Chapter 124

With several women's terrified screams, a sound of blades cutting into flesh rang out in the hall.

A cold light flashed; in a silent instant, the paper person Guan Erge's Green Dragon Blade harvested an innocent's head.

The head's owner was not Chen Zheng; at the moment the blade was about to slash Chen Zheng's neck, the black-clad bodyguard beside him violently pulled Chen Zheng back, then himself took the hit.

Blood spurted like a spring from the black-clad bodyguard's severed neck, spraying everyone present. This bloody scene terrified the several women there, their faces draining of color. Silijing, whose composure was weaker, turned deathly pale and vomited.

The crisis did not dissipate with the falling head; instead, it intensified.

When the paper person severed a head, its speed did not wane; it seized the Green Dragon Blade and surged toward Chen Zheng.

One by one, black-clad bodyguards and fearless warriors stood before Chen Zheng as living targets, only to be mercilessly harvested by this paper person.

"Be careful," the fifth bodyguard fell; at this moment, Chen Zheng had nowhere left to retreat.

I grabbed him and pulled him over, then turned, using my back to face the paper person rushing through the air.

This paper person is so fierce, I wouldn't be foolish enough to court death. When I felt a chilling stab at my back approaching, I immediately used the Golden Cicada Shell technique.

I left a neatly folded suit hovering in midair, then immediately retreated with Chen Zheng.

With a puff, the paper person burst from the suit's center; the Green Dragon Blade then danced, and the suit instantly turned into flying paper scraps.

Seeing Guan Erge, face full of killing intent, lunging at me, my scalp went numb as I also pondered a counter—but his speed was too great, his momentum too fierce, giving me no time to think of a plan.

Clang

The paper person swiftly came before me, just as the god of death stepped forward with a smile. Suddenly, a piercing cold light flashed in the air—clang—like silver light slicing the sky, cutting the paper person in half at the waist.

Dark night specter… Fan Wuchang finally drew his blade.

At this moment, Fan Wuchang showed none of his former laziness, like a thousand-year-old pine unshaken by wind and rain, his whole body exuding a piercing chill. His figure melted completely into the night, giving a hazy visual sense—as if he existed… yet could not be seen clearly.

Again came several swishing sounds; Fan Wuchang, who had cut down the paper person, once more unsheathed his blade at unimaginable speed—between flashes of blade light, the paper person turned into sky-filling paper scraps, dancing in the air.

The crisis, at this moment, was finally declared over.

Fan Wuchang stood solemnly before me and Chen Zheng, guarding us; the surrounding bodyguards quickly formed a large circle around us, intently watching all directions, cautiously guarding against assassins possibly reappearing in the silent hall.

"Get out…" unexpectedly, Chen Zheng, standing in the protective circle, suddenly roared and abruptly shoved away everyone protecting him.

Everyone stared wide-eyed, not knowing what Chen Zheng was doing.

"Amin, are you okay?" Chen Zheng rushed anxiously to Dong Yumin's side, feeling her up and down, worried to see if she was injured anywhere.

At this moment, Dong Yumin's face grew even paler, leaning in Chen Zheng's embrace, softly sobbing.

"Zheng, I was truly terrified just now—I thought I was about to lose you."

"It's fine, I've been here all along, I've been here all along!" Chen Zheng patted Dong Yumin's back, soothing her gently.

"Chen Zheng, you should come back with us! The police station is the safest place." At the moment of the earlier assault, all the black-clad bodyguards immediately fell back to rally around Chen Zheng, naturally overlooking those plainclothes officers.

Chen Mo, that wench, had regained her former imposing demeanor, even picking up a gun and pointing it at Chen Zheng's head, declaring that Chen Zheng must return with her to the police station.

Pangzi, with a mournful face on the side, urged Chen Mo: "I say, granny, don't stir up trouble now."

Chen Mo stared coldly, giving Pangzi a vicious glance: "None of your business, get out of my way, old lady."

The paper figures had just been wiped out, yet the hall instantly fell into a stalemate. Police aimed their guns at Chen Zheng, while the black-clad bodyguards also pointed theirs at the plainclothes officers; nobody was willing to lower their weapons first, and they remained locked in that stance.

Unlike what they were focused on, I now directed all my energy toward the paper figures that had already shattered earlier.

"Paper figure troop control." Gazing at the paper scraps on the ground, I fell into thought.

Speaking of drawing talismans to command troops, our Yin Mountain School is truly unique within the Daoist Sect. But the paper figures just now bore no resemblance to the Yin Mountain School's "all plants and trees become soldiers" technique, nor were they a medium for letting ghosts possess; instead… they were really just paper figures.

My mind quickly turned over, carefully recalling information about this kind of technique. Suddenly, I remembered a nearly extinct folk lineage.

Paper Figure School…

All lineages under heaven ultimately stem from the Daoist, Wu, and Buddhist three schools, yet their branches are so numerous they can hardly be counted. Besides the well-known Daoist schools of Maoshan, Tianshi Dao, and Quanzhen, there are countless obscure folk lineages unknown to ordinary people.

The Paper Figure School is one of those obscure lineages, blending Daoist and Wu arts but leaning more toward the Wu. Besides ordinary talisman techniques, it excels at controlling paper figures—paper figures holding bowls, paper figures beheading, paper cranes transmitting sound… virtually any technique related to paper falls within its scope.

However… I've heard that the paper figures made by the Paper Figure School cannot be killed by swords or shattered by guns…

Oh no… My heart jolted, and I shouted toward Chen Mo, who was nearest the paper scraps: "Chen Mo, get out of the way!"

