Where Immortals Once Walked-Chapter 362: Paper People

Sometime during the night, the rain stopped.

A round moon hung in the sky, scattering silver light across the lake’s surface.

* * *

The return trip went smoothly, and there was not even a pothole big enough to twist an ankle. He Lingchuan brought Third Master Gan back into the county city.

It was already deep into the night, and everything was silent. Not only was there not a soul on the road, but there also was not even a dog barking.

He Lingchuan hauled Third Master Gan down from the horse and pulled the rag from his mouth. “A deal’s a deal. I’ll let you go. But if you come looking for trouble again...”

He had promised earlier that so long as Third Master Gan led him to the spirit medium, he would be spared.

Third Master Gan had had that rag stuffed in his mouth the whole way. His throat was parched, and he could barely form words. Still, he forced himself to speak. “N-no... N-never... I-I won’t... ever again!”

Only then did He Lingchuan release him. “Scram.”

Third Master Gan staggered. Afraid He Lingchuan might change his mind, he gritted through the pain and limped off—half running, half hobbling—toward home.

With a flick of He Lingchuan’s finger, a little spider hopped onto Third Master Gan’s back and went along for the ride.

Just because he said that he was not going to kill him did not mean that he would not guard against him.

He Lingchuan still wanted to watch what happened next. He wanted to see whether the brat would grow another crooked thought.

And besides, several questions still bothered him.

Why would that spirit medium grant Third Master Gan three requests in the first place? She could even take down the private troops of one of Beijia’s high officials. Dealing with silk pants[1] from a county city should have been a piece of cake. Why even bother with a three-request arrangement?

Compared to everyone else, what makes this Third Master Gan special?

Thinking back on the fight in and out of the bamboo house, He Lingchuan still did not feel settled.

A spirit medium like her died just like that? It honestly feels... way too simple.

But even if something felt wrong, he could not pinpoint what exactly it was.

Maybe some backwoods monster granny really was that easy to deal with. It was not as if he had to run into high-difficulty opponents every time.

Most of the jianghu was really just about bullying small fry, that was the norm.

Whatever, I’ll just go back and rest for now. I’ll deal with whatever comes tomorrow.

He headed straight for Purple Bamboo Garden, which was where he was currently staying. The doorman was nowhere to be seen; the front hall sat empty, though the lamps were still lit. He went by habit to the private bathing room, took a soak, and lay down fully clothed.

Hands behind his head, he looked like he was staring blankly at the ceiling, but in truth, he was quietly borrowing the eyeball spider’s sight, keeping watch on Third Master Gan.

Third Master Gan—the soft-legged coward that he actually was—grew slower and slower. Just as he neared the Gan Residence, he suddenly dropped onto the roadside and could not go on.

And then, he broke. He covered his face and wailed.

For someone who had always had smooth sailing, the last two days were a nightmare.

Worst of all, it was a nightmare he could not wake from.

The family pillar was gone. The travel token that could save the Gan Family Merchant Guild from drowning never reached his hand. Tonight, he had lived through something terrifying, and he did not even know how many of his ribs were broken.

From here, his life collapsed across the board.

Watching, He Lingchuan was speechless.

Pathetic.

Whatever, I’ll just leave him be.

He Lingchuan withdrew his attention and sat cross-legged to circulate his qi.

Tonight was not a night for sleep. He did not fully enter meditation. He just let true qi run a few minor cycles, slow and steady.

Not long after, faint footsteps came from outside.

He Lingchuan opened his eyes.

A soft knock was followed by a gentle voice, “Young Master He, are you asleep?”

“Who is it?”

“It’s Bai Tan.”

He recognized the voice. It was the maidservant who attended the bath chamber, Bai Tan. “What is it?”

“I think I saw you come back earlier.” Bai Tan sounded bright. “I brought you a late-night snack, fish congee with sliced mushrooms.”

“Alright, come in.”

Bai Tan pushed the door open, smiling, carrying a tray. Sure enough, a steaming bowl of fish congee sat on it, its fragrance diffusing across the room.

