Chapter 244 Jinjiang (2)

Or maybe they are overconfident, but they are genuinely happy.

The two people are standing at the forefront of the photo. Even though they have white hair on their temples and wrinkles at the corners of their eyes, they look like young people full of vigor and vitality who want to achieve something together.

Master Bai was very happy in this report. He said that with the joining of Master Zheng, the biggest shortcoming of Southwestern shadow puppetry will be overcome.

Yan Shixun looked at the faces of the two people in the photo for a long time, then turned his head and looked at the poster behind him.

And the painting on the wall behind the poster.

There is indeed a carpenter named Zheng on the poster, but his brows are very gloomy and his mouth is pursed with the corners of his mouth drooping.

Master Bai, who is at the very edge of the poster, is already very old and no longer energetic. He has droopy eyes and looks as if he has lost confidence in life and is even filled with regret and pain.

Neither of them resembled the original photo.

There is no trace of Master Zheng in the paintings on the wall.

On the contrary, the other masters were all smiling and looking very proud.

Has anything unexpected happened during these years?

Yan Shixun casually shook off the dust on the newspaper, folded it carefully, put it in the arms of his coat, and prepared to go back and investigate what happened between these people.

"Let's go. Since the CD player is turned off and the CD cannot be found, what are you still standing here for?"

Yan Shixun called out to Zhang Wubing who was still looking around: "Aren't the others still in the front yard? Go find them first."

Yan Shixun was quite concerned about not being able to find any plays or discs in which that female character appeared, and he had a feeling that something was not right.

But if there is really danger, the most urgent thing is to first confirm the safety of the others, tell them about the possible dangerous situation, and let them be prepared.

Yan Shixun thought so and prepared to go back to the first courtyard. After he confirmed with his own eyes that everyone was safe and informed Ye Li of what happened here, he would return to this courtyard alone.

Zhang Wubing responded a few times, trotted over with his hands swinging, followed Yan Shixun, and walked out happily.

The rays of setting sun shine down.

The tree planted in the middle of the courtyard has withered. The original lush and leafy scene has disappeared, and now only the huge remains of a dead tree with branches that look as hideous as dancing ghosts remain.

The dry and fragile leaves were scattered all over the ground.

When the wind blows, the rustling sound echoes in the empty courtyard, making people feel as if their hearts are empty and lost.

Zhang Wubing felt as if he were penetrated by the cold wind. He shivered and quickly hugged Yan Shixun's arm. Only then did he feel relieved and warm again, and he breathed a long sigh of relief.

The heat coming from Yan Shixun continuously made Zhang Wubing feel relieved but at the same time he felt that this winter was really cold. It was fine before entering the yard, but when he turned around, the sun had set again, and the temperature dropped with it.

Zhang Wubing was thinking to himself that after returning to the front yard, he would have to go back to the car to add more clothes.

But Yan Shixun was not as relaxed as Zhang Wubing.

As a guardian, he is not a carefree child whose parents take care of everything. He needs to be responsible for the safety of everyone, and therefore he is more sensitive to discovering something wrong in the yard.

Dead tree in the yard…dilemma.

Yan Shixun frowned and calculated subconsciously with his slender fingers.

The next second, he opened his eyes slightly in surprise.

No hexagram.

Heaven and earth are separated.

It seemed as if in this courtyard, heaven and earth did not exist, and even the avenue was blocked from view, so even the hexagrams asking questions to heaven and earth collapsed.

Yan Shixun stared at the dead tree in the yard, as if he was hallucinating.

In the scorching warm sunlight, the slanting shadows of the dead branches fell on the broken stone ground, as if they were twisting and trembling, swaying like a ghost with bared fangs and claws.

The ghost hid in the dead tree, screaming and howling, trying to pounce on the visitor ferociously, but it was trapped in the tree and unable to escape.

"Yan, Brother Yan?"

Zhang Wubing noticed that Yan Shixun had stopped walking, and couldn't help but look up and follow Yan Shixun's line of sight: "What's wrong? This tree doesn't look good either, it looks dry..."

