Chapter 361: Paper Man

The rain didn't know when it had stopped. The full moon in the night sky scattered silver radiance on the lake surface.

The return journey was very smooth, there wasn't even a pit to twist an ankle on the road, and He Lingchuan brought Gan Sanye Gan back to the county seat.

The night was deep, and everything was silent; not only was there no one on the road, but even the dogs didn't bark.

He Lingchuan lifted Gan Sanye Gan off the horse and removed the broken cloth strip from his mouth: "I keep my word, I will let you go. But if you come to find trouble with me later..."

He had promised earlier that as long as Gan Sanye Gan took him to find the Sorceress, he could be spared from death.

Gan Sanye Gan had been gagged with the cloth strip all the way, his mouth was dry, and he couldn't speak clearly: "I, I won't, I definitely won't dare again!"

Only then did He Lingchuan let go: "Get lost!"

Gan Sanye Gan staggered, fearing he would change his mind, and endured his injuries, limping toward home.

He Lingchuan pointed, and another small spider jumped onto Gan Sanye Gan's back, letting him carry it.

Not killing didn't mean not being on guard.

He Lingchuan still wanted to keep an eye on the follow-up to see if this kid would have any more bad intentions.

Not killing him with one blade was because He Lingchuan still hadn't figured out why the Sorceress would grant Gan Sanye Gan three requests? She could even take down the private soldiers of a high official from Beijia Kingdom; why would she need to do three things for a county dandy? Compared to others, what was different about Gan Sanye Gan?

Thinking of the battle inside and outside the bamboo building, He Lingchuan still felt uneasy.

Did the Sorceress die just like that? It seemed too easy.

But if there was something wrong, he couldn't find it for a moment.

Could it be that the monster woman in the wild was just that easy to deal with? He didn't necessarily encounter high-difficulty opponents every time.

Bullying the weak in the Jianghu is the norm.

Forget it, go back and rest first, and talk about things tomorrow.

He Lingchuan headed straight for the Purple Bamboo Garden where he was staying; the gatekeeper didn't know where he had gone, the front hall was empty, and only the lamp was still burning. He returned to the bathing room, soaked in the bath, and lay down in his clothes.

With his hands behind his head, He Lingchuan seemed to be staring at the ceiling, but in fact, he was secretly using the eyeball spider's perspective to monitor Gan Sanye Gan.

However, Gan Sanye Gan, this soft-legged crab, walked slower and slower, and just as he was about to rush to the Gan mansion, he suddenly sat down on the side of the road and couldn't walk anymore.

And then, he collapsed, covering his face and crying loudly.

The experiences of these two days were a nightmare for Gan Sanye Gan, who had always been smooth sailing.

A nightmare he couldn't wake up from.

The pillar of the family was gone, the passage token that could save the Gan Family Chamber of Commerce from fire and water hadn't been obtained, and tonight he himself had experienced a thrilling event, and he didn't know how many ribs he had broken.

His life had collapsed from here.

He Lingchuan saw this and was speechless, secretly calling him a waste.

Let Gan Sanye Gan sit on the dusty street corner and slowly taste the bitter fruit. He Lingchuan withdrew his gaze and sat cross-legged to adjust his Qi.

Tonight wasn't suitable for sleeping, and he didn't enter a full state of meditation, just letting his true Qi walk through a few small cycles.

Not long after, footsteps seemed to come from outside, very light.

He Lingchuan opened his eyes.

Someone knocked on the door gently, with a soft voice: "Young Master He, are you asleep?"

"Who is it?"

"I am Bai Tan."

He Lingchuan also recognized the voice; it was indeed the maid Bai Tan who served the bathing room. "Something up?"

"I seemed to see you return just now." Bai Tan said cheerfully, "I brought you a midnight snack; it's flower mushroom and fish slice porridge."

"Come in."

Bai Tan pushed the door and entered, smiling, with a tray in her hand, on which was a steaming large bowl, the porridge fragrant and appetizing.

