I was live – streaming for treasure – appraising and got connected with a top – tier celebrity in the entertainment industry.
In the screen, an old hand appeared. The top – tier celebrity asked me to guess the age.
I frowned.
“A thousand – year – old skin corpse!”
The top – tier celebrity burst out laughing. “What are you talking about? This is my grandma!”
I looked serious.
“The skin corpse changes its skin in seven days. After seven days, it will kill seven people. This is the last night. Run quickly!”
1
My name is Murong Yue. I’m a student majoring in archaeology at Jing University and also a famous live – streaming internet celebrity.
In my spare time, I live – stream for treasure – appraising online to earn some living expenses.
One day, I connected for live – streaming as usual. As soon as the live – stream started, a familiar face appeared on the opposite side of the camera.
The live – streaming room instantly boiled over.
“Damn, isn’t this Zhou Sheng, the top – tier celebrity?”
“My god, it’s really Zhou Sheng. The host is so lucky!”
“Wuwuwu, Young Master Zhou is really handsome. He’s handsome from every angle. No wonder he has a god – like face!”
Zhou Sheng’s family is a wealthy and powerful family in the capital circle. His involvement in the entertainment industry is just for fun. He’s good – looking, has a ruffian personality, and is straightforward in speaking. He often speaks impulsively, making people feel embarrassed. But his fans love this about him and even jokingly call him the discipline inspector of the entertainment industry.
Zhou Sheng glanced at the camera and, as expected, his thick eyebrows knitted tightly.
“Antique treasure – appraising requires experience. You’re so young. Do you really understand this?”
As he spoke, he opened the treasure – appraising link priced at 800 yuan each time in the lower – left corner, sneered, and almost rolled his eyes to the sky.
“358 orders sold, 358 product reviews, 100% favorable rating.”
“Little girl, let big brother teach you. You should make your fake orders more realistic. Not everyone will leave a review after buying something, okay?”
A large number of Zhou Sheng’s fans flooded into the live – streaming room, and the popularity of the live – streaming room skyrocketed instantly.
“I’m dying of laughter. After rectifying the entertainment industry, is Young Master Zhou going to rectify the internet celebrity circle now?”
“I’m so annoyed by these female hosts. If they’re just beauty – based hosts, that’s fine. But they have to create such gimmicks and claim to appraise treasures. Whose IQ are they insulting?”
“Yeah, a 100% favorable rating. Use your brain. You could at least make it 99% to be more believable, right?”
The audience chattered, mostly scolding me. Occasionally, a few of my fans came out to speak for me, but they were quickly drowned out by countless bullet screens.
“The host doesn’t seem like a liar. I’ve watched every one of her transactions, and her comments are very professional!”
“Are you a shill? You watched every single live – stream. You’re so idle!”
“That’s right. You’re probably involved in the fake orders too. Who are you trying to fool?”
2
The bullet screens made my eyes dizzy. Zhou Sheng was still looking at the screen with a mocking attitude and didn’t place an order. I gradually lost patience.
“Are you going to place an order or not? If not, I’ll switch. There are other people waiting.”
“What, want to run? Afraid of being exposed, right?”
Zhou Sheng was quick – eyed and placed the order. Then he casually picked up a porcelain cup from the coffee table next to him and placed it in front of the phone.
“Come on, tell me. What era is this cup from?”
I pushed the glasses on my nose and stared at the screen.
“This is a white – glazed single – handle cup from the Gongyi Kiln.
During the Tang Dynasty, the production of white porcelain in the northern region was extremely prosperous, on a par with the blue – and – white porcelain in the south, known as ‘blue – and – white in the south, white porcelain in the north’. Among them, the white porcelain from the Gongyi Kiln had the best quality.
If your cup is genuine, it’s worth at least tens of millions. Unfortunately, it’s a fake.”
As soon as I finished speaking, the bullet screens boiled over again.
“How is that possible? The Zhou Group has a market value of tens of billions. Would his family use a fake?”
“Yeah, I thought the host really had some skills after hearing the first few sentences. But she still showed her true colors.”
“She probably knows a little about antiques and comes here to deceive people through live – streaming. I don’t know how many people were deceived before!”
The audience was filled with indignation. Zhou Sheng slouched in the chair in a ruffian way and sneered.
“Saying that I use a fake. Who are you insulting?”
“You guessed wrong. This was bought by my dad at Christie’s Auction House for real, costing more than twenty million.”
I shook my head.
“Impossible. With my eyes, I’ve never misjudged the age of things.”
Zhou Sheng raised his eyebrows exaggeratedly.
“Wow, you’re not that old, but you have such a big mouth? You can tell the age of anything?
Can you at least make up a more believable lie, sister? I really can’t stand you people who try to become famous by talking nonsense.”
I wasn’t lying. I’ve had excellent eyesight since I was a child and was born with a special gift. My grandpa said I was born to do this job.
Ordinary porcelain in the eyes of others looks completely different to me. I can even see the tiniest patterns and particles on the surface of the porcelain.
I patiently explained, “In ancient times, it was difficult to control the kiln temperature. Even the most exquisite porcelain had flaws. But the surface of your porcelain cup is too smooth and flat, which is obviously a product of modern technology. Its market price is estimated to be around two thousand yuan.”
“Maybe your dad hid the real one. You can contact him and ask.”
3
Zhou Sheng was so angry that he laughed.
“It’s just a cup. Would my dad replace it with a fake and put it in the study?”
“Fine, I’ll contact him right now. If he says it’s real, you take this link off the shelf and never try to use the guise of treasure – appraising again!”
Zhou Sheng immediately took out another phone and called his dad. The phone rang for a long time, but there was no answer.
