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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 46: The Invasion of Evil
Qin Jian continued, "The corpse you asked me to examine is somewhat similar to this one. The wound extract from the deceased has a certain anesthetic property. This anesthesia is not very obvious, but once contacted, it prevents any sensation of pain. I believe the time of death was likely about an hour after being attacked by an unknown creature, meaning the victim watched helplessly as this creature wreaked havoc on him without feeling a single bit of pain."
Fearing that I might not understand, Qin Jian went on to explain with a series of metaphors. He compared it to a living person being attacked by an unknown creature whose saliva contained a small dose of anesthetic. Initially, the creature merely attacked him, and he felt no pain, thinking it was no big deal. Then, a swarm of these creatures surrounded him, turning his body into a source of nourishment for them. The victim felt no pain at all; even as the creatures devoured him down to the bones, he would only feel fear and terror, unable to make a sound due to the anesthesia until death claimed him.
Qin Jian's explanation could not have been clearer. I also understood that this incident was directly related to Zhu Gui's death—the so-called unknown creature was a Bat. With this in mind, I asked if they had sought help from any station or forum to vent their frustrations.
The parties involved shook their heads.
Han Mi, Chi Xinrong, and Fatty looked at me with puzzled expressions as I furrowed my brow.
"Fatty, go call Liu Chunhan."
Fatty nodded and left.
Mi asked, "Who is Liu Chunhan?"
"Uncle Zhang's apprentice."
"Oh, are you calling him because they need someone to play the suona?" Chi Xinrong inquired this time.
"No, I'm calling him because he can help me with some tasks. His mind is sharp enough to handle half of what a Mortician would do." As I replied, I felt somewhat uneasy; my thoughts were in disarray.
Chi Xinrong went to wash his hands and turned to leave, leaving Mi busy at the counter alone.
I felt like there was something I hadn't done. What was it?
Zhu Gang's father's Ice Coffin had cracked; I needed to fix it before leaving. With two days until the burial date, I could finalize the new Orders and ask Liu Chunhan for assistance with the preliminary work. Since the Host Family had not requested us to clean the body, we were under no obligation to do so.
After a flurry of activity, things that seemed simple became complicated due to Qin Jian's involvement.
Including Zhu Gang, there were five Orders in total. That would keep me busy for a while; however, it seemed there was still something more important that I hadn't addressed. What could it be? I tapped my head and thought carefully. Suddenly, a light bulb went off in my mind—I remembered about the dark room.
I watched as Chi Xinrong slacked off, still not having come over. I turned to Mi and said, "Wife, please keep an eye on things for me. Just make a note of anything important. I'll be right back." Since Mi arrived at Ma Wu Funeral Home, even after visiting Chi Xinrong's house at night, she had already considered herself part of the Funeral Home. Therefore, she was always eager to help out, and I felt reassured knowing she was on the job. Seeing her nod in agreement, I turned and left.
I headed to the dark room, first wanting to see my grandfather's coffin.
I almost forgot about that empty shell placed inside the coffin. Once I entered the dark room, I closed the outer door securely and carefully checked everything, ensuring that it would be difficult for anyone outside to enter before I felt safe enough to look at the coffin.
I lifted the first layer of the coffin; the silk lining was still there, and a faint fragrance wafted through the air as I opened the lid. When I uncovered the second layer, an unbelievable sight met my eyes: this was my grandfather's body, not some empty shell.
He looked as if he were merely asleep, his face serene and not showing any signs of aging or suffering from illness. In fact, he appeared more vibrant than when he passed away.
How strange!
I muttered softly to myself, recalling the events from that time vividly, yet what lay before me seemed entirely different. In my confusion, it felt as though I saw my grandfather smiling. Suddenly, his eyes snapped open; in the silence, his face glistened with moisture, but beneath his eyelids lurked a chilling and terrifying light.
I shivered and stepped back to take a closer look; my grandfather remained unchanged, eyes closed with his hands resting on his chest. This was how I had arranged him when he passed away. The fleeting illusion just now felt both real and surreal; I found it hard to process and slowly reached out to touch my grandfather's face.
In a daze, one of his hands suddenly shot up and grabbed mine. A wave of icy cold spread through me, freezing my veins and paralyzing my entire being.
"Qi, to achieve great things, sacrifices must be made."
"No..." I struggled desperately, stumbling backward until I hit the door behind me. I leaned against it without taking my eyes off my grandfather as he slowly pushed himself up from the coffin with both hands.
Qin Ye's words echoed in my mind: his grandfather did not want cremation or burial; everything had been arranged beforehand. He had even set up mechanisms in the coffin to preserve his own body, waiting for the right moment to come back to life—was it really true?
Panic surged within me as I felt breathless watching my grandfather approach step by step. I screamed, "No... don't..." then grabbed the Peach Wood Sword hanging on the wall and thrust it toward him.
"Ah..." my grandfather cried out as he looked down at the Peach Wood Sword embedded in his abdomen. Yet there was no expression of pain on his face; instead, he reached down to remove it with an odd expression and said, "Qi, to achieve great things, sacrifices must be made."
"You are a monster! You are not my grandfather..." As I prepared to draw out my short Exorcism sword for self-defense—this was a genuine artifact bestowed upon me by my master—I hesitated because this figure before me was indeed my grandfather. His love and care flashed through my mind like scenes from a movie.
My hand trembled as he approached me with a smile that seemed both warm and fearsome.
"Don't come any closer! I... I won't hold back. If this dagger goes in, you'll surely be finished."
Even so, Grandpa continued to walk straight towards me. Just as I raised the dagger to stab, my phone suddenly rang. I lifted the dagger while pulling out my phone to check the caller ID—it was Qin Jian.
I answered, "Are you here?"
"Ma Qi, listen to me. The person in front of you is Rongrong."
I was taken aback and focused my gaze; it was indeed not Chi Xinrong, but my real grandfather. I asked, "Where is Rongrong?" I didn't want Qin Jian or anyone else to know the reason why Grandpa wasn't buried, nor did I want to involve more people. So I thought it best to act decisively and bravely take a stand against family ties. If successful, I would send Grandpa's body directly to the crematorium and hold a grand funeral as a way to repay his kindness in raising me.
But unexpectedly, someone had intervened—Cheng Yaojin—claiming that the person before me was not my grandfather but someone else entirely.
How could he see what was happening in the dark room?
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