"Brother, buy a lantern!" Just as Young Master Liu was lost in deep, muddled contemplation, a small child, dressed in ragged, patched clothing, no more than ten years old, with an utterly innocent face, stepped forward and blocked his path, carrying two lanterns.

"Who?————Who is it! Don't come to me, it has nothing to do with me! It was that tall fellow, Pockmark, and Fatty who kept the five of you old folks awake. I was just passing by, just passing through!" Young Master Liu was so startled that even his iron heart shattered. He immediately covered his eyes and cried out incoherently.

"Brother, buy a lantern!" The voice sounded again.

"Huh?" Young Master Liu parted a sliver between his tightly clasped fingers and cautiously opened one eye.

So close, it was only a child.

"Little one, why aren't you home so late? Your mother and father will worry." Young Master Liu asked with concern. Having finally encountered a living soul, a sudden surge of joy lit up his face. This child was young, alone, and more importantly, he had often heard rumors of human traffickers preying on lost children in the early evening, so Young Master Liu, moved by a sudden impulse of kindness, became worried.

"Brother, buy a lantern!" The child ignored Young Master Liu's words, repeating them with a dull expression.

"Brother isn't buying a lantern. Where is your home? I'll take you back!" Young Master Liu grew impatient. His own home was a half-hour journey away, and seeing the darkening sky—

"Brother, buy a lantern!" The child maintained his vacant expression and extended one of the lanterns in his hand toward Young Master Liu. It was then that Young Master Liu noticed the child's strangeness. What era was this, selling lanterns? Furthermore, the child’s eyes were hollow, his face slightly pale, and there was a red ligature mark around his neck.

'Did the child run away after being beaten by his parents?'

'But where did he get the lantern? Did he make it himself? Unlikely, right?' Young Master Liu frowned deeply, then reached out to touch the child's forehead. "Little friend, are you alright?"

"Brother, buy a lantern." The child repeated his earlier words, but this time his tone held a hint of urgency.

"Brother isn't buying a lantern. If you don't tell me where you live soon, I'm leaving." Young Master Liu was naturally impulsive, and the child's repeated disregard for his words began to annoy him.

"Over there." As if afraid Young Master Liu would leave, the child turned and pointed toward the hillside behind him.

"Big brother, you’re finally talking to me! Let’s go, I’ll take you home. Whatever it is, talk it out with your parents; don't run away from home on a whim. Do you know how dangerous it is for a child like you?" Young Master Liu said, entirely failing to notice that the direction the child pointed was, in fact, towards the mass grave site.

"No." The child shook his head. "My home is just over that hill. I don't need big brother to take me. Brother, buy a lantern!" With that, he offered the lantern in his hand to Young Master Liu.

"Heh, you really are a strange kid, not going home this late, what are you selling lanterns for?" With that, Young Master Liu decided to ignore the persistently bothersome child and turned to leave. From their brief exchange, he had gathered that the boy either had a mental issue or was simply blocked in one specific way.

"Wooooo—" As Young Master Liu took two steps away, the sound of the child's weeping drifted from behind him.

"Big brother, respected elder, what do you want?" Despite his earlier resolve, he was still only a child, and Young Master Liu, no matter how hard-hearted, couldn't bear to leave him like that. He stopped again, spreading his hands helplessly toward the child.

"Wooooo—Mom said I can't go home until I sell this lantern, wooooo—"

"Here, take it. How much?" Young Master Liu took one of the lanterns from the child, fiddled with it briefly, and reached for the secret stash of cash hidden in his underpants. Truthfully, the sky was completely black now. When they left the temple earlier, they were all terrified, barely managing to save their own lives, let alone thinking about kerosene lamps or playing cards. Right now, he needed something for light. The country paths were treacherous enough; otherwise, he might fall into a cesspit or step in someone's fresh deposit at any moment.

"Two jiao!"

"Alright, take it, and hurry home." Young Master Liu generously handed over a one-yuan banknote, smiling.

"En, thank you, brother." After taking the money, the child quickly returned the change and lingered no longer, turning and skipping away. But the instant he turned, the tears on his face dissolved into a dark crimson smear—a sight indescribably eerie.

"Be safe on the road."

