In our land of China with a long history, many industries have their own rules and taboos, and the more ancient and mysterious the craftsmanship is, the more so.
For example, "Ask Mi" cannot ask about the cause of death;
A coffin maker cannot make his own coffin;
Papermakers cannot draw eyes on paper figures;
You can't be incomplete when you show off your horse and have a good reputation...
Once these rules and taboos are violated, extremely horrific things will happen.
What I want to tell is the story about these rules and taboos.
In a small northern town built on the basis of the largest prison in the province, there is an inconspicuous paper shop.
In order to make money for his adoptive father's medical treatment, Zhao Youliang had to work in this papermaking shop thousands of miles away from home.
Although the salary is high, the mysterious boss's requirements for Zhao Youliang are very simple: just obey the rules.
Four extremely weird rules...
1. No living person is allowed to enter the store except "Zhao Youliang".
Even the old Taoist priest, the owner of the shop, just watched Zhao Youliang enter and did not dare to step into the shop himself.
2. Shops must open for business after the first ray of sunshine and close before the last ray of sunshine disappears.
After closing the door, you can no longer open the front door, no matter what reason!
Even if Zhao Youliang was in a hurry to go out, he would still have to go through the back door or drill into a dog hole in the corner.
3. The paper figures and horses in the shop should be divided into two rows and placed facing the door.
The middle road should be paved with yellow paper, just like the carpet laid out to welcome distinguished guests.
At the same time, Zhao Youliang is absolutely not allowed to walk on the "carpet". If he wants to go out the main entrance, he must go around behind the paper man.
4. Burn incense to the two dolls in the middle of the shop on time every day between midnight.
A pair of life-size dolls that look like they are getting married!
It's just that what "connects" them is not a red rope, but a thick, rusty iron chain...
After explaining the above rules, the old Taoist priest hurriedly left the town, seemingly not worried that Zhao Youliang would "escape" midway.
Just before leaving, he sneered and shook the "labor contract" he signed.
Sleeping in the store on the first night, Zhao Youliang felt an inexplicable sense of fear.
In a hazy moment, it seemed as if the paper figures had come to life and were surrounding the bedside, staring closely at him.
It feels like...like you are lying on the operating table, weak and dazed, and seeing a group of doctors grinning at you.
Moreover, these doctors all have grim faces...
But when Zhao Youliang suddenly woke up and turned on the light to check, he found nothing.
The paper people were still standing "properly" on both sides of the shop door, as if waiting to welcome some big shot.
As time went by, Zhao Youliang's uneasiness became more and more intense.
This feeling reached its peak after "Wen Mi"'s mother-in-law and the coffin maker Sun Tou said the same inexplicable words to him.
"Young man, if you can run, run as fast as you can! Some money can only be earned or spent..."
Zhao Youliang thought about running away.
But if he runs away, what will Lao Dao do if he takes back the three years' salary he paid in advance? !
After all, the money had already paid for the hospital bills for my adoptive father...so I had no choice but to bite the bullet and persevere.
On this day, Zhao Youliang followed the rules and opened the door of the shop when he saw the first ray of sunshine.
After carefully checking the position of the paper man, he walked around from behind the paper man and walked out of the shop listlessly.
I did a few simple chest expansion exercises, and then started jogging near the door.
While running, he shouted slogans.
"Don't let it go if you have a fart, it will hurt your heart; if you don't have a fart, squeeze it hard and exercise..."
The alternative morning exercise slogan was interrupted by a piercing siren.
Then I saw the door of the prison in the distance slowly opening, and many police cars driving a truck toward the town.
Pedestrians on the roadside and even Zhao Youliang himself have become accustomed to such things.
"It's just" that the condemned prisoners paraded through the streets before being executed, accepting the contempt of the general public for the last time.
When the convoy arrived in front of Zhao Youliang, he saw only three men with fierce faces tied up in the truck.
The neck of one of them is also covered with strange dark blue tattoos: similar to bats, but much more ferocious than bats.
Just when Zhao Youliang was lost in thought, a sharp pain suddenly shot from his ears.
What came next was the clear yet spicy voice of the barbecue shop owner, Mrs. Yingchun.
"Zhao Youliang, your big yellow dog has come to my house to play hooligan again, do you care about it?!"
"If you don't care about me anymore, I'll kill that old beast with one knife!!"
The big yellow dog is another "intangible cultural heritage" left by the old Taoist priest to Zhao Youliang in addition to the paper shop.
The reason why it is called Big Yellow Dog Old Beast is because this dog has lived for who knows how many years.
According to an old man in the town, he has been chased and bitten by a big yellow dog since he was a few years old, and it has been bitten until he is over eighty years old...
You must know that ordinary dogs only have a life span of more than ten years at most!
Zhao Youliang, who already knew the virtues of his old dog, did not dare to refute, and quickly grinned and begged for mercy.
"Oh, it hurts! Please be gentle, beautiful lady, your ears are about to fall off!"
"Besides, that old bastard has been playing hooligan for a day or two. Which bitch in our town hasn't been raped by him?!"
"Almost all the new puppies born in the past few years are his fault, right?! Even if there are occasionally those who are pregnant with other people's puppies, aren't they all kicked by him and aborted..."
Any woman in the world would like to be called "beautiful", let alone Sister Yingchun, a pretty young widow.
So he smiled and let go of Zhao Youliang's red and swollen ears.
She was not looking for trouble out of pure intention, so she simply changed the subject.
"Oh, you little brat, I won't talk to you anymore, you have to go back to the shop and get busy!"
"Oh, by the way, I heard from the customers in the store that the three executioners who were just shot were a bit evil, and they seemed to be capable of witchcraft."
"Your store is inherently evil. Remember to close early tonight, so you don't get into trouble."
It is most difficult to accept the kindness of a beautiful woman.
Hearing that Mrs. Yingchun cared so much about him, Zhao Youliang, who was poor and had never had a girl willing to date him, couldn't help but feel a little elated.
"Thank you for your concern, sister-in-law. Don't worry, I understand!"
On the other side of the execution ground, the armed police who had carried out the execution had withdrawn their teams, and now only the family members of the executed prisoners were left collecting the bodies.
This family member also had a ferocious look on his face, with the word "bad guy" written all over his face.
Although there is no "engraving" on his face, there are tattoos of a huge green-eyed gecko and a red-eyed bat on the left and right sides of his neck.
After confirming that there was no one else around, the "family members" slowly walked to the three corpses.
Looking at the bullet-riddled head of his companion, he sneered.
"I told you that there are experts here. How about being caught and shot?!"
At this point, the "family members" squatted down, picked up a handful of the brains of the executed prisoners and put them in their mouths.
After closing his eyes and "tasting" carefully for a moment, his face was full of gloating.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk, I actually used 'talisman bullets'. I'm afraid you won't die!"
As the "family members" spoke, they grabbed a handful of centipedes from their arms and put them in their mouths to chew.
The bite made a "squeaking" sound.
Dark green juice dripped from the corners of his mouth, looking weird and disgusting.
After chewing all the centipedes into "minced meat", the "family members" spit out the minced meat.
A large, sticky, green mass was stuffed into the big holes in the heads of the three condemned prisoners without hesitation.
As the "minced meat" was stuffed in, the three long-dead corpses began to shake violently.
It looked like an epileptic attack, and there was even a faint tendency to open his eyes and stand up again.
It's a pity that after "struggled" for a long time, there was no movement in the end...
