The old ghost didn't say a word, just polished the kitchen knife in his hand and handed it to the girl. The girl just glanced at it casually, but did not reach out to take it, and asked, "What are you doing?" ”

The old ghost said after a while, "Do you know this knife?" ”

There is a small character engraved on the lower corner of one side of the kitchen knife, which is not clear at all if you do not look carefully with the naked eye. The girl buried her head in it, and when she saw that there was a Shen character engraved on the face of the knife, she replied, "This is my mother's kitchen knife, what are you doing with it in your hand?" ”

The old ghost laughed twice and said, "Yes, there is a smell on this kitchen knife, which is the taste of cabbage and onions, is this what you often eat?" ”

The girl nodded with staring eyes: "Yes, I eat cabbage soup and onion slices every day, and I eat whatever she does, and she owes me anyway." ”

"Why do you say she owes you?" The old ghost couldn't understand, so he asked.

The girl crossed her hands on her chest, disapproving, looked up at the ceiling and snorted, "She owes me!" If it weren't for her, how could I have lived in such a shabby place, and I would have to pay me back everything she owes me. ”

The old ghost was so angry that he slapped the floor, "How can you say that? She's your own mother, huh? ”

"Who told you she was my real mother? She's not my real mother! ”

The girl was so angry that she kicked the door, pulled the bolt and rushed out of the corridor. stepped on the old ghost's knee, and the old ghost screamed in pain. Maybe the girl did it on purpose, but she didn't know which sentence hit her heart, and she ran directly to the bottom of the floor.

The old ghost almost limped to his feet, endured the pain in his knees, and followed.

I followed her all the way down the stairs, and saw the girl sitting on a chair, her head lying on the table, and crying bitterly. There was no light or fire in the living room, and it was dark on all sides, and I could only faintly see the dark shadow of the girl sitting.

The old ghost had just descended to the last step of the stairs when he stepped on something soft. Long and thick. When I looked down, it turned out to be the half-amputated arm that I had lost before, and it was lying horizontally on the left side under the guardrail. There is a wooden wardrobe right next to it.

The palm of this arm has already been scorched by the previous flames, and if you don't look closely, you will mistake it for a black snake full of stripes.

The old ghost picked up the arm and sprinkled a soak of urine on it. Three hairs were broken off the top of his head and sparked on the knuckles of his arm, and the flames slowly burned.

The old ghost almost lifted his broken arm high and lit up the entire black living room. When she saw the girl, she lay her hands coiled on the table, her head buried in the middle of the crossed arms, her face facing the bottom of the table, and the crying continued.

The dust in the living room is already very heavy, and the slightest collision with something may roll up a stain of dust and stain the whole body.

Therefore, the old ghost walked cautiously step by step, although he was covered in filth. But he really didn't want to "deal with" the dirty plaster.

When you come to the mahogany table, there are four chairs on all sides. The girl took one of them. The old ghost found a chair and sat down directly across from her, and put a torch on the table, and when he saw that she was still crying, he asked, "Why are you crying?" ”

The eldest lady of the daughter cried and her nose red, and slowly raised her head, her face was full of moist tears, and Nan Nan, who suppressed her throat and whispered, said, "I'm hungry!" ”

The old ghost stared at the girl's little hands, which were terribly white and tender to flowers. Ten fingers are slender, and the body is arrogant and expensive. His face was covered with rouge and gouache, and his body was covered with gold and silver jewelry. The hammer ring under the ear bones shimmers silver, and the necklace in front of the neck shines brightly.

At first glance, she looks like a girl who loves to dress up. The palms, palms, backs and wrists are well maintained with fine skin and tender meat, and they may not have done any housework, and they don't even want to cook by themselves.

The old ghost almost saw him crying and howling, and he couldn't stop being coquettish, sighed three times in a row, slapped the table and said, "Hey, okay, can I do it?" ”

After getting up, the old ghost moved his stool and walked to the refrigerator. After opening it, there were onions in the fresh-keeping layer except for cabbage, not even a piece of fresh meat, and not even a single green onion.

But the cabbage has stinked, and the onions have changed color. It cannot be eaten directly. It was dirty on all sides, and it felt like a large layer of thick ash would be sprayed out of the refrigerator when you gently blew it with your mouth.

Then he opened the freezer on the lower floor, which contained a plastic bag filled with ice.

The ice cubes are very hard, they can't be knocked or broken; It can't be chewed, and it can't be chewed; Something seemed to be wrapped in the ice, fiery red, like a dragon fruit.

