Funeral (5)-Long Nails

[Oh my god, there's a paper figure behind him!]

[Oh no, I was so careless!]

Why didn't the paper figure attack him directly, but instead put its arm around his shoulder and ask him a question?

[It's a rule, maybe there's a rule that it has to make a sound even if humans haven't discovered it yet, it's quite common.]

A chill ran through Yu Xing's body from the hand resting on his shoulder. He felt the light weight and knew perfectly well that something had appeared behind him.

You've mastered this!

Before, my footsteps were so loud that you could hear them from far away, but now they've become completely silent and elusive.

What's even stranger is that it could conceal its aura, so much so that Yu Xing.

Does it become stronger the closer you get to the end of the alley?

"Are you going to Boss Liu's funeral?!" Seeing that he didn't answer, the hand on his shoulder tightened, finally making Yu Xing feel a little pain.

He frowned, turned around, and was met with an ugly, stiff paper face. The paper figure had curved eyes and a curved mouth, laughing exaggeratedly, but its tone didn't match the laughter at all.

Is that so?

Its tone rises sharply at the end, as if it would tear Yu Xing to shreds if she were to admit Yu Xing.

But if you don't admit it, it might not believe you, and it might attack you; Zhou Xue and the whole room full of cripples are prime examples.

Yu Xing was slightly taller than the paper figure. He lowered his head slightly, looked directly at the terrifying face, and answered seriously, "Of course, I'm going to the funeral. Together?"

The paper figure remained unmoved by his invitation, its mouth suddenly widening into a furious roar, "Why are you attending Boss Liu's funeral?"

The sharp sound pierced Yu Xing's eardrums, and her head throbbed with pain. The next moment, the paper figure raised its paper hand and thrust it toward Yu Xing's chest with undisguised malice.

Yu Xing nimbly retreated to dodge, taking the opportunity to break free from the paper figure's hand that was holding him on the shoulder. Five tiny tears, no thicker than a needle, remained on his white shirt.

"Strange..." He noticed this and muttered to himself. Several thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant, and then he continued to dodge the paper doll's storm of attacks.

The paper figure's fingertips were thin, but now, the fragile paper had become sharp blades. Despite its strange movements and seemingly crude appearance, it was actually very agile in battle.

"Rip!"

Yu Xing intended to hold back his strength in front of the audience, only using one-third of his fighting skills. He couldn't dodge a single attack and the paper figure tore the cuff of his long robe, also scraping off a small piece of skin from his left wrist.

This clearly shows that the paper figure's hand is about as sharp as a metal weapon!

Crimson blood trickled down her fingers. Yu Xing feigned undisguised pain, then shook her hand and pulled out [Sheqing Dreamscape] from her Persona Mask panel.

The deep blue dagger gleamed with a cold light, wisps of blue mist enveloping its blade, exuding an ancient charm and a chilling aura, while also concealing his rapidly recovering wrist.

The paper figure seemed to relax for a moment, sensing the powerful Sheqing Ghost within the dagger.

However, the paper figure seemed to lack intelligence. After a barely perceptible pause, it stretched out its arm and swung it again. Yu Xing parried with his dagger, and as soon as they made contact, a piece of white flew out.

It's a finger made of half a piece of paper.

What kind of offering could be so sharp?

[It's so hard, the paper figure's hand was sliced off.]

[I feel that Xing is surprisingly suited to carrying this kind of dagger while wearing a long robe.]

[Luckily, they're quite skilled too. Are these people really surnamed Zhao? Weren't they supposed to be all analytical strategists?]

I think Xing's intelligence is stronger than his physical skills.

Those who remained in the live stream, aside from a few psychopaths who wanted to see Yu Xing fail and get humiliated, were almost all people who believed in him. They were more interested in Yu Xing's actual abilities than in arguments and chat.

Intelligence, deduction style, skills, and personality are all under observation, because no one can guarantee that they won't encounter Yu Xing in future deductions. It would be ridiculous to waste the opportunity to understand the other party and end up being tricked to death by him.

The moment the white paper finger flew out, a hint of suspicion flashed in Yu Xing's eyes. Although the Sheqing Dreamscape should be a very strong weapon-type dagger because of Yi Qing's presence, it shouldn't be able to cut through ghosts like mud.

If paper figures were truly that fragile, they wouldn't have broken off so easily from a mere rub.

Dealing with paper figures is not that simple.

"Hehehe... Hahahaha..." The paper figure with its finger cut off suddenly let out a venomous shriek. It waved its hand, and layers of pulp re-condensed from the broken surface, quickly solidifying and covering the surface layer by layer, forming a new finger in less than two seconds.

It was as if a paper maker, who didn't exist, was following the paper figure, carefully mending its wounds.

Yu Xing clicked his tongue twice, thinking to himself that this was more in line with the paper figure's role as a "gatekeeper".

