Living Paper

nostalgia/article

Huo Zhenye held it and didn't let go: "Slow down, let me slow down."

Bai Zhun pulled out his hand and wiped it on his clothes, frowning in disgust: "It's all sweat."

Huo Zhenye's palms were soaked with sweat, as if he had a high fever, his whole body felt weak.Bai Zhun handed him a plate of little lotus candies: "One is included."

As soon as he tasted a little sweetness on the tip of his tongue, he felt better. Huo Zhenye unbuttoned his shirt a few times and threw it aside. It doesn't matter if he wears torn clothes, he just felt a little itchy on his back.

I reached out to hook it, but couldn't.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he took off his clothes, Bai Zhun's eyes froze. Huo Zhenye couldn't see it himself. Seeing his face darken, he asked, "What's wrong?"

There were three very thin scratches on Huo Zhenye's back, and he wanted to reach out to grab them, but Bai Zhun slapped them off: "Don't move."

Although the scratches were thin, they were bright red in color.

Resentment condensed on the female ghost's nails. Fortunately, she scratched shallowly, but if she scratched deeply, her entire back would rot.

Bai Zhun pressed Huo Zhenye: "Lie down."

"Come on."

Gui Nu was waiting outside the door, in case the two masters in the room wanted to call for a drink, he hurried in when he heard the summons, and lowered his head as soon as he opened the door, hey, the clothes were all torn.

"Bring a plate of fresh glutinous rice flour, if you don't have any, grind it now."

Gui Nu bowed his head and backed out, thinking that it would be fine for these two masters to do it in the hall, there are so many strange ways to play in the hall, but what is the use of glutinous rice flour?

He brought the glutinous rice flour in a short time, without daring to ask a word, and closed the door tightly.

When I came out, I ran into sisters Xiao Jinbao and Xiao Yinbao. Just after they sang a song for the guests, Gui Nu smiled and clicked on the door: "The girl is right, those two are doing it."

Little Jinbao covered his mouth and smiled, he was used to people in Fengyuechang, so how could he be mistaken?

Huo Zhenye felt that the current posture was a little too weird. He was lying on his stomach, while Bai Zhun was sitting. When he wanted to move, Bai Zhun pressed him down: "Don't move, just bear the itch."

This wound will not hurt at first, but it will itch to the bone.

If he didn't pull out the evil spirit sooner, he would scratch his entire back.

Bai Zhun pointed to the yellow paper with one hand, picked up the teacup with the other, took a sip of tea, sprayed it on the paper, dipped it in glutinous rice flour, and stuck it on Huo Zhenye's scratched place like a plaster.

Huo Zhenye gasped, the itching penetrated straight into his bones, sometimes like a needle being pricked, and sometimes like a mosquito biting the sole of his foot, he gritted his teeth for a while and wanted to stretch out his hand to scratch.

With a "slap", Bai Zhun whipped it with a bamboo stick: "Don't move."

"Then why don't you just hit me a few times, I don't feel itchy when I'm in pain." He was sweating on his back as he spoke, and tightly clutched the satin sheet under his body with both hands, tearing the sheet with such strength Hole.

If this force were to pick on the flesh, the skin would be torn.

"Wait." Bai Zhun frowned, and pulled out the paper from his sleeve.

Huo Zhenye only felt a chill on his back, and the itching eased a lot. He looked back, and saw that Bai Zhun had folded a paper fan for some reason, and the paper fan was moving, fanning him.

When the cool wind blew, he felt much better, but it was still itchy, and he couldn't help exhaling from the itching, trembling all over his body, and sweat dripped down his back.

"Is it really that uncomfortable?"

Huo Zhenye gasped roughly: "It's better to stab me than this."

The yellow paper was gradually soaked in red pus, and after it was completely stained red, Bai Zhun changed it to another paper in the same way.

The color of the second picture was lighter, and by the time of the third picture, there were no traces of nails on Huo Zhenye's back, and he didn't itch anymore.

