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墨書 Inktalez
The next day, I woke up alongside Captain Wu. Since it had gotten too late the previous night, we decided to rent a room outside instead of going back, as the dormitory no longer felt safe.
After washing up, Captain Wu and I headed out for breakfast before arriving at the police station. As soon as we got there, we learned that the sketch artist had already drawn a likeness of the man.
This news made me very happy. Together with Captain Wu, I went to collect the sketch, only to find that it was a drawing of He Wei.
Captain Wu and I exchanged surprised glances, and after confirming with the sketch artist multiple times, he assured us that it was indeed him. He had previously shown the sketch to that homeless man.
This revelation left both Captain Wu and me puzzled about how He Wei could be connected to Old Man Huang and the bodies at the hospital.
After thinking for a moment, Captain Wu excitedly said, "Little brother, I just realized something! Didn't you mention that He Wei was raising corpse souls? And Old Man Huang is related to rats and snakes. You know that only practitioners of dark arts would associate with rats and snakes. Isn't this connection between raising corpse souls and Old Man Huang significant? Perhaps Old Man Huang is helping He Wei raise those corpse souls!"
Captain Wu's theory seemed plausible, but I still felt that Old Man Huang wasn't that powerful. However, since the clue pointed to He Wei, it was undoubtedly crucial.
In any case, we were currently observing He Wei, hoping for some leads. But first, we needed to deal with the ghosts in the cinema; having so many spirits in an area populated by the living could cause disturbances.
Wait a minute; I seemed to have thought of something. Could it be—
I immediately called Uncle Tiger to ask him about a few things. To my surprise, his response aligned perfectly with my thoughts.
After hanging up, I grabbed Captain Wu and rushed outside. Captain Wu was bewildered by my sudden action and asked where I was going. Instead of answering directly, I told him to take me to the market because I needed to buy some things.
Seeing my serious demeanor, Captain Wu asked if Uncle Tiger had told me something important again.
I replied with a simple "yes," which was somewhat true.
Once we arrived at the market, I headed straight for the Paper Offering Shop where Boss worked. Although I didn't understand why Boss had said those things to me before, it was what Uncle Tiger suggested.
When we reached the Paper Offering Shop, Captain Wu frowned after getting out of the car; he seemed uncomfortable being there and asked why we were back. I was surprised by his reaction since Boss had not charged us for our Five Coin Emperor offerings last time. Logically speaking, Captain Wu should have had a good impression of Boss. Curiously, I asked him what was wrong.
Captain Wu shook his head and said it was just a feeling he had as a police officer. I felt helpless; since the Paper Offering Shop was open for business, I followed him inside.
Boss was sitting in the middle of the shop, seemingly focused on arranging something. He didn’t notice us enter until I cleared my throat a few times. When he finally looked up at us, he greeted us with an odd smile that sent chills down my spine; perhaps it would have been better if he hadn’t smiled at all.
"Little brother, we meet again. What would you like?" the Paper Figurine Boss asked.
I replied to the Paper Figurine Boss, asking if there was anything here to capture ghosts.
The Paper Figurine Boss looked taken aback and said, "Can you really capture ghosts?"
Faced with the Paper Figurine Boss's skepticism, I felt a bit embarrassed and cleared my throat awkwardly. The Paper Figurine Boss, being quite perceptive, quickly changed the subject and asked, "What kind of ghosts are you looking to capture? There are two types: red ones and white ones."
I was momentarily stunned; how could ghosts be categorized by color? What was the difference between the two? It seemed impossible to tell. The Paper Figurine Boss seemed to sense my confusion and explained, "The Red Ghost Soul is an Evil Spirit, what we call a vengeful ghost. It can harm people and carries a heavy grudge. The White Ghost, on the other hand, poses no threat to humans."
I thought for a moment; it seemed that the ghosts in the movies we watched didn't harm us, so they must belong to the category of white ghosts.
I told the Paper Figurine Boss that we were looking for white ones. He nodded and instructed me and Captain Wu to wait while he went inside to get something for us. He also warned us not to touch anything in the shop or speak to anything that might appear there; otherwise, he wouldn't take responsibility.
After the Paper Figurine Boss left, Captain Wu leaned in and whispered in my ear, "Little brother, this Boss is getting weirder by the minute. What could this little shop possibly have?"
Just as Captain Wu finished speaking, we heard something fall. It turned out to be a lantern hanging above us. But why would it fall for no reason?
While Captain Wu and I were puzzled, we suddenly heard the laughter of a child nearby.
In an instant, both Captain Wu and I froze. That laughter was unmistakably close, echoing around us.
We quickly looked around but saw no one. Where was that laughter coming from?
Suddenly, a chill ran down our spines. Could it be that the Paper Figurine Boss was raising little ghosts?
At that moment, I felt a tap on my shoulder. Thinking it was Captain Wu, I turned around only to be startled by a creature resembling a bat. I jumped back in shock, drawing Captain Wu's attention with my scream. When he saw this creature before us, he immediately pulled out his gun and shot at it. However, this only angered the bat-like creature as it lunged toward us ferociously. My eyes widened; this attack could seriously injure me! But just as the creature was about to reach me, we heard its agonizing scream.
I turned around to see that the Paper Figurine Boss had subdued the creature. Instantly, it became docile and even lost its fierce demeanor.
Captain Wu and I exchanged glances in silent agreement. Were we two grown men really outmatched by the Paper Figurine Boss?
The Paper Figurine Boss took the creature into a room inside and returned with a package for me. He then looked at my shoulder and asked, "Little brother, how did you extinguish those Three Flames on your shoulder? What were you doing just now?"
I let out a sound, shook my head, and said I hadn't done anything. A moment later, I felt a tap on my shoulder from that creature, prompting me to turn around.
Upon hearing this, the Paper Figurine Boss immediately became serious. "Little brother," he said, "remember this: no matter who taps your shoulder, never turn around, especially at night. You never know what might be behind you. The Three Flames on your shoulder are very important. Let me help you reignite them; just wait a moment."
With that, I watched as the Paper Figurine Boss walked back into the room. After a moment, he emerged holding an oil lamp.
Curious, I wondered if the Paper Figurine Boss intended to use that lamp to reignite the Three Flames on my shoulder.
He glanced at me and motioned for me to sit down. He warned me that what was about to happen might hurt a bit and told me to bear with it.
Having mentally prepared myself for his words, I nodded and sat down. Captain Wu seemed to sense something was up and asked if I needed his help.
I shook my head; it was just a small matter. However, what I didn't know was that once the Paper Figurine Boss began his work, the pain nearly made me faint. He placed the oil lamp on both of my shoulders and pressed one hand against my head.
Then I heard the Paper Figurine Boss's voice as if he were chanting some kind of incantation.
Before long, I felt a burning sensation in both shoulders, as if something were actually igniting them.
Instinctively, I turned to see what was happening when the Paper Figurine Boss's cold voice reached my ears. "Little brother, there's nothing to see. Don't move; if you get hurt, it won't be my responsibility."
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