Our family has been making a living from paper binding for generations, specializing in the funeral business.

Of course, this is just the appearance, in fact, what has been inherited from our family is not only the craft of paper binding, but also many unknown evil methods, such as paper to revive the soul, peeling skin to continue life, and so on.

Of course, there is also the feng shui master's technique on the grandfather.

Probably because this profession always deals with the dead, which is detrimental to yin morality, so when I was nine years old, my parents died one after another, and my grandfather single-handedly brought me up.

For as long as I can remember, there has been a strange lantern hanging on the beam of my house, I don't know what it is made of, the surface is red as if it had been soaked in blood, and it is extremely strong, and there is not the slightest sign of damage and weathering for more than ten years.

And at night, the lantern always makes a strange "creaking" sound, as if something inside the lantern is about to break through the lampshade and run out.

Therefore, I was very afraid of this lantern and tried to take it down and throw it away more than once, but my grandfather warned me many times not to touch it under any circumstances.

This lantern became a nightmare in my mind.

On weekdays, my grandfather was watching the shop, and I was just doing some manual work such as paper tie people and paper horses, but that day my grandfather went to the town to buy materials, so I watched the shop in front.

It was summer, the sun was hot at noon, and the hot people's heads were dizzy, I was sitting on the recliner at the door and was drowsy, and I was suddenly woken up by Meng Xiyao!

may be because grandpa has a good relationship with the Meng family.

I have a relationship with Meng Xiyao, the only daughter of the Meng family, like childhood sweethearts.

But there's one thing that keeps me thinking.

Grandpa always didn't let me play with Meng Xiyao, sometimes Meng Xiyao came to me, and grandpa would even drive her away when she saw it, which made Meng Xiyao very afraid of grandpa.

Today, because my grandfather is not at home, she dares to come to my house.

Meng Xiyao is a very naughty girl, although my grandfather is very against her, but many times he will often come to me when my grandfather is not at home.

"Qing Yu, you don't look good and sleep in the shop."

Meng Xiyao woke me up and glared at me again.

"Who will come to buy things at noon?"

I said as I took the straw hat next to me and buttoned it up on my face.

At this time, the sound of footsteps suddenly came, and I subconsciously removed my straw hat to take a look, only to see an old man wearing a big gray cotton jacket and a felt hat stopped in front of the shop.

It's really strange that this person is wearing a big padded jacket in such a hot weather, and there is no sweat on his face at all.

"Young man, bring me three sticks of incense."

I was thinking about it, and the old man had already spoken!

His voice was also hoarse, with an old smoky voice.

I didn't speak, I got up, took three sticks of incense from the incense tube next to me and handed it to him.

In fact, the business in our store is not very good, if it is not for the people in the village to take care of it, basically we can't sell much things, and suddenly a living person appeared that day, which made me very curious.

"How much?"

The old man asked me expressionlessly.

"This incense is sold one by one, and it's not easy to collect money for three sticks, so the old gentleman just takes it!"

I said with a smile.

The old man didn't speak, took the incense and turned around and left!

"Are you stupid? Why don't you want money? ”

Meng Xiyao asked me puzzled.

"This man is eccentric, I don't dare to take his money."

I said that I divided the stall by two, and then closed the shop!

"Why don't you just wear a big padded jacket in the summer? What's the big deal? ”

Meng Xiyao said unhappily.

I shook my head and didn't speak, and pulled Meng Xiyao into the backyard.

If you just wear a padded jacket in the summer, it's nothing, it's just strange at best.

But this old man is wearing a padded jacket on such a hot day, but he doesn't sweat at all, so there are only two possibilities, the first is that he was born with a cold body, and the second is ......

I shook my head, hoping it wasn't the latter.

Putting aside the speculation in my heart, I went to the living room to make a cup of tea, and when I came out, I found that Meng Xiyao was not in the yard!

"San'er, why is this lantern so strange?"

Meng Xiyao's voice suddenly came from my room, and when I looked up, my face suddenly changed.

Because at this time, Meng Xiyao was talking while touching the lantern hanging on the beam with her hand.

"Don't touch it......"

I hurriedly shouted.

But it's too late!

Meng Xiyao poked the lantern with her hand, causing the lantern to dangle in midair.

But my shouting also startled Meng Xiyao, and she looked at me with a pale face.

"Come out quickly."

I hurriedly ran in and pulled Meng Xiyao out of the house.

"Why are you so loud?"

Meng Xiyao looked at me a little angrily after she came out.

"I'm not shouting at you, it's because you touched the lantern just now and scared me! Grandpa told me many times that I should never touch this thing. ”

"Humph! What's the big deal. ”

Meng Xiyao snorted lightly, and said that he actually shook his hand and left!

I knew that this girl was angry with me, and I was about to chase it out to explain, but suddenly the lantern in the room "creaked" again.

I looked back, and suddenly I saw that the lampshade seemed to be faintly bulging.

This really scared me, so I quickly ran into the house to take a look.

The lantern did puff up a little, as if something inside had hit the lampshade, but soon the bulging place went down!

I was secretly relieved.

When I ran out to chase Meng Xiyao again, I found that she was gone!

But I didn't pay much attention to it, anyway, this girl will be angry for a while, and when the anger is gone, she will still come to me.

At about seven o'clock in the evening, my grandfather came back, I didn't dare to tell him about the lantern, and I went to bed early after dinner!

A woman asked outside.

"Is Yaoyao at your house?"

The man outside was asking Grandpa.

I listened to the voice in the room, as if it was Meng Xiyao's mother.

It made my heart tighten.

In the afternoon, Meng Xiyao was angry with me and left, didn't she go home?

"Qingyu, did Yaoyao come to you?"

Grandpa shouted in the yard.

I don't know how to answer his question!

After thinking about it, I put on my clothes and ran out.

"I've been here, but she's gone in the afternoon!"

I said and looked at her, "Why Auntie, didn't she go back?" ”

"This wild child, day by day, is not home, I have to pick her skin when I find her."

Meng Xiyao's mother scolded while turning around and leaving!

Grandpa closed the door, looked back at me, and said, "If you mess with that girl again, I'll break your legs." ”

Naturally, I was too scared to speak.

After returning to the room, I lay on the bed and became more and more uneasy, always feeling that something might have happened to Meng Xiyao!

I don't know where this feeling comes from, but it's strong.

I tossed and turned until midnight before falling asleep, and after falling asleep, I actually dreamed of Meng Xiyao, she was covered in blood, and kept saying to return her skin.

Finally I woke up from the nightmare, covered in a cold sweat.

I slowed down for a while, then reached for a cigarette on the bedside, intending to smoke one to calm down!

At this time, there was another "creaking" sound in the room.

Although it's not the first time I've heard your voice, it's particularly terrifying at this moment, and it makes me feel creepy.

I quickly turned on the light in the room, and then looked nervously at the lantern hanging on the beam.

At this time, the lampshade actually bulged again, and the edges and corners of the lampshade bulging were very weird, looking like the outline of a human face.

I'm so scared!

Although this lantern used to be quite weird, this phenomenon is the first time I have seen this phenomenon in more than ten years.

I stared at the lantern for a while, and I couldn't stand it, so I quickly got out of bed and prepared to go to Grandpa.

But as soon as my foot touched the ground, I felt like I was stepping on something slimy.

I looked down and saw several blood-stained footprints on the ground, and I was stepping on one of them.

I looked up, and the footprints stretched from my bedside to the door, and the footprints were all in the direction of the house, only the footprints that came in, and there were no footprints that went out.