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墨書 Inktalez
Perhaps it was because I hadn’t rested all night, but when I first heard the laughter, I thought it was a hallucination. The second time I heard that eerie laugh, it sent chills down my spine! The sound was unsettling, like a sharp object scraping against glass; with each laugh, it pierced deeper into my bones. This was the most terrifying laughter I had ever heard in my life.
I forced myself to gather my wits and shakily reached for a cigarette. My right hand trembled uncontrollably, and it took me a while to finally light it, my teeth chattering. I pretended to rest, slightly closing my eyes while peeking through the slits at the figure of Zhou Daming in the room. This Zhou Daming looked much like the one I knew, but his expression was far more serious and devoid of humor. Who could laugh in such a situation at this hour? So I didn’t pay much attention to it. He kept staring at the talisman on my chest while pacing back and forth in the room. As my brother, it moved me that he rushed over in such a dangerous situation.
“Aji! I’m Half Immortal! Are you okay? You’re driving me crazy, brother!” Zhou Daming’s voice came again from outside the door.
I felt something was off, and suddenly realized there were many discrepancies about this Zhou Daming inside. For instance, the Zhou Daming I knew never called me by my full name, and he was someone who could laugh even during make-up exams—why was he so serious now? However, I couldn’t be sure what exactly was outside the door! I found myself in a dilemma.
In front of the sofa in the living room hung a mirror about half my height. At that moment, the mirror was angled toward me; all I had to do was lift my head slightly to see. I glanced at the mirror and gasped as goosebumps crawled all over me. The Zhou Daming in the mirror looked nothing like a human. A mouth faintly appeared on the back of his head, stretching from ear to ear, as if it were laughing or crying.
Just then, another strange laugh echoed—kekekeke!—like a hen brooding over its eggs. I glanced at Zhou Daming; he still wore a serious expression.
“Did you laugh?”
“I didn’t laugh!”
Fear gripped me even more; was that laughter coming from outside? An ominous feeling settled in my heart.
“Open the door, Aji!” The voice from outside came again. My heart sank; I thought, “Could it be? Just when things were going wrong, now this? It can’t be another Dirty Thing!” My inner tension was impossible to hide as my whole body began to tremble. Gritting my teeth, I forced myself to stay calm and decided to test Zhou Daming’s knowledge.
“Half Immortal, how did you see that thing earlier?” That thing referred to the Ghostly Woman that Zhou Daming had chased away.
After a long pause, the Zhou Daming inside finally reacted with a cold laugh. “Haha! Did you call for me, Half Immortal?”
My heart dropped; the cigarette butt fell from my hand as I sat up straight. I could tell for certain that this guy was definitely not Zhou Daming. I often jokingly called him Half Immortal instead of using his real name; he seemed completely unaware of this name.
My whole body began to shake again as I couldn’t help but look up at that figure.
Inside the room, Zhou Daming sat there, clearly a bit impatient, staring intently at the Yellow Talisman on my chest. He was twirling his fingers in a delicate manner, unconsciously fiddling with the hem of his clothes. I couldn't help but think of a hefty man, weighing around 200 pounds, playing with his clothing like a woman, and the sight almost made me laugh out loud. But upon deeper reflection, an overwhelming sense of fear washed over me!
"Aji! Are you alright, my good brother?" At that moment, there was another knock at the door.
"I'll go open it," I feigned calmness again, pressing my hands against the armrest of the sofa. After struggling three or four times, I finally managed to stand up!
"Don't open it!"
Zhou Daming's face showed a hint of displeasure as he hurriedly stopped me. "It must be that thing coming back. Have you forgotten about the Ghostly Woman?"
I didn't give a damn about him; I would rather open the door and run out into the street for safety than stay here with this Demon. I had already concluded that Zhou Daming was that thing; I dared not linger any longer. Suddenly fueled by an unknown strength, I took two steps and slammed the door open!
"Aji! You scared me to death! I'm so glad you're okay!" A hefty man leaped forward and hugged me tightly, making it hard for me to breathe. After struggling for a moment, I finally broke free from his grasp. The fat man choked out, "I'm just glad you're fine!" He looked up and saw someone in the room who looked exactly like him! This guy actually broke into a smile.
"What a coincidence to meet here; could it be that this Half Immortal has a long-lost brother?"
The thing's expression changed instantly; it suddenly became serious and shouted, "Xia Jixin, that fat man is not human!"
"I'd be cursed if I believed you!" I cursed inwardly. This fat man was my college roommate; even if he turned to ash, I would recognize him! With the presence of a Half Immortal, my courage surged. Turning around, I adopted an authoritative tone as if judging a case.
"Who goes there? State your name at once!"
"Tang Lili..."
Suddenly, a woman's voice came from that thing's mouth. After a moment, it seemed to realize its cover was blown and stopped pretending. With a tearing sound like ripping window paper, it shredded the fat man's exterior to pieces, revealing its ghastly form underneath. The right side of its skull was exposed, with peeling scalp hanging off in pale white; an eyeball dangled from its face while its lips were dark purple!
“Damn! Ji, are you trying to give me a VR horror movie?” Half Immortal laughed. VR, the popular three-dimensional virtual platform nowadays. “Seriously, how can you be so heartless and still laugh?” I was increasingly convinced that this was undoubtedly my friend Half Immortal! “Aji, this guy is tough; she’s not just a Hanged Ghost!”
