When I woke up stretched, it was already dawn. The sun was shining warmly through the window and on my bed, and it was a really nice day.

Suddenly, I shouted, "Oh no, I'm late!" Then he crawled out of bed, packed up his books and homework books, and rushed downstairs with his schoolbag on his back.

At the table downstairs, there were three people sitting, who seemed to be Grandma Teng, Xiaohua and a person I looked familiar with. But I'm already late for school, and if I don't hurry up, I'll have to be criticized by the teacher for being "bloody"! I didn't bother to say hello to them and went straight to the door.

"Little Star, where are you going?"

"Go to school!"

"Sister Xiaoxing, you're sleepy! It's Sunday and you're going to school? ”

I had already rushed to the door, and finally heard Xiaohua's words and stopped my steps.

I turned around and walked in the door: "Huh? It's Sunday? It scared the hell out of me, I thought I was late! ”

"This scares you to death? Grandma Teng was scared to death by you last night! "Grandma Teng came over and helped me take off my school bag.

"What did you encounter again last night?" The man at the table asked me with a smile. I saw him clearly, it turned out to be the Taoist chief in the Taoist temple that Grandma Teng invited last time.

"Chang Dao Chang, why are you here?" I was glad to see acquaintances, but I was also curious that there was no big deal, and Chang Dao Chang would not have come here.

"Why are you still called the Taoist? It's called Uncle Chang! Grandma Teng corrected me with a smile.

Chang Daochang looked at me and Xiaohua and smiled, and the two of us shouted happily: "Uncle Chang! ”

Grandma Teng turned her head to look at me again and said, "Little Xing, you haven't answered Uncle Chang's words yet!" What the hell happened to you last night? ”

I thought back to the events of last night, and I was scared and puzzled, I really didn't understand that the girl in purple, she really wanted to harm me, but why did she let me go so easily in the end? I didn't know how to make it clear to them.

So I asked Chang Daochang: "Uncle Chang, how do you know what I met last night?" Is there something big going on here? ”

Chang Daochang nodded: "Everyone sit down and listen to me first!" …… In the last few days, five children have drowned in the river in your river! ”

Xiaohua and I looked at each other and said, "Yes! We went to see it yesterday afternoon! ”

Chang Daochang continued: "The result of the investigation by the Public Security Bureau is 'accidental drowning'! However, the only thing that cannot be explained is that these five children did not struggle from drowning to death! ”

Chang Dao Chang saw that Xiaohua and I didn't understand, so he explained: "Anyone who drowns, whether it is an accident or a suicide, will struggle or call for help after drowning, which is the instinct of human survival. But the children, as if unconscious, drowned, quietly drowned! The other children who were with them said that they did not hear their cries for help, struggle, and even did not know how they fell into the river, as if they were playing with everyone a moment ago, and in the blink of an eye they sank to the bottom of the river and drowned! ”

Xiaohua and I were both pale when we heard this, and we couldn't help but tremble. Xiaohua was just scared, and I suddenly thought of the day six years ago, I was actually the same as these five children, somehow fell into the river, if it wasn't for the girl in purple to save me, I should have drowned "unconsciously" like this!

…… Ah, no!

A flash of light flashed through my head: How could I have fallen into the river for no reason?

The old house that appeared out of thin air, the weird red lantern, the girl in purple who could appear on this side of the river and go to the other side of the river for a while, it was not so much that she saved me, but that she let me go! She must not be human! Her reappearance yesterday must have something to do with the bizarre drowning of these five children! Fear......

"Little Star, what's wrong with you? So much sweat! Why are you so scared that you are trembling? "Grandma Teng helped me wipe my sweat.

Chang Dao Chang has been looking at me, observing my changes, and now seeing me like this, he seems to sigh secretly. "Little Star, you must know something, don't you?"

I wiped the sweat on my face and said, "Uncle Chang, in fact, six years ago, I almost drowned in the river like those five children!" There was a girl in a purple dress who saved me, or rather, let me go! ”

I told you everything that happened by the river six years ago.

