Chapter 12 Chapter Eleven The Shrunken Bones

The spotlight shone on the dead old woman lying on the bed, and the photographer reached out and lifted the red quilt covering her body.The photographer lifted the quilt very slowly, as if afraid of waking her up. It was the first time for Ai Nan to look at the dead so closely under strong light.Strictly speaking, it is a skeleton whose muscles have shrunk after being dead for three years.The old woman has white hair, and her face has disappeared due to moisture and muscles, and she has the appearance of a skeleton.Under the thin eyelids, two round eyeballs protrude, and the lips are so dry that they almost disappear, revealing two rows of incomplete teeth.She was lying straight on the bed, wearing blue cloth clothes, and a pair of thin-soled cloth shoes, the kind of shoes specially worn by the dead when encoffining, probably prepared by the villagers for her.

Ai Nan's hand holding the spotlight was shaking all the time, which made the old woman feel shaking on the bed.As if struggling to turn over. The photographer found the doll from the corner of the house, which was bought by the old woman for her adopted daughter Chrysanthemum more than 30 years ago.Now became her companion after death.The photographer put the doll beside her, took two steps back to look at it, and put the doll on her chest. "If only she could hug this doll," said the photographer to himself. The photographer took the old woman's hand and tried to move it to her chest, but the stick-like arm could no longer be bent.

There was a large red cloth hanging on the window in this room, Ai Nan suddenly saw the red cloth shaking, Ai Nan gave a low cry. The photographer looked back and said that it was windy outside.The house is ventilated and dry, so the old woman hasn't rotted since she died for three years. But is it a hair dryer?Ai Nan then saw that the corner of the red cloth was opened, and she nervously leaned into the photographer's ear and said, "There are people outside." The photographer immediately told Ai Nan to turn off the spotlight, and they fell into the darkness instantly.The photographer whispered to Ai Nan: "Stay here and don't move, I'll go out and have a look."

The photographer disappears into the darkness.Ai Nan stood beside the old woman's bed, not daring to move. There was an acidic rotten smell in the air. She bent down and choked her throat with her hands to prevent herself from vomiting.Suddenly, she felt someone pulling at the corner of her clothes, and she reached out to stop it reflexively, but grabbed a bony hand, which was stiff and cold. "Don't, don't catch me!" Ai Nan blurted out.She drew back and touched the old woman's hand as if she was on fire. She wanted to stay away from the bed, so she slowly backed away. Suddenly, her back touched someone, and she cried out loudly, Hands quickly covered her mouth.

"Don't call!" It was the photographer's voice, "It's not okay to alarm the nearby villagers." Ai Nan felt weak all over, she said she was scared to death. The photographer said that the lights could be turned on, and he went outside to check, but found nothing abnormal, and said that he could continue to work. Ai Nan turned on the spotlight again, and the old woman's lying posture remained unchanged, with her hands placed stiffly by her sides.Ai Nan thought, how could this hand pull the corner of my clothes?Maybe it was her fingers hanging from the corner of my clothes when I bent over to vomit.

The photographer kneaded the old woman's stiff arm repeatedly with both hands. He said that the arm should be soft and soft so that it can be bent. This hand should hold a doll. This posture is what she expects from her adopted daughter. After tossing like this until midnight, the photographer's work was finally completed.He packed up the camera and covered the old woman with the red quilt again.Ai Nan saw the old woman's eyelids move suddenly, and the photographer said, why are you so nervous, the lamp you are holding is shaking. Walking out the door, it was as dark as the bottom of a pot outside, Ai Nan staggered a little, the photographer took her hand and said to follow me.Ai Nan broke free from his hand and said, your hand feels greasy after touching the old woman's body.

They left the east end of the town in the dark, and soon entered the narrow streets of Wind Motion.Suddenly, there was a miserable meowing sound from the side of the road. Ai Nan turned on the flashlight, and a big black cat was lying pitifully on the side of the street, one of its legs was bleeding. Boss Wan's house was right next to the street, and the photographer knocked on the door and shouted, "Boss Wan, your cat is going to die." The window of the attic was pushed open, and the idiot poked his head out and said, "Don't worry about it, it won't die. This cat was screaming very frighteningly tonight. In a fit of anger, Boss Wan swung over the bench and broke its leg."

Ai Nan dragged the photographer away quickly, she was afraid that the fool would ask them where they went in the middle of the night.The photographer said that he was really careless and shouldn't have knocked on the door, but the cat was really pitiful. They broke up on the hillside outside the nursing home and walked to the south and north yards respectively.When we broke up, Ai Nan asked the photographer if he was afraid of living there alone, and the photographer said there was nothing to be afraid of.He said that everyone on your side has left, and Liu Sheng hasn't come back yet, so be careful.Ai Nan said that Shitou still lives in that courtyard, but there are really too few people living there.The photographer said that maybe Liu Sheng had already returned, and he was just puffing up, one day was enough.

