There is a long lamp on the table, the soul thread is sewn in the hand, the lamp is on, and the remnant soul returns, and the lamp is turned off.

This is a ballad that my grandmother used to sing when I was younger.

When I was a child, I didn't understand the true meaning of this sentence until the night of my grandmother's death in '06.

I am a native of Chongqing Tujia, and I went out to work and drift before I finished high school in 01.

I've been to many cities, I've experienced a lot of things, and I've heard a lot of bizarre folk tales, but I know that we only need to scrutinize carefully, and in fact, it's not difficult for us to find that these so-called folk tales don't stand up to scrutiny.

I am the only one who knows that an ancient profession of "two-leatherman" is real.

In fact, I want to tell everyone here that my grandmother is actually a second leatherman.

Second, the profession of tanners was an obscure profession that specialized in sewing up the corpses of dead people in ancient times.

The so-called heaven is round and the place is not a square circle without rules, and those who do this business must abide by the rules of this industry.

I heard from the people in the village that my grandmother was blind in one eye because she broke the rules. How he was blind remains a mystery to this day.

My grandmother fell ill, and it was almost impossible to get up again, and I was busy with my work at the time, and when I heard the news, I rushed home.

By the time I got back to Chongqing, it was already afternoon, because it was difficult to get a taxi on the way because of the local storm.

Even if I was anxious, I could stare dryly, so I simply called my family and said that I would have to delay my home.

My grandmother is an authentic Tujia family, and she said that she knew that she couldn't escape this catastrophe, and she had to die in the stockade if she wanted to die.

The family is also aware of her grandmother's physical condition, so they simply respect her old man's choice.

That night, the car was stuck in traffic on the highway, and my father called and asked how long it would take.

I said that I can't estimate it today, but tomorrow morning.

Father sighed and said that your grandmother has been saying your name in her mouth, and I don't know if it is stained with your light, and she should have swallowed her breath and is still struggling to support it.

Before my father could speak, there was a sudden rumbling sound on the phone, and the sound was so loud that I thought the house had collapsed.

"What's wrong with Dad?" I sat up nervously and sat up straight, and the passengers in the car gave me curious looks.

There was chaos on the phone, and I heard my father yelling on the phone, "What's going on over there?" ”

From afar, I heard a strange man responding excitedly, "Collapse, collapse, mudslide on the slope of the reservoir." ”

My heart sank and I breathed a sigh of relief.

"I hung up the phone, you pay attention to your own safety, the weather in Chongqing is not good these days," my father hurriedly perfunctory I was about to hang up, but I had not heard my grandmother sing the ballad there for a long time.

"There is a lamp on the table, a soul needle in the hand, the lamp is on, and the remnant soul returns, and the lamp is turned off."

A blind voice soon came from the phone, but I didn't know why I was uneasy, looking at the storm outside the car window as if to indicate that this trip home was not destined to be peaceful.

The trip was not peaceful, and the next day I returned to the village.

From a distance, I saw that the bank of the reservoir was full of people, so I climbed up and grabbed Uncle Wang next door to the village and asked, "Uncle Wang, what's the situation?" ”

When Uncle Wang saw that it was me, he first asked for warmth, and then looked nervous and pointed to the middle of the turbid reservoir.

"What do you think that's that?"

I looked in the direction that Uncle Wang was pointing, this look! The good guy turned out to be a black coffin floating in the middle of the water.

This coffin Uncle Wang said that it was washed down by the mudslide last night, and he didn't know why there was such a big coffin on the top of our village, Uncle Wang said excitedly: "I'm afraid there is a tomb here."

I took another look at the black coffin, which was about two meters two and three long and about one meter five wide, and half of the coffin was floating on the water, I don't know what material was used.

I was fascinated by this look, and at this time, I don't know if I was dazzled, I found that the lid of the coffin actually jumped.

I was taken aback, and I didn't show any surprised expressions when I saw Uncle Wang and the others.

Am I dazzled?

"When did Yun'er come back, hurry up and see your grandmother," came his father's voice from afar.

