Living Paper

nostalgia/article

Huo Zhenye stepped forward, pointed out with two fingers, and pierced "Golden Boy"'s eyes.

It was clearly a thin layer of paper, but it felt like being poked on the skin. Huo Zhenye shook his hand after poking it, his fingers were wet.

Two lines of blood flowed out of the "golden boy's" eye sockets, and the room was filled with a gloomy wind. The two carved doors that were open closed with a bang, and the blowing wind blew out the candle in Huo Zhenye's hand.

The tables and chairs shook and vibrated, and the pitch-black room was filled with the rustling sound of paper and bamboo rubbing against each other.

Huo Zhenye opened the silver box with a "snap", and the flames shot up, illuminating the square inch. The paper piercers who were standing against the wall just now all faced Huo Zhenye, walking towards him with stiff hands and feet.

"Bai Zhun!" Huo Zhenye raised his voice, but no one answered him.

He cursed, took out a small bottle from his pocket, bit off the cap, threw it at the paper figurine closest to him, lit a candle and threw it over.

As soon as the flame touched the paper, it burst into flames immediately, and the burnt paper figurine waved its hands and feet, hugged its face with both hands, and opened its mouth wide like howling, but couldn't make a sound.

The paper figurines who were about to pounce on them just now stopped in their tracks, the smiles on their faces remained unchanged, and they retreated one after another.

Huo Zhenye was still holding a small wine bottle in his hand. He ran out of Yuqingli in the rain, and turned back when he passed the cigarette shop. The counter was full of palm-sized small wine bottles, and Huo Zhenye bought them all. You can't buy oil, and high alcohol is fine.

The pockets all over his body were filled with this small bottle of wine, as long as there was a spark, the wine could be thrown out as a stray bullet.

The other paper figurines shrank back, only "Golden Boy" was blinded by his poking and refused to let him go.

The golden boy raised his hands flat, and hung a ribbon in front of his body, which read "Golden Boy Leads the West Road". He jumped up lightly, and the ribbon drew towards Huo Zhenye's chest, creating a gust of wind.

Huo Zhenye saw that it was not afraid of fire, so he retreated to the door, casually removed a rotten wooden strip from the door, and waved it at the "golden boy".

"Golden Boy" caught it with one hand and broke it in half.

Its eyes were bleeding, and it opened its mouth to growl silently at Huo Zhenye, revealing the dense bamboo teeth in its mouth.

Huo Zhenye suddenly remembered that when Song Ying died, her finger was broken at the root, and it was covered with tooth marks. It turned out that the paper figurine Xiaojie used this to bite off her finger.

The golden boy rushed forward with his mouth wide open, Huo Zhenye blocked it with his arm, and it bit Huo Zhenye's arm.

The sharp and thin bamboo teeth were inserted into the flesh at once, Huo Zhenye gasped, he slammed the carved door open with his back, and without struggling at all, he held the golden boy's head with his empty hand and dragged him into the rain.

The golden boy felt the moisture and wanted to run away, but Huo Zhenye held his head down, and the ribbon rolled up and wrapped around Huo Zhenye's neck, getting tighter and tighter.

Huo Zhenye held his breath, his young master's temper turned up, and he held the golden boy tightly so that he would not move.

The golden boy was quickly drenched in the heavy rain, and at first he wanted to strangle Huo Zhenye with a ribbon, but when the ribbon drank enough water, it fell on the ground without any "anger".

Huo Zhenye scraped the wet paper off his neck with both hands, took out the bamboo knife, and with a single stroke, pushed the golden boy's head off, kicking it all over the ground like throwing a broken lantern.

His arm was full of tooth holes one after another, and blood was constantly oozing out. He tore off the sleeve of his suit and tied up the wound casually.

Re-enter the hall, tear off the white curtain hanging in front of the hall, wrap it around the wooden strips, pour wine, and light a fire.

Sparks exploded from time to time, splashing out, and the paper dolls in the room fled in all directions. Huo Zhenye was bloody and wet, and walked into the room dripping wet.

"Bai Zhun! Are you there?"

Like this kind of house, both the inside and the outside are connected, holding a torch to enter, and calling Bai Zhun's name loudly while walking, the voice passed through the rain curtain, and there was no response at all.

The rain gradually subsided, Huo Zhenye turned to the garden, the situation here was even more terrifying than that in front of the hall.

On the dilapidated stage stood a few opera singers, and under the corridor stood paper figurine maids and servants. Huo Zhenye took a deep breath and held the torch tightly.