“I saw in the news that President Zhou is talking about an acquisition with the Rhode Company abroad. He probably won’t answer the phone at this time.”
“Poor President Zhou. He’s sitting at home, but trouble comes from nowhere. While talking about a multi – billion – yuan acquisition, he’s accused of using a fake antique cup worth a thousand yuan.”
“I feel that what the host said might not be wrong. President Zhou has always been quite simple.
And the host’s perspective on appraising that cup is very professional. Maybe it really is a fake.”
Zhou Sheng was determined to expose me. Now that the phone couldn’t get through and there were several people in the bullet screens supporting me, he got angry.
He placed another order and then looked around. Suddenly, he pulled a hand and put it in front of the screen.
“Fine, let’s put the matter of the cup aside for now.
You claim to be able to tell the age of anything, right? Come and take a look. What dynasty is this from?”
I took a look at the skinny hand on the screen and was shocked.
“A thousand – year – old skin corpse?”
The bullet screens exploded.
“What kind of corpse?”
“Damn, the hobbies of rich people are really special. Why do they collect corpses?”
“What is a skin corpse? Is it like a mummy?”
“I think the blogger made a mistake. Zhou Sheng should have asked her to look at the jadeite ring on the finger. What is this skin corpse she’s talking about?”
Zhou Sheng was stunned for a second, then reacted and slapped the table, laughing heartily.
“Murong Yue, you’re going to kill me laughing, hahahaha…”
“I asked you to look at the ring, but you look at the hand. And you actually start identifying the age. You’re killing me, fuck, hahaha…”
Zhou Sheng laughed unrestrainedly in front of the camera, his whole body shaking.
As he laughed, he pulled the hand forward.
“Grandma, come and say hello to everyone.”
An old lady’s face flashed across the camera. Zhou Sheng’s grandma slapped him in dissatisfaction.
“It’s so late. Don’t play with your phone here. Go to bed early.”
The audience in front of the bullet screens almost went crazy.
“My mom asked me why I’m laughing like a pig.”
“This is the most serious failure in the history of treasure – appraising. Mistaking someone’s grandma for a thousand – year – old female corpse. Hahaha, this is too ridiculous!”
“I briefly believed in the host before. The slap in the face came too fast.”
“Why hasn’t the host ended the live – stream yet? Her psychological quality is really strong.”
Zhou Sheng looked triumphant and slapped the table with both hands.
“You refund the money you cheated from others and then cancel your account. Then this matter will be over.”
I shook my head and stared coldly at Zhou Sheng’s face.
“The skin corpse changes its skin in seven days. After seven days, it will kill at least seven people. Looking at the gray line on her fingernail, today is the last day. Run quickly!”
4
“I’m really dying of laughter. This host has such a thick skin. After making such a big blunder, she’s still talking nonsense seriously.”
“Yeah, she’s supposed to be appraising treasures, but now she’s pretending to be a Taoist priest. Skin corpse? I might as well say zombie. Can the host exorcise evil spirits?”
“Liar, get out!”
“With such high popularity now, how could she be willing to go offline? These women really do everything they can to become popular. They can make up the most absurd things.”
The bullet screens were crazily flood the screen，all scolding me. Zhou Sheng was laughing so hard that he reached out to rub his stomach.
“Can’t continue with treasure – appraising, so you’re changing to catching ghosts so soon. Make it up, continue making it up. Tell me what this skin corpse is?”
“I’m not joking with you!”
I looked serious. In the camera, Zhou Sheng’s grandma had left the study. She walked with stiff limbs. She had at most three hours left before turning into a corpse.
I took a deep breath and knocked on the table a few times.
“Zhou Sheng, listen. After the skin corpse changes its skin, it will first eat the flesh and blood of the deceased’s relatives, at least seven people. You take your family and leave now. Go to a place with a lot of people and strong yang energy. Then find a powerful Taoist priest to save your lives.”
Zhou Sheng started clapping towards the camera.
“Murong Yue, it’s a pity that the fraud group in northern Myanmar didn’t invite you. Next, are you going to say that you’re the powerful Taoist priest and charge me millions to save my life?”
“Seeing that it’s me, you think the 800 – yuan treasure – appraising fee is too little and want to make a big deal out of it—”
Before Zhou Sheng could finish speaking, I interrupted him.
“You’re wrong. I’m not a Taoist priest. I can’t save your life.”
I’m just an ordinary archaeology student. I know all this because of my grandpa.
My grandpa was a tomb – raider.
He often said that if there weren’t so many traps, he could even dig up the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor.
I was amazed at his ability.
“Grandpa, how do you know there are so many traps? Have you been down there?”
Grandpa sighed.
“Look at what? I’m talking about there are too many public security organs.”
Grandpa was most afraid of the public security organs all his life. He was engaged in tomb – robbing all his life, but finally ended up in the hands of the public security organs.
After coming out of prison after a few years, grandpa washed his hands of this business.
He told me many stories about tomb – robbing. One of the most dangerous ones was when he encountered a skin corpse.
5
“The skin corpse is a type of zombie. As the name implies, it only has skin and no internal organs. This kind of zombie doesn’t decay, but it needs to change its skin once a year.
When changing its skin, it will first cut through a person’s skin and then get in through the wound, separating the skin and flesh of the whole body. Don’t look at your grandma as normal now. In fact, she died seven days ago.
In these seven days, the skin corpse has been pretending to be the original person. When the time is up, after it absorbs the skin tissue of the human body, it will separate from the host. The original owner will only leave a corpse with the skin stripped off, and the death scene is very tragic.”
After I finished explaining, the audience in front of the screen was stunned.
“Fuck, I got goosebumps. It sounds so real. It’s so scary.”
