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墨書 Inktalez
"Mm." I casually murmured, taking out several sticks of fine incense from the cloth bag. After lighting them, I placed them on the bedside table. Liu Bi, who had been standing behind me, revealed a greedy look in his eyes the moment I took out the incense. As soon as I finished placing the incense, he couldn't wait to detach himself from Li Da Ye's body.
With a sudden burst, Liu Bi emerged, causing Li Da Ye to roll his eyes back and faint. Fortunately, I was prepared; just as Li Da Ye was about to collapse, I quickly supported him and laid him down on the bed.
"Seeing the incense like this—Li Da Ye's body isn't just a body for you to borrow; you should treat it with more care," I scolded discontentedly.
Liu Bi greedily inhaled the fragrant smoke wafting from the incense, looking satisfied as he said, "It's because you're here, Brother Liu. I knew you'd catch him."
"You..." Before I could finish my sentence, he continued, "Brother Liu, help me call my sister out. I want to see if she can absorb the incense now."
I shook my head and moved aside the opened oiled paper umbrella, muttering under my breath, "I've seen plenty of ghosts, but I've never seen one as shameless as you."
Picking up the bronze mirror from the bed, I quickly performed hand seals on it to awaken Mu Xue, who was sleeping inside. As soon as she heard my call, she appeared on the bed in front of me. The moment she saw me, she broke into her usual innocent smile, carefree and untroubled. She opened and closed her mouth a few times but produced no sound. Pouting slightly, she lowered her head in disappointment.
Mu Xue was merely a living soul and lacked the ability to speak. I wondered what kind of voice she would have if she could talk.
Seeing her sulking on the bed, I pointed at Liu Bi and smiled reassuringly. "It's okay, little Mu Xue. Go ahead and try to absorb the incense; just follow your brother's example."
Upon hearing this, she looked in the direction I pointed. When she saw Liu Bi bent over and absorbed in inhaling the incense, her expression shifted from sadness to joy. She raised her small hands and jumped off the bed, taking two steps to Liu Bi's side and began to mimic him as she slowly inhaled the incense.
Absorbing incense was like a newborn baby nursing from its mother—a natural skill that required no learning process; everything came effortlessly.
Seeing his sister join him in absorbing the incense, Liu Bi wiped his nose and reluctantly pulled away from it. Watching his sister inhale with such abandon brought a smile of contentment to his face, his eyes sparkling with delight. He turned to me and said, "Brother Liu, thank you."
His gesture caught me off guard; I had intended to scold him a bit more but suddenly felt soft-hearted. "Hey, what are you thanking me for? It was nothing special; no need for formalities."
"For you it's nothing special, but for us it's an immense favor. Do you know how difficult it is for us to absorb this kind of incense?" Liu Bi said emotionally.
I nodded; I understood this principle well. Generally speaking, incense is imbued with the will of its owner; if it isn't offered to them specifically, they cannot absorb it at all. Even if they did manage to absorb it somehow, it would have no effect. So I understood his gratitude—what I offered was infused with spells and sincerely summoned. To him, it was far more precious than ordinary incense.
"Alright then," I said. "This isn't like your usual self. By the way, your sister has such a lovely name; why did you get stuck with such a fierce one?"
Upon hearing my question, its previously softened expression darkened again, as if it were burdened by an unspoken sorrow.
Liu Bi glanced at me, then turned to look at Mu Xue, who was smoking a cigarette, remaining silent.
It didn't speak, and I chose not to press further. I believed it would share when it was ready. After a few minutes, it turned to me and whispered, "Let's talk over there."
The room was small, and the place it referred to was merely by the door. We moved together to the entrance, where it forced a smile and said, "Brother Liu, ever since I became a ghost, I've never felt such a connection with anyone. You're different; you make me want to confide in you. You're a Taoist, so I think you might understand my story. Let me give you a brief overview; I hope you won't think I'm rambling."
I nodded and replied, "Go ahead."
Liu Bi looked back at Mu Xue before speaking seriously. "It's a long story, but I'll summarize it for you. My sister was perfectly healthy until she turned five. We had a happy family with parents who loved us dearly. However, when she was five, she fell gravely ill for no apparent reason. We sought help everywhere but found none. Eventually, we consulted an old Chinese doctor who couldn't diagnose her condition either. He recommended an elderly Taoist priest to us. We took my sister to see him, and he quickly identified the cause of her illness. It was shocking. At that time, none of us could believe it."
"What was it?" I asked, sensing that the cause might relate to something beyond science, much like my own profession.
Liu Bi continued, "After examining my sister, the priest calculated our family's birth dates and times. He solemnly pointed at me and told my parents that my birth date and time were in severe conflict with my sister's. We couldn't live together; before she turned five it was manageable, but after that, we couldn't even see each other. When we heard this news, we struggled to accept it. My father even claimed the priest was talking nonsense. The priest didn't argue; he simply said that if we didn't believe him, we could leave her with him for some time—at least a week or up to half a month—and he guaranteed she would recover."
I nodded in agreement. "That's true; there's another explanation for such phenomena called 'thin fate.' Your connection with Mu Xue only lasted five years; it's destined that way. If you forcefully break this bond, it will only bring harm back to Mu Xue."
"Exactly," Liu Bi said. "Strangely enough, less than ten days after I stayed with the priest, my mother came specifically to thank him and told me my sister had recovered. She asked if I could come home. But the priest said that going home was impossible; even seeing each other wasn't allowed. If we wanted our daughter to be well, we could never meet again."
I acknowledged that since the priest said so, he must have his reasons.
Liu Bi continued, "Actually, my original name wasn't Liu Bi; it was Mu Chen. Later on, the priest changed my name to Liu Bi to sever any ties I had with my sister. He said that although the character for 'bi' is ominous, it would protect my sister from being affected while we're apart."
I asked, "If that's the case, how did things end up like this?"
"It’s all my fault..." It began but was interrupted as Mu Xue finished her cigarette and happily ran over to Liu Bi, burying herself in his embrace and acting coyly. Although I couldn't hear her voice, her body language clearly showed she was delighted.
Seeing his sister approach, Liu Bi chose not to continue his story but instead held Mu Xue close and affectionately stroked her hair while offering me an apologetic smile.
I raised my hand to check the time and said, "Let's talk about it later. I still need to find the director. I wonder if he’s back yet."
"Alright, see you tonight, Brother Liu," it said with a smile. Mu Xue waved at me as I was about to leave, showing a sweet smile. I patted her head and said, "Goodbye, little Mu Xue. I'll come back to see you later."
After leaving the small guesthouse, I headed towards the hotel where the director was staying. Before I reached my destination, I spotted the director coming out of the hotel in a hurry, seemingly ready to leave again. I quickly ran after him, shouting loudly, "Director! Director! Wait a moment!"
People around looked puzzled and stopped to watch me chase after him. Once they confirmed he wasn't some big-time director, they resumed their own activities.
The director was just about to get into his car when he saw me approaching. A smile appeared on his face as he said, "I came back to grab something and I'm in a rush to get to the set. Why don’t you hop in with me?"
His meaning was clear: he was busy right now, so I should get in the car and we could talk while driving.
I nodded and opened the car door, sliding inside. He chuckled as he opened his door and got in as well, starting the engine while saying, "You arrived quite early, Daozhang. Is there something urgent?"
I handed him the USB drive and said, "I brought you some materials. Everything you need is on here. Director, have you arranged for the Joss Paper burning for the Lens tonight?"
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