Through her perspective, Lu Yingjiu saw the details of the masks.
Every inch of the texture is extremely delicate, just like real human skin, with a luster that shines through, with a bit of fleshy red and warm orange. If you look more carefully, you can see the capillaries in the skin and the fine hairs on the cheeks.
It is impossible for a mask made of animal skin to have this kind of texture!
Chen Yanyan was shocked for a moment and said, "These masks are made of real human skin!"
"Ah?!" Ke Yu's hands trembled, and when he looked around carefully, every mask seemed to be laughing eerily!
Everyone was so frightened that they just ran forward for their lives. The light of the flashlight flickered in the corridor, and masks came towards them one after another.
Lu Yingjiu's face was solemn.
—As early as when he saw the faces of those anchors being taken away, he had guessed whether the sheep ghost was related to the Chen family's masks.
But Lu Yingjiu really didn't get it, and the Chen family actually dared to continue doing this kind of thing.
Chen Ke and the other man were still trying to escape.
Fortunately, this time the ghost wall seemed to disappear. After a certain moment, the mask disappeared and the corridor became a normal corridor.
They ran out of breath and saw the entrance to a room far ahead.
The sign on the door says Slaughterhouse
There were no windows and the door was ajar.
They absolutely did not dare to go back to the mask. Apart from this room, they had no other choice.
Chen Yanyan and Ke Yu stopped, panting, and looked at each other.
Ke Yu shone the flashlight across the door and mustered up the courage to open it.
“Squeak—”
The light shone through, and I saw several sheep hanging on the meat hooks, which had been bled out and cut in half. Their meat was bright red, very fresh, and seemed to be still hot.
But this slaughterhouse has been abandoned for so long, how come there are still freshly slaughtered sheep
Chen Yanyan held Ke Yu's hand tightly and squinted her eyes to look carefully.
The skin on their bodies was soft and looked like human skin. The skin moved slightly, as if... it was slowly absorbing blood.
On the other side, Lu Yingjiu suddenly realized: "I know where those sheep ghosts came from!"
"What's the matter?" Jing Xian asked him.
"After sticking the talisman paper, if the human skin is not processed immediately, it will rot quickly. If it is temporarily stuck on flesh and blood, it can slow down the process." Lu Yingjiu said, "They must have stuck the human skin on the sheep in order to preserve it. Over time, the negative energy accumulated, and then we saw the sheep ghost."
Jing Xian said: "That is to say, this slaughterhouse is just a cover for the Chen family. They are still continuing to produce human skin/masks."
Lu Yingjiu shook her head gently: "We can't make this conclusion now. I have come into contact with many people in the Chen family, and most of them have very low standards. It is not ruled out that some people in the Chen family are doing this in private."
Jing Xian agreed, but he didn't really believe it. He thought that those so-called ghost-exorcising families were really hypocritical, and were no different from the Qingdeng Society.
To be precise, his overall impression of the Exorcist was not very good.
... Of course, Lu Yingjiu Xian is an exception.
How perfect!
His wife is awesome! She is very good at playing and very smart!
Lu Yingjiu was thinking seriously, but when he turned around, he saw Jing Xian staring at him with bright eyes, as if a large canine had found its long-lost cat, and was full of joy and appreciation.
Road to welcome wine:
He subconsciously took a half step back.
"Blat!"
As I recall, the sheep fell directly from the meat hooks and hit the ground.
Then they slowly stood up.
The dissected chests seemed to be pulled together by invisible hands, and then sewn together with fine needles and threads, the skin and flesh connected, becoming intact. Their faces were covered with a human skin/mask. The human face, combined with the body of an animal, produced something similar to the uncanny valley effect, enough to scare anyone to death.
As Chen Yanyan screamed, the sheep's body grew taller and gradually turned into a sheep ghost standing on two feet.
The sheep ghost moved very quickly. Chen Yanyan only felt a chill on his forehead, and the blood-stained hooves stepped down with a strong wind!
However, the amulet hanging on Chen Yanyan's chest flashed.
The Chen family's own amulet was very powerful, and it directly shocked several sheep ghosts and made them retreat several steps.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Ke Yu pulled Chen Yanyan and turned around and ran.
In the desperate situation, they burst out with incredible strength, and actually rushed out: the exit was right in front of them!
Ke Yu pushed the door open suddenly, and sunlight poured in!
The view was completely white and Lu Yingjiu couldn't see anything clearly.
This white light lasted for a long time.
After a few seconds, he felt warmth on his hand.
