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Spirit Master Notes
墨書 Inktalez
In 1976, the Qinling region experienced a rare and unusual fire, its flames glowing a deep blue. Two soldiers from the People's Liberation Army stood atop a watchtower, gazing out as the fire spread in a regular pattern, forming a Bagua formation. Once the formation was complete, the flames ceased to extend outward. The sight was both astonishing and eerie, as the Bagua seemed like a deep pool, hinting at an unsettling mystery. Soon after, the soldiers worked together to extinguish the fire.
Once the flames were out, the ground was littered with charred remains and broken wood, and the air was thick with the acrid smell of burnt flesh. The soldiers conducted their final cleanup efforts at the scene. Among them were the two young recruits who had been on watch that night; they were only sixteen or seventeen years old and had encountered such strange occurrences on their very first night shift. Naturally curious and bold, they couldn't help but be intrigued by the Bagua formation and the eerie blue flames. The horrifying aftermath of the fire shocked everyone’s nerves, but after witnessing so much destruction, they began to feel numb.
Every few steps revealed more charred corpses, most of them animals, but there were also a few bodies of fallen firefighters and militia members. They collected these bodies to bury them at the foot of the mountain. Suddenly, one soldier spotted something that had been burned beyond recognition, now resembling a blackened lump curled up on the ground. He reached out to touch it, and as he did so, the lump rolled over to face him, revealing black eyes that stared directly at him. Terrified, he stumbled back a few steps and shouted, “Squad Leader! Squad Leader! Come quick! What is this thing?”
“Zhang Le, what are you yelling about now? Look at you!” The squad leader approached and glanced at Zhang Le. “Don’t make a fuss over nothing.” Zhang Le nodded and pointed to the lump on the ground. Following his gesture, the squad leader looked closer and saw that it was indeed a body—though charred beyond recognition, it still bore human limbs. To confirm its identity, he attempted to pry open what remained of its face. Logically speaking, it should have yielded easily under slight pressure; however, despite using considerable force, he found it unyielding—like trying to bend steel.
“Zhang Le, come help me,” he called out.
Together they managed to pry open a small gap in the corpse’s face. Through this opening, they could see that most of its facial muscles had been burned away; however, patches of unburned skin remained. When he touched it, he found it cold and rough with a bluish hue. Peering into the mouth revealed four sharp teeth that came together unnaturally—how could a human have such teeth? Though this corpse exhibited human characteristics, it did not resemble any person they knew.
As the squad leader stared at this body, an unsettling chill crept down his spine. Suddenly, he and Zhang Le noticed its eyes move slightly; panic surged through them as Zhang Le shouted in terror and stumbled backward. The commotion drew other soldiers nearby who gathered around to point and murmur about what they had just witnessed.
The squad leader steadied himself and said to Zhang Le, “Go report this to the company commander.” This was beyond his ability to handle; he felt certain that this body was not human.
“Yes!” Zhang Le replied quickly.
No sooner had he spoken than he dashed toward the command post when another soldier named Lu Nian caught him by the arm and asked where he was headed.
Zhang Le recounted what had happened with the corpse. Upon hearing this, Lu Nian declared that it must be an evil spirit—the Bagua formation was surely meant to subdue it. Zhang Le dismissed such notions lightly; he didn’t believe in monsters or spirits and merely brushed off Lu Nian’s claims before continuing toward the company commander.
While the squad leader was dispersing those gathered around the scorched corpse, someone shouted out in alarm: “It moved! The corpse moved!” The squad leader turned back just in time to see that it hadn’t moved at all; just as he prepared to reprimand them for their foolishness, he caught sight of something amiss—the corpse’s posture seemed different from before. His mind raced: could it still be alive? Even burnt to charcoal yet still moving? What kind of phenomenon was this?
As he stood there in shock, the corpse suddenly rose upright and lunged for the nearest living soldier. It opened its mouth wide to reveal its sharp teeth and bit down on his carotid artery; blood sprayed forth instantly onto its face as it reveled in its gruesome feast. The surrounding soldiers were paralyzed with fear until one finally screamed and ran away in terror—this prompted others to flee as well. Seeing everyone scatter only enraged the creature further; it reached out again for another victim and bit through their neck with ease.
The squad leader raised his weapon and shouted furiously, “I’ll take you down!”