“Yeah, it’s so disgusting. Is the blogger a pervert? How could a normal person make up this kind of thing?”
“It’s so ridiculous. To attract attention, she curses someone’s grandma?”
Zhou Sheng reacted and became furious.
“What the hell are you? How dare you curse my grandma? Fuck, you wait for me. I’ll have someone check your identity. This isn’t over.”
“You don’t need to check my identity. I can tell you my real identity information later.”
“If you don’t believe me, you can look at your grandma’s hand. When the skin corpse changes its skin, it changes the fingernails last. There will be a gray line at the bottom of the fingernail.”
Probably because of my serious expression and earnest tone, everyone was stunned.
The bullet screens were quiet for a few seconds, and someone posted a screenshot.
“I wanted to show it to my friend when I was live – streaming, so I took a screenshot. My god, there really seems to be a gray line.”
“Yeah, there’s a clear gray line at the bottom of each fingernail in the picture. My god, could what the host said be true?”
The bullet screens immediately changed their tone. Many people started to believe my words, but most people still had doubts.
“Those college students upstairs believe everything. They just don’t believe in science.”
“Don’t be so ridiculous. Do you believe that Zhou Sheng’s grandma is a skin corpse, or do you believe that I’m God?”
“Upstairs, I believe you because I’m the Jade Emperor.”
Zhou Sheng also sneered.
“What can a fingernail represent? My grandma’s in poor health. What if there’s a gray line on her fingernail? Anyone can make up this kind of story.”
He looked at the number of over a million viewers in the upper – right corner of the screen and suddenly realized.
“You’re fucking playing with me? Trying to get some traffic, right?”
6
I shook my head and sighed.
“Traffic is useless to me. I just want to save your life.”
“Your grandma has been dead for seven days. Although there’s a layer of skin covering her, there will be a faint smell of a corpse on her body, which needs to be covered with perfume. Has your grandma suddenly started wearing perfume these days?”
Zhou Sheng’s eyes lit up, as if he had grabbed a life – saving straw.
“Hahaha, you failed again! My grandma doesn’t wear perfume at all. She burns agarwood. She—”
“Gulp.”
The smile on Zhou Sheng’s face disappeared, and he nervously swallowed his saliva.
“She’s had a headache every day since she came back from her hometown. She can only fall asleep when burning agarwood.”
I keenly caught the key point.
“Hometown? Where? Did she go there seven days ago?”
The bullet screens scrolled quickly.
“Last week, the Zhou family went back to their hometown to worship their ancestors and donated 20 million to the local welfare home. Didn’t this make the news?”
“Yeah, it was on the hot search for a few days. You can find it easily by searching online.”
“Did the host come up with this deception after seeing that news?”
“It doesn’t seem like she’s lying. Then how do you explain the agarwood?”
“Don’t rich people like to play with incense? What’s so strange about that? It can only be said that the host took a gamble and won. Today’s matter looks more and more like a scam.”
Zhou Sheng looked at the words flashing by on the bullet screens, feeling ashamed of almost believing me just now. That shame turned into anger, and he snorted, glaring at me from the camera.
“Did you plan all this today?”
“Fuck you! I didn’t plan anything!”
I also got angry and looked at Zhou Sheng like he was an idiot.
“Didn’t you connect to the live – stream on your own initiative today?”
“Zhou Sheng, I’ll give you one last chance. The lives of your whole family are in your hands.”
“After a person dies, the pupils will dilate and there will be no reaction to light. You can shine a flashlight on your grandma’s eyes to see.”
7
“Fuck, the host is so fierce. I’m so scared.”
“Me too. There’s no need to lie to this extent, right? Wuwuwu, I’m really starting to believe it.”
“She’s using an anti – routine. Some shopping hosts scold people, but their sales are very good. Don’t be PUAed.”
“But she just wants Zhou Sheng to leave home now. What can she deceive? Zhou Sheng, run quickly. You won’t lose anything by running!”
“No loss? As a top – tier celebrity, being scared away from home in the middle of the night by some non – existent skin corpse would be laughed at for a lifetime. This would be a stain on his reputation.”
The bullet screens were in a mess, with all kinds of remarks. Zhou Sheng’s mind was also in chaos. He took a deep breath.
“Don’t scare me. What do you mean by the lives of my family? There are only me and my grandma at home now.”
“Fine, I’ll go and check my grandma’s eyes right now. If you dare to lie to me, I’ll hunt you down to the ends of the earth!”
Zhou Sheng got up and picked up his phone. The screen suddenly shook.
Zhou Sheng’s grandma’s room was on the second floor. When he knocked and entered, his grandma was lying on a reclining chair resting, with a stick of agarwood burning beside her. The reclining chair was rocking, and she looked very leisurely.
Zhou Sheng glanced at the incense plate, picked it up and held it in front of his grandma’s eyes.
“Grandma, why is this incense called agarwood?”
Grandma opened her eyes.
“Hmm? Agarwood is also called sinking – water incense. This incense can sink in water.”
“Is it that heavy? Can it be blown?”
Zhou Sheng blew a big breath at the incense plate, and the ashes covered grandma’s face. Grandma immediately let out a scream.
“You naughty child, what are you doing!”
“Sorry, sorry. I’ll blow it off for you.”
It has to be said that Zhou Sheng was quite clever. He turned on the flashlight function of his phone and pointed the camera at grandma’s eyes. Everyone in front of the screen could see clearly.
Under a strong beam of light, the pupils had no reaction.
8
The bullet screens exploded instantly.
“Mom, I’m so scared!”
“Ahhhh, I’ll take out my treasure map. The Five – Starred Red Flag will protect every Chinese child.”
“The heroes of the people are not afraid of any evil spirits!”
