C10 Familiar Eyes

The night was like a dark blue curtain. There was no starlight, only a bright moon quietly hanging in the sky.

When the moon came out, the stars always avoided it tactfully.

"Grandfather, you clearly knew where Sister Xiujuan was during the day, so why did you do this?" I nestled in my grandfather's arms. My grandfather puffed on his pipe as if he was thinking about something. Only after hearing my question did he come back to his senses.

Grandfather used his large hands to caress my head and smiled. He looked at me and said, "This …." You'll understand when you grow up, and sometimes some superficial kung fu is more important than inner strength, and people are more willing to believe what they see. "

"In front of everyone, I performed the appearance that they always had of cultivators with profound cultivation experience. They would subconsciously think I was very powerful and would have less suspicion. This way, they would be able to feel more at ease."

Grandfather gently shook his head, like an old man reminiscing about the past in a TV show. "Many things are not done for the world to see, nor for the ghosts to see, but for others to see!"

"Then grandpa, aren't you a profound cultivator?" I asked, puzzled.

"High cultivation experience?" His grandfather smiled, "Of course I'm not a profound cultivator. I'm just a small Yin-Yang Master, or rather, a Phantom Master."

"Oh." I nodded.

Although he didn't quite understand what his grandfather meant, it wasn't difficult to figure it out after some thought. Of course his grandfather wasn't a swindler, so he wasn't a Daoist Priest.

Teacher did not lie to me, Taoist = liar! As for the difference between a Taoist and a Yin Yang Master and a Ghost Catcher, I'm too lazy to think about it.

Fortunately, grandpa said that he was a Yin Yang Master, and not a swindler like I thought.

"Grandfather, didn't you say that you want to borrow Sister Xiu Juan's help to find the mastermind? You don't have to do it? " I was a little doubtful. Grandfather clearly said that he would look for the mastermind through Sister Soo Juan, but he didn't find me for a drop of blood.

Find someone = make me bleed, no problem.

"Your elder sister, Xiujuan …" "He never hurt anyone."

"Huh?"

"A harmless ghost …" Is it even a ghost? " Pappy seemed to be asking someone, but before I could answer he put me to bed.

"It's time to sleep, let's go to sleep early." Pappy stroked my head.

"Oh."

Although I wanted to ask more questions, I didn't want to trouble grandpa anymore. I felt that grandpa was really tired these two days.

Besides, if Grandpa wanted to tell me, he wouldn't let me go to bed either.

Back in my room, I lay down on the bed. I didn't know why, but I also felt very tired.

Although he was tired, he didn't feel like sleeping. It was a strange feeling. His eyes felt sore all over, but his mind was clear.

After lying in bed for a long time without any desire to sleep, I thought of Sister Xiujuan.

I quietly got off the bed and tried to control my footsteps so that my grandfather wouldn't hear me. Otherwise, I would have to curse me again.

I went to the window and slowly opened the curtain.

In the middle of the courtyard, under the moonlight, a huge iron cage stood there. Every steel bar on the cage was thicker than my arm, and under the mottled rust, a faint metallic luster could be seen.

It is said that this iron cage was created to hold an extremely vicious prisoner back then, and somehow ended up in our village, so today it just so happens to be useful.

The solemn iron cage was like an iron warrior, and the broken armor could not conceal his proud will.

He stood there

Icy cold.

Solemnly.

They were speechless.

The prisoner who was guarding him — the ghost that Xiujuan's sister had transformed into!

Sister Xiujuan was curled up in a corner of the huge iron cage. Her small, shriveled body was even more petite than before. Her graying hair glowed green under the moonlight.

The bright moonlight, the quiet night, the huge iron cage, the weak criminal.

A criminal without a crime.

Grandfather said that Sister Xiujuan didn't hurt anyone, but she was still locked in the cage.

I don't understand why, but I understand that Grandpa must have his reasons, because Grandpa is an adult, so naturally, he has his reasons in the adult's world.

Sister Xiujuan seemed to sense me looking at her and slowly turned her head to look at me.

Under the moonlight, the features of her face could barely be seen.

He had a wrinkled nose, protruding eyes, cracked lips, and wrinkled skin like the neck of a pug. No matter where he looked, he wouldn't be able to tell that this was the beautiful big sister who loved to laugh.

Except — those eyes!

Those eyes were neither cloudy nor listless like when he had first been caught in the afternoon. Instead, they were bright like a lake of autumn water, like a pearl mixed into a garbage heap.

