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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 454: Human Skin Puppet (Seventeen)
"Brother Qi..."
Oh my, why couldn't you call me earlier? Luckily, I was clever enough to turn ten steps into ten and a half. In my heart, I quickly spun around, filled with surprise and anticipation, and replied, "Oh..." Then I fixed my gaze on her. Her eyes flickered with a hint of panic but soon settled as she smiled at me. I noticed her face was even more radiant than before, the kind of red that was strikingly beautiful.
"Thank you."
"Is that all?" Hearing Juanzi's calm response left me astonished; my heart felt like it was about to collapse. My pants were nearly coming off, and this is what you give me? This time, I was the one left disappointed. I regretted suggesting we switch rooms earlier. Ultimately ignored in my expectations, I feigned calmness as I opened the door and stepped into Room 10 across the hall, letting out a long sigh and muttering, "What a letdown."
Time to sleep!
Damn those wicked thoughts! Who am I, Ma Qi? A gentleman! I can't take advantage of others' vulnerabilities; just because something is offered doesn't mean I should entertain any indecent ideas.
Lying in bed, I couldn't shake the feeling that Juanzi's presence lingered nearby. I instinctively grabbed the pillow she had used earlier to take a sniff. After another whiff, I lay back and stared at the ceiling light. The switch was by the door, and I really didn't want to dwell on this any longer. With a sigh, I got up to turn off the light.
As soon as the light went out, I felt a chill run down my spine. My intuition told me someone was standing by the bathroom door. Out of the corner of my eye, I indeed saw something. Startled, I quickly turned the light back on—only to find no one there. When I turned it off again, a shadow appeared; when I turned it back on, it vanished. This time, I left the light off and quietly watched the doorway.
The shadow that flickered in and out of sight revealed itself in the absence of light—a tall, thin ghostly figure.
The ghost wasn't afraid of me; it feared the light. When I turned off the lamp, it stood there motionless.
I asked, "You fear the light but not me?"
"Uh, no... it's not that. I'm afraid of you too; I'm afraid of the light."
"What is your name?"
"Gao Sheng."
"What?"
"Gao Sheng."
Hearing his name, I was certainly taken aback. This was what they called a stroke of luck—after searching high and low, the person I had been desperately trying to find was right in front of me. No, more accurately, he was neither fully human nor purely a ghost; for the moment, I couldn't quite grasp in what form he had appeared before me.
"How did you end up here?"
"I don't know."
"Do you know who I am?"
I sensed him shaking his head, then he said, "I don't know; I just feel that you can help me."
"Are you sure you need my help?"
"Yes."
"Then... can I come closer to you?"
As I attempted to approach him, he raised both hands in pain and exclaimed, "No, the things on you are harmful to me."
Eighteen Cubes! This is really frustrating. It’s not my life that’s at stake, but the life of this shadow. I quickly took a step back, pulled out the Eighteen Cubes, covered it with a blanket, and then spread my hands towards the shadow lurking in the darkness, saying, “Look, I have no threatening artifacts on me now. Can I come closer to you?”
“Hmm.”
The shadow didn’t move, quietly waiting for me to approach. Just as I was about to get closer, it suddenly let out a howl like a wolf, writhing in pain and desperately trying to grab me as I approached. It urged, “Help me, my Primordial Spirit… it’s sealed inside the Slug. Remember to help me…” My outstretched arm grasped at nothing but air. Frustrated, I turned on the light, only to find the room empty—no ghostly figure remained.
No, he wasn’t a ghost; he was a lingering spirit filled with resentment. Moreover, it seemed something was controlling him. Just when I was about to touch him, whatever was controlling him thwarted my intentions.
His earlier words echoed in my ears: the Primordial Spirit is inside the Slug. Could he be that Slug? No, it must be that his Primordial Spirit resides within that massive Slug's body.
Where is that Slug? I scratched my head and thought for a moment—oh crap! It finally hit me; it must be in the toilet! Slowly, I walked into the bathroom and frowned at the toilet lid, contemplating whether to believe the shadow's words and lift the lid to see if the Slug was inside.
Seriously? A proper Mortician running around partnering with someone—this is what humans do! Not only did I engage in human activities but now I’m about to dig into a toilet? Wait a minute; if I reach down there, wouldn’t that make me the one digging through toilets? But this toilet must be checked today; only by finding Gao Sheng’s Primordial Spirit can I understand what’s going on.
Fortunately, places like hotels aren’t like public restrooms; very few people use them. Plus, this is a private bathroom with a toilet that flushes anytime. I figured it wouldn’t be as dirty as I imagined. Since I promised to help him, I had to do it. I lifted the toilet lid and saw clear water; without hesitation, I reached my hand down.
Oh no.
What looked like clear water turned out to be slippery and disgusting when my hand touched it—like touching a pile of filth. I quickly withdrew my hand; if only I could avoid touching the Slug or even its tail!
Isn’t this search foolish?
I felt ridiculous and completely lost. Looking at my hand only intensified my disgust. Glancing again at the bottom of the open toilet, I realized this approach wouldn’t work. Maybe taking a break would help; who knows if that thing might crawl back in through the window later? For now, all I could do was wait like an idiot for something to happen while using this extra time to rest.
Even if I'm going to sleep, I'd have to wash my hands thoroughly first. Scrubbing and scrubbing—no matter how much I washed, it felt like there was still a lingering stench of filth on my hands. My mood plummeted instantly as if ten thousand horses were trampling on my fragile spirit, crushing my heart into pieces.
Accomplishing nothing, the matter with Xie Kehun had fallen through, and exchanging a few words with a ghostly figure yielded no results either. I decided to stop thinking about it and just sleep; this time, I really needed to sleep.
The soap in this hotel was quite something; it turned into a pile of foam after just a few uses. Helpless, I resorted to using all the shower gel and shampoo in the packets to wash my hands. I washed my hands no less than thirty times, almost resorting to licking them just to feel somewhat at ease.
Lying on the bed felt comfortable. I closed my eyes and forced myself to cast aside all distracting thoughts, ignoring the beautiful woman across from me and not dwelling on the ghostly figure. As for Xie Ke, that matter would have to be set aside for now. Then, I took a deep breath, separating my heart from the outside world.
It was quiet—finally quiet. The bed felt like a boat, and the room resembled a vast lake, with the boat standing still in the water. There were no birds chirping, no sound of water; not even a single falling leaf could be heard. It was so quiet that I could hear my heartbeat and my own breathing.
Suddenly, I felt a weight on my shoulder, followed by a chill rapidly spreading from my shoulder down to my toes and fingertips, penetrating deep into my heart. The person tapping my shoulder moved silently, like a living target. When facing me, I saw a familiar face—not just a face but the whole person.
“Xie Ke... is that really you?”
Xie Ke said nothing; his face was like that of a corpse, rigidly turning away. I didn’t see him walk; he simply floated as if deliberately leading me somewhere. I slowly got up and followed behind him. The door opened silently, and Xie Ke drifted out effortlessly; I hurried to keep up with him.
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