He Lingchuan, however, seemed to pause. He looked at Bai Tan, then at the red tray she carried.

The mushroom slices were thick, the fish slices were tender-white, and the rice had been cooked until it flowered—slow simmer, showcasing real skill.

“Only congee?”

Bai Tan blinked. “Do you want something else?”

“A savory congee without fried dough sticks, how am I supposed to eat that?” He Lingchuan’s brow furrowed. “Go and get me two!”

No matter how rich or plain the porridge was, he always bought one or two fried dough sticks to soak and eat.

“Ah, yes.” Bai Tan was stunned for a moment, but she quickly set down the tray and left.

She was gone for slightly over a quarter of an hour.

When Bai Tan returned, she had an oiled-paper bundle carrying two golden fried dough sticks. The aroma hit before she even reached him.

“Please enjoy, Young Master.”

Just as He Lingchuan lifted the bowl, Bai Tan turned up the lamp, and with the second lamp she had brought in, the room brightened.

He held the bowl in his left hand, leaned in to smell it, and asked suddenly, “Where did this congee come from?”

“The kitchen.”

“You cooked it?”

Bai Tan looked shy. “Yes, please taste my handiwork.”

“Gladly.” He Lingchuan smiled faintly, lowered his head as if to drink,

and the changdao at his waist left its scabbard.

Saber light flowed like water, gone as soon as it flashed.

Bai Tan’s expression froze. Only after a long while did her head slide from her neck and drop.

Her eyes were wide, unbelieving. Her lips moved as if asking:

“Why?”

He Lingchuan stared coldly at her and said, “Did you seriously think that some petty phantoms and tricks would work on me?”

If it were pretty much anybody else, then when Bai Tan had entered, she would have looked like a suet-white beauty under lamplight. But unfortunately for the spirit medium, in He Lingchuan’s eyes, she was a soot-black evil ghost hugging a white paper figurine and making it move.

Every gesture “Bai Tan” made was nothing but a puppet show on strings.

Sure enough, the sliced maid did not bleed. In the blink of an eye, she turned into paper ash. The evil ghost behind her vanished at once, snuffed out.

So, the spirit medium really hadn’t died.

He Lingchuan let out a slow breath, actually feeling slightly relieved.

I knew it couldn’t have been that simple.

Food delivered by evil ghosts was not something you put in your mouth.

He was about to rise when the corner of his eye caught something off.

That red tray was smooth and glossy, and it was almost mirror-bright.

And just now, something in the tray’s reflection had moved.

With two lamps in front of him, the lighting was strong. He stared harder. The tray held only his own reflection.

He moved his eyes, and the reflection moved its eyes. The background behind him was vague, but it was still night, after all.

Did I see wrong? Was that really just a firelight flicker?

He was just about to look away when the reflection suddenly bared its teeth and grinned at him.

He Lingchuan was seventeen this year. He was handsome, spirited, and what one might describe as at the height of his youth. Walking the street, he often made young women turn their heads.

So the reflection was also handsome, proud, and sharp.

However, the grin was wrong. The reflection actually bared a mouthful of tiger and wolf-like fangs!

The reflection’s eyes turned wicked and feral, and it looked content, as if a scheme it had been planning had finally played off.

Shit!

He Lingchuan’s scalp went cold. Instinctively, he tried to flip the tray,

but the reflection in the “mirror” lunged out and clamped onto his head and face.

His vision went dark, and dizziness slammed into him.

He found himself unable to muster any strength, not even half a scrap. The trap had actually been set here at the tray, and “Bai Tan” was just the decoy.

Damn! I guarded against this and that, how did I still end up getting played?

Right then, his treasured saber shuddered at his waist.

Clang!

It let out a long and clear hum, carrying the sound of slaughter.

He Lingchuan jolted. His mind snapped back into place. He drew and chopped the red tray clean in two.

Holding the saber, he looked down again. In the tray’s base was embedded a square copper mirror, set so that whoever lowered their head to eat would naturally see it.

