Elder Sister Liu

"Fifth Uncle Liu, are you repairing the fence?"

"Second Brother Chen, are you busy in the fields again?"

"Have you eaten, Uncle?"

Zhou Yang walked along the village path, greeting the villagers he met with a smile.

He no longer needs to introduce himself; the villagers of Guan Village will recognize who he is.

At this moment, beneath his clothes, gaping Ghost Mouth opened, emitting Fat Mirror Lamp, transforming the dead man's food he had eaten that morning into nourishment for the Ghost Ruler.

The cracked Ghost Ruler, after being nourished by Zhou Yang's earlier application of ointment and this breakfast, had its cracks mostly repaired.

The repaired Ghost Ruler is now slightly stronger and more durable than before.

Such practices related to ghosts are twice as effective when practiced in Guan Village.

The villagers along the roadside smiled when they heard Zhou Yang's greeting and responded warmly. They treated Zhou Yang Zhou Yang even more warmly and humanely today than yesterday.

Ultimately, Zhou Yang believed it was because he was secretly operating the "Fat Mirror Lamp" ripples.

The white light emitted by the Fat Mirror Lamp and the white light that illuminated the entire Guan Village at the fourth hour of the night were essentially from the same source.

The white light that appears in the fourth hour can repair the Human-Skin Ghost, Human-Skin Ghost more human, while the ghost is powerfully suppressed within the human skin.

Zhou Yang's Fat Mirror Lamp ripples, while not achieving that effect, could at least make the Human-Skin Ghost appear slightly more humane.

"From now on, I'll secretly try out the Fat Mirror Lamp at home too."

"If my family members don't object to it, or if it leads to the changes I want, I often use the Fat Mirror Lamp ripples on them, just as a form of practice with the Fat Mirror Lamp."

With this in mind, Zhou Yang turned into an alleyway.

There is only one household in the alley, with a wall made of rammed earth and a gatehouse made of blue bricks. The bricks on the lintel are carved with various patterns.

Faded paper-cut door decorations are pasted on the lintel; when the wind blows, the decorations rustle.

The entire gatehouse exudes an old and somber atmosphere due to its faded decorations.

Zhou Yang didn't often walk this alley before. This morning, after he went out, he first went to Old Zhang's dilapidated house, where he had previously met Luan Xiaofeng, thinking that he might see Luan and You there. Unexpectedly, he didn't see them there, but instead saw You Chuntian after leaving the alley in front of Old Zhang house.

Zhou Yang then told You Chuntian that he would meet the two of them at Old Zhang's dilapidated house in the afternoon, and then turn into a small road, and after several twists and turns, they entered the alley they were in.

Under the only gatehouse in the alley, an old woman with bound feet and a pointed chin sat on a small stool, a bundle of straw in front of her.

She shoved the bundle of straw into a basin of water to soak it, then casually pulled out two stalks and, with her claw-like hands, wove them into a long triangle.

Zhou Yang had rarely seen this old man and did not know his surname. However, as soon as he approached him, Zhuoma and Sangsang, who were attached to his soul, immediately gave him a very uncomfortable feeling.

This startled Zhou Yang, who couldn't very well ignore the old woman, so he smiled, greeted her, and started to walk away.

"Grandma, what are you weaving?"

Hearing Zhou Yang's greeting, the old woman looked up at her face, which was covered with spots and wrinkles.

Zhou Yang immediately saw clearly that the other person's eyes, which looked like dead fish eyes, were rolling around in their sockets, making them appear blind.

Yet, those blind eyes clearly radiated a needle-like light, aimed directly at Zhou Yang Zhou Yang, and held him firmly in place.

A chill ran through Zhou Yang's heart.

He maintained his smile and was about to hurry away when the old woman spoke up, "You're so tall now."

When you first arrived, you weren't even as big as a rabbit.

"They're so white and plump, so adorable! They make my mouth water."

She murmured to herself, a smile of lingering enjoyment of the food on her face, which sent chills down Zhou Yang's spine!

What is this old woman saying?

"When you first arrived?"

Does she know that I was adopted?

Zhou Yang's guard was clearly on high alert, but upon hearing the old woman's words, he stopped in his tracks, his heart pounding, his face showing only confusion.

"Mother-in-law, what are you talking about when you first arrived?"

I've never seen you before.

"That's because your mother wouldn't let you come this way, that's why you haven't seen me." The old woman shook her head, then pulled out two more straw stalks, and with swift fingers, began to work the triangular straw ornament. "But I've always remembered you."

She then grinned, revealing her toothless, dark red gums and a black mouth. "I'm not your mother-in-law. Originally, we were peers. Just call me Elder Sister Liu."

"Elder Sister Liu?"

Zhou Yang found it hard to associate such an old woman with the title of "elder sister".

He is currently only seventeen or eighteen years old in Guan Village.

