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墨書 Inktalez
There is an ancient poem that goes, "Not knowing the true face of Lushan, just because I am in this mountain."
This, perhaps, reflects my current feelings.
Rising up, Xu Zhi not only interned with me at this company, but we were also classmates before. She was a dream from my youthful and naive days. Her beauty, that extraordinary maturity and allure beyond that of an ordinary girl, was utterly captivating to someone like me, still in the ivory tower of youth—I was the one most deeply enchanted.
At that time, I viewed her through a lens of infatuation. I had long lost my rationality and sense of self, so everything about her seemed perfect. But now, waking from the dream, as I looked at her again, my restless heart had calmed down. Upon reevaluating her, I finally realized she was nothing more than an ordinary person. Especially when I saw her pretending to be someone special while wearing the Descendant Talisman; I suddenly found her somewhat ridiculous.
When did the dream begin to fade?
Perhaps it was when she resolutely got into the Rich Handsome Guy's car and left. Reality dealt me a heavy blow, gradually pushing me toward maturity through hardship—maybe that was it!
In any case, I can no longer recall. But at this moment, facing this woman again, I felt an unprecedented calmness.
Xu Zhi seemed taken aback by my attitude, a flicker of shock crossing her face. "You!"
I had no words; I simply looked at this girl—no, this woman—with a cold smile.
After a long silence, Xu Zhi seemed unable to bear my gaze any longer and lowered her noble head in sadness. After hesitating for a moment, she finally said, "Please help me."
Her tone was difficult; perhaps she thought she had suffered a great humiliation. What she would never know is that after four years, all I received in return for my devotion was her cold glance—a far deeper insult.
I silently thought to myself that I couldn't be bothered to engage with this woman any longer. I called Big Mouth Lee and drove directly to Xu Zhi's home. Upon seeing my team there, Xu Zhi fell silent again and finally muttered something inexplicable: "You've really changed."
I ignored her, even though I still felt some resentment towards this woman. However, her life was hanging by a thread, and I certainly couldn't stand by and do nothing. Moreover, this place had become the breakthrough point for our mission. I had to see this through.
Xu Zhi usually didn't live in the dormitory. After getting together with that Rich Handsome Guy, she moved in with him almost immediately. They rented an apartment in the school district outside campus and began their happy life together. Last night, when she got entangled with those Dirty Things, it happened in her apartment. So, under Wang Yue's guidance, we headed straight to her place.
As the saying goes, you can't catch a tiger cub without entering the tiger's den. Tonight, I planned to wait at Xu Zhi's home for those Dirty Things to show up, which was also Xu Zhi's intention.
When the car stopped downstairs at Xu Zhi's place, she hesitated for a moment. After a long pause, she finally stammered and asked if I could accompany her upstairs alone. Her tone was quite polite, as if she realized I was no longer the pushover she used to manipulate.
Xu Zhi's rented apartment was on the sixth floor—a one-bedroom unit. Once inside, I found the place empty and curiously asked where her boyfriend had gone.
At this question, Xu Zhi's eyes turned red, and a flash of resentment crossed her face. She told me they had already broken up.
Hearing this made me guess what had happened. It was clear that he must have gotten her pregnant and then left without a word. Such scenarios were all too common in today's society; countless women from humble backgrounds aspired to marry into wealthy families only to find themselves discarded after being used—worse than a mere grass chicken!
Thinking about this made me look down on Xu Zhi a bit more, but out of courtesy, I offered her some words of comfort. Then I wandered around her apartment to check for any issues. Generally, rented places can often have bad feng shui, especially those associated with the Shadow Side. Such places can negatively affect a person's luck and even their vitality over time; living there too long could lead to constant drowsiness and weakened Yang Qi, attracting Dirty Things. Therefore, one should never rent cheap Shadow Side properties—especially those facing desolate lands—these are the worst kinds of places.
Fortunately, Xu Zhi's apartment didn't seem to have any major feng shui problems; it wasn't great but was livable. It appeared that attracting ghosts and monsters was more of a personal issue for her.
After checking the feng shui, it gradually grew darker outside. Dinner was brought by Big Mouth Lee, who delivered two takeout boxes for me and Xu Zhi before leaving. I had been pondering the case all day and realized I was quite hungry. So I called Xu Zhi over and sat down on the sofa to eat. In the past, sharing a meal with my ideal girl would have felt like pure bliss; now, however, I felt little joy.
After dinner, Xu Zhi seemed exhausted. She wished me goodnight and hurried off to bed after exchanging a few brief words with me. Left alone in the living room, I watched some television but soon felt sleepy myself since I hadn't slept at all last night. Glancing at the clock, it was only eight o'clock—still early—and waiting like this didn't seem practical. After some thought, I decided to take a short nap but knew I couldn't let my guard down. So I took out a wind chime from my backpack and hung it on the sofa.
I didn't know its name; it was given to me by Zhengyang. This wind chime is used by practitioners of Corpse Chasing from Xiangxi; it doesn't respond to normal winds from all directions but only reacts to yin winds. The regular winds from the southeast, southwest, northeast, or northwest wouldn't make it ring. However, yin winds or Eerie Energy could set it off. Such items are quite common in Xiangxi; practitioners often hang them on their staffs or at inns that only accommodate Yin People while refusing Yang Persons. Qingyi had given me several of these wind chimes because she noticed that my sleep patterns were deeper than those of many who frequently faced danger; she suggested hanging one by my bedside or at the door so I'd be prepared when Dirty Things came knocking.
With the wind chime in hand, I also tucked the Master Seal into my pocket, feeling a bit more at ease. I lay back on the sofa with my clothes still on and soon fell asleep.
I couldn't tell if it was because I had been so tense lately or if I simply hadn't relaxed, but my sleep was particularly restless. I drifted in and out of consciousness, and after an unknown amount of time, the wind chime hanging from the sofa suddenly jingled loudly, startling me awake. Upon waking, I immediately felt that the temperature in the house was unusually low. It was only early autumn, and while the temperature in Shanxi had begun to drop, it shouldn't have been cold enough to make someone shiver.
The room was still, yet the wind chime swayed back and forth.
I knew that something dirty must have appeared nearby; the eerie energy in this place was overwhelming—almost frightening. I quickly grabbed the Hundred Slicing Blade, sitting on the sofa with the weapon in hand, scanning my surroundings coldly and ready to act at any moment.
"Not good, we're surrounded!" Big Mouth Lee sent me a text message.
Surrounded?
I was taken aback and replied, "Is there more than one?"
After a long wait, a text message finally came back: "Four of them—two near you and two near me!"
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