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墨書 Inktalez
A sudden chill crept up my back, making me forget to light the candles as I nervously asked, "What? What do you mean?!"
In the darkness, I couldn't see Old Wei's expression, but I heard him murmur, "Someone saw the dead man revive."
I took two steps back, feeling my way to the door and opening it. The pale moon hung dimly in the sky, with not a single star in sight. It was eerily quiet all around. I glanced at the spirit hall in the Main Hall; the coffin lay undisturbed on two benches. The light was on in the room to the left of the Main Hall, likely Mo Ping busy with something.
Suddenly, I recalled that night when I encountered the Yin Soldier; it felt just like this. A wave of cold washed over me, and I shivered involuntarily.
At that moment, Old Wei had lit a candle using the light from outside. He walked to the window and closed it before sitting down by the bed with a sigh. He seemed burdened with thoughts, completely unlike his usual cheerful self. After hesitating for a moment, I closed the door and moved a stool from the table to sit beside him. I whispered, "Old Wei, tell me the truth. What has happened in this village? Is it related to the sudden illness of the military officer?"
Old Wei didn't look at me. He pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and took several deep puffs before slowly saying, "Last week, Mo Old Five fell ill and died suddenly. At that time, I was here with that Military Doctor. I had to leave in the afternoon for something else, and that Military Doctor ended up drinking too much and sleeping in the village. Later on, he fainted when he went outside to relieve himself and was found by someone else. When he woke up, he was paralyzed; he claimed he saw Mo Old Five's corpse wandering around the village!"
I gasped in shock and quickly asked, "Is this true?" Old Wei forced a smile. "How would I know? I wasn't there at that moment. However, Mo Old Five's body is indeed not in the coffin." He took several more puffs of his cigarette before continuing with difficulty, "His body was found in the west side of the village in the morning, about fifty or sixty meters away from his home."
"Is that really possible?" I inhaled sharply. "Could it be someone's prank?"
"Impossible," Old Wei replied firmly. "We're all from this village; many are relatives. Who would be so bored as to do something like that?"
I fell silent. What the hell! So that's what happened. No wonder everyone from the army to the county was hesitant to speak honestly; they were all trying to hide this from me. A strange feeling settled in my heart as I looked at Old Wei. "Then why didn't you tell me earlier? Were you afraid I wouldn't dare come?"
Old Wei looked embarrassed and ashamed, keeping his head down as he continued smoking. Seeing him like this made it hard for me to say anything further. I stood up and paced around the room. After more than a year of training in the army, I'd learned not to jump to conclusions easily. The truth behind this situation was something I still found hard to believe; aside from my skepticism about demons, there was another major reason: I suspected this was merely an excuse.
Why did I think so? It related closely to what I'd learned from old employees at the Armed Department and what I'd observed firsthand upon arriving here. These villages were remote and impoverished; according to Armed Department standards, there was hardly any benefit here—no one would willingly trek through mountains just to waste their time.
Yet work had to be done regardless. It seemed that Military Doctor had been intentionally assigned by the Receiving Unit Leader to these villages against his will; he just happened to encounter Mo Old Five's funeral and used it as an excuse for hospitalization due to sudden illness—creating a dilemma for Receiving Unit Leader since later on, Military Doctor would be responsible for signing off on troop inspections. Little did they know that Receiving Unit Leader reported this matter back to their regiment; perhaps due to connections with Receiving Unit Leader, they somehow passed this information along to Medical Unit personnel who ultimately refused to come—leaving me as a substitute.
Thinking along these lines made me feel quite certain about my theory. Turning back around, I smiled slightly at Old Wei. "Old Wei, don't overthink it; many things aren't real just because you haven't seen them with your own eyes—what you pass on can turn into something real."
Upon hearing this, Old Wei tossed his cigarette butt onto the ground and stepped on it twice before saying, "Someone claimed Mo Old Five was possessed; he started talking nonsense days before he died and acted strangely—he might have been possessed by a ghost! But don't worry; I've already discussed it with the village chief—we'll stay here at Mo Ping's place tonight since they buried Mo Old Five at noon."
“Old Wei, do you believe in this?” I suddenly asked, not continuing the previous topic.
“I... I believe,” Old Wei hesitated for a moment.
I fell silent again, as memories of past eerie experiences flooded back to me, including encounters with Yin Soldiers. Is there really such a thing as ghosts in this world?
The air in the room felt a bit stale, making me feel somewhat suffocated. Perhaps it was due to Old Wei smoking. I stood up and opened the door, intending to step outside for some fresh air. Once outside, I noticed Mo Ping busying himself in the shed across from me, so I walked over to see what he was doing.
