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墨書 Inktalez
From that day on, Wei Ning visited the Mortuary regularly to see the old man. The old man spoke little, unlike Wang Tuozi, who not only taught Wei Ning magic but also shared stories and interesting tales about ghosts he encountered in his daily life. However, sometimes the old man would offer a few pointers to Wei Ning, and his insights into magic always left Wei Ning feeling enlightened about many things he previously found confusing.
Time flew by, and before he knew it, Wei Ning's first semester at university was coming to an end. After the exams, the school would be on break. Wei Ning originally planned to return home early, but the old man asked him to do something first: to go to Hengyang and deliver a letter to someone.
"Isn't delivering letters the post office's job? Why do I have to go personally?" Wei Ning wondered, but he still followed the old man's wishes. After all, he had gained so much from the old man, who had never asked for anything in return—not even a dime for tuition. Wei Ning felt a sense of guilt towards the old man and was eager to repay him in any way he could.
Thus, Wei Ning set off with Guo Fei, who happened to be a local from Hengyang. Upon hearing that Wei Ning was going to Hengyang, Guo Fei's face lit up with excitement as he volunteered to buy tickets for them.
Since it was the holiday season for various universities, tickets were hard to come by. Guo Fei worked hard to secure two tickets.
After the exams, Zhang Kai was the first to leave, followed by Sun Bing. Finally, Guo Fei and Wei Ning departed together. The tickets Guo Fei bought were for an evening bus from the Provincial Capital to Hengyang, expected to arrive early the next morning. Normally, there wouldn't be any buses at this hour; this was a special service for students returning home, so the fare was considerably higher than usual.
As soon as Wei Ning and Guo Fei boarded the bus, a musty smell hit them. Wei Ning frowned and muttered softly, "The Evil Energy is so strong."
Guo Fei didn't hear Wei Ning's mumbling and thought he was complaining about the old bus. He chuckled and said, "There's nothing we can do; it's hard to find a bus at this time. Having one is already good enough." He kindly helped Wei Ning with his luggage.
It seemed they were on an unlicensed vehicle that didn't stop at stations or take highways; they bumped along the dilapidated National Highway. As they chatted intermittently, night fell gradually, and many passengers began to doze off.
Suddenly, a sharp brake jolted both Guo Fei and Wei Ning awake from their slumber. The driver cursed as he turned off the engine. "Damn it! A flat tire at this time!"
Wei Ning glanced out the window into the pitch-black night and realized he had no idea where they were.
While the driver worked on fixing the tire, passengers got off to stretch their legs. Guo Fei urgently pulled Wei Ning aside to relieve himself.
Guo Fei deliberately avoided other passengers and found a tree under which to go. Wei Ning waited nearby when suddenly Guo Fei exclaimed, "Wei! What’s that over there?"
Following Guo Fei's gaze, Wei Ning saw a flickering red light in the distance but couldn't tell what it was.
He stepped closer against the night breeze and took a sniff of the air. "That place has a heavy Evil Energy."
"Let's go check it out," Guo Fei said as he hastily pulled up his pants and dragged Wei Ning along with him. Estimating that it would take some time for the driver to fix the tire and driven by curiosity, Wei Ning followed Guo Fei.
They found a thicket where they could hide themselves and saw ahead of them what appeared to be a graveyard that had been disturbed. Rotten coffins lay scattered across the ground while an iron cauldron was set up in front of it with flames roaring beneath it; hot oil bubbled violently inside.
A woman dressed in gray linen stood before the cauldron, continuously adding firewood beneath it. In the flickering light, Maid Granny's face looked pale; her sparse gray hair resembled a bundle of straw piled atop her head with a dirty scarf wrapped around it—so filthy that its original color was unrecognizable. Her skin resembled dried orange peel—wrinkled and weathered—and one ear dangled a large earring made of an unknown material.
Maid Granny added another handful of firewood into the Oil Cauldron and ominously commanded, "You better spill everything you know—quick!"
A skeletal hand suddenly emerged from the Oil Cauldron, followed by another, resting on the edge of the pot. A skull strained to rise from the cauldron, as if trying to crawl out.
The Maid Granny pulled out a ruler-like object and struck the skeleton back into the Oil Cauldron, saying, "Still not behaving? Do you need me to add some more fire?"