"The scratch is not deep, if it is deep, I will use glutinous rice flour to bathe you."

Seeing him slumped on the bed, Bai Zhun frowned: "Come here."

Gui Nu pushed the door open and came in, this time he didn't even lift his head.

"Bring a brazier." You can't keep this paper, you have to burn it all.

Gui Nu bowed and exited, and quickly lit a brazier and came in. These two masters are having a good time.

Bai Zhun threw the yellow paper into the brazier, and when the charcoal fire ignited, it burned up with a "squeak".Only then did Huo Zhenye recover, he sat up, lay down on the couch again, and let out a long breath.

"That piece of material is human skin." Huo Zhenye added, "But that woman is not Song Ying."

Bai Zhun let out an "um", picked up the teacup, and breathed lightly.

Huo Zhenye called the turtle slave in, he took out a bag of silver dollars, and poured it on the Arhat's couch with a "crash": "I have something to ask you, answer one silver dollar, if you answer well, it will be all yours."

Seeing such a windfall, Gui Nu's eyes lit up: "Master, just ask, as long as the villain knows, he will never hide it."

"There is a girl in your building with a mole around her left eye, who is it?"

The expression on Gui Nu's face suddenly changed: "This... this..."

Huo Zhenye threw out the silver dollar in his hand, it fell on the brocade carpet with a muffled sound, and rolled to Guinu's feet.

Guinu stepped on it, picked it up and held it in the palm of his hand, gritted his teeth and said, "Yes, it's Miss Xihong, she got married a while ago."

"Married to Master Qiao?"

Guinu nodded: "Yes, it's a big deal for Xihong to come out of the hall, and every red girl in the hall adds makeup and bedding for Xihong."

It is a good thing to be able to be a good person. Go to the shore while you are young, and don't wait until you are old and yellow, and you will be reduced from Changsantangzi to a pheasant kiln.

"Where is she?" Huo Zhenye asked while throwing another silver dollar.

Gui Nu swallowed: "Mrs. Qiao can't tolerate her."

Master Qiao is gentle and gentle, and he doesn't know how much money he spent on Xihong. It is said that he polished off all the money the family used to buy a small ocean liner.

"Go on." Another silver dollar.

"The Qiao family married young mistress Qiao to Master Qiao, and within half a year they brought Miss Xihong back." It was carried back. At that time, the person could only breathe out, not breathe in. He died as soon as he returned to the hall.

She was carried back naked, without leaving her any dignity, saying that every needle and thread on her body belonged to the Qiao family, and that she would die "cleanly" if she wanted to die.

"How do people die?"

"It is said that he drank medicine and committed suicide. Mom thinks it is bad luck, so no one is allowed to enter the hall."

Bai Zhun didn't speak until now, and only then did he ask, "You didn't even give me clothes?" No wonder she was so angry when she was buried naked.

"Yes, there are. The girls in the hall made it together, and they were wearing her favorite cheongsam." Her lips were dead and her teeth were cold, but she shed tears and forced a smile. When the lights were lit at night, there was still Changsan Hall here.

"What about Master Qiao? Have you been here yet?"

Gui Nu shook his head: "I haven't been here again, I heard... I heard that he had a sore on his back, which can't be cured, so he can only lie at home."

Mrs. Qiao also sent people to smash the hall, saying that the girl in the hall was unclean, which caused her son to contract plum sores, and scolded Xihong, a bitch, who died of death and poisoned others.

Even the turtle slave said: "Miss Xihong carried it back like that, everyone saw it, she didn't have sores."

Huo Zhenye glanced at Bai Zhun, Bai Zhun seemed to be listening, but also didn't seem to be listening, he turned his head and continued to ask: "Then nothing happened in this building?"

Huo Zhenye's question made Guinu's scalp tingle, but he glanced at the silver dollar and said in a buzzing voice, "Several girls said they saw Xihong come back."

In the dimly lit room, with a casual glance, one could catch a glimpse of her standing or sitting in a red dress, looking at everything coldly.

