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墨書 Inktalez
Seeing Cousin in such a lifeless state, completely unresponsive, the other workers were terrified and began to chatter among themselves. They all agreed that he must have been pulled down by a water ghost; otherwise, it wouldn't have taken so much effort for so many people to pull him up. The thought sent everyone into a panic, and they abandoned their water basins, towels, and shampoo without a second thought. Two of the more timid workers bolted away, not caring about anyone else. The remaining two, who had a closer relationship with Shunzi and his brother, decided to stay but were also eager to leave. Shunzi instructed the other two to carry Cousin while he brought up the rear.
Since Tian Gen was the only way back, no one was willing to take the Field Ridge route again. A careless misstep could lead to disaster, so they opted to walk through the Farmland instead. At that time of year, it was spring plowing season, and the Farmland was filled with freshly plowed fields. Although the water wasn't deep, sinking into the mud could easily reach knee level, making it impossible to run quickly. They could only wade back cautiously. Shunzi followed behind, glancing back occasionally, fearful that something might be pursuing them.
However, when they reached the center of the Farmland, Shunzi looked back once more and nearly fainted from fright. Less than ten meters behind him floated a spirit. Unlike them, who trudged along step by step, it glided effortlessly over the calm water's surface as if no one were walking at all.
Hearing this, I asked Shunzi what the spirit looked like.
He reached for another beer but found the can empty. I got up and retrieved a few more cans from the fridge and placed them on the table. He thanked me and opened one, gulping it down before continuing his story.
The spirit wore a Black Funeral Robe and loose-fitting funeral garments underneath which was a white undershirt. It had a hat and appeared short and plump. The moonlight illuminated its features clearly, especially its face, which was unnaturally pale—whiter than the undershirt itself—but he couldn't discern its expression. The spirit floated at a speed neither fast nor slow, matching their pace as if it were following them.
When Shunzi finally recognized the spirit's presence, he couldn't help but scream. His shout drew the attention of the other two workers carrying Cousin, who turned to see what was happening. They too witnessed the same chilling sight. Imagine seeing someone in funeral garments floating over water in the dead of night; even a normal person would be terrified. The two workers dropped Cousin and ran as if they had seen a ghost—well, they had indeed seen one.
Shunzi wanted to flee as well but hesitated when he saw Cousin left on the ground. He couldn't bear to abandon him and decided to pick him up before running away. Just as he reached for Cousin, Cousin suddenly coughed violently several times and spat out some water. He had awakened...
Seeing Cousin conscious again, Shunzi wasted no time pulling him up to run. Confused about what was happening, Cousin asked what was wrong. Shunzi shouted almost desperately: "Don't ask questions! Just run with me!" But curiosity got the better of Cousin; despite Shunzi's warning not to look back, he turned his head anyway. That glance nearly knocked him out again because the figure in funeral garments was now much closer.
Fortunately, Cousin didn't faint this time. Shunzi grabbed his hand and they sprinted toward their residence with all their might. In such dire circumstances, human potential is limitless; they ran faster than ever before. They crossed over fifty meters of muddy Farmland in just seconds. However, as they approached Tian Gen barefooted, Cousin's ankle scraped against a sharp stone at the edge of Field Ridge where irrigation water flowed in. It cut him deeply—a wound over an inch long—but strangely enough, it didn't hit any major blood vessels yet bled profusely. Though injuries were common on construction sites, they usually didn't result in excessive bleeding; this time was different.
When they finally reached the Container House, Cousin collapsed just outside as if exhausted or overwhelmed by pain from his injury; his eyelids fluttered before he passed out again. The other workers were still shaken but felt somewhat relieved now that they were home; they helped lay Cousin on a bed and discussed taking him to a nearby hospital.
Their Construction Team had a small van ready for emergencies; without hesitation, Shunzi drove with another worker while three others went to inform their team leader about what happened and request some time off.