With a swift motion, he pulled back the gun's bolt and aimed at the Scorched Corpse's head, firing rapidly. "Bang! Bang! Bang!" The sound of gunfire echoed as each bullet struck its target, but to no avail; they ricocheted off the Scorched Corpse without effect. Instead, it turned its gaze toward the squad leader, locking onto him and advancing straight in his direction.
Gritting his teeth, the squad leader raised his weapon again and fired a volley into the Scorched Corpse's chest. This time, the shots had some effect, slowing its advance slightly. The soldiers around him quickly raised their guns and began firing at the Scorched Corpse from all angles. The air was filled with the relentless sound of gunfire as most bullets found their way into its body.
At that moment, one soldier raised a hand grenade, pulled the pin, and shouted, "Everyone down!" Recognizing the urgency in his voice, the others immediately dropped to the ground. The grenade was thrown toward the Scorched Corpse, and a loud "bang" erupted nearby, sending dirt raining down on them. As the smoke cleared, they cautiously approached to investigate. They found the Scorched Corpse lying motionless on the ground, its limbs contorted. The squad leader poked it with his gun a couple of times; it did not react. He then leaned closer to examine its face, noting that its pupils had dilated—it was truly dead.
When Zhang Le arrived with several officers, they found the Scorched Corpse alongside two soldiers whose necks had been broken; one of them was Lu Nian.
Those who experienced this incident were sworn to secrecy. The squad leader ordered someone to take photographs of the Scorched Corpse and send them overnight to a biological research institute in Beijing. The biochemists who received the images were ecstatic, declaring that this corpse represented a significant discovery in biological history. They believed that thorough research could potentially lead to a Nobel Prize in Biology. Since Zhang Le was the first to discover the Scorched Corpse, he was required to travel to the research institute to provide detailed information about its previous actions.
Zhang Le, Squad Leader Liu Ji, and three other members of the People's Liberation Army boarded an express train bound for Beijing. They occupied the second-to-last carriage while the last carriage contained the Scorched Corpse. Due to confidentiality concerns regarding its transport, this train did not have passenger cars; it simply included a few additional freight carriages. Apart from the two drivers in the locomotive, only these five men remained on board.
The strange corpse was tightly wrapped in several burlap sacks, lying quietly on a metal platform. Liu Ji sat in a position where he could see it clearly; recalling last night's events made him uneasy—he feared that this corpse might come back to life again. He felt more at ease being able to keep an eye on it from where he sat. Zhang Le occupied a window seat, lost in thought about Lu Nian's lifeless form from last night; it felt as though a heavy stone pressed against his chest, making it hard to breathe. The thought of Lu Nian's body brought waves of discomfort crashing over him.
He had never believed in supernatural beings, but what happened last night forced him to reconsider. He recalled seeing the Eight Trigrams diagram; perhaps Lu Nian was right—the Scorched Corpse was indeed some kind of demon, and that diagram was meant to subdue it. Zhang Le resolved to share his thoughts with Liu Ji, believing that his experience and knowledge might shed light on this mystery.
As he prepared to stand up and approach Liu Ji, someone sitting across from him suddenly spoke up: "Hey there, you seem lost in thought since you got on board. What's going on?" The speaker was An Yang, the tallest and most skilled among them; he had served alongside Liu Ji but was not in the same unit. They often interacted and considered each other close friends. The other two men with An Yang were his subordinates; they were headed to Beijing primarily for supplies.
"Nothing," Zhang Le replied weakly. Only he and Liu Ji knew about the strange corpse in the bag, and it was crucial not to disclose any details. Being young and inexperienced, he couldn't hide his feelings well; An Yang quickly picked up on his unease and asked, "I heard your unit encountered something supernatural last night? Is there any truth to that?"
The mention of ghosts made Liu Ji sensitive; he quickly interjected, "Old An, stop with those superstitions! You’ve been a soldier too—do you really believe in such things?"
"Oh? Old Liu finally decided to speak after all this time," An Yang turned slightly toward Liu Ji with a smirk. "I heard you guys ran into something supernatural last night? Why don’t you tell us about it? We’d love to hear what kind of ghost you encountered."
"Yes, Sergeant Liu, we are all very curious about what happened to you last night," said the speaker, who was also acquainted with Liu Ji. "Did you really encounter a ghost?"
