Xiao Qiao Kicking a Ball

Gu Mian came back up with a mostly intact human head, a pile of broken, bent bamboo strips, and a few scraps of paper.

The fortune teller had been about to ask what had happened below, but before she could, the things Gu Mian had brought up caught her attention. "What are these?"

At first glance, she'd thought Gu Mian had fought a ghost three hundred rounds underground and finally twisted its head off to show everyone. Only when she moved closer did she realize it was made of papier-mâché.

The fortune teller cautiously reached out and poked the head Gu Mian had casually tossed on the ground. It didn't seem dangerous.

Gu Mian gave her a rough account of what had happened below, focusing on his encounter with the paper figure.

"...Its head was stuck in that vertical passage. I pulled it off and was just about to head down when I found something blocking the opening. When I looked, it was the paper figure's body..."

As Gu Mian spoke, the fortune teller's gaze swept uncertainly between the head and the pile of broken bamboo strips. She didn't see the "body" he'd mentioned.

After a moment's hesitation, she pointed at the heap. "You don't mean this is the body, do you?"

Gu Mian nodded without batting an eye. "It blocked me in the passage. I had no choice but to kick it down so I could get through."

The fortune teller looked at the heap of mangled remains with pity. She figured the paper figure must have been underground for too long, cut off from news and unaware of Gu Mian's reputation. It had actually used its head to lure him in, then tried to flank him with its body.

The last time she'd seen that tactic was in