Chapter 18 Painted skin

"Quietly, unrestrained. I step on the shore sand here, stepping on the moonlight. I look at the thousands of rivers and mountains, and I only see them for a moment." a ghost. A bloody ghost walked in the underworld. She asked the escorting bull-headed horse-faced: "Why won't you give me a little more time? I want to ask him a word." "I'm dead, what can I ask?" Niutou was expressionless, but his voice was full of impatience; Ma Mian was relatively kind, with a long face full of sympathy: "He treats you well, and you don't need to ask to know; he treats you badly, and it's useless to ask."

"I don't want to ask if it's okay, I just want to ask him why?" The soul is wandering. When I first arrived in the underworld, I was not used to not touching the ground. I couldn't help but look down at the road from time to time, but what I saw was only chaos. "I want to ask him on July 13th, he has promised to marry me, why didn't he come?" "If you don't come, you just don't want to marry. If you regret it, you won't come." This is the bull's head. "Maybe there are reasons for not coming, maybe it's very simple, but if you don't come, you just don't come, and it's useless to ask." This is Ma Mian.

Mei Yinghun was just obsessed with his obsession: "If he doesn't answer me, I won't die with peace in my eyes." "Death is in vain." Niutou suddenly laughed, a ferocious and terrifying laugh.However, Ruo Meiying had seen Hu Cripple's evil and ugly smile before she was alive, and no other smile could frighten her. Ma Mian just sighed again and again: "Close eyes is death, and not eyes is also death. If you are dead, just let it go. It is useless to ask." The road to hell is very dark and long, and it will never end. Mei Yinghun looked back frequently, and could no longer see the world behind her, the wind chimes on the window of the small building, or the dust raised by the car body.

There are five sounds in the underworld, no color, only a piece of blackness. However, she still faintly heard the cry, the kind of pained moan that came from the deepest part of the soul, piercing the heart, trembling, and unwilling.That's ghost soldiers frying ghosts. There was Meng Po standing by the side of the Naihe Bridge to share the soup, urging her again and again: "Forget it, forget it." No, Mei Ying doesn't want to forget.She didn't wait for a word from him, never forget it! Mei Yinghun suddenly broke free from the escort of the bull's head and horse face, turned around and ran wildly on the road back.The ox-headed horse-face roared and chased after the wind, the closer it was, the closer it was...

"Mei Ying, run!" Xiaowan screamed, feeling shortness of breath and tightness in her chest. She didn't know if it was Mei Ying who was running or she was running. The bull head and horse face chased after him, if he couldn't run in time, he would be fried by a ghost! "Now, do you understand?" Xiaowan was startled, and saw Ruomeiying standing in front of the window of her house, with her back turned to her and asked silently, it turned out to be a dream—or, not just a dream—if she didn’t wake up, would she casually ask? The bull head and horse face went to the underworld, walked through Huangquan Road, drank Meng Po soup, stepped on the Naihe Bridge, and never woke up?

"Mei Ying, I've seen it all." Xiao Wan was heartbroken, "You died too badly!" Mei Ying's shoulders trembled, as if suppressing infinite grief and anger, but she refused to turn around. What she was wearing was exactly the Yuntai suit from "A Chinese Ghost Story". Such a beautiful face, such a devastated body and mind!Xiao Wan burst into tears: "Mei Ying, what else can I do for you?" "I hate, I want to kill all the people who hurt me, all the evil men in the world." "So you avenged your daughter and killed the village chief who insulted her?" Xiao Wan asked, "Your daughter came to you, why didn't you recognize her?"

"My daughter..." Mei Ying sighed, "I am not worthy of being a mother. Whether I was alive or dead, I never remembered that I had such a daughter. I gave birth to her and brought her into this cold world , let her endure so many disasters, and did not give her any warmth. I am sorry for her, and I deserve to be whipped by her. This is retribution. I don't want to see her, and I don't want to see her. The only thing I can do for her is To avenge her, to avenge all the sad women, to kill all the heartless men in the world, so as to help my Yin Qi..." "You want to prolong your soul by hatred and killing?" Xiao Wan was shocked, "You still want to kill people?"

"Yes, kill, kill all ungrateful men. For example..." Ruo Meiying raised her eyebrows and said a name, "Zhang Zhiye!" Xiao Wan turned pale with shock: "You want to kill him?" "Yes, reporter Zhang Zhiye, he has the wrong surname, entered the wrong profession, and loves the wrong person, shouldn't he deserve to die?" Xiao Wan suddenly calmed down: "Mei Ying, if you want to kill her, you might as well kill me first." "He failed you like that, and you still love him?" "I once loved her." Xiaowan replied bravely, "If you have truly loved someone, you will never hate him. Otherwise, you don't know how to love."