There was grief, melancholy, and a certain clarity in her eyes. It was as if she had seen through the helplessness and acceptance of her fate.

She grinned and didn't laugh, but I could clearly feel her smile, as if to say, "Huaizu, you're still a good girl. In two days, big sister will buy you some sweets to eat."

Such a familiar feeling made me think for a moment that she was still that beautiful big sister with bright eyes and white teeth from half a year ago …

I'm going to let her go!

"No way!"

I don't know why I thought that, but I knew that if I really let sister Xiujuan go, it might be my grandfather's pipe that was waiting for me, and the villagers would definitely be angry.

There was a saying in the countryside: beat up children on cloudy days – do nothing but idle.

Being beaten up in the village was a very normal thing. I was happy, after all, I was more obedient, and my grandfather didn't really beat me up. A little kid like Little Fatty would beat me up once a day, and once every three days, he would beat me up.

Remembering how tears flowed down Little Fatso's face after getting beaten up, I forcefully stopped my dangerous thoughts and lay back down on the bed.

But I couldn't sleep anyway. Now that I had such a dangerous thought in my mind, I couldn't sleep any more. I kept thinking back and forth about Sister Xiujuan's appearance.

It was Sister Xiu Juan with her bright eyes and white teeth, Sister Xiu Juan with her age spots showing on her face, and Sister Xiu Juan with her shriveled and scrawny face like a goblin.

Three faces were circling in my mind.

In the end, they fused together. His entire face was a blur, leaving only his bright eyes and the sadness in them.

I got out of bed!

After putting on my coat, I dared not turn on the light, and the moonlight did not reach into the room. The room was dark, and I could only silently grope my way forward.

In July, when there was a fire and the night was like water, I tightened my collar and tiptoed over to Sister Xiujuan's cage.

Sister Xiujuan had felt me long ago, and she had been staring at me ever since I left the house, her face twitching in a way that I didn't know what kind of emotion she was expressing, but I took it for pleasure for the moment.

Gently, I walked over to the cage and picked up the huge iron lock that was used to lock the cage. Looking at her through the cage, she also looked at me. I looked at her, she looked at me, I looked at her, she looked back at me …

My liver hurts, my heart hurts, I have a headache!

I hurt everywhere because I found out I didn't have a key!

"That... Sister Xiu Juan, I don't have a key! " I scratched my head as I said this in embarrassment. The courage that I had gathered with great difficulty seemed to have been completely used up. I didn't even think about going over to my grandfather's place to steal the key anymore.

"Heh heh!" Sister Xiujuan's thin, leathery mouth let out a heavy laugh, and I thought I heard her laughing at me, just like when she used to laugh at me when she fell down and ate the mud.

It was hard to imagine that such an ugly face could give out such a kind smile. He felt that this originally terrifying face was no longer that frightening.

Even though I've never been afraid … But now, it did not look as ugly as it did before.

At the very least, I wouldn't be afraid when I see Sister Xiujuan and the corpse. Little Fatty is pretty much the same, but Little Fatty is a ghost catcher, so he's different from me. That's why I should be the bravest child in the village.

"Ha!" Sister Xiujuan let out another syllable. She seemed unable to speak, and could only let out this "Ho ho" sound.

I looked at her and saw that she was looking at me with that familiar look, the way she used to look at me when I still had a runny nose. She took out a handkerchief and wiped my runny nose, then said I was a dummy.

Sister Xiujuan is back!

I had this feeling, as if nothing had happened yet.

"Sister Xiujuan, aren't you afraid? They said they were going to burn you. " I looked at the calm expression in elder sister Xiu Juan's eyes and puzzledly asked.

Humans should be afraid of death.

Not only humans, but all other living beings also displayed an innate fear of death.

In the face of death, things shouldn't be so calm.

Sister Xiujuan's eyes glazed over, but in the blink of an eye, she regained her composure and let out another "heh heh" sound. But this time, I didn't understand what she meant.

However, I could clearly see a kind of magnanimity in her eyes, just like the calmness and magnanimity when Third Uncle died last year.

"Huaizu, go back to sleep." Pappy stood in the doorway in his coat.

He did not ask me why I had come out, nor did he ask me what I had said to Sister Xiujuan.

Since grandfather didn't ask, I didn't say anything. I simply agreed and went back to sleep.

Just feeling... Grandfather's figure seemed to be a lot more hunched than before, just like an old man his age, instead of a grandpa that was full of vigor.

When I got back to bed, my sister's face and eyes were still spinning in my head, but this time I didn't stay awake, I couldn't sleep, I just fell asleep.