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墨書 Inktalez
I couldn't understand. Standing before me was Uncle Wang, yet Mu Xuanche insisted on calling him Blood Man.
Suddenly, Uncle Wang seemed to transform into a different person. He turned around and stared at Mu Xuanche, his entire face contorting, yet a strange smile lingered at the corners of his mouth.
"Heh heh, I didn't expect you to recognize me, Xuan Wang. Long time no see."
He admitted it. Could he really be Blood Man?
Blood Man? How could he have become Uncle Wang?
When did this change happen? Had he transformed the last time I visited?
He shifted his gaze toward me, and his eyes flashed with an eerie green light that sent chills down my spine.
"Gu Family Girl, long time no see."
I hesitantly asked, "Are you the Blood Man I encountered in the back mountain?"
He nodded. "Gu Family Girl, are you wondering why I'm in Old Wang's body?"
I nodded again, and he chuckled. "You should thank yourself for that."
It seemed he wanted to say more, but Mu Xuanche interrupted him.
"Blood Man, hand over the item, and I'll let you go this time."
Blood Man sneered. "Xuan Wang, while you're formidable, you can't defeat him. Give up."
Who was he?
Could he be the leader of the Cult of Spirits?
As I pondered this, Mu Xuanche had already charged at Blood Man, and a fight broke out between them.
I didn't know what Mu Xuanche wanted Blood Man to hand over. Seeing Mu Xuanche's fierce demeanor, it seemed that Blood Man had no intention of complying.
As I focused intently on their fight, I felt a slight tug at the hem of my clothing. Looking down, I discovered Wang Zongze's friend crouching by my pant leg, quietly pulling at my trousers.
I was about to ask him something when he raised a finger to his lips, signaling me to be quiet.
Then, he waved for me to follow him.
Noticing his cautious demeanor, I bent down and quietly left the grand hall with him.
"Sister, I know what you want. I'll take you to get it. Please help me save my grandfather. He's old, and I don't want anything to happen to him," he said earnestly.
His innocent face was filled with sincerity, and it broke my heart to see such a child bearing these burdens. I nodded in agreement.
He led me toward a dimly lit room. There were no lights inside, making it quite dark.
Using my phone as a flashlight, I barely managed to illuminate some of the space.
The room was small but heavily shadowed, instilling a sense of dread.
"Wang Zongze, why did you bring your sister here?"
His face was also marked by fear, yet it seemed something was urging him on. He pointed discreetly with a tense expression.
I followed his gaze and saw an altar ahead, where the mysterious Spirit Buddha was enshrined.
Hiding behind the door, Wang Zongze raised his hands high towards the statue and gestured downward.
Was he indicating that I should smash this thing?
I wanted to ask him, but he continued to wave his hands in panic, his eyes darting outside as if something dreadful was approaching. His expression was filled with urgency and terror.
I could even feel a wave of Yin Qi surging toward us, making it hard to discern whether it was good or bad. For now, I could only trust my instincts about this child before me.
I moved the chair and climbed up, and the moment I saw the statue, its eyes were so piercing that I almost fell off.
Fortunately, I managed to steady myself and brought the statue down, following Wang Zongze's earlier action to throw it onto the ground.
With a loud crash, the statue shattered into pieces.
Amidst the fragments, I spotted something shiny and crouched down to pick it up.
It was a piece of cloth made of gold leaf, with unfamiliar characters written on the front that looked like seal script but not quite.
After retrieving the item, Wang Zongze pulled me away quickly.
When we returned to the Main Hall, Uncle Wang, who had been possessed, was pinned down by Mu Xuanche and was being tortured mercilessly.
Wang Zongze was anxious, tugging at me but hesitating to approach.
I understood his intention and walked over to Mu Xuanche, informing him of what had just happened.
He nodded and moved his foot off Uncle Wang, then pulled him up.
"I can let you take over his body, but I also have a way to make you leave," he said.
Fear flashed in Uncle Wang's eyes as he trembled and asked Mu Xuanche, "What do you want to do?"
"Hmph, you'll find out soon enough."
"Wife, go take down that lantern at the entrance," Mu Xuanche instructed.
Hastily following his command, I stepped outside and retrieved the lantern hanging above the Wang family's entrance, handing it to Mu Xuanche.
