Chapter 35 The paper doll was made by Shen Jiuxu, and he always bites me.

The thatched hut was buffeted by the wind outside, and the only small window rattled. The temperature inside was different from outside. Jiang Yu pulled his clothes tighter before looking up at the three people at the door.

"Brother Huang, why aren't you asleep yet, it's so late?"

"What paper figure?" Huang Pingkuan's voice was flat, his eyes fixed on the young man on the bed. Seeing that he didn't speak, he repeated, "What paper figure?"

Jiang Yu shifted his position against the bed, his fingers subtly pressing on the bedding, before politely saying, "Just now, when Brother Huang mentioned paper figures, I was thinking that I used to have a Daoist partner, but he died. Now, although we've become husband and wife again, it's still not the same person, and it makes me feel sad."

"The immortals of the past could use paper figures to remember their deceased loved ones. I think this is a good idea, so I want to make one myself and keep it by my side. However, I don't know how to do this craft. Brother Huang, do you know how?"

Jiang Yu spoke with a serious expression.

Huang Pingkuan's expression changed, and he became amiable again. "The craft of making paper figures... everyone in our Guren Village knows how to do it. I'll go find some materials first thing tomorrow morning and teach you how to make a few more. In case this Daoist partner dies again, we might as well solve the problem once and for all."

Jiang Yu: ...

He smiled awkwardly and touched the restless flower by his ear. "Then thank you very much, Brother Huang. It's so late, Brother Huang, you're still awake. I wonder what brings you here?"

The man's eyes were dark, like lumps of coal. "It's nothing. It's just that our Guren Village has a long-standing rule that if a guest comes, we must make sure he's asleep by nightfall. I came to see if you're asleep."

The narrow window rattled in the wind, so Jiang Yu had to crawl back into bed. They arranged for the west window to be in another room. When Huang Pingkuan saw that he had closed his eyes, he only sent the little girl to guard the room while he and his wife went elsewhere.

As soon as he left, Jiang Yu finally caught his breath and stuck his head out, just in time to meet the little girl's gaze. He suddenly had an idea and smiled at the person.

"Big brother, why aren't you asleep yet? Daddy said I can only leave after I watch you fall asleep." The little girl tilted her head, her two neat pigtails exactly the same as during the day, not even the angle had changed, and every strand of hair looked as if it had been drawn on.

"But I can't sleep. Can you tell me about the stories of your place?"

Jiang Yu was handsome. The little girl hadn't seen anyone from the outside world for many years and always felt that he was different from the people in the village. So she agreed that as long as he fell asleep in the end, she could complete the task her parents had given her.

What do you want to hear?

"Has anything strange or unusual happened? Or have you seen anything interesting?" Jiang Yu pretended to ponder for a moment, staring at her with a pair of bright, inquisitive eyes.

The little girl fell into deep thought after hearing his question, then ran out with a "tap tap tap" sound. Jiang Yu finally breathed a sigh of relief. "Why do you have to make us go to sleep?"

Do paper figures need to sleep?

Shen Qinggui didn't speak. The small flower twitched intermittently near his ear, as if someone was straining to look outside. Then he whispered, "The west window is already asleep."

"The couple went back to their room too."

Shen Qinggui manipulated the branches and leaves in the yard, "But they're not asleep yet, let me keep an eye on them for a while longer."

"Didn't you say you were a gentleman? Why are you doing such sneaky things?" Jiang Yu was amused by his furtive behavior. It wasn't until the little girl ran in with something and handed it to Jiang Yu that the two of them pretended that nothing had happened.

"Big brother, have you seen this before?"

Jiang Yu looked closely and saw that it was a sword tassel. The brocade used on it had completely disappeared twelve years ago because the technique had been lost.

This satin is brightly colored and cool to the touch. When Jiang Yu was young, he often saw his uncle and aunt make clothes out of this satin in the summer. However, some sword cultivators also had the habit of taking a small section and making it into a sword tassel.

But this thing should have disappeared a long time ago.

