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墨書 Inktalez
In the thick fog, tombstones stood haphazardly on a mound overgrown with wild grass. She was terrified, heart racing, and stepped back, accidentally stepping onto a grave without a tombstone, nearly losing her balance as her phone slipped from her hand and flew far away.
Staring blankly at the cold light of her phone filtering through the weeds, it illuminated only a small area, like a fallen star lost in the grass, its glow weak and feeble.
In truth, I have always wanted a home—complete and solely mine.
Beside me would be my husband and my children; they are my closest loved ones.
I would learn to be a good wife and a good mother. When they were happy, I would share in their joy; when they were sad, I would give them my happiness. And when I felt exhausted and defeated, seeing them would make me feel like I had the whole world. That is the kind of home I have always longed for.
Ding Li silently recited lines from a story in a book she couldn't remember the name of or who wrote it. The book reflected her deep-seated yearning, reminiscent of her childhood—long before that, when her mother held her in her arms as a baby and her father gently touched her tender face with his finger.
Ding Li bent down to pick up her phone and took out the only precious photo from her bag. The photo was slightly yellowed and damp, depicting her as an infant in swaddling clothes.
She pressed the photo to her chest and looked around at the towering, uneven tombstones surrounding her. A wave of fear washed over her; she shivered suddenly and hurriedly retraced her steps. A cold wind blew past, sending chills down her spine.
Then she turned nervously.
Behind her stood two figures silently.
One was her long-missed mother; the other was her unforgettable father.
"Ding Li, why didn’t you come inside when you reached home?"
"Home?" Ding Li felt a surge of panic. The cold wind had jolted her muddled mind back to reality, making her realize she was in the wrong place. Seeing her parents made her even more anxious; it felt as if her legs were rooted to the ground, unable to move. "No, you... you aren't real. You're both dead; how could this be... No, I don't have a home... I don't..."
"Come here, child. Let's go home..."
Her mother placed a hand on one of the tombstones. With a click, a door opened before the gravestone, light spilling out into the darkness. Her father smiled at her alongside her mother—a smile that was disturbingly strange.
"No, you aren't real... it's not true..." Ding Li said as she tried to lift her foot to run away.
"Child... look, we really are your father and mother..." As she spoke, the mother, with her smooth and plump skin, suddenly aged dramatically. Her fair complexion vanished, replaced by a face full of wrinkles and dryness.
"Ah... no..." Ding Li screamed.
The father, who had remained silent until now, was covered in blood. He wiped his bloodied face, tearing away the flaking skin that obscured his eyes. With bulging eyes that were sharp yet calm, he said, "Child, come home..." Then he floated into the open tombstone door with Ding Li's mother.
Ding Li finally found her legs and ran. Suddenly, a haunting voice echoed from behind her: "Child, don't run home..." Then something even more terrifying happened—a pair of withered hands reached out, curling and slithering like a snake towards her as she fled.
"Ah... ah... ah..."
Ding Li woke up—
The room was empty and pitch black.
She was all alone.
The ticking of the alarm clock was particularly jarring, accompanied by her heavy breathing. Her heart raced as she sat up slowly but stumbled and fell back to the floor. Instinctively, she reached for the light switch.
Suddenly, she missed Ye Chenfeng terribly.
What had happened to her? The rough scratches on the calendar still marked the days. She reached up to touch her face and felt it was still hers; her arms were muscular and not the terrifying sight she had imagined.
"Ye Chenfeng... I was wrong... where are you?" Ding Li sobbed as she turned on the light.
She was very hungry.
Every time she felt hunger, she could never hold out for long. She always found various excuses to satisfy herself with a small amount of food to appease the demands of her Five Organs Temple.
But never had she felt this hungry before.
Ding Li wanted to eat Spicy Hot Pot, along with Chuan Chuan Xiang.
The hunger and the nightmare she had just experienced ignited a flicker of hope for life and a fear of death within her.
She had to eat something; she couldn't just die like this.
Moreover, today was the most important day of her life. Ever since meeting Ye Chenfeng, she had been very happy. If it weren't for her own stubbornness, he should have been with her today.
……………………………………………………
Ye Chenfeng was tied up tightly.
The rude man was named Dan Xiangsheng.
The woman was Ding Li.
Dan Xiangsheng and Ding Li were a couple who met online. They admired each other and subsequently removed all the unnecessary people from their lives, rushing toward what they called true love.
Ding Li's birthday was approaching, and Dan Xiangsheng brought her to this remote city far away from the hustle and bustle, hoping to spend a few romantic days together. However, unexpectedly, after he arrived, Ding Li became infatuated with another man online.
That man video-called Ding Li, which Dan Xiangsheng discovered.
As they were in the midst of a heated argument, Ye Chenfeng arrived.
This scapegoat found himself wrongfully accused, bound up like a zongzi and unable to move.
Dan Xiangsheng rummaged through Ye Chenfeng's backpack and pulled out a photo of him with Ding Li.
In the photo, the couple looked very affectionate, leaning against each other with sweet smiles on their faces, showing no signs of pretense.
"Is this your wife?"
