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墨書 Inktalez
One night passed without a word...
The next day, after getting up and finishing breakfast, I headed to the market to gather various items, with the majority being offerings. If we could truly send them away, we couldn't afford to skimp on the offerings. Master Xiao said, "Actually, there's no need to prepare so much. I can see that the three Spirit Gods of Morning Moon have lost all meaning of being sent away; their resentment is too strong, and they have become malevolent spirits. They have already sentenced themselves to death."
I replied, "Better safe than sorry. It's good to be prepared on both fronts; if we can send them off, you wouldn't want to hold back." He said, "My judgment is nearly infallible."
I chuckled lightly, "Isn't there still a slight chance of error?" After saying that, I tossed three pounds of pork into the bag he was carrying. At this point, his bag was already filled to the brim with various offerings, making his not-so-white face turn even redder. He mumbled something under his breath that I couldn't quite catch. Seeing him like this brought me some secret satisfaction, and I couldn't help but praise him: "Those who are capable should work harder; what’s there to complain about?"
The entire afternoon, Master Xiao and I were in the room discussing strategies. After formulating the most feasible plan, Master Xiao began setting up the altar and drawing talismans. Although he appeared carefree, there were many areas where I couldn't match him—like drawing talismans. As an orthodox Taoist disciple, his technique and speed in drawing talismans surpassed mine. However, the difference lay in the fact that most of the talismans he drew were offensive ones. In just two short hours, he had completed around thirty attack talismans. I examined them closely; I recognized these talismans but rarely used them myself. They originated from Wang Zuan's Supreme Cave Abyss Divine Incantation Scripture from the Western Jin dynasty. Wang Zuan was the founder of the Talisman School's Dongyuan sect, and it was indeed gratifying that such teachings had been passed down through orthodox Taoism. At the same time, I felt a pang of sadness thinking about our own Qiaoling's self-created talismans that would ultimately fade into history.
Noticing me staring blankly at one of his talismans, Master Xiao asked if I lacked confidence in tonight's events. I replied, "It's not that; you wouldn't understand as a disciple of such a prestigious sect." Without looking up, he said, "Virtue."
After about ten minutes, Master Xiao finished drawing all the talismans he deemed useful—banishing spirits, binding spirits, killing spirits, prohibiting spirits, severing spirits—an entire array of offensive talismans. Once done, he lay back on the bed and said, "It's your turn now. I'm good at attack talismans; we should have enough for our needs. You handle the rest."
I nodded and set up my own altar to draw some defensive talismans like repelling monsters, avoiding ghosts, Soul Requiem, protection charms, securing homes, pest avoidance, earth energy avoidance, stopping wasteful consumption, farming benefits, and silkworm benefits. Even though we probably wouldn’t need so many in a fight, my emotions surged unexpectedly as I drew them without restraint; by the time I finished, three hours had already passed.
I kicked Master Xiao awake from his light snoring just as I was about to head out for dinner when the Factory Manager knocked urgently on the door from outside while calling out: "Master Xiao! Master Xiao! Open up; there's been an issue at the factory." Master Xiao opened the door and let him in. Upon seeing the altar set up inside and various talismans laid out on the table, he paused for a moment before saying, "Did we interrupt you? If so, please continue your work." As I started to dismantle the altar, I replied, "It's fine; we're done now. Please go ahead with what you need to say."
The Factory Manager nodded and said: "Our factory has lost power; it might be a tripped breaker. This has happened before but that breaker is located in the True Hair Room. Since you advised us not to enter that room yet, I wanted to ask if we could go in just to reset it and then come right back out."
After hearing this, Master Xiao looked at his watch and said: "You all must be getting off soon anyway; why not just leave early today? Tonight my brother and I will take care of this matter." It was indeed safe to enter since it was daytime and there wouldn’t be any danger; however, there was concern that someone might take away some spiritually infused True Hair from inside—if that happened it would be hard to track down.
The Factory Manager hesitated before saying: "Alright then... can you confirm if you can resolve this tonight?" "We can," I interjected before Master Xiao could respond because he had just called me brother; thus I felt it was only right for me to embody that role with some authority.
After taking a few steps, I turned back and said, "The power's out, so you won't have electricity tonight. Is that going to be a problem?" "Not at all," both I and Master Xiao knew very well that whether there was light or not didn't matter much to us. We would definitely light red candles, and the dim environment was actually more advantageous for us. Not only would we be able to see the Spirit God clearly, but we would see it even better than in bright light. In the darkness, the Spirit God would reveal itself more boldly, just like a thief who wouldn't dare to act so brazenly during the day but felt emboldened at night.
As night fell, we finished our meal and returned to our place to gather our things before heading to the Wig Factory to start working. Master Xiao carried a Peach Wood Sword, so he usually took a long hiking backpack when going out, which was convenient for me as well. Besides my own Cloth Bag, I stuffed all the other items into his backpack.
