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墨書 Inktalez
A person on the brink of death, strong enough to crush someone's wrist like this?
For the first time, Ye Chenfeng's mother felt fear. She didn't even dare to look at Old Mother for long. Old Mother's wrinkled face resembled old tree bark slowly peeling away from her body, devoid of luster, her color turning ashen. Only those small eyes, deeply sunken in their sockets and overwhelmed by more wrinkles, emitted a terrifying light.
In the countryside, there is a saying: people fear death but must confront it. At the moment of death, there is talk of returning to life, and those who are dying exhibit a certain omen—namely, their gaze is different from others.
The eyes of the dead can capture souls—
However, what Ye Chenfeng's mother saw was different from this notion of soul-capturing. She noticed a glimmer in Old Mother's eyes, a line of light akin to that of a cat's eye at noon. This light was peculiar, instilling fear and making her unable to look directly at it.
Before coming to the hospital, Ye Chenfeng had visited a temple.
In Purple City, there is a temple called Feilai Temple. This temple has a legendary story; it is said that long ago, Purple City faced a plague that threatened to decimate the entire city. One night, a temple appeared in an open space in Purple City.
Inside the temple was a well with sweet and refreshing water. Those who were thirsty went to draw water from the well and found that they did not contract the plague.
Soon, news of the miraculous well spread throughout Purple City. The townsfolk flocked to drink from it and drive away the plague, which indeed vanished, leaving everyone in good health. A sign was hung at the temple entrance reading "Feilai Temple." Originally, there were no monks in the temple until someone who had seen through worldly attachments came to shave their head and practice as a monk, thus establishing the first resident monk.
Ye Chenfeng went to Feilai Temple seeking something—incense ash. He also needed black dog blood and brought back a plastic bag of it from Men'er Gou.
Cats' natural enemy is dogs.
Ye Chenfeng appeared at the hospital carrying a peach wood sword, drawing some attention from onlookers. He became the topic of conversation and ridicule that day; people said this child was too young to be engaging in superstitions and had come to the hospital with such nonsense.
Even some more traditional nurses came out to chase him away.
"What are you doing here?"
"I'm just here to visit my seriously ill grandmother."
"Nana?" The nurse looked at Ye Chenfeng suspiciously, trying to discern if he was lying. After a moment of scrutiny, she asked for his grandmother's name and the hospital bed number before allowing him to go.
Ye Chenfeng's mother was at a loss when she saw Old Mother slowly rising. The eerie Cat's Eye stared intently at her, advancing step by step, causing her to panic and stumble against the door. She tried to open it, but it inexplicably wouldn't budge.
"Mom... what’s happening?" Ye Chenfeng's mother trembled all over, terrified by the unfolding scene. At that moment, she seemed to see two sharp teeth protruding from Old Mother's mouth—those were the molars of a cat, much sharper than those of a human.
Ye Chenfeng reached the door of the ward and recited a spell: "Taishang Laojun divides the Three Pure Ones, Mahavairocana stabilizes the Three Souls; Heaven and Earth unite in three fires, grant me the vision to observe Yin and Yang." He had learned this from The Ghost-Quaking Scripture and wasn't sure if it would work. With a mindset of giving it a try, he formed seals and chanted the incantation before opening his eyes again.
The ward door was shrouded in thick black mist—wasn't this what they called evil energy?
He threw a handful of incense ash mixed with Black Dog Blood at the ward door with a loud smack.
The door swung open, revealing his mother curled up on the floor, her face pale with fear. "Nana" lay on the bed, groaning softly.
As the black mist dissipated, Ye Chenfeng helped his mother to her feet and explained what had happened. She nodded and fled from the room as if escaping a nightmare, too terrified to look back.
"Mom," Ye Chenfeng said, "that isn't Nana; something malevolent has possessed her."
Having just witnessed such a horrifying scene, how could Ye Chenfeng's mother not believe him? She wouldn't joke about her life. The first thing she did after running out of the ward was call her husband. She feared for Ye Chenfeng's safety since he was the one who had revived Nana.
Ye Chenfeng stood unafraid, his gaze fixed on "Nana."
She trembled violently, shaking like chaff. Her face was turned inward, away from Ye Chenfeng.
"Are you okay, Nana?" He grabbed a handful of incense ash and spoke as he threw it—smack!—it stuck all over "Nana's" face. Then he recited another spell while forming seals to drive the Cat Spirit out of her body.
"Divine Ceremony, summon thunder; frighten demons and spirits; banish all forms—out!"
A piercing cat scream echoed through the air as a wisp of black mist emerged from Nana's head, taking on a cat-like shape as it lunged toward Ye Chenfeng.
"Good timing." Ye Chenfeng took out a talisman, and the Peach Wood Sword flew up and down, slicing through the air with a sharp whoosh. It sealed off the Cat Spirit's escape routes, while the ash in his hand fell like raindrops toward the Cat Spirit.
The Ghost-Collecting Gourd opened—whoosh! The Cat Spirit was sucked into the Ghost-Collecting Gourd, and the ward fell silent once more.
Ye Chenfeng turned to look at his grandmother. Her body was a desiccated shell, skin sagging thinly over her bones, appearing grotesque from any angle. Just then, the door to the ward was pushed open from the outside, and nurses and doctors rushed in, their faces filled with disbelief as they looked at the scene before them, questioning whether Ye Chenfeng had killed his grandmother.
"Don't jump to conclusions; take a closer look," Ye Chenfeng said cautiously as he carefully sealed the Ghost-Collecting Gourd. He walked over to stand beside his mother, who whispered to him that his father would be arriving soon. "Mom, we really don't need Dad here; let's just take Grandma's remains to the crematorium and be done with it."