Suddenly, Zhang Wubing seemed to realize something and looked at Yan Shixun in horror: "Could it be that there is something wrong with this tree?"

Yan Shixun turned his eyes away, picked up Zhang Wubing and dragged him towards the gate: "Shut up and go."

However, just as Yan Shixun stepped over the half-meter-high threshold and stepped into the second courtyard in his Martin boots, he looked up and saw the same dead tree he had just seen.

Even the shadows cast by the dead branches are the same.

The door of the next room was half open, and through the gap, you could still see the exhibits inside.

It was exactly the same room they had just left.

CD players, TVs, posters, magazines...

Everything is sleeping quietly in the dust.

Zhang Wubing looked at the familiar scene and realized something belatedly.

“Yan…”

Yan Shixun frowned tightly, pulled Zhang Wubing and walked quickly across the yard.

However, the next one, and the next one...

There is no second courtyard.

There is no end or exit.

Whether looking forward or backward, it's all the last yard.

They were like standing in two mirrors standing opposite each other, with only the same space extending infinitely, everything repeating itself, and no way to leave.

Yan Shixun stopped, stood where he was, slowly turned his head and looked back.

Behind him, behind the gate, was another courtyard and another door.

There was also another Yan Shixun and Zhang Wubing who turned their heads to look back.

It’s like the montage shooting technique in movies, with doors within doors.

There is always someone behind you.

Zhang Wubing was frightened silly.

“Here, this?”

He was speechless and didn't know what to do for a moment.

The golden-red sunset hung in the sky behind the eaves, as warm as a flickering candlelight.

The shadow under the dead tree gradually lengthened and spread, extending across the broken and old stone slabs of the entire yard to the feet of Yan Shixun.

In the half-open room, the CD player that had been turned off turned on automatically, and the old TV made a crackling sound, with the sound of electricity being piercing.

Then, the picture jumped out.

A female shadow puppet stood with her hands hanging down and appeared on the TV screen.

She slowly raised her head, her bright red eyes looking straight out of the screen.

That gaze seemed to look through the crack in the door, straight at Yan Shixun, staring into his eyes solemnly.

Yan Shixun's heart sank slightly.

His previous premonition came true.

The female shadow puppet figure that did not match the play was probably not a shadow puppet show. And Zhang Wubing's memory was not wrong, he did turn off the CD player.

However, when the CD player was turned on again, not only did it not play any disc, but it played... a sinister play.

Zhang Wubing accidentally made eye contact with the female shadow puppet figure, and was immediately frightened by the heavy death and resentment expressed there, to the point that his scalp almost exploded.

The shadow of the dead tree fell on the two of them, like an evil ghost silently grinning.

There were subtle sounds coming from behind every door in the courtyard.

It sounded like someone was walking on the ground and heading towards the door.

A shadow was cast on the paper door in the setting sun.

In his hand he held a knife dripping with blood.

He was grinning and laughing heartily.

Yan Shixun pursed his lips.

The direction of the shadow is reversed.

The person who came was neither a ghost nor a human, so... what was that?

Then, shadows gradually appeared behind each door, reflecting different images.

The woman with eyes and mouth hollowed out like a crescent moon, the villagers with their hands on their hips, the man dancing with joy...

It was like a silent shadow play being performed before Yan Shixun's eyes.

Everyone is a shadow puppet.

Every door and window is a curtain for shadow play.

Shadow play, shadow play.

Wherever there are shadows, that is where the shadow play is performed.

These characters surrounded Yan Shixun from all sides and trapped him in the yard. There was a stage on all four sides, and he was the only one sitting in the audience.

Suddenly, a sad sound of erhu broke the deathly silence in the yard.

Yan Shixun looked up and saw the female shadow puppet crying on the TV behind the door.

With this sound, all the shadows in the yard suddenly came to life.

“Squeak…Gah——!”

Doors were pushed open from the inside.