Jiang Yu was surprised to find such a thing in his old friend's village. He held it up a few times, pretending to be unaware of its existence, and asked, "What is this?"

"Father said this is a sword tassel left behind by an immortal."

The little girl chuckled, "But he left later, leaving his things behind. Big brother, if you go out, you can return them to him."

How did he get there?

"I don't know either. Dad said I was only three years old then and didn't remember anything. He said I would know when I grew up." But Jiang Yu looked like she was only three or four years old. If she had come with the sword tassel many years ago, it would have been at least ten years ago.

How old are you this year?

"Three years old." The little girl's eyes were eerily dark, and her lips looked as if they had been deliberately painted with rouge. When she stared intently at you, it was as if she was about to open her blood-red maw and swallow everything in front of her at any moment.

"Brother Jiang, aren't you asleep yet? The moon is already out."

Huang Pingkuan appeared silently at the door again. "People here believe in going to bed early and getting up early. Brother Jiang, you should go to sleep. We need to make paper figures early tomorrow morning!"

"I just had the villagers prepare everything."

"I'm going to sleep now, thank you, Brother Huang. You should go to sleep too!" Jiang Yu could only suppress his curiosity and turned to face the wall. Fortunately, Shen Jiuxu was beside him, and the long, light fragrance soothed his mind. "You go to sleep first, I'll stay here and watch over you."

The man hadn't left, but Jiang Yu couldn't hear his breathing at all. The two pairs of eyes behind him seemed to be trying to pierce a hole through him. Shen Qinggui shook the branches outside, making a sound, and only then did the man leave with the girl.

Shen Qinggui followed behind them and saw the two enter a pitch-black room, like a coffin buried underground, completely sealed off.

The extremely narrow wooden door opened, and he glimpsed that the room was filled with gold and silver jewelry, and various silks and satins were piled up like small mountains, but he did not see a bed.

The woman cleared a corner in the cluttered house, just big enough for three people to lie down. Then the parents and the little girl lay flat on the floor with their arms crossed over their chests in a very proper posture, and then they didn't move again.

The three pairs of dark eyes had already closed. Shen Jiuxu looked outside for a while, but when he could no longer see anything, he went back inside.

As he passed by the room with the west window, he glanced at it subconsciously. The large canopy bed was covered with bed curtains, and only a pair of black boots were neatly placed beside the bed.

The room had an extremely narrow window with a white candle burning inside. When the person entered through the west window, carrying the magical artifacts of the Starry Sky Palace, Shen Jiuxu didn't know why he glanced at the sword tassel hanging on it.

The star-shaped staff had a sword tassel hanging from it, something even a sparrow would do.

Achoo!

Lian Quesheng slept very soundly. When the sun was high in the sky and the sunlight streaming in through the window shone directly on his face, he struggled to open his eyelids, but still felt sleepy.

"Xichuang, have Jiang Yu and the others returned?"

Lian Quesheng's voice was very soft, and there was no reply. He thought Xi Chuang was still asleep, and since he had said he had to keep watch, he had also fallen asleep without making a sound. He had told him to sleep in bed long ago, but Xi Chuang insisted on spending the night sleeping on the table.

"West window".

Lian Quesheng stretched and forced himself to get out of bed. Just as he expected, he saw Xi Chuang sleeping by the table. He chuckled and, intrigued, poked Xi Chuang's face with his finger.

The other person didn't wake up, so Lian Quesheng assumed he was just too sleepy. He kindly carried him to the bed and tucked him in. As if bewitched, he stood by the bed staring at the person.

Why are this kid's lips so red?

It looked like it had been rouged. Lian Quesheng placed his hand on it and gently rubbed it a few times, but unexpectedly, a smear of red actually came off.

Lian Quesheng: Hmm?

He was somewhat surprised, and his usually smiling eyes became dull again because of this unexpected event. Did he need to wear rouge when he was killing monsters with him?

Lian Quesheng looked at Xi Chuang more and more and felt that he was "up to no good". His cheeks were burning hot. He quickly fanned himself several times before he suddenly remembered that he had a fan.

