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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 111: Dead Loop (Part Nineteen)
The returning figure of Yezi appeared behind me at some point, her ghostly pale face reflecting an increasing sense of fear. Her twisted features occasionally flashed two starkly different expressions, and from her throat came two contrasting voices.
"Please, don't hurt him. I beg you, let me go," it was Yezi's voice.
"Hahaha, you're so naive. There isn't a good person left in this world; otherwise, how could I have died?" came the childish yet cruel voice of the ghost.
At the same time, the corpse on the Surgical Bed, which had shown no signs of life, suddenly sprang up and lunged at me. The instruments hanging on the wall shook violently as if cursed, clashing against each other with sharp, piercing metallic sounds.
The Corpse approached fearlessly, baring its teeth like a monstrous demon from a movie, clawing at me. Caught off guard and disoriented by the nighttime arrival in this place, I had no time to dodge. With a loud rip, my sleeve was torn by the Corpse's grasp, revealing its gaping mouth filled with Smoky Yellow Teeth that exuded a foul stench of decay.
"Teach You Not to Mind Your Own Business. Do you know who he is?" Yezi's demeanor shifted as she watched me being attacked by the Corpse, her tone cold and furious. The surgical instruments in the room were still moving, thin scraps of paper swirling chaotically around us, creating an eerie and terrifying scene akin to a ghostly battle.
As I dodged the Corpse's attacks, I focused my mind and fought to suppress my inner fear. Staying calm, I formed hand seals and chanted incantations: "I respectfully summon the Arhat to the Jade Palace; Jade Emperor's Decree to the Altar; True Word Spell to summon the celestial beings; Subduing Dragons and Overpowering Tigers show your might; Subduing the Tiger Arhat follow my Urgent Command! Exorcism..."
With a swift motion, I directed my energy towards Yezi's grinning face. She let out a ghostly scream and vanished. I struck the Corpse's forehead with my palm. It howled in agony as if melting under a scorching sun like ice cream, quickly dissolving into a puddle of muck. Even its smoky teeth vanished in an instant; it felt as if some creature had been drenched in King Water, disintegrating so rapidly that it was terrifyingly unbelievable.
This place was not suitable for lingering; it was no place for humans. I quickly turned and dashed out of the Long Corridor. The tightly shut doors on either side of the corridor rattled violently as I rushed toward the exit, making sounds reminiscent of fireworks exploding.
As I ran, I spotted someone at the end—a figure standing silently in the shadows, staring blankly at me.
I recognized those familiar eyes as he pointed to my left. Before me lay two paths: one was the seemingly endless corridor I'd been running through, and the other was a Staircase. I couldn't recall how Yezi had led me through these paths or which one we had taken; nonetheless, I followed this person's direction straight toward the Staircase marked as a safe exit.
Thud thud—only my footsteps echoed in the dark space as I descended the stairs. Before long, I heard what sounded like buildings collapsing from somewhere else nearby, causing the entire floor to shake. I stumbled slightly and quickly reached out to steady myself against the wall to avoid falling.
Damn! Who's afraid of whom? Ghosts come for me to collect; demons come for me to slay. Even if a Seductive Ghost appears, I'm not afraid—I'll take it all on. However, right now I'm weak and must escape this building as soon as possible. I sensed that this building wasn't even where I had been hospitalized.
Then I saw something flowing down the walls and stairs that looked like blood. As I stepped closer to inspect it, my shoe soles became caked with something foul-smelling. I ran down another flight of stairs and then another when suddenly I heard cries for help.
"It hurts so much! Help me! It hurts!"
A glaring, crude streak of blood marked the ground, and a girl with a broken body crawled painfully, her mutilated legs dragging behind her. Now, she lay helpless on the ground, her arms outstretched as she looked at me with desperate eyes.
I knew all too well that in a place like this, at a time like this, there were no normal humans around. My heart ached for her, but I still took hesitant steps toward her.
Just as I was about to reach the girl, the guide I had seen earlier lunged at me from the opposite direction, knocking me down. He quickly uttered a few words: "You need to leave; my daughter needs you."