“Don’t talk nonsense. Zhou Sheng, I’m a doctor. The disappearance of the pupillary light reflex may be due to an eye disease, a brain function disorder, or severe hypoglycemia. Take your grandma to the neurology department of the hospital for a check – up tomorrow!”
Zhou Sheng stared at the phone screen with a complicated expression. When he saw the doctor’s words, he obviously relaxed.
“My grandma does have hypoglycemia.”
“Ah, this – how could there be such a coincidence – “
“I really suspect that the host checked the Zhou family’s information in advance and carefully designed this scam!”
“But the host isn’t wrong. It was Zhou Sheng who took the initiative to connect to the live – stream. Who could design it like this? I believe the host. Zhou Sheng, run quickly!”
“Run +1!”
“Run +10086!”
“Run your ass. I’m really fed up with you. Can you believe in science? I’m putting it here today. Whoever runs is a fool. Zhou Sheng, if you run, I’ll stop being your fan!”
The bullet screens started arguing again. I rubbed my face in pain and sighed.
“At this point, there’s only one last way.”
I looked at the time in the lower – right corner of the screen. There were still two hours until the skin corpse transformed.
“The time is running out. After verifying with this method, Zhou Sheng, you really can’t delay for a minute. You have to leave here immediately.”
Because grandma was still nearby, I didn’t dare to speak. I typed these few sentences. The bullet screens also cooperated with me, and no one spoke again.
I slowly typed the last two lines on the screen.
“Find a way to cut your grandma’s skin. She won’t feel pain and won’t notice.”
“Then you’ll be able to see that there’s another layer of skin under her skin.”
9
The bullet screens were completely quiet. No one spoke for a long time.
It was not until someone posted a photo of the goosebumps on their arm that everyone reacted.
“Wuwuwuwu – I was about to go to the toilet to pee, but now I’m going to pee on the bed. Who understands!”
“How can the host say such scary things with such a calm expression? I’m so scared. Help!”
“I believe it. I really believe it. Even if the King of Heaven comes, I want to see what the other layer of skin under the skin looks like.”
“Tomorrow’s headline will be that the top – tier celebrity Zhou Sheng has a stupid brain and believes the words of an internet celebrity and cuts his grandma. The hot search will be up for seven days. Hahaha, what a fool!”
“I know she’s lying, but she’s made it up to this point. Let her deceive then.”
Zhou Sheng held the phone and looked at it for a long time, then cursed in a low voice, “Fuck!”
“A Sheng, go back to your room and sleep early. Grandma is also sleepy.”
After washing her face, Zhou Sheng’s grandma lay back on the reclining chair. Zhou Sheng nodded, then let go of the phone. The phone fell on the carpet with a dull thud.
As Zhou Sheng squatted down to pick up the phone, he turned the ring on his middle finger. Suddenly, a small, sharp blade popped out of the ring.
“This ring is awesome. I also want to get one!”
“Rich people use it for self – rescue in case of kidnapping. I’ve heard of this brand.”
“So Zhou Sheng really intends to cut his grandma?”
“I can’t believe I’ve been a fan of a fool for so many years. Has he even been to college? How can he believe this!”
“If there really is a second layer of skin, I’ll live – stream myself doing a handstand and eating a table.”
“Upstairs, I’ll live – stream myself eating shit!”
The bullet screens scrolled quickly. When Zhou Sheng slowly stretched out his hand, everyone stopped.
Everyone held their breath and watched as Zhou Sheng’s ring reached his grandma’s slender ankle.
Just as the blade was about to touch the skin, an old hand suddenly grabbed Zhou Sheng’s wrist tightly.
“A Sheng, what are you doing?”
“I – “
Zhou Sheng was so scared that his face turned white.
“I’m picking up the phone.Eh, why did this ring suddenly pop out? Hehe.”
Zhou Sheng put the ring away, picked up the phone on the ground, and fled in a hurry.
“Grandma, you go to sleep first. I’m sleepy. I’m going to take a bath.”
10
Zhou Sheng ran back to the study, and the bullet screens were discussing heatedly.
“I was scared to death just now!”
“I feel like his grandma has already noticed. Zhou Sheng, run quickly!”
“Yeah, grandma’s expression just now was really weird.”
“She’s just a normal old lady. What’s so weird about her? You guys are really ridiculous!”
“We had such a good chance just now and it didn’t work. So what should we do now? I’m so anxious. Is grandma really a skin corpse?”
I was also very anxious. Looking at the time on the screen passing by second by second, Zhou Sheng was still hesitating in the room.
“Zhou Sheng, hurry up! It’s really too late if you don’t run!”
Just then, a heavy footstep sounds came from outside the study. The skin of the skin corpse is very heavy, so the footsteps are much heavier than those of a normal person. I knew immediately that it was Zhou Sheng’s grandma coming.
I don’t know what Zhou Sheng was thinking. He held his phone and suddenly got under the table.
The table in his study was a large Western – style office desk. The front baffle was blocked, and once a person got under it, it couldn’t be discovered from the outside.
“A Sheng? This child, why doesn’t he turn off the light?”
Zhou Sheng’s grandma muttered to herself. She walked to the office desk and sat down on the chair.
A pair of feet in cloth shoes appeared in the camera.
“Fuck, what a good chance. Zhou Sheng, cut the skin and take a look!”
Zhou Sheng obviously had this intention. He put the phone aside, flicked open the ring, and then unhesitatingly brought the blade close and brush across grandma’s ankle.
“Here it comes. If there’s blood, I’ll laugh my ass off!”
“Being fooled by a female internet celebrity to this extent. I’d call him the stupid son of a rich family!”
“Haa, how could he actually believe in this kind of thing!”