Uncle Wang lunged forward in terror, trying to snatch the lantern away, but Mu Xuanche kicked him aside.
Mu Xuanche held the lantern in one hand, while the other hand gripped a bottle. With a cold smirk, he splashed the contents of the bottle onto the lantern.
In an instant, the lantern fizzed like an over-shaken soda, bubbling vigorously and emitting a hissing sound. Uncle Wang collapsed to the ground in agony, his body soon drenched in sweat that pooled beneath him.
He writhed in pain, his form growing increasingly gaunt as the puddle of sweat expanded. The sight was particularly grotesque; Uncle Wang's entire body appeared slimy, reminiscent of Old Snake shedding its skin.
I fought back the bile rising in my throat and approached Mu Xuanche. Then, a crimson shadow slowly emerged from Uncle Wang's body.
As the blood-red figure fell to the ground, its pulse continued to throb, each vein seeming alive. I realized it was the Blood Man that had exited from Uncle Wang.
Uncle Wang, lying on the ground, regained consciousness and looked weakly at the Blood Man. He shook his head and lamented, “What’s the point? Look at you now; you still can’t let go. Your human skin is destroyed; you can’t even be reborn. Are you satisfied?”
With human skin destroyed, I gazed at the Blood Man with a profound sadness as he stared at the remnants of the lantern on the ground. Was this what they called a Human Skin Lantern?
According to legend, a Human Skin Lantern was crafted from an entire piece of human skin. There were two purposes for making a Human Skin Lantern: one was to ensure that the person could never reincarnate after death, and the other was to harness the lantern's powers.
Each Human Skin Lantern contained immense Resentment; whoever wielded it could control the Vengeful Spirit inside to achieve their own ends.
It turned out that the reason Blood Man became what he was was that someone had skinned him alive.
Uncle Wang painfully crawled toward Mu Xuanche and knelt before him, pleading, “Xuan Wang, my brother is in this state. Please help him; don’t torment him any longer. Let him go.”
The revelation that Blood Man was Uncle Wang’s brother was shocking enough. No wonder Uncle Wang had lured me up the mountain to summon Blood Man against me.
Mu Xuanche turned to glance at me, his gaze shifting to my abdomen, softening as the tension in his eyes diminished.
He walked over and placed a hand on Blood Man's body.
Blood Man immediately coughed up blood, struggling to utter the words "Thank you" before departing from this world.
Unable to bear witnessing such a scene any longer, I crouched down and performed a death spell for Blood Man, burning talismans as a final gesture of compassion.
I handed what I had to Mu Xuanche, who then led me away from the Wang family estate.
Once we exited the gates, I finally dared to ask Mu Xuanche what had happened with Blood Man.
"Do you know how to peel off a person's skin intact?" he asked me.
I had indeed heard of such a method. It involved making a cross-shaped incision on the person's head and pouring Mercury into it. The body would become unbearably itchy, causing the person to jump out of their own skin, leaving behind a complete layer of human skin.
I shared what I knew with Mu Xuanche, who then revealed an even more horrifying method.
That was using asphalt.
By pouring freshly melted asphalt over a person's body and waiting for it to cool, one could strike it with a hammer, causing the entire skin to come off along with the asphalt. To ensure the skin remained fresh, it had to be applied while the person was still alive, leaving the nasal passages open to prevent suffocation.
In such cases, the person being peeled was often still alive, meaning that all their blood vessels would still be functioning after the peeling process.
The Wang family originally consisted of two brothers, but the younger one was unruly and loved mischief. He offended someone powerful and was brutally skinned alive before being sent back to the Wang family.
In their fury, the Wang family vowed to take revenge and chose the Cult of Spirits as their backing.
The Cult of Spirits offered their assistance by granting Blood Man's soul freedom, allowing him to seek vengeance on his own.
Thus, the appearance of the Human Skin Lantern came to be, and the Blood Man used it to eliminate all his enemies.
Hearing this, I was still somewhat confused.
"Mu Xuanche, why does the Blood Man still thank me?"
"Because I gave him something to save you back then, allowing him to attach himself to others."
Alright, now I understood everything.
Next, Mu Xuanche took me to Old Cao the Craftsman's home.
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