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墨書 Inktalez
Saying goodbye to the carefree Blonde Youth, I continued on my way back home. By the time I arrived, I was nearly exhausted. After a night of activity and with the cold wind blowing constantly, my energy had plummeted. As soon as I stepped through the door, my mother was startled by my appearance. "Why is your face so pale? What happened?" she asked.
I awkwardly touched my face and replied, "It's nothing. I just didn't sleep well last night and I'm tired. I'll feel better after a meal and a nap."
My mother didn’t say anything more; she sighed and shook her head before heading into the kitchen to cook. When I first entered this line of work, she had supported me, thinking that my job was similar to that of the priests in Village who performed rituals. Little did she know that this world truly had ghosts, and her son had unwittingly become a ghost hunter. After learning the truth, she was extremely resistant. I spent several days explaining it to her and even took her along to help send a soul—of course, it was a relatively simple Send Soul ritual with no real danger involved. That experience finally made her accept my decision to continue in this line of work.
However, she didn’t realize that even among ghosts, there were distinctions between good and evil.
After taking a shower and having dinner, I lay on my bed. Once my phone was charged, I eagerly called Master Pan. He informed me that he would be coming over shortly. While I was grateful, I also felt a bit anxious; Master Pan was not like my master—sometimes he loved to tease me just as I enjoyed teasing Master Xiao. I hoped he wouldn’t present me with any difficult challenges that would leave me embarrassed. But since Master Pan lived quite far away, it would take him at least two or three hours to arrive. I got up and prepared a slightly larger Red Envelope for him. After sealing it, I remembered that I hadn’t yet given the Red Envelope for Second Master either, so I found another one and prepared that as well. Looking at the two bulging Red Envelopes made my heart ache; this job had earned me nothing but left me out of pocket.
...
When I finally woke up, it was already midday, and it seemed Master Pan hadn’t arrived yet. He had been to our house before and knew my grandfather, so there was no need for me to go pick him up. Going downstairs, I found the house empty; my parents were out. In our hometown, we didn’t have lunch, so midday was usually when everyone worked in the fields. I called my mother to let her know that I wouldn’t be home for lunch and then called Master Pan to tell him to go directly to Second Master’s house instead. After packing up my things, grabbing a pack of cigarettes and two bottles of liquor, I hopped on my motorcycle and headed towards Second Master’s place.
Second Master hadn’t gone out; his main occupation involved feng shui consultations and presiding over funerals, so he didn’t cultivate crops like others did. He mostly grew some vegetables and raised chickens, leading a relatively peaceful life—though somewhat lonely.
When Second Master saw me arrive, he cheerfully insisted that I help him cook a couple of dishes so we could enjoy some drinks together. I quickly replied, “Let’s skip the drinking for now; that matter hasn’t been resolved yet. However, I should definitely make you a nice meal—just wait for it! Master Pan will be coming over too; you two can catch up.”
Second Master smiled broadly: “Old Pan is quite a rare guest! I'll go get two pounds of meat; you cook at home.” With that, he stepped outside with light footsteps, humming a tune and looking particularly happy. Second Master had no children or spouse; he had lived alone for decades, so whenever someone visited him, it brought him joy for quite some time.
When Master Pan arrived, Second Master had just returned with the meat. He tossed it to me in the kitchen before going out to greet Master Pan and mentioned that he had run into Liu Jian's father earlier; they had resolved their haunting issue and asked me to thank you. Smiling as I accepted the meat from him, I began washing and cutting it.
We didn’t drink during this meal, but the atmosphere was still great; Second Master and Master Pan hadn’t seen each other in ages and chatted endlessly. The meal lasted an hour, but since it was still early in the day, I quickly reminded Master Pan that we should head over soon to check on Senior Master's Corpse. Visiting before dark would prevent us from being disturbed by Senior Master's lingering spirit; if we waited until nightfall, there was a chance that Senior Master might return to place the Corpse back in its cave again.