When Shunzi arrived at a town hospital with Cousin late that night and prepared to carry him inside, Cousin suddenly regained consciousness again. Without thinking too much about it, they rushed him into emergency care where a doctor examined him quickly—nothing serious appeared wrong aside from his cut ankle which had developed significant bruising around it shaped almost like a palm print but with elongated fingers extending beyond human proportions; they assumed it was merely bruising and didn't think much of it. The doctor stitched up two stitches and administered a tetanus shot along with some anti-inflammatory medication before sending them on their way. At that moment, Cousin seemed fine aside from feeling generally unwell; since the doctor assured them there was nothing serious to worry about, they brushed off any lingering concerns.
Back at their residence after dawn broke, everyone was utterly exhausted and collapsed into bed immediately except for Cousin who remained restless due to pain from his injury; he drifted in and out of sleep while feeling drowsy yet uneasy. During one of those half-awake moments, he thought he saw that spirit in Black Funeral Robe slowly approaching from outside—walking towards his door before entering his room and standing by his bedside while bending down close to his head. He could see every movement clearly yet felt paralyzed—unable to move or scream as if frozen in place.
Just then Hua Bin returned from his night shift and walked in upon witnessing this scene; he shouted loudly thinking there was an intruder inside! His yell startled everyone awake—including Cousin—and caused the Death Spirit to vanish instantly into thin air as if it had never been there at all.
Cousin was still in shock, rambling about what had happened before breaking into a high fever. The color of the handprint on his foot deepened from blue to dark purple, eventually turning black. Everyone listened to Cousin's account with a mix of sympathy and fear, too terrified to sleep, knowing they had encountered something supernatural. It wasn't until dawn that they finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Something had gone wrong at the construction site. The Construction Team Leader rushed over before the night shift ended, eager to hear everyone's accounts of the incident. He immediately recognized it as a case of Ghostly Affairs. At nearly fifty years old, he had heard many tales of the supernatural and had even encountered some himself. He understood that such matters required specialists; going to the hospital would be futile, addressing only the symptoms but not the root cause. Thus, he asked if anyone knew a Yin Yang Master or Taoist priest. Eventually, Hua Bin managed to find out my address and hurried over.
After hearing the details of the incident, I pondered deeply. The entity that pulled Cousin into the water was undoubtedly a water ghost. I didn't believe in water monsters; after all, what kind of creature could possess human hands and such strength? Since it was a water ghost in the water, then who was that spirit in the Black Funeral Garment they saw? Water ghosts couldn't easily come ashore, let alone enter their Container House. The only explanation was that the elderly figure in the Black Funeral Garment was another Spirit God. As for its connection to the water ghost, I wasn't sure; I needed to investigate further. Dealing with a Spirit God in a Funeral Garment wouldn't be difficult, but that water ghost was my Achilles' heel. Ever since witnessing my master handle a water ghost in my second year of high school, I had no desire to take on such tasks again.
After much contemplation, Hua Bin and Shunzi grew anxious and began to probe me: "Brother Liu, can you help? Cousin is still lying in bed."
I snapped back to reality and mentioned that while I was confident I could address Cousin's fever and the Spirit God in the Black Funeral Robe, the water ghost remained a concern. If it wasn't dealt with, it would surely seek a substitute, which could cost a life. If mishandled, it would continue searching for replacements, leading to more than just one life at stake.
Since this situation had fallen into my lap, it felt like my Yin De; ignoring it would turn it into karmic debt. After careful consideration, I decided to call a friend—more accurately, a senior colleague. He was also from Hunan and knew my master well. They had once worked together on a significant case and he was much more skilled in Daoist Arts than I was. He had a sharp mind and considerable renown for handling matters for influential clients. Now older and wealthier, he rarely took on such jobs anymore.
This senior also shared the surname Zhang with Second Master. In his fifties, he was amiable; though somewhat obsessed with wealth, he had a kind heart and looked after younger practitioners in the field. Therefore, I believed he wouldn't refuse my request.
I shared my thoughts with Hua Bin and the others: "The situation can be resolved, but I need to find some help. As for the reward, I'll discuss it with that senior first before getting back to you. You should head home for now; these matters are best handled at night. I'll call you later." I noted down Hua Bin's phone number.
They nodded in agreement and expressed their gratitude before leaving.