It was Jing Xian who held his hand, applying a little more force, which roughly meant: I'm still by your side.
Lu Yingjiu actually knew this, so he let Jingxian pull him until his vision returned to normal.
The two of them returned to the corridor and stood in front of the mirror.
The only difference from before was that the walls of this corridor were covered with densely packed human skins/masks.
It must be the same corridor as the Chen and Ke families.
Lu Yingjiu simply wrapped the talisman paper around his hands and gently took down a mask from the wall.
“Ssss—”
There was a slight sound as the mask was peeled off, and then it swayed lightly in his hands.
The thin cicada wings are very realistic.
It is incredibly thin and light, and wrinkles and damage do not affect its exquisiteness. From its delicate outline, one can see that it is a girl's face.
Lu Yingjiu's expression was slightly solemn.
This thing is really made of human skin.
He raised the mask a little, and facing the firelight, the human skin appeared warm and translucent, as if fresh blood was still flowing in it.
It must be said that the finished product made of human skin is completely different. The touch and realism are very obvious when compared with other masks. No wonder a human skin/mask is so expensive.
Jing Xian looked towards the end of the deep corridor and asked, "Go forward?"
"Okay. Wait a minute." Lu Ying drunkenly took off five or six masks quickly.
These are all strong evidences, and if they are brought out, they will definitely cause an uproar.
Whoever was involved in the production of the mask will be held accountable.
After Lu Yingjiu carefully wrapped the mask with talisman paper, they walked in the corridor one after the other.
There was dead silence all around, with only the sound of footsteps echoing.
Lu Yingjiu gave the amulet to Li and Chen Yanyan. Now the amulet has no reaction at all, which proves that the family is safe. There is no need to worry for the time being. It is best to reunite as soon as possible.
As they walked, the ends of Lu Yingjiu's hair swayed slightly.
It was a gentle breeze.
The flowing air might mean that they are reaching the end.
However, the next second, something unusual happened!
All the masks on the wall trembled in the wind, and a few cockroaches crawled across the wall and fled in panic.
“Ssss—”
“Ssss—”
“Ssss—”
Pieces of human skin/masks were peeled off the wall and flew into the air!
The facial features of the people were distorted, all of them were laughing strangely, and they were neatly arranged in the air, flying and circling around them like a group of frantic butterflies. Lu Yingjiu raised his hand, and the flames exploded, roasting the human skin with a sizzling sound, and the pungent smell of burning filled the air.
When the mask faded a little, they saw a sheep standing at the end of the corridor.
A white goat, about half a man's height, stared at them with its horizontal pupils.
A metal meat hook pierced its spine and blood gushed out.
"Baa—" it called.
Then it split in the middle.
It was as if its body was cut by a sharp blade, and then inside its body, instead of bright red flesh and blood, there were countless human skins/masks!
Just like before, the masks flew wildly in the air. This time, they piled up on top of each other, facing upwards, and in an instant, they turned back into goats.
Only, this goat has faces all over his body, and every one of them is smiling.
The yin energy surged like a tsunami or landslide, the temperature dropped below 0 degrees, and the strong wind blew off their clothes. Judging from the intensity, it must be a vicious and evil ghost!
But it has been possessing Chen Yanyan for many years!
White air came out of Lu Yingjiu's mouth. He held a talisman paper in one hand and a short knife in the other. A round black beast lay at his feet, revealing its fangs.
Then-
The clear light of the knife cut through the darkness!
The knife light spanned the air, like a fluttering swallow cutting through the rain curtain, it was incredibly fast.
The knife fell with the sound of leather being cut, and a scar appeared on the masked goat's abdomen. The black fur ball rushed over and bit its left leg fiercely!
The hairy ball was small in size, but had terrifying strength. With one strong pull, the entire lamb leg came off.
The mask on the wall peeled off and flew to the broken leg, forming a new leg.
At this time, Lu Yingjiu had already stabbed the dagger into its eyes.
The short knife flashed slightly, and an invisible shock wave vibrated, and the mask on the sheep's body began to have ripples, which swayed in circles, almost making it fall apart. However, a bloody mouth appeared on Lu Yingjiu's head!
The expression on the mask was hideous and ferocious, with its mouth split 180 degrees and biting straight at Lu Yingjiu's head.
Lu Yingjiu didn't even raise his head, the black fur ball jumped high up, trying to tear the mask apart -
A gust of wind.
All the masks were blown away, and the masked goat was blown into a ball of blood mist in front of Lu Yingjiu and drifted away with the wind.
The entire corridor is clean.
