house?
I replied that simply guiding it wouldn't suffice; they needed a spirit tablet for worship. It sounded like raising a little ghost; however, that wasn't quite accurate—I was just trying to scare him. They could use Buddhist scriptures for guidance and then burn some Joss Paper to send off the remaining spirit.
I went to my study and found a Buddhist scripture book, handing it over to Miss Xiao. I instructed them to copy the Rebirth Mantra eighteen times within three days while chanting it aloud. After three days at midnight, they were to guide the Infant Spirit at their doorstep while reciting spells and repenting as they burned Joss Paper. Then I gave Miss Xiao a protective talisman meant for warding off evil spirits and told her to keep it on her person.
I did not give Mr. Zeng any help, as I originally intended for the Infant Spirit to torment him, allowing him to taste the bitter consequences, though he was unaware of it.
After advising them on everything, I sent them on their way, as I truly disliked this couple; the man was domineering and irresponsible, while the woman was weak and lacked independence.
As they were leaving, I reminded Mr. Zeng not to forget to place a spirit tablet on his home altar and to remember to burn incense during festivals. He agreed wholeheartedly and left me his phone number.
Two days later, Mr. Zeng called me, his tone sounding utterly defeated. He said he had been tormented for two days and was nearly losing his sanity; his voice trembled as he spoke. I knew this was due to the Infant Spirit becoming more aggressive after losing its companion. I was already aware of how he had spent those two days. I told him, "Your girlfriend has been suffering for months, while you have only experienced this for two days."
He replied, "I know I have sinned deeply, and I understand that I owe them an apology; everything is my own doing."
I interrupted him: "Compared to those three innocent children, the suffering you’ve endured is nothing."
He pleaded, "Please help me."
I said, "I cannot save you; you must rely on yourself. Follow my instructions and repent tomorrow." With that, I hung up the phone.
A healer has compassion, a practitioner has goodwill, and a Buddhist has mercy. I too began to reflect on my own mistakes, slowly coming to terms with the karmic consequences of this prank I had orchestrated.
After two days had passed, I called Mr. Zeng again for a routine follow-up.
He told me that everything was fine now and that he was no longer being haunted. I said he should now understand what it means to take responsibility for himself.
He flattered me a bit, saying, "Yes, yes, I understand." I told him to send me his bank account number... then hung up.
I hoped he truly understood... As for the spirit tablet, I believed he would dare not neglect it; although it might not have much effect, it served as a warning for Mr. Zeng and his partner and provided some closure for those children. It was also a testament to their past existence.
The formation of a life is not easy; encountering one is a matter of fate. If possible, please take responsibility for it. If not,
please grant it another chance at rebirth. To ruin one life could destroy your own.
Karma, the Law of Heaven's Cycle.
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