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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter of the Night of Souls
Perhaps someone is asking now, is there really such a thing as ghosts in this world? Do those Paper Horses and Paper Figurines really allow the spirits to receive them when burned?
This question has indeed puzzled the Chinese for thousands of years. Am I going to tell you that there are really ghosts in this world? Am I going to tell you that the Underworld is desolate, and Wandering Souls have nothing when they arrive there? Am I going to tell you that if a deceased Relative has lingering attachments or lives a miserable existence, they will often come back to visit you? Ever since I took over the Paper Shop and encountered a series of Ghostly Affairs, I will record everything here...
I still remember clearly that in the month following my Grandfather's passing, he often caused disturbances at the Shop. At that time, I had just graduated from high school, and I was very saddened by my Grandfather's departure. Firstly, there were no more Relatives in this world, and secondly, I felt guilty towards my Grandfather because his greatest wish was for me to inherit his Yin Yang abilities, yet I failed to fulfill his wish.
I initially planned to close the Paper Shop and go out to work since I had no attachments and could go anywhere. However, on the night before I was about to leave, disturbances occurred at the Shop.
That night, I hazily had a dream where I saw my Grandfather. He asked me if I was planning to close the Shop and go outside.
In the dream, I was very aware that my Grandfather had passed away, but I wasn't scared; I simply nodded and said that I wanted to go outside for a walk. My Grandfather then said that the Shop cannot be closed and that I must stay in the store. If I felt lonely being alone, then he would often come back to see me.
After saying this, my Grandfather left, and then I woke up from the dream.
However, when I woke up, I felt a sense of dread because the dream felt so real, as if my Grandfather had truly communicated with me.
But this was only the beginning. Afterward, I kept thinking about this strange dream repeatedly; the more I thought about it, the more incredible it seemed, and the more anxious I became. If the dream was real, I was genuinely afraid that my Grandfather would come back to see me. Although he is my Grandfather, he is also deceased. Just thinking about a dead person wanting to come back to see me made me feel uneasy.
I couldn't fall asleep anymore, so I sat up in bed. Just as I was lost in thought, suddenly I heard a creaking sound from outside in the hall as if someone was pushing open the shop door.
This scared me terribly; could it really be my Grandfather returning? Instantly, chills ran down my spine...
Although it was already deep into the night, I felt wide awake and knew that I hadn't misheard—the sound just now was definitely someone pushing open the door.
I held my breath, listening intently with a sense of dread, and then the sound of "creaking" continued to come from the door outside the hall. Although this "creaking" was not loud, it felt particularly jarring in the dead of night...
The "creaking" sound lasted for a while, and then suddenly I heard the shop door swing open with a loud bang. My heart jumped, and then I heard footsteps that sounded like they were coming in from outside.
The front hall of the shop was where various paper crafts were displayed, while the back hall contained some coffins and a place for cooking. Next to the back hall was the room where I was currently sleeping.
I could only hear those footsteps coming in through the door, directly crossing the front hall and heading towards the back hall. This made me feel even more certain that it was my grandfather, because if it were other wandering spirits wanting paper crafts, they would have found what they needed in the front hall and wouldn’t come to the back hall.
At this point, I was already feeling goosebumps all over, my hair standing on end. Just then, I heard the sound of dishes clattering in the back hall, along with the noise of bowls being stacked together.
I kept asking myself if my grandfather had returned. At that moment, I heard him opening the cupboard and placing bowls inside before closing the cupboard door. I was extremely nervous and hesitated whether to get up and run away when I heard footsteps approaching my room. Then, the door connecting the back hall to my room creaked open.
Thinking that my grandfather had actually come into my room to check on me, I was so scared that I jumped out of bed, clutching my blanket and ran out with my eyes closed...
My grandfather often washed dishes at night because he had to make paper figurines and do business during the day. I usually went to bed early, so I often heard him washing dishes in the back hall from my side room. The sound was exactly the same as what I had just heard, even down to the sequence of actions.
That night, I spent the entire night in the village's elementary school classroom and didn’t dare return to the shop until dawn. However, ever since that night, my grandfather frequently returned to wash dishes in the shop or came into my room to check on me, which scared me so much that I often couldn’t sleep.