The old ghost took out two pieces, clasped them in his hands, turned around, threw them in front of the table, and said to the girl, "Make do with it, I only found this thing." ”

"How do you eat this thing? Can you nibble and move? The girl pushed the ice aside and broke it with her foot.

The old ghost had no choice, and asked again, "Can you find your mother?" Have you seen it before? ”

"I saw it, but as soon as you came, she was gone."

The old ghost looked at the stool in front of him and said, "Can I sit next to you?" ”

The little girl didn't speak, and there were still a lot of tears overflowing in her eyes.

The old ghost sat down directly beside her, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "Girl, the old man has something that I don't know whether to say or not." ”

"Wait, let me guess!" The girl made a startling move, turned around, took a big step back from the stool, and said, "I know, you are interesting to me, I have seen too many old things like you, you better stay away from me in the future, and don't let me see your stinky face full of crow's feet." ”

The girl snorted and looked at him like that.

This sentence confused the old ghost, and hurriedly explained: "You misunderstood, the old man didn't mean that." ”

"The old man means to say, do you know that your mother has already died? And it's been dead for a long time, and the corpses are all dry. ”

The little girl suddenly laughed and said, "What do you say? My mother was fine yesterday, I saw her cutting cabbage in front of the cupboard before, how could she die? ”

"What the old man said is true, your mother is really dead, and she has been dead for some years, if you don't believe it, the old man will open your yin and yang eyes to see, you will see something you shouldn't see."

"You're talking nonsense, my mom was still in the kitchen just now, how could you say she died?" The little girl was so angry that she stood up from the bench and pointed at his nose and scolded.

The old ghost snorted: "Do you know who the old man is?" ”

"I know, you're an old thing!"

"To tell you the truth, the old man is a ghost, from the underworld. When I first arrived in the yang world, I should have ignored the old man's business, but the predecessor of your mother was actually my good friend Bell, so I came to help you, I hope you can tell me the truth. ”

The little girl was so angry that she overturned the table, lifted the skirt around her waist, turned to the ladder, glared at him and walked back.

The old ghost took the torch from the table, followed it, and explained, "The old man told you the truth, why don't you believe it?" You have to trust the old man, the old man will help you. ”

After the little girl stopped helplessly, she turned around sharply and said, "You go out quickly, otherwise I will really call the police!" ”

The old ghost had no choice but to take out a wine gourd from his pocket, take off the lid, and splash it directly on the girl's face. The girl screamed incessantly, "Ah, my eyes are so hot that I am." ”

The little girl fell directly to the ground in pain, rolling back and forth on the blanket, her skirt was dirty, and her body was covered with filth. The two pigtails on the back of the head were messy.

The old ghost stepped forward, grabbed her arm with both hands, and pulled her up. With his own hand, he pressed her eyelids, rubbed them back and forth twice, and said, "Are you still in pain?" If it doesn't hurt, open your eyes. ”

In a moment, the little girl stopped screaming. Slowly opened his eyes, his appearance was very embarrassed, and his expression was also strange, and he immediately shrank his body into a corner, and said, "Ah, red, why is it all red." ”

After the old ghost almost let go of his hand, he turned around and pointed under the cupboard, and said, "Look what it is, isn't that your mother's corpse?" She's been dead for a long time, so why can't you see it? ”

The little girl's eyelids jumped and jumped, nestled in the corner, and slowly turned around. was taken aback, and the whole person became very nervous, and his small fists were clenched tightly.

"What's that? What is that? ”

"That's your mother? Don't you know anything about it? Doesn't it look familiar? ”

The old ghost walked over to the cupboard and dragged the body under the table. He brought pots and pans from the living room and covered them on all sides.

After turning around, he said, "I hide your mother's body now, but this is not your mother's real body, because you can't see it at all." The real corpse, you can observe with the naked eye, that is, your mother's corpse is not in the living room at all. ”

"Do you understand what I mean? Little girl? ”

The little girl shook her head and said, "I don't know! ”

The old ghost went on to say, "Then I'll take you to find your mother's corpse, do you think it's okay?" ”

"Looking for my mother's body?"

"Yes, looking for your mother's body, the old man has smelled the smell before and knows where your mother's body is, she is not in the living room, nor in the kitchen, but in your room."

"In my room?"