"Love, can't hate?" Mei Ying was stunned, as if thinking about this question for the first time. "If you don't ask about the result, then the process of love itself is already very happy and perfect. It is the person who let you know what love is, and the person who gives you the opportunity to love the most truly in the best time, This alone is enough to be grateful for." Xiaowan confided in a low voice: "I once loved two people, one was Zhiye, who betrayed me; the other was Atao, who just rejected me. But, I don't hate them, and I don't hate anyone."

"A Tao?" Mei Ying sighed, "Xiao Wan, don't you know A Tao's identity?" "A Tao's identity?" Xiao Wan felt uneasy, "Isn't he a singer?" "It used to be." Meiying looked at Xiao Wan, word by word, "Or, it was during his lifetime." ... "Xiao Wan." "What did you say?" Xiao Wan heard her own voice sounding in the distance, "Before I was alive? What do you mean?" "A Tao is a ghost just like me. He died half a year ago, the second day he fell in love with you. He died in order to keep your appointment. On the way to the subway station, he was caught by a drunk driving man. Killed by a drunk."

As if a sword had pierced deep into the bottom of her heart, Xiao Wan lost her voice in shock and screamed: "A Tao..." "A Tao!" Xiao Wan turned over and sat up, drenched in sweat. Another dream! Opening her eyes, she saw Ruo Meiying standing in front of the window wearing the Lihun clothes with her back facing her, describing that her makeup was exactly the same as the one she had just dreamed about, and even the tone of her question was exactly the same—"Now, do you understand? " Xiao Wan's heart was twisted like a knife: "Mei Ying, have you entered my dream?" "In your dream, you didn't forget to save your old lover. Xiao Wan, you are so kind." Mei Ying sighed softly, "I came to say goodbye to you, I have to go." "Are you going? Where are you going?" "I don't go anywhere, my soul disappears." "No, it won't." Xiaowan groaned, "You can't leave me, I don't want you to go." "We have different ways of yin and yang, and it is not good for you to meet often. Therefore, I would rather enter your dream than face to face with you." "It turns out that you have been using dreams to kill people." Xiao Wan realized in horror, "Uncle Hu and his son, Zhang Chaotian, and the village chief were all killed by you in your dreams? If I didn't stop you in my dreams , will he die too?" "He will die of fright." Mei Ying said lightly, "The so-called 'ghost killing' is a kind of spiritual power, a kind of Yin energy. When the Yin energy overcomes the Yang energy, it can kill people. I am with you , even if you don’t want to hurt you, you still have Yin energy, but there is no murderous energy, so you will not be fatal, but you will still be injured. From the beginning, you can only feel the presence of ghosts, and later you can clearly see the ghosts, to Now you can see what happened in the past through time, because the yin energy in your body is getting heavier and heavier. Now, you are already a person wandering between Yin and Yang, like walking a tightrope, if you are not careful, you will fall into the abyss Doomed. Do you often feel dizzy, vomit, or even faint recently? This is all because of too much contact with ghosts, and the Yin Qi in your body is getting heavier. So, I decided to leave you, and I can no longer let my existence make you Getting hurt." "I don't care, Mei Ying, you are my best friend, I don't want to be separated from you. Mei Ying, if you stay, don't you still want to ask Zhang Chaotian that sentence? Don't you still want to find that answer? You Are you willing to leave like this?" "So what if I'm not reconciled. Xiaowan, my existence is just an illusion, a kind of murderous intent. Every day I live in this world, I will create more killings. If I don't kill people, I can only disappear. I just hate, and I will eventually die." You can't ask him that..." "I'll ask for you." Xiaowan called anxiously, "Wait for me, I will definitely help you find the answer, you are already dead, and you can't leave with regrets. I must find the answer. Although Zhang Chaotian is dead , but there must be others who know, maybe you have other teachers and sisters alive, maybe Zhang Chaotian will have brothers and friends who know the truth, I will investigate, I will, you wait for me." "Impossible." Meiying shook her head slowly, her hair was full of pearls and emeralds, and she refused to look back, "I have decided to give up. Xiao Wan, I just ask you to do me one last favor... " "What is it? Say it, I will definitely do it." "Cripple Hu left you a suicide note, you go and open it. Only through you can I read Yangjian's text..." "Cripple Hu is dead?" Xiao Wanruo realized something, "You killed him?" "Didn't he deserve to die?" "Okay, I promise you." Xiao Wan didn't want to answer this