Ai Nan's tears almost rolled out, she said, "Maybe Liu Sheng won't come back." The photographer smiled and said, "When will it happen? Don't worry, I will wait until you go on the road together anyway." Unexpectedly, this was the last sentence the photographer said to Ai Nan. The next morning, when Ai Nan knocked on the door of the photographer's room, the photographer had already disappeared.The door was ajar, and everything in the room was still there, the big camera bag used last night was still on the bedside.However, the photographer was gone, and Ai Nan ran all over the nearby yards, and even ran to the hillside outside the nursing home to shout loudly, but never found anyone.

Ai Nan suddenly thought that if Professor Xu was still here, he would help Ai Nan to analyze whether the report about the death of photographer Lan Mo a year ago was true or not.If the photographer who appeared in Wind Motion was a ghost, his disappearance should be nothing to be alarmed about.However, Ai Nan couldn't believe that the living photographer who had been with her for such a long time could be a ghost. But how did the photographer disappear?All his belongings, including the camera and the important works that he regards as his life in the camera are still here. Why did he disappear?

There is no way, the only person who can ask for help now is Boss Wan.Ai Nan asked Shitou to call Boss Wan over immediately. She said that the photographer was gone and that someone might have died.The words she blurted out came from a kind of intuition. Photographers have said before that a woman's intuition should not be underestimated. Boss Wan came, and the skinny medicine merchant frowned.If there is still a reason for Liu Sheng's disappearance, the photographer's disappearance is completely inexplicable.He looked around the photographer's room, and then asked Ai Nan, "When was the last time you saw the photographer yesterday?" How can I say it?Ai Nan remembered the black cat she met when she passed Boss Wan's house in the middle of the night yesterday, and the conversation with the idiot. Boss Wan would know about it, so he had no choice but to tell the truth, and besides, he couldn't ask the photographer's permission now. , because he wanted to keep the photo taking a secret. Boss Wan was anxious when he heard it, he said Ai Nan, why didn't you ask my opinion first about this kind of thing?You don't understand anything, the old woman can't move, whoever moves will die, you know? "Is it really that serious?" Ai Nan asked suspiciously. "I saw this truth from Hu Laoer." Boss Wan said, "You know, Hu Laoer once went to the old woman to get some hair. He was kind enough to treat the elder brother's son. What happened? How? He was punished even though his hair was given back!" Ai Nan asked in surprise, "What's wrong with Er Er Hu?" Boss Wan said that you don't know yet. Hu's second child was scratched by a black bear and almost killed him. Maybe it was all because he burned incense first when he went to the old woman's room to get her hair.Otherwise, the black bear will take his life.Think about it, Hu Lao Er is strong and strong, holding a sharp iron spear, and this black bear has been what he has been looking for for more than three years.In the end, the bear was not killed, and a large piece of flesh was grabbed off by the bear's paw on his left shoulder, and all the bones came out.He was just sent back by the mountain people early this morning, and I just applied herbs to stop bleeding and promote muscle growth on him. Ai Nan listened in a daze, she didn't know if there was any mystery between all this and the old woman who was dead but not rotten.The bad thing is that the road has been opened to traffic, and the return journey could have been smooth, but now it is trapped here by bigger things. Boss Wan seemed to see Ai Nan's thoughts, he said: "Liu Sheng will come back, just feel angry, it's good to let the anger go. But the photographer is in danger." "Then we have to try to find them!" Ai Nan almost cried out. Boss Wan said seriously: "The important thing now is not to find them, but to try to save your own life as soon as possible. Think about it, you also went to the old woman's house last night, maybe you beat the old woman with your hands, and you held up the spotlight. Will the old woman not know if you take a picture of her? The photographer is finished, and it may be your turn next, so you have to think quickly!" Ai Nan felt that even the bones of her body were chilling, so what should she do?She's a little lost. Boss Wan was also sweating in anxiety. The more he talked, the more he understood how serious the situation was. Boss Wan thought for a while and said: "The only way to go is to burn incense to the old woman. I have some at my