"Yes, in your room. When the old man was lying on your bed before, he obviously smelled a corpse smell. The old man only has two smells in his nose, the first is the smell of corpses, and the second is the smell of fish. ”

After the old ghost had hidden the mahogany table, he turned around and walked to the entrance of the ladder, climbed all the way to the steps, turned around and beckoned to the girl: "Come on, the old man will take you to find your mother's corpse, you can see everything in your eyes now, so you don't have to worry at all." ”

The little girl leaned against the wall and slowly stood up from the blanket. The clothes and jeans were torn, and the skirt on the outside was no longer formed.

The old ghost turned around and went to the attic, and the girl followed.

The two of them came to the attic, and the lights inside had long since been extinguished. The old ghost came to the room with a torch in his hand, opened the door, and walked to the bed.

And the bed in front of me is unrecognizable. It is not formed inside and out.

The old ghost almost took a step forward and kicked the big steel bed open. The quilt and pillow fell to the ground in an instant, and the whole bed was completely overturned.

Under the bed was a yellow floor, and on that layer there was a lot of black liquid, and the liquid smelled of stinking. The smell is very unpleasant, especially pungent, and I don't know what the situation is.

The old ghost almost pointed his hand and said, "See, your mother's body must be hidden under this floor, so the old man will go and find something to pry the floor open." ”

When the little girl heard this, she was stunned for a moment, and asked, "How is it possible, how can my mother's corpse be in such a place, this is my room." ”

The old ghost didn't speak, but just found a steel bar from the corner. The steel bar was covered in blood, and when he held it in his hand, he was about to run up and pry the floor open. Unexpectedly, at this time, the little girl rushed over in a panic and snatched the steel bar.

"Don't touch this steel bar, you can't use this steel bar, I'll find a kitchen knife for you."

The old ghost frowned and said: "The old man knows that this steel bar has killed people before, and he smells it when he smells it, don't worry, the old man won't care about it at this time, you can give me the steel bar." ”

At this time, the little girl breathed a sigh of relief and returned the steel bar to him.

After the old ghost took the steel bar, he went under the floor and pried open the layer of boards under the bed. After prying it open, a coffin appeared inside, which was very small, as if it was for a baby.

When the little girl saw this scene, she was dumbfounded, "This ...... How is this possible? Will there be a coffin here? ”

"yes, this coffin is under your bed for decades, haven't you noticed it at all?"

The old ghost said again: "This coffin looks like it, it should have been built during the Qing Dynasty, and it was specially used to carry dead babies who died by sacrificing to the sky, and I don't know how it appeared here." ”

This coffin has a pattern of a rose on it. There is also a pair of red toad shoes on top of the pattern. There was a stinking smell of corpses inside, and I felt sick to my stomach when I smelled it.

The second time the little girl saw the coffin, she held her head in both hands and shook it wildly. Looking around, my body was spinning and spinning, as if I was crazy.

"No way, this can't be, this is like this, this is my room."

When the old ghost turned around, he saw that the little girl had completely lost her mind, dragging her petite torso around the room, and all that was left on her face was fear.

The old ghost almost pressed her shoulders, took out a yellow spell and stuck it on her head, turned his face towards her, and shook it: "Don't move, the old man told you, you have no way to retreat now, did you kill the person?" Tell me the truth? ”

The little girl shook her head, twisted her head to the side, the yellow charm on her forehead floated down the tip of her nose, and said madly: "I didn't kill it, I didn't kill it, you have to believe me." ”

The old ghost took out a red chopstick from his waist, which was a necessary tool for him as a ghost cha. After taking the chopsticks in his hand, he grabbed the girl's palm with his hand, pulled out his middle finger, and the chopsticks were pinched towards her fingers, and when he pulled hard, the soul inside was hooked out.

The little girl's body fell to the ground, but her soul sat firmly on the bed.

The old ghost asked, "You can speak now and tell the old lady if you killed it." ”

The girl's soul sat on the bed, and it didn't look as nervous as before, but it didn't have any expression.

The old ghost said again: "To be honest with the old man, did you eat cabbage and onions at home before?" ”

The girl nodded.

