Chapter 2: Human Skin Lantern

I do not know how much time has passed, but I felt a violent tremor around me, as if someone was pushing me hard. A familiar voice echoed in my ears, "Xiaoxi... Xiaoxi..." The voice gradually became clearer, and I slowly opened my eyes. The first thing I saw was my father's familiar face. At that moment, I was lying on the floor of the inner room, and the two "guests" had already vanished without a trace. Was that just an illusion? But why did it feel so real? I was pondering this in my mind.

The elderly man remained calm and said to himself, "I am just having a little fun talking to myself"

Just like that, I do not know how long I have stayed in this thatched cottage. Whenever someone comes to buy human skin, I illuminate myself with a human skin lantern, and without exception, they have never discovered my presence. Every day, I eat only withered fruits, and the old man rarely speaks to me. Since that day, I have not seen my second uncle again

The old man let out a sigh and pointed to a piece of human skin in the corner, saying, "It's over there, go see for yourself." The old man continued with his work without pausing.

Just as I was about to speak, the old man seemed to see through my intentions and gave me a gloomy expression. My second uncle left behind a jade-like object and, in a crooked manner, exited the door, disappearing into the darkness

My father did not respond. He arranged several bamboo sticks into a simple lantern shape and began to paste paper onto it. The paper was glaringly white, and upon closer inspection, it seemed not to be paper at all. He kept glancing at the clock on the wall. The room was eerily quiet. After about ten minutes, the lantern was completely finished. He placed a white candle inside, handed the lantern to me, and said: "Take it well, hurry up, don't let the candlelight go out. When you leave, no matter who calls you from behind, do not look back." The room was eerily quiet. After about ten minutes, the lantern was completely finished. He placed a white candle inside, handed the lantern to me, and said: "Take it well, hurry up, don't let the candlelight go out. When you leave, no matter who calls you from behind, do not look back."

I did not heed the old man's words. Just as I was about to rush outside with the lantern, the door suddenly opened by itself. The old man quickly turned to me and shouted, "Raise the lantern above your head." I was momentarily stunned, but I complied. I stared in astonishment at the direction of the door as a blood-soaked figure walked in. He deliberately kept his head down, preventing me from seeing his face.

"Who are you talking to?" the man asked in a hoarse voice, looking around. When his gaze swept over me, I couldn't help but gasp; his face was a bloody mess and already decayed, making it impossible to distinguish his features. His body was covered in yellow sand, and strangely, he seemed unable to see me

A shiver ran through my entire body, and I did not dare to ask further. The old man picked up the piece of jade and kept etching something with the needle in his hand

The candle in the lantern burns slowly, but gradually diminishes. One day, the old man said to me: "The candle is about to run out, you can leave now, take this with you." She threw me a piece of jade pendant, which was the very one my second uncle was still using to exchange for human skin at that time. It seemed she had also carved some words on the jade pendant.

"How did you come back? Why are you still fainting here?" my father asked anxiously, his red and swollen eyes were already filled with bloodshot veins, and it seemed that he had also sustained some injuries.

I suddenly felt that the white cloth looked somewhat familiar. I reached out to touch it, and it seemed to be some kind of leather, similar to the material used on my lantern. I immediately recalled the old man's words from earlier about human skin lanterns. Could it be that all the skins on the wall are human skins? A wave of nausea washed over me, and I broke out in a cold sweat. I looked at the old man and couldn't help but gasp in shock; I hadn't noticed before that her eyes were actually sewn shut with thread. Once I regained my composure, I hurried towards the door, but the old man suddenly spoke up, "What are you trying to do? You cannot wander around here. If you leave this room, you will lose your life, unless you also wish to be hung on the wall."

A thick black mist seemed to envelop me, and the faint light of the candle could hardly penetrate it. My consciousness gradually began to blur, and in a daze, I only knew to keep moving forward. Suddenly, I heard what seemed to be someone calling my name from behind. I vaguely felt a pair of hands on my shoulders. My mind went blank at that moment, and just as I was about to turn around, I suddenly recalled my father's warning: no matter what I heard or saw, I must not look back. I was startled and broke into a cold sweat, which finally brought me back to my senses. The candle burned very slowly, illuminating only the path beneath my feet. When I looked down, I seemed to see a face on the ground. I quickly averted my gaze and continued to walk forward.

I let out a sound and recounted the previous events. My father began to tremble all over, large beads of sweat appearing on his forehead. "Did you say that the two guests had tattoos resembling dials on their hearts?" he suddenly interrupted me and asked.