But these paper figurines didn't move at all, and they didn't mean to attack him.

As soon as footsteps sounded behind him, Huo Zhenye turned his head, and saw "Jade Girl" half body hiding in the corner, with a beaming smile on her face, when he found out, she hid with a "hee hee".

They have already "killed" one, and it is estimated that this one will not spare him.

Instead of waiting for the girl to sneak attack, he might as well get rid of this one first, Huo Zhenye chased after him, and within a few steps, he saw an open door, a little fire in the room, Bai Zhun was sitting on a bamboo wheelchair with his head tilted to one side, Looked like he passed out.

Huo Zhenye rushed into the room and held Bai Zhun's shoulder: "How are you?"

"Bai Zhun" leaned his neck back, grinned at Huo Zhenye, his mouth was full of fine bamboo teeth, and blew a puff of smoke at Huo Zhenye.

Huo Zhenye was caught off guard and took a deep breath. It was too late to hold his breath. He bit the corner of his mouth, trying to use the pain to support him, but the effect of the drug was too fast. He supported the wheelchair and knelt on the ground.

When he woke up again, before he opened his eyes, he heard the voice first.

"Don't be afraid, you will wake up today." The voice was extremely gentle, like a whisper between lovers.

Huo Zhenye's hearing recovered, but his eyes were still blurred. He opened his eyelids, only to see himself being tied up while standing up with his arms and legs erected by a few bamboos.

There was a man with his back turned to him, with silver hair, but with the appearance of a young man.

"Who are you? Where's Bai Li?" The effect of the medicine hadn't passed yet, he spoke very slowly and his voice was vague.

The white-haired man turned around and looked at Huo Zhenye, it was Bai Li.

Huo Zhenye's pupils shrank, and Bai Li said softly: "Don't worry, I won't kill you, Xiaozhun will blame me, and you are useless to me."

He only wants a woman's skin.

"Where's Bai Zhun? What happened to him?" Huo Zhenye bit the tip of his tongue, the pain and the smell of blood in his mouth made him gradually sober up, and his tongue became flexible.

Bai Li didn't answer, he stood up, walked in front of Huo Zhenye, picked up a piece of paper, dipped it in the sink, and "slapped" it on Huo Zhenye's face.

Press Huo Zhenye's face lightly with fingertips, pressing out the brow bone and the bridge of the nose.

Huo Zhenye held his breath. He knew that there was a criminal law called "Jiaguan Jinjue", which is to use wet paper to stick on the face one by one. At the beginning, people could barely breathe. The thicker the paper, the less breathable it was. The eyes were stared out, the root of the tongue fell out completely, and the death was extremely tragic.

But that piece of paper was quickly tossed off, and his face appeared on the paper. Bai Li glanced at him, sat under the lamp, and traced the eyebrows and eyes on the paper.

Huo Zhenye took a deep breath, his eyesight recovered, there were bricks all around, and there were brick ladders against the walls, they were in the cellar of the mansion.

The jade girl made of paper is standing in the corner, with her hands raised flat, and her ribbon reads "Jade girl travels with her in blissful heaven".

There was a bed against the wall, and a woman was lying on the bed. The woman had black hair, delicate eyebrows and eyelashes, and was covered with a brocade quilt.

Everywhere in this house is dilapidated, but this woman is still covered with a pink and white quilt embroidered with butterflies and flowers.

Just now Bai Li was kneeling beside the bed, talking to her.

The woman's eyebrows were like black, her cheeks were pink, and she looked as if she was asleep, but she didn't move at all.

Even if a person is fast asleep, his chest will heave and his eyelashes will flutter, but she doesn't have any, she doesn't breathe, and lying there is exactly like a paper doll.

Huo Zhenye instantly understood that Bai Li wanted to do the same thing as Song Fusheng and his wife.

"You should let her die in peace."

Bai Li paused at the tip of his pen: "Shut up."

Huo Zhenye continued to persuade him: "You clearly know that the one Song Ying called back is not Xiaojie at all, her son is lying in the cemetery behind the church."

Bai Li's demeanor changed: "I told you to shut up!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the jade girl started to move, it took a ball of cloth and stuffed it into Huo Zhenye's mouth, preventing him from speaking again.

Bai Li's anger gradually calmed down. He no longer had the energy to be angry. He had tried many methods, but he didn't have time to try again and again.

At first, he thought that as long as the human skin was "voluntarily" donated, then he realized that it must be sacrificed voluntarily during his lifetime, so he needed a lot of "little heroes" to let Song Ying donate their skin voluntarily.

