The old monster didn't chase the kid who was rolling on the ground and fled, but said to himself, "He can see it too?"

The child rolled on the ground several times, his legs and stomach trembled and he couldn't stand up, but he didn't want to hold back, and after some struggle, he was covered with mud.

finally got out of the five feet, and saw that the monster was still in place, so he gasped and whimpered and begged for mercy: "No...... Don't eat me...... I...... I'm not good...... Dogs don't eat all ......."

The old monster took out a handkerchief from the small cloth bag on his shoulder, covered his face, and turned it in the direction of the child, but it didn't seem to be speaking to the child: "Stranded here, what are your wishes?"

When the child saw that the monster could speak, he was even more convinced that it was a ghost, and he had tears and snot in his eyes, and he turned over and kowtowed to the old monster while crying: "No...... Don't eat me...... Please, don't eat me...... My mother can't come back to see ...... Unseen...... Wow......"

Before he finished speaking, he cried again, and he didn't know if he was frightened or because he was sad to think of his mother.

The old monster approached the child, who could no longer escape, but sat on the ground trembling and weeping.

"Good boy, don't cry, your mother is going to laugh at you. The old monster wiped the child's tears with his sleeve and touched his head, and his voice was kind and gentle.

The child couldn't stop crying, but he still said intermittently, "I...... I don't, I'm not afraid, I'm not afraid of you!"

The old monster said warmly: "Don't be afraid, what's your name?"

The child choked up and said, "No, I won't tell you!" My mother, my mother said that if a monster knows a person's name, it will go up. ”

The old monster seemed to smile, and his face under the handkerchief could not see the expression, but he could clearly feel a smile in his voice: "Your mother knows a lot." ”

Then he looked up at the empty side and asked, "What's his name?"

As if he got the answer, he turned his head and touched the young man's vest, smoothed him out, and muttered: "Ah Tao, don't cry Ah Tao, if you cry again, your mother will cry too." ”

The child raised his head in horror, and then cried even more: "Wow, wow, ah, I'm going to die! I'm going to be ghosted! Mother! Mother! Help, Mother!"

The old monster patted the child's back again and again, like a soul-changing ritual, and after a long time, it didn't stop the child's crying. In desperation, he had to tap the Fengfu point between the two tendons under the occipital bone on the back of the neck, and the four-year-old boy named Ah Tao finally stopped crying and fainted to one side.

At dawn on the second day, he woke up Ah Tao with hunger in his belly, he looked around in confusion, and found nothing, only feeling that yesterday's bizarre and terrifying experience was just a nightmare.

Reaching out and pulling out the burlap pocket, there were seven earthworms in it, two of which were still writhing.

He was glad in his heart, but fortunately these earthworms were not dreams.

But since the earthworm is not a dream, is the old monster a dream?

Naïve children always have a fantasy world in their minds, and when that world is different from the current world they are in, they are often more willing to believe in their own fantasies.

It's like he never looks back to feel the old dream that is so close at hand.

He was already familiar with this mountain forest, so after looking for a direction, he walked to the stream, ready to fetch water to boil earthworms, and by the way, see if he could catch fish today.

He didn't dare to go too fast, and he had to conserve his strength for possible unexpected situations, such as wild dogs, such as ghosts.

He was glad he did, because he had really met the old monster again.

As he walked to the stream, he saw the old monster also fetching water by the stream to wash his face.

The child's mouth was covered with his right hand, and his left hand pinched his little face, making a painful "hmm" sound, and finally believed that it was not a dream.

Although he was still scared this time, after last night's experience, he was able to stabilize his mind and cautiously retreat while carefully observing the old monster.

Slowly, he stopped retreating.

For he saw the shadow of the old monster, and the strange face reflected in the water.

Ghosts have no shadow. His mother used to say that.

His mother also said that ghosts are invisible in the mirror.

Although the surface of the water is not a mirror, since it can reflect the appearance of an old monster, it should not be a ghost.

But he really looks like a ghost.

Thinking that he had been in a coma all night, and that the old monster had neither eaten himself nor tied himself up, he was a little more daring.

For a four-year-old child, timidity is not worth mentioning in the face of curiosity.

The child, named Ah Tao, picked up a branch from the ground, carefully walked behind the old monster, and put the branch against the old monster's waist.

The old monster was about to turn back, but the young man pushed the old monster hard, pretending to be fierce and said: "Don't turn back, I have a sword in my hand, a big sword." If you move again, I'll stab you to death. ”

The old monster really didn't move, but his voice didn't have the slightest fear, but was quite kind, just like a grandfather teasing his little grandson: "Ah Tao, wake up." ”

Ah Tao lifted the branch and fell hard, but when he was about to touch the back of the old monster, he retracted his strength, and said inwardly: "Don't call me Ah Tao!"

The old monster said, "What are you going to call you?"

Ah Tao tilted his head and thought about it, it seemed that everyone called himself Ah Tao, and he didn't know how to change his name for a while, so he simply reported his surname and said, "You call me Huang Daxia." ”

The old monster said gently: "Okay Huang Daxia." Dare to ask Huang Daxia what his command is to use the big sword to blackmail the little old man. ”

Ah Tao said: "What kind of monster are you, recruited from the truth, if there is a lie, you will eat my big sword." ”

The old monster said: "Little Lao'er is not a monster, Xiao Lao'er is just a puppet." ”

Ah Tao said: "What kind of monster is it?" ”

Lao Qizuo patiently repeated: "Qizuo is not a monster, Qizuo is a business to make a living, just like the butcher of the butcher shop, the work of the pawnshop, and the farmer who farms the land, the same truth." ”

Ah Tao said without taboo: "Why haven't I seen such a terrible butcher and farmer as you, right...... The king butcher who sold meat seemed to be quite terrible. ”

The old man said bluntly: "The little old man is not terrible, but he is ugly, and to be a servant is to be ugly, and a little handsome brother like you can't be a fool." ”

Ah Tao said: "There is such a truth. You don't want to lie to me. ”

The old man said: "What the little old man said is true. ”

Ah Tao said: "What the hell is it for?" ”

The old man suddenly turned around, startled Ah Tao, and fell to the ground with a wooden branch, still fiercely said: "Monsters look at the sword!"

The old man avoided the dancing branches, helped Ah Tao up, and said, "Don't be afraid, Huang Daxia, the little old man is old, and it is not appropriate to squat for a long time, just stand up and move." ”

Then let go of Ah Tao and said, "You are the one who makes friends with the dead." ”

Ah Tao cried again unexpectedly: "You are really a ghost! Mother! Mother! I don't live anymore!"

The old man looked at Ah Tao quietly, until he finally couldn't cry, and then said slowly: "As a line, the people are in the business of examining the corpses of the dead and investigating the cause of the deceased's death. However, this is only an external statement. Our work in this vein also has the responsibility of exorcising ghosts and warding off evil spirits. ”

Ah Tao choked with snot: "You are ...... A Taoist priest who exorcises ghosts?"

The old man said: "No, the little old man is just a porter who settles his wishes and grievances for the deceased." ”

Ah Tao said: "Are you a human or a ghost?" ”

The old man was helpless, pointed to Ah Tao's side, and sighed: "I'm still a human, the woman next to you should be your mother, she is the ghost." ”