But then this old woman surnamed Liu said that according to the original seniority, he should address her in this way—was this seniority based on the seniority between "Elder Sister Liu" and her relatives outside Guan Village?

"Yes."

Elder Sister Liu was still laughing; a person whose neck was covered in yellow dust was laughing so radiantly.

This gave Zhou Yang a deep sense of dread.

She continued, "If you ever need anything in the future, you can ask the Liu Family in the village for help."

"Don't let their unfamiliarity with you fool you; they all cherish you dearly. You were born plump and healthy, like a little rabbit, but you had to be given away to another family..."

"Your mother is your maternal uncle, so by all accounts, the Liu Family is your maternal uncle's family."

"Your real home is far away, and your family members are of noble birth. Don't you... want to go outside the village and see your family?"

The alarm bells in Zhou Yang's heart were already ringing wildly when Elder Sister Liu asked that last question!

He looked down at the old woman, seeing her increasingly genuine smile, but beneath that genuine smile, he seemed to see a ghost beckoning to him, urging him to come closer and do as it instructed—

If he were to actually do as Elder Sister Liu said, he would likely face certain death!

The other person's words had actually affected his mind!

Even someone who has reached the pinnacle of Mindfulness is not immune to this influence!

"Grandma Liu, I don't understand what you're saying."

Zhou Yang shook his head. "My parents are here, I don't leave the village."

"If you keep saying such nonsense, I'll call my father over, and you can talk to him."

Hearing Zhou Yang's words, Elder Sister Liu chuckled again, covering her mouth and laughing so hard she almost fell over. Then she suddenly stopped laughing, her dead fish eyes glaring fiercely at Zhou Yang: "You beast, you don't even recognize your own parents!"

"Bring that Laogou dog here—do you dare say these things to that Laogou dog?"

"When you get back, tell Laogou Dog that you went to a small alley today and met a woman Elder Sister Liu... Take a look..."

"Take a look at that Laogou dog. Did he bring you here to beg for a favor, or should we skin you alive first and see if you're really a member of the Zhou Family?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yang's face showed obvious fear.

He shook his head, indicating that he wouldn't get entangled with this crazy woman, and turned to leave.

But as soon as he turned around, a gust of wind suddenly rose behind him!

A chilling, Zhou Yang Ghost Rhyme, as unsettling as needles pricking his skin, swept from behind him—this Elder Sister Liu, even wrapped in human skin, could still manipulate Ghost Rhyme at will!

Zhou Yang suddenly turned around, and the Ghost Ruler and Fat Mirror Lamp were already on the verge of being activated!

But Elder Sister Liu simply stood up unsteadily, tossed the straw-woven item in her hand to Zhou Yang: "Take it!"

Zhou Yang took it casually, looked down and—

The first thing I saw was a praying mantis made of woven grass, its two sickles spread wide menacingly.

Then, the grass stalks woven into the shape of a mantis suddenly transformed into soft yet strong threads, crisscrossing in his vision, the threads vaguely enveloping a purplish-blue light.

That purplish-blue light made Sangsang and Zhuoma, who were attached to Zhou Yang's soul, feel extremely uncomfortable! "Now that you've come to Elder Sister Liu's place, you've accepted your uncle's family."

"Here, you can have this little thing."

"The rice seedlings of the Liu Family are treasures, from the Root and Shoot to the stalks."

"Take this with you, and your uncle's family will know who you are."

Elder Sister Liu murmured to herself.

Zhou Yang, clutching the mantis, hurriedly ran away.

Laughter echoed again from the alley behind him.

The laughter followed Zhou Yang Zhou Yang until he had walked quite a distance before he could no longer hear it. When he looked back, he could no longer see the alley or Granny Liu in it.

However... Zhou Yang also clearly felt that in every corner, in the faint white light that flowed, there seemed to be countless dead fish eyes staring intently at him.

He inexplicably recalled that the eyes peeking out from the open eyelids of those rotting corpses must be exactly the same as Elder Sister Liu's eyes.

Zhou Yang took a deep breath, recalling the mantra for calming the Upright Heart, and his spirit returned to peace.

He looked again at the praying mantis in his hand. He should throw it away, but for some reason, he had a feeling that throwing it away would lead to something even worse.

In the end, Zhou Yang put it into his bosom.

This thing must not be exposed to the Zhou Family.

But you can take it out when you encounter someone from the Liu family and see their reaction.

Zhou Yang then disappeared into a small alley.

At the end of the alley, you can see the big locust tree in front of A Fu Temple.

A Fu's withered yellow skin, along with his disheveled hair, hung on the big locust tree, swaying back and forth in the cold wind, as if A Fu were standing on the tree, waving to Zhou Yang.

Zhou Yang glanced at the tree once, then quickly lowered his head, feigning fear.

He then tentatively looked at the tree again, only to see that the bare branches were empty, with no trace of A Fu's skin.