question, she was just a mortal and could not judge other people's life and death, Ruo Meiying promised her that she would not kill anyone again, this is the most important thing.Anyway, Cripple Hu is too old to be considered a person, and he will die whether he kills him or not. Xiao Wan promised: "I'll go and see the suicide note." "After you finish reading, go find me in the cemetery, and Atao will wait for you there." "A Tao..." Xiao Wan couldn't hold back the pain in her heart, "A Tao has really..." She couldn't believe it, but she couldn't believe it.A Tao once said: Do you know how painful a man's heart will be when he has to reject the woman he loves? At that time, she thought he was comforting her and speaking for Zhang Zhiye.Now that I think about it, I realize that he was talking about himself. "A Tao died in a car accident half a year ago. He refused to reincarnate, just like me, because of his unfulfilled wish—except, my wish is hate, and his wish is love." Meiying sighed deeply, her voice was infinitely sympathetic, when it came to the word "love", her expression showed a bit of tenderness and nostalgia, but it was more of a sad sigh, "Because he loves and cares about you, he refuses to accept you." Leave and stay with you all the time. However, your love made him have to leave. I said that people and ghosts have different paths. It is not good for you to meet us often. Your body will become weaker and weaker , until it is completely exhausted, although we are kind to you, we will still hurt you." It turned out that when A Tao suddenly came to say goodbye to her seven days after his disappearance, he was already a ghost—that day was his soul-returning night.He couldn't let Xiao Wan go, so he came to see her and lied that he was going to Shanghai; but he was reluctant to leave, so he lingered in the world like this, following Xiao Wan and protecting her; on the window glass of Hailan Hotel, Xiaowan once saw the shadow of a young man with a musical instrument in his hand, that is Atao with a guitar; but at that time she was not strong enough to face him directly, and although he had seen Zhang Zhiye was with Vivienne, so she foresaw the sad situation Xiaowan was about to face, but was unable to show up to help her because of the strangeness of yin and yang; In desperation, Atao finally broke through the realm of life and death, and appeared in time to stop Xiaowan; however, people and ghosts have different paths, and they are destined to have no future and no long-term, so he can only continue to avoid her, unwilling to let his own shadow Her anger hurt her, so she had no choice but to leave again... "I don't care, I don't care!" Xiao Wan cried, "I'd rather be sick, and Yin Qi invade, I don't want to be separated from you. Meiying, you are my best friend, I don't want to leave you, I don't want to leave Atao ..." "Xiao Wan, who are you talking to?" The knock is water soluble.However, he couldn't hear his precious daughter's answer, so he had to knock on the door again, waited a while, and then opened the door. There was no Xiaowan in the room.where did she go Shui Rong was surprised.My daughter has been very unusual recently. Just now, she came home staggering and distraught, and ignored anyone who asked her questions. She went into the bedroom and fell asleep.Falling asleep, and yelling from time to time.He thought it was her nightmare, and wanted to come in and chat with her, but unexpectedly his daughter disappeared again.So who was the one who spoke just now? There seemed to be a faint weeping sound in the wall, all whispering, as if whispering.There is even an inexplicable uneasy atmosphere surging in the air, and a familiar melody resounds in the air - it is "A Chinese Ghost Story": "Tread on the sand embankment, the sedge is slippery with frost. Grab the emerald gauze of the wet skirt, how much moss and dew are worth the cold Lingbo socks..." Shui Rong calmed down, and suddenly thought of her daughter's childhood habits, walked over and opened the closet door—as expected, Xiao Wan was hiding in the brocade embroidered quilt, trembling with tears all over her face, when she saw her father, she was still in shock and called out aggrievedly: "Dad ——" Suddenly burst into tears. "Wan'er, what's the matter? If you have any grievances, tell Dad." Shui Rong was so distressed that he hurriedly pulled his daughter into his arms, and patted her on the back like a little girl. Xiaowan had a problem of spitting up milk when she was a child, and Shui Rong would always sweep her back. Shui Rong learned to be a father. It can be said that it started from "sweeping the back"-at this time, Xiao Wan was weak and helpless, with a broken soul, as if she had returned When it comes to swaddling. Shui Rong didn't know how to comfort his grown-up daughter, so he had to carefully carry her to the bed, pull up the