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墨書 Inktalez
I was taken aback and looked at my hands, quickly asking, "Am I going to become like you? What exactly happened to you?" He pondered for a moment and replied, "Since we both have had the same experience, there's no need for me to hide anything from you." He pulled out a box from his waist pouch that looked exactly like Lao Yang's box, except his was already open.
"Where did you get this box? How did you open it? What’s inside?" I blurted out all the questions that rushed into my mind upon seeing the box.
He didn't respond immediately; instead, he opened the lid of the box and took out a key, handing it to me. "Take a look at this." I examined it closely; it was a key made of pure copper, with a distinct groove at the tip. Suddenly, I remembered seeing something resembling a gem in the keyhole of Lao Yang's box during my hallucination. I had thought it was stuck inside. Could this be the key to opening that box? As I pondered, he seemed to read my thoughts and said, "Don't rush to open that box yet. Don't you want to know about me and this box?"
"Yes, can you tell me what this is all about?" I asked eagerly. He nodded and sat down on the chair Lao Yang had just brought over.
"I'm just an ordinary person who didn't believe in those supernatural beings, just like you. But suddenly, I died—really died—because of a severe illness," he said calmly. I couldn't believe my ears and questioned him skeptically, "So am I talking to a dead person right now?"
"Yes and no," he continued. "I am alive now, but I was once dead; I came out of the morgue." I stared at him in astonishment, rendered speechless.
Lao Yang stood by, seemingly unfazed, lighting a cigarette and smoking it casually. "So I'm someone who has been declared dead by society. I don't know if you've heard of people being in a state of clinical death," he explained. I nodded, "Isn't that when someone is declared brain dead and their bodily functions have ceased but they come back to life after some time?"
"Exactly. I'm not the first one this has happened to; many others have experienced similar situations around the world. Some were lucky enough to be discovered in time; I was not so fortunate. After coming back to life, I didn't tell anyone and secretly left the hospital. So now I'm a person without an identity."
"But won't your family be heartbroken if you don't tell them?"
"I lost my family in a major earthquake," he replied.
Realizing I'd asked something inappropriate, I quickly thought of apologizing, but he preempted me by saying, "I haven't had family for a long time. I left secretly because I wanted to experience life without an identity. Although there are many inconveniences in life, it's still manageable; after all, I've shed many worries from my past and considered it a fresh start. Who knew years would pass so quickly?" He sighed before continuing, "As for this box, it all started two months after I escaped from the hospital. At first, after coming back to life, I didn't feel anything unusual. But after a month, I slowly began to notice problems with my vision; I started seeing things that ordinary people couldn't see—things that seemed unable to see me at all. Initially, I wasn't scared; just curious."
"What happened next?" I pressed on.
"Eventually, those things began to notice me too and started affecting my life. Until one day..." He asked Lao Yang for a cigarette and took a puff before continuing, "Until one day, I realized they were trying to communicate with me. I attempted to engage with them as well, but they seemed completely uninterested in me. Then I discovered that it wasn't me communicating with them; it was the Void Spirit within me. As for what the Void Spirit is... well, you already know."
I nodded in understanding. "Please go on."
He took another drag from his cigarette and continued, "I couldn't understand what they were saying; hence I mistakenly thought they were communicating with me. After some time passed while I was sleeping one night, I suddenly felt excruciating pain. When I opened my eyes, I found that my Void Spirit was trying to leave my body while another new Void Spirit attempted to take over mine. No matter how hard I resisted, it was futile; that's when it dawned on me—they were discussing how to invade my body. But why didn't my body turn into something like Lao Yang's? That's something I'll never know." He glanced at Lao Yang, who merely sighed deeply and remained silent.
"As for how I got this box—it’s somewhat similar to Lao Yang's experience—but mine was forced upon me by that Void Spirit; otherwise, it would have killed me." He extinguished his finished cigarette and his expression turned serious again as he continued, "The Void Spirit disappeared when I obtained the box; that's why I'm unable to see those spirits anymore."
Curious now, I asked him, "Didn’t you just call them Void Spirits? Why are you calling them ghosts now?"
