ooking satisfied.The rouge and the sinister aura held remnants of an image: a woman stripped bare, with an abnormally protruding belly. She had been tortured mercilessly, even force-fed the flesh of h...I glanced at Jiang Qiyun outside the door, and reluctantly stepped out. I left the door slightly ajar to avoid making She Lao Tai hostile towards us with this aura.

"She seems to sense you," I whispered.

Jiang Qiyun didn't take it seriously, glancing indifferently at the street: "There is less and less foot traffic on this street, mostly because of this shop."

"What's wrong with this shop It's too creepy Those paper figures are so lifelike, at night it's easy to mistake them, even their skin tone looks like a ghost..." I rolled my eyes.

Actually, many ordinary paper figures are deliberately made quite crudely. This is also a kind of taboo—they dare not be made too lifelike.

But this old woman's paper figures, obviously made with the selling point of being lifelike, if they fell into the hands of someone using them for evil purposes, might become a tool to harm people.

Like items and spells, the essence itself is difficult to distinguish between good and evil. It all depends on how people use it.

Jiang Qiyun pointed to the street after nightfall and said to me, "There is paper ash from Yinlu here. Who guides the way This old woman doesn't just do business with living people... Some Yin people come and go here, the surrounding qi is affected, many people gradually move away, plus the changes in the world today, no one wants to stay here anymore, over time, it might become a place of gathering yin. That's why this old woman herself is afraid of being retaliated against, even more afraid that patrolling ghosts and Yin officials will come knocking."

"Then can she see you" I whispered.

Jiang Qiyun let out a cold snort: "How is that possible She might have sensed the atmosphere was different from usual, with all those Yin spirits and living people present, so she's very nervous."

As soon as the words left his mouth, I heard a terrified voice from inside. Old Madam She stammered and asked my brother, " ... What did you say You, you're that man's descendant!"

That man Are you referring to my grandfather

Old Madam She didn't look young either, but she was definitely not as old as my grandpa. She murmured softly, "No wonder... no wonder I felt you looked familiar... It turns out you are his descendant... Your features do resemble his a bit."

"Grandma, we're also here to commission paper figures. This is urgent and we can't wait until tomorrow. If there are any taboos, please tell us, we'll try our best to accommodate them. If we can't, we won't pressure you." My brother persuaded her gently.

Old Madam She pondered for a moment before speaking in a low voice: “Most of the paper figures in my family are made to accompany deceased relatives. Both men and women come to request them. The ‘bones’ of the paper figures contain secret and mysterious techniques. Otherwise, how could they allow spirits to possess them…”

“In order to make the paper figures seem like their kind, there are usually some residual souls, who aren't quite human or animal, floating around. Now that you're here, you've scared away the residual soul of my paper figure. How can I make a paper figure imbued with sinister energy for you”

"What do you mean A paper figure without any yin energy, I can't even let the spirits possess it" My brother pressed.

"... If it hasn't been possessed by 'bone-chilling' negative energy, it's just an ordinary paper man... Generally, the kind of 'living person' you're talking about needs to have a little bit of a spirit put into them first. Unconscious ones are best, easiest to remove, and then let a new spirit take residence."

"Just need a ghost, right" my brother pressed.

She Lao Tai hummed in response.

My brother got up, walked to the door and opened it slightly. He leaned in and whispered to me, “This old woman is trying to get out of selling it to us. She doesn’t want to sell. What should we do Should we conjure a spirit to stay here temporarily We could move the paper effigy back home first and then perform a ritual for its release It's just a temporary vessel anyway. Grandpa and Grandma wouldn't mind, would they”

I was taken aback. I always thought of souls as deserving of respect. To suddenly just "ask" a ghost for help

Jiang Qiyun tapped my forehead with his hand and reminded me, "Isn't there one more in your box"

"Uh..." I nodded hurriedly, took out the small lock from my satchel and asked my brother, "Do you want to use it"

"I'll go force this old woman to make a paper figurine for me first. Anyway, if I can't get it done today, I won't leave." My brother took the Ming Lock back into the room.

"Grandmother She, you just need to do it. Once we have the paper figure made, we can make it move. You don't need to worry about anything else, and we will give you a price that satisfies you. We are waiting here, ready to take it as soon as it's done." My brother said with a hint of firmness in his voice: "We are in a hurry to save someone, so please excuse any rudeness."

She Lao Tai frowned and said, "It's past the time to make paper figures now. The female paper figure made today has already been bought by someone. We can only wait until tomorrow."

Did the old man we were walking with get hit by a car They wrapped him up in cloth and looked so panicked, they wouldn't let us touch him.

But these coincidences have nothing to do with me. My brother and I just want to borrow the Soul-Suppressing Pagoda as soon as possible so that Cheng Bansxian can try to awaken Lin Yanhuan and Chenyan.

"Well... there don't seem to be any decent places around here to stay. If you insist on not helping, we'll just have to ask if we can stay with you for the night." My brother deliberately looked around the room, his gaze falling on the young child.

The child was a little scared and immediately retreated back into the shadows.

Old Lady She was very nervous and raised her hand to shield the child—such yin-yang families, widowed, orphaned, lonely, and impoverished were common burdens of fate. Perhaps this child was the only seedling in her family.

"Grandma, you're getting older now. This child is so young yet quite sensible... Today, I'm asking for your help. In the future, if this child needs anything, just come to me. I'll take care of them for you." My brother coaxed kindly.

She Lao Tai was hesitant and muttered, "Setting up paper figures at midnight will attract bad things..."

She picked up the small blade reluctantly, as she spoke.

"Girl, get ready and have the guests step aside for a moment..." She muttered instructions.

A child ran to the workbench and pulled up a black curtain, the kind you'd see hanging above a mourning hall. Behind the curtain, there was just a single light source, illuminating only Old She's hands as she worked with bamboo strips.

My brother and Archie crouched down to coax the child, asking, “Little one, are you a boy or a girl How much do your paper figures cost”

"Grandma said that boys cost ten thousand and girls cost twenty thousand," the child replied.

"Damn, that's expensive" Archie couldn't help but complain.

"Humph, this one is just ordinary. There are some prettier brides, they cost one hundred thousand." The child said with a pout.

"...This month, I sold several and made a killing!" Archie was dumbfounded.

This dilapidated house and simple furnishings look very poor, but I didn't expect this business to be so profitable.

The child tilted his head, seemingly not understanding what "blood profit" meant.

My brother coaxed, “Then tell me, how long does it take your grandma to make a paper man”

"Soon... but, we have to wait for 'people' to come. Without 'people', the paper figures can't stand up." The child saw their grandma had caved, so they were less hostile towards us.

I heard something at the door and hurriedly whispered to Jiang Qiyun, “Later, you mustn’t scare away my fox spirit’s soul, hold back your aura.”

Jiang Qi frowned and said, "How to collect That... you come back with me first."stepped back in fear.WhatI...am not like normal people..."Are you a ghost too" he asked, looking up."...Just go." I didn't want to argue with him about it."Being with Young Master Mu, wouldn't he know...