Alley Nails

As time goes by, the alleys and alleys of the old city, the old houses with cracks in the bricks, and the dark corners will breed "yin erosion" condensed by obsession and bad luck. They silently stalk people who return home late at night and eat the living people alive. There is a group of guardians called "Nail Guests" who use old hardware nails as magical tools and use walls and lanes to set up formations to suppress evil spirits and guard the fireworks at the entrance of the lanes. They hide in the market, or work as shoe repairmen or locksmiths, doing ordinary jobs during the day and patrolling the dark side of the city at night. Lin Ye, a second-year high school student, grew up with his grandmother since he was a child. An old copper nail left by his grandfather hangs around his neck, just as a reminder of his elders. One rainy night, he was studying late one night. He took a shortcut through Locust Tree Alley and saw a black shadow wandering against the wall. The copper nails suddenly became hot and glowed, revealing the truth hidden in the folds of the fireworks. Grandpa Chen, who repaired shoes, was a regular nail shop in this area and was also an old friend of my grandpa's. Lin Ye took over the inheritance, starting from learning how to hammer the first nail, and walked through the walls and alleys of the old city: the afterimages of children in the demolished buildings, the evil spirits in the mirrors of the old photo studios, the old resentments at the bottom of the ancient wells... Behind each and every strange incident in the alleys, there are past events buried by the years, and also the truth about the death of my grandfather. There is no grand battle with supernatural powers, only a silent confrontation at the foot of the alley. Clutching the polished copper nails, Lin Ye moved forward between the fireworks and the gloom. What he wanted was never peace in the world, but peace in the night for ordinary people.