As soon as I finished speaking, Chang Daochang nodded: "Yes, the girl in purple you said seems to be the 'culprit' of these things!" ”

After hearing this, Grandma Teng's expression was very strange, as if she felt pity for the girl in purple, and she was a little frightened.

"Grandma Teng, looking at your expression, do you know about the girl in purple?"

Grandma Teng thought for a while and sighed: "Hmm! It's been a long time since the girl in purple happened. More than ten years ago, when she was still alive, she lived in a very dilapidated old house on the other side of the river. Her family moved from northern Jiangsu, the family is very poor, and she has a sister who is six years younger than her. The people in northern Jiangsu are very "patriarchal", she and her sister are both girls, and life is not very easy, and her father often beats her and her sister. Later, her mother fell ill and died, and her father found a stepmother for their sisters. Now, they are even more unlucky. They were beaten almost every day, and sometimes her father and stepmother beat them together. She always protects her little sister, so she was beaten a lot and injured a lot! ”

"Why doesn't anyone take care of her dad and her stepmom?" I'm a little angry.

"Which family doesn't beat children? How can others manage this kind of thing? Besides, her father and her stepmother are both unreasonable people, who quarrel and fight with their neighbors at every turn, and no one dares to provoke them! One day, her father and her stepmother beat her up again, and they beat her very fiercely. Their neighbors couldn't stand it, so they went over to persuade them, but they were later blasted out by their husband and wife. It turned out that her little sister was sick, and her stepmother didn't let her go to the hospital, so she stole the family's money and was going to secretly buy medicine for her sister, not wanting to be discovered, her father and her stepmother beat her desperately. She was covered in blood with bamboo sticks, and her stepmother beat her with a big stick, and many families by the river went to persuade her, so that they finally persuaded the husband and wife. However, they still refused to take her little sister to the hospital, did not treat her injuries, and locked her in the house. Later, in the middle of the night, presumably her little sister was seriously ill, and she went to plead with her stepmother, but was thrown out of the house by her stepmother. She herself was badly wounded, and she didn't know whether she had intentionally or stumbled, so she fell into the river in front of their house and drowned. The next day, they found her floating up from the river, and there were still a few bloody handprints of her on the door of their house! …… Alas, what a poor child! Grandma Teng was gloomy.

"What about her little sister?" I asked.

A few days later, he also fell ill and died! At that time, their neighbors said that the couple was really not human, and the two children were forced to die by them! ”

"So, did anything strange happen after that?" Chang Dao asked.

Grandma Teng smiled bitterly: "Of course there is, otherwise how could I remember this incident so deeply, and I haven't forgotten any details!" Later, one night, their old house suddenly collapsed, crushing the 'wolf-hearted dog-lung' couple inside! ”

When I heard this, I was so happy that I interjected, "Maybe it's because the house is so old, what's so strange?" ”

"Where! When the house collapsed, someone saw a girl in purple and red, carrying a strange red lantern, coming out through the wall, and then disappeared! In the next two years, although some people still saw her walking around the river with lanterns, everyone was terrified, but nothing happened, and slowly she stopped appearing, and everyone forgot about it! ”

Chang Daochang frowned: "Purple and red clothes, carrying red lanterns? Odd! Grandma Teng, on the day she died, was she wearing purple clothes? ”

Grandma Teng's face was full of pity: "Alas! Where's the purple clothes! She was beaten that day covered in blood, and she couldn't tell what color her clothes were! So I had to say that I was wearing purple clothes! ”

Yes?! It turned out to be a bloody cloth, no wonder I felt cold when I saw her! How pathetic!

"And did she like red lanterns when she was alive?" Chang Daochang's brows furrowed even tighter.

"Red lanterns? I don't know. Anyway, when she was alive, I didn't see her touch it. ”

Chang Daochang asked again: "Has her house ever hung lanterns before?" ”

"We don't hang red lanterns here, it's a custom that is prevalent in the north. They haven't hung red lanterns in their house! ”

"That's weird! Why did she use a red lantern? Chang Dao frowned and thought hard.

