Folklore: The baby starts the game, and the mother takes off her painted skin

Chapter 5 "Mother, help me!"

Anyway, it is definitely not possible to return by the same route, because that dirt road leads back to my home.

If Huang Yiyi found out that she was missing, she would definitely look for her everywhere. If I go back rashly like this, I would probably run into her.

Then you'll have to go somewhere else.

Liu Bai walked north along this north-south dirt road for a long time before he saw another alley where black clothes were hung out to dry.

He had intended to stop here, but when his feet stepped on the broken bluestone floor, he stopped.

Let’s walk a little further. This alley is close to home. It would be difficult if we couldn’t find the land temple in a short time.

He walked north again for about a cup of tea, carefully avoiding two women who were pounding clothes by the river. He was almost at the end of the dirt road.

He finally saw an east-west dirt road again.

Hey, this is always okay.

Liu Bai followed the wall and groped his way into Huangliang Town. Perhaps because this place was close to the northernmost end of the town, he walked for a long distance without seeing a single person.

This made him a little nervous, but soon, when he groped his way out of a wooden door in the alley, he was no longer nervous.

Because the land temple is just opposite!

It makes sense. Whether it is a land temple or other temples, very few are built in the middle of the town. They are often built on the edge of the town.

This place is also close to the northernmost end of the town, with relatively sparse population and houses, making it a good place to build a temple.

Moreover, further north from here is an endless mountain range. Liu Bai has heard Huang Yiyi talk about this area, which is called "Old Forest". It is shrouded in clouds and mist, and must be home to many evil spirits.

Putting the land temple here may not prevent them from coming down the mountain and causing trouble for the town.

While comforting himself, Liu Bai looked around. Apart from a child playing in the mud at the door of a brick house in front of him on the left, he didn't see any other people.

Great opportunity, now!

Liu Bai was wearing a gray short coat. He was squatting slightly and moving very quickly. In the dim sky, he was like a mud ball rolling through the street.

Just as he arrived at the gate of the land temple, heavy rain started to fall.

The raindrops washed away the mud the child was playing with, and also dispersed his small figure.

Liu Bai didn't see it. He walked to the door of the land temple, pushed himself with both hands, and finally climbed over the threshold that was as high as an adult's knee.

This temple is obviously quite old. Not to mention the threshold that is lower in the middle and higher on both sides because it has been stepped on by people, but also the lamps that are covered with black oil stains, all of which are evidence of this.

This made Liu Bai feel a little relieved. Age meant strength.

He tiptoed forward a few steps and finally saw the true appearance of the God of Land hidden behind the curtain of the shrine.

He was wearing a yellow coat, a round hat on his head, and holding a snake-head crutch in his hand. The statue might have been black originally, but now it had turned a little yellow after being smoked by incense for who knows how many years.

There must have been quite a few people coming to burn incense this morning, and wisps of smoke were coming out of the incense burner in front of the shrine.

Liu Bai was short and couldn't see how many incense sticks were burning inside.

He didn't know what the rules of the land temple were. He wanted to burn incense, but he was not tall enough. He couldn't just climb up to the altar to burn incense like they did at home. That would be too disrespectful to the God of Land.

The sound of rain outside was getting louder and louder, and the cold air rushed in through the open door, making Liu Bai feel a chill on his back.

He walked to the cushion in front of the shrine, clasped his hands together in front of him, bowed deeply, and then knelt down on his knees.

"Please help me, Lord of the Land."

I kowtowed before the altar, tears streaming down my face as I tried to speak.

Liu Bai finished speaking in a baby voice. When he thought about what happened to him a few days ago and his mother, the Painted-Skin Ghost, for a moment, he even wanted to change the account and start over.

As the saying goes: Three gods and four ghosts.

That is to say, when you meet a god, you kowtow three times, and when you meet a ghost, you kowtow four times.

But Liu Bai never thought that he would just kowtow twice and the God of Land would come out. A stream of black smoke flew out of the statue, fell to the ground, and turned into a little old man only one meter tall, with the same shape and appearance as the statue.

Liu Bai was stunned, but he was not surprised.

If there are ghosts in this world, it is not surprising that there are gods. What he didn't expect was that the god of the land appeared after he just kowtowed twice?
"What grievance have you suffered? Tell me quickly."

The God of Land knocked the snake's head against the ground, making a "dong" sound, which woke Liu Bai up. He quickly said:

"Lord Landlord, I...my mother is a ghost, a painted-skin ghost, and she wants to kill me!"

"Who is your mother?" The God of Land walked back and forth in front of him with his short legs, his clothes fluttering, giving him a bit of ethereal air.

Liu Bai recalled the information he knew, "Her name is Madam Liu, and she opened an incense and candle shop in this town."

The God of Land protects an area, and he has made it so clear, he must know who I am talking about... Liu Bai thought.

"You little kid, I think you are a ghost. You are so young, yet you can run and move like a god, and speak as clearly as an adult. Tell me, where did you come from?"

The God of Land turned around with a solemn expression.

Finally, he stretched out the snake-head crutch in his hand and pressed it against Liu Bai's eyebrows.

Looking at his ferocious face, Liu Bai felt panic in his heart, and then he felt a cold breath coming from the snake's head and entering his body.

He was very clear about this feeling; he would have this feeling every time Madam Liu hugged him.

Liu Bai subconsciously leaned back and fell to the ground.

But the God of Land never thought of letting him go.

The God of Land slowly approached with the snake's head crutch in his hand. He lowered his voice and suppressed his excitement, "With such vigorous blood energy, I'm afraid there won't be a better blood food than you in the whole Huangliang Town."

"Now that he has come to my door, how can I let him go?"

The God of Land swallowed his saliva as he spoke, and his eyes as he looked at Liu Bai seemed to be glowing with a faint green light.

Seeing this scene, Liu Bai became more and more frightened, "You...are you a god or a ghost?"

When the God of Land heard this, he laughed. He turned around and smiled, as if rubbing his face. When he turned around again, his whole face had changed drastically.

With its face full of wrinkles and its tongue hanging down to its chest, it asked incoherently:
"Do you think I look like a god or a ghost?"

Seeing this, Liu Bai retreated frantically, but no matter how he retreated, he could not leave the temple... No, how could this be a temple? !

The roof was broken, the white cloth was blown by the wind, the cracked walls were covered with cracks, the ground was overgrown with weeds, and wherever you could see, there were spider webs.

fake.

Everything you saw before was fake!

Liu Bai leaned on the door sill and looked up, only to see two large characters engraved on the old and faded plaque.

"Hu's house."

This turned out to be the haunted Hu’s house!
Then the ghost in front of him... is most likely the evil ghost that even Master Ma can't deal with.

Liu Bai was distracted for a moment, and he felt a slippery touch on his neck and an unpleasant fishy smell at the tip of his nose.

He lowered his head suddenly and found that the hanged man's tongue had already wrapped around his neck and was about to strangle him to death.

Seeing this, he could only shout frantically: "Mother, help me, mother!"

Apart from the painted-skin ghost mother who wanted to kill him, he didn't know who else to call.

But as soon as he finished speaking, he discovered that the hanged ghost, who was originally leaning forward and bending over, actually raised his head and looked outside the door.

He also turned his head to look.

In the rain curtain outside the house, there was a young and beautiful woman in a plain short coat and skirt, holding an oil-paper umbrella in one hand, and slowly walked into the ancient house of the Hu family.

(End of this chapter)