"Who have you been listening to? There aren't that many ghosts," Liu Ji fabricated. "We just encountered a tiger in the mountains and shot at it."
"Come on, shooting a tiger? You fired a hundred or eighty shots at it? Do you think bullets are free?" An Yang became more animated as he spoke. "At that time, we were nearby, and the gunfire was crystal clear. It sounded just like firecrackers during the New Year, nonstop."
Someone sitting one spot away interjected, "And everyone saw the fire; it was blue! I've never seen fire that color in my life. Later, someone from our group said that kind of fire comes from hell, specifically used to burn souls."
An Yang continued, "There have been many disappearances and deaths around Qinling. The fire last night was incredibly fierce; it almost burned the entire mountain. It might have even incinerated all the souls in the mountains."
The three of them kept discussing last night's fire while Zhang Le and Liu Ji remained silent. If it weren't for the gag order from above, Zhang Le would have spoken up long ago. The surrounding chatter made him uncomfortable, so he stood up and walked toward the third-to-last carriage, finding a random seat. The quietness of this area calmed his mind. He gazed out the window, his expression deep in thought. After a while, he yawned several times; he hadn't slept a wink since last night. As sleepiness washed over him, he gradually closed his eyes and fell asleep.
Around nine o'clock at night, Liu Ji woke up from his slumber and immediately looked back toward the rear carriage. From his position, he could see the bag covering the Scorched Corpse lying on the iron plate. Noticing that the bag remained still, he finally felt relieved and glanced around his carriage; everyone else was asleep in their seats.
At that moment, an urge to urinate struck Liu Ji. He looked toward the last carriage hesitantly because the restroom was only located there. However, that carriage contained the Scorched Corpse, and it would be impossible for him not to feel scared; the events from last night were still vivid in his mind. But nature calls, and he couldn't hold it any longer. Gathering his courage, he walked inside while keeping his eyes fixed on the bag on the iron plate, fearful that the corpse inside might suddenly rise.
Liu Ji reached the last carriage, with the iron plate just thirty centimeters to his left. He glanced at the bag and quickened his pace until he finally arrived at the restroom, closed the door behind him, pulled down his pants, and hurriedly relieved himself.
Meanwhile, Zhang Le awoke from a nightmare with rapid breaths and beads of sweat on his forehead. He had dreamt that the Scorched Corpse in the bag had come back to life and killed them all. Feeling uneasy, he sensed that this dream was a warning. He had to check on that bag; thus, he hurried toward the carriage where it was stored. Seeing everyone else asleep, he stood in the second-to-last carriage and stared into the last carriage at the bag for a few seconds. Noticing no movement made him think he might be overreacting—dreams shouldn't be taken seriously—but just as he prepared to turn away...
Suddenly, a sound echoed through the air.
In panic, he immediately turned his gaze back to the bag and was instantly alarmed—it was gone! The bag on the iron plate had vanished. He scanned around the carriage and saw that it had fallen to the ground; moreover, its surface began to ripple like water, shaking faster and with greater amplitude by the second.
Seeing this scene, Zhang Le realized that the Scorched Corpse in the bag had come to life. He immediately fired his gun at the bag, the loud bangs waking everyone who had been sleeping. As they saw Zhang Le continuously shooting in one direction, fear spread across their faces, and they quickly gathered around. At that moment, Liu Ji, who had just pulled up his pants, heard the gunfire and hurriedly opened the door. He saw the bag rolling on the ground and, disregarding the squad leader's instructions, raised his gun and began firing without hesitation.
Even though Zhang Le and Liu Ji were continuously firing bullets, the Scorched Corpse kept moving vigorously. The three men standing beside Zhang Le were astonished by this sight. Zhang Le quickly exclaimed, "Squad leader, we can't kill this thing!"
At that moment, Liu Ji thought to himself: I can't believe what I'm seeing!
The bullets kept flying, but the bag shook even more violently, as if whatever was inside was desperate to break free.
"Old Liu, what the hell is in that bag?" An Yang asked, noticing their panicked expressions; it seemed they were terrified of whatever was inside.
"This is what you guys call a ghost. Whether it is a ghost or not, I don't know; all I know is it's definitely not human," Liu Ji replied while running towards them. "What we shot at last night was it. We hit it with over a hundred rounds and grenades, and it still moves. Don't just stand there; if it gets out, none of us will escape."