I couldn't help but ask: "Chang Daochang, does her use of red lanterns have anything to do with the current matter?" ”

"Absolutely. And it has a lot to do with it! As soon as Chang Daochang wanted to explain to us, a child ran in and shouted at me and Xiaohua: "Sister Xiaoxing, Xiaohua, go and see!" Two more children drowned in the river! ”

"What?" Everyone was taken aback and stood up.

"My brother just found out." The child who came in to report the news was Aunt Liao's little stone.

"Let's take a look." Chang Daochang's face was very heavy, and with a wave of his hand, everyone followed him and ran to the river.

On the way, Grandma Teng asked Xiaoshi, "Why did your brother go to the river early in the morning?" ”

"My mother was doing laundry by the river, so she asked my brother to accompany her." I guess Aunt Liao was scared herself, but she couldn't leave her dirty clothes unwashed, so she had to call the big tiger to be brave.

By the time we reached the river, there were already several people standing on the stone slabs. Aunt Liao's face was ugly, clutching a piece of wet clothes in one hand and the hand of the big tiger standing beside her with the other.

Chang Daochang and Teng Grandma walked down the stone slab and approached the stone steps, the river swayed gently, and two boys who looked to be eight or nine years old were floating quietly on the surface of the river, both facing the sky on their backs.

I approached the tiger and whispered, "Hey, how did you find them?" ”

"When my mother was washing clothes, she accidentally let the clothes drift over there, so I took a bamboo pole to fish it and pulled away the grass over there, and it was ...... I found out. "The big tiger was probably not lightly frightened, so he didn't raise the bar with me, and answered me honestly, and his voice was still very low.

I looked, six or seven meters away from the stone steps, a lot of grass grew from under the houses of the people near the river, covering a small half of the river on that side, and now it was pulled by the big tiger with a bamboo pole, like a large piece of cake missing.

Chang Dao Chang squatted down on the second stone step and looked carefully at the two floating boys. I craned my neck and looked. Both boys had calm expressions, their hands crossed in front of their abdomen, their eyes slightly closed, and they looked as if they were asleep in bed if they were not now floating lifelessly on the water.

I looked at them and suddenly remembered what happened last night, if she hadn't let me go last night, would it be me who floated on the water this morning? I fought several cold wars in a row, not daring to think about it again, and not daring to look at the two boys again.

I turned my head to look around, and everyone looked at the children in the river, talking in whispers, and everyone had all kinds of complicated expressions on their faces, such as regret, worry, and worry.

Isn't it? In a few days, in the same river, almost the same section, seven children were inexplicably drowned, this can't be said to be a coincidence, right?

Chang Dao looked at it for a long time before he walked back to the stone slab, he didn't say anything, just stood beside me.

At this time, someone from our police station came there, and they scooped up the two children first, put them on a stretcher and carried them away. Then I called Aunt Liao and Dahu to go back with them to make a record, and asked us about the people around us about the situation, and finally they put up a striking sign by the river, "The water depth is dangerous, no swimming!" ”。 By the time they were done with it all, it was almost noon, and everyone else went back to eat. The stone slab by the river was quiet again, and only me, Chang Daochang, Teng Grandma, and Xiaohua remained.

"Let's go back first!" Chang Daochang's tone was still heavy, and we turned around silently, preparing to go home.

At this moment, a large dark cloud suddenly obscured the sun, and the light suddenly dimmed.

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of red flashing across the bank, and I turned my head sharply to see that there was nothing on the stone steps, but in the open space on the opposite bank, the dilapidated old house that had long since ceased to exist, had appeared out of thin air like a demonstration!

It stood there coldly, its dilapidated windows like a few mutilated mouths, black holes; Four red lanterns hung prominently on the equally dilapidated gate, and they floated around without wind.

"Is that the red lantern?" Chang Daochang's eyes were shining with a cold light, staring at the other side tightly.

"Uncle Chang, did you see it too? It's that house and those red lanterns! I replied nervously, my eyes involuntarily looking at the stone steps of the river beach, why didn't she appear?

