Mona Lisas blutiges Auge

Kapitel 7

"Huh?"

"Yes, since ancient times, people have been born and died, and the cycle of cause and effect continues. But there are always some souls that slip through the loop. Some souls, due to their strong resentment or obsession, wander the world endlessly. Eventually, their resentment becomes too heavy and they explode. These exploded souls become countless streams of energy, which then enter the bodies of weak creatures and become 'li' (唳). Because li are outside the cycle of cause and effect, any soul that is hit by a li will escape the path of reincarnation and become a wandering soul." Gu Ming explained patiently, while I listened in a daze, only half understanding.

"Then why did he turn back into that cute little kid from before?"

Gu Ming snorted coldly, "If I'm not mistaken, it's not just him; the moonlight is about to receive a group of wandering souls."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"That means someone is deliberately causing trouble behind the scenes. This kid has a lot of yin energy on him, so the guy behind him is definitely not human."

"Huh? Ghosts use ghosts too?" I exclaimed. Everyone says that where there are people, there is conflict, but I never thought that ghosts would be unequal as well.

Just then, I heard the wind chimes by the door ringing loudly. I looked up and was startled. One ghost after another floated in—men and women, old and young, red-faced, black-faced, and white-faced—all laughing and crowding around. I raised an eyebrow, deciding it was safer to stand behind Gu Ming; after all, these ghosts might not be friendly.

"Hey girl, give me a bottle of Erguotou!" A rough shout came from behind. I peeked out and saw a man in his thirties banging on the bar and yelling. I was puzzled. Gu Ming was right in front of me, so why was he asking me for alcohol? Besides, where would I find Erguotou?

"Vodka." Another female ghost floated over and stared at me, saying, "You, come here, I want vodka."

"I want ice cream!" A little girl, about five or six years old, called out from somewhere nearby. "Sister, sister, I want ice cream..."

Then those inexplicable ghosts started shouting and demanding that I serve them. Suddenly, I felt that my monthly salary of 2,500 was too low. If I had to endure this kind of stimulation every day, I wouldn't do it even if you gave me 10,000.

After a long silence, Gu Ming suddenly turned around, looked at me, and smiled. "Xiao Mo, who did you offend?"

I said, on the verge of tears, "Look at how honest I am, who could I possibly offend?"

Gu Ming nodded thoughtfully, "That's right. Someone like you wouldn't seduce a married man, wouldn't arouse evil intentions in bad people, and wouldn't attract strange creatures..."

“Gu Ming…” I gritted my teeth, “Do you think now is the time to mock me?”

Gu Ming shrugged, gave me an ambiguous smile, and then conjured several talismans from his fingertips, instantly igniting them. Clusters of blue flames shot up and swirled above the moonlight, looking extremely eerie.

At this moment, the ghosts that had surged in stopped screaming and stared blankly upwards. Then, one of the ghosts let out a shriek, and the flames, as if they had eyes, suddenly flew down and swirled among the ghosts. The moonlight was instantly filled with ghostly wails, and wisps of white smoke rose from each ghost. The ghosts, who had previously appeared normal, now revealed their true forms: black blood, scars, and white bones filled the view. A stench permeated the bar. I closed my eyes and hugged Gu Ming tightly from behind. The terrifying scene I had never witnessed before made my fingers tremble uncontrollably, while my sense of taste and hearing became unusually acute. The screams and stench made me want to vomit. Just as my mind was in chaos, all the sounds disappeared, and a strange fragrance suddenly entered my nose, only to vanish again as soon as I noticed it.

I opened my eyes and carefully looked up, only to see an empty room, without any ghosts or monsters, as if nothing had happened. "Huh?" I blinked, making sure I really hadn't seen anything.

"I've taken them all away," Gu Ming said calmly.

"Wow, they're all gone so quickly? You're really amazing."

"Isn't it all your fault? I was planning to question them properly, but seeing you about to faint, I sent them all away." Gu Ming sighed. "Why are you still so timid?"

"Am I a coward?"

"kindness."

"What makes you think I'm a coward?"

Seeing that Gu Ming remained silent, I said indignantly, "Nothing to say now? No evidence left? Tch."

Gu Ming sighed again and asked lazily, "Xiao Mo, have you noticed where you are right now?"

"Where?" I looked around. "Aren't we still at the bar?"

Where are your hands?

Hands? I looked down. Suddenly I saw my hands tightly hugging Gu Ming from behind.

"Ah!" I quickly let go, my face burning with embarrassment.

Gu Ming smiled sinisterly, "You still say you're not afraid?"

"What's it to you whether I'm scared or not?" She rolled her eyes at Gu Ming and glanced at her watch; it was already two o'clock.

get off work!

March 19, 2005

I was woken up by Deng Fei banging on the door this morning. I had barely opened my eyes when he grabbed my shoulders and shook me violently, yelling as he shook me until my bones felt like they were about to break, "Xiao Mo, there's a ghost! There's a ghost! There were ghosts all night..."

"Deng Fei, can you let go first? You're shaking me to death."