A chilling sound echoed from the cauldron, resembling a mouse's squeak. The Maid Granny added more firewood, causing the oil in the pot to bubble and the sounds from within to grow increasingly desperate.
Guo Fei had never witnessed such a terrifying scene before. He gripped Wei Ning tightly, nearly digging his fingers into her flesh, trembling as he stammered, "What... what is that person... doing?"
Wei Ning frowned and murmured, "Fried Skeleton Fortune-Telling. I didn't expect such a sinister practice to still exist."
"Fried Skeleton Fortune-Telling? What... what is that?"
Wei Ning explained, "It's a very malevolent practice I've heard about. There's said to be a type of Skeleton Fryer who specifically seeks out abandoned graves, digs up the skeletons inside, and takes them to desolate places. They prepare enough firewood and roast the skeletons at night until they subdue the Undead. If the Undead are subdued, they will reveal everything they knew in life to the Skeleton Fryer. This way, the Skeleton Fryer can use the information obtained from the skeleton's mouth to tell fortunes for others."
Guo Fei's mouth fell open in disbelief. "Is that true? That person is doing Fried Skeleton Fortune-Telling?"
Wei Ning nodded. "Yes."
No sooner had she spoken than the skeleton in the Oil Cauldron suddenly lunged forward, biting down on the Maid Granny's arm. She struck it three times on the skull with her ruler-like object. The skeleton seemed to feel pain but held on tightly.
"See? This is what happens when you don't behave," the Maid Granny scolded angrily. Her ruler-like object suddenly expanded and struck down hard on the skull, shattering it on the ground. The pieces spun around before coming to rest, seemingly facing Guo Fei and Wei Ning as if staring at them.
Wei Ning pulled Guo Fei down slightly to avoid being seen by the Granny. She picked up the shattered skull and tossed it back into the Oil Cauldron, exclaiming, "It seems you really don't know that Horse King has three eyes unless I show you some color." She then took out a packet of powdery substance from her pocket and threw it into the cauldron, which immediately crackled loudly in response to the skeleton's even more anguished cries.
"Now spill everything you know," she commanded sharply.
"Sometimes," Wei Ning continued quietly, "the Skeleton Fryer may encounter situations where they face off against a skeleton like just now. If their strength is lacking, they could easily be overpowered by the skeleton and become a vengeful spirit in this desolate wilderness. Thus, frying skeletons is a very dangerous endeavor. However, this Granny seems experienced; this skeleton is no match for her and will likely yield soon."
Sure enough, the Maid Granny leaned closer to listen at the edge of the Oil Cauldron, wearing a smile as she nodded her head occasionally.
Wei Ning tugged at Guo Fei and said, "Frying skeletons is an extremely harmful act against one's moral integrity. After this Granny dies, she will probably have several of those spirits she fried come back for revenge. But that's her own business; it's best we stay out of it. I suspect our driver has almost finished repairing the car. Let's head back soon; it's better not to witness such sinister things."
Guo Fei seemed to be thoroughly frightened by the skeleton they had just encountered, nodding repeatedly as he pulled Wei Ning along without looking back.
The two made their way back, the car parked halfway up the mountain. Dim lights flickered inside, and a few travelers sat scattered along the mountain path, waiting for the driver to fix the vehicle.
Wei Ning felt increasingly uneasy, though he couldn't pinpoint what was wrong. A sense of panic gnawed at him, while Guo Fei's mind was consumed with thoughts of eliminating the terrifying skeleton they had just seen. The more people there were around, the safer he felt, so they hurried their pace.
"Wait, let me think," Wei Ning said as he grabbed Guo Fei's arm.
"Come on, the car won't wait for us. If we miss it, we'll have to walk back."
"No, there's definitely something wrong with this car. I can feel it; the Evil Energy inside is too strong, it's not normal."
"You must still be shaken by that old guy. How could it be? There are so many people here..."
"Exactly! That's what's strange..." Wei Ning shook his head. "Let's sit here for a moment and assess the situation. I'm sure I can figure out what's wrong."
"Why are you suddenly so timid? That old guy scared you so much. I'm telling you, if he showed up in front of me now, I'd—"
Guo Fei pretended to throw a punch but was abruptly interrupted when someone patted him on the shoulder. He turned around and nearly collapsed in shock.
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