Chapter 91 His Green Tea Puppy Came In
In an instant, Xie Xun felt his blood run cold.
He grew up in a paper craft shop and has touched at least eight hundred, if not a thousand, paper figures.
But these paper figures, who are putting on makeup in front of the mirror, exude an evil aura in every joint. The rouge they use reflects the sheen of corpse oil, the eyebrow pencils are clearly made of human bone, and one paper figure is even taking its left hand off and reassembling it.
What made his scalp tingle the most was that the technique of binding these paper figures with bones was clearly the Xie family's ancestral technique of the Seven Apertures Exquisite Knot!
"What's wrong?" Fu Qinghuai noticed that his fingertips were cold.
Xie Xun stared intently at the paper figure that had turned to speak to him. On the exposed bamboo bone at its neck, a signature bearing a name was clearly engraved.
Made by Xie Yingxuan in the year Jia Chen.
Just then, all the paper figures suddenly began to sing in unison:
"The flowers were in full bloom, a riot of colors!"
As they sang, they slowly turned around, and suddenly eerie green will-o'-the-wisps emerged from their empty eye sockets.
Xie Xun was so horrified that he couldn't help but take a half step back, only to watch as the paper figure wearing boots suddenly raised its hand, removed its head, and presented it to him with both hands.
“Young master… the great patriarch has been waiting for you for hundreds of years…”
In an instant, Xie Xun suddenly felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave, the sensation shooting from the soles of his feet all the way to the top of his head, his hair standing on end, as if an invisible hand had grabbed his heart.
Centuries?
What's the meaning?
Did Xie Yingxuan actually scheme against him so early on?!
For some reason, Xie Xun felt as if a large block of ice had been stuffed into his stomach, sinking heavily downwards.
His throat felt dry and nauseous, making him want to vomit.
"The old master said..."
However, the headless paper figure continued to hold its head forward, its vermilion-painted lips opening and closing, chattering incessantly: "Waiting for you to inherit the opera troupe...waiting for you..."
Suddenly, all the paper figures raised their arms in unison and pointed sharply towards the back of the stage.
The curtain was lifted, revealing three rows of paper figures standing neatly inside, ranging from children to young adults, whose appearances at first glance bore a striking resemblance to Xie Xun!
That old beast Xie Yingxuan actually started setting up his scheme in the mirror world so early on, and he even predicted that he would come in!
"We'll wait for you to pick someone you like as a stand-in..."
The headless paper figure chuckled, "Little master...hehehe, we'll add one every ten years~"
Before the paper figure could touch Xie Xun, Fu Qinghuai suddenly pulled him behind him to protect him, and the black mist surged.
But what's most terrifying is that those paper figures not only depicted his appearance, but also perfectly replicated the birthmark behind his ear.
This was no ordinary paper figure; it was prepared for him by Xie Yingxuan.
But what exactly is it?!
What exactly does Xie Yingxuan want to do?
Xie Xun stared at the paper figures that looked exactly like himself, and a terrible thought suddenly popped into his mind.
"Could it be... that he wants to be resurrected by using my body, like that old monster from the Liu family?"
Before the words were finished, all the paper figures suddenly let out a shrill scream:
"Time's up, young master, please return to your place!!!"
The stage floor collapsed with a roar, revealing a huge pool underneath filled with bright red water.
It could be called water, but it looked very viscous and didn't resemble water at all; it looked more like blood.
In the center, a semi-transparent paper figure hung. The figure was about the same height as him, and its face was exactly the same as his. The paper figure rippled slightly with the water in the pool.
Seven peach wood nails pinned it to the void, and Xie Xun's birth date and time were pasted on its chest.
Xie Xun froze on the spot, his eyes fixed on the paper figure that looked exactly like him.
He finally understood; it was like a sudden enlightenment.
Why did his father choke to death even when drinking cold water? Why did his grandfather die under mysterious circumstances? Why was his great-grandfather struck by lightning? Why has he had so many unlucky things happen to him since childhood?
And everything that happened during this time, including his reluctant entry into the mirror world.
It's all because of that old bastard Xie Yingxuan!
A chill ran from the soles of his feet straight to his head, making him feel so nauseous he almost vomited.
Xie Xun watched as the paper figure continued to drain the Xie family's life force and fortune, wishing he could rush up and tear it to shreds right now.
He wanted to kill Xie Yingxuan! To kill that damned ancestor! Including everything he created!