"What's wrong with you two?" Grandma Teng and Xiaohua had already walked into the alley, and when they turned around, they saw that Chang Daochang and I not only did not follow, but stared at the other side of the river with nervous expressions, so they turned over and asked.

"Nothing." As soon as I finished speaking, the old house and the red lantern on the other side suddenly disappeared again! It's as if nothing had just appeared!

When we got home, Grandma Teng beckoned us to eat, and Chang Daoist and I ate indiscriminately.

After eating, Chang Dao Chang asked me to sit down: "Little star, what you met last night was the red lantern, right?" ”

I settled down and told me what had happened last night. When he heard my description of the lantern, Chang Dao sighed, looking preoccupied; Then when I heard that I had broken the lantern and there was a silvery white cold light inside, Chang Daochang's face became more serious; In the end, after listening to my narration, Grandma Teng and Xiaohua were dumbfounded.

After a while, Grandma Teng said, "God, what kind of lantern is this?" It's scary! No wonder when I came back last night, I thought it was frighteningly cold in the house, and you slept on the black mud floor in the hallway, curled up in a ball, and you didn't wake up! scared Grandma Teng a lot! ”

I hurriedly comforted her: "I slept a lot, won't I be fine today?" Nothing! ”

Chang Daochang didn't speak after listening to this, so I asked, "Uncle Chang, what is her red lantern?" Grandma Teng and Xiaohua also looked at Chang Daochang, and they also wanted to know.

"What do you think of that?" Chang Daochang smiled reluctantly.

"Like a magnet." Xiaohua likes to play with magnets the most, and he rushes to say it without thinking about it.

"Like a pitcher plant." I shook my head again, "Well, pitcher plants don't glow, not quite like that." ”

"I think it's like something out of a mythological novel...... That...... Conjuring Banners! ”

Xiaohua and I couldn't help laughing: "Grandma, do you still read mythological novels?" ”

Grandma Teng was a little embarrassed: "I don't know how many words, what novels do I read?" This is what I used to hear from listening to books in the bookstore! ”

I turned my head to look at Chang Daochang: "Uncle Chang, you still tell us!" ”

Chang Daochang smiled bitterly: "Well, what Grandma Teng said is already very close." ”

"What? What a conjuring flag! I asked in a lost voice, and Grandma Teng and Xiaohua were a little dumbfounded.

"Originally, I thought that the red lantern was the girl's favorite thing when she was alive, so she would only appear after she died. However, now that I have heard what you told me about last night, I know that I was mistaken. It wasn't a red lantern, it could be...... Soul Lights! ”

What lamp? We don't quite understand. I've seen kerosene lamps and electric lights, searchlights and ever-bright lights, but I've never heard of soul-attracting lamps.

"The legendary soul-attracting lamp relies on its bright light to flicker to deter people's souls. Those unconscious and quietly drowned children are probably soulless before drowning, so there is no struggle! ”

Soul-intimidating? I leaned over the table, could it be that even something from a mythological novel would appear? "But, Uncle Chang, if there really is such a powerful thing, the ...... in the well last time Well...... So why don't you use the mother and son? ”

"The Soul Attraction Lamp has been lost for a long time, and not all ghosts can refine it and use it! Generally, it is possible to refine it by old grudges with deep resentment and strong hatred. Chang Dao looked at me and said, "And, generally speaking, the soul-attracting lamp is used to move people's hearts by the light of the candle. According to you, you should have been intimidated by her lamp last night. For ordinary people, it is hopeless. However, it is strange that you slept well and are still safe today. Is her lantern a soul-attracting lamp? If so, why are you okay? I can't figure it out either! ”

"Could it be because she only used one lantern, and if she used those four, I would really be hopeless?" I guess.

"What four lanterns! Even if she did have a soul-attracting lamp, she only had one. You see four, but they're just illusions she's using to confuse you! ”

I blinked and nodded somewhat incomprehensibly.

"However, no matter what it is, we can't let it continue to hurt people!" Chang Daochang's tone was very resolute, "Tonight, I'm going to take a look at the place where the purple-clothed girl appeared on the other side of the river!" ”

"Yes, yes! I'll go too! Xiaohua hurriedly said again.

