Chapter 7: Thicket Village (VII)

The woman’s face had thick hair that hung down long and black, starkly contrasting with its deathly pale skin.

Drops of water from her hair fell onto the cement floor, filling the air with a fishy stench. Yun Xueqing stared at it, feeling as though it drew closer and closer until it was less than a meter away—then shortened by another third.

He had no weapon in hand, so he glanced around for anything usable when he sensed the person sleeping beside him suddenly sit up. In a somewhat hoarse voice, that person said, “Fancy play, huh? A midnight rendezvous?”

Yun Xueqing: “…”

Was there such a thing as a deadly rendezvous?

“It really came looking for you,” Fu Wuxuan scratched his messy hair and casually chanted, “Oracle: Solar Flame.”

“Urgh aaah!”

Flames instantly erupted over the dripping, smiling woman’s face. As its body burned, it let out a pained cry like the desperate screech of a rodent—nothing human about it.

The fire burned quickly, and in moments, nothing remained but a pile of black ash.

“During the day, the Water Ghost left a black handprint on you,” Fu Wuxuan said as he got out of bed and turned on the light, instantly brightening the room. “Tonight, it followed the scent here.”

Described that way, it did sound a bit like a dog.

Yun Xueqing shook off the odd thought and asked seriously, “How did it get in?”

In a Weird Domain, Weirds had to follow certain rules.

Without an invitation from the homeowner, they shouldn’t have been able to enter this room.

“I told you, Water Ghosts can appear anywhere there’s water.”

Fu Wuxuan bent down and pulled out a clay jar from under the bed.

Yun Xueqing leaned over to look. Inside was nothing but water—not very clear, and it gave off that same fishy pond smell.

“The village chief must have struck some deal with the Water Ghost,” Fu Wuxuan said as he tossed the clay jar out the window.

Yun Xueqing recalled the creaking bedboards from the previous night and frowned. “There should be something under the bedboards.”

The wooden bed frame was thick, thick enough to hide things.

He ran his hand along the bed edge and found a hidden compartment.

He folded up the quilt, gripped the middle of the bed edge, and yanked hard!

The bedboard lifted, revealing a hidden layer in the middle. And there, in the spacious compartment, a Paper Man lay quietly.

The Paper Man wore colorful clothes, had hair, and its face was painted with eyes, nose, and mouth, plus two big round blush spots—but the proportions were all wrong, making it look terribly off-putting.

With arms spread wide in an embracing pose and a smile on its face, it had been “hugging” Yun Xueqing and Fu Wuxuan to sleep every night.

Suddenly exposed to the light, the Paper Man’s two bean-sized eyes fixed on Yun Xueqing as it slowly rose.

“Oracle: Solar Flame.”

Fu Wuxuan burned the Paper Man without a second thought, put the bedboard back, and calmly said, “Alright, back to sleep.”

Yun Xueqing nodded. The two remade the bed and lay down again.

The next day, Fu Wuxuan got up feeling sore all over. “The bedboards too hard?”

He muttered softly, “Shouldn’t have burned that Paper Man. It could’ve served as a mattress.”

Yun Xueqing felt the same discomfort, like he’d practiced swordplay all day and exhausted himself. “Something’s not right.”

“Definitely. The body’s too fatigued,” Fu Wuxuan agreed. “Like a fox spirit sucked out our essence.”

His words were flippant, but his face lacked its usual easygoing expression. Instead, he frowned. “We must have overlooked something.”

Inspiration struck, and they said in unison, “The Six-Armed Bodhisattva Statue!”

Uncovered from beneath its white cloth, the long-ignored Six-Armed Bodhisattva Statue finally saw the light again.

“I thought it wasn’t very ghostly, just a creepy decoration. Didn’t expect it to pack such a punch.”

Fu Wuxuan chuckled wryly. “Makes sense, though. A statue that old coot specifically told us to treat well was never going to be harmless.”

He touched the statue’s head and fell into thought. “Destroying this statue won’t help, though. This is just an avatar.”

He speculated, “If I’m right, this Six-Armed Bodhisattva Statue is the A-Rank Weird that created this Weird Domain.”

Hearing that, Yun Xueqing couldn’t help thinking of the Six-Armed Bodhisattva Statue in the temple up the mountain.

Were the two connected somehow?

“Fu Wuxuan.”

“Hm?” Fu Wuxuan looked at Yun Xueqing.

