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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter Sixty-Five: Heading to Liu Family Village
As soon as I received the call, I agreed without a second thought. After all, it was something I had promised earlier. Even if Liu Family Village were a volcano, I would definitely accompany them.
It was midnight when I took the call. I arranged with Wang Team to wait for them on the main road in the city, and they would set off shortly.
After hanging up, I got dressed and got out of bed. Master Ma asked me what I was doing out at this hour. I didn’t tell him I was going to work in a Ghost Village; instead, I lied and said a friend had asked me to take care of something.
Seeing that I was going out, Master Ma advised me to mind my own business and warned me that my luck had not been good lately, especially to avoid rushing into any ominous places.
I nodded, then grabbed my bag and headed out the door.
To be honest, hearing Master Ma say that made me feel uneasy. I wondered if Old Man was right; after all, the Ghost Village I was heading back to wasn’t exactly a friendly place. Hopefully, nothing dangerous would happen as he suggested.
Standing on the main road, it wasn’t long before I saw a police car with its sirens blaring approaching me. Since it was late at night and there were no other pedestrians around, they spotted me from a distance. Once they arrived, Wang Team warmly shook my hand and thanked me for supporting their work at such an hour.
I smiled and then asked how the report came in this time.
Wang Team explained that they had received two reports from Liu Family Village. The first call was from a girl who said her family had been killed by her brother and asked us to apprehend him. The second call was from a boy who claimed he had killed someone and wanted to turn himself in. Both callers identified themselves as being at the old house number seven in Liu Family Village.
After finishing his explanation, Wang Team asked for my thoughts.
I replied, "What else could it be? It must be a case reported by ghosts."
Everyone fell silent in the car; clearly, they were still haunted by their previous experiences. So I stated that it was likely the work of ghosts, and they did not deny it in the slightest.
After a few minutes, we arrived at the local town. This time, Team Leader Wang did not notify the local police station but parked the vehicle by the roadside in the town. Everyone got out of the car and started walking towards Liu Family Village.
This time, there were twenty people in Team Wang, making a total of twenty-one including me. They had clearly made ample preparations, bringing not only flashlights and handguns but also sickles. After all, the road to Liu Family Village was overgrown with weeds, and on such a dark night, without a local guide, it would be difficult to navigate.
After leaving the town for about five or six minutes, we reached the foot of a large mountain. Since it was just a few days after July 15th, the moon was still quite bright, allowing us to see the continuous mountain range before us, which looked like a massive beast quietly lying in front of us in the moonlight.
At the foot of the mountain, there was a narrow bluestone path that wound deeper into the mountain. The bluestone slabs on the path were covered in moss due to years of neglect, making them slippery if one wasn't careful. Between the gaps of the bluestone slabs grew weeds over a meter tall, and dense trees on both sides completely obscured this small path that had not been walked for over twenty years.
I was walking near the front with Team Five. Ahead of us were two detectives who had previously been to Liu Family Village, using sickles to clear the way. The mountain path was difficult to traverse, especially at night.
As we walked and chatted with Team Leader Wang, the two detectives suddenly stopped ahead of us. I almost bumped my nose into one of them due to not paying attention.
I touched my sore nose and was about to ask what was wrong when I noticed their expressions were quite strange; they clearly had seen something unusual.
Team Leader Wang and I hurriedly asked them what was going on. One of the detectives who was clearing the path turned back in shock and pointed towards a dense thicket ahead, saying in a panic, "There seems to be someone up ahead!"
Normally, seeing someone would be perfectly normal; there would be no need for alarm. However, this situation was different. We were in a remote mountain area, and this path led to Liu Family Village, which was rumored to be haunted. Given that this road hadn't been traveled for over twenty years and was now overgrown with weeds, encountering someone here would indeed be surprising and even eerie.
At that moment, both Team Leader Wang and I became tense; in fact, everyone else did too. Suddenly, everyone fell silent, hands resting on their holstered guns while their eyes scanned their surroundings warily.
I quickly moved to the front and looked in the direction indicated by the clearing detective. About thirty or forty meters ahead stood a figure in black clothing.
The person wore a conical hat and held a red lantern as they slowly approached us. The lantern was partially obscured by weeds taller than a person, making it hard to notice unless one looked closely. However, upon closer inspection, we could see that this figure in black with a conical hat had a lantern that flickered dimly in the darkness.
