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墨書 Inktalez
On the fourteenth of July, during the Ghost Festival, smoke wafted gently from piles of ashes in front of houses, behind them, and even at street corners. This was the lingering smoke from unburned Joss Paper candles, as the air was thick with the acrid scent of burnt offerings and incense.
In a small village far from Purple City, known as Ancient River Town, a small river flowed westward toward the south.
The water babbled softly, but the stench of a decaying dog carcass on a distant sandbank was far stronger than the candle's Joss Paper scent in the air.
The birds, repelled by the foul odor, had ceased their chirping. In the eerie silence, the river suddenly began to bubble as if boiling, and then a figure emerged from the water's surface.
This person had a sharp, thin face with short, damp hair hanging by his ears. His skin was ghostly pale, reminiscent of bleached pigskin. As he rose from the river, his skin dripped like melting wax.
Layer upon layer flowed down, revealing white bones beneath the surface and dark red flesh that looked like it had long since rotted.
Yet with each step he took, the melted flesh would regrow anew, covering the exposed bones once more.
A small girl standing by the riverbank, her expression vacant and frail, suddenly caught sight of this creature and let out a terrified scream. But there was no escape. Her chilling cry echoed over the foggy river for a long time before fading away; she had vanished without a trace.
After a while, silence returned to the riverbank. Aside from scattered footprints and flattened grass that had yet to rise again, a vibrant life had come to an end, leaving behind a scene of desolation.
This story unfolds at Ye Chenfeng's grandmother's home.
Years ago, Ye Chenfeng's grandmother was a well-known Medium in the area. Now that she was old, Ye Chenfeng's father had tried several times to take her to live in the city, but she refused, saying she couldn't bear to leave the brick house built with her grandfather's hard work.
Her home was a standalone house with a tree-lined path leading outside, surrounded by Purple Bamboo.
When summer arrived and Bamboo Shoots sprouted abundantly, her dining table was filled with stir-fried Bamboo Shoots and meat.
Grandma said Bamboo Shoots were nutritious, slightly bitter, and had a good texture.
Indeed, he loved stir-fried Bamboo Shoots with meat. Every time there were Bamboo Shoots on the table, Ye Chenfeng's appetite would increase significantly, making Grandma laugh joyfully as her face blossomed with happiness.
Both of Ye Chenfeng's parents were busy with work and had no time to visit Grandma. So, he hurriedly traveled from the bustling city to the countryside, arriving at Grandma's house just in time for the Ghost Festival.
Grandma warned him not to wander around during the Ghost Festival, as families were preparing to send off spirits. It would be troublesome if he accidentally encountered something sinister.
Thus, Ye Chenfeng stayed at Grandma's house, spending his time either sleeping or playing a new IOS game that had recently captivated him.
While he was engrossed in his game, he heard someone urgently knocking on the door.
Grandma was tending to her many roosters in the yard. Hearing the frantic knocking, Ye Chenfeng got up to answer the door. When he opened it, he was met by a middle-aged woman with tear-streaked cheeks.
Beside her stood a man. They appeared to be a couple, and when they saw Ye Chenfeng, they paused in surprise, clearly unaware of who he was. Ignoring him completely, they walked straight into the house.
They were looking for Ye Chenfeng's grandmother.
Typically, during the Ghost Festival, people in the village avoided visiting one another's homes.
Ye Chenfeng couldn't understand what had happened to this couple that made them so anxious to seek out Grandma despite the taboo.
Just as he shouted for Grandma to let them in, he noticed something startling behind the couple—a little girl.
She was drenched and barefoot.
However, she stopped at the threshold and hesitated to enter, as if fearful. She looked at Ye Chenfeng with a pitiful expression, wanting to say something but ultimately retreating into the shadows of a cluster of purple bamboo by the door.
When Grandma saw the couple, her expression stiffened for a moment before she quickly welcomed them inside and asked Ye Chenfeng to go read in another room.
Ye Chenfeng told his grandmother, "Grandma, there's a little girl outside." He thought about how dark it was outside, and how the little girl must be soaking wet and looking pitiful. It would be better to let her in; the house was warm, and besides, Grandma liked to do good deeds. She believed in Buddhism and wouldn't mind helping others. Surely, she would agree to let the little girl in.
However, when Grandma heard Ye Chenfeng's words, she looked warily towards the door, her eyes signaling, "Go inside and read."
When did Grandma become so unreasonable and lacking in compassion? Ye Chenfeng huffed angrily as he walked to the door, flinging it open with determination, intending to call the girl inside.
But he found no one at the door.
The couple standing nearby also looked tense as they turned their gazes towards the entrance.
Ye Chenfeng and Monet had just entered the house when they heard Grandma ask, "What happened?"
The woman among the couple was crying uncontrollably, unable to articulate her words. The man spoke with a choked voice, "At dusk, we were preparing offerings for tomorrow's worship when we suddenly realized our child was missing. We searched everywhere but couldn't find her; we only found a pair of her shoes by the river."
Ye Chenfeng understood the gist of their conversation while listening from inside. It seemed that their only daughter had gone missing by the river at dusk.
Strangely enough, if their child was lost, why didn't they go to the police? What use was coming to Grandma?
As he listened to their story, Ye Chenfeng couldn't shake off the image of that pitiful girl from his mind. He lost focus on his reading and decided to step outside. He saw Grandma washing her hands and preparing incense and candles for something. He remembered his mother telling him that Grandma performed mediumship to connect with spirits from another world and speak with their living relatives.
He had also heard that this practice could be dangerous because spirits would possess Grandma to communicate with their loved ones in the real world.
Grandma was getting old; she couldn't handle such strain. Although Ye Chenfeng didn't believe in ghosts or spirits, he felt compelled to stop her from taking such risks.
Without caring about anything else, he stepped forward and shouted, "Grandma, you can't do this!"
Grandma's eyebrows twitched again. Ye Chenfeng noticed her hand holding the incense trembled as well, causing his heart to tighten. He became even more determined not to let her attempt any foolish spirit summoning.
The couple was visibly shaken; the woman trembled and curled up, while the man’s face turned pale, at a loss for what to do.
Ye Chenfeng felt they were just looking for trouble. Ignoring their pleas for mercy, he stormed to the door, filled with anger, and said to them, “You should go back! My grandmother is old and hasn’t dealt with any spirit-related matters for a long time.”
As he spoke, a cold wind blew in from the open door, chilling him to the bone. He glanced at his grandmother, who looked troubled, holding an unlit incense stick in her hand.
The cold wind made Ye Chenfeng instinctively look outside into the darkness, and he was shocked to see the girl who had disappeared earlier reappear.
The girl by the riverside connected in his mind with the desperate couple searching for their daughter. He suddenly blurted out to his grandmother, “Is that girl outside their lost daughter?”
Upon hearing this, his grandmother dropped the incense stick in shock, her expression turning grave and serious. She stepped forward and spat towards the door, saying, “If you are indeed a spirit, come to me in a dream tonight. I will help you find out what happened. Don’t just appear here to scare people for no reason.”
Ye Chenfeng didn’t understand why his grandmother was scolding like that.
As she spoke, the couple clung to each other in fear, staring wide-eyed at the doorway where nothing was visible. During his grandmother's tirade, the girl vanished again.
In the end, the couple left dejectedly, tears in their eyes.
His grandmother told Ye Chenfeng to wash up and go to bed while she sat in the meditation hall chanting for a while before falling asleep herself.
He thought that would be the end of it; stopping his grandmother from getting involved seemed like a significant achievement. However, he had no idea that this matter was far from over. What happened next would be utterly terrifying.
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