He needs to calm down.

He wanted to ask Shen Jiuxu for advice, but Lian Quesheng remembered that Shen Jiuxu had applied rouge before and hadn't told him to tell Jiang Yu.

It probably means the same thing!

After setting up a barrier in the courtyard to ensure that nothing would happen to the west window, Lian Quesheng picked up the sword on the table and turned to leave. The bright yellow sword tassel swayed as he walked, all the way to the cave from the previous night.

"Jiang Yu, are you alright last night?"

"It's nothing." Jiang Yu smiled at him, his lips red and teeth white. Even when Lian Quesheng saw him, he noticed that his lips were also very red, and even a little swollen.

Lian Quesheng hesitated for a moment, wanting to see if Shen Jiuxu looked the same, but after saying a few more words, he still didn't see him. He couldn't help but ask, "Where is Shen Qinggui?"

"He went out and hasn't come back yet." Jiang Yu maintained the same smile on his face. Lian Quesheng had never seen him give him such a pleasant look for so long. He asked tremblingly, "Did you and Shen Jiuxu have a fight?"

"No."

"Oh, okay then. May I ask why your lips are so red? Did you put on rouge?" Lian Quesheng cautiously backed away, afraid that the other party would attack him with a sword without saying a word because he had said something wrong. He was already terrified of being attacked.

"Born to be related to Shen Jiuxu."

"He always bites me."

Lian Quesheng finally breathed a sigh of relief. This was the Jiang Yu he knew, the one who would only show off wildly in front of him. He felt relieved and guessed that Xi Chuang probably wanted him to kiss him too.

He put his arm around Jiang Yu's shoulder and squeezed it. "Hey, why are you and Xichuang both so thin? When I hug him, it's like I'm hugging a paper doll. You are too."

"Get out of here."

Jiang Yu rubbed his shoulders. Xi Chuang heard his voice and, thinking he was talking about him, quickly ran away. Only then did Jiang Yu realize what was going on and explained, "I wasn't talking about you. I was talking about Lian Quesheng."

What's wrong with him?

As Shen Qinggui watched Jiang Yu making the paper figure that belonged to Shen Jiuxu, he felt a pang of tenderness in his heart. Even though it was just a paper figure, he still wanted to compete with Shen Jiuxu for it.

"He pinched my shoulder." Jiang Yu's forehead creased with annoyance. He hadn't expected the paper figure he'd just made to appear in the outside world, and even be seen by Lian Quesheng. Didn't that idiot suspect anything at all?

If that's the case, then wouldn't each paper figure inside this old friend's manor correspond to a person outside?

"Would you like to give it a try?"

Jiang Yu touched the paper figure of Shen Jiuxu in his hand and suddenly felt the flower by his ear trembling. He imagined Shen Jiuxu's current appearance, probably blushing but unable to say a word.

"Stop touching me."

Shen Qinggui bit his lip and whispered that he couldn't take it anymore. Jiang Yu chuckled beside him. Seeing that his emotions came and went quickly, Xi Chuang asked, "Young Master Jiang, what's making you so happy?"

"It's nothing, I just find it fun that some people can't fight back." Jiang Yu felt a tickle on his ear, and the flower suddenly sprouted many tender branches and leaves, scratching at the back of his neck.

Shen Qinggui knew that his area was the most sensitive spot. Jiang Yu cursed him in his heart. He had only touched it and hadn't done anything else. Why was he being so petty?

"You provoked me first."

Shen Qinggui defended himself. Petals were scattered all over the courtyard, and the fragrance wafted through the walls to the noses of the group. He had already restrained himself a lot. There was no spiritual energy to use here, so whatever actions were performed on the paper figure were amplified on him.

Shen Qinggui could only slowly endure everything, countless branches swaying in his mind, trying to bind him up.

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Author's note: This chapter mainly focuses on the plot.

I haven't written what I want yet. I'll try harder in the next chapter and see if I can write it longer. It would be great if you could see what I'm thinking directly, so you wouldn't have to wait and it would be clearer [chin resting on hand].