As the figure drew closer, everyone could see clearly that it was an elderly man in his seventies. He walked very slowly and made no sound; all we could hear were our own rapid breaths and heartbeats.
At this moment, Team Leader Wang panicked and didn't know what to do. He asked me whether this old man approaching us was human or ghostly.
As soon as I asked this question, everyone turned to look at me. I glanced at the Old Man, who showed no signs of anger, then I activated my Heavenly Eye and discovered that there was not even a trace of Yang Fire on him. I turned to everyone and said, "The person is a ghost. Don't panic, and don't engage with him unnecessarily. Just follow my lead."
Once I spoke, everyone became tense. Even these detectives felt fear deep down when facing a ghost.
I took the lead and urged everyone to continue walking forward without fear.
Although I said that, I was also a bit nervous myself. After all, the other party was a ghost, and I didn't know their intentions—whether they were good or evil—so I felt some concern.
However, I also knew that when encountering a ghost on a dark road, the first rule is not to show fear. If one becomes frightened and flustered, their Yang Qi would naturally weaken, which could lead to real trouble.
To be honest, knowing that a ghost was ahead and still having to muster the courage to confront it is not something just anyone can do.
Fortunately, we had many people with us this time. Although the detectives were terrified inside, they still forced themselves to follow closely behind me; they just didn't dare to speak up anymore. Perhaps it was because there were many of us that gave them courage, or maybe they felt reassured having me, a ghost catcher, around.
Soon enough, the Old Man carrying a lantern came into view ahead of us. I quietly told everyone to just follow me and act as if they hadn't seen him.
Everyone nodded silently and then I stepped forward again.
Just like that, we finally encountered him. The path was narrow, so I intentionally started moving to the right side from a distance to avoid having to give way later. But just as I was about to pass by him, the Old Man suddenly leaned to the right and blocked my path.
Seeing that he deliberately obstructed my way, I thought to myself that this was bad; it seemed the Old Man was intentionally looking for trouble.
Originally, I planned to pretend not to see him, but now it seemed impossible. He clearly knew we had seen him; otherwise, why would he block our way?
Generally speaking, when traveling at night and encountering ghosts, they usually give way to living beings because living people cannot see them. They fear being bumped into since the Yang Fire carried by living beings could harm them. However, this Old Man was deliberately blocking our path; it was evident he was looking for trouble. If I were to collide with him head-on, my Yang Fire would definitely not harm him but could instead put me in danger.
So, I had no choice but to stop and look up at him. His face was full of wrinkles and he looked emaciated. Due to the Conical Hat blocking the moonlight, I could only see his two eyes dark and hollow like bottomless black holes.
He had a pale face like paper, his tongue hanging out beneath his chin, looking extremely terrifying; he was clearly a Hanged Ghost. In his left hand, he held a long Grass Rope, and in his right hand, he carried a dim Red Lantern. He stood there, blocking my way, with a strange Yin Yang smile.
Seeing his eerie Yin Yang expression sent chills down my spine, and the police officers behind me looked horrified; it was evident they had never truly encountered a ghost before, so they were panicking, even Wang Team was the same.
I steadied my nerves and pretended to be calm as I said to him, "Old man, what happened to you? Why are you deliberately blocking our way?"
Upon hearing this, he chuckled softly and asked me, "Where are you all going at this late hour?"
I didn't answer him but instead retorted, "Why aren't you staying home at this hour? Where are you wandering off to?"
The Old Man replied, "I came out for a stroll to see if anyone was entering the mountains. I didn't expect to run into you. But why are you all here in the mountains at this late hour? Aren't you afraid of ghosts?"
As he spoke, the Old Man looked at us with interest and smiled ominously.
If it were anyone else, they would surely be unable to withstand his chilling laughter and would turn to flee because he was intentionally trying to scare people, instilling fear and dread so that he could claim their lives.
However, today he encountered me. Although I felt scared and nervous inside, I certainly wouldn't run away from him. So I smiled and said to him, "What's there to be afraid of with ghosts? I've seen them before. If one dares to cause trouble, I'll definitely deal with it."
This was a warning to him: don't play games with me; be careful or I won't hold back.
He clearly understood that he was not dealing with an ordinary person. So he looked me over with interest and then laughed, saying, "You must be heading to Liu Family Village!"
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