All the evil spirits and masks were blown away by the wind.
At this moment, Lu Yingjiu remembered the rumors he had heard.
It is said that in the ghost world, there is a terrifying abyss that no ghost dares to set foot in. The wind blowing there is called Gangfeng, which can turn all ghosts and monsters into ashes with a light blow.
The current gust of wind actually has the same effect.
Jing Xian came close to him at some point, with a hint of subtle disdain in his tone: "That mask, I almost drooled on you just now." He also patted Lu Yingjiu's clothes.
Lu Yingjiu: “…”
He turned to Jing Xian and asked directly: "Are you a human being?"
Jing Xian said sincerely: "Why not? My hands are warm and my heart is beating. If you don't believe me, you can hold my hand or lean against me and listen to my heartbeat..." After saying that, he even pulled Lu Yingjiu's hand.
Lu Yingjiu interrupted with a frown on his face: "Thank you so much."
Although he didn't want to admit it, he had indeed experienced all of these.
"Why?" Jing Xian asked, "Are you still doubting me?"
"You are full of suspicious points, almost like a sieve." Lu Yingjiu said, "The word 'suspicious' is written all over your face."
Jing Xian smiled and said, "Don't you allow me to have special talents? Actually, I had a high fever not long ago. After I woke up, I felt refreshed and suddenly I knew a lot of new and strange moves."
"Alright, alright, why don't you just say that you suddenly opened up your Ren and Du meridians, survived a thunder tribulation, and ascended to the immortal realm."
This time, Jing Xian hesitated.
He was half-believing and half-doubting: "Ah, is it really possible...?"
He only knew about the ghost world. Is there a way to go up in this world
Lu Yingjiu saw his expression and laughed: "I was just kidding, it's from the fairy tale of cultivating immortals. How could you really believe it? Haven't you ever heard of it?"
Jing Xian couldn't help laughing when he saw him laughing: "A little too much. I really like the story of vampires, and the story of zombies is also very good."
"Why?" Lu Yingjiu thought to himself that he didn't like this style of toast.
Jing Xian said, "It's full of ghosts. I've never seen them before. I find it very strange."
Lu Yingjiu: “…”
Lu Yingjiu: “…”
He was startled for a moment by this "mouthful ghost", but his talent for complaining was not high, so he really didn't know where to start.
After the goat ghost died, a black door appeared in front of them.
Where the goat ghost died, a human skin/mask was left behind.
This is its obsession.
Lu Yingjiu wrapped the mask in talisman paper and pushed the door open. It was a normal corridor of the slaughterhouse, with dim light and full of dust.
After the door closed, it automatically disappeared behind them.
With the obsession in hand, the ghost possessing Chen Yanyan can be said to have been solved.
Unfortunately, Lu Yingjiu still didn't know why he was considered a suspect.
Jing Xian seemed to sense his anxiety, and said slowly beside him: "Let's go out first and talk later."
"Yeah." Lu Yingjiu responded.
Lu Yingjiu followed the vibrations of the amulet and soon found Li Xiao and Chen Yanyan on the other side of the building.
The family had been walking cautiously in the dark, sticking close to the wall, but when they saw Lu Yingjiu and Jing Xian, they immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
Li said anxiously: "Brother Lu! We were just taken to a corridor, and the corridor was full of human skins/masks! And then I don't know how, we came back."
"I know." Lu Yingjiu nodded and handed the mask in his hand to them. "The ghost has been dealt with. I got the object of its obsession."
Chen Yanyan's eyes suddenly lit up: "Is it okay to destroy it?"
"Yes. And then you are safe."
"Can we destroy it now?"
"It's better to go out first."
"Then let's get out quickly." Chen Yanyan said hurriedly, and walked towards the exit.
But Lu Yingjiu did not catch up with her.
Chen Yanyan walked a few steps, turned around and asked, "Aren't you guys coming with me?"
Lu Yingjiu held the mask and smiled: "There's no need to rush."
"... What do you mean?" Chen Yanyan's expression changed slightly and she smiled.
"Before you leave, I want to know what you hid in your boots?" Lu Yingjiu asked.
Chen Yanyan suddenly froze.
She had left her luggage behind and climbed through the window to get into the women's locker room just to get this thing. When Lu Yingjiu came to find her, she had quietly hidden the thing in her short boots.
Lu Yingjiu didn't say anything, so she naturally thought he didn't see it.
Could it be that Lu Yingjiu had noticed it from the beginning? !
Chen Yanyan took a half step back, her heart beating fast, but she still maintained a smile on her face.