Once they were gone, I dug out Master Zhang's number and called him up. Fortunately, he was free that evening. After explaining everything and agreeing on the reward details, he readily agreed to accompany me—though his fee was quite high compared to mine. Still, I thought they would accept it without issue. We chatted for a while longer before he asked me to prepare some items for our task. Aside from his own tools, I needed to gather everything else—mostly offerings for the Ritual—and there was one particular item he requested: a fair scale used at a market for over a year.
After hanging up with Master Zhang, I called Hua Bin again to relay the price we discussed. He then contacted their team leader for confirmation; once they accepted the amount, they sent me their address so I could begin preparing everything. Most items were easy enough to gather except for that fair scale which took some time.
By the time everything was ready, it was already past five in the afternoon. I drove over to meet Master Zhang and treated him to dinner. During our meal, he recounted stories about his past experiences with my master and their joint ventures—one particularly dangerous case that had many twists and turns left me astonished; perhaps I'll write about it someday. Our conversation flowed well and sparked many memories for him; we spent two hours at dinner.
Around ten o'clock that night, Master Zhang and I arrived at the reservoir where Hua Bin's team was working on their project. As soon as we reached the site, Master Zhang pulled out his compass along with a compass stand. After pacing back and forth several times and taking measurements, he pointed out a specific direction: "We'll handle the water ghost right there tonight." He instructed me to find their team while he went ahead to set things up before walking off with his flashlight toward that spot.
Due to our previous agreement, I took charge of the Black Funeral Robe and Spirit God while he only handled the Water Ghost. Therefore, I had no objections and called Hua Bin to let him know I had arrived. I then walked towards their two Container Houses.
Before I could reach them, they had already come to meet me, looking puzzled as they asked where the senior I mentioned was. I pointed to a beam of flashlight light across the reservoir and said, "The senior has gone over there to set up and deal with the Water Ghost. I'll check on my cousin first; let's send off that old man in the Black Funeral Robe before anything else."
They glanced at the distant flashlight beam and asked me, "Is that senior going over there alone? Is it safe?"
I replied, "It's fine; the senior will come over shortly." After saying that, I headed straight for the door of the Container House. However, just as I was about to reach the entrance, I suddenly noticed a stone slab missing a corner to the right of the Container House. It was square and not very even anymore. If it weren't for the significant missing corner, it would have given me the impression of a tombstone—just without any carvings. Decades ago, when everyone was poor, many couldn't afford even a simple tombstone. So after many passed away, people would just place a square stone at their graves as a marker. But since that stone was incomplete, I didn't think it was an actual tombstone.
Once inside the Container House, I saw my cousin; his Yin Tang was very dark, clearly indicating he had been possessed by evil energy. He looked extremely fatigued and pale; although it was cool at night, he was sweating profusely. I also noticed the black mark on his foot—undoubtedly from a Water Ghost's grip. Since there was a wound cut across that black mark, it would be hard to heal until the Yin Qi was expelled. Even forming a scab would be difficult. The outer layer of gauze had already turned red with blood, but thankfully it had stopped bleeding; otherwise, he would have lost too much blood.
After asking everyone to step outside, I took out several talismans for exorcism and dissolved them in water. First, I performed a simple exorcism on my cousin to drive out the evil energy within him. Then I crushed several herbs known for their exorcising properties and applied them to his wound. Although these herbs were common plants like Sedge, Cornelian Cherry, Mugwort, and Willow Leaf, they worked effectively on wounds inflicted by Ghost Grasp Seals.
After doing all this, my cousin felt much more relaxed. His complexion gradually regained some color, and he stopped sweating. Once he felt comfortable all over, he soon fell into a deep sleep within minutes—perhaps he hadn't slept well for too long. This was good for me as it allowed me to focus on my own tasks without distractions.
I took out my compass and began searching for any supernatural presence in the house; this was just a habitual step for me. While I didn't expect to find anything here, what happened next surprised me. As soon as I took out the compass and prepared to start searching, it began to shake strangely—not side to side but with small up-and-down movements. Although the range of motion was small, the frequency was high. Such behavior could indicate two things: either there was a large magnet below or something right beneath my feet—and it seemed quite excited at that moment.
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