Chapter 26: Done

Yang Xiao was the first to move, stepping into the main hall and walking toward the left side of the hall; surprisingly, the second person was actually Shi Guanming.

Walking while observing, inside were small rooms separated by thick curtains; from the outside, one could see stiff human silhouettes. Yang Xiao's goal was very clear; he walked straight to the last room, lifted the curtain, and inside stood a Paper Person with its back to him.

The Paper Person was similar to a normal person in both height and build; on the ground stood a three-legged Incense Burner, and the three sticks of Incense inserted side-by-side in the burner were burning.

Besides this, there was an old desk and chair in the compartment, with an inkstone and brush fully equipped on the table, and additionally, a wooden box was placed there, as well as a Short Blade with its hilt wrapped in white cloth.

A piece of Yellow Paper was pasted over the seal of the box, with patterns messily drawn on the Yellow Paper, looking just like ghost-drawn talismans.

After observing for a moment, Yang Xiao very carefully opened the box, and a pair of embroidered shoes immediately came into view.

The shoe surface was exquisitely crafted with full and even colors; one featured mandarin ducks playing in water, and the other featured a crane riding auspicious clouds; if one didn't look closely, one wouldn't be able to tell at all that these were actually paper shoes.

The moment the box was opened, the candlelight in the room was dimmed by a few degrees, and Yang Xiao only felt a chill rush toward his face, mixed with a trace of a bloody scent.

That was it; Yang Xiao looked at this inconspicuous wooden box again, and he had a rough guess in his heart.

This thing was also an old object; if he wasn't mistaken, it was an ancient Head-Severing Box used to hold human heads. The wood inside the box glowed with an ugly black color, which was left behind from being soaked in blood for a long time.

With the origin of the box known, the blade was not hard to guess. Yang Xiao held the blade horizontally; the blade was not long, and the edge was not sharp, but it excelled in being thick and heavy, very sturdy. Yang Xiao judged that this blade and the box were a set; this was a Severing Short Blade specifically used for cutting off heads.

This blade and box had extremely heavy baleful energy and were both rare treasures for suppressing evil. To say nothing else, just the fact that one could gather this blade and box, and find 7 complete sets at once, showed the financial power and influence of the Feng family.

From left to right, they were the brush and ink, the Head-Severing Box containing the embroidered paper shoes, and the Severing Short Blade. These three items perfectly matched the three tasks of the night: painting eyes for the Paper Person, putting on the small shoes, and dripping Finger Blood to claim ownership.

Of course, there was a time limit for this; all of this had to be done before the Incense burned out.

Having figured out these arrangements, Yang Xiao walked behind the Paper Person, confirmed there were no omissions nearby, and then slowly lifted the Paper Person, turning it in a different direction to make it face him.

It was the same workmanship as the Paper Person of Master Feng, only far less refined than that one. On the face of the Paper Person, only a rough outline had been drawn with a brush, with a nose, eyebrows, and a mouth, but it was missing a pair of eyes.

Dipping the brush in ink, Yang Xiao held his breath and focused, helping the Paper Person fill in a pair of eyes stroke by stroke. Of course, the middle of the eyes was empty; he did not dot the eyes.

After waiting for more than ten seconds and confirming there were no mistakes, Yang Xiao put down the brush and took out the pair of embroidered paper shoes from the box.

His movements were extremely careful, for fear of damaging these shoes; after all, he couldn't afford to pay for them.

He had thought that putting on the shoes would be troublesome, but the result was surprisingly smooth. The paper shoes were not large, but fortunately, the Paper Person's feet were even smaller; after trying a few times, they were easily slipped on.

Even though these shoes did not distinguish between left and right, Yang Xiao still cautiously followed the order in which the shoes were placed in the box, putting them on the two small feet of the Paper Person, one left and one right.

Exhaling, Yang Xiao looked at the blade on the table; this was the last task of the mission. As long as the Paper Person claimed ownership, then everything would be done.

"Bodhisattva bless, Jade Pure Primordial Heavenly Venerable bless, Amen." Yang Xiao piously made a cross on his chest; only this last task remained, so he hoped nothing would go wrong.

Picking up the Short Blade, he lightly pricked his middle finger with the sharp end, and blood immediately flowed out. Yang Xiao slowly raised his finger and pressed it lightly between the eyebrows of the Paper Person.

Done!

The instant the Finger Blood was printed on the face of the Paper Person, a very special feeling suddenly welled up in Yang Xiao's heart, as if the Paper Person had become a part of his own body.

Then Yang Xiao tore a piece of cloth from his clothes, gently wrapped it around the eyes of the Paper Person, and finally tied a rather distinctive bow at the back of its head.

Confirming there were no mistakes and the task was complete, Yang Xiao checked again and again, then finally turned around and lifted the curtain to leave. But to his surprise, not far away, Kuang Hongyi and the other two were standing together.

The light there was dim, and the three were lowering their heads, not knowing what they were discussing. He was actually the last one.

Seeing Yang Xiao come out, Kuang Hongyi waved his hand. Yang Xiao didn't move, because it was dark there; if he walked over and discovered they were three Paper Persons, it would be quite a scene.

Seeing Yang Xiao didn't move, the three had no choice but to walk over. During the movement, the three moved naturally, and clear shadows were left on the ground.

"Let's go out first, we've been waiting for you." Xu Su nodded at Yang Xiao; it was too eerie here, and staying here made one feel uncomfortable all over.

After the group walked out of the hall, they saw Ke Long and Shi Guanming standing on the steps outside. The two were quite close, currently talking, and the tension of life-and-death from before was completely gone.

Seeing Yang Xiao and the others come out, Ke Long raised his hand and greeted them with a smile, "How is it? Everyone is fine, right?"

"Not bad," Kuang Hongyi replied.

Ke Long shrugged, "It seems this really is a welfare mission; the task was very simple. I was the first to come out, 10 minutes earlier than Brother Shi."

Shi Guanming also followed Ke Long's words and continued, "That's right, Ke Long came out the earliest. Just now, the two of us also cleared things up. Actually, the previous matters were all misunderstandings. I was a newcomer and too nervous, so I spoke without thinking, and Ke Long has a straightforward temper; it was only because of a disagreement that everyone saw a joke."

"It's fine to have misunderstandings, as long as they are resolved. It's fate that everyone could meet in this ghostly place." Kuang Hongyi continued to play the role of the nice guy, leaving no room for anyone to pick faults.

Everyone had come out, and only Shi Dali had no movement, which couldn't help but make people wonder: had he encountered some trouble?

Then, a figure gradually approached from behind the right curtain. Shi Dali lifted the curtain and walked out. Seeing everyone was there, he gave an honest smile, "Sorry, sorry, kept everyone waiting."

"It's good that you're fine." Yang Xiao pretended to heave a sigh of relief.

"Why were you so slow?" Kuang Hongyi asked with a look of concern.

"Hey, don't mention it. That box looked suspicious, and the baleful energy was very heavy. I didn't dare to touch it the whole time, until the Incense had burned more than halfway, and I had no choice but to harden my heart and open it." Shi Dali shook his head with self-deprecation, "It turned out I was overthinking it."

After chatting for a few sentences, everyone started to walk back. Along the way, not a single living person could be seen; the vast Feng Mansion was deathly still.

The moment Shi Dali and Ke Long's eyes met, he nodded slightly. Ke Long immediately shifted his gaze, continuing to talk to Xu Su beside him, the corners of his mouth curling up unconsciously.

Just after they left the hall, one of the Incense Burners in the compartment suddenly changed; the left and right sticks of the three sticks of Incense snapped simultaneously and fell to the ground.