Chapter 12: Paper Man on Shoulder

Yang Xiao recognized at a glance that this was the same well he had seen in the ruins of the flour factory, the one that had been covered with a "Buddha head."

"Wait a moment," Kuang Hongyi called a halt to the maid leading the way; he evidently recognized the well too, "why has this well been sealed up so neatly?"

The maid was startled, her fear visibly rising, even turning her face aside, not daring to look directly at the well, "Don't ask me, I'm just a servant, I know nothing."

Without waiting for everyone to respond, the maid hurriedly quickened her pace. The maid looked to be about 15 or 16 years old, thin and small, and not particularly attractive, suggesting her low status in the household, probably a menial servant from one of the courtyards.

Before long, they arrived at a secluded courtyard. As they entered the gate, everyone's view suddenly opened up, and to the west of the yard they could see the glimmer of water—it was a large pond.

Calling it a pond didn't do it justice, as it was comparable in size to a smaller lake. The setting sun's afterglow spread across the wide surface of the water, stunningly beautiful for a moment.

"This is natural, not man-made. The Feng Family people have just tidied it up a bit," Shi Dali looked toward the other end of the lake, "The water seems to be flowing."

The maid lacked the interest to listen to their idle talk. With the sun about to set, and having to walk back alone, she was nearly frantic, "Esteemed Blessing Guests, you've all had a long journey, hurry back to rest. Your refined houses are over there."

Following the direction pointed out by the maid, they saw two houses—a larger and a smaller one—resting near the lake. The houses featured a classical style, white walls, and grey tiles, partially revealed by the canopy of trees.

Yang Xiao immediately recalled the three cards from the script: the first card depicted the Feng Family Mansion located on the old street; the second showed these two old houses.

"Just now, the Protector Chief instructed us that the refined houses are simple and small. Please bear with it. We'll split into two groups, one staying in each house," the maid spoke at a breakneck pace, "Just divide up as we did on the carriage: more people in the large house and fewer in the smaller one. The food and drinks are already prepared inside for everyone."

Having said all this, the maid seemed finally relieved, quickly returning the way she came. After about a dozen steps, she suddenly stopped, turned around, and with an odd look in her eyes, she hesitated for a moment before finally speaking, "Esteemed Blessing Guests, this back courtyard is seldom visited. It gets dark at night, and if there's nothing important, please don't wander about. Lock your doors and windows, and if you hear or see something, don't be curious."

"What do you... what do you mean by that?" Shi Guanming was somewhat nervous, "Don't go, explain what you mean, I say."

But the maid acted as if she hadn't heard, her legs moving quickly, vanishing like a puff of smoke, without ever looking back.

With nightfall approaching, staying in this unfamiliar place was clearly not a good choice. Moreover, it was secluded and quiet—if anything were to happen, even if they screamed their throats hoarse, it's unlikely anyone would come.

More importantly, this place gave Yang Xiao an odd feeling, indescribably strange.

After a while, Yang Xiao finally realized what was strange—it was too silent here.

It wasn't just the absence of human presence; there were no sounds of birds either. The wide expanse of the lake was eerily still, devoid of any foraging birds, and near the shore, the surface showed no ripples from fish swimming near it—as if it were a pool of dead water.

"Let's go over there; let's get through this first night and then talk. If we're cautious, nothing will happen," Kuang Hongyi had become the temporary leader of the group.

Walking on a path paved with broken stones, the four of them arrived at the so-called refined house, which was actually a slightly larger wing room, with a sizable rosewood square table in the center and several chairs around it.

On either side of the side room, there was a carved wooden bed, each covered with a plain-colored canopy. Next to the window was a writing desk, fully equipped with brushes, ink, paper, and an inkstone.

The room's overall style was simple and unadorned, complemented by two tall bookcases, and some exquisite ornaments like ornamental rocks and porcelain, which together created an aura of elegance.

Pushing open the window, one could see the golden shimmer of the lake outside, and imagine that the room's owner, having nothing else to do, would stay here for a few days to read, paint, and nurture the mind—a truly delightful aspect of life.

In the center of the room, on the wooden table, there were two large food boxes. Upon opening them, there were some delicate dishes. After all the commotion, everyone was a bit hungry. Seeing Kuang Hongyi and Xu Su picking up their chopsticks to take some food, Yang Xiao and Su Tingting quickly joined in.

After eating their fill, as the sky gradually turned dark, the group sat around the table. They lit the candles found in the room with the fire starters.

Before they could discuss what to do next, suddenly, a rustling sound came from nearby, as if someone was rapidly approaching.

And by the sounds of the footsteps, it wasn't just one person.

"Did the people from the second house come to find us?" Su Tingting asked with some suspicion.

Kuang Hongyi immediately blew out the candle on the table and then the one behind the window. Afterwards, everyone tiptoed to the door, held their breath, and each peered out through the crack.

Under the faint night sky, not far across from the door, many figures walked towards them in pairs and groups, huddled together with very odd movements.

As they got closer, Yang Xiao squinted his eyes and finally saw clearly that it wasn't people huddled together but brightly colored paper effigies.

The paper effigies were carried by the living, one in each hand. In the spreading night, and with their brisk pace, they appeared to float crowdedly together.

Apart from the person leading the way with a Paper Lantern, there were two other men, both likely to be servants from the mansion, judging by their attire. The two men carried a paper effigy in each hand and had one strapped to their back, making a total of 3 living people and 7 paper effigies.

The paper effigies were clad in bright red, with red hats, red jackets, and red boots. In the darkness, one could only make out their pale faces with exaggeratedly painted brows and eyes and coarse, vacant eyes that oozed an intense aura of death.

These people, carrying the paper effigies, hurried past the door without intent to enter, turned a corner, and headed straight for the lakeside. Then, they quickly arranged the paper effigies in a line, arms raised horizontal with palms facing downward, each effigy's hands resting on the shoulders of the one in front, facing the lake, in a column.

"Paper effigies carrying each other's shoulders?" Kuang Hongyi frowned.

By the lakeside, the three men remained silent; the leader lit a stack of paper money with the light from the lantern and tossed it into the air. In the brief illumination from the flame, Yang Xiao got a clear view of the leader's face.

He was an older man, with a hooked nose, a fu manchu moustache, thin lips, and deep-set eyes—his face bore the mark of shrewdness and malice, and he was dressed much better than the other servants of the mansion.

After the paper money in the air had burned away, the three men knelt down and kowtowed with force towards the water several times. The man with the hooked nose then took something out of his cloth pouch, muttered some words, and suddenly pressed it onto the face of the leading paper effigy.