Chapter 10 Paper Man City 07
Chen Chuan trembled and said, "Is this a giant?"
There were huge trees outside, so people naturally thought of giants. Others said it was a bit like that, and the exclamations rose and fell like ripples. Even the servants who followed Young Master Xia on his travels huddled together.
Master Xia was about to scold him, but he heard Jiang Yuelu shaking his head and saying, "It's not a giant. It's a shadow!"
In fact, if you look carefully, you can find something strange. But now the light is dim, and all the wizards are standing among a group of paper figures. Any change will be like a storm stirred by butterflies, making people feel uneasy.
Jiang Yuelu said calmly: "Look, it's the shadow that has been magnified."
The flickering firelight would project human shadows onto the wall, and the size of the shadows would also vary depending on the distance. But even so, their shadows were distributed on the wall, and at least the human shapes could be seen, but such a huge shadow... I didn't know what was there.
Zhao Xiaoxuan was quick to point to the dark corner and said, "Look, it's a paper man!"
Brother Xiong was horrified, "Where is it?"
He was still looking for a burly man like Zhang the Butcher, but Lin Shenyin reminded him, "He's not that big. He's in the corner, against the wall!"
Brother Xiong stretched his neck again, and finally saw a small object in the gap. When he saw what it was, he suddenly felt a ridiculous numbness in his heart.
The paper man was so small, not even as big as half a human palm, but he was strictly controlled, with heavy black iron shackles around his neck, hands and feet.
Compared with iron and paper, which one is lighter and which one is heavier?
Using iron to suppress paper figures, who has ever seen such an absurd thing?
But the little paper figure looked like an inhuman monster. Even with five iron chains on its body, it only became hunched over and took trembling steps forward.
It can walk and cry. It is not a paper man, but it does not look like a human either. Because even if it is a dwarf, it will not be this size!
Chen Chuan was stunned: "What is this...what is this?!"
No one answered him. Everyone looked at a hundred or so paper figures with chains emerging one after another from the depths of the shadows swaying and distorted by the candlelight. They walked step by step to the tablet under the stares of the townspeople.
They were both paper figures, one small and one big, staring at each other coldly, which looked very weird and funny. Unfortunately, in this atmosphere, let alone laughing, it was even difficult to speak loudly.
The paper man dragged the chain and bent over the ground, trembling, not daring to look at the townspeople's "paper man", looking very pitiful. But Zhang the Butcher and his men were wary, hateful, and had fear that could not be concealed. Through the paper, their faces were distorted into a grim shadow.
A paper figurine "townsman" who was obviously a woman came out. She was hunched over and looked quite old. She said nothing and took away the tablet with "Husband Huang Yusheng" written on it from the table.
Jiang Yuelu explained in a low voice: "Xu Pingting. It's recorded on the test paper."
"Her husband Huang Yusheng was killed by bandits ten years ago."
Granny Xu held the tablet and looked down at the paper figure on the iron chain. Her teeth were chattering and the paper cover on her face was shaking violently. It seemed that she would faint from excitement in the next second.
She pointed at one of the paper figures lying on the ground and uttered nervously, "Give me back my life!" Then she screamed and pounced on it.
No one had expected her sudden madness, and Lord Zhu said anxiously, "Stop her!"
But no one moved. Zhang the Butcher and the others all stared at the chained paper man, their dark pupils reflecting the candlelight, as if they were burning with raging anger.
Lord Zhu's expression changed: "Don't you know what kind of people these are? Are you asking her to go up there and die?"
As soon as these words were spoken, someone went up and held Granny Xu.
Jiang Xinhui whispered: "They are very afraid of this group..."
She didn't finish, it was too unbelievable to say.
Everyone can see who is strong and who is weak. Not only can the paper man be killed by a slap from their bare hands, but he is also tied with five chains. Are they so scared?
After Lord Zhu settled Granny Xu, he came over and bowed to Young Master Xia, as if what he was going to say next was particularly important: "Sir, I heard that one of your wizards was attacked by an evil spirit?"
Young Master Xia looked at Jiang Yuelu, and he took over and answered: "Yes, that's the case."