"Oh." Deng Fei looked at my expression, finally let go, and then told me about his experience last night. He said that he had just fallen asleep when he heard a rustling sound in the room, and then the computer and chair flew up. There was constant laughter from men and women, and his clothes and pillow were also grabbed by something. In short, it was extremely terrifying.

I looked at his dark circles and pale face, which were clearly terrified, with sympathy and comforted him. Then I told him that I had also seen many ghosts last night, but I was less fortunate than him and only saw what those ghosts looked like.

Deng Fei asked why we would attract those things, and I looked at him innocently and said I didn't know either. Deng Fei then asked me if ghosts all like good-looking people, and I asked him in surprise if he thought I was pretty. Deng Fei thought for a moment and denied the hypothesis.

"Have you been to some unclean place?" Gu Ming's voice came from the doorway. I looked up and saw him leaning against the door with a look of amusement on his face. I had no idea how long he had been there.

"An unclean place?" Deng Fei blinked, then looked at me thoughtfully and said, "It's not Er Gou Manor, is it?"

"Yes, I saw a female ghost there, and I also smelled a very special floral fragrance." I nodded.

"Isn't the female ghost pretty?" Gu Ming asked with a lecherous grin.

“Even uglier than Xiao Mo,” Deng Fei interjected.

"That's truly tragic," the charlatan said with a look of pity, completely ignoring my ashen face.

At noon, I took out my phone and extorted a meal of stone pot barbecue from Deng Fei. Gu Ming also agreed to take Deng Fei in before the ghosts disappeared, so the three of us had a big meal. However, when it came time to pay the bill, Deng Fei looked very depressed, while I was in a great mood.

Moonlight Cinema opens at 10 p.m. A few men and women came in, chatting and drinking until midnight. One man got drunk and started shouting that he was the reincarnation of Dong Cunrui. Deng Fei chuckled to himself and muttered, "I'm Huang Jiguang, too." Then I told him that the way he chuckled actually looked like a weasel.

At exactly twelve o'clock, the moonlit wind chimes rang loudly again. I instinctively hid behind Gu Ming. Deng Fei stared at me blankly, not understanding what was going on. When he turned around, he screamed, his eyes rolled back, and he fainted.

The ghosts that came today were all ugly. Obviously, the person behind them didn't have time to put any effort into dressing them up. I secretly saw groups of evil ghosts, covered in blood, approaching step by step. Gu Ming asked in confusion, "Why are all the ghosts wearing ancient costumes today?"

I rolled my eyes, wishing I could faint along with Deng Fei.

The group of ghosts stopped abruptly in front of the bar, then uniformly reached out to grab us. Gu Ming reacted quickly, shaking his head and producing a bottle of amber liquid from somewhere. He formed a hand seal with his left hand and casually sprinkled the liquid with his right. The outstretched hands snapped off with a series of crackling sounds, and the moonlight was filled with ghostly wails once more. Gu Ming said to me helplessly, "It's really awful." Then he pulled a long red rope from behind the bar, muttered some incantations, and tossed it into the air. The red rope flew up, encircling each ghost in front of it, then spun rapidly. In the blink of an eye, the group of ghosts was bound together and placed in front of the bar.

"Want to know what you've gotten yourself into trouble with?" Gu Ming asked with a smile.

How do you know?

"Hehe, it's very simple." Gu Ming took out a plastic bag from the cabinet and handed it to me. It was full of small black balls the size of chocolate chips. "Feed them, and I don't believe the main character won't come."

What is this thing?

“Thunderball. There’s pure yang talisman water in here. Those ghosts were drawn here by a yin force. They were injured by the pure yang talisman water, so the master behind them must be injured as well. The yin force’s pull won’t break anytime soon. Now that the master is injured, we can capture him by following the talisman…”

"I'm too scared to feed them." I remained hidden behind Gu Ming, still looking at the ghosts.

Gu Ming sighed, grabbed the bag, and tossed the lightning ball into the horde of ghosts. The small black ball seemed attracted by something, and with a whoosh, it flew into the mouths of the ghosts. Having ingested the lightning ball, the ghosts' internal yin energy surged, and something inside their chests began to writhe violently. In a short while, the exploding lightning ball damaged their yin energy, and the ghosts' bodies began to change. Their eyeballs and hair fell out and disappeared, and a bloody, foul stench filled the air. Their skin hissed, and several ghosts began to disintegrate, howling as they turned into a pool of black water. A cloud of purple mist appeared within the black water. Gu Ming exclaimed, pulled out a talisman, tossed it up, enveloping the purple mist, and then retrieved it, placing it face down in his wine glass.

"What is this?" I asked.

“Screech.” Gu Ming frowned and said, “Usually, when a wandering soul is injured by a screech, a trace of white screech remains in its body. But these screechs are actually purple and can form a mist. It seems that the thing behind it has quite a lot of magical power. Even the ghosts and monsters controlled by it can be tainted with such a strong screech aura. It’s not simple.”

