The thought that this skeleton had once been so close to him made the Fatty hunch his shoulders.
But then he remembered how often he had bowed to the statue. Maybe he had left a good impression on the River Goddess after all. With that thought, his expression improved a little.
Seeing the Fatty frown one moment and wear a mysterious smile the next only strengthened Du Moyu's conviction that he was a hidden big shot. As expected, he's pretending to be weak to catch his enemies off guard. He's really got the act down.
There were several Paper Figures on each side of the temple, seven in all.
But unlike the Paper Figures they had seen before, these ones had their faces covered by masks.
Not far from them stood a rack, with a row of masks laid out on it. They were identical to the ones covering the Paper Figures' faces.
After counting them, Du Moyu said quietly, "There are eight masks in all."
"There are eight of us, too. The numbers match," Lei Mingyu said.
Jiang Cheng had examined them. The masks were all made of papier-mâché, and their craftsmanship was anything but fine. They felt rough to the touch, but since the task required it, everyone had to put them on, no matter how unwilling they were.
As soon as the last person put on a mask, a clapper sounded outside the temple, catching everyone off guard.
But that wasn't all. What happened next was even more terrifying: the Paper Figures, which had seemed lifeless just moments ago, suddenly began to move in unison. The seven figures took stiff steps and walked out of the temple.
Three lined up on the left and four on the right, taking their places on either side of the blood-red