Human Skin

Wooden doors always make an eerie sound when they open and close, especially in abandoned houses where the creaking is particularly jarring.

Yu Xing followed behind Miss Yun, watching her push open the door, a section of snow-white wrist slipping out from the red sleeve.

Her wrist was so slender and boneless that it posed no threat whatsoever.

The darkness in the room was somewhat dispelled by the light from the courtyard, Yu Xing's gaze immediately shifted from Miss Yun to the wall.

Just as the diary he found said, Miss Yun's room was filled with embroidery.

I didn't realize the seriousness of the problem just by reading about it. Now that I've seen it with my own eyes, I can truly understand the kind of pressure that a wall covered in crimson can bring.

It's clear that the embroiderer possesses profound skill; every stitch carries a dynamism that is difficult for ordinary people to achieve. Whether it's flowers, birds, fish, insects, mountains, or rivers, the embroidered pieces are lifelike and vivid, as if one were actually there.

However, the deep red silk threads gave each piece an indescribable eeriness.

"Young master, please have a seat." Miss Yun smiled, sat down at the table in the room, picked up the teapot, poured Yu Xing a cup of tea, and seeing that Yu Xing was examining the embroidery, she said, "These are all things I made when I was bored. Do you like any of them, young master?"

"I like them all very much. Your skills are exquisite, I am truly amazed." Yu Xing readily sat down opposite Miss Yun, adopting a refined, scholarly tone, "But I wonder why they're all red?"

"I simply have a preference for red," Miss Yun said shyly, taking a sip of tea. "Since birth, I've loved this warm and vibrant color. But since moving into this abandoned house, no matter what I embroider, no one else has the chance to see it, so I just do what I want."

"It might seem exaggerated to outsiders, but... Young Master, you should be able to understand, right? The moment I saw you, I felt that you were a man of strong emotions."

Yu Xing raised an eyebrow and continued, "I didn't expect you to be so carefree, young lady. From your words, I sensed some regret that others couldn't appreciate your embroidery. Why did you stay here in the first place?"

"It's precisely to follow my own will," Miss Yun said. "I dislike being constrained, and I especially dislike having my embroidery skills criticized by others, who demand that I embroider things I don't like. You see, if I were in the outside world, I'd just be a servant girl kept by a master, and I should call myself 'this humble servant.'"

"If any lord takes a liking to me, I'll have to change my address to 'this concubine' again."

"But to me, none of these things matter as much as the word 'I.' Therefore, I choose to stay here, free from worldly constraints, and occasionally I can meet lodgers like you, young master, chatting and drinking tea. Isn't that quite pleasant?"

Yu Xing clapped for her. "That makes sense. May I ask what the young lady likes to embroider the most?"

"Not objects. What I like to embroider most are people." The smile on Miss Yun's lips became a little more genuine, but for some reason, there was always a subtle disharmony between her appearance and expression.

"Humans?" Yu Xing looked around. "Although it's my favorite, I haven't seen any embroidered figures..."

Miss Yun covered her mouth. "I'm used to hiding my favorite things. If you're curious, young master, please have some tea first, and I'll take you to see them."

Yu Xing lowered her head and looked at the teacup in her hand.

This tea is also red.

The water diluted the danger of the color, its flowing ripples reflecting Yu Xing's thoughtful expression. An undeniable fishy aroma wafted from the tea; it wasn't an enticing scent, yet it inexplicably whetted the appetite.

Yu Xing drank the tea in one gulp, and sure enough, a faint taste of rust filled his mouth. At that moment, every cell in his body felt as if it had touched something resistant, and he shuddered, his stomach churning—in short, he felt nauseous.

Even so, he actually felt like having another drink.

This tea has a big problem... It subtly changes the drinker's mindset, and this is often the hardest thing to resist.

If it weren't for the fact that her own curse power was abundant and strong enough, Yu Xing would definitely have found an excuse to avoid the tea ceremony.

"Hehe, it seems you are indeed very curious about me, young master." Miss Yun looked at Yu Xing eyes. "Please come with me."

The embroidery she claimed to have hidden was in a cabinet in the room.

Once the cabinet door was opened, more than twenty completed works were displayed inside, stacked layer upon layer, even more exquisite than those hanging on the wall.

Miss Yun picked up the embroidery on the top shelf and showed it to Yu Xing. It was a round fan for girls, with a woman embroidered on the fan surface.

The woman was slender and sat on a rock, playing the zither.

Judging from the lifelike expressions, the woman on the fan and Miss Yun bear an uncanny resemblance.

The zither... Yu Xing had a guess in her heart, and asked, "Is the young lady embroidering herself? And you can play the zither?"

"This isn't me, and I can't play the zither. This is... a girl I've heard people talk about, a girl I've never met. She had a bad life; before she could get married, she was driven away by her fiancé's parents. Because she was unwilling to accept this, she wanted to see her fiancé, but she was tragically murdered by her in-laws to silence her."

"I heard this story and felt sorry for her, so I embroidered her image on a fan as a memento." Miss Yun lowered her eyes, seemingly in sorrow.

Yu Xing suddenly asked, "Is her surname Li?"

"..." Miss Yun's fingers stiffened, and she looked up, "Does the young master know her?"

"I don't know her, but I've heard the story you mentioned. The protagonist is Miss Li, and it's rumored that her fiancé was completely unaware of it. He went to look for her later and then disappeared without a trace." Yu Xing chuckled. "Aren't we talking about the same story?"

"... Yes," Miss Yun chuckled, "What a coincidence! Let's take a look at this one—"

She then pulled out a cover-up.

Because the embroidery thread is red, this blouse was made of a lighter shade of water-red fabric. With the slightest movement, the embroidery thread shimmers and emits a faint red glow.

The content is a bit strange, though.

The Yu Xing saw the embroidery on the overcoat, he felt a momentary confusion in his mind. The surrounding scenery suddenly changed, a gentle night breeze blew, and he found himself standing in front of a well.

A scholar dressed in brocade robes was lying by the well, tears streaming down his face as he begged for mercy. His head was bowed, and his hands were gripping the bricks at the well's edge, but his body was uncontrollably falling into the well.

Strangely, there was clearly no one around him.

"Please spare me! Don't kill me!"

"Ah--I really didn't know anything, please let me go! I didn't start a relationship and then abandon you, I didn't kill anyone, I really don't know anything!"

Yu Xing stepped forward and grabbed a handful of the man's hands.

With just a little effort, he scooped the person up in his hand, only to find that the person was as light as a piece of paper, with no weight at all.

He searched the man thoroughly and, by the moonlight, made out his face.

--This is not human.

This is just a human skin that has been drained of blood, leaving only bones wrapped inside.

.