Now the mirror was webbed with fresh cracks. The thing inside it rammed and clawed and bucked, but it could not get out. It snarled and showed him its teeth.

So that’s what’s going on. Did I nearly have my soul ripped out?

He Lingchuan suddenly understood how Wu Jinsong and the others had lost their souls. So long as you still used your eyes to see, it was practically impossible to guard against.

He strode out of the bathing room and looked left and right. Everything remained eerily quiet.

When he had returned earlier, he had not noticed. Now that he actually listened and looked around, everything seemed wrong in every way. Purple Bamboo Garden had plum, orchid, and bamboo. The place was filled with plants, and there were even two shallow ponds out front. Since it was early summer, how could there be no insect song, no frog calls?

Where is everyone? Where did they all go?

He kicked open the wooden door of the bathing room opposite.

Bang!

The door slammed down.

If there had been a guest inside, they would have almost definitely started cursing at him, and perhaps a maid would have even shrieked and bolted out.

However, there was nothing. The room was empty.

He checked eight bathing rooms in a row, and every single one was empty.

However, the last room did have two people, though calling them people was not exactly accurate.

It was two paper figurines possessed and controlled by evil ghosts, piled on top of one another, enjoying some happy time. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Of the two paper figurines or dolls, one was painted as a large, brawny man, while the other was painted as a slender beauty.

Judging by their posture, they did not even realize they were paper.

When He Lingchuan barged in, both turned their heads, then sprang up and rushed him.

The big man even knocked over a folding screen mid-charge. The speed and force with which he moved made him seem no different from a real person.

He Lingchuan did not bother being polite. He sent one slash straight for their necks, but as the paper man passed the screen, he snatched up a candlestick and thrust it straight at He Lingchuan’s face. He displayed clean technique, full of bite.

He Lingchuan chopped the candlestick in half. The paper man grabbed a bronze club from beside the bed and swung it down at him.

His swing was heavy and brutal.

They traded more than ten blows.

The moment they engaged, He Lingchuan realized the paper man was using a military rod technique, and the momentum felt a bit like Meng Shan.

But even the real Meng Shan had lost to him, so how long could a fake paper man possibly last?

In the end, He Lingchuan pinned it to a pillar with a saber strike. The paper man and the evil ghost clinging to it seemed to scream with pain.

He Lingchuan’s voice turned hard. “Who are you?”

The evil ghosts on the tusked boar had obeyed Third Master Gan’s commands, so He Lingchuan assumed these things could understand speech and tried to talk to them.

Sure enough, after a few sharp demands, the paper man sneered and said, “Your grandpa here is Qi Ming, a hundred-man commander under General You of the Xiaolin Army! Kill me, flay me, I’m not afraid!”

Xiaolin Army? I feel like I’ve heard that name somewhere before...

Just then, rapid clopping noises came from outside.

The paper man heard it too and yelled, “This way! The enemy is here!”

He Lingchuan chopped it into scraps. Then, with a light exertion of force at the tip of his toes, he sprang onto the wall of the bathing room, and with two more bounds, he was up into the crown of a huge golden acacia.

The tree was about twenty meters tall. From where he was, he could look down over the entire Purple Bamboo Garden and even see half the county city beyond.

Night wind howled. He stood on swaying branches and saw no light at all below.

And in the bathing room where the big paper man had been, more paper people were already flooding in.

Under the control of evil ghosts, they craned their heads and searched, hunting for He Lingchuan.

He studied their painted figures. They looked like soldiers, as they seemed to be wearing military uniforms, but the styles were unfamiliar. He could not tell which state they belonged to.

With the moonlight, he watched the paper people begin to drift into Wuze County’s streets. Some strolled as if out for a casual walk, some sat at the roadside like drunks, while others formed groups and ran toward Purple Bamboo Garden, and some of those, from the way they moved, looked like local constables.

1. This does not literally mean a pair of silk pants. Instead, this refers to rich kids, specifically the kind that are typically hedonistic and pampered. ☜