quilt to cover her, then sat on the side of the bed, and asked softly, "Tell Dad, what happened?" thing?" However, Xiao Wan was so choked up that she couldn't speak, she just stretched out her hand outside the quilt and pointed to the wind chimes on the top of the tent. Following Xiao Wan's finger, the bell suddenly turned automatically without wind, and there was a "ding bell".Even Shui Rong couldn't help being shocked, he quickly untied the copper bell, held it in his hand and asked his daughter, "Do you want it? Or do you want me to throw it away?" He blamed himself a little, his wife repeatedly objected to him buying these weird things home, and now he scared his precious daughter. Xiaowan snatched the wind chime in her hands, and saw the blood stains on it - that was Mei Ying's hatred! When Mei Ying fell from the building, her body flew past the wind chime like a flying flower.The wind chime has seen everything and recorded everything. From then on, there is a rhythm of death in its bell, and the "bell" communicates with the "spirit". Could it be that Xiao Wan and Ruo Meiying were destined to form an indissoluble bond as early as the moment Shui Rong brought this wind chime home? It turned out that the original spirit caller who paved the way for Meiying was actually Shui Rong who least believed in ghosts and spirits!Is this irony, or fate? "Mei Ying is leaving—" Xiaowan cried, and said without thinking——it was wrong to say it, knowing that her father would not believe her words, she couldn't help crying again, "Dad, you won't understand." "Understood, Dad understands. You speak slowly." Shui Rong has already determined that her daughter has encountered a common disease in the sensitive period of growth - depression and madness, cranky thoughts.It's no wonder that the reporter Zhang Zhi also came to visit the house recently, and the two probably had a falling out.When a little girl fails in her first love, most of the time she will think about it, and it is normal to be upset. He decided to follow his daughter first, "You mentioned Ruo Meiying again and again, did you encounter something unusual?" "I can always see Ruo Meiying, no, it's Meiying's soul." Xiaowan knew that her father would not believe a word of what she said, but if she didn't tell her father, who could she tell her?Grandma?Who would dare to guarantee what would happen to her in her dying years when she heard that Miss Ruo's soul was not far away? So, she started talking about asking for a suitcase on July 14th, talking about the first "meeting" with Mei Ying in the clothing store, talking about the process of searching for Lin Juying in Shanghai, and talking about the bizarre life experience of the accountant nurse Zhao Zihe, The crimes of Uncle Hu and his son, Zhang Chaotian's identity, and the tragic scene she saw in the small building just now—she just concealed A Tao's story, and she didn't want to make her father worry more. The more Shui Rong listened, the more strange he became. At the beginning, he continued to make scientific explanations and analyzes in his mind, thinking that this was a fantasy caused by some kind of psychology. However, what Xiaowan said was well-founded, and there were many historical facts. It cannot be fabricated out of thin air.For example, Mother Zhao's life experience, even she doesn't know, Xiaowan can't rely on it even if she imagines it! "Self-combing Girl", "Big Burning Clothes", "Xinglong Hotel", "Ghost Festival Shows" before liberation, Ruo Meiying's identity as "The Fifth Aunt He"...all of this, if Xiaowan hadn't experienced it personally, How did you know that? Also, that night, he really did hear the Beijing opera aria of "A Chinese Opera Away from the Soul" coming out of the Shaoxing opera record.But the next morning, the singing part disappeared out of thin air.There is also the old record of "A Dream in the Garden", which also disappeared without a trace. Could it be that there are really ghosts in this world? The steadfast atheist, Shui Rong, was a little shaken, and said hesitantly, "You know, the Hu family called just now, saying that they will send Mr. Hu's funeral tomorrow, and they want to invite you to watch the ceremony, because—" Because he felt it was ridiculous, he was a little bit It's hard to say, "They said, Mr. Hu left a suicide note for you." suicide note.Xiao Wan understands that this is the last thing Ruo Meiying entrusts her with. "Why did he leave you a suicide note?" Shui Rong asked, but he already had an answer in his heart.He saw a strange expression on his daughter's face, mysterious and vicissitudes. Xiaowan said: "Finally, there will be an answer." At night, Xiaowan suffered from insomnia, and when she passed the living room, she heard the voice of "A Dream in the Garden" coming from the study. "All kinds of purples and reds are blooming everywhere, like this, all