As the last bell rang, the paper figures standing in two rows instantly "came to life".
They all turned their heads in unison, as if searching for something.
After failing to find their target, they mechanically moved towards the shop entrance together.
His blood-red eyes were fixed on the "lights of thousands of homes" outside, and his pale face was full of longing and anticipation.
He looked like a vengeful ghost that had been holding back for too long, greedily gazing at the human world.
They want to struggle out of hell and enjoy the feast of blood.
Upon seeing this, the big yellow dog was frightened and whimpered softly, backing away repeatedly.
As I retreated to the doorway, I finally mustered the courage to stand in front of the paper figure.
Although she stopped it, she didn't dare to pounce on it; she just forcefully nudged the paper figure's legs to prevent it from moving further toward the door.
Unfortunately, there were just too many paper figures; the big yellow dog could stop one, but not the whole group.
In a short while, most of the paper figures were already not far from the shop's entrance.
Meanwhile, the greedy look on their pale faces grew stronger.
Seeing this, the big yellow dog seemed to despair: it simply stood outside the door and roared loudly at the paper figure.
Even if they were all bark and no bite, they had still made their last effort.
Fortunately, just as the first paper figure was about to leave the shop, the life-or-death line that had stopped Granny Wen in the rain reappeared.
The paper figure screamed and retreated immediately after stepping on it.
Upon seeing this, the other paper figures immediately stopped in their tracks, hesitant to step forward.
The line between life and death separates the living from the dead; the living cannot enter, and the "dead" inside naturally cannot easily leave either...
The sudden turn of events not only relieved the big yellow dog, but also relieved the shopkeeper Sun and the fortune teller who were hiding in the shadows.
Of course, to avoid shocking the world, Manager Sun wore a pair of large sunglasses to cover his eyes, which were being invaded by the corpse mud.
The two elders exchanged a glance, then looked at the sky, their voices still filled with worry.
"Where did Youliang go?!"
"Without his Five Ghost Child life suppressing it, the life-and-death line alone probably wouldn't be enough to stop what's behind the paper figure!"
As it turned out, the two elders' worries were not unfounded.
About half an hour later, a mournful and ethereal Peking Opera aria suddenly drifted from the empty paper-making shop.
"I was awakened by terrifying ghostly howls in my sleep; looking up, I saw only a multitude of ghosts. A chilling wind blew through me, freezing me in place, and a cold shiver ran through me, terrifying me to my core..."
Upon hearing this singing style, the coffin shop owner, Mr. Sun, and the rice-asking old woman instantly turned pale.
"This is terrible! They've really woken up!"
Before he finished speaking, the two effigies for whom Zhao Youliang offered incense every day suddenly opened their eyes.
One pair was a ghastly green, the other a ghastly white.
Then, as if weightless, they all floated down from the standing coffin.
After landing, it continued to drift towards the door.
The chains binding them dragged on the ground behind them, making a clanging sound.
Upon seeing the two puppets come to life, the paper figures were immediately frightened and stood aside, making way for the path paved with yellow paper in the middle.
With lowered eyes and meek demeanor, he resembled a eunuch before an emperor.
Just as Shopkeeper Sun and Granny Wenmi were hesitating about whether to desperately stop the two puppets, they suddenly stopped.
At the same time, the "life-or-death line" separating the inside and outside of the store reappeared.
"Thank goodness, thank goodness they're not so dangerous as to be able to cross the threshold of life and death!"
Grandma asked, patting her chest as she spoke.
Manager Sun slowly lowered the hammer and coffin nails he was gripping tightly: "Although we can't get out for now, this can't go on forever..."
The two elders were perhaps too nervous, or perhaps the old-fashioned light bulb in the paper shop was too dim, and they didn't notice that what prevented the doll from coming out was not the "line of life and death," but a hand that suddenly reached out from the coffin.
At this moment, the hand was firmly holding the iron chain, and no matter how the two puppets struggled, it was useless.
Upon seeing this hand, the paper figures reacted like mice encountering a cat, even tightly closing their blood-red eyes.
He looked as if he wished he hadn't drawn on his eyes at all...
At this eerie moment, a piercing bicycle bell suddenly broke the silence of the night.
Looking up, I saw Zhao Youliang kick off his old bicycle and speed towards the paper-making shop.
They didn't even have time to brake; they jumped off the bicycle.
Let the old-fashioned bicycle crash into the wall and fall into the muddy rain.
"Oh dear, am I not late? Did something strange happen?!"
Shopkeeper Sun and Granny Wenmi hid in the shadows, not wanting to reveal their identities, so they ignored Zhao Youliang.
The big yellow dog couldn't speak, so naturally it couldn't answer Zhao Youliang...
The moment Zhao Youliang hurriedly entered the paper-making shop, something miraculous happened:
The paper figures and puppets instantly returned to their positions, as if they had never been moved.
The hand that had been reaching out from the coffin also disappeared.
Seeing that everything was normal, Zhao Youliang couldn't help but breathe a long sigh of relief.
He then hurriedly called the bewildered yellow dog back to its kennel and quickly closed the shop.
When offering incense to the two effigies according to custom, Zhao Youliang felt for some reason that something seemed off about them today.
Not only the two dolls, but the entire paper-making shop seemed to have changed... becoming even more gloomy.
"Oh my god, what happened?!"
As Zhao Youliang pondered this, he hurried toward his hut, when suddenly he felt something poking his foot.
He bent down and picked it up; it turned out to be several blood-red coffin nails.
The coffin nails that were originally driven into the coffin at the feet of the doll...
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