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墨書 Inktalez
Master Xiao rushed over with an unhappy expression, tearing open a plastic bag and pulling out a lunch box to eat. While munching, he grumbled, "Why did you stop me? He just wants to mess with us, and I can't stand my temper like this."
"You can't stand it, yet you're eating so happily. Aren't you afraid he might poison your food?" I said, picking up a chicken leg.
Master Xiao abruptly paused, then resumed eating as if nothing had happened. "If you're not afraid, why should I be? Besides, he wouldn't do something that leaves evidence. But Liu the Boss, don't you think it's excessive for him to use the Paper Man Technique against us? Using our deaths to create a dream? Does he not know how deep our bond is? It's utterly immoral."
"I'm just curious why the Paper Man in our room has a different Birth Date and Time than the one I saw in his room. Did you notice the last two characters? The one in the room says 'Yisi,' while this one says 'Jiachen.'" I said slowly after swallowing my food.
Master Xiao, with his mouth full, replied, "I noticed that long ago. But there are only three of us here; if he's playing with Paper Man, who else could it be? Besides, one mismatched Birth Date and Time doesn't prove anything. Who says he has to use the Paper Man we saw in the hotel room? He could have other Paper Men."
We didn't discuss whose Birth Date and Time it was because it was clear it didn't belong to either of us. Based on the first two characters, the owner of that Birth Date and Time was already thirty-eight years old. It definitely wasn't Senior Zhang's either; he looked to be around sixty.
I said, "You're right. However, I feel that if there's any uncertainty, we shouldn't rashly fall out. At least not now. We're taking their money to help them out; as for what happens later, that's our personal grudge. Until this matter is resolved, we shouldn't act impulsively. Besides, we're only speculating without any substantial evidence."
Master Xiao fell silent. When he usually doesn't speak, it means: Fine, I'll listen to you. This isn't him yielding to my opinion; it's just that he tends to defer to me when faced with issues.
After hastily finishing his meal, Master Xiao tossed the empty Lunch Box onto the table, slung the Cosmic Bag over his shoulder, then twisted open a bottle of water and gulped down half of it before slamming the bottle back onto the table. His right hand smoothly reached into the bag without any pause in his movements, as if he were about to rush out and get to work. To my surprise, he pulled out an unopened pack of cigarettes and leisurely began to unwrap it.
Used to his dramatic antics, I still found it hard to accept this exaggerated performance. Glancing at my watch, I saw it was already past ten o'clock. After tidying up the trash on the table using the torn plastic bag Master Xiao had ripped apart, I told him, "I'm going to take out the trash," and opened the door to leave the room.
Once outside, I found everything brightly lit and noticed nothing unusual. There were no large trash bins inside the wooden house; they were located outside the building. To reach them, I had to pass by Senior Zhang's room. The reason I wanted to take out the trash myself was mainly to observe my surroundings since Midnight was approaching and something was bound to happen. Carrying a garbage bag served as an excuse in case Senior Zhang thought I wasn't following through on our agreement regarding matters on the first floor.
I quietly descended from the second floor; one advantage of wearing soft-soled casual shoes was that they made no noise on wooden floors. As I slowly walked down without making any sound, I noticed Senior Zhang's door was tightly shut. Outside was similarly marked with a sign like at the hotel; inside was dimly lit. Through a small window beside the door, I could vaguely see flickering candlelight inside, indicating that Senior Zhang had begun preparing for or was already conducting a Ritual.
Glancing around the hall revealed nothing abnormal at first glance. The hall door was open; I deliberately slowed my pace and focused on sensing my surroundings.
On the surface, everything seemed normal in the hall; however, an underlying chill couldn't be hidden. After throwing away the trash and stepping back inside from outside, I felt a noticeable drop in temperature compared to outside—not due to air conditioning since there wasn't any running in here. It was genuine Yin Qi; I couldn't quite describe how I sensed it but could only say that when there's heavy Yin Qi around me, my entire body feels uncomfortable—alongside feeling cold comes another sensation akin to waking up after drinking too much alcohol: limbs feeling heavy and uncomfortable no matter how you position them.
Looking up at the clock hanging on the side wall showed ten fifty-five; Midnight was almost upon us.
I hurried up the stairs, and just as my right foot was about to step onto the staircase, I suddenly spotted something in the corner. It was something I recognized all too well: a bamboo stick propping up a round white paper tube, adorned with funeral patterns cut out with scissors, and hanging below it were five long strips of white paper, each shaped like ingots.
This object is called a Spirit Flag; we refer to it as a White Flag in our area. It is used during funerals to guide the deceased on their way. The person holding this flag walks at the front, leading those carrying wreaths and the coffin while also guiding the human soul.
In our region, we still practice burial. Typically, funerals take place early in the morning before sunrise. At that time, although there is no sun, it is already light outside. After dawn, spirits cannot appear in the open; some hide inside their coffins. Those who are hiding inside their coffins can be directly taken to the Yin House, but others may still be in their homes, waiting until nightfall to go to their graves for peace. The purpose of this Spirit Flag is to act as a guide for those souls that have not accompanied their bodies to the graveyard. However, this seemingly insignificant object has another name: Soul Banner.
Upon closer inspection, I felt uneasy. This item was not here before we went upstairs; it had suddenly appeared. It was highly likely that someone had placed it here. Since Master Xiao and I had been inside the room without coming down, it must have been Senior Zhang who did this. Looking at the supporting bamboo stick confirmed my suspicion because such bamboo sticks were plentiful outside the house and matched the length of those in the fence. This Soul Banner was clearly made by Senior Zhang later on.