place, and bring some red candles and paper money. This way, at least like Hu Laoer, he can suffer a little bit of flesh and blood, but save his life. Only It can be done like this. Another thing to pay attention to is, don’t go out after dark, and don’t agree to a voice calling your name after going to bed at night.” Ai Nan asked, what does it mean to suffer a little bit of flesh and blood?Boss Wan said that I don't know about this, and I hope it will be better if it doesn't happen. It was a frightening night.In the entire nursing home, from the north to the south, there are only three people left, Ai Nan, Maizi and Shitou.They huddled together in a room, bolted the door, and listened to the night wind swimming in the yard, flapping the windows for a while, and pushing open the door of an empty room for a while.The wind has always been blowing these few nights, and the empty city-like nursing home has become a good place for it to beat around. Ai Nan had already gone to the old woman's house to burn incense.She rushed there in the afternoon when the sky was bright.There was still a big cloud in the sky, but the sun shone down from the edge of the cloud, and the old woman's house on the hillside was reflected in this light.Ai Nan knelt in the old woman's outhouse and kowtowed, the three sticks of incense and two red candles in the incense burner filled the air with mist.Ai Nan said in her heart, the photographer is a good man, please keep him safe.In the smog, Ai Nan seemed to see the face of the old woman lying in the middle. She said in her heart, we know how much you miss Chrysanthemum. I am also a woman, and I have also experienced the pain of losing a child. The photographer and I came here just to replace you Fly out your thoughts, you will understand our thoughts, won't you? Ai Nan also burned some money for the old woman. After watching the fire go out and the black paper ash fell from the sky, she slowly exited the house. Not far away, I met Hu Laoer. His shoulders were indeed wrapped with gauze, and there were balls of blood soaking out.Hu Laoer didn't know what Ai Nan was doing in the east of the town, and Ai Nan didn't explain much, but asked him with concern why he was hurt by the black bear. "Hey, it's really cheap!" Hu Lao Er waved his other thick arm and said, "This **** black bear came from behind me. I found its footprints in Xiushuigou yesterday, and I have been chasing after it." After traveling for more than ten miles, in a forest, it suddenly appeared behind me. I didn't realize it until its fur paw was on my shoulder. I rolled on the spot, stood up and stabbed at it with an iron spear. Go. It's all because of the severe pain in my shoulder that affected my strength. The iron spear pierced its hind leg and couldn't pull it out. The bear got more energetic and roared at me, so I had to climb up a cliff. I just watched it drag my iron spear and run away." "How do you know it is the black bear that killed your wife three years ago?" Ai Nan asked. Hu Lao Er said that everyone knows that there is only this black bear in this area. Anyone who has seen it can recognize it. Hu Lao Er said happily, but its death is approaching. Go and clean it up, cut off its palm and put it on my daughter-in-law's grave. Ai Nan thought, this is really a hero.She glanced at the wound on his shoulder and said, "The black bear hurt you, it has nothing to do with you taking the old woman's hair, right?" Hu Er Er smiled and said, "I was injured. Someone here said it was my retribution, but I don't believe it! The old woman is a good person, and she will not object to me avenging my daughter-in-law." At night, Ai Nan was always thinking about Hu Laoer's words.The old woman is a good person, and she will not harm the photographer, will she? Ai Nan gradually recovered her courage from the extreme fear.Seeing that Maizi was already asleep, she said to the sleepy Shitou, go back to the house and sleep, I'm fine. Shi Shi already knew all about Ai Nan's situation, he stood up and jumped and said, "I'm not sleepy, I'll stay here and guard." Ai Nan pretended to be angry and said, I can't sleep well when you are here, and I will have a headache if I don't sleep well. Stone said what to do?Ai Nan said you can sleep in the next room, I will call you if something happens. Stone had to go to sleep.Ai Nan lay down on the bed, looking at Maizi's sleeping face.The child has been very good for the past two days. She goes to bed when it gets dark and doesn't bother her at all.I remembered that when Liu Sheng lived in the courtyard, Maizi was always crying in the middle of the night. Now that I think about it, Maizi must be complaining for her? Ai Nan kissed Maizi on the face, when can she take her out of here?I want to take her back to Shanghai, I want to