Chapter 88 Secret Base
After finally appeasing Feng Xuan, Jiang Liyue entered Liu Laide's courtyard.
The paper figure she and Liu Laide made together was placed under the eaves. It seemed that he knew she would come back, so he deliberately left it in a conspicuous place.
“This is my first creation.” Jiang Liyue proudly pointed to the paper figure under the eaves.
The paper figure immediately disappeared, and it was unknown where Feng Xuan had taken it.
“Mine.” His voice was firm.
Jiang Liyue didn't argue with him, and pushed open the blind old man's door.
His door wasn't locked either.
Immediately, the paper figures were still piled up densely, without any eyes.
On the table in the inner room, Jiang Liyue noticed a notebook. When she opened it, each page was scribbled with the words "I am guilty".
The words were written with great force, and the paper was even torn.
"I am guilty," Jiang Liyue slowly uttered these three words.
What did Liu Laide do that made him feel guilty? Was his suicide an attempt to atone for his sins?
Jiang Liyue tried to search the house for other clues, but unfortunately, she couldn't find anything resembling a notebook.
Apart from the paper figures, everything else in the house was very simple, which shows that Liu Laide's life has not been good in recent years.
That's true; he's a living person living among paper figures, so he probably won't fare well.
Unable to find any clues, Jiang Liyue left and returned to the ancestral hall.
She wanted to go to the village chief's house to find the village chronicle, but the village chief's house was full of players and passengers from the car.
It turns out that after the passengers on the bus were rescued and taken back to Paper Man Village, they all stayed at the village chief's house.
Even if there were clues, this place has probably already been thoroughly searched by players.
Jiang Liyue glanced at the situation and decided not to go in, but to return to the ancestral hall instead.
The paper figures inside the ancestral hall remained silent, except for a pile of paper figure fragments in the middle of the courtyard.
The paper figure's clothes weren't as brightly colored as the others; instead, they looked somewhat familiar.
Just as Jiang Liyue wanted to take a few more glances, Feng Xuan appeared out of nowhere, grabbed her wrist, and led her towards the study: "Wife, let's continue reading."
His attempt to distract himself was utterly clumsy.
Jiang Liyue could tell at a glance that the color scheme of the clothes on the pile of paper figures on the ground was the same as that of Xu Pengfei.
However, she didn't say anything and silently looked away.
Following Feng Xuan's words, she walked towards the study: "Okay."
Jiang Liyue's lunch and dinner were still taken care of by Feng Xuan.
She was reading until nightfall when several more groups of players came to the ancestral hall.
The ancestral hall holds an important place in the paper doll village.
Players couldn't possibly miss it.
This time, Jiang Liyue did not intervene, letting the players and the paper figures fight wits and courage.
She simply asked Feng Xuan to block their room so she could sleep peacefully and wait for the day of the paper offering ceremony.
***
The next morning, Jiang Liyue discovered that there were many fragments of paper figures in the courtyard of the ancestral hall.
Some of the paper figures' clothes look like they belong to the players.
It's easy to imagine that things didn't go smoothly here last night.
After breakfast, Wang Cuifen knocked on the courtyard gate. Having not seen anyone all day yesterday, Jiang Liyue was especially warm: "Sister, is there anything I can help you with?"
Jiang Liyue has clearly made the ancestral hall her own territory.
Wang Cuifen didn't find anything amiss, and said respectfully yet with undisguised warmth, "Miss Jiang, today is the day for paper offerings. As is our custom, we will be holding an event at the ancestral hall, which may disturb you..."
"But it would be great if you could join us for the Paper Festival."
“Of course,” Jiang Liyue readily agreed.
Soon after, paper cars, paper horses, and paper houses were moved into the ancestral hall.
Every villager responsible for moving things would show a respectful expression when they saw Jiang Liyue.
She simply accepted the invitation when Xiao Yi and Xiao Le came to the ancestral hall to visit her.
Although Feng Xuan said yesterday that their souls had actually existed for many years, in her eyes they were still children.
"Sister, we'll take you to our secret base," Xiao Yi said mysteriously to Jiang Liyue.
Having developed a bond from the previous few candies, the two trusted her implicitly.
On the day of the paper offering ceremony, everyone is busy, even the players are eager to complete the task and explore everywhere.
No one noticed the trio of three people and their dog.
Big Yellow ran ahead, while Xiao Le and Xiao Yi followed to lead the way. Jiang Liyue originally thought that their secret base was probably just a tree or a hole in the ground.
Unexpectedly, the two men led her around to a dry well at the edge of the paper doll village and jumped down into it.
The well was pitch black. Xiao Yi lit a white lantern, revealing a pile of white bones in a corner, and on the other side, it led into deep darkness.
Those bones looked as if many years had passed, with only skeletons remaining.
Under the lantern's light, the empty eye sockets are visible, enough to scare a child to tears.
Xiao Yi and Xiao Le seemed to take it for granted as they led Jiang Liyue inside.
At this point, they finally showed how they differed from ordinary children.
Big Yellow, on the other hand, happily chose a bone and followed them while grinding its teeth.
“It was Dahuang who discovered this place before,” Xiao Le said proudly. “Back then, we brought Dahuang here to play, and it kept barking at the well and even wanted to jump in.”
"Luckily, I'm smart. I understood what it meant and figured out how to jump down, which is how I found this place."
Xiao Yi mercilessly exposed him from the side: "Nonsense, you thought Da Huang was going to commit suicide, and you kept crying and telling it not to do that."
Then Da Huang jumped down into the well first, and the other two followed, only then discovering the world below.
Jiang Liyue listened to their conversation while looking to both sides of the passage.
The passageway in the well wasn't very wide, and there was a lot of moss on both sides, but there were even more human skeletons.
They lay sprawled on the ground, and sometimes when people stepped on them, they would make a crunching sound.
Because of their age, these bones have weathered to varying degrees and are easily crushed.
It sounded like walking on fallen leaves.
Occasionally, the sound of water dripping could be heard clearly in the empty and narrow underground passage.
About five minutes later, they finally emerged from the passage.
On the other side was a cave!
The cave ceiling wasn't completely sealed off; a sliver of light shone through the cracks, allowing a glimpse inside.
It's a huge place, and there are even houses shaped like them, but they've been burned and are uninhabitable.
Various human skeletons were also scattered on the ground.
Xiao Yi and Xiao Le innocently called out to Jiang Liyue from among the skeletons: "Sister, come and see! This is our secret base!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
