Free Web NovelChapter 68: Chapter 68: I’m Here
Looking around, he found himself surrounded by the Paper Person Boats, with a grim, gray fog permeating the vicinity of the boats. The ghastly pale paper people stared at him, creating a scene that sent shivers down one’s spine without the cold.
Kuang Hongyi regretted his decision; he shouldn’t have let Yang Xiao go. The fog barrier formed by the Paper Person Boats obscured his sight, and now he couldn’t see anything beyond it. He suspected that Yang Xiao had abandoned them, "You can hide for now but not forever, what will you use to fight Shi Dali without us?" Now Kuang Hongyi just hoped that Yang Xiao wasn’t a fool.
Splash...
Splash...
Kuang Hongyi heard the sound of water as if something was paddling, right behind him.
Turning around abruptly, he looked into the water and saw a blurry figure rising and falling in the dark water, drawing closer to him.
The figure’s body was twisted and its movements bizarre, nothing like what a normal person could do, until Kuang Hongyi noticed the thick hemp rope trailing behind it.
He realized what it was; it was the martial master killed by the Feng Family! After death, he was tied to the back of the Hebo Xi Ship to bleed out, and it was his blood that attracted the nearby ghosts.
"No, why are you causing chaos at this time?" Kuang Hongyi nearly cried, "It wasn’t me who killed you, if you have the guts, go find Master Feng and the others!"
But the counterpart clearly couldn’t understand what he was saying, approaching the small boat where Kuang Hongyi was with a creepy swimming motion, its body bent forward as it swam, but its bloated, pallid head was twisted 180 degrees, dead fish-like eyes bulging and staring straight at Kuang Hongyi. frёeωebɳovel.com
The situation was different from before; the Paper Person Boats were closing in, and Kuang Hongyi’s range of movement was severely limited. Now, this ghostly presence emerged, adding insult to injury.
At first, Kuang Hongyi dodged symbolically, but then he realized that this corpse didn’t seem to be much of a threat; it was just a bit horrifying and slow-moving. Besides, it was tethered by a rope and had even less range of motion than him. So Kuang Hongyi positioned his boat just out of the corpse’s reach, watching it flail and desperately reach out, trying to grasp his boat, always missing by just a bit.
"Useless thing!"
Annoyed by the constant thrashing, Kuang Hongyi took up the paddle and struck the corpse’s head a few times, or he would push the corpse into the water to calm it down.
Kuang Hongyi could not imagine the despair Su Tingting was facing at that moment. Inside the cabin, one unimaginable event after another unfolded. The reflection of the male paper person in the mirror was completely different from the one in reality; every time Su Tingting blew on the incense, the movements of the male paper person in the mirror changed.
First it was turning its head, then its body, followed by standing up... now the male paper person in the mirror had pulled out the Precious Sword and was striding towards her.
The Precious Sword reflected in the copper mirror was not simply a paper sword, but a true Precious Sword, its blade gleaming with sharpness, reflecting cold beams of light.
Oddly enough, the male paper person was not approaching Su Tingting, but the female paper person on the bridal bed.
Moments later, an idea flashed through Su Tingting’s mind; she turned the copper mirror around, aiming it at the female paper person on the bed, or more precisely, at the female paper person’s belly.
The next second, Su Tingting’s breath stopped; she saw clearly that under the swollen belly of the female paper person, a pair of small hands appeared, vaguely visible.
The tiny hands, with distinct fingers, were an eerie bluish-black, pressed against the pale belly as if ready to burst forth at any moment.
Immediately after, a ghostly face emerged from beneath the paper doll’s belly, directly facing Su Tingting. Its expression was ferocious, as if it were laughing.
No, this ghostly thing... this ghostly thing was indeed laughing!
Su Tingting had already heard a faint laughter, but the sound did not come from the female paper doll behind her; instead... it came from inside her, from her own belly!
She suddenly lifted her clothes and saw beneath her skin a pair of small hands and a dark green ghostly face. Now, as everything became clear, Su Tingting realized that the paper doll on the bed was herself tonight, which was also part of the ritual. The male paper doll’s task was to brandish the sword and chop down.
What the result would be, she wasn’t sure, nor did she have time to worry about it. There were only two possible outcomes: first, to kill the ghost baby along with the female paper doll once and for all. Second, to slash open the belly of the female paper doll and release the ghost baby.
Unfortunately, regardless of the outcome, her fate was bound to that of the female paper doll. As the substitute for the Young Lady, she was destined to die.
The thought came to her that maybe she shouldn’t have boarded this ship. If she hadn’t come, perhaps the male paper doll wouldn’t have moved, and then the subsequent events wouldn’t have unfolded.
But this notion was quickly dismissed. The Feng Family had designed everything well in advance. No matter what she did, the outcome wouldn’t change, just sooner or later. However, being on the ship, there was still a glimmer of hope tonight. She trusted Yang Xiao; he was her last hope now.
And through several experiments, Su Tingting had also discovered some patterns: as long as she used a mirror on the male paper doll, its movements would greatly slow down.
But it was only a slowdown; the male paper doll still held the Precious Sword and was inching closer to the female paper doll on the bed, whose ghostly fetus was becoming impatient.
The moment the male paper doll swung its sword would be the moment of her death.
At this instant, Su Tingting had no other thoughts. After aiming the mirror at the male paper doll, she squatted in front of the incense burner and blew air on either side without hesitation, without fear, the only thought left being to burn the three sticks of incense into two short ones and one long.
"Mr. Chu, the rest... I leave it to you!"
At this moment, Yang Xiao obviously couldn’t hear the inner thoughts of Su Tingting and Kuang Hongyi. Clutching the paper bearing the Young Lady’s birthdate and hour, his gaze wandered repeatedly over the eight paper dolls.
He only had one chance. If he chose wrong, everyone would die.
But it had to be said, the Feng Family had prepared thoroughly. These paper dolls, whether in craftsmanship or design, were nearly identical, and Shi Dali hidden among them was tough. For such a long time, he managed to remain completely still, giving Yang Xiao no opportunity to spot a weakness.
There was no more time. Yang Xiao was aware that if he didn’t make a decision soon, Su Tingting and Kuang Hongyi would undoubtedly die. But to blindly choose from the eight paper dolls meant too low a chance of success.
There was only one method left, and despite the enormous risk, Yang Xiao decided to take the gamble. He looked at the iron hook at the bow of the boat—used for securing ropes—and steeled himself, stretching his palm over the hook and giving it a fierce scratch. His flesh was torn, blood spouting out as if it cost nothing at all.
As the blood dripped into the lake, almost instantly, the paper dolls on the nearby boat all turned their heads 180 degrees as if receiving a signal, staring at Yang Xiao behind them. However, Yang Xiao suddenly smiled, because among those paper dolls, there was only one that didn’t turn its head.
The next second, Yang Xiao forcefully paddled, steering the small boat straight toward the one paper doll that hadn’t turned its head.
"Shi, I’m coming for you!!"
