The boy smokes sandalwood, much like a human smoking. For him, though, sandalwood isn't cigarettes, it's food.

This is the same as offering incense to the gods and Buddhas in the temple.

After arriving in Wentou Village, he only ate a bowl of instant noodles that I cooked for him, so naturally he couldn't last long. I've seen that his legs have begun to show their skeleton, and he needs not only my 'painted skin' to maintain his human appearance, but also a certain amount of energy.

Energy can be food for us humans or incense for temples, but these two are at most the bottom of the table for him, just like compressed biscuits are for us. He didn't say that I could more or less guess that the countless resentments that had been swallowed up in Hades' Well over the years were probably his source of food.

Whenever I think of this, I tend to form such a picture in my mind-

Black, huge, hollow mouth, deep with fangs. Countless screaming ghosts with their teeth hooked, struggling under their abyss-like mouths......

But that didn't last long.

As long as you face the face of the underworld, it will fall apart in less than a second.

I just feel that such a person, even if I don't give him a 'painted skin', is still an abyss full of mandalas.

It's terrifying, but it's also an inexplicably beautiful existence. Just as I looked when I first saw him half-human, half-skeleton, after the initial tremors, the only feeling left in my mind was a sentence that I had seen somewhere:

Look up at heaven in the most beautiful hell.

Naturally, he didn't know what thoughts were going through my mind when I occasionally took a deep breath.

On the way from my aunt's house to my mother's house, he smoked at least three sticks of sandalwood.

Therefore, even if the windows are open, every corner of the car is still covered with a layer of ancient dark fragrance, which is particularly good.

These sandalwood sticks were found in the camphor wood box in my grandmother's room.

The first time he saw them, there was a palpable look of appreciation in his eyes.

He said he hadn't seen this kind of old mountain sandalwood in a long time.

But when I said this, I don't know if it was my delusion, but I always felt that there seemed to be a little meaning in his eyes.

When the third sandalwood turned into ashes between his fingers, he saw that the two legs of the young man returned to their normal appearance.

My mother's house was in sight, but instead of driving any further, he stopped at the edge of the cemetery. One is that because the road ahead has come to an end, the villagers only build the road to the cemetery, and beyond that there is a field of artemisia grass so high that it can almost bury people. Second, I thought since I had come here, I might as well go and see my dad first.

Since I left Wentou Village in college, I haven't come here to worship him.

I didn't have time to catch up with the manuscript in the first year, so I originally planned to come back for the New Year this year, but this time it happened to be in advance.

But I didn't have much preparation in my hand, only picked a few wild flowers on the side of the road, which was a green orchid that my dad loved very much.

Small purple flowers, blooming in large fields, dotted with stars. In the past, when my dad was around, he would take it back and put it in a cup to decorate the table and windowsill, which was very beautiful.

I often wonder how a rough old man in the countryside can have such a delicate mind, and he laughed and said that he learned it from my mother.

But I didn't seem to see any of them when my mom was around.

After he died, I followed his habit a few times, but every time I saw those flowers, I remembered the beautiful way he looked when he played with them. So he gave it up.

I only pluck some for him every time he goes to the grave, and this time too.

But when I went to his grave, I was a little surprised, because apparently, I had taken these flowers with me a little redundant.

This green orchid grows everywhere around his graveyard.

This place is a place where weeds are rampant, and of course this is the most common plant in the village, and it is now summer, and the flowers are blooming, and at a glance it is a very beautiful patch of purple in pieces.

So I had to use the improvised flowers as a broom and sweep my father's tombstone.

Then I looked at the black and white portrait on the stele, and wanted to say something to him, but every time I came before, I would nag and talk to him a lot, and this time I don't know if there is a young man by his side, so I haven't seen him for a long time, but I can't say anything for a while.

I looked at the still young face in the photo for a while, turned around and wanted to leave, but when I looked up, I saw the house in the distance facing my father's tombstone, and I couldn't help but sigh.

