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墨書 Inktalez
I took out my phone and said, "Wait a moment, I need to make a call," then turned and stepped outside. The call connected, and my master answered gruffly, "You little brat, spit it out quickly; I'm drinking with your Second Master." Hearing that the Second Master was also there made me anxious. He had a peculiar temperament, and if he found out I hadn't greeted him, he might get upset. I hurriedly said, "Can you pass the phone to the Second Master? I want to say a few words to him before talking to you." My master handed the phone to the Second Master, who immediately launched into a tirade. I listened quietly, not daring to retort; I knew I hadn't done enough in this regard. Once the Second Master finished venting, I quickly said, "Second Master, are you feeling better now? If so, please hand the phone back to my master. I'll come back soon to apologize."
The phone returned to my master's hand. Knowing I had something important to discuss, he chewed on his food and said gruffly, "Make it quick; don't waste our time."
I didn't beat around the bush and briefly explained the situation, highlighting the key points. When I mentioned the dream within a dream and how it could manifest as the Victim's roommate, my master interrupted me sharply, asking, "Is your Victim afraid of sunlight and is your compass spinning wildly around him?" I replied, "Yes."
He continued, "This situation is simple yet complex. It depends on your mindset. However, knowing you well enough, this will be quite complicated for you."
I asked, "Can't you explain it more clearly?"
"Alright," he said. "Your Victim has brought home a ghostly presence. This type of spirit needs to be brought back through a Soul Vessel. Given how heavy the Yin Qi is with this spirit, it likely belongs to someone from our field. That's all I'll say; you can handle this matter. Now, Zhang Tuozi, finish this bowl." The last part was clearly not directed at me, and just after he finished speaking, I heard the busy tone on the other end.
Putting away my phone, I felt somewhat speechless. Was that really a clearer explanation? But that was just his style—always vague in his speech. Especially after my apprenticeship ended, he would only offer casual guidance. I understood it was for my own good and didn’t press for more details. Lighting a cigarette, I began to ponder over what he had said.
His idea of clarity boiled down to two pieces of information: first, the ghost was brought home by Holy through a Soul Vessel; second, this spirit likely originated from someone within our profession. Moreover, Yin Chai's essence had been mistakenly taken by Holy using that Soul Vessel. The so-called Soul Vessel was an object that my master and I used for Spirit God attachment—there wasn't usually a fixed item involved. Reflecting on Holy's profession made me realize that he might have stolen a Soul Vessel from someone in our field and that there was likely a Spirit God attached to it. After being brought back by Holy, it could have been erased or torn off from its Soul Binding Talisman. This would explain why the Spirit God turned into a ghostly presence. Furthermore, I suspected that this Soul Vessel itself might be an Evil Spirit.
After organizing these thoughts in my mind and finishing my cigarette, I pushed open their door and extinguished the butt in the ashtray. Turning to Holy, I said firmly, "You’ve stolen something you shouldn’t have. Bring out everything you've taken recently that hasn't been used yet—everything except for your wallet."
He blushed and nodded before turning to walk into his room. Soon after, I heard him rummaging through his wardrobe before he emerged with a black travel bag from inside it and placed it on the coffee table. He unzipped it and dumped its contents out.
There were all sorts of items scattered about—mostly miscellaneous things along with some jewelry and watches. The most eye-catching among them was a small bronze mirror—not much larger than two palms pressed together—looking very ancient and worn out; it didn’t seem like something from modern times at all and couldn’t even be used as a proper mirror since all one could see was a blurry reflection. Upon closer inspection, there were indeed signs of having been cleaned; the edges of the mirror still faintly bore traces of red cinnabar residue. It was clear that talismans had been drawn on it with cinnabar.
At that moment, I was almost certain this object was what my master referred to as the Soul Vessel.
Finding this clue made me excited; with one swift motion, I swept all of Holy's stolen goods off the coffee table onto the floor before placing the bronze mirror back on it. Taking out my compass, I carefully set it atop the mirror. As expected, the needle began spinning wildly as if disturbed by some chaotic magnetic field—the supernatural response from this object was immense. This item carried heavy Yin Qi; if I guessed correctly, it must have been unearthed from a tomb less than a year ago.
