Chapter 3 - 3: Strange old man burning paper
Chapter 3: Chapter 3: Strange old man burning paper
Chapter 3: Strange old man burning paper
By the time Qin Bing came back to her senses, Xu Qing had already disappeared into the darkness. Her crying turned into choking, and then it turned into an anxious call. However, Xu Qing, who was far away, could no longer hear all of this.
Xu Qingman walked aimlessly on the street, enjoying the loneliness in his heart. He didn't even know where he should go until today. He felt that this city was so strange. Not far away was a park. Under the dim light of the street lamps, he could vaguely see two rows of long stone benches.
One of the rows of stone benches had newspapers on it, and there was a long object lying on it. Xu Qing slowly walked to another bench and sat down. He turned his head to take a look, only to find an old man in ragged clothes lying on the bench not far away. His face was covered with an old newspaper, and his snoring was earth-shattering, like a dozen passionate sows roaring in unison.
Xu Qing's mind was occupied with his own affairs, and he lay down on the stone bench. A wave of tiredness struck him, and he unconsciously fell asleep.After an unknown amount of time, Xu Qing felt a warm sensation on her face while she was asleep. Then, a faint sandalwood smell entered her nostrils.
Surprised, he opened his eyes and saw a small fire burning beside a stone bench not far away. The sloppy old man was sitting silently beside the fire and kept picking up a stack of papers beside him and throwing them into the fire. Xu Qing happened to be sleeping at a disadvantage. No wonder the heat blew onto his face.
"What is this old man burning?Why does it smell like sandalwood?"Xu Qing was puzzled and curious, so he got up and walked over.
The sloppy old man narrowed his eyes and muttered something. He didn't seem to notice anyone coming over as he slowly picked up the paper and threw it into the fire.
This time Xu Qing finally saw clearly that what the old man burned was a pile of yellow nether papers printed with small figures. However, he did not know where the sandalwood smell came from.
Xu Qing shook his head and was about to turn around to leave when his pants sank. He turned around and saw that the old man had grabbed the corner of his pants.
" Young man, help this old man burn a few pieces of paper..." The sloppy old man's sinister voice sent chills down one's spine.
Xu Qing's pores contracted, and he shuddered. He thought to himself,'This old man didn't run away from a mental hospital, did he?'I'm not related to him. Besides, this person is still alive and kicking. Why would I help him burn the ghost paper?
Since ancient times, burning paper had been a way of offering sacrifices to deceased relatives and friends. It was unheard of for a living person to burn paper for himself, so Xu Qing could only classify this sloppy old man as a mental patient.
The old man saw that Xu Qing was not moved at all. He grinned and revealed a mouthful of white teeth. He did not let go of Xu Qing's pants.
"Young man, take pity on me, an old man who is dying. Come and burn a few!"
Xu Qing felt bitter in his heart. He gritted his teeth and squatted beside the fire. He picked up a few pieces of paper and placed them into the fire. His eyes would occasionally glance at the crazy old man's waist. He clearly hid something in his bulging bag. It might even be a cold weapon.
He naively thought that when he encountered this kind of crazy person, sometimes it would be easier to get away if he followed his wishes. It was just like how drunk people liked to say, I'm not drunk, and crazy people would never admit that they were sick. If I angered this crazy old man, it would be bad.
With Xu Qing's participation, the stack of nether papers was quickly burned up. The black ashes of the papers flew in the air like dancing ink butterflies.
"Thank you, young man. Take these as compensation for burning paper for me!"The crazy old man calmly took out two stacks of brand-new banknotes from his pocket and placed them in front of Xu Qing.
Even the seal was not removed. Ten thousand dollars a stack.Xu Qing reached out to pick up a piece of money and scratched it at the edge with his thumb. It was genuine silver ocean, and he could vaguely smell the smell of ink.
20,000 dollars was placed in front of him. For Xu Qing, who was in a hurry to get money, it was definitely fake that he was not interested at all. Even a stack could solve the dilemma that he and his sister-in-law were currently facing. At the same time, he was completely certain of one thing. This old man was really crazy, and he was rich.
Xu Qing was short of money, but his conscience told him that if even a mentally ill old man was greedy for money, it was not lack of money, but immoral.
The corner of Xu Qing's mouth twitched twice. He still chose to put the money back where it was and whispered," Old man, I can't take this money. You should keep it!"
Two bright lights flashed in the old madman's turbid eyes. He casually picked up two stacks of bills and put them into his pocket. He smiled and the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes bloomed. He lowered his head and muttered," Good boy. He's not greedy or impatient. He's a natural jade. I didn't expect to meet such a successor before the Golden Eyes returned to the dark. The thieving heavens really treat me well..."
Xu Qing didn't hear what the old man said clearly. He rubbed his sore knees and wanted to get up and leave. Unexpectedly, the crazy old man opposite him suddenly raised his head. Two golden lights flashed in his eyes and looked directly into Xu Qing's eyes.
"Young man, look into my eyes, look into my eyes, relax, relax..."
The old madman's sinister voice seemed to carry some kind of magic power, penetrating deep into one's soul. His ethereal and repeated words affected all one's thoughts. Xu Qing only felt his mind go blank. After his body stiffened, he gradually relaxed. There was only a pair of pupils that were flashing with broken golden light in his eyes.
Gold, a dreamy color. A pair of seductive golden eyes were enlarged tightly in Xu Qing's eyes. All his thoughts had stopped at this moment. There was only a brilliant gold left in the world. He seemed to feel a trace of cold air in his eyes, rotating around his eyeballs and seeping into them... That feeling was really wonderful.
After an unknown amount of time, the golden pupils in his eyes gradually dimmed. When the golden light completely disappeared, Xu Qing regained consciousness. Only then did he realize that he was sitting on the grass foolishly. There was no old madman in front of him. There was no fire, not even the ashes left from burning paper.
Xu Qing scratched his head in confusion and rubbed his eyes. He didn't find anything wrong with himself.
"Could it be that all of this is an illusion?Really?Last night, I remember helping a crazy old man burn paper..." Xu Qing stood up and was about to take a look around. Unexpectedly, a bone-chilling cold wind poured into the nape of his neck without warning. He was so shocked that his hair stood on end. He did not care about finding the crazy old man anymore and quickly ran away from this troubled place.
Less than a minute after Xu Qing left, a pile of burnt paper ashes suddenly appeared beside the stone bench. There was also a disheveled old man leaning against the stone bench, panting gently. There was a relieved smile on the corner of his mouth, which slowly solidified...
Shortly after the old man died, two black shadows floated over and picked up the old man's corpse and quickly disappeared into the first ray of dawn.