After being tormented by my grandfather for more than half a month, one night I dreamt of him again. This time in my dream, I got angry and asked him why he kept coming back to scare me.
To my surprise, my grandfather scolded me, saying that I was too timid and looked at me with disappointment as if he couldn’t understand why I wasn’t stronger. Seeing his disappointed expression made me suddenly realize that this person before me was my relative who had raised me for over ten years. Although he had passed away, he was still my relative; why should I be angry that he came back to see me?
However, I also understood why he wanted to create such a stir: one reason was that he missed me, and another was that he had unfinished business. So I asked him if he wanted me to stay at the shop and continue running it.
When my grandfather heard this question, his angry expression immediately changed to one of relief. He sighed and said it wasn’t that he wanted to force me into this line of work but rather that it was simply in my fate; it was destined for me to attract evil spirits in this life. When he was alive, he could protect me well enough, but now that we were separated by yin and yang, if I didn’t learn some skills properly, there would soon come a time when I'd have to accompany him.
Upon hearing this, I felt both shocked and touched. I only knew that I was born on Ghost Festival on the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month but didn’t realize that I would attract spirits. What moved me was that my grandfather wanted me to inherit his abilities not just for himself but to protect me as well. Thinking about this made me feel guilty for misunderstanding his good intentions and even more guilty for being afraid of my deceased grandfather.
Later, Grandfather told me that there was a book under the cabinet, advising me to study hard, do good deeds, and protect myself well.
After giving these instructions, he left, saying that the Ghost Messenger only allowed him this time to stay in the World of the Living, and now the time limit was up; he had to return to the Underworld and would not be able to come back again.
After waking from the dream, I hurriedly opened the cabinet and indeed found a book under it. It was an old, yellowed handmade book, with the words "Yin-Yang Secret Techniques" written on the cover, looking very much like a martial arts manual.
The so-called "Yin-Yang Secret Techniques" actually discusses various methods of understanding Yin and Yang, determining fortune and misfortune, warding off disasters, and saving lives. At first glance, I couldn't understand anything; it looked like a foreign language to me, and there were even some ancient characters I didn't recognize. However, as I calmed down and studied it page by page, I was surprised to find that the knowledge in this book was truly vast and its theories interconnected in a systematic way.
In the following days, I worked during the day making paper offerings and at night I studied this "Yin-Yang Secret Techniques." Gradually, I learned some knowledge from it.
However, Grandfather was right; I indeed attracted Evil Spirits easily. Ever since I took over the Paper Shop, Ghostly Affairs had never left me...
Speaking of the Paper Shop, this business is far from as simple as people imagine. This ancient industry has many rules and taboos; there are countless details to consider. It is not just about making paper for living people as it may seem.
After all, what we make is meant to be burned for the dead; it cannot be treated casually like items used by living people. Take Paper Figurines for example; they are essentially Yin Yang figures. However, the colors of these Yin Yang figures are very significant: boys must be made in red and girls in green; this is known as Red Boys and Green Girls. Moreover, once a Paper Figurine is made, its eyes cannot be drawn because if they are drawn, it will come to life.
Some may wonder how a Paper Figurine could possibly come to life; that sounds ridiculous! What I mean by coming to life is not that the Paper Figurine itself becomes animated but rather that wandering souls might take advantage of this opportunity to possess the Paper Figurine, thus making it seem alive. Burning such items also has its own rules; for instance, when a man dies, a horse is burned for him while for a woman who dies, a cow is burned. Not everyone who dies gets a White Horse burned for them; otherwise, the deceased would not be able to pass through the Ghost Gate.
Of course, there is another explanation. Some say that when a man dies, he goes to another place for work quickly on horseback. Others say this practice comes from an ancient legend where it was said that people rode flying horses to heaven upon death. Therefore, burning Paper Horses for the deceased is hoped to allow them to ride like those ancient people. As for women burning cows, it is said that women waste a lot of water doing laundry and cooking during their lives; burning a cow allows it to help drink water on the other side to lessen their sins.
Whether you believe it or not, these rules were established by older generations and have been passed down for thousands of years; some rules cannot be easily changed.
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