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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 49: Fateful Path (Part Eight)
The Mortuary is truly not a place for the living. The Yin Qi is thick and suffocating, and the closer I get, the clearer the cries become. Initially, the sound was stifled, but now it resonates like a wail, piercing through me and driving me to the brink of madness.
The corridor stretches into the shadows ahead, which loom like a gaping maw, ready to swallow any living creature that dares to tread upon the ground. Under the dim light, a clear trail of footprints leads down the corridor to a Double Door.
The Double Door is white; it can only be the entrance to the Mortuary.
Right before me stands the door, pale and ghostly, accompanied by the dim light and my imagination conjuring up the ghastly Corpse Face that lies beyond.
I know this is a dream, yet I find myself uncontrollably gazing at the door, which seems to be waiting for my arrival as it slowly creaks open.
Inside is pitch black, and the cries continue unabated despite my presence.
As one foot steps in, it feels like entering hell. A chill rushes up my leg, causing me to shiver involuntarily. I instinctively try to pull back my foot, but something sticky from beneath grips my shoe like glue.
In a reflexive action, I reach out to grab something; with a click, I unknowingly hit a switch somewhere. The room suddenly floods with light. A strong premonition washes over me that something terrible lies on the ground. As I slowly lower my gaze after the lights come on, I gasp!
The floor appears to be covered with a deep red carpet; my shoes sink into it and become firmly stuck, pulling at countless threads as I attempt to move. Standing amidst this "carpet" is a woman—the source of the cries.
What’s particularly eerie is that this deep red carpet isn’t fabric at all; it’s composed of tears flowing from her eyes.
Perhaps due to the sudden brightness of the room, she finally ceases her weeping. Her face is pale as death, with tears gushing forth from her eye sockets. I have never seen tears that are blood; her eyes pour forth Blood Tears like two streams of crimson water. If it weren't for my presence, these streams would continue flowing endlessly.
It’s evident that her tears have nearly flooded the ground. This woman is clearly not normal. If she isn’t of this world, then she must be a ghost or a spirit. Faced with such a scene, most would surely be terrified to death; however, I remain unfazed and calmly ask, “Who are you?”
The woman slowly raises her head. Amidst her disheveled hair lies a face that is striking yet unnaturally pale—like translucent rice paper devoid of color. It would be strange if she had any color at all in such a place at this time; how could there possibly be a normal person here?
She moves her lips to speak, but before any words escape her mouth, tears begin to flow again. As I attempt to lift my foot to stop her from crying further, suddenly hands emerge from the blood-soaked ground and pull her down forcefully.
I shouted, "Stop..." The woman had already been pulled into the blood water, struggling for a moment before a bubble surfaced and then disappeared.
It was impossible; the blood water underground wasn't that deep. How could a person just vanish? I couldn't believe it. As I moved my feet, I effortlessly pulled myself out—not pulled out, but the blood water had simply vanished. The ground was clean and dry, nothing was there. In the empty room, I was all alone; the scene from just seconds ago seemed like it had never happened at all, as if everything had stemmed from my imagination or perhaps an illusion.
Just as I was moving my feet vigorously, someone called out, "Ma Qi, wake up." What! I'm a man; how could I be so weak? The one calling me was Qin Jian. Seeing me awake seemed to relieve him a bit. "You didn't sleep last night?"
I got up, still haunted by the scene I had witnessed earlier, and lazily replied, "I didn't sleep at all."
"Off stealing cattle? Or doing something bad?"
"Me doing something bad? Hmph! You must be joking." I stood up, patted my head and arms, feeling fine. Then I asked, "What if I forgot about meeting Zhang Xian?"
"Zhang Xian is here; she's outside. I'll go call her..." Qin Jian went out, and I took the opportunity to observe my surroundings. This was a lounge, not a hospital. It seemed I wasn't in a funeral home or at the scene of an incident.
While I was pondering this, Qin Jian returned with a woman following behind him.
The woman looked delicate, her straight hair flowing like satin around her face, revealing a sickly pale complexion. She wore a woolen mini skirt and knee-high boots—very much in vogue. When she looked up and our eyes met, I froze for a moment; my heart skipped a beat. I couldn't help but take another look at her—those eyes and that face were too familiar. Wasn't she the woman crying in my dreams?
Noticing my daze, Qin Jian nudged me with his elbow. "Let me introduce you; this is Zhang Xian." Then he introduced me to Zhang Xian: "This is Psychologist Ma Qi; you can call him Lao Qi or just Ma."
"Come on, don't be ridiculous; I'm still young. Why would you call me Grandpa?"
Qin Jian laughed heartily, "Haha, you're the most shameless one here."
Zhang Xian smiled modestly and said to Qin Jian, "Look at you; you're quite the handsome guy. I didn't expect there to be someone more charming than you."
Qin Jian was known for his carefree demeanor, but now he actually smiled. I was quite surprised. Plus, Zhang Xian's compliment made me happy; I couldn't help but grin foolishly as we all walked out of the room together. Only then did I realize this was a temporary clinic, quite a distance from where the incident had occurred.
Next door was Ge Lai Fu Coffee Bar!
Recently, whenever I have a little free time, I've been studying the Yuan Gang bone structure method. At this moment, seeing Zhang Xian, I couldn't help but want to try it out on her. The bone structure in physiognomy differs from the skeletal system in modern medicine; it mainly discusses specific bones in the head, such as the "Nine Bones," occipital bone, zygomatic bone, parietal bone, and temporal bone. Among these, the "Nine Bones" and occipital bone are the most important. I observed Zhang Xian's facial structure, particularly her cheekbones, which are also referred to as "East Peak," "West Peak," and "Human Palace."
The cheekbones are a pair of joints that should be symmetrical and not protruding or sunken. However, Zhang Xian's cheekbones are asymmetrical; although she has a delicate appearance, one of her cheekbones is slightly sunken, and her zygomatic area is not very full. If these features were more developed, combined with a few minor flaws, I believe she would possess great beauty. It's a pity. Thus, when we sat across from each other at Ge Lai Fu Coffee Bar, I blurted out, "You weren't like this before; did you have plastic surgery?"
Upon hearing my question, Zhang Xian's face flushed bright red with embarrassment. She lowered her head and placed her hands between her legs, fiddling with something unknown while murmuring softly, "That was a long time ago..."
Qin Jian was at the counter talking to the waiter about something when I continued to press on: "Did something bad happen at home after your surgery?"
At this point, Zhang Xian hurriedly looked up at me and nodded, "Is what happened related to my surgery?"
"It is. Your appearance is one that brings misfortune to family and friends; anyone close to you tends to encounter bad luck."
Zhang Xian was stunned, looking shocked as she lowered her voice: "You didn't secretly investigate this and are just trying to scare me here, did you?" Just then, Qin Jian walked over and happened to catch the latter part of Zhang Xian's sentence.
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