"Chi Zhi Ping?"
Before I could react, Chi Zhi Ping stood up and walked toward the crying girl. As he approached, he said, "I'm sorry. I knew he was deeply guilty but still took his place in prison, allowing him to roam free while you suffered. Now that you've taken your revenge, what more do you want?"
What was happening?
I glanced at the girl and then at Chi Zhi Ping, who was weeping profusely, his face filled with guilt—
So Chi Zhi Ping's death was related to that accident? He was merely an indifferent passerby who must have witnessed his nephew Chiang run over the girl right after getting his driver's license. Out of familial loyalty, he couldn't bring himself to identify the owner of the hit-and-run vehicle as his brother's son.
I didn't leave; it was just a dead evil spirit after all—what was there to fear?
But then the next scene terrified me. The ghost that had seemed utterly incapable of moving suddenly shot up from the ground as if it had sprouted wings and lunged at Chi Zhi Ping, opening its gaping maw to bite him. Its sharp teeth glistened like saw blades. With several savage bites and the sickening sound of crunching bones, Chi Zhi Ping shouted at me with all his strength: "Get out of here!" I had been moving forward but now had no choice but to retreat. I had intended to subdue the evil spirit, but given its rage and my missing Soul Stone, one misstep could make me the next victim.
Damn it! This was the most vicious evil spirit I had ever seen. I took one last look at Chi Zhi Ping; his face was mangled beyond recognition. I believed he had endured countless bites from this evil spirit before.
No wonder Chi Xinrong's father died such a horrific death; his body was terrifyingly disfigured. At the funeral home, they had to stitch up his face dozens of times. It was due to his own condition—his body lost its ability to heal itself and could not recover from wounds. Medicinal treatments were futile; ultimately, he suffered a secondary infection that led to severe decay of muscle tissue. Even antibiotics were useless against him as he succumbed to festering rot.
Strangely enough, his entire body rotted as if afflicted by a spreading plague—not due to an incurable disease like AIDS or any other unclean illness but rather due to an inexplicable sudden ailment. Now seeing the evil spirit devouring him so wantonly, how could he possibly survive with both it and liver cancer attacking him?
A talisman drew a line between the evil spirit and me as I dashed toward the entrance. But unexpectedly, a thick iron chain secured the door, with a rusted lock hanging from it. In that moment, I felt utterly defeated—how had I managed to get into this cursed place when both the chain and lock were intact?
"Is anyone there? Open the door!" I shouted; it was five in the morning—someone should be around. I shook the heavy lock with all my might and pounded on the iron door with the chain repeatedly, creating a loud clanging noise.
I hadn't waited long when a rustling sound from behind startled my heart into my throat. I turned to look back, and a few meters away stood the figure of Chi Zhi Ping.
"Why leave after coming, Zi? It would be so much better if you stayed with us."
Do you remember what Chi Zhi Ping said earlier? His daughter needed me, and I had to survive to get out. Now, his words seemed somewhat unusual. I only hated myself for having picked up a bit of skill but not even mastering a third of what Grandpa knew. Otherwise, dealing with the Evil Spirit would have been no trouble at all.
Chi Zhi Ping's tall figure moved closer to me. In that instant, I realized that the shadow I had seen under Lao Luo's window that night was him. Had Chi Zhi Ping brought the Evil Spirit to attack the gravely ill Lao Luo? At that moment, he must have been entangled with this Evil Spirit.
Thinking carefully, a living person, burdened by guilt, faced something incredibly terrifying but couldn't speak about it. Fear resembled a deadly Dead Loop curse; one person's fear might seem insignificant, but if that fear spread and infected others, they would all suffer under the torment of the Dead Loop curse.
Chi Zhi Ping sacrificed Lao Luo to protect his daughter, and with Li Gui's Evil Arts involved, all my questions would be answered except for one.
I maintained a calm expression as I watched Chi Zhi Ping step closer to me, my fingers forming the Pangu Formula as I prepared for a fight to the death.
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