Siheyuan: tomb robbing? I am serious about hunting.

Chapter 848 Dancing gracefully

On the last page of the notebook, there was a strange symbol drawn, and next to it was written: "Only the blood of a black cat can break the curse." Lin Xiaoman thought of the black cat in the attic and suddenly realized that it might be the key to unlocking everything. Back at Xu's house, the atmosphere in the attic was even more gloomy than before. The black cat was still squatting on the windowsill, but this time, there was a little more sadness in its eyes. Lin Xiaoman mustered up the courage to approach it and whispered: "Help me, okay?" The black cat seemed to understand her words, jumped onto the camphorwood box, and used its claws to pry open the bottom partition. Under the partition, there was an iron box. Open the iron box, and inside was Xu Youyou's diary. The latest record stopped three days ago: "After twenty years, I finally waited for that person. Dad said that only by finding someone who can really repair antiques can this nightmare end." It turned out that Xu Shichang had been cursed and tortured since he escaped with his daughter. In order to atone for his sins, he taught his daughter to learn antique restoration, hoping that one day he would find someone with a predestined relationship and break the blood contract. The last page of the diary depicts the method of breaking the blood contract. Lin Xiaoman followed the steps and dripped the black cat's blood on the red ropes of the seven ceramic dolls. As the red ropes were untied one by one, a shrill scream came from the attic, and the figures of the vengeful spirits were looming in the smoke. When the last red rope was broken, Xu's house suddenly shook violently, and a flash of lightning split the dark clouds, illuminating the oil painting on the wall - the corners of the woman's mouth in the painting finally showed a relieved smile. After the dust settled, Lu Chuan found the bodies of the missing Xu Shichang and his daughter in the basement. They slept in each other's arms, with calm expressions on their faces, as if they had finally gotten rid of the shackles of the curse. Lin Xiaoman sorted out the antiques in Xu's house and donated them to the museum. Before leaving, she looked back at the empty attic. The black cat squatted on the roof, meowed at her, turned around and disappeared in the sunset. Many years later, there was a painting in Lin Xiaoman's studio, in which she and the black cat stood in front of Xu's house. Whenever someone asked her about the story of the painting, she would smile and say, "It is a story about redemption and reconciliation. Some secrets should be left forever sealed in time." But she knew that on a rainy night, when the attic window was blown open by the wind, she could still hear the faint sound of chanting, reminding her that some past events would never truly pass.

The raindrops in the middle of July were wrapped in the fragrance of locust flowers, sticking to Su Tang's neck. She clutched the yellowed invitation and looked up at the three faded golden signs of "Hongxiufang". The wooden sign swayed in the wind, and the iron nails made a harsh squeak, as if an invisible hand was scratching. Three days ago, Su Tang received this special commission. The gilded peony on the invitation still had a strange luster, and the inner page was written in cinnabar: "Miss Su is sincerely invited to sew a wedding dress for her deceased sister. After the matter is completed, there will be a generous reward." The signature was the famous Shen family in Jiangcheng. As a well-known traditional clothing designer, Su Tang has taken countless strange orders, but this time, when her fingers touched the edge of the invitation, she actually felt a faint bulge, like dried blood. Pushing open the carved wooden door, the musty smell mixed with sandalwood hit her face. The front hall was full of wedding dresses, and the silk swayed gently in the breeze, as if countless brides were dancing. "Miss Su is here?" A hoarse voice came from the second floor. Su Tang looked up and saw an old woman with a cane leaning on the carved railing. A blood-red jade hairpin was pinned to her silver-threaded bun. "I am Mrs. Shen. I'll leave my daughter Wanqing's affairs to you." Following Mrs. Shen through the winding corridor, Su Tang noticed the photos on the wall. The daughters of the Shen family have all worn wedding dresses, with similar sorrow between their eyebrows. At the end of the corridor, there is a special portrait hanging. The woman in the painting is wearing a bright red wedding dress, but there is a weird smile on the corner of her mouth, and the hem of her skirt is embroidered with dense talismans. "This is a family heirloom of the Shen family," Mrs. Shen suddenly said, frightening Su Tang, "Wanqing likes this painting the most." The studio is in the west wing, and the design drawings are placed on the sandalwood table. Su Tang unfolded the drawings, and his pupils shrank suddenly-this is not an ordinary wedding dress, it is clearly a paper-bound funeral dress! The gold thread is not embroidered with peonies, but winding chains, and a pale hand is embroidered on the cuffs. "Madam Shen, this..." Before she finished her words, Madam Shen had already turned and left, and the sound of the cane hitting the ground gradually faded away. Late at night, Su Tang was awakened by a rustling sound. She walked out of the room lightly, and the moonlight shone through the carved window lattices into the corridor, stretching the shadow of the wedding dress very long. Following the sound to the embroidery room, she saw a girl in a white dress fiddling with a paper wedding dress, with her long black hair covering her face. "Who are you?" Su Tang just opened her mouth, and the girl suddenly turned her head, revealing a grayish-blue face, with the corners of her mouth grinning from ear to ear, "Sister, help me..." The scream got stuck in her throat, and Su Tang stumbled back. At this time, Madam Shen appeared with an oil lamp, and the light cast her shadow on the wall, twisting like a ghost. "What happened to Miss Su?" Mrs. Shen said slowly, "It's just that Wanqing's soul came back to see the wedding dress." She raised the peach wood comb in her hand and gently combed the paper wedding dress. "The daughter of the Shen family was born with a curse. She must wear a paper wedding dress as a sacrifice before the age of sixteen to keep the family safe." Su Tang's back was pressed against the cold wall, and her nails almost pinched into her palm. She remembered the news three days ago. Three sixteen-year-old girls had disappeared in Jiangcheng. The last place they appeared was where someone saw them wearing red wedding dresses. "Mrs. Shen, those missing girls..." Before she finished speaking, Mrs. Shen suddenly grabbed her wrist, her skinny fingers as cold as iron clamps, "Miss Su had better not meddle in other people's business." After escaping back to the room, Su Tang immediately packed her luggage, but found that the door was locked. She took out her mobile phone to call the police, but the signal bar suddenly disappeared. There was a sinister laugh outside the window. She opened the curtains and saw the girl in the white dress lying on the windowsill, her nails digging deep into the glass, making a harsh sound. At the critical moment, the window was pushed open from the outside. A man in a baseball cap climbed in through the window, holding a compass and a peach wood sword. "I'm Lin Yang, a demon hunter." He introduced himself briefly, "The Shen family's paper wedding dress curse has lasted for three hundred years. Every July 15th, they will use the souls of young girls to sew wedding dresses." The two teamed up to find an exit, but got lost in the corridor. The wedding dresses around them moved without wind, and the sound of chains became clearer and clearer. Lin Yang's compass spun wildly and suddenly pointed to a portrait. Su Tang took a closer look and found that it was the one he saw at the end of the corridor during the day. In the secret compartment behind the portrait, there was a blood-red account book, which was densely recorded with the names of the sacrificed girls. The latest page was written with "Shen Wanqing".