adopt her, and if Liu Sheng disagrees, I will do the same!This child has a close relationship with me, it's like a piece of flesh that fell from my body.If the child who was induced three years ago is still alive and is as old as her, she will be my daughter! When returning from the east end of the town in the afternoon, Ai Nan stood for a long time in front of the off-road vehicle parked in the town.She also opened the door and sat in the driver's seat, and opened the accelerator to make the car roar for a while.Everything is normal, and she can go on the road with a little tiptoe, and her heart is itchy. However, Liu Sheng had to be found, and in life she had to see people and in death she had to see corpses. When she thought of him, her heart was filled with mixed feelings of love, hatred, love and hatred.There are also photographers, which must be found.After getting along for so long, I can't break my promise. Ai Nan jumped out of the car and locked the door again.She thought that if she had known that things would be like this, she should not have come to this ghost place anyway. "Mom." Maizi called out in her dream.Ai Nan reached out and pushed her gently, but she obediently remained silent again.Ai Nan felt a warm and sweet feeling in her heart. She understood why the dead old woman in the east of the town could keep that doll until the end of her life. Ai Nan unconsciously fell asleep.After an unknown amount of time, she heard a strange noise in the yard, as if someone was fiddled with water by the well.She felt strange, and opened the door a crack after getting up, and saw a little girl washing her face by the well.She went out and found that the little girl washing her face was Maizi.She said it's almost midnight, why don't you go to sleep, what are you doing washing your face now?Maizi said that the photographer asked her to take a picture, and she had to rush there after washing her face.Ai Nan is in a hurry, isn't the photographer missing?It is very likely that he is no longer alive, how can Maizi go to see him?Just thinking about it, Maizi ran out of the yard, Ai Nan yelled desperately, come back!return Ai Nan was awakened by her own cry, and looked at Maizi sleeping soundly beside her.This is a strange dream, has the photographer really returned?She repeatedly thought about the dream she had just had, and suddenly remembered that Maizi told her in the dream that if she didn't take pictures now, the photographer would leave again after dawn. Ai Nan woke up, this dream must be Maizi's reminder to her, the photographer is probably in his room at this time.She took the flashlight and walked out the door lightly.There was no sound in the yard, and the emptiness gave the feeling of an abandoned warehouse. Ai Nan turned on the flashlight after walking out of the yard in the dark. She didn't want to disturb little brother Shitou. He has been guarding the wheat for her in the past two days and has hardly slept much. Let him sleep well. On the sloping land connecting the north and south courtyards, the tall and low trees always look like someone standing with their backs to her in the dark.Ai Nan stomped loudly on purpose, using this method to embolden herself. She entered the courtyard group in the north, and when she passed through one desolate courtyard after another, she thought how could there be no accidents if she lived here alone?When I came back from taking pictures with the photographer last night, I should have insisted that he stay in the south courtyard overnight. The courtyard where the photographer lived has already arrived, she did not dare to go directly into the photographer's room, but shouted to the photographer's door from a distance: "Photographer! Lan Mo! Are you back? " Despite the revelation from the dream, Ai Nan still doesn't quite believe that the photographer will sleep in the room safe and sound.Boss Wan said that his disappearance was more ominous than good. To Ai Nan's surprise, there were several noises in the photographer's room.Is there really anyone?Why didn't he answer me?Ai Nan moved towards the door step by step, her palms were sweating from nervousness. As soon as the door was pushed open, Ai Nan yelled again into the dark room, "Photographer, are you there?"There was no movement in the room, Ai Nan still didn't dare to step in, but turned on the flashlight, raised her hand and shot into the room. There are no changes in the house, but, what is that?There was a person lying upright on the bed, and a white sheet covered the person from head to toe, as if the room had become a funeral parlor. Ai Nan screamed and turned around and ran away.I visited this house in the afternoon, why did a dead person appear at night?Was the body of the photographer brought back?Impossible, she wouldn't