I live on the 18th floor of Nether Community

Xichi pushed open the window of the hotel, allowing the damp and cool air of dawn to flow into the room, washing away the smell of cigarettes.

Jiang Miao rubbed his eyes, stood up and stretched, walked slowly behind Qichi and looked at the gloomy sky outside.

It was still cloudy and there was no sunshine.

"It seems to have been raining since we got here." Jiang Xiao lowered his eyes and turned on and off the lighter repeatedly, making "click" and "click" sounds.

"It's a good match, isn't it?" Qi Chi said indifferently, "On such a day, what happened with Tang Zhai."

"Yes..." Jiang Miao let out a muffled snort from his nose, a trace of exhaustion flashed in his eyes, and he said, "I'm tired, I want to go home and sleep." After a pause, he said, "I still want to eat what you made meal."

"Well, just go back and do it."

After that, the two stopped communicating with each other, but they looked out of the house with similar deep eyes.Just like this continuous rainy day with a gray cover.

This night, they finally connected everything that happened in the Tang residence...

Tang Deyong's eldest wife, Lu Shan, was originally a descendant of the Luoi tribe known as "Heluo Lineage".This tribe declined due to wars in the pre-Qin period, and the only remaining remnants were displaced to the Suizhen area, where they lived in seclusion in the deep mountains.

The Luoi tribe is a matriarchal clan, and everyone in the clan believes in the Luoshen.The original prototype of Zhuolu Opera is actually an ancient witch opera used by the Luoyi people to sacrifice to Luoshen.Ayu, the first generation creator who evolved it into a kind of opera, is a master who is good at making shadow puppets. She combined witch opera and shadow puppet elements, and opened up branches and leaves, which made Zhuolu Opera officially known. .

However, the external disciples are not orthodox after all.A Yu felt that only those who truly had the blood of the Luoyi tribe and were chosen by Luoshen could perceive the divine voice of Zhuolu Opera.Therefore, although there are many people who study this kind of opera, its orthodoxy has only been handed down for five generations.

Lu Shan is the fifth generation.

It is not easy to inherit the orthodox Zhuolu opera.The most important one is to be absolutely loyal to Luoshen.No matter the body or the heart, including the soul, can only belong to Luoshen.Therefore, those who inherit the orthodox Zhuolu opera must first be of the blood of the Luoi tribe, and second, they must not be able to marry in this life.At the same time, the heir will also be told to master the highest secret art of the Loi tribe.

And this secret technique is the beginning of everything...

A Yu has been unable to find a suitable heir in his later years.In order to make the most orthodox Zhuolu play be inherited, she did not hesitate to use this supreme secret technique of the Roy tribe——

Find a young and beautiful Loi tribe, and make adult leather lanterns according to the secret ancient method.Afterwards, as long as this light is turned on, a powerful enchantment can be established.In the enchantment, time will only circulate and will not disappear.People can rely on this to live forever.

But at the same time, A Yu also warned all heirs that the lantern was made of human skin, and the crime was too deep.As long as you find the next one, you must immediately turn off the light.At that time, his soul will return to Luoshen, and the extinguished lantern will be handed over to the new heir for management.

Several other heirs, including A Yu, also followed this rule, until Lu Shan came here, and finally there was a change...

This accident was Tang Deyong.

Lu Shan fell in love with Tang Deyong, a drug dealer. Having never experienced the complexity of the world, she didn't understand what it means to be sinister. She just thought she had met true love.

Although the young and beautiful girl is burdened with her "inherited" status and a strong sense of guilt for her humiliating mission, she still chooses to sacrifice herself for love.Little did they know that Tang Deyong's so-called "love" was just accidentally learning about the "human skin lantern" in an attempt to obtain eternal life.

From the moment he made a deal with Huang Daxian in prison, he knew that the family would start to decline with him.Tang Deyong was not reconciled, instead of ending in a miserable ending, it would be better to continue the cycle forever from this moment on.

As long as time does not flow forward, he will be able to stay in the most glorious moment forever...

So, Tang Deyong carefully planned all this.Let Lu Shan fall in love with herself and marry her as his wife.In this way, it is reasonable to deceive the human skin lantern from the infatuated woman.