After saving for so long, she has finally saved enough human skin. She can come back after tonight.

Bai Li took out a bamboo cavity, covered it with paper clothes, and hastily made a paper man. He pasted the face that had just been stretched off Huo Zhenye's face on the bamboo cavity.

He moved extremely fast, and after finishing the human figure, he dotted the eyes of "Huo Zhenye" ​​with thick ink, and the paper figurine stood up immediately, with the same height, posture, and behavior as Huo Zhenye.

Bai Li moved his fingers: "Go."

"Huo Zhenye" ​​staggered up the stairs and went out from the house. Huo Zhenye stared at Bai Li. Did he think that he could fool Bai Zhun with this method?

Bai Li glanced over Huo Zhenye, trying to see through his thoughts, but Bai Li didn't say a word, Yunu stepped forward and covered Huo Zhenye's eyes with a cloth.

He couldn't see anything, but he could still hear.

He first heard the sound of paper being torn, and then Bai Li spoke to the woman on the bed in that gentle tone: "Don't be afraid, I'll change your clothes."

Huo Zhenye suddenly realized that the woman was also made out of paper, her eyebrows and cheeks were all drawn.

After Huo Zhenye smelled a pungent smell of blood, Bai Li opened the box and took out the human skin.

Human skin needs to be nourished with human blood to maintain its "aliveness", which is changed every day. The human skins in the box are neatly stacked one by one. Bai Li took out one piece, took out bamboo scissors, and cut it off.

Huo Zhenye heard a scalp-numbing sound of knives and scissors, as if he was cutting something thin and soft, the sound was blunt, followed by needles and threads.

Sitting in front of the lamp, Bai Li looked at the human bones in front of him full of love, cut out one piece and put another on it.The limbs and body are cut out according to the pattern, and only the head remains.

He gently lifted the skull and met her eyes, as if he could see his lover's tender eyes from the bone.

Opening eyes, pinching nose, filling lips, one stroke at a time, according to the memory in his heart, he created a "person".

In the end, he put on her clothes, an old-style cheongsam embroidered with plum blossoms on a white background, the same one she wore when she left him.

The woman "lived" on the chair, she raised her eyes to look at Bai Li, the dark eyes were glowing with candlelight.

Bai Li laughed, and stretched out his hand to stroke her brows and eyes, she was almost there, only this last point, and she would be able to come back.

Bai Li coughed in a muffled voice, his chest vibrating constantly. He pushed away the chair and stretched out his hand, and the woman also stretched out her hand and put her hand in Bai Li's palm.

The two left together holding hands.

Huo Zhenye waited for a while, but no sound could be heard in the room. He shook his head and shook off a corner of the cloth covering his eyes. Just as he was able to see, he saw the jade girl facing him.

With blush on both cheeks and a little cherry red lips, she looked at Huo Zhenye with a smile, and wrapped the ribbon around Huo Zhenye's neck with a smile.

Huo Zhenye didn't think Bai Li was lying, he really didn't want to kill him, but Yu Nu was no longer under his control.

With that face whose expression could not be changed, the jade girl wrapped the ribbon tighter and tighter.

Huo Zhenye held his breath, hooked his toes to the ground, and quickly thought of a way in his mind, he gathered energy on his waist, and threw himself towards the jade girl.

The paper cavity made by the fine bamboo couldn't withstand the pressure, and the jade girl's hands and feet were crushed, but her head was still there, she opened her mouth, and the bamboo teeth pierced Huo Zhenye's chest muscles.

Just when he was about to straighten up and hit hard again, the little squirrel flew in.

It pierced the top of the jade girl's head, and the bamboo bones collapsed.

Huo Zhenye's body was covered with blood and ashes, the little squirrel snatched away the cloth from his mouth, and he sat up in a state of embarrassment: "Where have you been?"

Before meeting the paper figurine "Bai Zhun", the little squirrel was still in his suit pocket.

The little squirrel puffed up her chest, and Huo Zhenye bit the rope that bound her hands and feet with her teeth, tore off the paper ribbon around her neck, and tore the word "Ultimate Bliss" on the ribbon to pieces.

He stepped out of the cellar, and saw Bai Zhun waiting for him up there. When he came out, his gaze swept from top to bottom, and stopped at the bloodstain on his chest and arms.

"Where have you been? I've been looking for you everywhere, do you know?" When Huo Zhenye didn't see him, he was only worried. He knew that Bai Zhun looked tough, but he was actually very soft-hearted. What if he was deceived? Woolen cloth?