“I feel better now. Even though he’s wealthy, he’s not too bright, haha.——”
But soon, the audience in front of the screen couldn’t laugh anymore. On the screen, the pale skin was evenly pulled apart to both sides. There was no blood flowing out as the audience had imagined. Instead, like a torn sack, another layer of gray – green skin was revealed underneath.
The whole world seemed to be quiet.
11
“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!”
“Come and tell me this is a special effect, a script. It’s impossible. How could this be possible!”
“This must be real. Does Zhou Sheng lack money? Making up a script that his grandma is a skin corpse. He’d be beaten to death by his dad!”
“Once again, I take out this picture. The Five – Starred Red Flag blesses every Chinese child.”
“I’m in the UK. What should I do? God of the bed and god of the bedsheet, protect me!”
The bullet screens went crazy. Zhou Sheng didn’t have time to look at them anymore.
He stared fixedly at the feet in front of him and reached out to cover his mouth tightly.
Zhou Sheng’s grandma sat on the chair for a while, then stood up, walked around the study, and called Zhou Sheng’s name.
Zhou Sheng hid under the desk, not daring to move.
It was not until the sound of grandma’s footsteps left the study that Zhou Sheng dared to pick up the phone and quickly type on the screen.
“Fuck, Murong Yue, I’ll give you a million. Save me quickly. Find some Taoist priests to come to my house!”
I shook my head.
“I said I don’t know any powerful Taoist priests and I can’t save you.”
“After the skin corpse successfully changes its skin, it will first eat the relatives of the deceased. There’s only you left in your family now. If it can’t eat you, it won’t hurt others for the time being. If you run away, your neighbors will also be safe.”
“Otherwise, including you, at least seven people will die tonight. For the safety of everyone, hurry up and leave.”
Zhou Sheng looked panicked.
“Okay, I – where should I go? Right, a place with strong yang energy. I’ll go to a bar.”
“What yang energy is there in a bar? Those people don’t even have enough kidney qi! Zhou Sheng, what are you thinking? You should go to the police station!”
“Right, or go take the subway. There are a lot of people at the subway station.”
“It’s almost twelve o’clock. The subway has stopped running. You can’t go!”
“It’s better to go to the airport. Take a plane and leave the capital. Can that skin corpse fly?”
The audience in front of the bullet screens gave advice one after another. Zhou Sheng’s mind was in a mess and he couldn’t think anymore.
“Right, the plane. I’ll go take a plane.”
Zhou Sheng crawled out from under the table and grabbed his wallet on the table.
“A Sheng, so you’re here – “
The low voice of grandma came from the door. Zhou Sheng stiffly turned his body. He saw that grandma was holding the doorknob with one hand, looking at him with a half – smile.
“Why haven’t you slept yet? Where were you hiding just now?”
12
Zhou Sheng was almost crying.
“Grandma, I – I can’t sleep. I’m going out for a late – night snack with friends. I’ll be back later.”
Zhou Sheng’s lips were trembling. He bravely made up an excuse. Grandma’s face turned serious.
“What time is it now? What late – night snack! You’re not allowed to go!”
“They’re very familiar friends. They’ve invited me several times. It’s not good not to go, grandma, you – “
“No way. I promised your dad to take good care of you. Since you don’t want to sleep, then accompany grandma to watch TV for a while.”
Grandma walked to the sofa and sat down, turning on the projector.
Zhou Sheng walked over, picked up his phone, and looked at me for help.
“What should I do?”
I recalled the characteristics of the skin corpse that my grandpa had told me. An ordinary skin corpse can only mechanically imitate the behavior of the deceased during their lifetime and can’t think.
But this skin corpse was different. There were very thin tree – like patterns on its epidermis. This was a thousand – year – old skin corpse that had already developed spiritual intelligence.
“The skin – changing time of the skin corpse is coming soon. She wants to watch you to prevent you from running away. You should cooperate with her first and don’t arouse her suspicion.”
“Although the skin – changing time is her weakest moment, this is a thousand – year – old skin corpse. Even at its weakest, it’s still stronger than you. Don’t provoke her!”
Zhou Sheng’s fingers were trembling. He crazily sent several Carnival gifts to me.
“Murong Yue, I admit I was a bit loud to you before. I didn’t recognize your ability before. Please save me!”
“If I cooperate with her, isn’t that just waiting to die? What the hell should I do?”
Zhou Sheng’s eyes were red. The audience in front of the bullet screens also pleaded with me one after another.
“Wuwuwu, host, I was wrong before. I shouldn’t have doubted you. I’m a loyal fan of Zhou Sheng. I can’t watch him die. Please think of a way!”
“Yeah, human life is at stake. This isn’t just about Zhou Sheng. Didn’t you say it would eat seven people?”
“What should we do then? Call the police and let the police come!”
“Call the police and say there’s a skin corpse. See if the police will pay attention to you!”
Zhou Sheng was still crazily sending Carnival gifts. I quickly comforted him.
“Okay, okay. Don’t get excited. There’s still a way.”
13
“First, find an excuse to go to the toilet, and then smear your blood on the toilet mirror. The skin corpse will think your aura is still in the room.”
“Hurry up. Climb down from the second – floor window and run to a place with a lot of people. I’ll call my grandpa now and ask if he knows any powerful people who can save you!”
Zhou Sheng calmed down. He had two phones. He turned on the live – stream on both, left one phone indoors with the screen facing the sofa to monitor grandma’s actions, and took the other phone with him into the toilet.
As soon as he closed the toilet door, the scene on the screen next made people’s hair stand on end.
Grandma stiffly turned her neck, looked in the direction of the toilet, stared for a while, and then slowly walked over and pressed her whole body against the toilet door.