He Lingchuan was startled, looking at Bai Tan, then at the red lacquer tray she was holding: the flower mushrooms were thick, the fish slices were tender and white, and the rice porridge had also been boiled until it bloomed, clearly showing the skill of slow stewing over a small fire.

"Only porridge?"

Bai Tan was surprised: "Do you need anything else?"

"Meat porridge without deep-fried dough sticks, how can I eat it?" He Lingchuan frowned. "Go, help me get two!"

Deep-fried dough sticks were fried dough sticks; in the past, no matter how simple or luxurious the porridge was, he would buy another fried dough stick to soak in it.

"Ah, yes." Bai Tan was also stunned, but quickly put down the tray and walked out.

She was gone for about a quarter of an hour.

When Bai Tan came back again, there was an oil paper bag in her hand, inside which were two golden-yellow deep-fried dough sticks, and the fragrance could be smelled from far away.

"Please enjoy, Young Master."

He Lingchuan was about to pick up the porridge bowl when Bai Tan brightened the oil lamp, and adding the one she brought in, the room was even brighter.

He held the porridge bowl in his left hand and smelled it, then suddenly asked Bai Tan: "Where was this porridge brought from?"

"The kitchen."

"Did you cook it?"

Bai Tan seemed a bit embarrassed: "Exactly. Please taste my craftsmanship, Young Master."

"Must." He Lingchuan smiled slightly, lowered his head, and was about to drink the porridge when his long blade suddenly left its sheath.

The blade light was like flowing water, but it retracted as soon as it was released.

Bai Tan's expression froze, and it took a good while for her head to fall from her neck.

She widened her eyes in disbelief, her lips moved, as if asking: "Why?"

He Lingchuan looked at her coldly: "Tricks of the demons and monsters, yet you dare to show off in front of me?"

In fact, when Bai Tan entered the door, she was still a plump beauty in the lamplight, but in He Lingchuan's eyes, this was an evil ghost wreathed in black smoke holding a white paper man! Everything "Bai Tan" did was just the performance of a marionette.

Sure enough, the maid he had split in two didn't bleed at all, and in the blink of an eye, she turned into paper ash. The evil ghost behind her perished immediately.

It seems the Sorceress isn't dead yet.

He Lingchuan let out a light breath; it really wasn't that simple.

Of course, things sent by evil ghosts couldn't be eaten. He Lingchuan was about to stand up when he noticed something strange out of the corner of his eye.

That red lacquer tray was very smooth and bright, actually reflecting people.

Just now, the shadow in the tray moved.

There were two oil lamps in front of him, and the lighting was sufficient; He Lingchuan looked closely, and there was only his own reflection in the tray.

He moved his eyeballs, and the reflection followed his eyeballs. The scenery behind him was blurry; after all, it wasn't as bright as during the day.

Did he see it wrong? Was it just the flickering of the lamp light?

He was about to withdraw his gaze when the shadow suddenly grinned at him.

He Lingchuan was seventeen this year, handsome and spirited, often attracting girls to look back when walking on the street. Therefore, this reflection was also handsome and spirited, with a heroic appearance.

But this smile was extraordinary; it actually revealed a mouth full of sharp teeth like a tiger or wolf! The look in its eyes also became evil and ferocious, as if the plot had succeeded.

Oh no!

He Lingchuan's scalp went numb, and he subconsciously wanted to knock it over, but the shadow in the mirror suddenly pounced out, grabbing his head and face! His vision went dark, and his head immediately became dizzy.

He couldn't use half of his strength. The trap was actually set here, in the tray holding the porridge, and "Bai Tan" was just a decoy.

Guarding against this and that, how did he still fall into the other party's trap?

Just at this moment, the precious blade at his waist shook, and suddenly with a "clang," it let out a long chime, conveying the sound of killing.

He Lingchuan shuddered, his consciousness returned, and he drew his blade to cut the red lacquer tray into two halves.

He held the blade in his hand and looked at the tray again; it turned out that a square bronze mirror was placed at the bottom of the tray, so that the person holding the porridge could see it as soon as they lowered their head.