The function of the Soul Banner is to summon souls, similar to our Soul Summoning Array and Soul Summoning Spell. However, the Soul Banner employs deceptive methods combined with certain incantations and talismans. The Joss Paper ingots hanging from it are meant to lure souls; once they approach, they realize that what they see are merely illusions. Not only are these illusions false, but the talismans hidden within can temporarily disorient the souls. At that moment, it becomes an opportune time for soul collection or exorcism. Unfortunately, under the deception of the Soul Banner, these souls can develop significant resentment, transforming those who were not originally vengeful into vengeful spirits. In other words, if souls are not collected or dispersed beneath the Soul Banner before being released again, they may turn from benign to malevolent.
As I reached the door of the room, I pushed it open and stepped inside. Master Xiao had set up a ritual platform with various items arranged on it; red candles and incense were lit as well. Upon seeing me enter, he paused his actions and asked if I had discovered anything.
I explained about the Soul Banner downstairs, and Master Xiao remarked, "What on earth does this Zhang intend to do with a Soul Banner?"
I replied, "For someone practicing Ghost Path techniques, using a Soul Banner is quite common."
"But with this Soul Banner calling out, it's likely that everyone upstairs will be drawn down too. If he truly is a Ghost Path practitioner, then the spirits in this house will be in trouble. Moreover, if it's not handled properly, people nearby will also suffer," Master Xiao said disapprovingly.
I understood his concern; he meant that if there were too many spirits here, Senior Zhang would surely struggle to manage them all. Some might escape unnoticed and could become troublesome once released. Furthermore, practitioners of Ghost Path nowadays have significantly diminished abilities; we live in peaceful times where there aren't as many spirits available for them to cultivate with. The astonishing scenes of skilled Ghost Path practitioners summoning countless spirits are long gone. Of course, there are still capable individuals today; however, Senior Zhang likely wouldn't be able to control them effectively.
After considering this for a moment, I said, "Let's assess the situation first; it's already midnight now. We should seal off the staircase."
"Alright," Master Xiao replied with a nod as he shouldered his Cosmic Bag and stepped outside. I grabbed my Cloth Bag and followed him out while casually closing the bedroom door behind me and placing a talisman on it. As I inadvertently glanced at the gap beneath the door, I noticed two paper figures—one black and one white.
At the staircase entrance, Master Xiao affixed a talisman on each of two pillars and set out some offerings at the foot of the stairs before lighting three sticks of incense. I pulled out a section of Ink Fight Line and performed a Hand Spell on it before straightening it out to seal off the staircase.
After completing all this, Master Xiao asked what we should do next. As I took out my compass, I replied, "Let's first see how many Spirit Gods are inside this house." Master Xiao suggested that I could simply open my eyes to find out; he began forming Hand Seals to do so. I quickly stopped him and said, "Not yet; we'll wait for a critical moment."
The compass jumped wildly as soon as I took it out, and it was no exaggeration to say it felt like stepping into a cemetery. There were quite a few Spirit Gods inside, initially estimated to be no less than six. Fortunately, they all seemed calm and held no great grudges, making them relatively easy to handle. They were all quite ordinary Spirit Gods; encountering them on the road wouldn’t cause any issues. Seeing this, I breathed a sigh of relief while wondering why these seemingly harmless Spirit Gods would allow President Cai and the caretakers to see them. Was it simply to let them know of their presence? That didn’t seem to benefit the Spirit Gods at all.
I made a gesture of six to Master Xiao and whispered, “They’re not troublesome.” Master Xiao nodded, pulled out his Peach Wood Sword from the Cosmic Bag, and began preparing to capture the Spirit Gods. The Spirit Gods were surprisingly calm, almost like a breath of air with no threat at all, making the exorcism very simple. It felt like performing an appendectomy with a doctor—just a matter of minutes.
Just as Master Xiao turned around to search for the souls, I grabbed him because I saw Senior Zhang’s room door open. As soon as Senior Zhang stepped out, he looked up at us. We nodded in acknowledgment, but unexpectedly, Senior Zhang made a shushing gesture with a tense expression and waved his hands insistently for us to hide. Although I didn’t understand what was happening, his gestures and anxious demeanor were clear.
“What does that bastard mean by telling us to hide while he performs?” Master Xiao whispered, his tone filled with strong dissatisfaction. I didn’t answer him; instead, I pulled him down and crouched behind the railing on the second floor. The railing wasn’t hollow; it was made of wooden boards with small gaps in between. Crouching behind it allowed us to peek down at the situation in the hall below without being seen. Moreover, after we crouched down, Senior Zhang turned off the lights upstairs, leaving us in darkness while he remained illuminated.
Master Xiao tapped me in confusion and asked what was going on and why we were cooperating with that bastard. I replied that there seemed to be a special situation and urged him not to make noise but to observe for now since the Spirit Gods above posed no threat to us.
Master Xiao nodded and leaned closer to the gaps between the boards, starting to observe the movements downstairs. After watching for a while without any reaction, he grew a bit impatient. Just as he was about to stand up, I pressed him down firmly and gestured for him to look below.
At that moment, I saw someone enter from outside—a man in his thirties or forties with pale skin, wearing white clothes and black pants, sporting a buzz cut. He held a large black cloth bag in his bony hands but had very spirited eyes. The first impression this person gave was quite uncomfortable; using an exaggerated description, he exuded an aura of death. However, judging by his expression and demeanor, he was definitely alive and not a Spirit God.
Good night; today I can finally go to bed early. Starting from October 1st, the Golden League's playoffs begin. Every golden ticket is incredibly precious to me. I will also increase my update frequency. Please help me by voting for my work in the Golden League every day; we only have one month’s time. How far we can go depends on everyone’s support, and I am deeply grateful!
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