The winter nights are long. In this season, sleeping on the streets will freeze to death.
When you open your mouth and exhale, you can see white smoke flying upward. The child was bored, so he breathed and played, watching the white breath he exhaled slowly dissipate, imagining that he was a god who could handle everything.
The woman looked at the child rolling restlessly on the bed, smiled and shook her head, saying: "Go to bed early. Your father wants to pay the bills and will take you to the market tomorrow. If you can't get up, I won't take you there." ”
The child immediately lay down peacefully, closed his eyes tightly, and said loudly: "I have fallen asleep."
The woman smiled and shook her head, and continued to put the soles in front of the oil lamp, waiting for the man to return.
After a while, the child asked in a low voice: "Mom, when will dad come back?"
The woman glanced out the window, with a bit of worry, and said, "It should be soon. I just went to check the account. It should be soon."
The woman walked to the bed, tucked the child's quilt in, and said, "Go to sleep."
The child secretly squinted at her and said, "Mom, I want to eat meat."
"Okay." The woman touched his face and said, "I'll buy it tomorrow."
The child closed his eyes contentedly and his breathing gradually became heavier.
The woman went to the lamp again to pick up the soles of her shoes, stitching one stitch at a time, and gradually she felt that her eyes were a little dazzled.
At this time, there was a sudden knock on the door.
The woman got up and opened the door, but she didn't see the light on the table suddenly dim, as if it was covered by black smoke, and only managed to show a little dim light.
When he opened the door, he saw a man standing outside the door and asked, "Why is it so late today?"
The man looked at her silently, and she sighed: "You're not here again? Why does a big family like the Wu family always rely on the money of ordinary people like us?"
She closed the door and said distressedly: "It's so cold outside, haven't you eaten yet? I'm warming the rice for you on the stove. You need to eat something to warm yourself up first."
The woman was about to walk towards the kitchen when she was unexpectedly hugged by a man from behind.
The woman struggled slightly but did not break free. She patted the man's hand and said, "The child has just fallen asleep. Don't disturb him."
The light in the oil lamp struggled hard, but it just jumped and disappeared with a roar, as if it had been pinched.
The room fell into darkness, and the man moved closer to the woman, his face pressed into her shoulder.
The woman only felt that his body was cold, as if there was no warmth at all.
The face pressed against her shoulder was obviously too close, but she couldn't feel her breath.
The woman felt a chill in her heart and struggled, "I'll heat up some food for you."
But her voice fell into the darkness, like a rabbit stuck in a mire, unable to escape.
Darkness completely enveloped her, and she could only hear subtle sounds in the room, but after a moment, silence returned.
"Tuk-tuk-tuk-" There was another knock on the door, and a man's excited voice sounded: "Sister, I'm back. Are you asleep? Open the door for me."
The knock on the door woke up the sleeping child. The child opened his hazy sleepy eyes and looked at the door. He saw only darkness, and there seemed to be a black shadow, standing like a ghost.
He was so frightened that he burst into tears: "Father! Mother!"
The man became anxious after hearing this, and banged the door hard, saying, "Xiaobao, what's wrong, Xiaobao!"
The black shadow inside the door slowly walked toward the child, and the child screamed and cried harder.
The man got anxious and hit the door hard, twice, and then pushed the door open. The lantern in his hand illuminated the darkness in the room, and he saw a man who looked exactly like him standing in the room, holding his hand. holding her wife's hand.
"Who are you!" The man rushed towards the room. As soon as the light shone on him, the man turned into a ball of black smoke and flew out the door against the roof and wall.
The woman fell limply to the ground, and the man quickly went to help her, but when he reached out and touched her, he found that she was already cold and without any warmth.
"Big sister! Big sister!"
The cries of men and children echoed in the cold winter night, but were soon drowned in the howling wind.
The next day.
At the Town God's Temple in Shanyin County, temple ministers, county magistrates, and several monks and Taoists gathered together.
The county official said: "Everyone, another one died last night. It has only been five days and more than ten women have died. What kind of monster is it? Where did it come from? Isn't there anything you can do?"
Miao Zhu frowned and said: "The demon is like a shadow or black smoke. It only moves at night. It can even avoid ghosts. The Lord City God is also very anxious."
The county magistrate looked at one of the old Taoists again and said, "Taoist Master Luo, is there anything you can do?"
Luo Laodao had a childlike face and fair hair, but he was shaking his head at this moment and said: "That demon steals people's souls. After killing people, they didn't even have a chance to recruit people's souls to come and ask questions. The Great Immortal from the North has already gone to investigate, but No news yet.”
The magistrate went to ask other monks, but he didn't get a positive answer.
The county magistrate then paced anxiously and said: "This monster can change its appearance, pretend to be someone close to the deceased, and can turn into a shadow or black smoke and escape, coming and going without a trace. I don't know how many more people will be harmed." .”
"What kind of monster is this? How come it only harms women from good families?"
Luo Laodao was moved in his heart and asked, "Do you have a look at the files of the deceased?"
The county official said: "Yes."
Everyone moved to the county government office and saw the files of the deceased people in the county government office. According to the records, there is no doubt that they are all beautiful women. Not only are they born beautiful, but other people also think highly of them.
She may be a virtuous and talented woman, she may be a chaste woman, she may be kind to her neighbors, or she may be filial to superiors and brotherly to inferiors.
The more they read the dossier, the heavier their hearts became. These beloved and respected women were killed by demons in this way, leaving behind bloody accusations.
A monk said: "This demon only targets beautiful and virtuous women. The county magistrate can send a message to the county to warn them."
The county magistrate gave a wry smile and said: "Lan Zhu's daughter is so beautiful, she has the legacy of a painting saint, and she has always valued virtue. How can we prevent this? If it is passed down, everyone will be in danger and it will cause a disaster."
The monk sighed and said, "I made a mistake."
Taoist priest Luo said: "Although we can't spread it to the county, we can just wait and see."
Taoist priest Luo looked at the county magistrate and said, "I remember that my daughter is known as a talented woman from Shanyin. She is more charitable and has a kind heart. She has been praised by others for a long time."
The county magistrate got angry and said, "How dare you use my daughter as bait?"
Luo Daochang sighed: "It's not that the gold is used as bait, but the gold is well-known, and sooner or later the monster will take notice of it."
The county magistrate suddenly seemed to have aged more than ten years and said: "I will go back and discuss it with her before I tell you."
After leaving the county government office, the comrades sighed: "Senior Luo shouldn't say this. If something really goes wrong with the county magistrate's beloved daughter, I'm afraid he will vent his anger on you."
Director Luo said: "I have no selfish motives. The magistrate is smart and upright and will not blame me for this."
"I'm just afraid that he won't be able to get over this hurdle."
Director Luo said: "Catching that monster is the most important thing. Otherwise, if I didn't say this, wouldn't she be remembered?"
"What you said makes sense. I just hope that the demon can be found as soon as possible to prevent more people from being harmed."
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