"Nanxian, what's wrong?"
Seeing that her expression was off, He Mingxiao's face immediately darkened, and he followed her gaze.
Of course, he found nothing.
Nan Xian suppressed her restless unease and pretended nothing had happened, making up a casual excuse: "It's nothing, I thought I heard someone call my name."
He Mingxiao carefully observed her expression. He had seen Nan Xian holding her breath in nervousness just now, so he would never believe her lame excuse.
He wanted to ask a few more questions, but considering that they were currently recording a program and Nan Xian seemed unwilling to talk, he stopped himself and simply walked slowly behind her, keeping an eye on the surroundings for her.
Yu Lin glanced between the two women, then leaned closer to Nan Xian and continued her explanation: "Sister, speaking of names reminds me of a story from my hometown—or rather, a taboo."
Nan Xian hummed in agreement. "What taboo?"
Yu Lin lowered his voice, pretending to be mysterious: "It is said that people are born with three fires, one on their head and two on their shoulders. The one on the head is the fire of 'the gods are watching from above,' which means that the gods are protecting you; the one on the right shoulder is called the nameless fire, which illuminates the right side of a person's body; the fire on the left shoulder is symmetrical to the one on the right shoulder. When these three fires illuminate a person together, they represent a person's yang energy."
"So when you're walking at night, don't wear a hat, because it will extinguish the fire on your head. And don't turn around suddenly, because it will extinguish the fire on your shoulders."
Some ghosts that roam the night will call out people's names from behind. When people turn around or look to either side, the fire goes out, and the ghost takes the opportunity to possess them...
Nan Xian had heard these folk tales before, but this was the first time she had heard them in such detail. She didn't pay much attention at first, but later she started to listen and unconsciously imagined herself walking alone at night.
Yu Lin suddenly leaned close to her ear and whispered, "...Nan Xian, are you scared?"
Nan Xian was lost in thought when she was suddenly startled, and her heart skipped a beat.
"Stop messing around!" She pretended to be angry and punched Yu Lin lightly.
But it was at that moment, in what seemed like a fleeting instant, that she caught a glimpse of a gray shadow out of the corner of her eye.
He stood right behind He Mingxiao.
It resembled a wisp of mist that seemed to be dissipating, vaguely revealing the outline of a human figure, shriveled as paper, with extremely long limbs, a slightly hunched back, and a neck stretched forward. Two hastily carved holes in its "face" served as its eyes.
It stood there behind He Mingxiao, craning its neck and leaning forward, staring intently at Nan Xian without moving.
Her heart suddenly pounded, cold sweat beaded on her forehead, and her limbs stiffened, unable to move. She wanted to scream, but her throat felt blocked, and she couldn't utter a single sound.
It realized it had been noticed, and its enormous head tilted to the left, a crack slowly appearing on its flat "face," with both sides tilting upwards.
It's laughing.
The smile, which seemed to be merely imitation and whose meaning was unclear, appeared extremely incongruous on such a face, especially when paired with those empty eyes, making it chilling to look at.
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