"Don't you know?" His expression suggested that I should have known this already. Shaking my head in confusion indicated otherwise.
"We refer to spirits with masters as Void Spirits—those attached to people are called Void Spirits—but those without masters are simply ghosts," he explained impatiently before continuing his story. "After obtaining the box, like you experienced hallucinations multiple times—I tried many times to throw it away but ultimately ended up back with it."
Hearing this made me involuntarily interject: "Doesn't it feel like you're being compelled to keep it?"
"Exactly! And after the first hallucination appeared, a mark formed on my hand—just like yours now. Over time it grows larger until it covers your entire arm; at that point your body will no longer belong to you—the Void Spirit can invade your body anytime—and you'll become the Void Spirit—in simpler terms: it becomes you."
Upon hearing this alarming revelation, I quickly raised my hand for inspection and noticed another leaf-like mark appearing on my skin. Panicking slightly, I asked him urgently: "What should we do? Am I just supposed to wait until I'm taken over?"
He scoffed lightly: "Look at me—do you think I'm capable of doing anything? If I could do something about it, I'd never have had to cut off my own hand." He opened the box for me to see its bottom where intricate patterns were engraved as well. At the bottom lay a tree-shaped design with a character clearly inscribed beneath it.
"Do you understand now?" he asked as he looked at me.
I nodded silently but then suddenly had another question flash through my mind: "How did you open the box?"
"You'll understand once your Hao Yin grows," he replied cryptically.
"Does that mean when Hao Yin fully develops it'll automatically unlock the box while simultaneously allowing the Void Spirit to take over?"
"That seems likely enough," he confirmed before adding: "As for what use this key has—you deciding whether or not to open that box related to you is entirely up to you." He handed me the box from Lao Yang's hands: “This is your fate—you decide.”
Holding one hand on the box and one on the key filled with mixed emotions while glancing at the mark on my hand—I thought: “If I don’t open this box then death awaits anyway; might as well give it a try.” Taking a deep breath for courage, I inserted the key into the lock hole; as it turned slowly with a click sound—the lock opened.
Hearing the commotion, everyone gathered around, eager to find out what was inside the Box. I slowly opened it, and what caught my eye was merely a booklet made of sheepskin parchment. Carefully, I took the booklet out and noticed there was also a scroll beneath it, which I retrieved as well.
I placed the items on a nearby table, and the crowd looked on in confusion. Lao Yang, impatient, picked up the booklet and began flipping through it. I quickly asked him what he saw. As he turned the pages one by one, his brow furrowed in concentration. He exclaimed, "If only there was something useful here! The key issue is that there's nothing at all," and handed the booklet to me. I took a look and found that indeed it was completely blank—just an ordinary empty Sheepskin Book with about fifty or sixty pages.
"The problem must lie with that sheepskin scroll," said the One-Armed Youth beside us, as he spread the scroll open. I leaned in to take a look; instead of text, there were various drawings and patterns that left me bewildered. The One-Armed Youth seemed equally puzzled. He shifted aside to let Lao Yang take a look.
Upon seeing it, Lao Yang exclaimed, "This looks somewhat familiar! Ah!" Suddenly, he shouted so loudly that I nearly fell off my chair. "Could you keep your voice down?" I scolded him. Realizing his outburst, Lao Yang cleared his throat twice and said, "I remember now! I've seen these characters when I summoned the Void Spirit before. It seems only the Void Spirit can understand these writings. That's all I know; as for their meaning, I'm not sure."
"How did you come to know about these characters? Did your troublesome Void Spirit tell you?" I asked with a hint of disdain. Lao Yang replied, "No! Remember, it was under the guidance of a master named Yin that I managed to summon the Void Spirit."
"I remember. Could it be he told you this?" I inquired further. Lao Yang confirmed, "That's right; it was indeed him." I glanced at the sheepskin scroll again: "There might be a way hidden within this to break this damned seal. I have to give it a try. Lao Yang, can you still find that master?"
Lao Yang shook his head regretfully. "After all these years, it's uncertain whether he's even alive, let alone finding him." I gritted my teeth and asked, "When did you last see him? Where did you meet? No matter what, as long as there's a glimmer of hope, I won't give up!"
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