Chapter 65: Birth Date and Time

Staring at the Paper Clothes on Su Tingting's body, Yang Xiao seemed to have thought of something and began to search through them. Finally, in an inconspicuous spot at the collar, he discovered a slip of paper with blood-written characters on the back; it was a person's Birth Date and Time.

The slip was hidden among many blank slips pasted onto the Paper Clothes; if one didn't look carefully, it would be impossible to find. Yang Xiao didn't even need to think—this Birth Date and Time must belong to the Second Young Mistress!

Tonight, the Feng Family intended to use Su Tingting as a substitute for the Second Young Mistress!

After discovering this, Yang Xiao and Kuang Hongyi quickly checked the Paper Clothes on their own bodies. Sure enough, they discovered two more slips with Birth Dates and Times written on them. One looked familiar and should have been Master Feng's, while the other... neither of them recognized it.

"Damn it, this one must be Shi Dali's Birth Date and Time!"

Kuang Hongyi's words woke the dreamer. Yang Xiao had never imagined that Shi Dali would actually use him and Kuang Hongyi as his scapegoats.

Tonight was truly dangerous.

After a moment of contemplation, Yang Xiao finally made up his mind. He grabbed Su Tingting; at this moment, the third round of drumbeats had already ended.

"Do you trust me?"

Su Tingting was still in the midst of labor pains and had not fully regained consciousness; her pupils were somewhat unfocused. Yang Xiao hardened his heart and slapped her across the face. "Su Tingting! Wake up!"

At this, Su Tingting's gaze finally cleared. Yang Xiao gripped her shoulders tightly. "Su Tingting, the situation is very bad right now. We might all die here. I'm asking you, do you trust me?"

"I do." Su Tingting nodded, crying.

"Good. Next, I need you to do one thing: I want you to climb onto that boat." Yang Xiao pointed at the Boxi Boat and tore off the slip with Shi Dali's Birth Date and Time, stuffing it into Su Tingting's hand. He spoke at a rapid pace: "There shouldn't be anyone inside the cabin, but there will definitely be three sticks of Incense. What you need to do is stay in the cabin, press this slip under the Incense Burner, and then gently blow on the two outermost sticks of the three, ensuring those two burn faster, eventually resulting in a pattern of two short and one long."

People fear "three long and two short," while Incense taboos "two short and one long." This was using the baleful energy of tonight to suppress Shi Dali's fortune, preparing for the counterattack to come.

Of course, there was no time to explain this to Su Tingting now.

"Okay." Su Tingting gritted her teeth and agreed. Scared as she was, things had reached this point; she had no choice but to fight. The Ghost Fetus in her belly was about to tear its way out, and when that happened, she would be the first to die.

Bringing Su Tingting close to the small wooden boat behind the large ship, Yang Xiao crouched down, letting Su Tingting step on his shoulders to climb onto the large ship.

"Remember, when blowing on the Incense, you must not use too much force. Once the Incense goes out, we will all be in big trouble. Also..." Yang Xiao paused, lowering his voice to warn her, "Blowing on the Incense might trigger some bad things. You... you need to be mentally prepared. Good luck."

Having climbed onto the large ship with difficulty, Su Tingting turned her body and took the Lantern handed over by Yang Xiao. A moment later, that face, slightly twisted by pain, suddenly forced a smile. Under the reflection of the firelight, that face looked young and bright.

"Mr. Chu, if in the end it cannot be saved, I will ignite this ship to attract the attention of that group of things outside. You... you must survive!"

In that split second of distraction, Su Tingting had already turned away. In Yang Xiao's pupils, only that staggering back retreating toward the cabin remained.

"Brother Chu, under your boat! Under the boat!"

Yang Xiao abruptly lowered his head, only to see something floating in the pitch-black water beneath the boat. He was currently standing on the small wooden boat behind the large ship. Kuang Hongyi had also rowed closer, jumped to Yang Xiao's side, and with a ruthless heart, pulled another rope tied to the bow of the small wooden boat; the other end of the rope was dangling underwater.

Kuang Hongyi gritted his teeth and exerted force. The next second, Yang Xiao felt a stench of blood drilling into his nostrils. Underwater... there was actually a corpse tied underwater!

Most of the corpse's body was exposed above the water. It was wearing a short martial outfit and had a sturdy build; it should have been a Martial Master from the estate. There were exaggeratedly large wounds on its limbs and neck.

Especially the neck—the bones inside had been severed, leaving only a thin layer of tendon connecting it. A massive head hung crookedly below the shoulder. The corpse's eyes were wide open, its eyeballs bulging; the scene was terrifying.

Kuang Hongyi's expression was ferocious at this moment. "It was the Feng Family. It's the bloody stench of this corpse that attracted those things around us!"

Having experienced the Ghost Opera earlier, Yang Xiao also understood that these Paper People around them were merely containers. At this moment, Resentful Souls were already residing within these Paper People; this was the most terrifying part.

Inside the large ship was a Ghost Fetus about to break out, and outside was a circle of Resentful Souls closing in step by step. Tonight, if there was even the slightest mistake, they would all be buried here.

"If it doesn't work, we fight!" Kuang Hongyi intended to fish up the corpse and tie it to the bow. "We will push this corpse out to attract the attention of those ghost things. As long as a gap appears in the encirclement, we will find a chance to escape."

Staring at the Paper Man Boats closing in nearby, Kuang Hongyi tried his best to regulate his breathing. "Brother Chu, I am certain that Shi Dali is hiding among these Paper People. In a mission, there will never be an absolutely safe place, and the Feng Family couldn't possibly trust Shi Dali completely."

Yang Xiao gripped the slip with the Second Young Mistress's Birth Date and Time and nodded slowly. "We think the same. There is no escaping tonight; we can only gamble. We will find a way to locate Shi Dali, then stick the Second Young Mistress's Birth Date and Time onto him."

"We have our advantages; at least we can move freely, but he can't. He is hiding among the Paper People and doesn't dare to move at all. As long as he moves, those Paper People will take his life!" After calming down, Yang Xiao's brain worked very quickly.

"What plan do you have?" Kuang Hongyi began to gradually get used to accepting the ideas of Yang Xiao, this newcomer. He was always able to play a role at critical moments.

"Brother Kuang, I have a plan, but I need your help." Yang Xiao turned his head, his gaze toward him revealing some difficulty.

"Stop talking nonsense, say it quickly!"

"I need you to inflict some wounds on yourself and drip blood into the lake to attract the attention of these Paper People, creating an opportunity for me to break through." Yang Xiao added quickly, "Of course, I'm not trying to escape. I want to observe these Paper People from behind, find Shi Dali, and deliver the Second Young Mistress's Birth Date and Time to him. Only then can we break today's death trap."

Hearing this, Kuang Hongyi's expression instantly turned gloomy, and the look he gave Yang Xiao carried a hint of vigilance. This wasn't the time for brotherly affection; if Yang Xiao didn't care about honor and just slipped away, he would be left with nowhere to die.

"Heh, Brother Chu, why don't we swap?" Kuang Hongyi asked tentatively.

But to his surprise, Yang Xiao refused directly. "No, this matter can only be done by me. I don't trust anyone else."