Based on the current situation, there are only two possibilities: First, the paper doll itself is invincible. Regardless of the plot, from a functional perspective, it is the biggest obstacle preventing the strategists from gathering, used to delay time and widen the progress gap between the nine teams.

Second, the paper doll can be injured to the point that it can no longer hinder the diviner, but it is necessary to find the vital points on the paper doll. The choice of whether to attack or not will affect the subsequent plot.

If it's the second possibility, then we could try some vital areas, such as the head, neck, and heart. If none of those work, Yu Xing won't bother wasting time searching and will proceed as if it were the first possibility.

He tilted his head back, his nose just inches from the paper figure's outstretched hand, and suddenly reached out and grabbed the paper figure's paper arm. His hand felt rough and soft, as if he could crush it with a single squeeze.

And he did just that. With a forceful squeeze of his palm, he flattened the paper arm and pulled the paper figure forward, the dagger piercing precisely between the paper figure's eyebrows.

"Waaah... Hahahaha..." The paper figure was pierced, its smiling eyes maintaining their unchanging curve, and it uttered a series of indistinct syllables. With its other hand, it grabbed Yu Xing's wrist and pulled it outwards sharply.

In some ways, the paper man and Yu Xing are similar; both are physically fragile but possess terrifying strength.

The Sheqing Dreamscape was forcibly pulled out, and then Yu Xing saw that the paper figure's brow, like the severed finger, returned to normal within seconds.

Yu Xing kicked it, breaking free from the paper figure's restraints, creating distance, and retreated a few steps towards the gate of the mansion.

This detail went unnoticed by the paper figure; it simply lunged forward as before, determined to tear Yu Xing to shreds.

Taking advantage of its inability to stop its charge, Yu Xing sidestepped behind the paper figure, plunging the dagger completely into its "heart," but to little avail.

Come to think of it, a paper doll has no brain, nerves, or even a heart to supply blood. To try to understand a paper doll by the standards of a human body is indeed a bit presumptuous.

Yu Xing felt that this paper figure truly had no weaknesses; for an ordinary person, meeting it would basically mean certain death, with no other possible outcome.

Another thing that bothered him was that when he slashed the paper doll, the dagger's properties didn't manifest on it. Neither the soothing, the ability-sealing, nor any properties that hadn't yet been activated appeared.

He had previously used the Sheqing Dreamscape to injure the Water Ghost Shi Wei and the strategist Han Xinyi, which is enough to prove that the dagger's ability ① is effective against both ghosts and humans, but ineffective against paper figures.

This phenomenon alone was enough for him to think of many possibilities.

Yu Xing gave up and, taking advantage of his constant dodging and counterattacks, gradually approached the mansion.

The comments section was also discussing the paper doll's unreasonable abilities.

[Damn, infinite regeneration?]

[Generally, while we can't completely kill the ghosts we encounter, using sacrificial abilities will at least affect them, such as temporarily dispelling their power.]

[The paper figure is a bit strange]

This one is just too difficult to solve.

[The sacrificial party had already tested the paper figure beforehand and discovered that it couldn't harm them at all.]

[Yes, offerings are useless; you can only hide or run. That's just how it's designed.]

I'm a bit curious about the role this paper figure plays in this phase of the mission. Is it a boss, a mere disruptor, or a key figure in the plot?

[Is this my only observation? Has Yuki never been injured since the offering was taken out?]

Seriously, his reaction speed is among the best before the Despair level, right?

[Those with this level of combat ability, even if their thinking is a bit weak, have a good chance of surviving and advancing to the Despair level.]

The audience's thoughts began to diverge, while Yu Xing, who was deducing the situation, discovered that simply getting rid of the paper figure was not an easy thing.

The reason is simple: the paper doll attacks too frequently. It's not human; it doesn't know what tiredness or pain is.

If Yu Xing ran towards the mansion with all his might, he would probably have many more wounds all over his body when he stepped through the gate.

Then, the audience will see that his wounds heal at an incredible speed, so fast that even the thick blue mist he deliberately released from the dagger cannot conceal them.

No, no, if he gets caught, he'll have to lie and cover it up again.

Of course, there are ways to escape if he really wants to. For example, he has not used the offering [Tears of the Underworld Candle] for a long time, which can transform him into a zombie. In this way, his wound healing ability can be compensated for.

However, since he didn't know what the situation was inside the mansion, it would be bad if he rashly entered in his ghost form and triggered a series of chain reactions. He didn't care, as it was his usual style to enjoy courting death, but if he did so, Zhao Yijiu and Zhao Ruru inside the mansion would most likely be affected.

He never wants to drag others down with him when he's courting disaster; that's the difference between being carefree and causing harm.

However, transforming back into human form after entering the house would be a waste, so he wasn't too keen on it.