In the picture, grandma’s side profile suddenly flattened, becoming as flat as a piece of paper, and then bulged like a balloon, repeating this several times. The shape was extremely strange and creepy.
The audience watching the live – stream was stunned.
“Fuck, I just came in. What movie is this? What special effects?”
“My mom asked me why I was screaming like a girl. My god, this is too scary!”
“I took a screenshot of the host’s avatar. Stick this Murong Yue picture, and all evil will retreat!”
More people were worried about Zhou Sheng.
“Zhou Sheng, your grandma is sticking to the door. Don’t go out!”
“Run quickly, hurry up!”
Without the audience saying anything, Zhou Sheng had already seen the strange scene outside the door on his phone.
His face was as pale as paper, and big beads of sweat were constantly dripping from his forehead.
On the other end of the screen, I also frowned and urged him.
“The skin corpse is trying to shed its skin. You only have five minutes left. Be quick!”
Zhou Sheng took a deep breath, tremblingly cut his finger with the ring, smeared the blood on the mirror, and then walked over to open the window.
Zhou Sheng put one foot on the windowsill and took a last look at the phone.
Suddenly, a line of words flashed on the screen.
“Stop! Zhou Sheng, this Murong Yue is a liar. Don’t be fooled!”
“I have evidence to prove that your grandma isn’t a skin corpse. Don’t go down!”
14
The bullet screens were in an uproar. Everyone was shocked.
“What’s going on?”
“What are you talking about? So many of us saw it. There’s another layer of skin under the skin. What else could she be if not a skin corpse?”
“Yeah, don’t talk nonsense here. Do you want to kill Zhou Sheng?”
The person with the ID named something like Xie He quickly typed a few lines of words.
“I’m a doctor from Union Hospital. Last year, your grandma had her left leg amputated due to a severe infection. I was the doctor who performed the surgery on her. She’s wearing a prosthetic limb.
That prosthetic limb is made of imported bionic materials. It’s very expensive, and it looks exactly like a normal person’s skin on the outside. When cut open, it’s resin inside, just like the gray – green color in the video just now!”
“At first, I thought you were just joking with this live – stream. But now I realize that this Murong Yue has been trying to lure you out.
Recently, there have been several kidnapping cases of wealthy people in the country. Your home has a high security level, and they can’t get in. But if you leave the community alone in the middle of the night, you’ll be the next one to be kidnapped!”
“Not only kidnapping, she might even deliberately bring some Taoist priests and first cheat you out of money, and then extort your dad!”
The expression on Zhou Sheng’s face changed from fear and surprise to confusion.
“Why didn’t I know my grandma had surgery?”
Xie He: “You were abroad at that time. Your dad was afraid you’d worry, so he didn’t tell you. Zhou Sheng, believe me! Is it more likely to be kidnappers or a skin corpse? Please use your brain and think about it!”
Zhou Sheng’s mind was already in a muddle, and the audience in front of the bullet – screens was almost going crazy.
“Fuck, this doctor from Union Hospital sounds more believable. Who should I believe?”
“Believe Murong Yue! Zhou Sheng’s grandma almost transformed on the door. Didn’t you see that?”
Xie He: “This kind of video can be faked. Who knows if that phone was hacked by hackers? These kidnappers have all kinds of high – tech methods!”
“All the methods she used to prove that Zhou Sheng’s grandma is a skin corpse, like the pupils and the skin, were carefully investigated based on the family’s medical background. And she deliberately chose to say it at night to create a terrifying atmosphere and scare you away. Zhou Sheng, wake up!”
Xie He’s speech was well – organized and logical. Most of the audience immediately changed their stance.
“I believe it. We should still believe in science. Really, we’ve all received nine – year compulsory education. Do you believe in kidnappers or a skin corpse?”
“Yeah, these scams are really getting more and more sophisticated. Not to mention Zhou Sheng, so many of us in the live – streaming room actually absurdly believed such a ridiculous thing! Telecom fraud is really hard to guard against!”
“Yeah, if Zhou Sheng goes down, his life will really be in danger.”
“Zhou Sheng, go back quickly!”
15
Zhou Sheng had one leg straddling the windowsill, his eyes staring blankly at the phone, his face turning green and white in turns, and he seemed to be thinking about something.
Outside the door, Zhou Sheng’s grandma had started knocking and urging.
“A Sheng, you’ve been in there for a long time. Are you done?”
“Not yet. I have diarrhea! Wait for another ten minutes!”
Zhou Sheng turned his head and shouted, then continued to stare at the phone.
“Murong Yue, should I believe you?”
I smiled bitterly.
“At this point, it’s up to you.”
I didn’t expect there to be so many coincidences. What this Xie He said seemed so real. I asked myself that if I weren’t the person involved and was among the audience, I’d probably believe her.
“Look, Murong Yue is speechless.”
“Yeah, she can’t refute! Zhou Sheng, go back!”
“Yeah, there must be kidnappers outside the community. We’ll call the police for you first.”
“Zhou Sheng, stay at home and wait for the police. Don’t believe her anymore.”
Almost all the bullet – screens believed Xie He, but Zhou Sheng took a deep breath and resolutely put his other leg over the windowsill.
“Ahhhhhh——”
“Zhou Sheng, what are you doing? Are you still going to jump down?”
“Fuck, dude, are you stupid? Why do you still believe this stuff?”
“Fuck you, you’re the stupid ones!”
Zhou Sheng sat on the windowsill with a ashen-faced, his voice tinged with sobs.
“I ask you, in the middle of the night, would you rather face a skin corpse or kidnappers?”
“The skin corpse will take my life, while kidnappers just want money. I have plenty of money!”