"You should have said that earlier!" An Yang and the other two stared wide-eyed at the bag. Coming back to their senses, they quickly began shooting at the bag again. The five of them took turns firing at it; it seemed their bullets were having an effect as the surface of the bag trembled less violently than before. However, everyone remained anxious and continued firing until the surface of the bag finally became calm. Only then did Zhang Le stop pulling the trigger. The others followed suit when they saw that the bag had stopped moving.
They had collectively fired dozens of shots at the bag, leaving it riddled with holes. An Yang sheathed his gun at his side and asked, "This thing should be dead now, right?"
"Not necessarily," Liu Ji said, staring intently at the bag. "If grenades couldn't kill it, who knows if it can still move." He kept his gun aimed at the bag; if it stirred even slightly, he would shoot immediately.
"Are we just going to keep watching it like this?" An Yang looked at the countless holes on the surface of the bag and said in a Sichuan dialect, "This bag is completely shot to pieces. If this thing isn't dead yet, it'll easily break free. We need to find something to tie it up."
Upon hearing this suggestion from him, everyone agreed. They quickly searched around the train car for sturdy ropes. Fortunately, the last car was designated for storage and had shovels and brooms lying around. Zhang Le found a medium-thick rope in a corner, and together they wrapped it tightly around the bag.
During this process of binding, something inside the bag suddenly moved again. Zhang Le felt a wave of warmth against his palm as he pressed down on what he realized was the face of the Scorched Corpse; that warmth was its breath. The group panicked slightly but quickly accelerated their efforts. Before long, they had wrapped the entire bag so tightly with rope that it resembled a sealed cocoon.
The bag was tightly surrounded, but the Scorched Corpse inside was thrashing about, bouncing off the ceiling and slamming into the walls of the carriage. An Yang observed the situation and realized that the rope wouldn’t hold for much longer. If he shot, it would likely sever the rope, so he picked up an iron shovel from the ground and charged at the Scorched Corpse, bringing the blade down with all his strength. If a regular person had done this, their head would have surely rolled.
However, this Scorched Corpse was no ordinary being. With a loud clang, a resonance echoed as if metal had struck metal, followed by another crash as the iron shovel was sent flying across the carriage. The blow only made the Scorched Corpse thrash even more violently, stretching the ropes to their limits. At this rate, it wouldn’t be long before it broke free. An Yang intended to shoot, but just as his hand reached for his gun, the ropes suddenly burst apart, and the head of the Scorched Corpse slowly emerged. Liu Ji quickly urged, “Run to the next carriage!”
An Yang fired a shot at the Scorched Corpse's head before retreating. The group rushed into the adjacent carriage, and Liu Ji immediately moved to pull the door shut. Just as it was about to close, a dark hand blocked it, and a voice shouted, “Help me!”
Hearing the voice, several people rushed forward to assist him. Despite their combined strength, they couldn’t overcome that single hand; instead of closing tighter, the gap widened slowly. An Yang raised his gun and fired at the dark hand, but the bullets failed to penetrate and ricocheted back dangerously close to hitting someone. Realizing that shooting wouldn’t work, he decided to engage directly. As he reached out to touch the dark hand, he felt thousands of sharp spikes piercing into his flesh, causing him to instinctively pull back. At that moment, a loud bang echoed through the carriage as both door and person were flung backward several meters. The group tumbled into various corners of the carriage in disarray.
The Scorched Corpse stood upright and began advancing toward them. Liu Ji was closest and scrambled to his feet, aiming his gun at the approaching creature while warning, “If you come any closer, I’ll shoot!” He wasn’t sure if the Scorched Corpse could understand human speech; it would be best if it could. However, it seemed oblivious as it continued its advance while Liu Ji stepped back nervously. The others watched anxiously from a distance.
Liu Ji fired at the Scorched Corpse again, but astonishingly, it caught the bullet barehanded. The onlookers were both terrified and astonished; they all shared a common question: what kind of monster was this?
Liu Ji continued firing until suddenly, the Scorched Corpse was right in front of him. Before he could react, its jagged teeth lunged for his neck. Just as they were about to pierce his skin, a long white ribbon intervened between them. Startled by how close those teeth were, Liu Ji quickly retreated while the Scorched Corpse also stepped back in sync.
