The cold wind chilled, and my great-grandfather saw that the soldier was trembling from the cold. He invited the soldier inside to warm up by the fire and offered him some roasted sweet potatoes to fill his stomach.

The soldier was very grateful and followed my great-grandfather into the house. However, when they reached the door, he refused to enter.

My great-grandfather found it strange and asked why he wouldn't come in when it was so cold outside. He suggested warming up by the fire.

The soldier kept his hands in his sleeves, shivering, but still refused to enter the house.

My great-grandfather thought the soldier's behavior was odd, but he didn't ask further questions. He went inside and brought out two fragrant roasted sweet potatoes for the soldier.

When my great-grandfather came out, he saw the soldier standing at the door, staring fixedly above the doorway.

It turned out that there was a protective mirror hanging above the door. In those chaotic times with corpses everywhere, almost every household had a protective mirror. Because there were many deaths during that time, there were also many wandering spirits and ghosts. Hanging a protective mirror at the entrance prevented these wandering spirits and ghosts from entering.

Although the soldier seemed hungry, he showed little interest in the sweet potatoes.

In those times, having sweet potatoes to eat was already considered good enough. The soldier appeared famished, so why would he be picky?

The soldier held the sweet potatoes but didn't eat them. Instead, he made a strange request. He asked my great-grandfather to take down the protective mirror hanging on the door because he was afraid of it.

My great-grandfather found this even more peculiar. Everyone had a protective mirror, so why would someone be afraid of it? Besides, the protective mirror was meant to ward off evil spirits and had no negative effect on humans. Could it be...

My great-grandfather was smart and had a sudden realization. This cunning yellow-skinned creature must have disguised itself as the soldier to gain sympathy from the homeowner and enter their house confidently.

People in the mountains knew that yellow-skinned creatures were evil. If one actively sought to enter a house, who would dare let them in?

Although my great-grandfather was young at the time, he had been living alone for a long time, so he had some courage.

At that moment, he displayed a calmness that was completely different from an ordinary child. He didn't make any obvious extreme reactions. Regardless of how the soldier tried to persuade him to take down the protective mirror, my great-grandfather stubbornly refused.

Finally, my great-grandfather told the soldier, "Either come in and warm up by the fire or take the two sweet potatoes and leave!"

The soldier became angry, loitered at the door for a while, and then threw away the sweet potatoes before leaving.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

My great-grandfather felt a bit sorry for the wasted sweet potatoes, but regardless, preserving his life was worth it.

He didn't dare to sleep that night and stayed up until dawn with his eyes wide open.

As soon as it was light outside, my great-grandfather heard wailing coming from a nearby neighbor's house.

The neighbor's house was where a child and his grandmother lived. The child had died last night, and the grandmother had fainted multiple times from crying.

According to the grandmother, a soldier knocked on their door last night, and out of pity, she let him in to warm up by the fire. The soldier made an excuse, and the grandmother absent-mindedly took down the protective mirror from the door. Later in the night, the soldier went to sleep next to her grandson. When the grandmother woke up and started her chores, she found bloodstains in her grandson's room, which alarmed her. She hurriedly ran to the room and was terrified by what she saw. Her grandson had died, and the scene was extremely tragic. His organs had been removed, and his skull had been opened, with all the brain matter sucked out. The bed and the floor were splattered with blood. But the soldier from the previous night had already disappeared without a trace.

This incident quickly spread throughout the village. People thought there was a cannibal or a perverted maniac among them. Later, my great-grandfather came forward and shared his experience from the previous night, and people realized that they had encountered a cunning yellow-skinned creature.

My great-grandfather also felt lingering fear. If he had succumbed to the soldier's persuasion the previous night, it would have been his brain that was emptied.

Later, people learned that in those times of war and famine, even the yellow-skinned creatures were starving. So, those yellow-skinned creatures that had attained spiritual power began descending from the mountains in search of food. They liked to eat chickens, but in rural areas at that time, people were drinking rice porridge and eating tree bark. There were no chickens to eat. There were no ducks, and even pigs were scarce. Yellow-skinned creatures didn't eat rotten vegetable scraps, and they couldn't bear the hunger anymore. They turned their attention to humans and started preying on children, especially enjoying sucking out their brains. Consuming a child's brain could enhance their cultivation.

People had long forgotten about these creatures, but when I saw the protective mirror at Xie Qiang's door tonight, something clicked in my mind.

Xie Qiang happened to be standing under the protective mirror. Pretending to help Fatso, I quickly glanced up.

In the mirror, I saw Xie Qiang's reflection, but on his back was a little girl.

I was suddenly shocked. The girl appeared to be around six or seven years old, with her hands around Xie Qiang's neck, her hair in pigtails wrapped in water plants. She was wearing a floral dress, soaked all over, as if she had just crawled out of the river. Her small arms and legs were already pale from being soaked, as if they would rot away with a gentle poke.

I looked at the protective mirror and then lowered my head to look at Xie Qiang.

There was nothing on Xie Qiang's back, but in the protective mirror, I could see a little girl hanging onto his back.

Without a doubt, those eerie red sandals must belong to this little girl ghost.

When Er Gou drowned, he was wearing those red sandals, indicating that he was likely killed by this little girl. And now, Xie Qiang was wearing those red sandals on his feet. Was the little girl planning to harm Xie Qiang?

When I looked up at the protective mirror again, the girl hanging onto Xie Qiang's back suddenly turned her head. Her eyes were gray, without pupils, staring straight at the protective mirror. Then, she grinned, revealing a chilling smile.

I felt a chill run through my body. Despite the scorching summer, I felt as if I were standing in a freezing storm.

My heart trembled, and I knew for certain that the little girl was smiling at me!

Tonight, I have no preparations, so there's no way for me to deal with this little girl. I can only hope that Xie Qiang will get through tonight.

Seeing that the little girl didn't make any hostile moves towards me, I pretended not to notice and slowly guided Fatso out of the yard.