"What are children messing with? What can you do when you go? Grandma Teng knocked Xiaohua on the face.

"I'm going!" Xiaohua was unhappy and pouted.

"Xiaohua is so brave! But what if she's not on the other side of the river, but here? You should help Uncle Chang stay here tonight! When Chang Dao Chang said this, Xiao Hua had no choice but to nod and agree.

Chang Daochang turned his head to look at me, but I didn't say anything.

I hesitated: the girl in purple let me go twice, and I didn't want to deal with her; However, I also knew that she would continue to use the red lantern to harm other children, which must be wrong, and she should not be allowed to do it again. I looked down and thought about it, not knowing what to do.

"She has been harming people like this, and it won't end well in the end!" Chang Daochang guessed my thoughts, "You go with me and persuade her!" ”

I finally nodded, but I still hoped she wouldn't show up tonight!

After dinner in the evening, I told my parents that I wanted to go out for a walk, because Grandma Teng promised me that I wouldn't run around, so my parents didn't stop me. I slowly walked out of my old house, and Chang Dao Chang was waiting for me outside. As we walked down the road, I was distracted, looking around.

"Don't worry, she won't show up on the road!" Chang Dao said. I nodded, thinking to myself: when we get to the other side of the river, will she show up? What should I say to her? Will she still use her lantern against me?

"Here we are." Before we knew it, we crossed the road, crossed the stone bridge over the river, and came to the clearing on the other side of the river. The clearing was not nothing, at least one or two pieces of broken stone and rotten wooden planks. I always see the old houses here appear and disappear across the river, and now that I am really standing in this open space, my heart is calm. We stood silently, waiting for the girl in purple to appear.

It was dark, but luckily there was still the moon in the sky, so I couldn't see anything. The river shimmered in the moonlight, with sparkling waves. We waited a long time, but nothing appeared except the river and the moon.

She's not going to show up today, is she? I was secretly relieved. As soon as people relax, they feel tired. I stood for so long that my heels hurt a little, so I squatted down and rubbed them.

When I stood up again, I felt that my eyes had suddenly turned dark, and I couldn't see my fingers.

Well? Why is it so dark? I hurriedly called Chang Daochang: "Uncle Chang, Uncle Chang!" Why did it get dark all of a sudden? No one answered.

But I remember that Chang Daochang was standing not far from me, and he should have heard me speak, so why didn't he answer me? I looked left and right with my eyes wide open, and there was complete darkness all around me.

My heart sank, remembering that last night was also so dark. As if to confirm my thoughts, the silver-white light appeared again, still so cold, still so bright! I stared at it blankly, thinking nothing but a blank slate.

"You finally can't help but show up?" Suddenly, I heard the voice of the chief of the road in my ears, but the sound was like a thick cloth, and I couldn't see where the person of the chief of the road was. The light flickered gently, but the girl in purple did not appear or answer.

"You used this vicious soul-attracting lamp to intimidate people's souls, killing seven children who had nothing to do with you. Do you want to continue to be evil? Chang Daochang's voice was still unhurried, but with a hint of anger.

The silver light suddenly became larger, and the girl in purple seemed to come out of the light, and said coldly, "I like it!" ”

She looked like she was only in her early teens, and even spoke in the same tone as a normal child, but there was a deep resentment in her cold attitude!

"You resent your parents who abused you, but they are also dead, why should you harm other innocent children who have no grudge against you?" Chang Daochang's voice returned to calm.

"Parents? I don't want them to be my parents! The purple-clothed girl's tone was not intense, but the corners of her mouth were raised, and the hatred in her eyes was chilling.

"So, what do you want?" Chang Dao Chang was unmoved and asked lightly.

"I just want my sister to live, that's it! Can you do it? The girl in purple actually smiled, and her tone became very innocent. But there was not a trace of smile in her eyes, only hatred, and those hatreds seemed to have become a bottomless maelstrom, and anything would be swallowed by it, including the kindness and loveliness that had once been.