Yun Xueqing’s expression was blank, harsh sunlight illuminating his snow-white face. The floating dust and fine hairs on his skin were clearly visible.

He heard him ask, “Why did you enter this Weird Domain?”

He’d claimed earlier that San Zhi had dragged him in as a sacrifice, but the strength he’d shown so far didn’t match an ordinary victim.

“Well,” Fu Wuxuan half-truthed, “I want this A-Rank Weird’s ability, so I came in.”

Killing Weirds not only boosted an Oracle’s Spirit Energy intensity but also gave a chance to gain the Weird’s abilities.

Yun Xueqing nodded, unclear if he believed it.

At noon, the dozen or so people waited left and right, but the village chief never showed.

After a long while, a fat man finally waddled in.

The fat man was bald too, his body layered with what looked like stacked swimming rings that jiggled as he walked. The flesh on his face wobbled too, puffed up like round steamed buns. He didn’t look vicious—instead, he resembled the Maitreya Buddha in a temple.

“Heh heh, don’t wait anymore, folks. Dad’s not coming,” the fat man said, gnawing on a piece of cured meat.

The red-haired youth eyed him suspiciously. “Who are you?”

The fat man set down the meat and said earnestly, “I’m my dad’s son.”

Fu Wuxuan ignored the two fools and asked directly, “Did the village chief leave any instructions?”

The fat man tapped his chin, as if recalling. “Seems like… Dad said for you to go to Hong Niu’s place and get some oil.”

“What kind of oil?”

“No idea,” the fat man said, picking up his cured meat again. “Dad left in a rush and didn’t prepare food for you. If you’re hungry, make some in the kitchen yourselves.”

The group thanked their lucky stars—no dealing with snakes, bugs, and rats. They rummaged around, found some rice, cooked a pot of thin porridge, and headed to Hong Niu’s as instructed.

After asking villagers along the way, they finally reached Hong Niu’s house. Li Yulin caught the noise and came running, shouting, “Bro! You finally came, bro!”

He was so emotional he nearly threw himself into Yun Xueqing’s arms, but Yun Xueqing sidestepped.

Fu Wuxuan asked with interest, “You’re still alive?”

“What kinda talk is that!” Li Yulin fumed, then turned to whine at Yun Xueqing. “Bro, you have no idea what I’ve been through these past few days. That venomous woman Hong Niu makes me fold Paper Men from dawn till dusk—child labor abuse!”

Yun Xueqing glanced at Hong Niu’s house. Inside and out, it was filled with Paper Men of all sizes, identical to the one under their bed.

“You’re child labor?” Fu Wuxuan couldn’t stand his pitiful act.

“A man is a boy till he dies,” Li Yulin snorted, then lowered his voice. “But getting exploited isn’t the worst. The worst is… the Paper Men I folded come alive at night!”

Yun Xueqing: “They came alive? Did they do anything to you?”

“Nah,” Li Yulin shook his head. “They just stare at me at night and twitch now and then. Pretty creepy.”

These Paper Men didn’t seem dangerous for now.

Yun Xueqing judged, then asked, “What about San Zhi?”

“Haven’t seen him,” Li Yulin scratched his head. “He dropped me at Hong Niu’s and vanished. Guy’s a ghost, popping in and out.”

Yun Xueqing: “I see.”

Hope of retrieving his Natal Sword grew slimmer.

“Anyway, bro, what brings you to Hong Niu’s?”

“Getting some oil.”

Li Yulin wasn’t clueless like them. “Oh, the oil.”

He went inside, fetched a small green bamboo tube, and handed it to Yun Xueqing.

The bamboo tube was sealed tight, with a faint exotic fragrance seeping out.

Fu Wuxuan asked, “What’s the oil for?”

“Not totally sure,” Li Yulin said, sounding like a student fumbling a thesis defense. “Kinda like the oil on an oiled paper umbrella? After folding each Paper Man, Hong Niu makes me coat it.”

Fu Wuxuan stifled a laugh. “Maybe Corpse Oil.”

“Big shot, don’t scare me!” Li Yulin wailed, face crumpling.

Fu Wuxuan smiled faintly. “Just kidding.”

Yun Xueqing: “Got the Corpse Oil. Head back now?”

“No, I want to stay,” Fu Wuxuan said meaningfully. “No leads on cracking this Weird Domain in days. Can’t just wait around. I want to see what happens if we go out at night.”

