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墨書 Inktalez
Without the moon and stars, a thick haze enveloped the tents, casting heavy shadows that no knife could cut through, no needle could pierce. Ye Chenfeng and his companions seemed to be submerged in a dark ocean, where only their three small tents stood amidst the vast emptiness. In the distance, faint lights flickered from scattered houses on the mountains, resembling the bioluminescence of the deep sea.
Throughout the night, there was no wind; the incessant chirping of insects sounded like a haunting melody, piercing through the extreme silence of the mountains and instilling a deep sense of fear.
For Ye Chenfeng, staying in this rural village was not a new experience. As a child, he had to follow his grandmother around like an inseparable shadow while his parents were busy with work. Though his grandmother cared for him, he still had moments of childishness—sniffling and crying in fear of the dark.
Looking back now, he realized how hard it must have been for his grandmother to raise his mother and then him. After he went to the city for school, she passed away without him knowing when or how it happened. He also had no idea when Cat Spirit took over her body.
Upon arriving in this vast rural area, Shen Binghan, Qin Keqing, and Su Bei found everything particularly novel yet strangely stimulating and unsettling.
If it weren't for Ye Chenfeng warning them about various taboos in the village, they would have wanted to explore and perhaps catch a frog or an owl for fun.
Ye Chenfeng remarked, "Come on, what season is it? There are no frogs around; even toads are hibernating."
Su Bei protested in a deep voice, "No way! It's late autumn; there should be toads hopping around outside."
Qin Keqing added, "After driving all this way, I’m feeling sleepy. You two seem energetic; instead of wandering off, why not keep watch outside? Don’t forget we have a beauty to protect here."
Shen Binghan smiled at Su Bei and said, "Looks like your chance to shine has come, buddy."
Su Bei glanced at Sun Hong, who was staring intently at a crumpled piece of paper in his hands as if he hadn’t heard their conversation.
"Alright, according to our plan, Shen Binghan and Qin Keqing will take the first half of the night watch while Su Bei and I will take over for the second half. Now it's time to sleep; we need to recharge for tomorrow's adventures," Ye Chenfeng said. He had important matters to attend to—he needed to find out where Ghost Granny's spirit resided. Ghost Granny was born from heartbreak and resentment. Before coming here, he confirmed that none of them were seriously considering finding lifelong partners; they were all still single guys without girlfriends.
This arrangement felt safer; if Ghost Granny were nearby, she wouldn’t be able to manipulate anyone into cursing others.
They had agreed beforehand that everyone would follow Ye Chenfeng's lead.
So when he called for sleep, no one disobeyed. They all obediently crawled into their tents, closed their eyes, and seized the opportunity to rest. Tomorrow would be theirs to enjoy—provided they didn’t violate any rural taboos.
Su Bei was lying next to Ye Chenfeng, who was quite talkative. Even after a long while, he continued to chatter, "You know, if we keep heading west, will it be like when Tang Seng went to get the scriptures and saw Tathagata Buddha?"
Ye Chenfeng turned over dismissively and replied, "Sure, you might even bring back a whole bundle of true scriptures. Then you'd achieve great merit, surpassing the honor of Tang Xuanzang and become a historical figure."
"I do want to be a person remembered through the ages, but there’s no route marked on the map leading further," Su Bei said, puzzled. Why was there no sign for this mountain village on the map? If only there were, they could try walking further; perhaps they would actually find something worthwhile!
"Are you going to sleep or not? If you're not sleeping, get up and keep watch," Ye Chenfeng urged.
"They're on watch; wouldn't I just be redundant?" Su Bei mumbled before falling silent and drifting off to sleep.
Ye Chenfeng also fell asleep—though he felt uneasy, as if he hadn’t truly slept. Suddenly, he heard music coming from somewhere nearby. It sounded like the kind of noise made during rural celebrations. Slowly, he got up and followed the sound outside.
He saw Qin Keqing and Shen Binghan talking. They were rubbing their hands together around a campfire, so he approached them.
"Do you think Ye Chenfeng still has feelings for that Ding Li woman?" Shen Binghan asked.
Qin Keqing shot her a glare and said, "No matter what she does, it has nothing to do with you. She’s his sister-in-law. Stop talking nonsense about that filthy woman; be careful or Ye Chenfeng will find out and beat you up."
Ye Chenfeng was puzzled; he was right behind them—couldn’t they see him? With that thought in mind, he walked over and called out, "Qin Keqing, Shen Binghan, what are you talking about?"
"Achoo... Did you catch a cold?" Shen Binghan said as she pulled up her collar and shrank her neck in fear while looking around at the pitch-black surroundings.
"Then you should wear another layer... Achoo... Damn it, colds are contagious," Qin Keqing said while covering her mouth and nose, frowning as she muttered.
The two girls sneezed again.
