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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 101: The Drowned Ghost
I returned to the shop, drenched and cursing my bad luck for forgetting to check the calendar before heading out, having been set up by someone.
After taking a shower, it was already past midnight, so I went straight to bed. However, just as I was about to fall asleep, I suddenly heard a noise at the shop door, followed by the creaking sound of it opening.
Hearing this commotion, I immediately woke up, wondering if a thief had come in or if it was a ghost. My paper shop often dealt with ghostly affairs; as I had mentioned before, during the day, living people would come in, but at night, it was usually spirits. Some ghosts had no descendants in the mortal world and no one to burn paper clothes or houses for them, so they sometimes came themselves to buy paper goods.
I perked up my ears and listened. The door opened slowly at first, just a crack, then paused for a moment before being fully opened. At that moment, I heard footsteps—thud, thud, thud...
Realizing someone had entered the shop, I hurriedly got out of bed, quickly dressed, and rushed out of my room into the main area of the shop, ready to confront the intruder about their rudeness in barging into my establishment.
It’s worth noting that while ghosts often visited my shop at night, they were usually polite enough to knock first before asking for paper offerings. After all, I provided them with paper items for free since ghost money was of no use to me. This principle was understood by the visiting spirits; I had never encountered one so rude as to forcefully enter my paper shop.
However, as soon as I burst into the main area, I felt a chill breeze sweep past me. Then there was a loud bang as the door slammed shut behind whatever spirit had just fled from the shop.
I quickly turned on the lights and saw that the floor was covered in water marks; some areas even had puddles. The water marks stretched from outside the door directly into the middle of the shop—clearly left by the ghost that had just entered.
Seeing this, I realized that the spirit that had come in must have been a drowned ghost.
A drowned ghost is what people refer to as a water ghost—a vengeful spirit formed from someone who drowned. They often linger around bridges or riverbanks searching for a substitute to take their place so they can be reborn. Water ghosts are among the most harmful types of spirits; according to the five elements theory, earth can overcome water—when one is buried in earth they find peace. Therefore, any water ghost must first find someone to die in their place in order to escape their watery state and be buried properly. This is why water ghosts seek substitutes and cause harm.
While many spirits had visited my shop before, I had never encountered a drowned ghost because they typically remained in the water and rarely came ashore. Could it be that my recent fall into the river attracted it?
The water ghost is the most harmful; it seems he wants to take my life, which is why he has been following me back. Thinking of this, I couldn't help but feel a bit angry. Today has already been unlucky, and now even the water ghost is bullying me, coming right into my home. In a fit of rage, I rushed out of the shop, following the puddles left by the water ghost on the ground.
I chased after it for several streets and eventually followed the water trail to the bridge I had visited earlier that night.
At this point, it was already one or two in the morning. The bridge was on the edge of town, so there was no one around at this hour. There were no streetlights, and although there were houses a few hundred meters away from the bridge, it was pitch black, making it hard to see any lights on.
Fortunately, the moonlight was bright tonight, so I could clearly see the water trails left by the water ghost. When I reached the entrance of the bridge, I saw a small, dark figure standing in the middle of it, grinning eerily.
How could I not recognize that it was the water ghost? I shouted at it angrily, "You water ghost! How bold of you to come looking for trouble with me!"
The water ghost was displeased by my insult and coldly replied, "What an arrogant human! You dare to curse me? If you're not afraid of me, why don't you come over and catch me?" As it spoke, its eyes glinted with malice.
In a fit of anger, I formed a hand gesture and charged at the water ghost.
However, just as I lunged forward, I suddenly realized something was wrong because my foot stepped into empty space; then I fell down...
At that moment, as my body plummeted, I caught a glimpse out of the corner of my eye and realized that I was still several dozen steps away from the bridge. I had not been at the entrance but rather by the riverbank several dozen steps away. In other words, I had been tricked by the water ghost; intending to charge at it, I ended up falling straight into the river.
I understood that this was the water ghost trying to harm me. Just as this realization hit me, I plunged into the cold river water, which rushed into my mouth, nose, and ears. At that moment, I felt furious; twice in one night falling into a river—how unlucky could one be?
I quickly began to thrash about because I knew how to swim. However, there was a water ghost trying to harm me; if it caught me in this water, it would be dangerous.
But just as they say: fear brings what you dread. As soon as my head broke through the surface of the water, I felt something icy grab my foot. My heart tightened as I shouted in alarm. That thing began pulling my foot down with great force!
That damned ghost's grip was incredibly strong; especially in this river water, I couldn't handle it at all and was pulled back under immediately. Have you ever experienced something like this? In the water, suddenly feeling a hand or something like aquatic plants wrapping around your leg—no matter how much you struggle, you can't break free? That feeling is truly terrifying!
I understood in my heart that the thing pulling at my feet in the water must be the water ghost from earlier. I felt a surge of panic; I wanted to resist, but in the cold river, I couldn't muster any strength. No matter how good my swimming skills were, my feet were entangled by that thing, so no matter how much I struggled, it was futile. After a few thrashes, I felt completely exhausted.
At that moment, cold water poured into my mouth again and again. I could feel the pain as the water surged up my nasal passages to my brain, as if something was squeezing my head, threatening to crack it open.
That hand continued to pull me down. I knew very well that if I was dragged any further, today would be the end for me. Not only would I drown in the river, but I would also become a water ghost, unable to reincarnate for eternity.
However, I also knew that struggling like this wouldn’t free me. Moreover, I couldn't chant spells underwater; as soon as I opened my mouth, river water would rush in, and talismans dissolve upon contact with water. So, I had no choice but to form a Five Thunder Finger gesture, then bent my waist and dove headfirst downwards. In the moonlight, I vaguely saw the water ghost pulling at my feet—it turned out to be an eleven or twelve-year-old child.
At that moment, I couldn’t care less about anything else. The child probably didn’t expect me to dive down, so when our eyes met, he was momentarily stunned. Then, the lightning strike I conjured hit him right on the head...
Suddenly, a scream echoed in my ears, and the hand that had been pulling at my feet immediately loosened. I hurriedly swam up to the surface. After some frantic splashing, I finally reached the riverbank and climbed ashore!
Sitting on the riverbank, I gasped for air. After experiencing such a life-and-death situation, I was still shaken. I wasn’t afraid of ghosts, but I truly feared water.
Just as I was catching my breath, a child's head suddenly bobbed up from the calm river surface with a splash, glaring at me resentfully.
Now that we were on the river's surface under the moonlight, I could see more clearly: this child was indeed only eleven or twelve years old—a boy with a face full of sorrow, staring intently at me. Clearly, he was the water ghost who had tried to harm me!
Seeing him just gazing at me with resentment and not daring to come closer made me realize he was frightened by my earlier Five Thunder Finger attack and recognized that I belonged to the Yin-Yang Dao. However, I became curious about him and asked, "Whose child are you? How long have you been in the water?"
The child responded when he heard my question; he said he was from a certain family and had been in the water for several days. After saying this, he put on a pitiful expression and claimed he was scared down there—cold and lonely—and asked me to save him.
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