"Understood."

"That child is truly strange." After watching the child disappear, Young Master Liu lit the lantern and continued down the unfamiliar path.

Even though it was the era of agricultural collectivization, incomes were meager, and life was hard. People toiled from dawn till dusk, devising any means necessary for a small amount of money. Thinking from another perspective, it wasn't hard to understand why this child was out alone selling lanterns in the evening.

Probably forced by necessity!

The road home was far from smooth. Even with the lantern, Young Master Liu nearly stumbled into the flooded paddy fields several times. His index of bad luck seemed to be directly proportional to his luck at gambling.

"Sigh, when will I ever get home? What is going on?" An hour had passed, yet Young Master Liu hadn't reached home, though by his feeling, the distance left wasn't great. Thankfully, he had the lantern for light; otherwise, he wouldn't know what to do. The countryside at night was naturally quiet; aside from the occasional bark of a dog, barely any sound could be perceived. A gust of wind swept past, making the trees rustle, and even the brave and meticulous Young Master Liu felt a tremor of unease.

All along the way, Young Master Liu felt as if something was following him from behind. Yet, when he turned around, there was nothing but dense darkness. But the moment he turned back, the sensation remained.

"Amitabha, Jesus Christ, Laozi protect me." People in the countryside were naturally superstitious, believing in the existence of ghosts and gods. Although Young Master Liu didn't believe it, the memory of the five spirit-official statues transforming into demons earlier sent a chill down his spine, and he began praying silently.

"Shhh, shhh, shhh…" As Young Master Liu prayed silently, a distinct rustling sound came from behind him, like someone walking. There was no wind at this moment, so it couldn't be the trees. Then...?

Thinking this, Young Master Liu was suddenly alarmed and spun around quickly. A small, blurry silhouette appeared in his field of vision, only to vanish instantly back into the darkness.

"Ghost!" Young Master Liu tried to turn and run, but his legs felt as if they were cast in lead; he couldn't lift them no matter how hard he tried. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was sheer terror—his legs were shaking uncontrollably.

Fear overwhelmed Young Master Liu to the extreme. Unable to command his legs, he prayed silently while glancing around, terrified the shadow would reappear. The bizarre occurrences did not cease. Once he confirmed the ghostly figure was gone, Young Master Liu slumped weakly onto the ground, his entire body drenched in sweat from terror. Before he could even breathe a sigh of relief, he noticed with alarm that the thin paper of the lantern—the only source of light he had—was marked with a drawing. No, to be precise, it was a head—the head of a child. Its face was greenish-blue, eyes bulging, blood tears streaming down, and several gaping holes scarred its face, upon which something seemed to be crawling.

"Ah—!" Young Master Liu violently threw the lantern away. He swore there was nothing on it when he bought it from the child, but now…

At the peak of his terror, Young Master Liu's hidden potential erupted. His legs suddenly obeyed him again. He shot up from the ground, feeling as if infused with limitless strength, and fled toward home like a startled bird. He dared not stay to see what else might happen, or if he could endure it.

In the pitch-black night, stumbling and falling, Young Master Liu finally made it back to his house. However, he was a changed man. His clothes were ripped in several places by thorns, and his body was covered in mud—a picture of utter wretchedness.

"Ah, I'm scared to death, scared to death," he gasped, pounding his chest upon reaching home. He didn't bother changing his clothes before slamming the main door shut and bolting it tight, as he was home alone; his parents were staying at his grandmother's house overnight, so there was no one to rely on for help.

Young Master Liu did not sleep the entire night. It wasn't that he chose not to sleep; he dared not, terrified the shadow would appear behind him. He spent the whole night in trepidation, jumping at the slightest sound.

When dawn broke, Young Master Liu finally succumbed to sleep. Prolonged mental tension was too much even for a robust young man to bear.

When Young Master Liu awoke, it was already past ten in the morning. Without a second thought, he grabbed incense and candles and proceeded to pay respects to his ancestors. The impression left on him last night was too deep: those five clay statues, that black shadow, oh my, especially the pattern on the lantern. He couldn't fathom it—there had been no pattern on the lantern originally, but later...

Could there truly be ghosts in this world? The thought alone made cold sweat break out all over him.