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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 6: The Uninvited Guest
At first, Pang didn't feel anything was amiss. It was only when he fell asleep that he sensed something pressing down on him, making him feel uneasy all over, as if some force was draining his strength.
At the same time, a sneaky funeral music echoed in his ears, mingling with the joyful sounds of a wedding celebration. In his daze, he saw a Flower Palanquin, where someone was calling his name. He ran frantically behind the Flower Palanquin. After tossing and turning all night, he could hear voices outside, but his mind remained foggy, and his body felt weak and limp.
Hearing him say this made it seem like he hadn’t engaged in any self-indulgent activities, but I still felt uneasy and pressed on, “Is it really that simple?”
“Yeah.”
I looked at Pang; his face was pale and shadowy. This was a sign of impending misfortune. His dream about the Flower Palanquin was related to Yin Yin. I stared at Pang with an intense gaze that made him feel uneasy.
“Pang, you’re hiding something from me.”
“No, there’s nothing.”
“Don’t be evasive; look me in the eyes.”
Pang reluctantly raised his head and met my gaze for a few seconds before quickly looking away.
I slammed my palm on the coffee table and shouted at Pang Da, “If you don’t tell me, then I can’t help you.”
“I… I…” Pang stammered, “About the Soul Stone you gave me…”
“It’s not about the Soul Stone; it’s about Yin Yin. You’re not done yet.” I interrupted him urgently. I had thought that burying him once would allow me to deceive Yin Yin. I also knew that Yin Yin had been taken by Lao Luo and was still trapped in the Dao Bottle. If it weren’t for her involvement, how could we explain what happened to Pang last night? “If we haven’t done anything wrong together, then there’s no problem. But once you get involved in something that goes against your conscience, it becomes an issue. Don’t think others don’t know; in fact, you understand better than anyone else.”
At this point, Pang suddenly remembered something and jumped up as if jolted by electricity.
“I remember now! Ba Zi… it must be Ba Zi! Zhu Gang told me about a girl who recently died and asked if I wanted her—free of charge! I just happened to take on a job related to Yin Marriage without telling you, and I couldn’t find a suitable girl’s birth date for Ba Zi. He gave it to me, but I really didn’t know this was about Yin Yin. Later on, someone from Yin Yin’s family came to ask us to help with the funeral arrangements. When I saw the birth date Ba Zi, that’s when I realized… what should we do about Brother Qi?”
This was it.
I had always been afraid to tell Yin Yin's family that their daughter not only died a tragic death but was also subjected to a Ghost Marriage.
Under pressure, Fat honestly recounted the events leading up to the Ghost Marriage.
He explained how he placed Yin Yin's birth details on a Paper Figurine, and then, after I went to Xie Ming Manor, this grandson took advantage of my absence to set up an Altar at the Funeral Home, using remote means to conduct the Ghost Marriage. He formally married the Paper Figurine with Yin Yin's birth details to another Paper Figurine that had the same birth details. After the ceremony was completed, a paper Flower Palanquin was used to send them off.
As Fat spoke, some previously incomprehensible matters became clear. My encounter with the Ghost Marriage at Xie Ming Manor was not a coincidence. It was Yin Yin reaching out for help. At that moment, I saw Han Mi's spirit sitting in the Flower Palanquin; perhaps she couldn't bear to see Yin Yin sad and chose to accompany her.
Then, for reasons unknown, Yin Yin managed to escape, which meant she had not yet been married to that deceased person.
In truth, I believed that Ghost Marriages were merely adults seeking peace of mind by creating unnecessary troubles out of boredom and excess money.
Children who die before reaching marriageable age do not need a Ghost Marriage; as long as they possess a kind heart and recite scriptures diligently, they can still be reborn.
Yin Yin did not continue to trouble Fat; it was his own mind playing tricks on him. As the saying goes, "What one does is seen."
At that moment, I took out an umbrella and released Yin Yin's soul from the Dao Bottle.
Fat stood by silently, afraid to breathe. Witnessing it firsthand, the seemingly unsupported umbrella suddenly opened naturally and began to spin in the room, as if controlled by unseen hands beneath the handle.