As they were talking, the howling from the ghost horde gradually subsided, and large wisps of purple mist drifted out. Gu Ming used the same method to absorb all the wailing energy, then lit a dark talisman. The talisman transformed into a ball of black fire that rushed towards the ghost horde. Then, a thin purple line appeared in the middle of the ghost horde. Gu Ming formed hand seals with both hands, and the black fire began to burn along with the purple line. It seemed as if an invisible pair of hands began to pull what was behind the purple line towards us. I watched this scene nervously. In less than half a moment, a familiar and peculiar fragrance wafted over, and a white figure gradually became clear in the distance. With wide eyes, a female ghost gracefully landed, chuckling, "You actually managed to pull me here with a black spell. I underestimated you."

I murmured, looking at the female ghost in front of me, and called out, "Aunt Gao."

Aunt Gao glanced at me, smiling eerily. I suddenly felt a chill run down my spine; her eyes were so unfamiliar, so unlike those of the passionate woman I knew. Gu Ming kept staring at Aunt Gao without saying a word, and the two remained locked in a stalemate until Aunt Gao suddenly lunged at me with a maniacal laugh. My body instantly felt as if it had fallen into an ice cellar; the surrounding air was unusually cold, my mind was a complete blank, and the entire bar inexplicably began to shake.

At that moment, Gu Ming grabbed my hand from behind, and a warm feeling came from his palm. My vision returned to normal, and I saw that Aunt Gao's pale and sharp hand was about to pounce on me. I closed my eyes in fear, but there was no pain as expected. Instead, my body felt light and airy, and there was a warm hand on my waist.

When I opened my eyes again, I found Gu Ming looking at me and laughing. For some reason, we had retreated to the back of the bar. Aunt Gao stood motionless in front of the bar with her hands stiff and a talisman stuck to her forehead.

"What...what happened?" I asked Gu Ming.

"The Demon-Subduing Spell." Gu Ming shrugged, pinched his index finger, and the talisman burst into flames. Aunt Gao let out a hoarse scream, a ball of flame flashed, and her entire body suddenly turned into a deep purple gas, disappearing without a trace.

"She...she's gone? Aunt Gao doesn't seem like a bad person." I watched Gu Ming withdraw the purple aura, and suddenly remembered the bag of dates she had given me, and felt a little uncomfortable.

“That’s not Aunt Gao at all,” Gu Ming said. “She’s just a fake ghost that was created. But judging from the aura she exudes, I can’t imagine how powerful the real mastermind is. I’ve never seen such a powerful aura among the things that have escaped the cycle of reincarnation.”

"What should we do then?" I asked.

"It's all up to fate," Gu Ming said calmly, seemingly unconcerned. But I was extremely nervous; what if that ghost attacked us from the shadows?

"Gu Ming, can I learn magic from you?"

"Can."

"When will you teach me?"

"Wake up."

"Great, Gu Ming, I suddenly realized you're really handsome."

"I've always felt that way..."

We chatted as we went back to our rooms to sleep. As dawn approached, I suddenly remembered that Deng Fei was still unconscious on the floor...

March 20, 2005, Sunny

Today, Gu Ming taught me magic, and Deng Fei, who was so frightened, also asked to learn with me. Later, I thought I might as well call Xiao Bi over too; one person learning is one thing, three people learning is another. Gu Ming just watched me busy around with a smile, without any intention of charging me tuition, which surprised me.

The first lesson was drawing talismans. I didn't understand what those strange characters meant, but Gu Ming said to just draw them. So the three of us drew them for a whole morning according to the template, and our hands got sore.

In the afternoon, Gu Ming inspected the results. Xiao Bi drew five types of talismans, totaling 120, Deng Fei drew six types, totaling 202, and I drew nine types, totaling 236. Xiao Bi asked me why I was working so hard, and I said I was saving lives. Gu Ming sorted through the thick stack of talismans, picked out some that were not up to standard, and then nodded and said, "Not bad, the talismans in our inventory are almost used up."

Looking at Xiao Bi and Deng Fei's twitching lips, I finally understood why he wouldn't charge us tuition.

After drawing the talisman, Deng Fei insisted on learning spells to deal with ghosts. Gu Ming said that those spells could not be learned without ten years of practice, so we reluctantly learned some of the simplest and most basic ones, such as... illusion spells.

At first, Xiao Bi asked excitedly, "Can an illusion make others unable to see you?"

Gu Ming said, "Why don't you just knock him out and he won't be able to see?"

Xiao Bi then asked, "So what exactly is an illusion?"

Gu Ming took a simple talisman from the ones we had drawn, and gently lit it. After burning completely, the talisman transformed into a stack of banknotes. Xiao Bi, his eyes glowing green, reached out, but the banknotes vanished with a snap. Everyone then realized that the illusion was just a magical trick, and they were all astonished.

After Gu Ming taught us the incantation, he lazily sat aside and watched us practice. But after an afternoon, we realized how difficult it was to master the spell that we had looked down on.

First, we cannot make Fu Wu Huo spontaneously combust like Gu Ming did; we must use a igniter.

Second, they often forget the mnemonic.

Third, the incantation was not finished before the talisman was burned.

Fourth, the incantation has been recited and the talisman has been burned... and that's it, there's no reaction at all.

Fifth, finally, banknotes appeared, but they were only one thousand yuan notes.

Sixth, one hundred and one copies were produced, but there was only one copy.