Chapter 13: Paper Groom

After finishing all this, someone used a candle flame to ignite the hem of the last Paper Person's trousers; the fire quickly swallowed the last Paper Person, then continued along the arm, spreading onto the previous Paper Person.

The three men with hooked noses took advantage of the night to leave quickly, their speed of return significantly more hurried than when they arrived; the servant following behind even tripped because they could not see the road clearly.

Watching the burning Paper Persons by the lake, Su Tingting felt an inexplicable panic, "Those... those Paper Persons are so terrifying; I have never seen such Paper Persons before."

Xu Su stared outside with an uneasy expression, "There are 7 Paper Persons in total, which happens to match our number of people."

Su Tingting's face turned pale in an instant; after spending this time together, everyone had become somewhat familiar, "Sister Xu, don't scare me. These Paper Persons must have been burned for the Feng Second Young Master. Didn't you hear that old woman? The Feng Second Young Master just died, and there are still White Lanterns hanging outside the main gate."

"It has nothing to do with the Second Young Master; these Paper Persons were burned for a woman." The steady and prudent Kuang Hongyi lowered his voice, "Red men and green women is a rule passed down by the older generation. These Paper Persons are all men; sending them down there must be to have them serve some woman."

"You are right, and it is a young woman who has never given birth." Looking outside through the crack in the door, the burning firelight danced in Yang Xiao's pupils, giving the impression that those Paper Persons were being swallowed by the pitch-black lake water step by step.

Hearing Yang Xiao's words, the other three could not help but turn their heads.

"How do you know?" Kuang Hongyi frowned slightly, then subconsciously repeated, "I mean, how do you know this woman is young and has not given birth?"

Yang Xiao did not hide anything; giving some appropriate information would help improve his status in the team. He lifted his chin, "Look closely, the left eyebrow of these Paper Persons is a section longer than the right, and they are draped in red. There is a saying in the trade for this kind of Paper Person: they are called Paper Grooms."

"Generally, only when a young woman who has been married but has not given birth dies, will her family burn Paper Grooms for her to relieve the pain of lovesickness."

Su Tingting was somewhat curious, "The pain of lovesickness?"

Yang Xiao was somewhat helpless, "It means the affairs between men and women. The ancients believed that men with long and thick left eyebrows are young and have good health."

At this, everyone revealed expressions of sudden realization, only Su Tingting blinked in astonishment, "But burning 7 at once, can she handle it?"

No one paid attention to Su Tingting. Kuang Hongyi's gaze toward Yang Xiao had changed, and his tone became polite, "Little brother, the leader pressed on the forehead of the first Paper Person just now; what is the explanation for that?"

"I don't know." Yang Xiao spoke the truth. It was already good enough that he knew this much; it was fortunate that he usually read a lot of messy books—for no other reason than that his drama-watching friends liked to read them.

Kuang Hongyi stood up and changed positions a few times to observe outside, finally making up his mind, "You guys help me guard the door; I'll go out and take a look."

"Go out?" Su Tingting shrank her neck. The Paper Persons outside were still burning, and the atmosphere was indescribably eerie; she felt afraid just looking at those Paper Grooms.

Xu Su, also a veteran player, nodded, "It hasn't completely turned night yet, and this is only the first day, so it should be fine. Be careful."

Feeling the gaze cast by Kuang Hongyi, Xu Su met his eyes very firmly and promised, "Don't worry, the three of us are all here; we definitely won't leave you outside alone."

Without making a sound, Kuang Hongyi opened the door just enough to squeeze out sideways. He hunched over and walked quickly toward the lake, and Xu Su immediately closed the door.

At the same time, another room not far away was also in total darkness, and the candles had long since been extinguished; when facing a crisis, everyone's judgment was almost identical.

"Someone came out!" Ke Long, squeezed behind the crack in the door, said in a hoarse voice, his gaze fixed on the black shadow in the night, "It looks like Kuang Hongyi."

This room was clearly smaller, and the advantageous positions were occupied by Ke Long and Shi Dali; Shi Guanming was cowering behind the window, "Should... should we also go take a look?"

Ke Long turned his head and gave him a playful look, "Sure, then you go."

Shi Guanming shivered and stopped talking. He had seen everything that happened outside clearly just now; those people were acting sneakily, and it looked wrong.

"Let's stay put tonight. When it's dawn, we'll go find Kuang Hongyi and ask." Shi Dali also had no intention of taking risks.

"Then he has to be able to survive first." Ke Long looked at Shi Dali, "Also, how do you know he will tell us the truth?"

"Risk and reward coexist; this is an ancient rule. I also know that seeing it with my own eyes is safer, but are you willing to take the risk?" Shi Dali glanced sideways at Ke Long. Shi Guanming was afraid of Ke Long, but he certainly wasn't. As for whether Kuang Hongyi would tell the truth or lies tomorrow, he would find a way to judge for himself.

Having asked for a snub, Ke Long stopped talking, and the two continued to observe.

Even if Kuang Hongyi encountered danger and died, that experience would be a valuable asset for them; if used well, it could save them from taking many detours.

Kuang Hongyi was very cautious. He first confirmed that the servants had walked far away and were not lying in ambush nearby, and only then did he approach the Paper Persons.

Now only two Paper Persons remained, and the second to last one was engulfed in flames.

Kuang Hongyi rushed over in a few strides and walked diagonally to the front of the lead Paper Person. In the firelight, one could see Kuang Hongyi freeze for a moment. About a few seconds later, as the last Paper Person caught fire, Kuang Hongyi chose to retreat, and Xu Su opened the door to let him in.

"It's fine now, light the candles first." Kuang Hongyi pulled his collar together; it was unusually cold by the lake, and that chill seemed to seep into his marrow.

As the light came on, everyone slowly breathed a sigh of relief; the faint candlelight brought them a rare sense of security at this moment.

Su Tingting was very observant; she got up and poured a cup of hot tea for Kuang Hongyi, "Brother Kuang, hurry and warm yourself up."

Kuang Hongyi ignored her entirely. After taking the tea, he turned to look at Yang Xiao, calmed his nervous mood, and his tone was surprisingly kind, "Little brother, you were right. Those Paper Persons are indeed Paper Grooms; the left eyebrow is much thicker and longer than the right."

"Also, that leader stuck a piece of Yellow Paper on the Paper Person's face, and on it was a person's Birth Date and Time."

"I looked; it wasn't the 7 Feng family members meant to block the disaster for us, but belonged to someone else."

"These Paper Grooms were all offerings for that woman, and they even scattered paper money on the ground to pay off the underworld messengers to clear the way."

The Feng Second Young Master had passed away, yet instead of paying respects, they organized people to sneakily go to the lake to pay respects to a young woman; no matter how you looked at it, there was a problem.

And now, everyone stopped talking, and the atmosphere became somewhat oppressive. The situation was gradually becoming clear: the woman the Feng family was paying respects to tonight was likely related to this Extermination Curse. The next second, a figure standing on a sofa flashed through Yang Xiao's mind.