Xie Xun bit his fingertip, drawing blood. He held his finger together like a sword, staring intently at the damned paper figure.
"Xie Yingxuan! Today I'm going to burn all of your damn things to ashes!"
Fu Qinghuai grabbed his wrist, "Don't be impulsive! This formation is connected to your soul..."
"Let's join in! Let's die if we have to!"
Xie Xun's anger surged, and impulse replaced reason. He abruptly shook off him, shouting, "Haven't our Xie family been harmed enough by this old beast?!"
Suddenly, the blood droplets from his fingertips burst forth with a blinding golden light, and the entire stage began to shake violently. The paper figures let out shrill screams and spontaneously combusted one after another.
Just then, Xie Xun felt a sudden pain in his chest and vomited a mouthful of blood.
Fu Qinghuai was absolutely right; the backlash came fiercely and swiftly.
But so what?!
Rather than living in fear and being constantly suppressed by something invisible, it's better to destroy this rubbish.
At worst, we can all die together!
Xie Xun casually wiped his face, stared at the paper figure that was suddenly twisting wildly, and then grinned, laughing maniacally.
"Didn't you want to be resurrected using my body? Come and take it!"
He steadied himself, his bloodied fingers drawing talismans in the air. His face was pale, but his eyes shone with a terrifying light. "But we'll see if you have the ability, Xie Yingxuan!"
The paper figure instantly emitted a sharp screech, and the seven peach wood nails trembled violently.
In the instant the golden light surged and clashed, Fu Qinghuai suddenly hugged him from behind, and a surge of ghostly energy rushed into his body.
"Searching,"
A familiar voice rang in his ears, and the demon chuckled as it bit his ear, its tone both coquettish and flirtatious, "If you're going to die, you should die on me. What kind of life is it to die at the hands of this scum?"
Xie Xun turned around abruptly and met a pair of smiling peach blossom eyes.
The spirit and Fu Qinghuai from the real world are slowly merging together, and his scheming little dog has entered.
Xie Xun was completely stunned.
He looked into those familiar eyes, which held both the domineering nature of a spirit and the tenderness of someone who always clung to him, calling him Xunxun.
"you……"
Xie Xun's throat tightened; he wanted to yell at this person for risking their life to barge in, but the words that came out were, "You stupid dog..."
Blood was still dripping, and the excruciating pain in his chest hadn't subsided, but Xie Xun suddenly felt that nothing was scary anymore.
He grabbed Fu Qinghuai's hand and leaned all his weight on him.
"You came too late." Xie Xun buried his blood-covered face in the other's neck, his voice muffled.
Fu Qinghuai chuckled and hugged him tightly, gently stroking his hair with his large hand, his tenderness almost unbelievable. "It won't happen again next time."
The moment the two souls completely merged, the paper figure let out a final wail and exploded into pieces in mid-air.
The entire mirror world began to collapse violently.
Fu Qinghuai protected Xie Xun, while carrying the unconscious little girl in the corner with his other hand. It was obvious that this was Liu Wanning, the girl Xie Xun was looking for.
As space distorted, the three of them fell back onto the carpet in the Emerald Hall.
The hall was empty except for Liu Yongchang, who was slumped in a corner. He had changed completely; he was no longer the handsome man who resembled Fu Qinghuai, but had reverted to an ordinary-looking, thinning-haired middle-aged man.
It turned out that Fu Qinghuai had already taken back the wisp of remnant soul that had been attached to Xie Xun after Xie Xun entered the mirror world.
The middle-aged man was surrounded by a dense swarm of sea cockroaches, their limbs wriggling at the tip of his mouth and nose.
"Help...help me..."
He struggled desperately, reaching out to Xie Xun, his voice trembling, "I'll tell you anything you want to know!"
Xie Xun stared at him coldly, without moving.
Fu Qinghuai stood beside him, a wisp of black energy swirling around his fingertips. As if receiving a command, the sea cockroaches temporarily stopped wriggling.
"explain."
“It’s a lantern…it’s the lantern from the Liu Clan Ancestral Hall, the lantern of our Liu family’s ancestor!”
Liu Yongchang wept uncontrollably, “It promised me immortality and the prosperity of the Liu family for generations, as long as I sacrifice you, with your pure Yin constitution… Liu Wanning isn’t my daughter at all; she’s just the child of a guest on the ship…”
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