"Dad, has she come to see you?" I asked, turning back to the tombstone.

Naturally, he didn't answer, just smiled quietly in the photo.

I shook my head, "No, I don't. So what's the point of you asking me to put your tombstone in this direction? Instead of looking at the empty house every day, let's see if there are any other beautiful female ghosts around, do you say yes? ”

The wind rustled the green orchids, and there was no sound beyond that, and I rubbed my hands together on broken leaves and mud, and sighed again.

There are some regrets in my heart.

Before I entered the cemetery, I was mentally prepared for what I would see. But in all this time, I have been able to see those dead in any unexpected places, but I have not seen a single one in this place where so many dead people have been buried.

I thought ...... It's possible for me to see him today.

As a result, his nose was slightly sour, and he was looking down to walk all the way forward, when he suddenly heard the unhurried voice of the young man behind him: "You are so keen to find your own stepmother, and you don't even let go of the woman who has died?"

Ben was uncomfortable, but when I heard the last sentence, I laughed out loud.

For a while, it was tears and snot, and it was so embarrassing that I didn't even have a place to hide.

Fortunately, he couriered the tissues. I almost snatched it and quickly pressed it against my face.

Then I pointed to the lonely house in front of me under the night sky, and I said to him, "Look, that's my mother's house." With your ability, I think it shouldn't be difficult to tell from this distance whether there is anyone in that house. Can you tell me there's someone in there?"

Mom's house is a small two-story building isolated among the overgrown weeds.

Although it is a two-story floor, it is really small, and I vaguely remember that there are only two rooms on the ground floor, one is the guest hall and the other is the stove room.

The bedroom is on the second floor, the only one on the second floor, next to the staircase, and on the side is the half-finished landing.

The stairs were made of simple wooden bars, there was not even a handrail to go up, and the floor seemed to creak and shake as if the whole house was creaking. Therefore, if such a house is placed in the city, it can only be called a dangerous building.

However, from the storage and bedroom furnishings everywhere, you can still get a glimpse of the quality of my mother's life in the past.

Although she is materially poor, like her father, she likes to keep everything organized and clean.

And there are few pieces of furniture in the bedroom, which is the most popular style in the city in the era of her youth.

Compared with other women of the same age in the village at that time, she can be said to have a very delicate life.

But that nostalgic delicacy is covered with a thick layer of dust.

The first time I went in, it was even more so.

Apparently no one had entered the house since the last time I visited, and not only was there a thick layer of dust and cobwebs hanging from all sides, but many places were even occupied by all kinds of weeds that had been drilled out of the ground.

The moment you push the door in, it's like entering a dilapidated plant conservatory.

I looked up at the vine-covered staircase, and I thought a monkey would pop out of it in the next second.

Therefore, I almost had no desire to go in, and after completely extinguishing my last faint hope with facts, I turned and walked out the door: "I think she must indeed be dead, I have already told my father, I can't always think of her ruthless and unrighteous person." ”

"Heh, that ruthless and unrighteous person once knelt down to beg people everywhere in order to cure your illness, and you forgot?"

As the words came from my head, my right eyeball ached violently.

The sudden stimulus made me stumble.

But I didn't bother to stand still, so I immediately glanced at the window next to me.

The reflection of the glass on the window illuminated half of my face, blurry, but still visible, and the pupil of my right eye was suddenly blood-red.

My heart skipped two beats in an instant. All kinds of things during this period of time made me almost forget that there is still such a existence in my eyes.

The shadow of that bewitching face looked at me through my pupils.

The corners of his mouth smirked, and he shook his head at me: "People are really heartless animals. ”

As soon as he finished speaking, he disappeared into blood, and soon disappeared with the pain.

Because there was an extra figure in the reflection of the glass.

Skeleton Shadow, to be exact.

Mirrors don't lie, even if the Underworld is wearing my 'painted skin'.

But when I saw his skeleton again, I didn't feel terrible at all.