The person followed the direction pointed out by the old man, approached to take a look, carefully removed the human skin from the wall, and gently pressed it onto their own face. They then looked into the mirror on the wall at https://www.hetushu.com.com and couldn't help but exclaim, "It looks exactly like my previous one."

I just remembered that when I was stitching the bodies, both corpses were arranged by my second uncle, and I stitched them directly. If my father went up the mountain to save my second uncle, then who was the second uncle I saw? Recalling my second uncle's ambiguous smile just now, I couldn't help but shiver.

I hesitated for a moment, then followed her into the room. A pungent, fishy odor wafted in, making me feel nauseous. The elderly woman said nothing, sitting beside the table, continuously threading a needle through a piece of white cloth. She kept her eyes closed, yet in the pitch-black room, she sewed with remarkable ease

My father gently patted my head, looking at me with a reluctant gaze, and said: "Xiao Xi, I never called you. I have been on the mountain participating in the rescue. The person we needed to save was your second uncle..." My father inhaled sharply, "The tattoos on the chests of those two corpses, resembling dials, are charms used in sorcery to control evil spirits. They harbored immense resentment before their deaths. You must have sewn their heads on incorrectly. These two evil spirits have now attached themselves to you, and all of this has been orchestrated by others..."

When my father heard me mention my second uncle, he immediately gasped, his expression contorting, "You... you saw your second uncle?" he asked in disbelief.

I was at a loss as I took the lantern, completely unsure of where to go. When I looked up, I noticed a small door on the inner wall illuminated by the lantern. Inside was pitch black, and I could see nothing, yet I could faintly feel a chilling breeze. When I entered earlier, there was nothing on the wall; when did this door appear?

When he turned to me, I tightly covered my mouth with my left hand, fearing that I would scream out loud. This person, this face, I could not be more familiar with; it was none other than my second uncle. At this moment, he had no expression on his face, not a trace of color, and his eyes were lifeless, resembling two empty voids.

I was completely baffled and continued to ask, "Who was schemed against? What exactly is going on?"

I did not know how long I had been walking when a thatched cottage appeared beside me. The door was tightly closed. I mustered my courage and knocked on the door. Slow footsteps could be heard from inside, and I immediately held my breath. The door slowly opened, revealing an elderly woman with a face full of wrinkles standing at the entrance. She was dressed in black and wore a strange hat. Her eyes were tightly shut, yet it seemed she was continuously sizing me up. "Human skin lantern... it seems I haven't seen one in many years..." the old woman murmured to herself in a low voice. Just as I was about to speak, she swung the door wide open and said, "Come in..." After saying this, she turned and walked into the house.

Just as I was about to continue asking, a sudden, urgent knocking at the door interrupted me. The sound was so loud that it seemed as if it would shatter the door. My father glanced at the clock on the wall, which read exactly 12:00. He quickly lit the lantern, handed it to me, and shouted, "There's no time to explain, hurry up..."

At that moment, I couldn't think of much. My father pushed me hard into the door, and when I turned back, all I saw was pitch darkness behind me. I had no idea where I was; I could only carry the lantern and stumble forward.

I dared not speak much, holding a lantern as I looked around the room. The walls were adorned with many rusty items, varying in size, all set against a white cloth background. Each displayed a human face, embroidered in vivid detail, yet from a distance, every face appeared ghostly pale, creating an eerie atmosphere

I was momentarily taken aback, seeing my father's serious expression that did not seem to indicate a joke. "But where am I supposed to go?" I asked, furrowing my brows.

I nodded in confusion, and suddenly he let out a loud laugh, saying fiercely, "In the end, they still managed to scheme against us." After saying this, my father glanced at the clock on the wall, which read exactly 11:40 PM. He fell silent, taking out a few bamboo skewers from the cabinet in the inner room and began to fiddle with them, not revealing what he intended to do.

I was suddenly taken aback, "What... what is this place? Who... who are you?"

I let out a sigh, deeply missing my father and my younger brother. My danger has finally passed, and I estimate that those two evil spirits will no longer seek me out

"That person just now was my second uncle. What exactly happened to him?" I asked anxiously

The person nodded slightly and asked, "Is my face embroidered well?"

The old man smiled crookedly and said, "Those who can come here are no longer living..."

I blinked and said, "Wasn't it you who asked me to come back? I called you all day and your phone was off. Where is my brother? My second uncle said you all went up the mountain for rescue. He even brought me two corpses to stitch. What on earth happened?" I was completely bewildered, feeling that today's events were particularly strange.

The old man snorted, "You stay here, and remember, do not wander around."