"You fart! You don't eat cabbage and onions at all, you used to eat those snacks, you lied to yourself, saying that your mother cooks for you every day, when in fact you eat the food you bought from outside. ”

"Why are you deceiving yourself? Is it because you don't dare to face the fact of all this? There is blood under your bed, all bloody corpses, can you sleep? ”

The little girl's whole face changed, and she looked back at her body lying in front of the door, and said softly, "What have you done to me?" ”

The old ghost took off the hat on his head, shook his head and threw it aside, turned around and said: "Hmph, the old man just hooked your soul away, but you are not dead now, as long as the old man sends your soul back to the body in three hours, you will be resurrected." ”

The little girl looked up at him for ten minutes before she mustered up the courage to say, "Why do you ask me when you already know everything?" ”

"Don't worry, if you kill someone, or what you do, it doesn't matter to the old man. What the old man wants to know is when your mother died, and he doesn't want to know why you killed your mother. ”

The little girl said, "Because she is very bad, I don't like her." She died three years ago, but I didn't kill her, she slammed it into me herself. ”

The old ghost almost walked to a stool, pushed the bench away, poured a glass of water from the table, and said: "The old man has said it, I don't want to know how your mother died, I just want to know when she died, how many minutes, how many seconds, she died, make it clear." ”

"Three years ago one summer, one night on the third of June."

The old ghost handed the water to the little girl, "Don't worry, drink some water, and speak slowly!" ”

The little girl took the water in her hand, took a sip, and continued: "I remember that at that time, there were not only my mother and me at home, but also an unknown brother, whose surname was He, who had been in a coma in the hospital for eight years, and when he came out of the hospital, he was all strange. ”

"In addition to him, there was a father, and that father was my biological father. When I was born, my own mother died. So, my father went to find a stepmother, that Shen Basket, who was necrotic, often pointed at me, and I hated her very much. ”

"The strange brother always likes to stay alone in the house and doesn't go out and about. People are also very strange, sometimes they spit cockroaches out of their mouths, which is very scary. My biological father didn't like him and thought he was a monster and would often hit him. ”

"Basically, he was beaten every three or five days, and he often liked to drink, and once he got drunk, he would rush to the brother's room with a long iron rod and beat him to death according to his head."

"When you're in a good mood, you play for more than ten minutes, and when you're in a bad mood, you play for an hour. The strange brother's face and head were covered with scars, and new scars were added every day. ”

Until one day, the strange brother couldn't bear it anymore, and when he returned his hand, he spit out the cockroaches before and bit his father all over his body. I lay in bed for several days before I was cured of a serious illness, and when I woke up, my mind was confused. ”

The old ghost found a stool, sat down in front of her, and asked, "Do you still want water?" ”

The little girl shook her head and said, "No need." ”

"Then go on."

Because my father had a lot of debts, he couldn't pay them back, so he hanged himself soon after recovering from a serious illness. And on the same night, the strange brother also disappeared, and he couldn't be found anywhere, Shen Basket ran all over the city, and even called the police, but there was no news. ”

"I haven't found it for a week, and on the seventh day, when Shen Basket returned home, he was like crazy. smashed the TV, sofa, and table at home, and he looked like a fool. ”

The next morning, she was alone in the kitchen, taking cabbage and onions from the refrigerator, putting them on a cutting board, and chopping them all the way with a kitchen knife. It is first cut into slices, then shredded, and finally chopped into slag. Just a small piece of cabbage, she chopped it for a whole afternoon. ”

"My fingers have been cut by a knife, and they are still cutting. I don't seem to feel any pain at all. The porcelain plate in the kitchen was covered with blood, and Shen Basket stood alone in front of the cupboard, cutting the cabbage. ”

"On the third day, I didn't cook every day, I didn't do housework, I stayed alone in the kitchen every day. After not eating or drinking for days and nights, people have become thin and skinny. After a few days, the kitchen was full of cabbage residue and a mess. ”

"I couldn't stand it anymore, so I rushed into the kitchen and asked her what was going on. But she didn't say a word, she just stood in front of the chopping board, laughing silly, and sometimes even sang lullabies. ”

"I saw that she didn't speak, so I had to clean the kitchen with the scraps. But Shen Basket suddenly turned around and snatched the broom from my hand, saying that those cabbages were her life and could not be moved. ”

"I was also very angry at the time, so I talked to her twice. Unexpectedly, she became furious, and we clashed, tearing up in the kitchen, grabbing each other's hair and scratching each other. ”

In the end, Shen Basket kicked me away, took a kitchen knife from the cutting board, and slashed at my head. Before I could react, I was slashed at the top of my head, and my eyes turned white all of a sudden, and I couldn't see anything clearly. ”

When the old ghost heard this, he sighed, took the water cup, put it on the table, and asked, "So you really didn't do anything wrong, didn't you fight back at that time?" ”

"I returned my hand, and it was white in front of me, and my hand was almost unconscious, so I only kicked my leg. After a while, there was no movement. It took a few minutes to recover, and when I got up again, I found Shen Basket's face lying under the corner of the cabinet against the porcelain plate. ”

(To be continued)