"You can't come back from the dead! Of course I can't, but neither can you. Isn't that right? Chang Dao Chang asked rhetorically.

These words obviously hit the point of the girl in purple, and she hung her head and was silent for a long time. Chang Dao waited quietly for her reaction, and I looked at her very worriedly.

"Hmph, my sister and I can't live, and I can't let others live! We have to find someone to accompany us, otherwise how boring it is? Haha......" The girl in purple raised her head sharply and let out a crisp laugh, as if a cute and beautiful girl had found a very interesting toy and let out a satisfied and hearty laugh. However, at this moment, in such a situation, this laughter is really numb. I remembered what Grandma Teng said about her tragic experience, my eyes seemed to flash the scene of her being beaten covered in blood, flashing the pain and desolation of her wanting to save her sister but being unable to do anything, and my heart was like pressing a big stone, sullen and sad.

"Sister, don't be sad! Your sister must have had a good life! I abruptly interrupted her laughter and finally spoke!

The girl in purple stopped laughing and turned her head to look at me, the cold light in her eyes was sharper than a sword, and colder, as if it was about to pierce me. I was so frightened that I took a step back, my legs went limp, and I stammered and couldn't speak. The girl in purple approached me step by step, and the silver-white light in her hand began to sway again.

"If you give up doing evil, you can make up for it! Don't ......" Chang Dao Chang didn't expect the girl in purple to turn her head and come to deal with me, and before she finished persuading her, she had already arrived in front of me. The strange light was extraordinarily brilliant, reflecting the indescribable viciousness on her face, and I stood as if I was frightened, unable to move.

But my mind is very clear to remember the scene when I stupidly waved to her across the river, and my voice echoed in my ears one after another: "Sister, do you want to come and play with me?" "Sister, did you fly here?" "Sister, you're amazing!" ……

I seem to have gone back to six years ago, I was still that little girl who was just five years old, the silly child who was alone in the river and waiting for her "sister" to come to her rescue! My vision blurred, tears rolling in my eyes, and I looked up and looked straight at her face. She also seemed to see the past in my eyes, and she suddenly stopped, and her expression became very hesitant again, just like six years ago!

"Sister! Don't take the red lantern and hurt other children! I said softly, tears finally flowing silently. In fact, from the very beginning, I have subconsciously stubbornly regarded her as a "sister", regardless of whether her appearance has changed, her expression and attitude towards me have not changed.

In an instant, pain, resentment, unwillingness, love, reluctance, and nostalgia flashed on her face one by one, and finally the cold light in her eyes disappeared, and she no longer had a hesitant look, she looked at me deeply, and then raised the silver-white light in her hand and said to Chang Daochang: "I don't know what this is called." I'm it anyway, and if it breaks, I'll be gone forever! …… In the future, there will be no more harm to other children! ”

With that, she threw the light to the ground, and I heard the sound of shattering clearly, crisp and resolute, with the courage to give up everything. The bright light exploded, like countless small stars that shimmered in the night sky, more like fireworks in an instant, her figure exploded almost at the same time as the bright light, shattered into tens of millions of pieces, and then all dissipated in the air. I stretched out my hand, but I couldn't touch any of it, and only her last voice faintly floated in my ears: "Sister! ”

I stood in a daze, perhaps, she always thought of me as her little sister!

"She's finally put it down!" Chang Daochang walked up to me, and I asked Chang Daochang with hope: "Uncle Chang, can she be with her sister in the future?" ”

Chang Daochang hesitated for a moment: "Well, she'...... Of course she's with her sister! ”

I let out a long sigh of relief, feeling less uncomfortable, but I didn't pay attention to the bitterness and pity that flashed on Chang Daochang's face.

In the years that followed, I always remembered this "sister" who never existed in my life, and I always thought that she had gone to live a new life with her sister.

It wasn't until one day many years later, when I suddenly understood what she had said to Chang Daochang, that I realized that she had long since ceased to exist, and that everything that belonged to her, along with her own soul, had disappeared into the darkness of no return, along with the silver-white light!