If you look at it more, you will get used to it, and you will even feel that this bone is really one in a million beautiful.

Otherwise, how can we perfectly interpret the appearance of 'painted skin'.

The brief shift of attention from this thought slowly calmed me down from the chaotic emotions that the Snow Bodhisattva had brought to me before.

I looked at the dark eyes of the young man on the windowpane and took a light breath: "He's right, how could I forget." Although I still can't let go of her departure, everything that has been there will not disappear with her departure, so I shouldn't use my own thoughts to force the relationship between the two of them. ”

With that, I walked straight out the door, and then I heard him ask me, "Where are you going?"

"Go back. I replied. "Since she's still not here, I really don't know where else to find her, so I'm just here to try my luck......"

Before he could finish speaking, he stopped abruptly because he suddenly handed the hand in front of me.

I was stunned.

"What is this?" I asked him, looking at the thing lying quietly in his palm.

I remember this thing, I saw him fiddling with it when I was in my house before.

At that time, it was just a quick glance, and it vaguely looked like a bone-like thing.

It's close at hand, and if you look closely, it's indeed a bone.

But the bone had been polished in a very rough way, and two holes had been made in front of it, one behind the other, so I don't know what it was meant to be.

But the young man didn't give me an answer, just looked at me quietly, and asked, "Do you know how to blow the whistle?"

I nodded subconsciously.

"Take it, go to the southwest corner of this house, and try to blow it. ”

"Why?" I asked, taking the object in his palm into his hand.

Again, he did not answer, but I followed his words and walked to the southwest corner of the room.

I don't know why he suddenly asked me to do this, but I did what he said, and it seems to have become a reflex to my recent behavior.

I don't know if it's good or bad, but every time I don't seem to have a choice but to obey.

The southwest corner is in the stove room.

Said it was a stove, but I couldn't see any kitchen supplies except for an empty stove.

Obviously, my mom basically didn't cook when she was alone, so how did she start a gang?

As I pondered the question, I stood still in front of the window of the stove.

It's the closest thing to the southwest in the whole house, so should I blow it then?

I picked up the bone, and when I put it to my mouth, I still couldn't help but look at the underworld, and asked, "What happens if you blow it?"

I didn't see him answer for a long time, and I frowned.

The suspicion was deeper, but he still put the part with the front hole open into his mouth and carefully blew it.

After blowing, there was no sound at all.

I think it might be that the force is too light.

He let go of his courage and added a little force, and blew hard into the hole again.

This time, there was still no sound coming from the thing.

I was stunned.

Looking down at the strange-looking bone, I suddenly thought, is he teasing me?

But then he denied it, because he was not the kind of boring person at all.

I was hesitating to blow for the third time, when suddenly there was a bang outside the window, and I was breathing.

It was as if there was a sudden gust of wind.

But, how could a gust of wind suddenly arise on a good day?

As soon as this confusion arose, it suddenly dawned on me that the sound was not a gust of wind at all.

It's the wind that a large animal brings out when it's running at great speed.

As soon as I figured this out, a huge black shadow suddenly fell from the sky, lightning over the windowsill and rushed straight in my direction!

I was taken aback.

I was busy hiding, where was the time, and I only felt my shoulders sink sharply.

It was so heavy that I almost felt like I had been folded up and inserted into the ground.

So one stumbled.

As I fell to the ground, I saw the black shadow leap forward with the force of the force on my shoulder.

Immediately followed by a low roar, I watched as it was impartial, and flew down towards the young man who was standing motionless at the door of the stove, and bit it viciously!

But what shocked me at the moment was not its action, but its own actions.

Oh, my God......

How to describe it, this black shadow is actually a white-fronted tiger with hanging eyes bigger than a buffalo......

What the hell?!

After living for more than 20 years, I haven't even seen a zoo tiger except for TV movies.

But in Wentou Village, where there are not even many dogs, I saw a live tiger at such a close distance......