Chapter 59: Pushing a Man to the Absolute Limit

Ding Junhui stared at the pink paper dolls emerging around him, sweat chilling his scalp.

Though a martial man, he was deeply uneasy with such supernatural tricks.

He had little will to fight.

Just as he considered fleeing, he saw the round little “hands” of the paper dolls all pointing in one direction.

Were they forcing him to go somewhere?

Ding Junhui took a deep breath and decided to follow.

He knew full well his identity had been discovered, yet the other side had sent no one to confront him—only these paper dolls—proving they wished to avoid conflict.

So he followed the paper dolls.

Watching the little paper dolls tumble, hop, occasionally trip, then scramble back up ahead of him, Ding Junhui’s fear slowly faded.

For he had heard that paper dolls created by paper-art were tied to the caster’s nature.

The stronger the righteous spirit, the more normal the paper dolls appeared, free of malice.

That’s what “the object reflects its master” means.

These little paper dolls looked dull and foolish—so their caster must be someone a bit simple-minded… and utterly sincere.

Following the paper dolls for a while, he reached a quiet stretch beneath the eastern city wall, climbed over a wall, and saw a ruined courtyard filled with dozens of paper dolls running and frolicking.

His scalp prickled instantly.

Just as he turned to leave, someone called out: “Brother Ding, long time no see.”

The voice was familiar. Ding Junhui looked up and saw Wang Tianyou standing above.

He exhaled in relief. “Brother Wang, I never expected it to be you… When did you learn paper-art?”

Ding Junhui knew Wang Tianyou was a Spirit Hunter, and also knew the man had mediocre magical talent.

After all, the Wang and Ding families were longtime allies, intimately familiar with each other.

Wang Tianyou shook his head. “Not me. Another friend. He’s not here.”

As he spoke, the paper dolls clustered together, climbed over the wall in various ways, then scattered away.

Ding Junhui let out a quiet sigh.

“Brother Ding, you’ve heard about what happened in the Qin family lately, right?” Wang Tianyou smiled. “Our Wang family suffered heavy losses. Now we need the Ding family to lend a hand.”

Ding Junhui nodded slightly. “Naturally. Now let’s see what the Ding family can do.”

Meanwhile, Li Lin recalled all the paper dolls.

Watching the little paper dolls swarming around him, bobbing their heads, Li Lin wondered: besides finding people, what else could these things do?

After a moment’s thought, he had an idea.

Soon, the paper dolls sprinted together toward a direction, the last one in line clutching a silver note.

They crept to a general store—closed for the night.

They slipped through the gap beneath the door.

The last paper doll placed the silver note on the counter, found the oil lamp, and poured its oil onto the floor.

Then the paper dolls rolled in the oil, soaking their bodies.

Finally, they carried a fire-starter and raced toward the Qin residence.

Along the way, half the paper dolls fell behind for various reasons.

The rest carried the fire-starter to the Qin family’s back courtyard and slipped through a dog hole.

The Qin residence was quiet, and the paper dolls were tiny—no one noticed them.

They quickly found the firewood shed, ignited themselves, and flung onto the pile.

Soon, the Qin family’s firewood shed burst into flames.

“Fire! Fire!”

Qin family servants screamed in panic.

A flood of servants burst from the buildings.

The fire was soon extinguished—the Qin family was wealthy, with many servants.

One bucket per person could put it out.

Qin Feng stood before the charred firewood shed, face dark with fury.

“How did the fire start?” he asked his steward.

The steward shook his head. “I checked the shed before sleeping—no sparks remained.”

“Someone set it on purpose,” Qin Feng sighed wearily. “Forget it. Let’s set this aside. Announce to all: tomorrow, we lay the two young masters to rest.”

The steward asked: “Won’t we keep the coffins for seven days?”

“No. Seeing those two boys in the hall breaks my heart,” Qin Feng sighed. “Have you found Second Master?”

The steward shook his head.

Qin Feng sneered. “Looks like Second Master took the blow meant for Old Master.”

Then he turned and left.

Li Lin moved stealthily above, watching the fire ignite, then die out—feeling deeply regretful.

Clearly, the paper dolls’ abilities were still limited.

But if arson won’t work, what about poison?

Li Lin glanced at the Qin residence, then turned away.

He found a safe spot and rested the entire night.

After all, crafting so many paper dolls drained his energy.

When dawn came and the city gates opened,

The Qin family carried two coffins out of the city in grand procession for burial on the mountain.

All in white mourning.

Li Lin and Wang Tianyou met at a tavern.

They watched the massive funeral procession below.

Wang Tianyou laughed. “The Qin family has surrendered. Opening the gates now is their way of telling us to leave—they’re too proud to say it outright, so they use a funeral as a decoy.”

“Will you leave?”

“Why should I leave?” Wang Tianyou snorted. “The temple incident started with them. Now they’re being humiliated on their own doorstep, and they think surrendering will erase it all? Is it their shame or mine?”

Li Lin smiled too. “I’ll stay and see what happens.”

As they spoke, dozens of masked figures suddenly appeared on the rooftops and leapt down.

They launched a massacre against the funeral procession.

“The Ding family’s moving,” Wang Tianyou exclaimed, thrilled.

The masked men were skilled—they quickly slaughtered every Qin servant, leaving only the funeral troupe alive.

The Ding family didn’t kill indiscriminately.

The two coffins fell to the ground.

The masked men opened them, dragged out the corpses, and hurled them onto the dirt.

Then they walked away.

“The Ding family is brutal,” Wang Tianyou breathed. “Even in mortal enmity, this is too degrading.”

Soon, Qin Feng arrived with a dozen Qin family experts.

Seeing his two sons’ bodies lying cold on the ground, Qin Feng clenched his teeth, then, after a long silence, his eyes filled with tears as he roared: “Wang Tianyou—I’ll never forgive you!”

Wang Tianyou, who had been watching from above, instantly grimaced. “Damn it. The Dings have dragged me into this.”

Yet his face showed no fear.

At that moment, two more squads of masked figures leapt from the rooftops.

Carrying a large net.

The net’s edges were lined with iron hooks.

“The Dings act honorably—we join too.”

Wang Tianyou drew his flexible sword and leapt straight out the window.

His three subordinates followed.

Li Lin used the “Wind-Blown Willow Fluff” lightness technique, spinning gracefully onto the rooftop.

He concealed himself behind the eaves.

Watching Qin Feng battle the masked men below, Li Lin began forming hand seals.

(End of Chapter)