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墨書 Inktalez
“Me?!” I exclaimed, nearly jumping out of my seat. “What does this have to do with me? I'm just an ordinary person!”
“You may be an ordinary person, but you’re already involved!” Old Zhou said calmly, looking at me. “I don’t know what’s happening with the situation on the cloth. If he wakes up, you’re in trouble; if he doesn’t wake up and the people behind this leak the information on purpose, the Buzhang Family will come after you. You won’t be safe either!”
I slumped back against the chair, groaning, “It’s over, it’s over! The situation on the cloth is hopeless, and I’m doomed too! What in the world is going on?!”
Old Zhou didn’t respond. He picked up his unfinished Rice Noodles and started eating again. Suddenly, I looked up at him and asked, “Old Zhou, you’re a Night Watchman, right? You’ll protect me, won’t you? Just like last time in the underground parking lot when you dealt with those Japanese guys?!”
Old Zhou acted as if he hadn’t heard me. After finishing his bowl of Rice Noodles, he wiped his mouth and said, “You’re in the light while they’re in the dark. I can only counter their moves as they come. Ultimately, I’m passive in this situation; you need to look out for yourself.”
“What the hell! Old Zhou, don’t say that! You were so impressive in the underground parking lot! You drew something on my hand and instantly broke the Shikigami on the cloth.”
Old Zhou looked up at me then, his forehead wrinkled like a mountain range. “That was because the Shikigami on the cloth hadn’t fully matured yet. Do you want to know why someone is messing around behind that cloth?”
I nodded.
“It’s because when that person was killing a girl who had her soul devoured by the Shikigami on the cloth, I happened to arrive just in time. Like you, I thought it was someone manipulating things from behind the cloth, but after engaging him in battle, I realized it wasn’t. He was very powerful—I lost.”
“What?” I was bewildered. Old Zhou seemed like a god to me now; he lost? But when Ah Huang took me there before, where were the signs of a battle?
Old Zhou pondered for a moment before pulling something out from his pocket and handing it to me. I looked down to see it was a paper cut into the shape of a tiger made from some unknown material. This paper looked somewhat familiar—where had I seen it before?
“You asked me what I’m good at, right? Let me tell you—I’m best at Illusion Beast Technique! I once summoned an illusionary beast tiger. Unfortunately, that person released a fire-breathing monster that shattered my illusion immediately. He didn’t dare linger and quickly escaped.”
Oh! It clicked; no wonder when Ah Huang and I went to check out the scene in the underground garage last time, I found some burnt paper around a corner that looked just like this one in my hand. I turned it over curiously but couldn’t imagine how this thing could transform into a real tiger.
Seeing my skepticism, Old Zhou chuckled lightly. “Buddy, you don’t believe me?”
“Call me Wang Wei! Old man, all of this is just too unbelievable for me right now. I think I should go home and get some sleep to digest all this—it’s hard for me to accept all at once!”
“Hahaha! Looks like you still don’t believe me. That’s fine; slowly you’ll encounter these things!” Old Zhou reached out and took back the paper. However, from what he said, it seemed like I would have to face such situations again? No matter how I looked at it, Old Zhou's smile felt both lewd and eerie.
"By the way, Old Zhou, what exactly is the Soul Retrieval Technique? Did it come from China to Japan?"
Old Zhou sighed. "Well, I heard it from my master, and my master heard it from his master. It's all passed down orally, so I don't know if it's true or not, and there's no way to verify it. Apparently, Soul Guiding is actually called the Lost Soul Chant! The Lost Soul Chant originates from an ancient form of Blessing Technique. My master's master was a descendant of the Blessing Technique, which is how I know this. It is said that the complete Lost Soul Chant can leave listeners in a daze, turning them into empty shells without consciousness. After many wars, the Lost Soul Chant gradually became fragmented. Later on, during the early years of the Republic of China, it seems that the remnants were taken to Japan, and China lost it. My ancestor has a thrilling story about this; he experienced part of it himself and can tell you about it if you get the chance."