"Yes." Ye Chenfeng felt utterly helpless. If only the other party were a ghost, he could have dealt with it using the Ghost-Collecting Gourd.
Dan Xiangsheng pondered for a moment. "Is your wife's name Ding Li?"
Ye Chenfeng frowned, clearly impatient. "Yes."
Dan Xiangsheng looked at his wife, Ding Li, and sighed. "It seems I've mistaken the person." He then untied the ropes binding Ye Chenfeng.
Ding Li was confused about what her husband was doing. She felt extremely anxious but could only watch as he sent Ye Chenfeng away.
Ye Chenfeng took a few steps back and glanced at the window that emitted a bright light.
Two shadows were cast on the window, one of which was very long, resembling someone wearing an enormous black robe. The robe spread open like a massive wing, absorbing the light from inside the room into its darkness.
Ghost Granny—
Ye Chenfeng was secretly alarmed and quickly turned around, heading towards Dan Xiangsheng's doorway with the compass in hand.
The compass's shaking frequency increased, spinning eagerly back and forth.
A talisman flew out, and Ye Chenfeng kicked the door open—
Dan Xiangsheng was half-kneeling on the ground, cradling a now terrifying-looking Ding Li in his arms.
The compass stopped spinning.
Ye Chenfeng's body went rigid; his throat felt dry, and he was at a loss for words.
"Are you a Taoist?" Dan Xiangsheng held onto the now incredibly light and aged Ding Li, his hollow gaze fixed on the window.
The window trembled, as if someone had just rushed out in a hurry.
"Yes and no." Ghost Granny vanished in an instant, so quickly that he barely sensed her departure.
"Is she going to die?"
Ye Chenfeng nodded, his heart heavy, unsure of how to comfort him.
"Did you curse her?"
"No, she saw something terrifying. Her hand was pointing at the window as if it were twitching, and she couldn't speak. Then she became like this, and you walked in."
"Is today her birthday?" Ye Chenfeng had a rather unique gift in his backpack, one he had asked someone to bring from far away. He intended to give it to Ding Li.
"How do you know?" Dan Xiangsheng felt the person in his arms was turning to stone. She was becoming lighter and lighter, unable to utter a word. If it weren't for a tear rolling in her eye, which eventually overflowed after a brief struggle, he would have thought she was already dead.
"It's nothing. I'm sorry I couldn't help you."
"Is it a ghost?" Dan Xiangsheng didn't look at Ye Chenfeng. He had never believed that ghosts truly existed in this world. Was this retribution? His presence had indirectly destroyed two families.
The children from both families were crying bitterly.
"Yes and no."
"Stop being so cryptic and tell me what she is!"
"Devil..." Indeed, Ghost Granny could now be called a devil. She had consumed too many souls; otherwise, she wouldn't have slipped away so easily right under his nose.
"You're a Taoist; can you subdue her?"
"Don't ask for trouble if you don't want to die. Sorry, I have to go find someone." Ye Chenfeng didn't look at Dan Xiangsheng's face; he felt it was unnecessary.
Ye Chenfeng strode forward, marking each place he passed. He refused to be deterred and was determined to cover every inch of this land until he found Ding Li.
Before coming here, Su Mother had informed Ye Chenfeng of the route he should take.
However, during his journey, several streetlights had malfunctioned, leading him astray.
Ye Chenfeng repeatedly told himself that Ding Li was waiting just ahead, needing his help, needing his rescue to survive.
Perhaps it was the connection between two deeply in love individuals that allowed them to sense each other!
While navigating the maze of Evil Village, a call from his heart stunned him as if he had been struck by lightning.
"Ye Chenfeng, I miss you! Where are you?"
"Ding Li..." Ye Chenfeng took off running.
He followed his instincts to the entrance of a villa he hadn't yet visited.
This villa resembled the description given by Su Mother, and his heart raced as he slowly approached the door, his fingers gripping the backpack straps until they were damp with sweat.
Someone was at the door.
Ding Li was extremely nervous; she swallowed hard and walked to the entrance to peek outside through the Cat's Eye.
A light at the door flickered on just then.
In the dim light and shadows, Ye Chenfeng looked around anxiously.
"Is that Ye Chenfeng?" Ding Li asked in disbelief. It was already ten o'clock at night; how could Ye Chenfeng possibly appear at the door? This was Evil Village, and even during the day, she wouldn't dare to go out for fear of getting lost and never finding this villa again.
In the end, Ding Li decided to open the door.
Ye Chenfeng stood outside, sensing that someone inside was watching him.
The door opened.
He immediately saw the polished marble floor inside, decorated in an elegant style with floor-to-ceiling curtains, and a figure standing by the window.
The two looked at each other as if they were lovers who hadn't met for centuries. They rushed into each other's arms tightly.
"Is it really you, Ye Chenfeng?"
Ye Chenfeng kissed her cold lips, lifting her pointed chin. "Yes, it's me. You've lost weight..." His heart ached deeply.
"I don't want to die... I'm scared... very scared..."
"Don't say that; it won't happen. How can you think like this?" Ye Chenfeng cupped her face, looking into her tear-filled eyes. He gently kissed away the tears that were about to spill over and whispered, "As long as I'm here, you'll be fine."
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