Lord Zhu sighed and said, "You may think our town is very strange, but who doesn't want to live freely in the sun? However, in the past ten years, whenever we try to get close to the abandoned town streets, we will be chased by evil spirits."
"That evil ghost, that evil ghost..."
Master Zhu couldn't help but wipe the cold sweat from his forehead, "All wizards already know that we can't see the appearance of evil ghosts, we can only hear the rustling sound of them asking for their lives."
Jiang Yuelu listened to him and looked behind him. While Master Zhu was narrating, Granny Xu, who was being held tightly, hugged the tablet tightly in her arms, and the paper covered by her hands was wrinkled into a ball.
"How did the evil ghosts appear?" Chen Chuan couldn't help but ask. Noticing that he had attracted everyone's attention, he couldn't help but touch the back of his head. "I mean... they wouldn't appear for no reason, right?"
Jiang Xinhui said, "That's true. Lord Zhu, you said that we have been hunted by evil spirits for the past ten years. Then was this place very peaceful ten years ago?" As she spoke, she looked at Jiang Yuelu.
He knew what she meant.
The quickest way to determine if something is right is to ask yourself if it is written down on the test paper. His recent use is to be used as a human encyclopedia, where this person looks it up and that person looks at it.
Lord Zhu was sincerely convinced: "The prince really has many good generals under his command."
Master Xia rolled his eyes in annoyance when he heard this, "Just tell me the important things."
"Yes, yes. What were we talking about... Oh, the wizard is right. Ten years ago, my town was peaceful. Everything started from that night..."
"The bandit massacre ten years ago."
Granny Xu had stood up without me noticing. Her whole body was tense as she spoke these words in a decisive tone. The resentment in her was so thick that it was about to overflow.
According to her narration, everyone seemed to be present at the massacre scene that day.
Facing the enemy who killed their husbands, fathers and children, the defenseless villagers had no choice but to wait for their arrest. She was grabbed by the hair by a bandit, and threats kept ringing above her head, such as "Cut off her ears first" and "Dig out her eyes", but she turned a deaf ear.
When Ah Sheng was stabbed to death, her heart died with him.
"Hehehahaha this old woman didn't react at all. Hey hey!"
"Hey, hey! Are you dead? Speak!" Slaps kept coming at her, and her face turned left and right.
"Puh!" Someone spat on her face, "How boring, just kill him with one knife." The cold blade pressed against her skin, and she even felt a hint of vicious pleasure: Let me die quickly. Let me die quickly!
However, the knife did not fall.
What fell was a human head, which rolled in front of him.
She moved her head like a zombie and saw that the bandits who had threatened her just a second ago had their heads dropped to the ground, their eyes open in death.
"Hey...hehe..." She wanted to curl her lips and laugh, but the corners of her mouth twitched for a long time, which was uglier than crying.
"Kill a man and pay him with his life, debts owed and money paid, he is already dead."
Who is speaking?
She was lifted up by another hand and forced to look at the thief's dead face to face - it was the first time she had seen a dead person in her fifty years of life. No matter how much she hated him, she was still overwhelmed by fear.
But the voice behind her kept pressing her.
"Remember his face. This is your enemy."
"Don't forget him. Remember him for the rest of your life. Even if you forget your own name, don't forget him!" Wizard Qin said loudly in her ear, "He was the one who killed your husband. If you forget him, it's the same as forgetting your husband!"
Granny Xu gasped weakly, "He was the one who... killed me..."
The voice was like a stream of spicy warmth that injected into her dead heart.
Hot tears flowed from the corners of her eyes, and she collapsed to the ground with a terrible heartache, finally unable to bear it anymore and burst into tears. After crying, her cloudy eyes slowly filled with cold hatred.
Just like the hatred I feel now, it has never diminished in the past ten years.
"When a vicious person dies, he will become a vicious ghost!"
She was filled with hatred: "You are still disturbing people's peace and quiet after your death. You are really doing them a great harm!"
"Are those the evil spirits that linger outside the town?"