Chen Mo turned his head, looked at me in astonishment, and said: "What did you say?"

Before I could finish speaking, the paper figures on the ground rapidly reassembled in a breath; after the paper scraps swirled in the air, they became a three-inch-tall Guan Erge once more, brandishing a deadly Green Dragon Blade that leapt into the air and lunged at Chen Mo, the blade flashing as it prepared to strike his head.

With a thud, Pangzi's potential erupted again like a gust of wind, he lunged at Chen Mo and rolled him in a lazy donkey move, barely dodging the fierce slash of the paper figure Guan Erge.

Although this Guan Erge hadn't struck Chen Mo, its momentum did not wane; it continued to fly forward and crash down.

The few plainclothes officers standing behind Chen Mo were unlucky, their lives mercilessly reaped by the Guan Erge's fierce blade.

At that moment, the Guan Erge resembled Iron Wall Astroboy from the comics, wielding a huge chopping knife and bursting out from the enemy's chest; each charge mercilessly harvested an innocent life, sending up a spray of blood.

Fan Wuchang stepped in front of Chen Zheng, drew his military ridge spear, preparing to strike again. Although the paper figure exuded eeriness everywhere, Fan Wuchang showed no fear, gripping his military ridge spear and standing firm, coldly staring at the incoming paper figure.

As soon as the paper figure reached Fan Wuchang's front, he would raise the blood‑stained military ridge that had harvested countless lives and tear the paper figure apart by five horses.

"Useless, this is the Paper Figure School's paper figure troop control—only fire can burn it to death." Watching the paper figure spin in the air, murderous intent surging as it lunged at Fan Wuchang, he too raised his blade and coldly fixed his gaze on the paper figure.

I hurriedly warned him, having heard that the paper figure troop control hides an unknown marvel: the same method can be used against paper figures only once. After a second use, the paper figures become completely immune to your attacks. Unless you employ thunder and fire techniques, you cannot utterly annihilate them.

After hearing my words, Fan Wuchang froze for a moment, then reached into his pocket to pull out a lighter.

But at that instant, the paper figure shot to Fan Wuchang's face with lightning speed.

Seeing Fan Wuchang fall into danger, a twinge of regret flashed through my mind. Diverting attention from the enemy is a major taboo in the art of war.

And the culprit who caused Fan Wuchang to lose focus was none other than me…

Fan Wuchang had once saved my and Pangzi's lives; how could I just watch him die? So, as soon as that hint of regret surfaced, I immediately rushed toward Fan Wuchang.

My mind went blank, not even considering how to deal with that murderous paper figure; only one thought kept turning in my head: to save Fan Wuchang, even if it meant sacrificing my own life, I had to pull him from beneath the paper figure's blade.

"One polarity, two transformations, three true fires—I beseech the ancestral fire crow in the pouch to unleash true fire; yin and yang in order, true fire issues from the finger…" At the critical moment, Pangzi chanted the true fire incantation, formed a sword finger with his hand, and instantly stepped in front of Fan Wuchang.

A faint crimson flame flickered at the tip of the sword finger; he thrust it forward against the oncoming blade, and with a puff, the blade collided with Pangzi's sword finger in midair.

Pangzi let out a muffled groan, then staggered back several steps after the clash, while the murderous Guan Erge had turned into black ash, scattering across the ground.

The paper figure was finally destroyed by Pangzi's fingertip flame, though his two fingers had been sliced by the paper figure's blade tip, blood continuing to drip from them.

"Weiqiang, are you okay!" Silijing quickly walked toward Pangzi, grabbed Pangzi's hand and asked anxiously.

Originally still solemn, the vigorous Pangzi instantly became like a dying patient with severe injuries, clutching his chest, weakly collapsing onto Silijing's chest, pitifully saying: "Sister Jingjing, I think I can't make it; from now on you must live well on your own, in heaven I will surely become an angel's wing to protect you well."

Silijing: "……"

Everyone: "……"

After a long while, a sigh echoed in the hall, Fan Wuchang let out a long sigh: "Although now is a critical moment of life and death, I must say... dead fatty, you're really despicable."

Even the bodyguards unanimously nodded in agreement, feeling that Fan Wuchang's words made perfect sense.

Yao Yirong then turned her face toward me, with a strange expression, saying: "I think you just misspoke, Weiqiang brother not only persists hard on the path of two... he also sits in a fighter jet charging all the way along the despicable path."

"Pfft..." Dong Yumin, lying in Chen Zheng's embrace, burst into laughter at Yao Yirong's words, unable to hold back her laughter.

Seeing his wife laugh, Chen Zheng's worried face finally showed a hint of a smile.

With the danger past, I finally let out a big sigh of relief.

I crouched down, carefully examining the paper ash on the ground; a faint trace in the ashes caught my attention.

These were a few strands, half black, half white. Even though the paper effigy had turned to ash, these few strands of hair suffered no damage, lying quietly within the ashes.

This is... I picked up those few strands of hair, examining them closely; a faint insight seemed to appear in my mind, but no matter how hard I tried, my thoughts seemed stuck, and I could never work out the context of this spell.

Just as I was pondering, a black, unsightly object seemed to fly in through the window from the corner of my eye. Astonished, I turned to look; this black, unsightly object was quite strange... somewhat like a small jackfruit, and also somewhat like... a hand grenade in movies.

Hand grenade... Damn, I finally realized what this was; this black, unsightly object is obviously the prop hand grenade commonly used in cop movies.

"Be careful... get down." Fan Wuchang's expression changed as he shouted at everyone.

Following that shout, the house suddenly erupted with a deafening thunderclap...