Chapter 24: The Strange Person

"Esteemed Blessing Guests,"

Just as a few people were discussing the case, a discordant voice suddenly came from outside the window, startling everyone inside.

Turning their heads to look, they saw a man with a strange appearance standing outside the window. When the man saw that everyone had noticed him, he grinned, and then slowly walked from the window to the door. He did not enter but stood just outside the threshold.

"When did this guy get here, and how come there was no sound at all?" Su Tingting leaned back a little. This man's first impression on her was not a good one.

The man wore the same clothes as the servants in the residence, but his appearance was very weird. He appeared to be just over 40, extremely thin, standing outside the door like a stick. He had a narrow forehead without eyebrows, small, beady eyes, a pair of mustache, and his thin lips were almost devoid of color, looking every bit like a rat that had taken human form.

Even more chilling was the basketball-sized lump of flesh slanting out from behind his right ear, the skin on the lump squeezed together in such a way that you could faintly make out the contour of a face. His sparse and messy hair was coiled up on top of his head, tied up in an unsightly bun.

This man was clearly not an ordinary servant. Yang Xiao looked him up and down, and his gaze finally landed on the man's shoes.

"Esteemed Blessing Guests, Master Feng has sent me to convey a message. After the individual wakes up, he requests that you all proceed to the Hall of Respect together," the man said in a voice that was neither masculine nor feminine, as if he was either doing so intentionally or it was simply his natural tone.

Kuang Hongyi glanced outside. The sun was almost setting. "It's about to get dark. I wonder if Master Feng has something urgent to discuss with us?"

The man stretched his mouth, seemingly trying to squeeze out a smile, but it only resulted in his entire face twitching. "It's not a particularly important matter. Master Feng has prepared some paper effigies for you all. With these, you can rest assured that you will be safe tonight."

After saying this, the man turned and left. It was then that everyone noticed the odd way the man walked. He was on tiptoe, yet his speed was not slow at all.

"What weird vibes this man gives off, where did he come from?" Xu Su stared at the man's retreating figure until he disappeared around the corner outside the yard.

"He's no ordinary person, he carries kung fu with him," Shi Dali said, looking in the direction the man had left, speaking in a lower voice. "Did you notice his shoes?"

"The shoes are large and there's no distinction between left and right," Yang Xiao had noticed earlier. Judging by his height, this man could only be a little over 170 cm, but the shoes were surprisingly big.

Only the dead do not distinguish between left and right shoes. Apart from that, it would be those who dealt with the dead in shadowy professions.

"Is this man involved in a shadowy profession?" Xu Su nodded after considering it. Indeed, there was something indescribable in the man's eyes, and the way he looked at people was almost the same as looking at a corpse.

"I've heard that those involved in shadowy professions usually have some physical defects, and looking at this fellow, he seems to have a few issues. Joining such a profession doesn't seem unfair to him," Ke Long said with disdain.

Master Feng had prepared paper effigies for everyone, which actually meant paper replicas similar to the one in Master Feng's bedroom. After all, they were currently the substitutes for the Feng Family, and if they died too many and too quickly, the next in line would be the real Feng Family lineage, so getting a fake substitute to die in their place also made sense.

Kuang Hongyi took a deep breath, and his gaze slowly became solemn, "I know what that person was doing just now, he is one of the Yin Eight Processions, the Paper Talisman Artisan. The paper effigy made by Master Feng came from his hands."

Yang Xiao also realized at this moment, "You're right, among the Yin Eight Processions, only the Paper Talisman Artisan prefers to wear big shoes, which in their jargon is also called 'steering a large boat.' It is rumored that the artisans who spend all day with paper effigies become imbued with the yin energy of paper people. Over time, they bear a growing resemblance to each other. Since paper effigies have small feet, to distinguish between the paper people and the living, the older generation of artisans wears big shoes, with a black top and white sole."

Upon hearing this, Su Tingting felt uneasy, "What do you mean 'distinguish'? Can people really not tell apart paper people and living persons?"

"There is such a saying, if the craftsmanship of the Paper Talisman Artisan is good enough, on moonless nights, the deceased can return to the world through the paper effigy, allowing the paper person to walk freely, indistinguishable from ordinary people, and they may even express their unfulfilled wishes," Yang Xiao paused, and finally added, "It's all written in books."

Su Tingting didn't know what to say. The delicate-looking man before her didn't seem to be very scheming, "You... What kind of books are you reading?"

No one responded to Su Tingting. As a newcomer who was also not well-received, Yang Xiao's value had now been proven, and he was treated quite well by everyone.

Except for Ke Long, no one knew what he was thinking all day with his nonchalant attitude. Yang Xiao guessed he might have some kind of ace up his sleeve.

"Cough... cough cough..."

A sudden coughing fit interrupted everyone's thoughts. They saw Shi Guanming, lying on the bed, slowly opening his eyes, "What's happened to me..."

Xu Su handed him a bowl of medicine, helped him drink a few sips, and gradually, Shi Guanming came to his senses, his eyes becoming much clearer.

"The well! There's something wrong with that well!" After a jolt, Shi Guanming began to speak, his whole body tensing up as though returning to the moment before he passed out, "After I approached that well, I saw a woman crouching behind it. With her hair disheveled, she had her back to me, I couldn't see her face, but I heard her. That woman was begging for help; she was in pain, saying... saying that a large millstone was pressing down on her, and she wanted me to help move it away, she needed to go home."

"What else? What else did you see?" Ke Long pressed.

Unexpectedly, seeing Ke Long's face made Shi Guanming explode, "You! It's all you, you want to harm me!"

Shi Guanming reached out and suddenly grabbed Ke Long's throat, his eyes filled with bloodshot veins, "You've always disliked me. It was you; you made me go near that well! You want me dead!"

This sudden turn of events caught everyone off guard. It took a frantic struggle before the two men were pulled apart. The strength Shi Guanming unleashed was surprisingly great, scratching Ke Long's face, and Ke Long, not one to be provoked, kicked Shi Guanming in the chest during the scuffle, "Fuck you! What the hell are you babbling about!"

In the end, it was Shi Dali who dragged Ke Long out of the room with a push and a pull to cool off outside, while Shi Guanming cowered on the bed, weeping helplessly, cursing Ke Long as he cried. He had been the target of Ke Long's hostility for some time but couldn't understand why. Xu Su and Su Tingting comforted him on the side.

Outside the courtyard, Shi Dali dragged Ke Long quite a distance until Ke Long shook off his arm, "Stop pushing me!"

Shi Dali wasn't annoyed, and looking at Ke Long's face, he just shook his head, "You're too impatient. Even if you wanted to make your move, you shouldn't have done it during the day. Now you've startled the snake. Heh, young man, the perks in the script are not so easy to snag."