Yin Yin was under the umbrella.
“Yin Yin, can you tell me how you escaped?”
The black umbrella spun around me as I activated my Demon Eyes. I saw beneath it her face pale as paper, with a seam on her neck about the width of a thumb, resembling a centipede crawling between her head and body.
“Big Brother, my Skull.”
“Is your Skull that important to you?”
"I can't stand it without the Skull; my head feels unsupported..." I truly didn't understand how Lao Luo managed to get Yin Yin's Skull and stuff it with a lot of fillers that resembled a Skull, making it look almost identical to a real head. But upon closer inspection, there was a slight indentation and some deformity.
What if I gave the Skull to Yin Yin and she caused trouble again? In fact, I was unaware that Lao Luo giving me Yin Yin's Skull had another layer of meaning!
Hesitating, I decided not to give her the Skull; first, I needed to resolve the issue of the Yin Marriage.
The Black Umbrella moved in a spinning motion, drifting towards the fat one, who yelped in fright and dodged away, repeatedly begging for mercy: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I’m guilty, I’m guilty."
"Yin Yin, stop being mischievous. I need to lift your Yin Marriage as soon as possible so you can leave in peace and smoothly enter the Yellow Springs Ghost Path."
Beneath the Black Umbrella, Yin Yin frowned, blood-red tears streaming down her face. "They are coming..."
"Who is coming?"
Whoosh—The Black Umbrella floated quickly into the shadows, automatically dropping down and folding up with a clatter as it leaned against the wall, looking as if it had just been casually placed there.
I was still surprised at why Yin Yin was hiding when a strange voice called from the doorway: "Is anyone there?"
Fatty and I hurried to the outer compartment to see who had come in. It was Gaunt Face—deep-set eyes, high cheekbones, an eagle-like nose, and thin lips. This was the first time I had seen someone with such a face; seeing him inevitably reminded me of a skeleton. Unlike a skeleton, however, he had skin tightly stretched over his bones, forming an oddly contorted face.
Not only did this person have an unusual appearance, but he also emanated an eerie cold aura, like an Evil Spirit that had crawled out of hell.
Fatty's expression changed drastically upon seeing him; he raised his hand to point but couldn't get any words out. His mouth gaped open, tongue tied, producing sounds like this: "Y-y-y... y..." as if someone were choking him by the neck.
Damn it! I felt a bit impatient and shouted at Fatty: "Get a grip." Then I turned to the newcomer and forced a smile. "May I ask if you have recently experienced a death in your family? Do you need that kind of service...?" The deep-set eyes of the newcomer shot out a cold glare like a sharp dagger, peeling away my deliberately feigned calmness layer by layer.
"I'm here to collect something."
"What is it?"
“Skull.” The newcomer headed straight for Skull. We only sold coffins here and handled funerals, but we had never dealt in anything related to Skull. I smiled and leaned against Counter, allowing myself to avoid seeing the newcomer’s full appearance while shifting my perspective.
While I was talking to the newcomer, Fatty had slipped away without me noticing.
“Sorry, we don’t sell those things here. You should know that trafficking in human organs is illegal.”
“Brother, mine isn’t a living Skull, it’s a dead one. Do you understand?” The newcomer’s fingers were long and thin like chicken feet, with particularly thick knuckles. He tapped on Counter with a rhythmic popping sound, each tap resonating like a heartbeat, sending chills down my spine.
“Sir, I really don’t have any Skull here; I’m not trying to deceive you.” The newcomer seemed unconvinced, his sunken eyes boring into me. A sparse patch of stubble trembled slightly on his thin lips as he leaned forward, his bony hands slamming down on Counter with a force that made the entire surface shake. I instinctively took a step back, swallowing hard as I asked, “What do you want?”
“Brother, you know the rules: collect money to resolve troubles for others. I’m here on someone’s behalf; please hurry up.”
Damn it, if he wants a Skull, I actually have one, but it’s something Lao Luo asked me to keep safe. Who is this person? What is his background? I had no idea. He came in asking for Skull, and there was an eerie chill about him—he must be dealing with ghosts.
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