We arrived at the Wig Factory around eight o'clock. Instead of heading straight to the warehouse, we busied ourselves in the security room. Due to the power outage, there were no streetlights inside, but fortunately, the moonlight was quite bright and the clouds were thin, so we could walk without needing a flashlight. The security room was small, with just a desk and a bed taking up half of the space. We cleared off everything from the desk and set up a Soul Calling Array. For safety, we also arranged a Soul-Trapping Formation around the Soul Summoning Point before asking Master Xiao for some hair. Master Xiao muttered about why we needed to trap a soul; if it dared to act up, he would destroy it. I chuckled lightly and ignored him. I began chanting the Call of Souls. With the hair as a medium and being so close, within three minutes, I summoned the Long-Haired Female Spirit that had followed Master Xiao last night.
As soon as it appeared and saw its hair, it rushed forward to grab it but was helplessly trapped by the Binding Formation, only able to look at us with a mix of confusion, anger, pleading, and indifference. Sometimes the expressions of Spirit Gods are so strange that they are hard to decipher. We stared at each other for about three minutes without speaking because from an outward appearance alone, one couldn't tell if it still had a chance for reincarnation. The simplest way to judge was through communication; if it could communicate, then there would be no need to disperse it. At this moment, its thoughts were in our hands; logically speaking, it should initiate communication. If it didn't take the initiative to communicate, we would try to talk first; if that failed, we would resort to dispersing its soul since it had little chance of reincarnation left and would only become a vengeful spirit if it remained in this world.
After staring at each other for about three minutes, just as I was about to speak up, it took the initiative instead. Its voice was hoarse and fragmented; it uttered a few sounds while nodding repeatedly at the wig on the table. I asked, "Do you still have awareness?" It nodded and said clearly, "Yes, I just want my hair..." This statement made it evident that this Spirit God could be sent away.
I looked at Master Xiao with some pride; he returned my gaze with an appreciative smile. If we could send it away successfully—generally speaking, that’s what happens—though many in our field choose to disperse spirits unnecessarily. Master Xiao and I shared similar beliefs in this regard; that's why we became good friends.
I patted Master Xiao on the shoulder and said, "You ask." Since I had set up the Soul Calling Array myself, it took a significant toll on me; I still needed to deal with three more spirits afterward and worried I might not have enough energy.
Master Xiao understood my intention. He formed Hand Seals and touched his throat before making another Hand Seal and tapping his chin to begin communicating with the Spirit God. This was something we had discussed beforehand: if this Spirit God could communicate, we would inquire about the situation of the other three Spirit Gods and then devise a targeted plan for what came next to avoid unexpected situations.
Master Xiao spoke directly and asked a crucial question: whether there was still a chance for reincarnation for the three spirits inside. From this Spirit God's response, we learned that those three had been trapped for quite some time as Vengeful Spirits and were likely on their way to becoming malevolent spirits soon—there was no hope of sending them away.
Spirit Gods do not lie; they speak truthfully. The purest thing in this world is a soul while also being its dirtiest aspect. However, when communicating under the Call of Souls spell, no Spirit God would lie; those who didn’t know would simply shake their heads. Therefore, there’s no need to doubt what a Spirit God says during communication because they are often more sincere than those who speak deceitfully.
Having obtained the information we needed meant we could send it away directly without delving into how it had perished. Although it retained awareness and could speak somewhat coherently, all its intentions revolved around retrieving its hair—that was its sole desire in this world. Once satisfied with that wish, it could return to dust.
I performed the ritual by burning its hair before sending it away. By the time everything was completed, it was nearly ten o'clock.
At this moment, we knew that there was no need to complicate things with the remaining three Vengeful Spirits; we just needed to charge in and fight. I said to Master Xiao, "Let's get in before Midnight and aim to take down those three Spirit Gods before then." He nodded with a grin and replied, "I know, just watch me. I won't lose to you in this regard." Clearly, he felt there was an opportunity to show off, rubbing his hands together as if to prove he had his merits.
In truth, our rivalry was merely superficial; deep down, we both respected and admired each other. Each had strengths and weaknesses, and there was a mutual feeling of admiration between us. Even so, I casually remarked, "Is that broken wooden sword of yours really going to cut it?"
He snorted dismissively and began rummaging through his Cosmic Bag.
I organized my things, knowing I would need to set up an altar at the entrance. Its purpose would be the same as when Master Xiao charged in alone—not for memorializing but for confusion and delay. It would also provide a dim light source. After sorting everything out, I took out a protective talisman and a Soul Charm, handing them to Master Xiao. He tucked them into his clothing and, after taking two identical charms, said, "Let’s go. We need to hurry; we want a quick resolution. Once Midnight hits, things will get complicated." He nodded in agreement, and we exited the security room.
After taking a couple of steps, he suddenly said, "Wait a minute," then turned back into the security room. A minute later, he emerged wearing a Robe and topped with a Celestial Master Hat. I rolled my eyes and asked, "Who are you dressing up for?" He proudly declared, "This Robe was given to me by My Master the last time I went back home. I've never worn it before; I'm showing it off for you now. What do you think? Do I look handsome?" I replied, "Whether you're handsome or not mainly depends on your face. Even if you wore a dragon robe, it wouldn't change much. Let's go; stop dawdling."
"You’re clearly just jealous," he huffed in dissatisfaction as he clutched several attack talismans in his left hand while striding ahead toward the warehouse with determination.
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