Only then did I react and quickly followed with my backpack.

On the way, my father said with a heavy face: "Your grandmother has a problem with her brain, and she has been talking nonsense since yesterday, don't believe it later."

I smiled wryly and shook my head, "What nonsense." ”

My dad hurried silently, and as soon as he walked into the door, he smelled a foul smell, and my grandmother was lying in the middle of the main hall, staring at the beams of the house with her eyes, muttering something in her mouth, and the second aunt on the side gave me a place while wiping my grandmother's saliva.

I walked over and held the old man's hand, it was cold and scary.

I don't know why, my grandmother, who was still delirious just now, was held by me like this, and her cloudy eyes suddenly became aura, and she sat up and grabbed my hand with her backhand as if she was returning to the light.

"Yun'er, come with me," my grandmother got out of bed in a daze as the family was stunned, and took me by the hand and walked to the house in the backyard.

My father and the others wanted to come along, but they were frightened by my grandmother's cold glare.

"No one is allowed to set foot in this courtyard without my permission," said my grandmother, and then I was pulled in.

The old man just looked like he was breathing, but now he looks like a normal person.

She closed the door, then pushed open the dilapidated backyard gate, and told me to wait outside, and I didn't dare to disobey, and after waiting outside for about ten minutes, I saw my grandmother come out unhurriedly, and she walked towards me with something wrapped in a blue cloth in her hand.

"Yun'er still remember the second leatherman that grandma mentioned to you when she was a child?"

I knew in my heart that a few years ago, I heard that my grandmother had a meal guy who specialized in stitching corpses, and said that she would pass it on to me when she died.

After all, my grandmother's ancestors all relied on the craftsmanship of "two leather craftsmen" to live, and the treasures and spirits of my grandmother's team passed down from generation to generation are more important than life.

I'm afraid it's in this green cloth package.

Grandma carefully opened the green cloth package, and then saw a palm-sized black box, this black box is an old antique at a glance, I was fortunate to know some experts who understand antiques in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou in the early years, and simply learned some fur.

This black box looks like it looks like it has to be pushed back to the Warring States period at least.

Grandma opened the black box, and then saw a long black needle about ten centimeters long, this needle body has dense strange charms, the work is extremely exquisite, next to the black box is a worn-out yellowed codex notes.

"Grandma Yun'er is leaving, I will put this treasure in your hands, if there is an old man who comes to find this soul needle in the future, don't agree, just shake your head and say I don't know, I really can't find your third uncle."

My second monk was puzzled, "Old man, what old man?" ”

Grandma sighed, did not answer me directly, but changed the topic, held my hand and instructed: "The craftsmanship of the second leather craftsman is beneficial to others and not to himself, it is a blessing to use it well, and it is a disaster to use it in the wrong place, your father and your two uncles are both elm heads, only you are suitable for keeping this corpse needle."

Suddenly, there was a commotion outside the door, and my grandmother pushed the door and walked out.

"What's going on, yelling," Grandma asked.

I saw Uncle Wang's pale face and said, "Oh no, the lid of the coffin in the reservoir has been turned over, and something inside has run into the reservoir."

How do you know that when grandma heard this, she grabbed Uncle Wang and shouted: "Rushed down from the mountain!"

Uncle Wang was frightened by his grandmother's distorted expression, and nodded and said yes.

Grandma immediately held her breath in her throat and fainted on the spot.

My grandmother didn't die, she woke up in the middle of the night, and I was guarding her old man's bedside, and I don't know when she opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling with tears in her eyes.

When I was about to speak, my grandmother bit out a sentence in such pain that I got goosebumps all over my body.

"There is a debtor and a debtor, you were sent to the mountain by my old woman back then, and something came at me."

As soon as the words fell, there was a "gurgling" sound outside the door, which was like a human fingernail claming hard against a stone wall.

The room was dark, my grandmother's old face was distorted in the dim light, her big mouth seemed to tell me something, and a pair of frightened eyes stared straight out of the door.

Grandma is dead!