Now the mirror surface had several more cracks, and the shadow inside was rushing left and right but couldn't get out, anxiously baring its fangs and brandishing its claws at him.

Just now, he was almost possessed by this thing? He Lingchuan suddenly understood how Wu Jingsong and the others had lost their souls. As long as one still used their eyes to see, this was impossible to guard against.

He strode out of the bathing room, looked left and right, and found that it was still quiet here. He didn't feel anything strange when he first returned, but now listening carefully, there were many plants like plum, orchid, and bamboo in Purple Bamboo Garden, and there were two shallow ponds in front, and it was early summer, so why were there no insect chirps or frog croaks?

Where were the people? He kicked open the wooden door of the opposite bathing room. With a "bang," the door fell.

If there were guests here, they would probably be cursing, and maybe there would be a maid or young lady screaming and running out.

However, there wasn't; this quiet room was empty.

He kicked open eight bathing rooms in a row, all empty, and finally, there were two people in the last one.

Actually, saying people wasn't accurate; these were two paper men controlled by evil ghosts, stacked together doing happy things.

Two paper men, one painted as a burly man, and one painted as a slender beauty.

Looking at their posture, it seemed they didn't realize at all that they were just paper men.

However, He Lingchuan broke in, and they turned their heads together, suddenly getting up and pouncing over.

The burly man even knocked over a screen halfway, and looking at the speed and strength, it was no different from a real person.

He Lingchuan wouldn't be polite to him, cutting his neck with one blade.

Who knew that this guy would grab a candlestick while running past the screen and fiercely poke it at He Lingchuan's face, his moves were orderly and fierce.

When He Lingchuan cut off the candlestick, he grabbed a bronze club from the bedside and smashed it over while dancing.

The momentum was heavy.

After a dozen or so clashes, both sides had attacks and defenses.

As soon as he started, He Lingchuan discovered that this paper man was actually using military stick techniques, and the momentum was somewhat like Meng Shan.

But even the real Meng Shan was defeated by him, so how long could this fake paper man last?

Finally, He Lingchuan nailed it to the pillar with one blade, and both the paper man and the evil ghost on its body seemed to be in unbearable pain.

He Lingchuan said in a deep voice: "Who are you?"

The evil ghost on the long-tusked pig could obey Gan Sanye Gan's orders, so he assumed these guys could understand human speech, so he tried to communicate.

Sure enough, after a few shouts, the paper man grinned: "Your grandfather is Qi Ming, a centurion under General You of the Xiao Lin Army; I'm not afraid of being killed or dismembered!"

Xiao Lin Army? This name seemed familiar? Just at this moment, there was some movement outside, a "da da da" sound.

The paper man also heard it and shouted: "Come here, the enemy is here!"

He Lingchuan slashed it to pieces with his blade, stepped on his toes, jumped onto the wall of the bathing pool, and then jumped twice to climb onto a huge golden acacia tree crown.

The tree was six zhang high; from here, he could not only overlook the entire Purple Bamboo Garden but also watch half of the county seat.

The night wind whistled, and he stood on the swaying branches, unable to see a single light below.

And more paper men were pouring into the bathing room of the paper man burly man.

Under the control of the evil ghosts, they looked left and right, searching for He Lingchuan's whereabouts.

He looked carefully at the paintings of these things; they all seemed to be military uniforms, but the styles were unfamiliar, and he didn't know which country they belonged to.

With the help of the moonlight in the sky, he also saw paper men starting to walk on the streets and alleys of Wu Ze County, some strolling leisurely, some sitting by the roadside as if drunk, and others running toward Purple Bamboo Garden in teams, as if they were the local constables.

Friends and relatives around, book friends in the book fan group, one after another have tested positive.

In extraordinary times, everyone must protect themselves and protect the elderly and children around them. Wear a mask when going out, and wash your hands frequently when returning home.

Also, for family members who want to go out and jump around and make trouble, you must hold them back.

I hope each of us can safely survive this catastrophe.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 362 =====