be unaware of this happening. Ai Nan walked through one yard after another, and suddenly, she found herself lost.She stood down, and the yard in front of her was so gloomy, the half-person tall weeds swayed in the light of her flashlight, as if something was scurrying around under the grass blades.Ai Nan nervously identified the direction, not knowing where she had come from.She was about to walk towards the exit of this courtyard, when suddenly, a terrifying long snake appeared in the flashlight, it was lying across the road ahead, spit out long snake letters, and slipped towards Ai Nan. Ai Nan retreated all the way to the edge of the steps, but the snake persevered and climbed up the edge of the steps.Behind Ai Nan was an empty room without a door, she had no choice but to retreat into the room. After entering the house, Ai Nan suddenly felt a kind of deep despair, what if the snake followed in again?There is really no way out.She stared nervously at the ground at the door, no good!The snake really came in!Ai Nan leaned against the corner of the wall and trembled all over, shining a strong flashlight on the snake's head, she didn't know if this method could stop its progress. The terrifying snake didn't move forward after slipping through the door, but shook its head and neck in the air. Maybe it was because of the strong electric light, it drew a circle at the door, and then slipped out. Ai Nan breathed a sigh of relief, she didn't dare to go out immediately, so she leaned against the corner of the wall and waited for the snake to go away.Her whole body was covered in cold sweat, the clothes on her back were cold, and there was a "buzzing" sound in her ears. It's midnight, in this empty city that no one knows, in this desolate and cold corner, Ai Nan leans her head against the brick wall, wondering what is waiting for her next... In the morning, the sun shone hotly on the mountains, but there was a large group of dark clouds moving fast, like the wings of a big bird, constantly blocking the sun for a while, which made the light in the yard flickering. Ai Nan washed her hair by the well platform.Last night's adventure made her dizzy, and she could hardly recall how she got out of the ecstasy and came back here.She didn't get up until the morning, and she wanted to take a cold shower to wake up. Her hands were scratching her head in foam, and she couldn't open her eyes, so she had to call Maizi to bring me a towel.A pair of small hands quickly handed her towels, this is really a good boy. Suddenly, she heard the stone make a surprised voice: "Are you back?" Then came Liu Sheng's voice: "Do you think I'm dead? Huh, I won't die." Ai Nan hurriedly threw her hair back, wiped her eyes with a towel and looked up, Liu Sheng was already standing in the yard!His shirt and trousers were wrinkled and dirty, his hair was disheveled, his stubble had grown, and his chin and lips were darkened. "The highway is open to traffic." Ai Nan stared blankly at Liu Sheng and said, "Where did you go, waiting for you to get on the road?" Liu Sheng stared at her as if he didn't know Ai Nan, then turned around and entered the room where he lived. After closing the door with a bang, there was no movement. The frightened Maizi ran over and hugged Ai Nan's leg, and Shitou also stood in the yard, stunned. He glanced at Ai Nan, walked up the steps and was about to knock on Liu Sheng's door, Ai Nan hurriedly stopped with gestures. stopped him. Liu Sheng's sudden appearance made Ai Nan feel mixed.She had imagined that Liu Sheng's disappearance would have two outcomes. One is to go to find Sister Fern. After all, they are brothers and sisters. He wants to take care of her future life; Sudden mental breakdown, in a trance, went into the mountains.Ai Nan has always believed that the second possibility is more likely, so the final outcome is that Liu Sheng either fell off the cliff and died, or was discovered by the mountain people and sent this insane person to Fengdong Town. However, Liu Sheng came back, and although he was dirty, he didn't look like a man with a nervous breakdown.He obviously doesn't want to communicate with her yet, so where has he been these two days?What is he going to do next? "Die! Let me die." Ai Nan thought of what Liu Sheng said when he was howling in the cemetery, and shivered unconsciously. Ai Nan called Shitou into the room and said that she would ask Boss Wan to talk to Liu Sheng, and she asked Shitou to take care of Maizi. Ai Nan walked out of the yard.She thought that if Liu Sheng insisted on being here and would break up with her and stay here alone for a while, then she would have to take Maizi on the road.Thinking of this, Ai Nan shed tears. However, before leaving, you still have to find out about the photographer.He