Shen Nanchu swiftly folded the paper.
Her fingers were quick and clever, and in just a moment, a sheet of rough-edged paper was transformed into a palm-sized lantern with a small opening at the top, perfect for placing a firefly inside.
Shen Nanchu crouched down, gently parted the blades of grass, and carefully extended her fingertips towards a firefly resting on a leaf.
The little insect didn't seem afraid of people. Before it could fly away, Shen Nanchu deftly cupped it in her palm.
"Be gentle when catching them, don't crush them."
She opened her palm and placed the firefly into the paper lantern through the small opening.
Pei Yunzhou imitated Shen Nanchu, squatting down and softly patting through the grass with his small hands.
Before long, he caught one too.
"Second sister-in-law, look, I caught one too!"
"Good, speed it up a little."
"Okay!"
Pei Yunzhou counted as he caught fireflies.
"One, two, three... Second sister-in-law, we've made five more lanterns!"
Shen Nanchu wiped the light sweat from her forehead. Looking at the dozens of glowing lanterns in the burlap sack, a glint of satisfaction flashed in her eyes.
"That's enough. These should be plenty to scare the visitors out of their wits."
"Then let's go back!"
Pei Yunzhou was eagerly anticipating how his second sister-in-law would use these to frighten off those Red Armband fellows.
By the time Shen Nanchu and Pei Yunzhou returned to the mountainside carrying the burlap sack of glowing lanterns,
Pei Zhengnian, along with Xiong Lei, Sun Xuelin, and the others, were already sweating profusely from their work.
They had set up several rows of stones on the steep slope. Each stone was lightly secured with thin branches and vines, so that the slightest touch would send them tumbling down the mountain.
On a nearby clearing stood over a dozen scarecrows borrowed from the fields, each wearing a tattered straw hat. At first glance, they really did look like people standing there.
"Sister-in-law, you're finally back!"
Xiong Lei was the first to greet them. Seeing the green light emanating from the burlap sack, he peered in curiously.
"What's in here? It glows?"
Shen Nanchu didn't answer directly. Instead, she pulled out a glowing lantern from the sack.
"Watch closely. Attach these lanterns to the scarecrows."
After a moment's thought, she added,
"Best to hang two at the face position, and one each on the hands and feet."
Sun Xuelin took a lantern and exclaimed as soon as he touched it,
"There's something alive in here? It's moving!"
"They're fireflies," Pei Yunzhou explained proudly. "I caught them with second sister-in-law! Glowing bugs!"
Only then did everyone understand. They picked up the lanterns and began hanging them on the scarecrows.
Xiong Lei clumsily tied a lantern to a scarecrow's arm. As soon as he finished, he yelped "Aiya!" and jumped back.
A breeze blew, causing the scarecrow with its fluorescent light to sway gently. In the twilight, it looked genuinely eerie.
"My goodness! If anyone saw this in the dark, they'd definitely wet themselves!"
Xiong Lei patted his chest, catching his breath.
"Sister-in-law, this trick of yours is downright mean, even harsher than the Captain's rock-throwing idea!"
"There's something even harsher. Want to give it a try?"
Shen Nanchu's smile held a hidden edge.
Xiong Lei shuddered and quickly waved his hands.
"No, no, no."
"Another day, let the Captain experience it with sister-in-law."
Shen Nanchu smiled and walked up to a scarecrow, adjusting the lantern's position so the green light shone precisely through the gaps in the straw hat.
"Move it a bit more this way. Don't let the light be too even. Flickering is much scarier."
Pei Zhengnian stood to the side watching, his eyes full of amusement.
This woman always managed to surprise people. She understood how to mess with others better than anyone, yet this very talent was being used for a good cause, making it feel both satisfying and reassuring.
"Are the stones all set up?"
After arranging the scarecrows, Shen Nanchu walked over to Pei Zhengnian and asked.
"All done,"
Pei Zhengnian pointed at the slope.
"As soon as they step onto that flat area, Sun Xuelin just needs to pull the rope. The stones will roll down. It won't hurt anyone, but it'll be enough to scare the daylights out of them."
"Not enough."
Shen Nanchu shook her head, her gaze falling on the remaining bamboo strips and some white paper.
"We need one more big move, to make them completely convinced this place is haunted."
As she spoke, she got to work. She used the bamboo strips to form the shape of a skeleton frame, then soaked the white paper in water and pasted it on, creating a half-human-sized skull and torso.
Pei Yunzhou, Xiong Lei, and Sun Xuelin watched dumbfounded, unsure what their sister-in-law was planning.
"Second sister-in-law, what are you making this scary thing for?"
Pei Yunzhou asked quietly, feeling a bit apprehensive looking at the pale white skull.
"You'll know soon enough."
Shen Nanchu gave a mysterious smile. She pulled out the last few firefly lanterns from the burlap sack, carefully placed them into the skeleton's eye sockets and chest cavity, and then sprinkled some fluorescent powder onto the paper surface.
This powder was something Shen Nanchu had exchanged for five credits from her space.
Why not exchange for more?
The answer was simply that credits shouldn't be wasted too freely.
"Sister-in-law, what is this?"
Pei Yunzhou had turned into a curious child, fascinated by everything Shen Nanchu made.
"A small piece of glowing stone I found by chance. I ground it into powder."
Shen Nanchu's excuse came effortlessly.
As the night grew darker, a miraculous scene unfolded.
The skeleton frame began to emit an eerie green fluorescence all over. Two points of green light swayed faintly in the eye sockets, and the glow in the chest cavity rose and fell gently with the night breeze, as if a wronged soul were truly breathing inside.
The pale white outline flickered in and out of sight in the darkness, with green light seeping through the paper seams, creating an indescribably strange and sinister atmosphere.
"My goodness!"
Xiong Lei leaped back three big steps in fright, almost crashing into a stone behind him.
"Sister-in-law, did you invite the underworld's little demons here? That's terrifying! My poor heart is about to jump out!"
Sun Xuelin also swallowed hard, forcing himself to stay calm.
"F-for-unately it's fake... If it were real, I'd faint on the spot."
Pei Zhengnian stared at the skeleton for a long while, the curve at the corner of his mouth impossible to suppress.
"It's very convincing. Even I was almost fooled."
He turned to look at Shen Nanchu, admiration in his eyes.
"Now, it'll be hard for them not to believe."
Shen Nanchu clapped her hands together, satisfied with her masterpiece.
"That's about right. Hang this skeleton on the crooked-neck tree up ahead, and move the scarecrows closer to the roadside. Make sure they see them as soon as they enter the mountain."
She looked up at the sky. The moon had already climbed over the mountaintop.
"The rest is just waiting for our guests to arrive."
The mountain wind blew, carrying the fresh scent of grass and trees, and rustling the roadside scarecrows. The fluorescence on their bodies flickered. The skeleton frame on the crooked-neck tree swayed gently, the green lights in its eye sockets flashing in the dark night.
Xiong Lei hunched his shoulders and muttered quietly,
"Sister-in-law, after this is over, we really have to take all this stuff down. Otherwise, I won't dare walk this path at night."
Shen Nanchu was amused by him. She was about to say something when she saw Pei Zhengnian gesture for everyone to be quiet.
From the distant mountain path came the sound of disorderly footsteps and voices.
Yu Zhen and his group had finally arrived.
The show was about to begin.
...
