Xiaolan lay on the edge of the roof, slowly catching her breath.
The roof space was large, but the height was very short, and the highest point could only allow Xiaolan to bend down and pass through, so she got down on all fours and crawled to move.
The light here is very dark. After getting used to it for a while, Xiaolan can identify the surrounding environment by relying on the light beams penetrating between the bricks and tiles on the roof.
Most of the area is empty, except for a large dark thing in the southwest corner.
Below that seems to be the living room of the village chief's house.
Xiaolan crawled over little by little.
Like...a curtain.
Hanging curtains.
Before a thick black velvet curtain blocked the corner, Xiaolan smelled it first and found no strange smell. Then she stretched out her hand and moved the edge of the curtain from left to right.
Jingle bell bell…
A string of faint but clear bells sounded from inside the curtain.
Xiaolan was so frightened that she immediately stopped moving, only her hair stood on end.
She maintained this position until the bell stopped ringing, then she stretched her neck tremblingly and looked along the gap she opened to the area blocked by the black cloth.
Two strings of red bells are hung crosswise on the inside of the black cloth. The bells are very small and not entirely red. If you look carefully, you can see that the spring in the middle of the bell is black. Because my hands are shaking, the small iron pieces are also shaking slightly.
Xiaolan grabbed the wrist of her left hand with her right hand, making the resonance smaller.
Black cloth surrounded a triangular area, and a square box lay in the center of the area. The box was also black, with a plush surface, somewhat similar to the texture of the curtain.
Xiaolan reached out and grabbed the box.
The black color fell off, and it turned out that the box was covered tightly with the same black cloth. When Xiaolan grabbed it, it slipped away from the box smoothly.
The box fell to the ground with a clang, and Xiaolan immediately held it down, wondering if the boy below had heard this series of strange sounds.
When Xiaolan took his hand away, he saw something familiar.
Talisman.
A yellow sign with red letters was posted vertically on the box, sealing the opening of the box like plastic tape.
this……
Xiaolan picked up the box and shook it slightly.
A crashing sound was heard.
There's something inside.
What should I do? Do I want to tear off the charm?
Xiaolan grabbed the box and looked at it carefully. The length, width and height of the box were slightly larger than the palm of a hand, and she couldn't tell what was inside just by listening to the sound.
And this spell...
Xiaolan took out the box, put down the curtain, and started groping around herself.
After a while, she finally remembered that her body belonged to Huolian.
Forget it, let’s just remember.
The pattern on this charm is somewhat familiar, but it doesn't look like the Taoist priest's brushstrokes.
Xiaolan rubbed her hand on the surface of the spell for a while, and soon the answer appeared.
This is a bit like the charm they found by the well in Lianshui Village.
The Taoist priest said that this spell is useless.
Why is it posted here?
When she thought that this thing was actually useless, Xiaolan without much hesitation tore it off and put the charm into her pocket.
Xiaolan looked at the box.
Open.
What came face to face was a pair of eyes.
Xiaolan was startled and almost threw the box away, but she quickly regained her composure and opened the lid completely.
Fortunately, it's not the eyes.
It's a skull.
Skull?!
Xiaolan stared blankly at the skull placed in the box. The front of the skull was facing her. The eyes she just saw were the two dark eye sockets on the skull.
"Oh my God..." Xiaolan said unconsciously.
The village chief hid a white skull on the roof of his house!
Xiaolan compared it with the palm of his hand. Although he had never observed the skull of a normal person, he was sure that this skull was definitely not the size of an adult. In fact, the heads of children may not be this small, only those of newborns.
baby……
Xiaolan felt a chill come back from the bottom of her heart.
Is this a baby's skull?
It's impossible to imagine and understand.
Is this... some kind of custom in the village?
The most important thing is, does this skull have anything to do with what I want to know?
While Xiaolan was holding the box and contemplating, she suddenly heard a loud noise coming from below.
Bang!...squeak——
Xiaolan shivered.
Click... click...
Is this... the sound of footsteps? Was that the sound of the door opening just now?
Is it possible to hear these sounds so clearly from the rooftop?
But this is not the point.
Xiaolan gasped nervously, and her first reaction was to hug the box and skull tightly in her arms.
Click... click...
squeak--
"Mom?" It was the boy's voice.
"Hey, son," this was a woman's voice, which sounded a little familiar, "Are you hungry? If you are hungry, you can eat by yourself. My parents are busy..."
Crackling, crackling, crackling...
The woman seemed to be rummaging for something in the living room below.
Squeak - snap... snap...
It must have been the boy who walked out of the room.
"Mom, when did you go out?"
"After lunch, didn't your parents say hello to you?" the woman responded absently.
"Didn't you come back later?"
Xiaolan suddenly became nervous.
"Silly boy, you must have fallen asleep..." the woman sneered, "Don't sleep all the time, read a book..."
"no……"
"Okay, I found it. Mom is out."
"Mother!"
"Hey, son, what's wrong?" The woman's footsteps stopped at the door.
"Um...Mom, have you found Ermao?"
"Oh..." the woman sighed, "Don't worry, the villagers will definitely be able to find him."
"Could it be... could a ghost have captured him?"
"These are adults' business, you don't have to worry about it," the woman's voice became stern, "Be obedient and go back to your room to study."
"But mom, I feel..."
"I'm leaving."
"I feel at home..."
Squeak—bang!
The woman left.
Xiaolan heard the boy's footsteps moving to the door. He opened the door, maybe stared at his mother's back for a while, then closed the door and walked back. The footsteps were full of hesitation.
Xiaolan's tense muscles finally relaxed.
After she took a long breath and confirmed that the boy had returned to the room, Xiaolan held the box and slowly moved to the exit.
Now, just go down quietly and leave quietly...
Xiaolan stepped down one of her legs.
Ding!
Suddenly, there was movement right in front of Xiaolan.
She held her breath, widened her eyes, and looked at the place where the sound came from.
squeak--
On the dark ground, a white gap suddenly appeared.