Yu Xing narrowed his eyes slightly, the corners of his eyes slanting upwards, his ambiguous expression often indicating that he was thinking of some wicked trick again.

Is this paper figure actually capable of communication?

A few seconds later, during a brief moment of futile resistance and constant dodging, Yu Xing had a sudden thought and said to the paper figure, "Hey, don't you want to attend Boss Liu's funeral? Boss Liu did such a thing, shouldn't you go and have a look at his death?"

Thanks to the neighbors in the photo frame shop who were good at riddles, he also used "that matter" as a euphemism here, although he himself did not know what he was talking about, but he believed that the paper figure would understand.

Upon hearing Yu Xing mention Boss Liu, the paper figure paused, finally creating an opening in its attack.

After a two-second silence, it asked coldly, "You also hate Boss Liu?"

Yes, we can definitely communicate!

Yu Xing's lips curled into a smile, secretly thinking that she liked ghosts she could persuade the most, "Yes, who wouldn't hate him?"

In fact, it can be seen from the attitude of the paper figure that it is clearly in opposition to Boss Liu, the person involved in the funeral. Its words are full of hatred for Boss Liu. Therefore, when someone appears in the Ghost Alley and wants to go to the mansion, the paper figure will think that these people are there to worship and mourn Boss Liu, whom it hates, and thus kill them.

Ultimately, the paper figure doesn't hate all humans; it simply feels that no one should still be offering sacrifices to Boss Liu.

So Yu Xing tried to speak to the paper figure from its perspective, and sure enough, the paper figure stopped attacking.

"Why don't you go in and take a look?" Yu Xing seized the opportunity to take the initiative and try to get some information out of the other person.

The paper figure emitted a sound resembling weeping, even more intense than the previous wailing. "I can't go in! I don't want to go in! I don't want to go in!"

Is it that they can't get in, or that they don't want to get in?

This should be a concept for the ghosts in front of us. Many ghosts, due to their obsessions in life, will never set foot in a certain place again after death if they are extremely resistant to it, otherwise their Divine Soul will be destroyed.

Yu Xing patted her wrinkled clothes, thought for a moment, and said, "Should I go in? Why not watch the excitement? Or should I check it out for you and come out to share the news?"

At the same time, two heads peeked out from the wall next to the gate of the tomb.

When they saw Yu Xing actually "peacefully coexisting" with the paper figure, both of them were stunned for a moment. Zhao Ruru whispered in surprise, "What did he say to the paper figure!?"

Zhao Yijiu didn't reply, but a hint of "I knew it" flashed in her eyes.

He knew that Yu Xing always had some strange and unusual methods.

He stopped what he was about to do to attract the paper doll's attention, deciding to observe Yu Xing's situation. If Yu Xing proved that the paper doll could actually be persuaded through communication, that would be a pleasant surprise.

If that doesn't work, and the paper figure makes another move, he will immediately draw the fire so that Yu Xing can take the opportunity to enter the ghost house.

Upon hearing that Yu Xing still wanted to go in, the paper figure seemed to suddenly remember something and asked, "Hehehe, you insulted Boss Liu... Will you insult him in front of his coffin? Poke holes in his back?"

"..." For some reason, given Yu Xing's familiarity with human relationships, he felt that the paper doll did not want him to do such a thing.

He always trusted his intuition, and after careful consideration, he said, "No."

The paper figure immediately became agitated. "Why don't you scold him!"

"Then I'll go in and start yelling." Yu Xing agreed, changing her mind before it even raised its hand.

The paper figure let out a sinister laugh, its grating voice trailing off. "Only I can curse him before his corpse."

After saying that, he pounced on her.

Yu Xing: "..."

Tsk, a paper doll.

It's quite difficult to handle.

Just as he was about to think of another explanation, a nail half a meter long came flying through the air, piercing the paper figure's chest with tremendous inertia and pinning it to the dusty ground, even scattering several gold and silver round pieces of paper that had fallen to the ground.

The paper figure struggled on the ground for a moment, then screamed in fury, its smiling eyes turning savagely towards the top of the tomb wall.

There, Zhao Yijiu had just withdrawn his hand when, in order to completely attract the paper figure's attention, he braced himself with his arm, his long robe flipped up, and like a white ghost, he jumped down from the top of the wall.

He landed with a thud, looking back at it with a cold gaze no less intense than the paper doll's. In his hand, he held another long nail, rusty and with congealed blood on the pointed end, exuding a menacing aura.

I was unexpectedly assigned to do an undercover investigation at a scenic spot today and didn't get back until 9 PM, so updates will be a bit slower. I'll stay up all night to finish writing 10,000 words. There's still one more chapter of 6,000 words left. Everyone, go to sleep now, it'll be there when you wake up tomorrow morning -(:::з"∠)- sobs