She had a pretty face, and her smile looked very gentle, which could easily arouse others' desire to protect her.
She said, "I don't know what you are talking about. Let's go out and talk about it." She bit her lip and said, "It's too dark here, and there are ghosts. I'm scared if I delay for even a second..."
She could only hope that Lu Yingjiu would be too embarrassed to touch her and take off her boots.
Chen Yanyan turned around and walked out as if nothing had happened.
After taking a few steps, she suddenly cried out "Ouch!"
There was a heavy weight on her right foot, causing her to stagger and almost fall, but luckily she held onto the wall with her hand. However, her foot loosened and the boot was pulled off!
Chen Yanyan was horrified. She lowered her head and saw the black fur ball biting her boots tightly. It grinned at her and ran back to Lu Yingjiu, wagging its tail.
"Wait!" Chen Yanyan shouted.
But it was too late. Maotuanzi shook his boots, and a few folded pieces of... paper fell out of them
When the piece of paper floated in the air, it naturally stretched out and fell to the ground, as thin as a cicada's wing.
Those are actually a few human skins/masks.
The atmosphere froze for a moment.
Chen Yanyan's teeth were almost chattering, and her mind went blank for several seconds. She said in a trembling voice: "I, I don't know what those are. I felt something was wrong, so I hid them!"
"Oh, really?" Lu Yingjiu smiled, "Then I have another question for you."
He said: "When the Goblin separated our family just now, why were you with Li? According to your description, the Goblin had to restore the scene, and the person with Li should be Fan Xin. And I was mistaken for Chen Yanyan by coincidence."
"This may be a trivial detail to you. But to me, this is not a 'coincidence' at all, plus the human skin/mask you secretly hid..."
"Ms. Chen Yanyan, can you explain it to us?"
…
at the same time.
500 kilometers away, Jiangxiang City.
The smell of disinfectant spread in the air, and the water in the infusion bottle dropped bit by bit. On the hospital bed, the young boy's left foot was in a plaster cast and was hung up.
He posted a message on WeChat Moments: So unlucky, I was hit by a motorcycle even when I was walking on the sidewalk
There are a lot of messages below. Have a good rest.
He curled his lips, threw his phone aside, and was just about to take a nap when there was a knock on the ward door.
A middle-aged man poked his head out and said, "Hello, this is Mr. Lu Fanghong, right?"
"Yes, yes, you are...?"
The man smiled and said, "Yes." He came over with his briefcase and sat down beside Lu Fanghong's bed. "How do you feel now?"
"Much better." Lu Fanghong replied.
The man nodded. "That's fine. I came here to talk to you about the matter we talked about before. Tell me, what did you think of? Right?"
He is an exorcist and has come several times. He always talks with Lu Fanghong, Fan Xin's ex-boyfriend, about the slaughterhouse and the family murder case.
This time, Lu Fanghong did not answer him immediately.
The drops fell slowly, and the silence lasted for a long time.
Not long after, he let out a long breath and said, "Actually, there is something about Chen Yanyan and Fan Xin that I have never told you."
The exorcist listened in silence.
Lv Fanghong continued, "Fan Xin and I first met when we were in junior high school. She was an orphan and her family was barely able to make ends meet, but she worked very hard and was always among the top students in her class in every exam."
"Later, we were admitted to a key high school with excellent grades, and that's where I met Chen Yanyan."
He hesitated for a few seconds: "Chen Yanyan's grades are actually not good. She paid to go to school. Even as an art student, she is on the verge of failing. After a while, she felt that it was not going to work, so she found Fan Xin, who had excellent grades but a poor family background."
He remained silent at first, as if he was struggling over whether he should speak or not.
The exorcist said, "It's okay, no hurry, do you want me to get you a glass of water?"
Lu Fanghong nodded gently. The exorcist stood up and brought him a cup of warm water.
Lu Fanghong took the water, took a sip, and finally finished his sip: "After one day, I felt that Fan Xin was sometimes strange. Her personality, tone, and attitude have all changed subtly. To be honest, I have liked Fan Xin for many years, and I know everything about her. Even if there is something different, I can't hide it from her."
"But every time I felt something was wrong, she would quickly return to normal, making me think it was an illusion."
"Half a year went by like this, and suddenly one day Fan Xin came to me and said she wanted to tell me something."
He closed his eyes and said, "That was the first time I heard the word 'human skin/mask'."
The ghost exorcist's expression changed slightly: "What do you mean?"
Lv Fanghong said: "Fan Xin and Chen Yanyan have been exchanging identities."