But when he saw Bai Zhun, there was only anger: "Why can't you just say something? You have to come alone?"

It was rare for Bai Zhun to say a word, not even to frown. After Huo Zhenye finished speaking, he said, "I didn't ask you to come."

"Yes, I want to come by myself, I'm going to catch up." After saying this, Huo Zhenye pressed the wound on his chest and took a deep breath. The jade girl bit really hard.

The little squirrel flapped its wings, got into Bai Zhun's sleeve, took out a handkerchief from his armhole, and gave it to Huo Zhenye.

Huo Zhenye took it in his hands, does this mean to apologize?He pressed the handkerchief to the wound on his chest. Although the wound was dense, fortunately he didn't bite the vitals.

Bai Zhun had already turned around, and the wheelchair was rolling towards the back of the house. When they walked out the door, a long corridor was full of paper-made people.

Those in the yard still have faces, mouths and clothes, which can be called "paper figurines", and those on the promenade are like "paper figurines".

He has a rough figure with hands and feet, his face is covered with a thin layer of paper, and he has no facial features.

Huo Zhenye touched the wine bottle, but fortunately Bai Li didn't take out his trouser pocket, just as he was about to make a move, the paper figurines fell back one by one, and Bai Zhun's wheelchair was unimpeded.

Paper figurines, of course, listen to the words of the Seven Sect Masters.

The two soon came to the back of the house, and there was an altar built of bricks and stones in the middle of an open space. A circle of bamboo poles were inserted around the altar, and white banners full of runes were hung on the bamboo poles.

It was clear that it had been raining all day, but at this moment the sky was clear and the solitary moon was bright in the sky.

Bai Li heard the voice and turned around. The incense sticks had already been lit, and the spirit-calling flag was still moving without any wind. The sky that was still clear just now was filled with fluffy clouds, covering the moon.

"Zhun, it's come to this point, do you still want to stop me?"

Bai Zhun's eyes became darker, he stared at the windless and loudly raising the soul-calling flag and said: "You will regret it."

To die is to die, and the one who "lives" again is not the original person.

Bai Li smiled wearily: "I won't regret it later, I have to try." He turned around again, not afraid of Bai Zhun's trouble at this time.

"Aren't you going to stop him?" Huo Zhenye frowned, Bai Li used so many human skins, where did these human skins come from?

Bai Zhun didn't move.

The wind blew in the soul-calling banner, Bai Li cut open his wrist, blood poured into the magic circle on the stone platform, the woman sat in the circle, unconscious, seemed to look up at Bai Li, but there was no emotion in her eyes.

Bai Li's hair was white and his brows were white. He poured a bowl of blood, and he couldn't hold on anymore. His knees softened and he knelt in the altar, looking at the soul-inducing banner like a demon.

Waiting for the soul-inducing flag to stay vertically, the blood line on the altar slowly flowed, and a ray of white light broke through the moonlight that was covered by thick clouds, and the white light hit the top of the woman's head.

Bai Li smiled and almost crawled over. He put his arms around the woman's shoulders, she raised her head, looked at Bai Li, and opened her mouth to say the first sentence in ten years.

"So hungry."

She bit Bai Li's arm.

Bai Zhun closed his eyes, sighed slightly, moved his fingertips slightly, the poles standing around the altar broke through the ground, the spirit-calling flags fell into the mud, and the bamboo poles all pointed at the woman in the altar.

"No!" Bai Li turned around to protect her behind her back, but the woman didn't bite any flesh, she opened her mouth and tore off the clothes on Bai Li's body.

Huo Zhenye was taken aback, half of Bai Li's body had been turned into paper.

He is half human and half paper. Under the reflection of the moonlight, the paper and the flesh are fused together, and the half of the paper is rapidly robbing the half of the flesh and blood.

"Get out of the way!" Bai Zhun said, the bamboo pole split into countless bamboo swords, and they flew up into the air, pointing the sword tip at Bai Li, "This is not her, this is the evil spirit."

"If you don't let her go, you won't be able to live."

Bai Li looked down at the woman who was biting his shoulder. He was almost out of blood, and she wouldn't be able to suck much even if she bit it open. He looked at this pieced-up skin full of love, and hugged her in his arms: "I Originally, I couldn’t survive.”

Among the hundreds of bamboo swords, one pierced through the air.

Bai Li was pierced by the bamboo sword and closed his eyes.

The woman's teeth were still biting his shoulder, and when he closed his eyes, the human skin peeled off piece by piece, revealing the true skeleton, one person and one bone, entwined and hugged.