Ye Chenfeng spoke to his mother.
The doctor was examining the body, and the results left him stunned.
This corpse had been dead for over a week, meaning they had been treating a body that had been deceased for more than a week. Yet they had clearly seen her alive just before. The doctor was baffled, and the nurses were equally perplexed; there were many things in this world that defied explanation.
The nurses and doctors scratched their heads in confusion but ultimately came to no conclusion. They simply hoped that the family would clear out the ward quickly since there were other patients waiting for beds.
Grandma's remains were sent to the crematorium.
Ye Chenfeng, along with his family and Ding Li, held a formal and solemn farewell ceremony for her.
When they returned home, everyone understood without needing to speak; no one brought up anything about Grandma.
Ye Chenfeng's father insisted on one thing: he absolutely refused to allow Grandma's portrait to be displayed in their home.
This disagreement caused some tension between the couple, but fortunately, Ding Li mediated, allowing the family to move past it amicably.
With the Cat Spirit dealt with, Ye Chenfeng's troubles were not yet over.
There remained questions about Ding Li's future. Would the Evil God continue to haunt her? And what about the matter concerning the Guhua Town Witch?
Ye Chenfeng was about to report to a new school.
These were the things he had to face, making him busier and more anxious than anyone else.
A new semester, a new atmosphere.
Ye Chenfeng took Ding Li to the new school, hoping to transfer her to Purple City for her studies. However, it was not as simple as he imagined. His mother had pleaded endlessly, but the school refused to budge. Left with no choice, Ding Li reluctantly enrolled in the less desirable Purple City Vocational University.
On the eve of reporting to the new school, Ye Chenfeng inherited the responsibilities that Shen Binghan had left behind. He took a letter from Shen Binghan to visit the director of Purple City Fourth Hospital, Zhou Zhisheng. Everyone knew what was going on at the Four Hospitals.
Patients with mental disorders! Their behaviors were abnormal; some stared blankly into space, while others talked to themselves or engaged in actions that were difficult for ordinary people to comprehend. There were also those who seemed deeply lost in thought, their brows furrowed in concentration. The hospital also housed many Normal Persons, who were referred to as caregivers. They wore uniforms and commanded authority as they directed patients on what they should do.
Guided by one of the Normal Persons, Ye Chenfeng went to meet Director Zhou Zhisheng.
As they passed through an area where patients were active, one of them spotted him and rushed over with a wild look in his eyes, shouting, “Brother, I have something to tell you.” If one didn’t know this place was filled with mental patients, they might have thought he was a Normal Person just by looking at his earnest expression.
His demeanor was even more serious than that of a Normal Person—meticulously earnest.
Ye Chenfeng paused slightly, and the guide explained, “Don’t mind him; he’s a severe mental patient.”
“Oh.”
Ye Chenfeng continued walking, but the man seemed unwilling to give up and caught up with him, saying, “Brother, tonight Evil Spirit will start moving.” To others, this would sound like nonsense; in this vast world under the clear sky, how could there be talk of ghosts and spirits?
At first, Ye Chenfeng ignored him and kept walking forward. But then he recalled that Shen Binghan had once told him that bringing this letter to Zhou Zhisheng meant there was something sinister at play in the Mental Hospital—something significant was going to happen after the Ghost Festival.
Stopping under the surprised gaze of his guide, Ye Chenfeng turned around to look at the man who had followed him.
He appeared relatively young—perhaps just over thirty—and was impeccably clean. His face showed signs of tension, and his eyes revealed despair and helplessness.
Seeing Ye Chenfeng stop in his tracks, the man hurriedly rushed over, disregarding everything, and exclaimed, "I'm not crazy, I'm not crazy! I have something to tell this young brother; he is the savior." However, before he could finish his sentence, several burly male nurses dragged him away.
"Mr. Ye, don't listen to his nonsense," said the receptionist, a man with a small mustache, tall and lanky with a somewhat sickly pale complexion. Ye Chenfeng thought to himself that people who lingered in places like this often had a touch of neurosis. He felt that he was not much different from that madman and also exhibited some signs of nervousness.
Just when he wanted to ask the man something up close, the receptionist shouted for help to have the man removed. It seemed like he was afraid of something. With that thought in mind, Ye Chenfeng stole a glance at him.
The receptionist lowered his head in a humble manner and said to Ye Chenfeng, "Mr. Ye, please."
"Don't call me 'Mr.' I'm still a kid; you can call me 'young brother,'" Ye Chenfeng corrected him without breaking stride as he walked toward the open iron door ahead.
This was the isolation area between the mentally ill and normal individuals. Inside was a newly renovated office area, one of which belonged to Director Zhou Zhisheng.
If Shen Binghan hadn't encountered any trouble, he should have been here by now, enjoying a warm welcome from Director Zhou Zhisheng.
Perhaps Zhou Zhisheng had never met Shen Binghan either, for when he saw Ye Chenfeng, he warmly shook his hand and instructed his subordinates to quickly prepare tea and such.
Ye Chenfeng noted that Zhou Zhisheng was not a local; his accent had a hint of northeastern dialect. Given his tall stature, it was evident he was a northeastern man.
Indeed, Zhou Zhisheng introduced himself as hailing from the northeast and mentioned that he had been recruited here after passing an examination in psychology.
After some trivial pleasantries, Zhou Zhisheng hesitated to mention the purpose of inviting Shen Binghan here—or rather, the purpose of inviting Ye Chenfeng.
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