The sudden appearance of White Silk puzzled everyone; however, An Yang noticed a flicker of panic in the eyes of the Scorched Corpse as it retreated a few steps. It seemed clear that this creature feared White Silk. An Yang then looked at White Silk suspended in mid-air; her ribbon shimmered with a faint blue light that revealed various patterns upon closer inspection.
Before he could discern what those patterns were, White Silk moved swiftly and slipped through a window into the carriage.
The newcomer stood out in her flowing black robe with long hair cascading like a waterfall held up by a simple wooden hairpin. At first glance, she appeared to be a middle-aged man; however, upon closer inspection of her face revealed she was actually quite young—her attire and appearance did not match her true age.
The group was momentarily stunned by her entrance as they gazed outside at the rushing scenery without seeing any vehicles like cars or buses; they wondered how she had arrived.
Ignoring their confusion, she grasped White Silk ’s ribbon and began weaving intricate gestures with her hands. The ribbon twirled in mid-air like a celestial dancer captivating everyone’s attention. The onlookers were left incredulous; they had no idea what she had done to make White Silk move autonomously with such purpose while the Scorched Corpse darted around desperately seeking an escape route. Each time it attempted to break free from the carriage walls, White Silk would deftly catch its feet as if playing with it.
Finally, she spoke: “It’s time to return what you’ve taken.”
White Silk tightly bound the limbs of the Scorched Corpse, rendering it completely immobile. Despite this, it struggled fiercely, but the more it fought, the tighter the bindings became, prompting it to emit mournful cries. The onlookers, who had just witnessed the Scorched Corpse's earlier display of power, were now curious about the woman before them. Who was she?
She stepped forward and looked down at it, then crouched. A thin layer of energy shimmered on her palm as she swiftly plunged her hand into its chest. In an instant, she pulled out a fist-sized pearl glowing with a green light. Those nearby mistook it for a Night Pearl.
She placed the pearl into her pocket and stepped back two meters from the Scorched Corpse. With a gesture of her hand, the bindings around the Scorched Corpse instantly returned to her waist. Without the pearl, the Scorched Corpse began to change; its body gradually became limp until it transformed into a puddle of black water. She then took out a small green bottle, uncorked it, and sprinkled the powder inside onto the black water. In the next moment, bubbles began to rise from the water, which then coalesced into a black sphere at its center. Finally, she drew several symbols in the air with her bare hands, forming a Spirit Talisman that enveloped the black sphere. The sphere then dissipated into green smoke, marking the end of the process.
An Yang approached her, still shaken, and asked, “Thanks to you, we would have surely perished otherwise. But who are you? I’m An Yang from Team 8431.” He reached out to shake her hand in greeting, but she noticed his palm was darkened and immediately grabbed his wrist. Upon closer inspection, it was clear he had been poisoned by the Scorched Corpse. She handed him a black pill and coldly said, “Your hand touched it and got infected. This is the antidote.”
In the chaos earlier, he hadn’t noticed his hand; now that she pointed it out, he saw a dark mark in his palm that didn’t hurt or itch. An Yang took the pill and swallowed it immediately. Looking at his palm again, he saw the dark mark gradually fading away. He turned to look at the woman again and opened his mouth to speak, but she preempted him: “You don’t need to know who I am. Once the train arrives in Beijing, someone will meet you and provide you with further information.”
Though this answer left something to be desired, after their recent experience, they understood that this woman was no ordinary person; her actions were beyond comprehension. An Yang decided not to press further for answers, and neither did anyone else.
The woman then turned and leaped from the speeding train, disappearing from their sight in an instant.
A few hours later, they arrived at Beijing Train Station.
The five of them were taken to a secluded military district guesthouse where they sat for several hours before meeting a commander surnamed Yun. The commander awarded them certificates for their bravery and assigned them different honors while also issuing an instruction: all details regarding their encounter with the "wild tiger" during their train journey were classified under Level One confidentiality regulations, which they all strictly adhered to.
Years later, after leaving the military and returning home, An Yang unexpectedly encountered Commander Yun again. Accompanying him were others whom An Yang learned were staff members of the Spirit Master Association through casual conversation with them. Eventually, leveraging his connections within the military, An Yang discovered what kind of organization the Spirit Master Association truly was.
It was a secret agency established with government approval specifically tasked with investigating supernatural phenomena and extraordinary events.
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