Just because she didn't leave, my mother spent money to perform a ritual ceremony for her.

"is that useful?"

Guinu trembled, but it was useless, her grave was dug up, even the coffin was gone, and it was useless to burn ingot tinfoil, but the girls all said that Xihong missed the old love after all, although she came back, she did not Killed the people in this building.

"Her name and date of birth." Bai Zhun asked.

"Then we don't know." The girls in the hall celebrate their birthdays, and the regular customers want to set up banquets for them, but none of the women here celebrate their real birthdays.

I bought it from a small shop, but I have long forgotten my name and birthday.

After Huo Zhenye finished asking, he tossed the silver dollar to Gui Nu: "Buy me a new shirt."

Gui Nu quickly bought a shirt for Huo Zhenye: "I bought it at Yong'an Department Store, it's brand new."

When the two left the hall, all the girls covered their mouths and smiled at them. Huo Zhenye pushed Bai Zhun, lowered his head and said to him, "That's all right, if I jump into the Huangpu River, I won't be able to cleanse myself." .”

Bai Zhun raised his phoenix eyes and gave him a sidelong glance.

The girls snickered softly, followed them all the time, watching them get out of the hall, and gathered together: "I heard that even the satin bed sheet was torn."

"That's a lot of effort. It would be great if it could make such a grandpa feel sore."

"Come on, they hurt themselves."

There was a burst of laughter, and they scattered away.

Huo Zhenye drove back to Bai's house and pushed Bai Zhun in: "Without her birthday and name, how can I catch her?"

"It's not about catching her, it's about saving her." Bai Zhun pondered for a moment, then fetched red and gold paper, cut out a dozen cheongsams with bamboo scissors, and set up a brazier in the courtyard.

Burn them one by one.

Huo Zhenye asked: "Is this useful?" As soon as he finished asking, he felt that the surroundings were cold, and the paper figures in the room all looked towards the courtyard.

But he couldn't see anything, he could only see sparks from the paper cheongsam, floating into the air little by little, floating very far away.

Xihong crouched by the basin.

Stretching out her hand to pick through the paper dust, she pulled out a cheongsam and threw it away, raised her head and said to Bai Zhun: "Not this one, not this one!"

"Then what do you want?"

Huo Zhenye held his breath, did he really come?He tried to look, but there was still nothing in front of him.

Xi Hong stood up, her figure was slender and graceful, and she seemed to be dancing when she turned around, but when she turned around completely, her back was blood red, and the blood color merged with the red cheongsam.

No wonder, who would dress the dead in red? She was buried in a white cheongsam, and someone peeled her skin.

Xi Hong turned her head and said to Bai Zhun, "I want this one."

"Give me the material, and I'll sew it for you."

Xihong became happy, she grinned, curls of permed hair danced on her shoulders, happily squatted in the courtyard and waited, and gave the "material" to Bai Zhun.

"What about you?" Bai Zhun asked, "Where are you, I'll tailor a suit for you."

Without a corpse, this is destined to be a badly cut "cheongsam".

Xihong lowered her head: "Where am I? Where am I." She raised her head, staring at the last ray of the moon, "I'm in the garden of Qiao's family. That man promised me that if he gave him the material, he would avenge me."

Huo Zhenye couldn't hear this, he only saw that Bai Zhun's face paled a little, and asked him: "What's wrong?"

Bai Zhun ignored him, still looking at the patio: "Who is he?"

Xi Hong shook her head: "I don't know, he won't let me see his face."

Bai Zhun's throat tightened: "Then why didn't he want it?"

As soon as the words were spoken, the sky was getting darker, the sun was about to rise, Xihong disappeared, Bai Zhun leaned against the bamboo wheelchair, and did not move for a long time.

Huo Zhenye could only hear Bai Zhun's words, but could not hear Xi Hong's words. He asked Bai Zhun: "What's wrong? Is there something wrong?"

Bai Zhun's eyes were frosty, and he lowered his eyes: "It's okay."

The author has something to say: Huo Sad Seven: He lied to me