Using this object as a Soul Vessel had its advantages—it made collecting souls easier and allowed them to feel more at ease—but there was also a significant drawback: it would rapidly nourish the soul's essence while increasing its Yin Qi.
Putting away my compass and holding onto this cold object in my hand, I turned to Holy again, hoping he could provide me with an explanation.
He looked at the object in his hand and said, "I took this from a middle-aged man's backpack at the train station a few days ago. It was in the innermost layer of the backpack. Generally, valuable items like wallets and cash are kept there, but I didn't expect to find this instead. Looking at this bronze mirror, it seems quite old, so I thought it might be an antique. That's why I didn't throw it away; I hoped to sell it for a good price."
I asked him if there were any drawings on the mirror's surface when he found it. He replied, "Yes, there were some things drawn with red paint. It was my first time seeing such an unclear bronze mirror. I wanted to clean it to see if I could catch a glimpse of myself." I inquired when he had cleaned it, and he said it was on the night he first encountered a ghost. He felt a bit down that day since he had nothing else, so he took out the mirror to study it closely, hoping it truly was an antique.
I said, "This object is indeed an antique, but it's also a Soul Vessel. The spirit in your room was originally trapped inside by someone using talismans. Once one talisman is removed, it will naturally come out to trouble you. The key issue now is that I can't do anything about this spirit; the only way is to find the owner of this bronze mirror."
There are methods available, but they lack ethics; one could trap the spirit in this room and then simply ask it to leave. However, this approach merely shifts the victim and does not help resolve the situation at all. Moreover, this house can never be inhabited again because the spirit won't leave on its own. People would surely wonder why I can't just send it away. The reason is simple: I don't know what incantations or talismans were used by the mirror's owner when they trapped it inside. Additionally, it has absorbed a lot of Yin Qi from the mirror; without appropriate countermeasures, I cannot send it away directly—calling forth souls would even be difficult. It's like my key can open my lock, but it doesn't necessarily open someone else's lock. Only the owner knows the incantations and talismans they used. If I use a non-systematic method to break this spell, it will naturally have no effect—if there is any effect at all, it would be minimal.
I examined the bronze mirror closely; there was nothing on its surface—no inscriptions or signatures. Clearly, trying to find clues to contact someone in that field from this would be futile. I asked Holy, "Do you have any other items stolen from the owner of this bronze mirror?"
Holy rummaged through his belongings and pulled out three wallets and said, "I can't remember clearly; I also took another wallet or something like that—it's all here."
I said, "Since you're in this line of work, you should know how to contact the owner. Check if there's an ID or business card in these wallets." Then I urged him to call each one until we found the owner of the bronze mirror.
Holy hesitated and said, "I'll get cursed for this."
I replied, "You already do unethical things like stealing; why fear a few insults? Besides, their insults are nothing compared to what you've done. Hurry up and contact them from your room if you don't want this spirit hanging around you for a few more days."
After hearing me, he rushed into his room to start contacting people one by one. Xiao Chen followed him inside. I picked up the compass again and examined it closely; I performed some Hand Seals and recited a few incantations. There was no significant reaction, which indicated that the spirit was not currently in the mirror but somewhere in the room. Based on how much the compass turned, it might even be sitting right next to me. With that thought in mind, I lost interest in studying the mirror further.
I took out a pair of red candles from my Cloth Bag along with a simple oil lamp that hadn't been used in a long time and some common items to set up a Soul-Trapping Formation. Although my presence here would prevent it from manifesting and harming anyone for now, controlling such a heavily Yin Qi-laden spirit was still advisable to avoid unexpected troubles.
Once everything was set up and the red candles were placed properly, I poured some oil into the lamp holder and lit it along with the candles. Then I turned off the lights in the living room; by now, night had fallen. Just as I turned off the lights, Xiao Chen and Holy opened the door and said they had found someone. However, their phone had run out of battery; they said they would charge it before contacting us again.
I made a gesture for silence and indicated for them to return to their side; they understood and complied without hesitation—not only returning to their room but also closing the door behind them and locking it securely. Clearly, they were intimidated by the setup in the living room. I ignored them; my priority now was to trap this spirit. While I didn't have the ability to confine it back into the mirror again, I was confident that I could keep it contained in one place for a while.
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