I listened with great curiosity and wonder. After pondering for a moment, I asked, "So according to you, not many people would know about the Lost Soul Chant now. However, I once saw a post about Soul Guiding on a domestic forum. Does that mean there are still people in China who know about these things? Or does it imply that there are still other Night Watchmen or Destroyers out there?"
Old Zhou thought for a moment. "If you definitely saw Soul Guiding in that post, then at least that person doesn't know much. As for whether there are Night Watchmen or Destroyers, I'm not sure."
Old Zhou lowered his head, his voice becoming quite despondent. "I haven't been able to contact any other Night Watchmen for nearly twenty years now. I think I might be the last Night Watchman left. Many years ago, I had a partner and disciples, but who knew they would all leave me one by one? Now I'm left living alone in solitude. I haven't seen a Destroyer appear in a long time; perhaps both Night Watchmen and Destroyers have faded into history."
A wave of sadness washed over me inexplicably, but I didn't know how to comfort him. All I could do was sigh and say, "The Night Watchmen are meant to protect society's peace. Now that you've achieved your purpose, it's time for you to live well for yourself."
After chatting with Old Zhou for a while longer, I realized that despite his age, he still had a pure heart. I truly didn't know how he had managed to live until now. His life was very simple; he wandered around while observing society, doing this for decades without change. Perhaps he hadn't talked to anyone in a long time because he spoke with me for quite some time.
Eventually, as fatigue began to creep in along with aches all over my body and wounds on my arms, I knew I had to go back and rest properly. Fortunately, the art festival was over; tomorrow I could finally catch my breath. I stood up and called out to the Boss, "Check please!" Turning back to Old Zhou, I thought that wandering around like this wasn't a solution for him either. So I asked him, "Old man, what's your next plan? Is there anything I can help you with?" To be honest, although I still found it hard to fully believe his words, I thought having an insurance policy wouldn't hurt. If Old Zhou stayed nearby instead of leaving, he would essentially be my bodyguard if anything truly strange happened.
Old Zhou shrugged. "No plans; I'll just hang around near the TV station. As for helping me—next time we meet, remember to treat me to a meal! It's been ages since I've eaten so well!"
Watching Old Zhou stand up and reflecting on his words made me feel uncertain but still sincerely wanted to ask him how to deal with these so-called Destroyers. "Old man, do you have any final instructions?"
Old Zhou thought for a moment before solemnly saying, "Two bottles of beer to go!"
I was stunned!
After parting ways with Old Zhou, I took a taxi back to the base with my mind in disarray. Old Zhou really knew how to scare people; several times on the way back, I found myself looking around through the car window and even doubted if I had become paranoid.
No one was disturbed; after exchanging passwords with the guard on duty, I quietly returned to my room without even changing clothes and collapsed onto my bed, falling fast asleep.
This sleep lasted until Sheng Xiong shook me awake. "Company Commander! Company Commander! Time to get up! Breakfast is ready!"
I scrambled up, exclaiming, "What the hell! Sheng Xiong, what time is it?!"
"It's seven forty!"
"Why didn't you wake me up for my run?!"
"The Company Commander and the Instructor came by once. They saw your injuries and told us not to disturb you. I didn't want to wake you either, but the Internal Phone rang, asking you to go after the shift change. I had no choice but to wake you up to eat something."
After a night of sleep, I felt like my injuries had worsened; my whole body seemed to ache. It looked like I would have to visit the hospital again today. Well, I might as well check on those two girls in the hospital, I thought to myself.
I finished breakfast in a few bites and took off my Work Uniform. It then struck me that I hadn't returned it yet. So, I instructed Sheng Xiong to gather my clothes and Work Permit so I could take him out later to return them to the television station. Sheng Xiong, knowing he would get to go out soon, bounced around like a child as he left!
Sigh, these kids are getting too wild. The Training Commencement is approaching; they need to focus. I reminded myself that once this matter was settled, I would need to shift my focus to preparing for the Training Commencement!
After washing my face and tidying up a bit, I changed into my regular clothes and got ready to head to the office.
(To be continued; more exciting content tomorrow!)
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