A faint scent of face powder wafted out of the doorway, mixed with a damp, musty smell.
"This place is the most popular! A coal mine owner stayed here for three nights a while ago, and when he left, he was almost ripped out of his kidneys, hehe!"
Before he could finish speaking, Li Jinrong suddenly burst into a strange laugh, pointing to the corner ahead.
"Look! That girl is waving at me!"
I looked up and saw a woman in a red cheongsam leaning against the door frame, clutching an embroidered handkerchief in her hand, her fingertips adorned with a striking red nail polish.
She beckoned to Li Jinrong with her finger, then turned and disappeared into the dark room. As her skirt swept across the threshold, her bound feet were revealed.
The toes of the shoes are embroidered with lifelike fox heads.
"Please enjoy your meal, Mr. Li!"
Xiao Fei winked and made faces.
Li Jinrong waved his hand at me and patted his belly.
"Uncle, I'll be going now, hahaha!"
After saying that, he rushed into the house.
Then, Xiaofei nodded to us and went into a room.
I walked with Dazhu for a while longer.
The pillar stopped in front of a wooden door.
His fingers traced the fox relief on the bronze door knocker.
The door suddenly creaked open a crack, letting in warm yellow light.
A soft, charming female voice drifted out from inside: "Brother, there's some warm osmanthus wine inside..."
I took out the compass, but the needle didn't move at all, as if it were blocked by something.
Dazhu stopped in front of the wooden door, his shoe soles brushing against the "May you have a long and happy marriage" wedding couplet on the threshold. His fingers rose and fell several times, as if burned by the fox relief on the door knocker.
The Adam's apple was moving at an astonishingly fast frequency.
Moonlight filtered through the cracks in the roof tiles, slicing his face in two: the bright side was flushed, while the dark side was covered in cold sweat.
"Dazhu?" When I called out to him, he turned around abruptly, his eyes flashing with guilt and panic, like a cat caught red-handed stealing fish.
A sweet, cloying scent of face powder suddenly wafted out of the room, mixed with faint piano music.
A soft, alluring female voice echoed from the strings: "Brother, come in, I've been waiting for you for ages..."
The voice was like honey-soaked fine silk, gently wrapping around the heart and lungs.
Dazhu's pupils dilated instantly.
Red candles were lit in the room, casting lingering shadows of lovers on the carved bed curtains.
A pale hand reached out from the crack in the door and gently hooked onto his sleeve.
Dazhu trembled, but involuntarily leaned forward, like a puppet being pulled by invisible strings.
"Master Chen, I..."
He turned to look at me, his eyes filled with struggle, yet burning red with desire.
With a sudden, forceful pull, Dazhu stumbled and fell through the doorway.
...
My heart suddenly pounded in my ears, and I was startled to realize that I had unknowingly taken half a step forward.
My throat felt parched, and my chest felt like it was on fire.
This feeling makes me feel a little hot.
Even though he knew the door led to the underworld, he couldn't help but imagine the soft, warm touch of the woman behind it.
The wooden door next to the large pillar was tightly closed.
I took out my compass, but the needle spun wildly around the "heart" position.
The most ferocious evil is never spirits or monsters, but the desires in the human heart.
I was walking alone in the alley.
There was a wooden door slightly ajar at the corner ahead.
Moonlight shone through the crack in the door.
Pushing open the door, the room was simply furnished, with only a bamboo bed and a wooden table, on which sat half a cup of cold tea.
I was just about to form a hand seal to see what this place was all about.
I heard light footsteps behind me.
Turning my head, I saw a girl of about eighteen or nineteen standing at the door.
Her dark blue braid hung down her chest, and her coarse cloth clothes were washed until they were faded, but they could not hide her snow-white skin. Her eyes were slightly upturned at the corners, revealing an indescribable liveliness.
"you……"
She clearly hadn't expected to run into anyone; her fingers twisted the hem of her clothes, and the tips of her ears instantly turned bright red: "Sir, you...you've come to the wrong house, haven't you?"
"uncle?"
I was stunned, and then I remembered my aged appearance after the disguise.
She misunderstood and hurriedly took the rough porcelain bowl off the wall: "I...I'll pour you some water!"
As she turned around, her sleeve slipped down, revealing a pale blue birthmark on her wrist.
Is this a distinctive mark of the fox?
In the rising steam of the tea, I could faintly smell the scent of sandalwood.
Her hands trembled as she held the bowl, water droplets dripping from the rim onto her cloth shoes.
"Is this your first time here, sir?"
Her voice was as soft as a feather: "Actually... there's not much fun here, why don't you..."
Suddenly, Li Jinrong's strange scream came from outside, mixed with the crisp sound of porcelain shattering.
The girl looked up abruptly, a flicker of panic in her eyes, but she quickly lowered them again: "You...you should leave quickly...before dawn..."
I stared at the birthmark on her wrist, then suddenly reached out and grabbed her pulse point.
She gasped, but her wrist was as soft as cotton, and her pulse was so faint it was almost inaudible: "Sir! What...what are you doing!"
"The possession of a body by a yin fox requires a living soul as a guide."
I lowered my voice: "You're not human, are you?"
She trembled violently, and the teacup clattered to the ground.
In the splash of water from the broken pieces, I saw a flicker of panic in her eyes.
But she regained her senses in the blink of an eye, tears welling in her eyes: "I didn't mean to hurt anyone... I just..."
Suddenly, a flurry of bells rang out from the alley, three long and two short, a rhythm that seemed to beckon souls to their deaths.
The girl shoved me away and shouted outside, "Run! They're coming!"
Before he could finish speaking, the sound of tiles shattering came from the roof.
I looked up and saw countless snow-white tails hanging down from the roof beams.
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