After growling in a low voice, Zhou Sheng stuffed the phone back into his pocket, then hung his hands on the windowsill and gently jumped down.
The screen suddenly went dark, and only the sound of him landing on the grass and then running away quickly could be heard.
The onlookers were stunned.
“This – what Zhou Sheng said makes so much sense. I’m speechless.”
“They just want my money – damn, I was too narrow – minded. As a poor person like me, I’d rather fight a ghost than be cheated out of money.”
“Now let’s see what Murong Yue has to say! Host, Zhou Sheng has run out. What should we do next?”
Everyone stared at me through the screen.
Under the spotlight, I smiled faintly and then dialed a phone number.
“Hello, the fish has taken the bait. Get ready to close the net.”
16
“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!”
“完了完了，堂堂顶流，被绑匪一个鬼故事骗走了！”
“I’ve been saying that if Murong Yue was telling the truth, I’d live – stream myself eating shit. Where in the world is there a skin corpse?”
“Zhou Sheng is really a fool. What an idiot. Get out of the entertainment industry!”
“Don’t scold randomly. It’s normal to be deceived in this situation. How much smarter are you than Zhou Sheng?”
The bullet – screens were in a complete mess. On the other end of the phone, grandpa’s angry voice came.
“You crazy girl, disturbing my sleep in the middle of the night. What nonsense are you talking about?”
I shrugged.
“Just joking with the audience.”
“Grandpa, there’s a skin corpse near Liuzhou Academy. What should we do? The person has already run out.”
“What, a skin corpse?”
I explained the situation to grandpa, and he immediately became anxious.
“You child, you don’t know the seriousness. Why didn’t you say so earlier? A thousand – year – old skin corpse might kill everyone in a community. Are you in the school dormitory now? Your school is close. Take the Qiankun Mirror and rush over there immediately.”
“Grandpa will gather some people. You hold on for half an hour!”
Bullet – screens:
“?”
“??”
“Confused tree bears confused fruit, under the confused tree, there’s you and me.”
“I really don’t understand. Is there really a skin corpse?”
“I’m not sure either. The host is doing something really new.”
“Hahaha, isn’t it obvious? There really is a skin corpse, and Murong Yue is going to subdue the demon.”
“Weren’t there people who said they’d eat shit before? I’ve already prepared it, fresh and hot. I’ll give it to you as a midnight snack after watching the skin corpse transform.”
The bullet – screens were in chaos. I didn’t have time to pay attention to them. I packed the Qiankun Mirror, rushed downstairs quickly, and took a taxi.
The Qiankun Mirror is a family heirloom of mine and a famous Taoist amulet. Grandpa survived under the hands of the skin corpse by relying on it.
17
Liuzhou Academy is a large villa area. When I took a taxi to the entrance of the community, Zhou Sheng also happened to run out.
“Fuck, Murong Yue?”
“You really came to save me?”
Zhou Sheng was out of breath, sweating profusely. Looking at the brightly lit entrance of the community, he felt a sense of security and slumped to the ground.
“Damn, I’m really exhausted from running!”
I walked over to pull him.
“Don’t sit here. Come on, let’s go to a secluded place. Otherwise, when the skin corpse comes out, it will hurt the innocent.”
Zhou Sheng squinted at me for a while and shook off my hand.
“No, you want to take me to a secluded place to kidnap me, right? Do you really think I’m stupid!”
He gasped for breath, glanced at the few security guards on night duty next to him, and then became complacent again.
“To be honest, I don’t believe you, nor do I believe my grandma. Staying here is the safest. Dare you kidnap me in front of them?”
“Fine, then stay here.”
I held the Qiankun Mirror in my arms, sat on the ground with Zhou Sheng, and then turned on my phone to show him the live – streaming screen.
“Look, your grandma is about to transform.”
Zhou Sheng’s phone was in his trouser pocket, and the live – streaming room connected to me was pitch – black. The live – streaming room of his other phone’s secondary account was on, and the video was facing the sofa in the study. I switched to that live – streaming room, and the audience also followed.
“I’m really confused by Murong Yue. Is there really a skin corpse?”
“Let’s just watch and see. I always feel that Zhou Sheng’s grandma’s situation is very strange.”
In the video, Zhou Sheng’s grandma was pacing restlessly in the room. After walking for a while, she suddenly froze in place, her limbs twitching, and her head swinging uncontrollably from side to side.
“So scary. Is it epilepsy?”
The next second, an extremely strange scene appeared.
A layer of skin and flesh separated from Zhou Sheng’s grandma’s body. At first, it was the appearance of Zhou Sheng’s grandma, but after completely detaching, the face turned into that of a skinny middle – aged man.
And the Zhou Sheng’s grandma left in place became a bloody corpse with the skin peeled off. The muscles were wriggling, and it fell to the ground with a thud.
The skin corpse looked around, flattened its body, and got in through the crack of the toilet door. It should be looking for Zhou Sheng.
18
Zhou Sheng’s face turned snow – white. He covered his mouth and burst into tears.
“I – my grandma is dead? My grandma is really dead?”
The audience in front of the screen was stunned.
“Something has shattered. Oh, it’s my scientific worldview.”
“And my three – views.”
“So there really are ghosts, zombies, and Taoist priests in this world?”
“Where are the people who said they’d eat shit just now? And the one who said they’d eat the table? Don’t pretend to be dead!”
“Yeah, where are those who scolded Murong Yue just now?”
“And that Xie He just now. Zhou Sheng’s grandma is really a skin corpse. Why did you tell such a lie? You’re so ridiculous!”
“Right. You’re not a doctor from Union Hospital, are you? Murong Yue is not a kidnapper at all. Why did you lie?”