of which are paid to the ruined walls. What a beautiful day, where is the house to enjoy the pleasure..." Xiao Wan thought it was her father working night shift to catch up on the manuscript, so she opened the door. "Grandma?" She was taken aback, "Why are you up so late?" Grandma raised her head, her face was full of confusion, her eyes were full of hurt: "Wan'er, can you let me meet Miss Ruo?" "grandmother……" "I heard everything you and your father said today. If your father doesn't believe it, I believe it." Tears gradually filled in grandma's dim old eyes, "I'm here to borrow your father's record player to listen to the singing of the young lady. Come out and meet me." "Grandma, she won't come." Xiaowan said sympathetically.She has already communicated with Ruo Meiying, and she has a heart-to-heart connection, and she fully understands why Meiying refuses to show up - not only because her grandma is old, and the sun is already setting, and she can no longer resist the invasion of Yin Qi; Ruo Meiying is unwilling to face today's Xiaoqing.Sixty years have passed, the face of a person is full of peach blossoms, the sea is full of vicissitudes of life, there is so much helplessness and bitterness, it is hard to describe in a word, so what do you see? Mei Ying doesn't even want to meet her daughter Zhao Zihe—except for Shui Xiaowan, who shows up only to kill people, not to reminisce about the old days. "Mei Ying won't show up." Xiaowan said again: "She said that I can see her because we are sixty years apart, but we were born on the same month and the same day. According to the Buddhist calendar, we are the same person. When I see her, it's like looking in a mirror." "You can see it, but I can't see it..." Grandma suddenly cried, tears streaming down her cheeks, as if she had returned to the loyal, ignorant, ignorant and greedy Baobai Xiaoqing sixty years ago .In front of the young lady, she will always be just Xiaoqing.She missed her young lady for half a lifetime, and now she knew that she was close at hand, but she couldn't see her, so it hurt. Xiaowan looked at grandma's tears in shock, never expecting that an old man's grief would be so weak and pathetic.Mei Yinghun will die tomorrow, and by then, even I will not be able to see her again, let alone grandma.Then, grandma will be a lifetime regret.She really wants to help grandma fulfill her wish. "Okay, grandma, I'll help you see her." Xiao Wan went all out.Although Mei Ying won't show up, she has a way to represent it, "Grandma, do you still remember how you helped Miss comb her hair back then?" Combs, grates, knots, hairpins, hairpins, pearl flowers, phoenixes, steps, ties... The Shui family is a family of the Liyuan family. In order to find inspiration, Shui Rong has always arranged the study room like the backstage of a theatrical troupe. Fake flowers, bonsai, and flags are piled up everywhere. There are feathers in the blue and white porcelain vases. Covered by the red satin curtain of the theatre, there is everything one could expect to find in pink and ink outfits. Although not complete in all eighteen martial arts, rouge and gouache are readily available. Xiao Wan sat in front of the makeup mirror, with a restrained appearance and a serious expression.Grandma—oh no, it's Xiaoqing, who puts on the make-up for the lady respectfully and carefully, without daring to be sloppy at all. Draw eyebrows.powdered.hanging nose.Do not smear the lips, just a little red in the middle, making the face look like white jade and eyes like stars.Stretching his head, his eyebrows flew up obliquely, and the corners of his eyes were raised high.Wipe forehead.Sticker... The person in the mirror is a little bit clear, who is it if it’s not Ruo Meiying?She turned around, raised her sleeves to the music, and glanced lightly. Xiaoqing blurted out: "Miss - I am in tears." The phonograph is singing: "Since the farewell, the distant mountains are faint, and the water is even more distant. Seeing the willows flying and rolling, I am drunk with the peach blossoms. The fragrant wind blows through the cabinet, and the rain falls after the heavy door. I am afraid that the dusk will suddenly turn dusk, and I will not be ecstasy. How can you not be ecstasy? New crow marks crush old ones, heartbroken people remember heartbroken people. This spring, Xiang Muscles are a little thinner, and the width of the arms is three inches..." It is a song "Zhong Lu".It does not belong to "A Dream in the Garden", nor does it belong to "A Chinese Ghost Story", it is a song that Xiao Wan has never heard. "I'm afraid that dusk will suddenly come and go again. If you don't ecstasy, how can you not be ecstasy? The new cry marks the old cry marks, and the heartbroken remembers the heartbroken." It's a good time! Xiaowan couldn't help but her body softened, and tears welled up.Mei Ying, it's still here!