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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 1: Another Dimension (Part One)
I couldn't tell if it was sympathy for her or a fondness that had developed into concern; it was all a blur to me.
As for Mi Li, our connection in the virtual space felt both close and distant. She knew my real name, but I only knew her by the nickname Mi Li.
I stared blankly at the computer, hoping she would suddenly appear and cheerfully tell me that everything was fine, that she would live happily from then on.
After waiting for a while, Mi Li never showed up, and I felt quite disappointed as I got up and headed to the bathroom.
I stood in front of the mirror, staring foolishly at my reflection.
As I looked, an odd sensation washed over me; the person in the mirror seemed different from the one in reality. I couldn't bear to look for long. As I turned away, I had the strange illusion that the reflection was still facing me, its cold eyes watching my back.
Nervously, I spun around to face the mirror again. The reflection stared back with wary eyes, tense and alert, watching me from within the glass.
I was scaring myself.
Taking a few steps back, a strange sound suddenly echoed from the mirror—fingers scraping against the glass. My scalp tingled as I quickly turned to look again. The reflection showed an incredibly pale face and a neck that was grotesquely tilted to one side, truly terrifying me.
I gasped sharply, swallowing hard as my fingers trembled—
"Help me find her..."
The woman in the mirror vanished, but the blood flowing across the surface was all too real. A sharp metallic scent filled the air instantly.
I shivered all over, stepping forward to touch the blood on the mirror, then looked at my hand. Nothing was there. Damn it, was what I saw just an illusion?
Just as I turned around, a loud shout from the entrance startled me again.
"Magpie, we're back!"
It was Zhu Dachang's voice. I leaped with joy and rushed outside, seeing my grandfather looking exhausted.
"Grandpa..." I hugged him tightly.
"You little rascal, you're going to shake the old bones right out of me."
"Magpie, hug me..." the chubby one exaggeratedly stretched out his arms for a hug.
"Hug your sister."
I brushed past him and asked Grandpa a flurry of questions, then quickly brought over hot water and towels to make tea.
"Being overly attentive for no reason means there's either something shady going on or you've run into trouble," the chubby one chuckled, teasing me.
He was absolutely right.
The woman who died from a glass cut, and the girl who suddenly appeared at the Funeral Home. These were tricky matters I hadn't encountered before, and I wanted to hear Grandpa's thoughts on both incidents.
Seeing that I remained silent, Grandpa smiled and nodded. "As long as nothing happened at the shop, it's fine. If you have something on your mind, just tell me."
Then I recounted everything that had happened to him.
Grandpa nodded. "Yinling also has her own spirit. Since you promised her and she is cooperating with you to fulfill what needs to be done, you must give her an explanation."
"That girl?"
"The girl, if I’m not mistaken, is someone you foresee dying."
Foresee dying? "So, the girl isn’t dead yet, but something terrible could happen that leads to her death?" I found this unsettling. How could someone who hasn’t died appear before me, especially in the form of a ghost?
"Like attracts like." Grandpa was tired. After a moment of silence, he learned that I was going to the station and muttered, "It’s because you have money on your card; I thought you were just getting a free meal, but it turns out you earned it through your own efforts."
"Grandpa, have you been washing bodies for them all this time?" My nose felt sour as I thought about how hard Grandpa had worked his whole life, doing things no one should have to do, raising me and Fatty. Now, seeing him old and frail, he still had to go to clean bodies for money.
"Silly child, what I do isn’t just simple body cleaning; it’s about giving the deceased their final dignity." Grandpa took a few steps and stopped to say to Fatty, "Wash your face and go out with Qi for a bit. Look for clues to find out the real reason behind the woman’s death."
"Can’t you ask Zhang Ke and the others?"
"They’re in criminal investigation; all their information is confidential. We need to rely on ourselves and not disturb them." I understood what Grandpa meant. The deceased was gone; in the eyes of normal people, a glass cut leading to death was an accident. Only we knew her death was not so simple. The "her" she spoke of could be human or something else entirely.
And then there was that girl from my vision of death—such a lovely girl. How could I help her?
Never mind that for now; I needed to investigate the woman who died from a glass cut.
While at the cleaning facility, I saw her real name on the tag attached to the deceased's toe: Ji Xiaoying, age 6, address New Min Wanxin Residential Area.
"This is roughly where she lives. How do we find it?"
"Since Grandpa knows them so well, there are files at the station; you can ask him for help."
"No need for Grandpa's help; I have my own way."
Pang Da was puzzled and watched as I turned and entered the bathroom.
I filled the bathtub with water and simply stepped in, lying down horizontally in the tub.
"Ma Qi, what are you doing? Are you trying to commit suicide?"
What an idiot. I couldn't be bothered to respond to him. I closed my eyes and slowly sank down, murmuring in my heart: Ji Xiaoying, if you want my help, give me your details.
Before long, the uniquely terrifying face of Ji Xiaoying appeared. She whispered softly, her voice piercing through the air. I understood her message, but couldn't stand the coldness of the water any longer. With a sudden gasp, I sat up in the bathtub.
You won't believe what happened next.
Sitting up left me completely bewildered.
The surroundings were not my home.
It was an unfamiliar environment.
Ever since I could remember, my grandfather had held me underwater to communicate with those entities. He extracted information from me to help both people and spirits. But I never expected that this time I would end up here myself, caught in a scenario straight out of a time-travel drama.
I had crossed over into another space through the water.
Swish—sounds of mopping echoed around me, and there was a faint yet pleasant fragrance in the air, reminiscent of a woman's perfume. I rose from the water, disregarding my dripping wet body, and walked toward the source of the sound.
If this were a dream, it was utterly ridiculous. What lay before me could only be described as luxurious—superb chandeliers and imported tiles on the walls and floors! Not to mention the fragrant wallpaper.
In the room, there was a woman mopping the floor.
The woman seemed to sense my presence and slowly turned around. When she did, I was stunned.
It was Ji Xiaoying!
This shock hit me like a bomb, leaving me disoriented and unable to tell east from west.
Ji Xiaoying appeared to hear something, placing the dust mop against the wall as she walked toward the window.
There was a fish tank by the window, and she muttered softly, "Why is it leaking?" As she spoke, she unplugged it and cradled the tank in her hands, heading toward the kitchen, presumably to change the water. I recalled the glass cut on her neck; it was that piece of glass spinning in mid-air that had taken her life.
Thinking of this made me gasp in alarm, and I impulsively ran toward her, urgently shouting, "Don't..."
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