Still feeling unnoticed, Ye Chenfeng moved a little closer and reached out to pat Qin Keqing on the shoulder. She jumped slightly and turned her head nervously to ask, "What’s going on?"
Qin Keqing's face changed, and Shen Binghan couldn't help but laugh, saying, "What's going on? It must be that the female ghost here has taken a liking to you, sneaking up and blowing in your ear."
Just then, Ye Chenfeng leaned in and shouted in his ear, "Qin Keqing."
Startled, Qin Keqing jumped up and exclaimed, "Really, I feel something is off. I heard someone calling, and there's... cold air by my ear."
"Ha... buddy... trying to scare me?" Shen Binghan looked around, seeing nothing behind Qin Keqing. He hadn't heard any shouting.
Not wanting to stay any longer, Qin Keqing dashed a few steps and dove into the tent. No matter how Shen Binghan called out, he refused to come out.
Shen Binghan lifted the tent flap and said to Qin Keqing, "Dude, this night is full of surprises. Sun Hong's tent is right between ours; what could possibly happen? We might as well tell Ye Chenfeng and just sleep well. Tomorrow, everything will be fine. Besides, there are guard dogs at the farmhouse!"
Qin Keqing thought for a moment, "Should we go tell them?"
"Forget it. What if Ye Chenfeng gets riled up and tells us to keep watch? Ah... I really want to sleep." Shen Binghan yawned and crawled into his sleeping bag, not wanting to move anymore.
Ye Chenfeng witnessed their dereliction of duty without any organization or discipline and felt angry. He followed them inside and yelled at both of them, "Get up!" But it was pointless; just moments ago when he did that, Qin Keqing couldn't even see him. Was his soul leaving his body again?
Indeed, Ye Chenfeng's soul had left his body.
It was the strange sound earlier that caused his soul to drift away. He felt there was a cry for help within that eerie sound: "Help... someone come save me..."
Ye Chenfeng followed the direction of the voice.
He walked seriously through the dark space when he noticed something new; it wasn't fireflies—there were none in this season. What was it? A green glow, sparkling and floating.
Ye Chenfeng chased after it, moving toward something closer to him.
As he reached out to grab it within his grasp, the object felt cold as ice—chillingly so—and he quickly dropped it in shock.
A sparkling object fell to the ground, and with a puff, it transformed into a wisp of smoke. Within the smoke appeared a graceful woman, delicate and ethereal.
The woman was dressed in light gauze, resembling a fairy descending from the heavens, floating towards him.
Ye Chenfeng, realizing that she was not to be trifled with, found himself captivated by her enchanting smile just as he was about to take action.
Amidst the swirling mist, he felt himself being drawn toward the dark distance by her presence.
"Who are you?" Ye Chenfeng asked, feeling that her face was familiar but unable to recall who she was.
"I am a soul."
"I want to capture you."
"You have already captured me."
"What did I just capture?"
"A gourd containing souls."
"Ghost-Collecting Gourd?"
"No, in our place, there is a custom that when someone dies, they must be buried with a gourd. The souls reside within the gourd."
Ye Chenfeng felt that this place was strange, unlike the Zhanglin Village they had visited during the day. He asked, "What is this place?"
"The Place Where We Are Buried."
"Unmarked Graveyard?" Ye Chenfeng suddenly jolted awake. It was still pitch black around him. He reached out and touched something furry—Su Bei's leg resting across him. Startled, he yelled as if he had seen a ghost, "Hey, Ye Chenfeng, don't mess with me!"
Then, the lights turned on.
Both tents were illuminated.
It was no joke; this was the powerful flashlight that Qin Keqing had specifically bought. Its beam could penetrate the dim mist for several meters.
Ye Chenfeng got up, and Qin Keqing along with Shen Binghan had already arrived at their tent entrance, asking who had been shouting just now and what was going on.
Su Bei, looking aggrieved, spoke up, "Ye Chenfeng is bullying me; he touched my thigh."
Ye Chenfeng snorted coldly, "You must be dreaming! Who touched your thigh? You're not even a beauty; if you were a beauty, I wouldn't hesitate to take you." With that, he walked out under the astonished gazes of Qin Keqing and Shen Binghan.
Sun Hong's tent remained dark.
Ye Chenfeng recalled the woman in light gauze from earlier; she resembled Sun Hong. He strode over and shouted, "Sun Hong! Sun Hong! Answer me!"
There was no response from inside the tent, and the silence made Ye Chenfeng's heart skip a beat. He shook the powerful flashlight and approached, noticing that the zipper was intact. He called out again but still received no reply, so he unzipped the tent.
The bright flashlight illuminated Sun Hong's tent space, which was surprisingly tidy with not a single item out of place. This meant that Sun Hong hadn't been sleeping or even inside the tent at all. So where had she gone?
Ye Chenfeng's sharp gaze turned towards the timid Qin Keqing and Shen Binghan, who dared not speak.
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