After asking, I learned that Mo Ping was boiling water for us. It gets chilly in the mountains at night, and having hot water to wash up would make sleeping more comfortable. I felt quite touched and patted Mo Ping on the shoulder, asking him to take me to the Main Hall to pay respects to his father. To be honest, it would have been fine if we had just rushed off earlier, but now that we were staying at his home overnight, it wouldn’t be right not to pay our respects.
Mo Ping seemed surprised, perhaps not expecting me to make such a request. He quickly wiped his hands clean and led me to the Main Hall. The setup for the memorial was quite simple: a table with a portrait of the deceased, incense, and some basic offerings—fruits and steamed buns. In front of the table were two benches supporting the coffin, which was half-covered. I stood before Mo Ping's father—a plain middle-aged man from a rural background—and symbolically bowed a few times with incense in hand. I reminded Mo Ping to take care of himself, adjust his mindset, and prepare for his enlistment.
After returning to the room, Old Wei and I didn’t continue discussing that topic. We briefly talked about tomorrow’s itinerary. When Mo Ping brought us hot water for washing our faces and feet, we ended our conversation and each took turns cleaning up.
Mo Ping laid out a mat on the floor covered with straw and topped with thick blankets that looked very comfortable. I had intended to sleep, but Old Wei insisted on lying down first, leaving me no choice but to change out of my uniform into a tank top and shorts before lying on the bed.
Seeing that we were getting ready for bed, Mo Ping wisely stepped outside and closed the door behind him. In that moment, Old Wei blew out the candle, plunging the room into darkness. I glanced at my luminous watch; it was just past nine in the evening.
It was about the same time we usually went to sleep in the army. As I thought about this, Old Wei started chatting with me again, asking where I graduated from, what year I enlisted, whether I was married or not, and so on. After a while of idle chatter, I began to feel my eyelids grow heavy and my head slightly dizzy; it seemed that the effects of the white liquor were creeping back up on me. Amidst our casual banter, I finally drifted off to sleep…
I don’t know how long it had been when I was suddenly jolted awake by an intense urge to urinate. Opening my eyes revealed nothing but darkness around me. It took me a moment to adjust before I gradually made out some vague outlines of furniture. Slowly sitting up, I decided to step outside for relief.
I slipped on my shoes without putting on my uniform and made my way toward the door. Feeling along the wall, I managed to open it; a cool breeze rushed in as night air chilled like water enveloped me. Despite the faint moonlight illuminating the yard, I could only discern rough shapes of objects within it. The surroundings were eerily quiet; glancing toward the Main Hall revealed it was completely dark—had Mo Ping fallen asleep while keeping vigil? Didn’t he notice that all the lights were off? My mind filled with confusion.
The intense urge to urinate once again stimulated my nerves, and I couldn't help but step outside. After walking a few steps to the right, I planned to relieve myself by the corner of the wall.
As I turned to the side of the house, I instinctively glanced around and, seeing nothing unusual, began to relax. Just as I finished and was pulling up my pants, I felt a cold wind rush at my back!
I instinctively sidestepped and saw a large black shadow darting past me, blocking my way back into the house. Squinting, I realized it was that big yellow dog—tall and stocky, covered in coarse fur, with a wide mouth and glaring red eyes! It looked ready to pounce!
I was taken aback; wasn't this dog supposed to be tied up? How did it get free? If I had a weapon in hand, I wouldn't be afraid of it, but now, unarmed and facing its gaping jaws, I felt helpless. Thinking quickly, I focused on its eyes and slowly backed away. If things got too dangerous, I could run out and close the main door, then call Mo Ping to help tie it up.
As I managed to create a distance of two or three meters from the dog, it suddenly growled low in its throat and lunged at me. Cursing under my breath, I turned and ran. The gate was only four or five meters away; I was confident in my speed.
With a burst of energy, I dashed toward the gate. Luckily, it wasn't latched. I yanked it open and bolted outside, slamming the door shut behind me just as I heard a loud thud—the dog crashing against the door! Thankfully, that impact helped secure it closed. I quickly gripped the doorknob tightly while shouting, "Old Wei! Mo Ping! Come out quickly; the dog has gone mad! Help me!"
Before I could call out again, I suddenly felt a tight grip around my neck—a pair of icy hands clamped down from behind with such force that I couldn't make a sound. The pressure increased relentlessly until I could barely breathe! Holding my breath, I clutched the doorknob with one hand while desperately trying to pry off the hand around my neck with the other. After managing to catch a bit of air, I turned sideways and lifted my left leg, preparing to kick this person away.
When I turned my face to see who it was, shock coursed through me! That face—it was Mo Ping's father from his photo! His eyes glowed red like that of the dog’s as he fixed his gaze on me. Suddenly, he opened his mouth wide and lunged for my throat!
(To be continued...)
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