Human Skin Scarecrow

Jin Yuan was a remarkably loyal person, yet sometimes his loyalty bordered on sheer foolishness.

Take that one time, for instance, when Li Xiang was rejected by a girl because he couldn't afford an Apple smartphone. Jin Yuan had single-handedly bought out an entire crate of iPhones, dragging Li Xiang right in front of that girl to smash them one by one.

Back then, Jin Yuan had purchased a whole carton of iPhones, practically sweeping the local Apple specialty store clean—dozens of phones in total. And the brat had even stolen the money from home just to vent some frustration for Li Xiang.

Naturally, once it was all over and Jin Yuan returned home, a severe scolding awaited him, punctuated by a resounding slap across the face from his father. Because of that incident, he had nearly dropped out of school.

Upon returning to school, we could still see the distinct imprint of five fingers on his face. When we pressed him about what had happened, he stubbornly refused to say a word, bearing it all entirely on his own.

And now, that same fool Jin Yuan was acting recklessly once again. I had no idea that Liu Sui had assigned Jin Yuan another task. Furthermore, this mission was urgent, and Liu Sui had repeatedly emphasized that both of us had to go together.

The situation was this: a sorcerer had recently appeared near the campus. This sorcerer specialized in taking the lives of young children, capturing the souls of his victims to forge puppet familiars. Just as I was dealing with the burly brute, Jin Yuan received a call from Liu Sui saying another child had fallen victim nearby, instructing Jin Yuan to rush over with me immediately.

Yet I had just been dealing with that brute and was thoroughly enjoying the thrill. To buy me time, Jin Yuan the fool had actually gone off alone to confront the sorcerer by himself.

After delivering the brute to the police station, I felt as though I had accomplished a major feat, my heart overflowing with exhilaration. Whistling all the way, I prepared to head back to school to find Jin Yuan.

As soon as I reached the school gates, however, I ran into Liu Sui. His expression at that moment was terribly grim. "Why did you come back alone? Didn't I tell you to stay with Jin Yuan?"

At the time, I had no clue what was going on, so I replied offhandedly, "He's not my wife. He can't stick to me while eating or going to the bathroom, can he?"

"Where is he now?" Liu Sui's expression shifted completely. Stunned, I realized something might be wrong and hurriedly recounted the sequence of events.

Upon hearing my account, Liu Sui wore an expression of unprecedented anxiety. "Move, we need to find him right now."

Still dazed, I was grabbed by Liu Sui and dragged in a wild sprint away from the campus.

Along the way, Liu Sui explained what was happening. It turned out that four or five children had died consecutively at a nearby kindergarten recently. Before these deaths, witnesses had spotted a man dressed in black lingering around them.

Shortly after that, these children had fallen mysteriously and violently ill, losing consciousness before passing away within a single day. When Liu Sui heard about this, he investigated and discovered these deaths were far from natural—someone had cast a spell to steal their souls.

Hearing this, I felt rather puzzled. Since Liu Sui was so formidable and had already figured out someone was up to no good, why didn't he handle it himself instead of sending Jin Yuan and me?

I looked at Liu Sui and voiced this very question.

Hearing my query, Liu Sui's expression sank instantly. "Some things cannot be done just because you want to. My hands are tied."

"Hands tied? Why?"

Liu Sui let out a long sigh. "In short, it's inconvenient for me to show my face, which is why I sent the two of you in my stead. But you..."

Mid-sentence, the bus reached the stop. Swallowing the rest of his words, Liu Sui leaped down from the vehicle. Not wanting to be outdone, I jumped down right after him.

Liu Sui ran at a blistering pace, sprinting the entire way after getting off. Before long, a kindergarten came into view.

I had frequently passed by this kindergarten in the past. Ordinarily, it was a bustling place with children hopping and skipping as they ran around inside. But this time, when Liu Sui and I reached the entrance, the kindergarten was eerily devoid of life.

Stopping at the gates, Liu Sui turned to me and said, "Call Jin Yuan's phone. See if he can still answer."

I didn't quite understand what Liu Sui meant, but I dialed Jin Yuan's number anyway. As the call went through, only the hollow tone of an unanswered call echoed back. Panic instantly gripped my heart. Could Liu Sui's suspicion be correct? Had something actually happened to Jin Yuan?

Seeing me lower the phone, Liu Sui furrowed his brow, seemingly anticipating the result. Yet he did not panic, turning his gaze toward the interior of the kindergarten. "The bodies of those children should still be inside. Come with me, let's take a look."

With that, Liu Sui pushed the door open. Inside the courtyard, the children caught sight of Liu Sui's icy expression and instantly burst into terrified wailing. Simultaneously, a few teachers who appeared to be in charge rushed toward Liu Sui and me.

"What are you two doing? Step any closer and I'm calling the police!" The speaker was a female teacher in her late teens. Teachers at this kindergarten were generally young with limited education; some likely had only a junior high school diploma. As long as they could handle kids, they could be kindergarten teachers.

Compared to this young teacher, both Liu Sui and I were much taller and older. While the children wailed in terror and the other teachers huddled together in fright, this young woman actually dared to charge forward, which involuntarily stirred a sense of respect within me.

Seeing her shout at us, Liu Sui and I halted our steps. I adjusted my demeanor, trying to look as amiable as possible before speaking to the young teacher. "Miss, I'm terribly sorry. We mean no harm, you don't need to be afraid."

Yet the girl showed no intention of letting us off. "No matter what you're here for, get out! This is a school, outsiders are not permitted to enter."

I wanted to say more to make her accept us, but suddenly Liu Sui stopped me. He walked right up to the female teacher and whispered something into her ear. Her expression instantly shifted, and she stopped trying to block our path.

In fact, she even took the initiative to lead the way.

"The bodies of those children are inside. Follow me." The nervous expression had vanished entirely from the girl's face.

I looked at Liu Sui in confusion. "What did you say to her?"

Liu Sui shook his head. "Nothing. Let's go."

With that, Liu Sui strode forward. Within moments, we penetrated deeper into the kindergarten, passing through several rooms until we reached the institution's small auditorium.

The auditorium was pitch black. Several wooden boards were laid out upon the stage, and resting atop those boards were the corpses of several young children.

Liu Sui turned to the female teacher and said, "Alright, you can wait outside."

The teacher nodded immediately and walked away. At that moment, my confusion deepened exponentially. Had Liu Sui used some sort of dark art? How else could the teacher have become so obedient in an instant?

Before I could dwell on it further, Liu Sui walked toward the child corpses. I quickly hurried after him. Liu Sui drew a small knife from his waist and gently made a cut on the arm of one of the corpses.

Startled and bewildered, I rushed to ask, "Why are you cutting his arm?"

Without lifting his head, Liu Sui replied, "See for yourself."

I lowered my gaze, following the tip of the small knife in Liu Sui's hand. The skin on the child's arm had indeed been sliced open.

Yet what made my scalp crawl was that beneath the skin, there was no sign of human flesh or blood at all.

As Liu Sui parted the cut skin of the child's arm, what lay exposed inside was nothing more than bundles of dried grass.