Episode 1 Chapter 006: Shock
But I didn't change at all. I was still staring at the door. That look made me a little scared. After the door was opened, nothing came in. The picture remained still. If the progress bar hadn't been moving all the time, I would have thought it was a still picture.
I thought I would get up after I woke up, and then move to the camera like I did that night, and move the camera to the bedside, but to my surprise, I turned over and fell asleep. Then there was a long period of stillness, and I seemed to "wake up" for a short while, of course I didn't have any impression of it, and then I fell asleep again as if nothing had happened. This situation was too unexpected, so I wanted to know more and more how the camera got to the bedside.
The scene after that became very boring, the picture basically didn't move, only the progress bar was moving. When , my mom suddenly came in and I paused the video. My mom and the others didn't know that I had recorded the video, and I didn't want them to know, as that would only scare them more.
My mother said she was going out to buy some things and asked me if I knew where to buy paper money and incense. I didn't know myself, and I had never heard of anywhere selling these things here. My mother said she had burned all the ones she brought yesterday, and wanted to get some new ones and give away this pair of cloth shoes.
There was no need to ask. She must have talked to someone from her hometown over the phone, and the one who looked after the evil spirit must have taught her to do this. I couldn't disobey my mother, so I thought about it and remembered that I seemed to have seen a few old ladies in their seventies and eighties selling them on Huguo Road. It was still early now, so they should still be there. Seeing my mother's anxious look, I said I would take her over to have a look.
My mother was naturally happy to go, and asked my father if he wanted to go. My father said he would stay at home, so I went out with my mother. I remembered correctly that there was an alley on Huguo Road with some old houses and a long strip of shops selling all kinds of miscellaneous goods. Among them were several small storefronts that sold silver ingots, joss sticks, candles, and paper money. There was not just one shop but several.
We walked into a random shop and saw an old lady in her seventies folding silver ingots while listening to TV. She didn't react when she saw us come in. I didn't know anything about paper money, so I just looked at it casually. My mother asked the old lady if she had anything else. Only then did the old lady stop what she was doing, asked my mother how much she wanted, and stood up to count it herself.
I don't know whether my mother had calculated it all or just came up with it on the spur of the moment. When she was helping the old lady pack these things, she casually asked the old lady if there was anyone here who could help people ward off evil spirits. The old lady looked at my mother and then at me. She wasn't gloomy, but had the kind of old and dry feeling that other old ladies usually have. She said there was a house in front that also sold paper money, and her husband used to be a Taoist priest, so she asked us to go over and ask if we could do a look.
After hearing this, my mother felt like she had grabbed a life-saving straw. She asked the old lady to point it out in detail, then thanked me repeatedly and went to the shop with me. There was also an old lady making paper money in this shop, but this old lady was a little younger. Although her hair was gray, she looked stronger. She was about 60 years old. When she saw us come in, she saw my mother holding a bag of paper money and asked us what we wanted to buy.
I was a little embarrassed because I didn't buy paper money for their house and I was afraid that the old lady would be unhappy. My mother was fine, but she said that she heard that the man in her family could tell evil spirits, so she came here to ask.
But the old lady refused immediately. She said her husband had stopped doing it a long time ago, so we should look for someone else. My mother was stunned and a little disappointed. So she shamelessly told her that we had some urgent matters at home and needed someone to help...
But before my mother finished her words, the old lady got angry and asked if my mother hadn't heard what she said. She said her husband had quit the job, and then she chased us away. My mother and I were both embarrassed and walked out of her shop in a huff. I said why don't we go back first, but my mother didn't give up. She went back to the old lady's shop and asked if there was anyone else who could help. When she saw us coming back, the old lady said that the woman had a bad temper and was not popular in this area, so we shouldn't bother with her.
The old lady said that if we really wanted to find one, she could help us contact one, but this person lived far away, in the north of the city, and he had his own job and rarely helped people. He was a bit like a hermit. I found it strange to hear the old lady say that. I didn't expect that there would be such people among office workers in big cities. The old lady said that her family has a long history, so even if he didn't want to learn, he had been exposed to it since he was a child, and naturally understood a lot.
