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墨書 Inktalez
I suddenly found myself utterly weary of my current life. The feeling of not knowing whether I would still be alive in the next moment was both infuriating and terrifying. I have never been one to fear death, but if I must die, I would prefer it to be swift. Living in constant anxiety is something I can no longer endure.
What I think about now is that if I were given another chance, I would never come to this cursed place. There’s no reward, nothing to gain; just endless struggles that leave me battered and bruised. What the hell is the point of all this? Yet, as much as I complain, if I truly had another chance, I might still choose the same path. Our group of nine has now lost four members; one was possessed by Nv Ba and fled, leaving only the four of us behind. If it weren’t for searching for those missing four, my senior sister wouldn’t have ended up in such a wretched state—neither human nor ghost.
Thinking of my senior sister makes my heart ache. If she were gone too, I would have no face left to meet Yue Master.
Perhaps it was this jumble of emotions that distracted me from noticing the movements of others around me. I felt a surge of nameless anger building up inside me, wanting to shout and lash out. But damn it, a shred of reason held me back, preventing any release and leaving me feeling stifled.
It wasn’t until several seconds later that I finally calmed down and realized the eerie silence surrounding me. Aside from my own breathing, there were no signs of life at all.
My heart sank at that moment, an indescribable sorrow washing over me. Could it be that my junior brothers had all fallen to their deaths? Was I truly left all alone? As this thought crossed my mind, tears streamed down my face.
Just then, I felt a hand that still bore some warmth. Judging by the calluses on that palm, it could only belong to my junior brother! This kid, even in death, managed to be so noble as to serve as my human cushion, allowing me to survive. My heart swelled with both gratitude and sorrow; tears flowed freely as I grasped his hand tightly. “Dui, your kindness can only be repaid in the next life. Don’t worry; while I cannot bring your body back to Luoyang for burial, I won’t just leave you here to rot in the wilderness… At this point, all I can do is cut off your arm and take it back for a proper burial… From now on, I’ll be all alone in this world—how lonely that will be…”
With that thought, I steeled myself against the pain and pulled out my staff, gathering all my strength to strike down. With a thud, I missed and hit something metallic instead. When I reached down again, strangely enough, my junior brother’s hand was gone. At the same time, a rustling sound suddenly came from behind me.
I jumped up in alarm; chills ran down my spine as the rustling transformed into distant wails that grew closer. Oddly enough, the sound seemed to echo from the sewer below—a high-pitched voice that resembled a woman’s voice being choked.
I had dropped my flashlight somewhere during the commotion; in this pitch-black space, hearing such a heart-wrenching cry was unnerving—there was no way I could not feel fear. My hand clung tightly to the staff as my body instinctively took a defensive stance, intently “watching” the direction from which the sound came.
Cold sweat trickled down from my forehead into my eyes—it was both itchy and stinging—but I dared not move an inch for fear that any lapse in vigilance would allow whatever it was to burst forth from the sewer.
The wails grew louder and closer; with each echoing cry, it seemed as if the sound surrounded me from all directions. Some cries were even right next to my ears. The sensation felt damp and chilly—as if a cold tongue were trying to slither into my ear.
Oh no, could it be that I've fallen victim to some kind of curse? In this critical moment, I found myself completely immobilized! That tongue had wrapped around my entire body like a silkworm cocoon, and damn it, I was about to become a ghost!
Just when I thought it was all over, someone suddenly yanked me back. I was about to scream when a clammy, foul-smelling hand covered my mouth. I couldn't tell who it was, but someone struck a match and quickly tossed it to the spot where I had just been standing. In that instant, as the match flared to life, my eyes locked onto a figure only half a meter away from me.
This sight made me gasp in shock—not because the creature looked particularly grotesque, but because I recognized it.
The creature was drawn by the light of the flame and turned its gaze toward us. Just as it was about to pounce, it noticed the firelight flickering along a curve and dropped down to lick at the ground like a starving dog.
The thought that this thing had just drilled into my ear made my stomach churn violently; I nearly retched. My companion, Old Qiao, pulled my palm away and scratched four characters into my hand: "Cai Yang Bu Yin." I immediately realized that this creature fed on living beings to gain power and held my breath.
However, holding my breath was not a viable solution. The creature treated the match as if it were a source of nourishment, licking it with relish before swallowing it whole. Darkness enveloped us once more, leaving only the sound of its tongue slapping against its saliva—a noise that sent chills down my spine. Once it finished digesting the match, it turned its head again, sniffing at us with a "hissing" sound.
It seemed this creature couldn't see; it relied on its sense of smell to detect living beings or sensed their warmth. With all four of us huddled together, our combined body heat would be higher than the surrounding area. Even if we held our breath as long as we could, we couldn't escape the creature's pursuit; we were merely delaying the inevitable. Besides, I was already at my limit for holding my breath. Although the creature didn't look appetizing at all, I would rather take my own life than let it lick me.
Lost in thought, the creature drew closer—its gaping maw almost brushing against the hand covering my mouth. The stench emanating from it could knock someone out even through a wall. My companion's grip on my hand trembled; he seemed on the verge of losing control.
Suddenly, a foul tongue slithered out from that rotten mouth, licking up and down my companion's fingers as if confirming the temperature of its prey. The warm saliva trickled through his fingers and towards my nostrils. I fought back nausea and quickly curled my upper lip to prevent any from entering my mouth, but I nearly choked in the process.
In a haze of confusion, I heard my companion curse under his breath: "Damn it!" He tried to pull his hand away.
I refused to let go and immediately grabbed his wrist. As the saying goes, sometimes misfortune is a blessing in disguise; this "blessing" was meant for those closest to me—no gentleman would take away what others cherish.
In our struggle, both of us lost our resolve and thought we were doomed. To our surprise, the creature leaped over us and headed straight for A Li at the back of our group.
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