Unexpectedly, no matter how much Lu Shan loved him, she would never agree to give him the lantern.Moreover, when Lu Shan, who married into the Tang family, gradually discovered the reason why Tang Deyong really married her, she destroyed the human skin lantern in a fit of anger...

Even if Zhuolu opera has no more orthodox successors, the lantern must not fall into the hands of others.

But as the saying goes, no poison and no husband, Tang Deyong completely showed his prototype after the human skin lantern was destroyed!He was not willing to let the plan go to waste, so a terrible idea quietly grew in his mind...

He wants to find a young and beautiful man with the blood of the Roy tribe to make a new human skin lantern according to the ancient method!

Just when he thought Lu Shan was married and was no longer suitable as a raw material for a human-skin lantern, Lu Shan and his child, Ajiao, were born...

Tang Deyong imprisoned Lu Shan in another hospital on the grounds that she was insane.He also spread rumors that he and Lu Shan's son were taken away by weasels, and kept Ajiao in secret.Then strictly follow the ancient law and carefully "take care" of Ajiao...

When the time is right, he will be made into a lantern by himself.

After Lu Shan was imprisoned, her spirit completely collapsed.When she found that her waking time was getting shorter and shorter, she followed another secret method of the Roy tribe, summoned the butterfly, and embroidered Tang Deyong's crime code on the butterfly's wings...

……

……

"I always think that I have seen enough people, but new people will continue to appear to refresh the lower limit of my three views." Jiang Miao looked at Sui Zhen, which started to rain again, and said incredulously, "Relying on recurring time to achieve eternity , but during this period of time, he still skinned his son with his own hands... How strong does it really take to be able to experience such things calmly and repeatedly?"

"Desire and fear." Qi Chi said calmly, "The desire for eternal life, money and prestige, and the fear of losing these are enough to support his strong heart."

Jiang Miao closed his sore eyes, lit a cigarette and asked in a low voice, "How long is it until the next time you peel the skin to make a lantern?"

"Three days."

……

When Xiao Jiao woke up, she felt that the room was very quiet.He blinked, suddenly sat up suddenly as if realizing something, and looked anxiously towards the closet.

The birdcage that was there is gone...

"Xiaoji?" Xiaojiao called out, lay down on the bed and opened the curtains.

During this period of time, Xiao Huangque's injury has obviously improved.Probably knowing that the boy would not hurt it, the little squirrel gradually became more courageous.Whenever Xiao Jiao opened the cage and spread his hands, it would obediently jump into Xiao Jiao's palm and peck him lightly.

If he heard the boy's call, no matter whether the little squirrel was grooming or drinking water and eating, it would raise its head and stare at the boy with its two black and round eyes.

Now no matter how Xiaojiao called, the little oriole never appeared.It proves that it must not be in the room at this time.

Will it be the butler?Xiaojiao bit her lip and frowned.

On weekdays, he seems to be the only one who comes to the greenhouse to deliver food and medicine to himself.But the housekeeper behaved according to the rules and would never take away his birds without his consent.

Is that the tourist season?No, it's impossible, if Brother You Ji came, he would definitely not wake him up.

Could it be... Dad?

Xiaojiao turned her head to look at the rain outside the window, her eyes showed firmness.He pulled off the big cloak in the closet and wrapped it around his body, then put the hood on his head and went out, and ran away from the greenhouse...

At this time, the living room of the Tang residence was completely silent, so the intermittent coughing sound was even more obvious.

Tang Deyong waved away the servants, and was sitting in front of the main seat, holding the wine glass with a gloomy expression, with a hint of sullen anger on his face.

The rainwater fell along the eaves, forming puddles to reflect the light, reflecting the stiff little squirrel that had been dead for a long time in the cage beside it...

"You're still threatening me." Tang Deyong finally said coldly.

"Cough, cough, cousin, what you said is wrong."

The sick old man sitting on the guest seat was obviously much older than Tang Deyong, but he still called Tang Deyong his cousin.

"You are in business, so you naturally understand the principle of mutual benefit and mutual benefit." The old man said slowly, "Besides, I still brought such a big gift."

"Don't do this with me." Tang Deyong raised his head and drank the wine, narrowed his eyes, "The goods haven't been inspected yet, so how do I know if it's real or not?"