He had a point, but night outings were risky. Half the group hesitated and left, while most stayed at Hong Niu’s.

“Hong Niu’s not home?”

Li Yulin shook his head. “Nope.”

Fu Wuxuan: “Then, with time to kill, let’s check her room for clues.”

“Ah? That’s not right,” Li Yulin stammered. “Going into a girl’s room? I can’t do that!”

Fu Wuxuan didn’t call out his fear and just smirked. “Whether Hong Niu’s even human is debatable.”

In a Weird Domain, who was normal?

Li Yulin choked, speechless.

So the group trooped into Hong Niu’s room, while a few afraid of her revenge went to question nearby villagers.

Hong Niu’s room looked like any ordinary woman’s—no special finds after rummaging.

Li Yulin fretted as they pawed around. “Easy does it! Put stuff back! If Hong Niu finds out, she’ll beat me senseless!”

Yun Xueqing barely touched anything, just scanned around. His gaze landed on the vanity, so he approached.

He opened the vanity box and found a slip of paper inside.

He pulled it out. Several lines were written on it.

The Method to Animate Paper: Fold Paper Men by human hands, coat with Corpse Oil, leave under moonlight for forty-nine days to complete.

Yun Xueqing mused, “Corpse Oil it is.”

“Hong Niu makes Paper Men for a living, the village chief has them too, and they don’t attack. What are they for?”

As he pondered, Li Yulin panicked. “Out! Quick, out! Hong Niu’s back!”

Yun Xueqing replaced the paper, fixed the vanity, and left Hong Niu’s room.

Hong Niu wasn’t entering but folding Paper Men outside.

Seeing Yun Xueqing and the others, she didn’t even glance up, just kept working and said, “So many moochers. Old village chief sure knows how to take advantage.”

The group exchanged looks, unsure how to respond.

Hong Niu grew impatient. “Don’t block my view. Go do whatever. If you’ve got nothing, make food in the kitchen.”

They’d cooked together at noon, so it was familiar now.

After dinner, Yun Xueqing sat in the courtyard, pondering the links between the Paper Men, village chief, and Six-Armed Bodhisattva.

“Such a beautiful moonlit night—why not enjoy it?” Fu Wuxuan had dragged over a stool and sat beside him at some point.

The Weird Domain’s night sky resembled the outside’s, but without the black fog, the moon shone even brighter.

“What secrets are you two whispering?” Li Yulin popped up suddenly, a crowd in tow.

Fu Wuxuan’s smile under the bandages held a hint of danger. “Hong Niu not squeezing your cheap labor anymore?”

“Eight to ten is brutal enough,” Li Yulin checked his watch and grumbled. “It’s almost eleven now.”

Eleven was a subtle hour—they’d entered the Weird Domain at eleven at night.

But the red-haired youth was getting antsy. “How much longer? I’m gonna fall asleep.”

“Aren’t you scared now? What if a strong Weird shows and we’re all done for?” The speaker shivered.

The red-haired youth whispered, “Scared of what? We’ve got Wu Xue. Plus so many Oracles—can’t we handle a C-Rank Weird?”

He was still fooled by San Zhi’s lies, oblivious to the real danger.

Wu Xue sat silently nearby, her snake-like eyes tightly shut, as if dozing.

Hair like frost and snow appeared even more brilliantly white under the moonlight’s glow. But at some unknown point, the moonlight overlaying the white hair had gradually turned blood-red.

A blood-red moon rose, and weird energy overflowed in all directions.

Wu Xue abruptly opened her eyes. Her red pupils burned brighter than blood, and on her originally expressionless face, an eerie smile suddenly curved. “It’s finally here.”

A tall Weird approached from the dark path.

It stood three meters high, yet was as thin as a slender woman. Long black hair trailed along the ground as it staggered across the courtyard fence and entered.

It drew closer slowly, and Yun Xueqing instinctively stood up. Only then did he clearly see the Weird’s face.

The creature’s face resembled tree bark, featuring only two hollow black voids where eyes should have been—no eyeballs. Its mouth gaped wide enough to swallow an ostrich egg, as if eager to devour everything in sight.

As it neared, the surrounding temperature plummeted, and a bone-chilling cold swept over them.

Yun Xueqing frowned and instinctively reached for his sleeve, only to discover something terrifying:

He couldn’t move.