11 Shadow Play 11‖ Shadow Play

"What's with that expression on your face?" Yan Shuang appeared at the door, and Lin Haichen looked up and asked him.

"It's hard to accept... If you pick any one person from this village and film three episodes of Into Science, they wouldn't understand. They're all gods." Yan Shuang swallowed and continued, "The average person is over 200 years old."

When Jing Ning and Lin Haichen heard this number, they seemed to have expected it and did not show much reaction on their faces.

On the other hand, Xu Yaoyu's mouth opened wide, her eyes widened, her face filled with shock as she exclaimed, "Is that still a human?"

"What do you think?" Jing Ning looked calm. He put the photo in his hand into Yan Shuang's pocket and continued to rummage through other wooden boxes.

Xu Yaoyu: "God, maybe."

Three people: “…”

Another wooden box was opened, revealing a bright red costume. It seemed to be dyed with blood, and it was particularly dazzling in the darkness, making people shudder.

"It seems that its owner loves this clothes very much." Xu Yaoyu said softly.

"How do you know?" Yan Shuang looked puzzled.

Xu Yaoyu was now on top of her game. She confidently explained, "Hey, you don't understand! What woman wouldn't cherish the clothes she loves? Look, this dress has been here for so long, and it's not wrinkled at all. It's also in such good condition. It's obvious that its owner cherishes it very much."

"Xiaoyu is right. Compared to the costumes in the other boxes, this set is the best preserved." Lin Haichen pointed at all the opened boxes. "The remaining boxes are full of costumes and props, as well as some children's clothes."

"Is that the clothes of the little girl in the photo?" Yan Shuang asked.

"Not only that, some of the clothes are much larger than the girl's body shape." Jing Ning said, "From the photos, the clothes the girl wears fit her very well, so... it shouldn't be all of them."

"You mean there are other children?" Lin Hai stroked his chin in thought, frowning.

A shadow puppet troupe would unexpectedly bring so many children, and now they've all disappeared. Where did they go? Did they encounter an accident? Or was it intentional?

"Could the missing little girl be the female ghost?" Yan Shuang thought of the pinch marks on Zhang Kai's neck. He remembered that Doctor Lin had mentioned a woman's hand.

"This possibility cannot be ruled out." Jing Ning said.

"Yes." Xu Yaoyu's eyes lit up. "Maybe they killed the girl, and then the girl came to take revenge on them."

"What should we do next?" Yan Shuang asked.

Jing Ning didn't answer, but stared at the shadow puppet prop in his hand. Suddenly, he turned off the light in his hand and said "hush", signaling everyone to be quiet.

Then he said slowly, "Something is coming."

“Knock, knock, knock…”

The footsteps were getting closer and closer, and they walked straight into the gate. After passing the gate, they did not stop for long, but walked into the small house beside the yard.

"I'll go over and take a look." Jing Ning said.

Yan Shuang: "I'll go too."

The two of them walked out of the house carefully, walked around the main house, and came to the small house. The small house had no door, only a half-open window.

Through the window, one could see the back of a man, hunched over, squatting in front of a box, his fingers constantly rummaging through it.

"This is the village chief." Yan Shuang said.

Jingning's Adam's apple moved and he made a "hmm" sound.

"What does he seem to be looking for?" Yan Shuang asked curiously.

Jing Ning said nothing, lowering his head to turn the shadow puppet prop in his hand. He hadn't noticed it before in the dim room, but now he saw that the workmanship was really good and the painting was lifelike.

He carefully examined the shadow puppets in his hands. Every detail was exquisitely crafted, as if giving them life. The lines of these shadow puppets were smooth and natural, the colors were bright yet steady, and the expressions were vivid and lifelike. They could be called works of art.

Even Yan Shuang, who had no interest in art, was deeply attracted by it and couldn't help but exclaim: "This thing is so beautiful!"

After saying that, he wanted to reach out to touch it, but Jing Ning ruthlessly slapped his hand away.

Jing Ning said sternly, "Don't touch it."

Then, the sound of a box being dragged around came from the room again. Yan Shuang turned around and saw the village chief holding a small box in his hands. He walked slowly to the desk with a happy smile on his face. He carefully placed the box on the table, then gently opened the lid to reveal the contents.

The box was filled with oil paints of various colors and some brushes, and on the desk was a piece of leather that had been prepared long ago.

Yan Shuang's eyes suddenly opened in shock, because the leather on the table belonged to Xiao Zhang, and the village chief was painting on it.

Yan Shuang finally understood why the village chief said that the skin was not enough that day. It turned out that your mother was using our skin to create her work.

"Then this..." Yan Shuang looked at the props in Jing Ning's hand.

"The same." Jing Ning replied calmly.

"Fortunately, I didn't touch you just now." Yan Shuang patted her naughty hands and looked at Jing Ning suspiciously: "Did you know this a long time ago?"

Jing Ning did not deny it, but just said: "Just confirmed."

Yan Shuang: "Where could the door be? I've searched the entire village and can't find it."

Jing Ning said expressionlessly: "I want to go in and take a look."

Yan Shuang understood what he meant and went to bring Lin Haichen and Xu Yaoyu over, and divided the work according to what they had agreed upon before.

"Are you really going?" Xu Yaoyu shuddered.

"Often the greater the risk, the higher the reward. No matter what, we have to go in and look for clues." Jing Ning said calmly.

Xu Yaoyu pulled Lin Haichen over and whispered to him, "Be careful, save some strength, and hide when you can't run anymore. We'll be there soon." The more she spoke, the more anxious she became, and tears began to flow.

Lin Haichen reached out and patted her on the head, revealing a long-lost smile, and comforted her: "It's okay, I have a way."

"You have to trust Dr. Lin. Let's hurry up." Yan Shuang comforted Xu Yaoyu, but she was also worried about Lin Haichen. The old man was no longer a human being, and it was hard to say how fast he could jump.

Jing Ning said seriously, "Three minutes. If we don't find him within three minutes, we'll leave. Just get rid of him."

Lin Haichen stretched his legs and feet, then said, "Okay, you guys find a place to hide. I'll go lure the old man out."

Jing Ning led a few people to the other side of the house. Seeing that they had already hidden, Lin Haichen bent down, picked up a stone on the ground, weighed it in his hand, and then smashed it hard towards the window.

"Bang..." There was a loud bang, the glass shattered into pieces, and Lin Haichen turned and ran. The old man in the house heard the sound and quickly chased after him.

Lin Haichen used the footsteps behind him to judge the distance between him and the old man. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief. At least the old man was not so perverted that he could catch up with him in one step.

The other three watched the old man being led out of the yard, and then quickly entered the room they had just been in.