disappeared here alone, if Ai Nan left, no one would take care of this matter anymore. Ai Nan walked to the north courtyard first, she wanted to confirm whether the dead man she saw last night was real.If the photographer's body really turned up, she would have to find a place to call the police when she drove out of the mountain.After returning to the house last night, she kept thinking about the dead body lying on the photographer's bed. She felt that this kind of thing was completely impossible, because even if the photographer died, the dead body would not fly back into the house.So, is it because I am too nervous to look at my eyes?There is such a possibility, although he saw it clearly at the time, but Professor Xu said before that people sometimes have hallucinations. Ai Nan gently pushed open the door of the photographer's room. There was no one inside. The original white sheets were laid flat on the bed, and the quilts were folded into a square, which was no different from what she had seen before.She went into the room, lifted a corner of the white quilt and smelled it, but there was no special smell, but this quilt was covered by a dead person in the middle of the night last night. Ai Nan had to doubt her vision at that time, but she was surprised by what she found next. The camera bag that was originally placed by the bed was moved to the table.Yesterday afternoon, when she came here for the last time to check, she clearly remembered that the camera bag was enlarged by the head of the bed. She was sitting by the bed and pressed the bulging bag with her hands. Ai Nan walked to the table, opened the camera bag and checked it. The camera, lens, etc. were still inside. If a thief touched the bag, these things should have flown away. So it seems that someone really entered this house?Ai Nan walked out the door, let's go to Boss Wan for help.She was standing on the steps and was about to leave the yard when she suddenly saw something under the steps. She picked it up and saw that it was a small half of a steamed bun. She held it to her nose and smelled it, it was fresh.In front of Ai Nan's eyes, a scene of living here and throwing leftover steamed buns out of the house was outlined.She further thought that after this person heard her calling the photographer in the middle of the night, he put a white sheet over his body and pretended to be dead to scare her away. Could this person be Liu Sheng?Ai Nan suddenly thought, she must ask him, where does he live at night?Does he know that the photographer is missing? Ai Nan rushed to Boss Wan anxiously, but Boss Wan didn't expect Boss Wan to say that he knew Liu Sheng was back. "Why, you just saw him?" Boss Wan asked strangely. Boss Wan said that Liu Sheng came to the small restaurant last night. It was just after dark when Boss Wan saw Liu Sheng and asked him where he had been in surprise. Liu Sheng said he had gone around the mountains.Boss Wan said that Ai Nan was in a hurry and the photographer was missing again, you should go back and have a look.Liu Sheng ate something and left, taking a few steamed buns with him.How could he come back to you today? Ai Nan understood completely in her heart that Liu Sheng must have slept in the photographer's house last night. The photographer disappeared, and that house was just right for him to live in.But why did he pretend to be dead to avoid himself? Ai Nan asked Boss Wan: "When you talked to him, did you feel that he was in a normal state?" Boss Wan said: "You reminded me by asking this way. He spoke clearly to me, but when I went into the room, I heard him talking to the black cat, which was really abnormal." "What did he say?" Ai Nan asked eagerly. Boss Wan said he asked why the cat stopped meowing?I heard that if you call it strangely, people will die in this area. You can call it again tomorrow night, and people will die here. Ai Nan was terrified to hear that, will someone die tomorrow?What he said last night, the time for the dead should be today.Today, who will die? Boss Wan laughed after hearing Ai Nan's conjecture. He said that Liu Sheng's words were clearly insane and could not be taken seriously.Let's go, I'll go with you to see him, and it's time for you to return.I'll take care of the photographer's affairs. If nothing unexpected happens to him, he should show up today.Maybe it was all a false alarm, haha, you guys really know how to joke in Fengdong Town. When Ai Nan and Boss Wan were walking to the nursing home, Liu Sheng had already come out of the house. "Shitou, help me draw water from the well. I need to wash my face." Liu Sheng said standing on the steps. Hearing Liu Sheng's soft voice, Shitou loosened more than half of his guard.He happily fetched a bucket of water for him and put it beside the well. "Why don't you