The old lady said that even if he couldn't see it, he could ask her to recommend one. She said these people were easy to get along with and would not ignore others suffering. Even if they didn't help, they would show you a way out.
My mother was naturally overjoyed. I had a feeling that the matter was getting bigger and bigger, but I knew my mother's temper. If you argued with her at this time, she would skin you alive. So although I was a little reluctant, I didn't say anything. The old lady said that she would call him and ask him to come here on the weekend when he was not at work. We would come too and let him listen to the situation first. If he agreed, we could talk about the rest.
Today is already Thursday, which is the day after tomorrow. Finally, my mother thanked me repeatedly and went back home with me. When we got home, my mother started to fold paper money and said that she would give away the pair of cloth shoes in the evening. I didn't say anything and let my mother do it. On the way back, I bought takeout and ate it with my family at home.
After that, my mother was busy folding paper money, planning to give away the pair of cloth shoes tonight. My father went to help, and my mother told me not to touch these things and told me to do what I should do. So I went back to my room to watch the rest of the video.
I was still sleeping halfway through the movie, without even turning over. I was feeling bored and confused, and then suddenly the camera went dark. At first I thought it was over, but when I looked at the progress bar, it was still moving, so I realized the light was out. The camera is not a professional video recording device, and without the light source there was only darkness.
I think the changes last night should have started from here. Even though the screen was pitch black, I was still watching patiently. I stared at it for a long time, and suddenly a voice came from behind me, which scared me. I felt my whole body shaking. Then I turned around and saw my dad standing behind me. I complained that my dad came in without making any noise, but my dad said it was not that he didn't make any noise, but that I was too focused. Then he looked at the screen and asked me why I was so engrossed in looking at the whole black screen, and asked me if I was thinking about something.
I didn't know how to answer, so I could only nod. My dad looked at the screen curiously again, then asked what this thing was and why there seemed to be a person there. I looked at my dad in horror, then looked at the screen, but couldn't see anything, so I asked my dad what person it was. My dad then pointed at the black screen and drew the lines for me, then asked me if it was a face.
I couldn't tell if my dad hadn't told me, but it was true after he said that. The face almost covered the entire screen. I kept staring at the details, and my dad was far away so he could see it as a whole, so I couldn't tell. When my dad saw that something was wrong with my expression, he turned to me and asked me what it was. I couldn't describe or confirm what it was because I wasn't sure if it was the thing in the room or if I got up by myself after the lights went out and ran to the camera. I have done this before, so I had a big doubt.
It was precisely because of this that I didn't know how to explain to my dad, so I told him it was nothing, just a boring thing sent by a colleague. After hearing it, my dad began to criticize me, saying that I should stay away from these weird things, especially in the current situation, and I should stay away from them. Then he said that we young people really don't know the seriousness of the matter.
I listened to my dad's scolding and didn't dare to respond, for fear of contradicting him and making him unhappy. Then my mom called my dad to help her in the living room. Only then did my dad remember the purpose of his coming to the room, but after he opened his mouth, he seemed to have difficulty speaking. I felt strange and asked my dad what was going on.
Then my dad asked me quietly, he deliberately lowered his voice as if he was afraid that my mom would hear, whether I bought this pair of shoes, and then he told me seriously that I should not lie to them, whether I did something weird and didn't tell them. I thought my dad knew that I recorded the video of me sleeping at night, and I didn't know how to start, but my dad suddenly changed the subject and said that my mom found this pair of shoes in my closet, and he saw me wearing it that night.
When I heard my dad say this, I almost stood up immediately. My dad was shocked by my reaction. I knew he was talking about me sitting on the sofa that night. I asked him again if he was sure. My dad said very confidently that although it was dark at the time, he was not wrong. Besides, my dad is not a talkative person. He noticed my shoes at the time and kept wondering why I wore such a pair of shoes. It seemed like I did it on purpose. But until mom found the shoes, my dad didn't mention it because he thought I was afraid of being blamed by mom, so I didn't dare to say that I really bought them home.
I know that my dad is good at keeping things in his heart. He didn't mean to hide this matter on purpose, but he thought too much about it. He was afraid that if it really happened as he thought, it would hurt my reputation in the end. So he planned to ask me clearly and see what the situation was. These are some secrets between father and son.