"Cousin, don't even think about it... Cough cough cough... If the goods are fake, how could I still appear in front of you?" After coughing, the old man took a piece of lotus root with chopsticks and put it in his mouth. He chewed, "Think about it again, if you can't believe what that person says, how would I know that your lantern is about to go out?"

Tang Deyong fell silent again. Seeing the old man drinking and eating vegetables and coughing, he felt a burst of irritability in his heart.

The old man took another sip of wine: "People will die if they don't have a heart, and a lantern will go out without a wick. No matter how well you raise my nephew, a lantern without a wick will break sooner or later."

"Are you sure that the one that is closed in Luo Temple is the lantern wick?" Tang Deyong confirmed again.

"Ahem, don't worry, you can't go wrong." The old man said, "The man said that if you want the lantern to last forever, you must unite the heart of the lamp. This lamp is naturally my little nephew. As for the heart... it is in the temple of Luo God, the little one. The soul of my nephew."

Tang Deyong's complexion changed back and forth a few times, and finally he lowered his voice and said, "Let's do it this way, hurry up and prepare everything. If the lantern really goes out, neither of us will have a good life."

"Then look at my condition..."

"Isn't it [-]% of the family business?" Tang Deyong gritted his teeth, "Deal."

"Cousin Kuoli! Cough, cough, cough..." The old man almost coughed out his lungs when he got excited.He grinned and said, "Don't worry, you won't regret doing this."

Just when the old man got up to toast Tang Deyong, he heard a "kuang--", and the door of the living room was pushed open.

When Tang Deyong saw the visitor, his expression darkened immediately, and he said in a low voice, "Jiao'er, who allowed you to come out?"

Following his words, Xiaojiao, who was drenched all over, was pale, and her lips were trembling slightly without blood.He held a cage in his hand, and the dead bird shook with his breath, with its belly upturned, staring at the night with a dead eye...

"Father..." Xiao Jiao moved her lips, but the words behind her were stuck in her throat, and she couldn't make any sound.

Tears would be forced out of the eyes in a second, but he ruthlessly suppressed them back.

Tang Deyong turned his face away with some guilt, and shouted loudly: "The butler—! The butler—!"

Hearing the sound, the butler hurriedly slipped in from the side passage, and shouted respectfully: "Master."

"What did you do! Didn't I tell you to throw away this cage, don't let the young master feel sad when he sees it?!" Tang Deyong raised his voice on purpose.

"Yes, yes, I was in a hurry to pass the dishes to the guests just now, and I forgot about it." The housekeeper nodded repeatedly, then looked at Xiao Jiao with a shame on his face, and said kindly, "Young master, don't misunderstand the master." When you were taking a nap today, I found the bird was limp. I thought the young master loves him the most, so I wanted to take it to the veterinarian. Before I got out of the gate, the bird No more."

"Liar..." Xiao Jiao lowered her head, her body trembling even more, "You liars..."

"Jiao'er."

"Those who are used to make lanterns are not allowed to marry, secondly, not to be injured and bleed, and thirdly, not to be close to living beings for a long time, and must eat saprophytic grass all day long to remove their yang and become a yin body...Right, dad?"

The wine glass in Tang Deyong's hand fell to the ground with a "crack" and shattered in half.

His face changed from guilt to surprise, and finally reduced to a touch of determination and viciousness.

"How long have you been standing at the door?"

Xiaojiao said nothing, but stared at Tang Deyong for a long time.

In the end, a bleak smile appeared on his face: "Brother You Ji, it seems that I was really wrong. My dear father?... Heh, so what about my dear father."

A flash of lightning pierced the sky, and the flame on the candlestick flickered and went out.

In the living room that suddenly lit up and fell into darkness again, Tang Deyong's gloomy voice came faintly.

"Jiao'er, don't blame me... I've come here so many times, you and I will get used to it eventually."

The bird cage fell to the ground, and the stiff titmouse fell out of the cage, rolled into the puddle and became wet again, just like the day Xiao Jiao picked it up.

It's just that there is no more life.

At the same time, Jiang Miao, who had been lurking on the beam from the beginning to the end, tightly grasped the soul-locking whip.

Just when he was about to jump into the living room, the other hands firmly pressed his shoulders and shook his head.

……