leave yet?" Liu Sheng asked Shitou while washing his face, "I heard that you are going to work in Xinjiang, so you should leave early. I'm back, and you have nothing to do here." "No, I will stay for a few more days." Stone said firmly. "It doesn't matter if you don't leave." Liu Sheng said lazily, "Anyway, Ai Nan and I will leave here tomorrow, you can leave as you like." Just as he was talking, Ai Nan and Boss Wan walked into the yard.Boss Wan patted Liu Sheng on the shoulder and said, "Okay! I'm much more energetic. Let's go inside and I'll tell you something." After a while, Boss Wan came out of the door. He said to Ai Nan: "Liu Sheng has decided to leave here with you tomorrow. He said that there are other matters to be resolved at home. Let me tell you, the husband and wife will not be angry for long." Ai Nan felt speechless.She sent Boss Wan away, turned back and stood by Liu Sheng's door and said, "I don't want to leave even if you want to leave. The photographer is missing, do you know?" Liu Sheng stood in the room and said, "Why don't you know, I just listened to Boss Wan's talk last night, otherwise I wouldn't have slept in his room." "Did you sleep in the photographer's house last night?" Ai Nan was surprised by Liu Sheng's frankness. Liu Sheng nodded. "Then why are you pretending to be dead and scaring me? Cover your head with a white sheet, and stand up straight without moving." Ai Nan always felt that Liu Sheng's frankness was a bit strange. Liu Sheng said he didn't pretend to be dead!That's how I sleep.It was too hot to cover the quilt, so I used a quilt, and when I heard mosquitoes, I covered my head with the quilt. Liu Sheng's explanation was reasonable, and Ai Nan was speechless for a while. "Anyway, I don't plan to leave here until the photographer is found." After Ai Nan finished speaking, she was about to leave the door when Liu Sheng suddenly lowered her voice and said, "Actually, I know where the photographer is." Startled, Ai Nan went into the room and eagerly asked for clarification. Liu Sheng said that after he heard about the disappearance of the photographer last night, he thought that he could live in his house.Unexpectedly, when I walked into the third yard of the nursing home, I suddenly met a photographer strolling there. It was a very desolate yard.Liu Sheng said you are back?I'm just getting ready to live in your room.Now that you're back, I'd better go back south.But the photographer said, you just go and live in my house, I don't sleep there anymore.Liu Sheng curiously asked where you live, and the photographer said, I will take you to have a look. I found a better yard, and it is very comfortable to live there... Liu Sheng's narration made Ai Nan's eyes widen. In the middle of the night, Ai Nan and Liu Sheng set off for the photographer.With stones guarding the wheat, she felt reassured.However, she didn't tell Shitou where she was going, because Liu Sheng said that the photographer doesn't want anyone to know his whereabouts, so let this person who lives in an illusion keep it a secret for him. They walked quietly towards the courtyard group to the north.Liu Sheng said that he went to see the photographer's new residence last night, it was very desolate, but he said it was very good, Liu Sheng felt that he was living in a hallucination.He also said that he was only there after midnight, and he did not tell Liu Sheng where he was during the day. "This photographer is sick, a type of schizophrenia." Ai Nan said, "We will bring him out and let him leave here with us. Perhaps, when he returns to the crowd in the city, he will no longer have hallucinations. It's pretty desolate here." Liu Sheng took the flashlight from Ai Nan, he said that he didn't need it now, look, the moonlight is surprisingly bright tonight. It's really rare to see. After several days of dark clouds flying in the sky, the night sky is as clear as wash tonight. Although the moon is still semicircular, the ground is already covered with a layer of silver, and even the dewy grass tip can be seen clearly. Ai Nan's mood became lighter. She wanted to see the photographer, so she brought him to the south courtyard. We lived in the same courtyard, and we could set off for the return journey tomorrow morning. The courtyards in the north are really a labyrinth, with complex courtyards one after the other, and the moonlight looks gloomy here.Ai Nan remembered that she lost her way here last night and was chased by a poisonous snake, and her heart began to feel tense. "Why haven't you arrived yet?" Ai Nan stopped in her tracks, "This photographer lives too secretly." "Come on." Liu Sheng said coldly, "Turn another corner, and the yard next to you will be there." Weeds as high as half a person are everywhere here, and the surrounding