"There's no need to worry," Master Pan said, his temper calm. "After all, this Senior Master is just a ghost. As respectable Taoists, we shouldn't be afraid of a mere spirit."
I hesitated before speaking. "But that Senior Master has absorbed the Yin Qi of seven souls for nearly a century. Are you sure we should be unconcerned?"
"Now that you mention it, I'm not so sure," he admitted. "Well then, Master Zhang, let's save our conversation for another time. We have more pressing matters at hand. Thank you for your hospitality." With lingering thoughts, Master Pan stood up, picked up his Cosmic Bag, and exited with me.
After bidding farewell to Second Master, I led Master Pan toward the cave. After a half-hour walk, we arrived at the cave's entrance. Since I had already restored the stones, I pretended to be mysterious and pointed at the pile of rubble. "Do you see anything unusual about these stones?"
Master Pan lowered his head in silence before squatting down and swiftly clearing away the entrance. As he worked, he remarked, "I haven't seen this method of Feng Shui in quite some time, but fortunately, I've encountered it before."
I couldn't help but silently give him a thumbs-up; I had never even seen such a thing.
With the entrance cleared, Master Pan suggested we go inside and see what has become of our Senior Master's Corpse. I nodded and took out my flashlight, sliding in sideways as Master Pan followed closely behind.
Once inside, I realized this cave was different from the ones we had explored in our childhood. The space was relatively large but contained only one chamber; there were no other passages visible. As I shone my light around, I saw stalactites and stalagmites everywhere. The sound of dripping water echoed softly, and occasionally a bat would flutter by. Other than that, there was nothing else—certainly no sign of the Senior Master's Corpse.
Friends who have explored caves know that typically they are warm in winter and cool in summer—quite comfortable. However, as soon as we entered, it felt different; rather than comfort, there was an oppressive sensation that made it hard to breathe. Logically speaking, this deep mountain forest should have abundant oxygen, and since the entrance wasn't deep, there shouldn't be any lack of air.
I glanced at Master Pan in confusion; he seemed equally puzzled but suggested we split up to search for the Senior Master's Corpse.
I nodded and stepped onto a knee-high boulder to head right into the cave while Master Pan closed his eyes to sense the surroundings before instinctively taking out his Peach Wood Sword and moving left.
Feeling uncertain, I also pulled out some protective talismans and held them tightly. Initially thinking this place had nothing to do with Ghostly Affairs, I hadn’t sensed anything unusual—not even using my compass. But seeing Master Pan's serious demeanor made me feel anxious as well.
As I formed the talisman, Master Pan immediately put away the Peach Wood Sword and said with a relaxed expression, "Heh heh, why are you so nervous? I was just playing around."
I couldn't help but disdainfully think about this old man. So what if I was nervous?
Inside the cave, there were no paths, just uneven stones and dirt. However, this did not hinder our search for the Corpse. After searching for a while, we surprisingly found no sign of Senior Master's Corpse. Master Pan said, "This isn't right. It must be hidden using some Method of Feng Shui. Let me test it out."
As soon as Master Pan finished speaking, he squatted down and took out a large Peach Wood Nail from his Cosmic Bag, driving it into the ground. He then pulled out seven Incense sticks, lit them, and evenly inserted them around the Peach Wood Nail. After completing these tasks, he rummaged through his Cosmic Bag for a moment before finally producing a talisman. He pierced it with the Peach Wood Sword, igniting it and waving it quickly in the air. The completely burned talisman turned into small black ashes that scattered around the Peach Wood Nails.
The seven Incense sticks suddenly brightened as if someone had blown on them forcefully. Then, instead of rising straight up, the smoke began to curve gently and drift horizontally in one direction.
Later, I learned that this little Spell was used for locating corpses and had very strict requirements, which is why it was rarely used. This time, being underground in a closed space with a corpse within twenty meters made it effective.
Master Pan shone his Flashlight on the smoke from the Incense and leisurely followed it. Without hesitation, I stepped forward a few paces and shone my Flashlight in the direction the Incense was drifting, feeling puzzled inside.
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