Lord Zhu shook his head, "That's only a small part."
"The bandits who died that day have indeed turned into evil spirits—"
Lin Shenyin interrupted, “Generally speaking, there aren’t so many people turning into evil spirits, and evil spirits aren’t produced in large quantities.”
Master Zhu nodded, "There is a reason for this. Wizard Qin Xue said -"
Young Master Xia sneered, "You did all kinds of bad things in your life, and now you're afraid of being retaliated by ghosts after you die, so you might as well become a fierce ghost. You can still run rampant in the underworld and continue to take people's lives at will. Isn't that very happy?"
"..." Lord Zhu was stunned for a long time before he said, "What the prince said is exactly the same as what the ghost thought. Ah! I am not comparing the prince with the evil ghost..."
"No problem, keep talking."
Lord Zhu wiped off his cold sweat and said, "Seeing that they are about to gather into evil spirits, a hundred times more powerful than when they were alive, we are extremely worried... Just when we didn't know what to do, Wizard Qin came up with an idea for us."
Jiang Yuelu noticed that Lin Shenyin in the corner suddenly smiled and said, "Is it that tree?"
"That's right. That's right! It's the tree outside the ancestral hall!" Lord Zhu seemed very surprised. "How did this wizard know this? This is recorded in the secret history of our town and has never been passed on to others."
Everyone looked at Lin Shenyin with awe.
Lin Shenyin smiled and said, "I told you long ago that I can predict everything." He glanced at Yu Xiong vaguely, and the latter didn't dare to say a word.
"The paper made from that tree is not only impervious to swords and kerosene, but can also protect against attacks by evil spirits. However, paper is not as effective as wood in dealing with evil spirits, so although it can imprison evil spirits, it can only maintain peace for a year."
Lin Shenyin easily revealed the secret that Master Zhu had kept for many years, "I think that's why you need to invite wizards here every year, right?"
Lord Zhu's lips trembled: "...Exactly the same as what Master Qin said! If it weren't for the difference in appearance, I would have thought that Master Qin had returned again!"
Lord Zhu begged the prince: "If this lord is in charge during the night of the Ghost Festival, our Iron Town will be able to have a year of peace!"
Young Master Xia glanced at Jiang Yuelu and said, "But I already have a candidate."
Lord Zhu looked at Jiang Yuelu. He didn't think Jiang Yuelu had any strengths in witchcraft. So far, he had only shown that he was very good at serving the prince. He refused to give in and said, "I hope the prince will help me!"
Jiang Yuelu didn't think anything of it, "Then please ask Wizard Lin to come."
Lin Shenyin went to preside over the ceremony, and the others looked at him with sympathy. Jiang Yuelu was helpless, he really didn't think there was anything wrong. Besides, he knew nothing about witchcraft. He didn't know what the ceremony was for or how to do it. He would inevitably show his weakness if he went, so it was better not to go.
-
An hour later.
Lin Shenyin jumped down from the smoke-filled altar and gestured, "Okay."
As soon as these words came out, the townspeople who had been waiting for a long time suddenly straightened up and became visibly more energetic. Even Granny Xu, who had just been sitting weakly by the wall, propped herself up and stood up.
Everyone gnashed their teeth and were ecstatic, staring at the trembling paper people.
Those paper figures were clearly only the size of a palm, but their shadows cast on the wall were as tall as an adult.
The shadow kept trembling and screamed silently with its mouth wide open. Even though it was his enemy, Liu Shitou couldn't bring himself to do it and couldn't help but take a step back.
Granny Xu glared at him fiercely. She snatched the whip from Liu Shitou's hand and spat at the paper figure: "I'm not as kind as you! My old man died in his hands. I wish I could eat his bones, drink his blood, and kill him a hundred times!" As she spoke, she raised the whip.
Before the blow hit her, the paper figure on the ground had its head touching the ground. The shadow on the wall actually showed signs of shaking its shoulders and crying, and one hand was stretched out towards Granny Xu, as if begging for mercy.
Granny Xu scolded, "Did you see that? Now you're trying to harm me!"
A whip was lashed out.
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