doors and windows are scattered, looking like relics from centuries ago under the pale moonlight.Ai Nan suddenly saw Liu Sheng's pale and distorted face, she was so frightened that she wanted to run away. "Here we are." Liu Sheng stood in front of a small iron gate, which made people feel that this place used to be the warehouse of a nursing home.Liu Sheng pushed open the iron gate and said that the photographer lived inside. Ainan walked in.A small window was opened on a high part of the wall, and the moonlight came in miserly, making the room look hazy.There are rows of steel frames standing in the room, presumably these are the former containers.Ai Nan didn't see the photographer, so she said to Liu Sheng, "Give me the flashlight, why is there no one?" There was no one around to answer.Ai Nan turned around and saw that Liu Sheng was gone.Then she heard the sound of the iron door closing. Ai Nan was shaken all over, and ran towards the iron gate like crazy.The iron door was tightly closed, no matter how hard she pulled it, it was useless, it must have been locked backwards from the outside. "Liu Sheng——" she shouted as if her throat was about to burst.However, there was no response from outside.Liu Sheng, the man who grabbed the sleeve of the god of death while howling in the cemetery, his self-esteem collapsed and the despair in his heart ignited his evil flame of hatred.It is only one step away from man becoming a devil, and the desire to destroy everything turns him into a devil. Ai Nan's mind has completely calmed down, Liu Sheng is going to kill her!This bastard set a trap for her, why did she come here? She let go of her throat and yelled: "Come here—help——" She was desperate, she was the only one in this huge nursing home complex, who could hear her cry?She sat on the ground limply, and suddenly saw a pair of feet hanging down from the shelf!Look up along the feet, my God, a person is hanging on the shelf, he is the photographer!A thin rope was tied deeply around his neck, his face was purple and his tongue was hanging out. God!Ai Nan's eyes turned black and she fell to the ground. After an unknown amount of time, Ai Nan was awakened from the coma by a dull sound.She looked up, and the photographer's body had fallen to the ground.The strings that hung him were all broken, so he must have been hanging for a long time.The photographer disappeared after returning from taking pictures the night before yesterday, so Liu Sheng must have killed him that night. Ai Nan tried hard to recall the process of going to the east of the town to take pictures of the dead old woman that night.By the way, on the way there, when the photographer was holding her hand and walking on the streets of Fengdong Town, she felt someone behind her.While taking pictures of the old woman, she also felt someone peeping through the window.The photographer also went out to check, and said he found nothing after returning to the house. At that time, Liu Sheng had been missing for a day, and he didn't expect him to have the idea of ​​killing someone outside!艾楠泪流满面地看着摄影家坠地后斜躺在地上的尸体，她艰难地爬了过去，侥幸地想他还有没有活过来的可能。她摸到了他僵硬的手臂，她真是糊涂，死去的人怎么可能活过来呢？她慢慢解开了缠在他脖子上的细绳，不管怎样，死人也该让他舒服一点吧。 突然，她听见了一阵细微得让人难以觉察的声音，她睁大眼睛看过去，不好，一条蛇正从货架下面向这边爬过来了。 艾楠极端恐惧地站了起来，本能地向后退了几步。那蛇转眼就爬到了摄影家的尸体边，它先爬在了摄影家的腿上，然后抬起头颈在空中晃了晃，便向摄影家的胸腹部爬去。 “啊———”艾楠难以自制地惨叫着，同时用手捂住了脸。当她再向那个可怕的方向看过去时，那蛇已经从摄影家的面部爬了下来，并向着她站的地方爬过来了。 她曾经听人讲过，蛇的眼睛是不管用的，它是用嘴里吐出的那根长须来识别猎物，那长须对温度非常敏感，人和动物的体温它一嗅就能找到方向。看来，冰冷的摄影家对它已经没有吸引力，它现在发现她了…… 艾楠绝望地向后退，她抓住货架想爬到高处去，刚一用力，“叭”地一声货架断了，一根长长的三角铁抓在她的手里。 那条可怕的蛇已经对着她爬来，她无路可逃，只好一咬牙举起这根颇有重量的三角铁，对着那蛇做出决斗的姿势。她想起人们说的打蛇要打七寸，她着急地想七寸在什么位置呢？干脆打头吧，任何动物，头部总是最致命的地方。这条蛇也真是该死，它居然固执地对着艾楠爬来，没有办法了，艾楠双手举着三角铁狠命地对着近在眼前的蛇头砸下去。砸中了！那蛇猛烈地蜷曲起来，蛇尾在空中甩了一下打在艾楠的手上，她的手上感到一股冰凉和滑腻。她举着三角铁对着已经砸破的蛇头一口气砸了几十下，直到地上呈现出一团血糊糊的肉酱。 艾楠长出了一口气，全身像散了架似的瘫软。她贴着墙角坐了下来，抬头看见墙上开得很高的小窗口，惨白的月光正穿过窗口的几根铁栏射进来。她就要死在这里了，吓死、饿死或者被蛇咬死，她想起有一种蛇叫“五步蛇”，据说人被咬后走不出五步便会被它的毒液致死。 她闭上眼，刘盛的狰狞面孔在她眼前浮现，他怎么变成了一个恶魔呢？她百思不得其解。 No!I can't die!艾楠在心里喊道。她站起身，慢慢地向开着窗户的墙边走去。她仰头看去，这窗户开得太高了。她转身去拖货架，很沉很沉，她用尽力气才将它拖动了一小点。别泄气，她在心里鼓励自己，能把货架移过去的，这样我就可以踩着货架爬到窗户上去了。 艾楠从不知道她有这样的力气，她居然将货架移到墙边了。她爬了上去，她抓着窗上的铁条摇着，只要将它搞断，她就可以爬出去了！ 然而，可怕的事情发生了，由用用力过猛，她站在货架上的身体突然失去了平衡，她只觉得身子向后一歪便跌了下来，她的头碰在坚硬的水泥地上失去了知觉。 渐渐地，艾楠的眼前出现了一个花盆，里面种着的花叫指甲花，小小的红红的花瓣，她小时候摘下它来沧在水里，再用这红红的液体来擦指甲，可是一点儿也不管用。慢慢地，这花盆变成了一张面孔，那是她的母亲，母亲伏下脸来吻她…… Is this what death feels like?艾楠突然从昏迷中醒来，看见一张狰狞的面孔正盯着她，这人正是刘盛。 “你还没死呀？”刘盛阴森森地说。他将一根细绳猛然套在了艾楠的脖子上，“去死吧！活着还有什么意思呢？你死了我也死！”他的声音像狼嚎一样。 艾楠本能地用两只手抓住套在脖子上的绳子。她想喊，想怒骂，想嚎叫，可是喉咙里什么叫声也发不出来。 突然，一道强烈的手电光射进屋来，同时传来一声喊叫：“艾楠姐，你在哪里！”是石头弟的声音！ 刘盛紧勒着绳子的手松开了。艾楠听见杂乱的脚步声，同时响起刘盛的嚎叫：“站住，你这个小杂种，我要将你一起杀了！” 脚步声跑出屋去，艾楠取掉了套在脖子上的绳子，她挣扎着站起来，想赶快离开这里，可是身子不停地摇晃，她扶住墙大口地喘气。 这时，一个人影跑了进来，是石头！他跑到艾楠身边，扶住她的胳膊说：“我们走吧。” “刘盛呢?”艾楠恐惧地问。 “他跌到沟里去了。”石头说，“阶沿下有一条深沟，他不知道的，我跳过去了，他却跌倒在沟里，头碰在阶沿石上，可能快死了！” “我们走吧。”艾楠百感交集地说。 外面已经蒙蒙亮了，野草上的露珠像天上洒下的眼泪，整个荒凉的院子里显得湿漉漉的。