Chapter 66: The Paper Person's Pregnancy

Kuang Hongyi gave a cold laugh, no longer pretending at this moment, "Brother Chu, if you cannot trust me, then how do you expect me to trust you?"

Without any pleasantries, Yang Xiao explained straightforwardly, "Brother Kuang, think about it. I am a newcomer after all. Even if I could abandon you all and luckily escape tonight, I would still struggle to survive once I returned and faced the combined forces of Shi Dali and Master Feng. I can still weigh which is lighter and which is heavier."

This was stated clearly, and Kuang Hongyi also knew that if he and Su Tingting both died tonight, leaving only Yang Xiao alone, then Shi Dali would never let him go regardless. Therefore, Yang Xiao's only chance was to take out Shi Dali.

Having figured this out, Kuang Hongyi no longer hesitated and cupped his hands toward Yang Xiao, "Good, then everything is entrusted to Brother Chu. After we all leave safely this time, we will find an opportunity for me to tell you properly about the mysteries within this Nightmare World. These nightmares come one after another; even if we luckily survive this time, if we understand nothing, I fear we won't have such good luck next time."

How could Yang Xiao not understand Kuang Hongyi's intentions? Kuang Hongyi was hinting that he possessed important intelligence, but it could not be said now; he would only tell him later. Of course, the premise for all of this was that Yang Xiao had to help him survive tonight.

There was no time to lose. After a simple agreement, the two parted ways to act. Time was pressing now; they had to evacuate quickly once the drum sounded again, otherwise, they would never be able to return.

Yang Xiao steered his boat toward a sparser area of the Paper Person boats while looking for a breakthrough, while Kuang Hongyi turned his back to Yang Xiao and rowed in the opposite direction.

A gust of night wind struck, carrying the nearby mist with it. Kuang Hongyi and Yang Xiao soon could not see each other, only vaguely seeing the outline of the large boat in the middle and the large red Lantern hanging under the high mast.

Estimating that it was about time, Kuang Hongyi stopped his boat. Not far ahead of him were the Paper Person boats; the distance was already quite dangerous. He took a deep breath, drew a dagger, and sliced hard across his palm. The blade cut through the skin, and blood dripped into the lake in a stream.

Almost instantly, the Paper Person boats became restless. The originally neat formation was broken, and they began to crowd toward Kuang Hongyi one after another. Even more eerily, the Paper Persons actually twisted their terrifying paper heads slightly, aiming their faces at Kuang Hongyi as if locking onto a target.

The scene was eerily indescribable. The Paper Persons sat or stood stiffly on the boats, only their heads moving; one could not see any other movements at all, yet the boats moved without wind.

Not daring to hesitate, Kuang Hongyi's task was already complete. The Paper Persons were attracted, and the formation was disrupted; now all he had to do was run for his life.

Yang Xiao sat motionless on his boat, pretending that he too was a Paper Person. He let those Paper Person boats sail past his side, holding his breath, his back straight, not even daring to blink his eyes.

Fortunately, those Paper Person boats had a clear goal and acted as if they could not see him at all, sailing one after another toward the direction where Kuang Hongyi was.

The first step of the plan was complete. The Paper Person boats were attracted, and he had already broken out of the encirclement. Yang Xiao turned his boat around and, without hesitation, chased after those Paper Person boats. He had never intended to abandon his teammates, whether it was Kuang Hongyi or Su Tingting.

At this moment, in the cabin of the Boxi Boat, Su Tingting was shivering all alone. It was unusually cold here, as if it were a large refrigerator. What made her more anxious than the cold were the handprints and ghost faces that appeared on her belly from time to time.

According to what Yang Xiao said, she found a Bronze Incense Burner in the center of the cabin. Three sticks of dark red Incense were inserted inside, the tips of the incense flickering and changing. After getting closer, she could smell a strange fragrance.

Beside the Incense Burner, a Bronze Mirror was also hung with a red thread. Judging from the material and the patterns on each, this Bronze Mirror and the Incense Burner appeared to be a pair.

The surface of the Bronze Mirror was not very clear; it had that yellowish, golden texture. Su Tingting stared at herself in the Bronze Mirror and felt more and more like a stranger the longer she looked, scaring her into immediately looking away.

Besides this, two Paper Persons were placed in this cabin.

The Paper Persons were one red and one green, one male and one female. The male Paper Person sat cross-legged behind the front cabin door, his hands placed flat on his knees, his back to Su Tingting, facing the cabin door in a protective posture. Moreover, his figure was larger and more robust than the Paper Persons Su Tingting had seen before.

A Sword Box was also strapped to the back of the male Paper Person. Of course, this Sword Box was also made of paper, but the overall workmanship was very fine, and there were golden sword tassels under the hilt for decoration.

As for that female Paper Person, she was terrifying. She lay flat on a bed temporarily constructed from wooden boards. The bed was covered with a bright red wedding quilt, and the cabin was decorated with lanterns and streamers, with a large "Double Happiness" character pasted on the wall. In the corner, a few small Lanterns were held up by thin bamboo poles; the place was decorated entirely in the style of a bridal chamber.

Because a whole red curtain was hung up as a partition, Su Tingting could not see the face of the female Paper Person clearly, and she did not dare to get too close, but... but she could clearly see the female Paper Person's highly distended belly!

She did not understand if there was any significance to a Paper Person being pregnant, but her current experience was so similar to this Paper Person's. She had a feeling that this Paper Person was prepared specifically for her.

But things had reached this point, and there was nothing to hesitate about. She forced herself to calm down and came before the Incense Burner. Remembering what Yang Xiao said, she first pressed the slip of paper with Shi Dali's Birth Date and Time under the Incense Burner, then gently blew a breath toward the leftmost of the three sticks of incense. The tip of the incense immediately brightened, and the burning speed accelerated.

After blowing this breath, Su Tingting was vigilant of her surroundings, but she waited for a full dozen seconds without discovering anything unusual. Gradually, her heart settled. She then leaned to the right and blew another breath toward the incense on the far right.

"Hiss—"

Following this breath, an eerie wind blew up in the cabin for some reason, making her Paper Clothes rustle. The candle flame was pressed low, and the cabin flickered between light and dark. At the same time, Su Tingting vaguely heard a very light "click" sound, just like a piece of hard cardboard being snapped.

Su Tingting's first reaction was to look at the male Paper Person. The male Paper Person had not moved at all, still maintaining his previous posture. She then went to look at the female Paper Person; the female Paper Person was likewise lying obediently on the wedding bed, the bright red wedding quilt extremely jarring.

The next second, Su Tingting could not help but stand up. She hugged herself and looked around, wanting to find the source of that cold, eerie aura. That was right, just a moment ago, she felt she was being watched by something, and the hair on her back stood up; this was an instinct.

Where was it?

Where... where exactly was it?

Su Tingting kept changing directions, her gaze searching carefully in every corner of the cabin, including overhead, but she found nothing. Yet she did not dare to stop, because that feeling of being watched was becoming increasingly intense.

Until her peripheral vision inadvertently swept across the Bronze Mirror beside the Incense Burner, and in that very instant, the image on it made her entire body turn cold.