“What is that?” I couldn’t help but look at Half Immortal with admiration, thinking, “This guy really has some tricks up his sleeve!”
“She’s a female Hanged Ghost!” Half Immortal said solemnly. I thought to myself, “Anyone can see that!” I was speechless, a thousand expletives flying through my mind. “I’m just trying to lighten the mood; honestly, I don’t know what she is,” Half Immortal continued. Before he could finish his sentence, the creature sprang into action, claws bared and lunging toward us.
Half Immortal remained calm and pulled out a book from his pocket. The title read "Mountain and Sea Monster Record," and he began to flip through it slowly. The Demon reached out to grab him with such force that it tore into Half Immortal's arm, drawing blood. He couldn’t withstand it and shouted, “I’m almost there!”
Fortunately, the demon’s fierce bite was injured by my blood. It could only claw at Half Immortal's thick outer garment with its ten sharp claws, creating a whistling wind. Since it was cold at night, Half Immortal had brought an extra coat. That thick garment was shredded to pieces! Seeing the urgency of the situation, I shoved the fat guy aside; he stumbled back. We hid under the sofa as it clawed at the chair, sending wood shavings flying everywhere.
“Half Immortal, have you found a way?”
“I have! First step: pour flour and fine salt into a bowl and knead it into dough until it’s smooth and soft.”
“Half Immortal, hold on; I’ll go knead the dough!” I thought to myself, “What kind of ridiculous method is this? Can dough really subdue an Evil Spirit?”
“Second step: fold it in half on the cutting board, sprinkle with dry flour, stretch it out again, fold it again, and sprinkle more dry flour!” I felt uneasy but had no choice but to follow along; there were no better options at the moment.
“What do we do next?” I shouted. Half Immortal was crouched under the sofa chair, exposing half of his backside when the demon seized the opportunity and grabbed him, its five fingers sinking in as blood flowed! Half Immortal let out a cry.
“Third step: place the noodles into boiling water in a Frying Pan and fry until golden brown before taking them out.”
“Are you planning to fry dough sticks?” I yelled in disbelief.
It turned out that Half Immortal mistakenly thought frying dough sticks would work against the demon! As expected, he was utterly unreliable. I couldn't help but curse, “You fat idiot! Can you take this seriously when our lives are on the line?”
“Oh my god! It hurts so much… this demon is truly relentless!”
The man who chased after foul smells originated from the "Lüshi Chunqiu." In ancient times, there was a person who had a peculiar fondness for strange odors and chose to live alone by the East Sea. Ji Xiaolan's "Notes from the Grass Hut" also recounts a story about a ghost that chased after smells: there was a scholar studying in an ancient temple who went to the restroom. A fierce-looking ghost peeked in, intending to scare the scholar to death. Surprisingly, the scholar showed no fear at all. He casually placed his lamp on the ghost's head, finished his business, and stuffed some used paper into the ghost's mouth, causing it to retch uncontrollably! For three years, it dared not come out to scare anyone.
At that moment, a drake shouted angrily, "Damn it! Why are you making so much noise in the middle of the night? You're ruining my business; I’ll have to kill you with a knife!"
Sure enough, after a series of slapping sounds from slippers, a scruffy middle-aged man came down from upstairs, holding a kitchen knife and rubbing his eyes. The ghost, hearing the curse, was evidently furious...
The ghost, with disheveled hair and a pale white figure, floated to the doorway, waiting for the man to approach. The man seemed still half-asleep, continuously rubbing his eyes until he noticed someone blocking the door. He first tucked the knife into his waistband. Without hesitation, he rolled up his sleeves, grabbed the ghost by its collar with his left hand, and with his right hand open wide, he began to slap it wildly while muttering, "I’ll teach you not to make noise!" After several slaps, he turned around and left!
The ghost was left stunned and bewildered. Later on, I learned that this man was named Lu Jianguo. He was a bachelor known for his tough luck. Even in haunted graveyards, as long as he was present, there would be no disturbances at all. He had once worked at a crematorium but was soon fired! The reason for his dismissal left everyone speechless; because of him being there, those entities had been sending dreams to relevant leaders night after night! The leaders had no choice but to fire him; that night, indeed no one had any dreams. Just as the old man said, this person truly was my lucky star, helping me escape danger multiple times! But that’s another story.
“Where do you think you’re running?” The half-immortal bit his tongue and spat out a mouthful of blood onto the ghost. The ghost let out a wild scream as white smoke erupted from its body, revealing an expression of pain. The living person's Yang Qi spread throughout its body along with the blood; Yang Qi is particularly potent when it comes from tongue blood— even Hanged Ghosts would fear Yama King three parts.
The half-immortal finally found a way.
“It seems I have no choice but to take action!” A boy's voice echoed.
I listened closely and found the voice somewhat familiar but couldn’t recall where I had heard it before! After much contemplation, I suddenly realized it was not from my dreams!
“Year of the Fire Snake, Yihai Month, Xinmao Day, Yi Hai Time…” The boy's voice came again!
This was my birth date; how could this demon know? At this thought, I felt as if I had fallen into an ice pit, my heart filled with terror...
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