Zhou Sheng looked at the words on the bullet – screens and then reacted. He re – connected to the live – streaming room. The camera shook, and the faces of me and Zhou Sheng appeared together.
“Yeah, fuck. Who was that bastard just now? Trying to harm me!”
Xie He: “I just don’t like you, Young Master Zhou. You’re so amazing. I just told a random lie to deceive you.”
“What a pity. I really wanted to see you stay in the room and be eaten by the skin corpse.”
Zhou Sheng’s face was full of anger.
“Fuck you! Are you a psycho? Don’t wait for me to find out who you are. See how I deal with you!”
Xie He: “I’m so scared. First, see if you have your life left!”
Just after reading this line, the phone was suddenly snatched away.
Zhou Sheng and I looked up and saw the skin corpse that was just in Zhou Sheng’s house standing in front of us.
It tilted its head, looking curiously at the words on the screen, and show a strange smile.
“Ghost!”
Zhou Sheng let out a scream. The two of us got up and fled, one to the left and one to the right.
The skin corpse threw the phone aside and pounced on Zhou Sheng.
Zhou Sheng was pounced on. At a critical moment, I took out the Qiankun Mirror from my arms and shone it on the skin corpse.
The skin corpse stiffened all over and rolled off Zhou Sheng.
19
I quickly rushed over to pull Zhou Sheng up, ran into the adjacent security room, and then slammed the door shut and locked it.
“This is a thousand – year – old skin corpse. The Qiankun Mirror can only hold it off for a while.”
“The skin – changing time is its weakest moment. The longer it takes, the more power it will recover, and then the Qiankun Mirror will be useless.”
Zhou Sheng was shaking all over in fear.
“What should we do next?”
I was about to speak when I suddenly felt a movement under my feet. I looked down and saw the skin corpse squeezing in through the crack of the door.
I quickly shone the Qiankun Mirror at it again, and the skin corpse retreated. The two of us waited by the door, shining the mirror at it every once in a while. After several times, Zhou Sheng wasn’t as scared anymore.
“This thing is just scary to look at. In fact, its combat power isn’t that strong.”
I shook my head.
“It’s not that easy to deal with.”
As soon as I finished speaking, the glass window opposite shattered.
“Damn, it’s going to come in through the window.”
When I rushed to the window with the Qiankun Mirror, the skin corpse quickly came in through the crack of the door and coiled around Zhou Sheng like a snake.
Its hand firmly grasped Zhou Sheng’s neck. Zhou Sheng rolled his eyes and couldn’t speak.
I turned my head and was shocked. I was about to shine the Qiankun Mirror on the skin corpse when the skin corpse, with Zhou Sheng in its grasp, broke through the door and ran away.
I chased after them nervously. The skin corpse, carrying Zhou Sheng, leaped into the air and quickly climbed onto the tree in the community in a few steps.
The Qiankun Mirror couldn’t reach it.
In just a few minutes, it could eat Zhou Sheng, recover most of its power, and then start a massacre in the community.
I was so anxious that my forehead was sweating. In a state of desperation, I suddenly heard my grandpa’s voice.
“Crazy girl, where’s the skin corpse!”
I quickly pointed.
“On the tree!”
“Master Qiao, quickly -“
Behind grandpa was a girl in her early twenties with a high ponytail.
She took out a pitch – black token and shouted, “Order of the Five Thunders!”
The next second, a thunderbolt as thick as an arm flashed, and the skin corpse, with Zhou Sheng, fell from the tree.
20
This Master Qiao rushed over in a few steps and squatted down beside Zhou Sheng.
“This benefactor, we’re destined -“
“I see your two eyes blinking at me. Does that mean two million yuan of fate? Hmm – alright then. Let’s decide it like this happily.”
This person was young, but her ability to catch ghosts and exorcise evil spirits was so great that the skin corpse even ignored Zhou Sheng and transformed into a human form, then turned around and ran away.
Master Qiao chased after it.
“Xiaoyue, her name is Qiao Moyu. She’s a geomantic master. You go and follow her to have a look. Learn this skill. It will come in handy when you go tomb – raiding – ahem ahem，I mean, when you go archaeologizing in the future!”
“I don’t want to!”
I pouted.
“We’re from a proper archaeological team. We’re not tomb – raiding. How could we encounter such a thing.”
“And it’s too dangerous. I don’t want to encounter this kind of situation again.”
Soon, Qiao Moyu came back. Her hair was messy, and there was blood on her arm. It seemed that she had gone through a fierce battle.
Zhou Sheng was slumped on the ground, his eyes blank, staring at the night sky above. He didn’t seem to be thinking about anything.
Qiao Moyu walked over and sighed.
“Alas, your grandma died a tragic death. A forty – nine – day Water – and – Land Dharma Assembly should be held to salvation her soul.”
“……”
21
Afterwards, Zhou Sheng thanked me profusely and transferred a large sum of money to me as a reward.
The popularity of my live – streaming room skyrocketed again. Every day, people would wait to watch me appraise treasures. The old fans would always talk about that night’s events with relish. The new fans insisted that it was a joint hype between me and Zhou Sheng. The two sides argued fiercely, and the bullet – screens were very lively.
“What skin corpse? What a load of bullshit!”
“Yeah, that fake video. It’s obviously synthesized. The capital really has no bottom line to become popular.”
“Not to mention, Zhou Sheng has also fallen. He was creating this upright and noble young master persona, but he also ended up hyping.”
“If there really are zombies in this world, I’ll live – stream myself eating shit!”
I connected for live – streaming as usual.
The picture on the other side flickered, and a pale hand appeared in the camera.
A hoarse voice came.
“I heard you can tell the age of things. Take a look at me. What year am I from?”
This is the end of this story.
