Obstacles

The axle creaked as the cart rolled across the empty street, and Chen Mo pushed it quickly toward the South Pier.

A small steamer called the Night Owl ran the waterway from the south to Jin City, stopping in Linhe County at night as well.

The owner had complicated connections and was lax about inspecting cargo. As long as you paid enough, he'd even transport a coffin.

It was the preferred way for many people and goods that couldn't be seen in the light of day to slip across the border.

Chen Dachuan had taken Chen Mo's original body to the Ghost Market in Jin City aboard this very ship.

At that hour, the pier was dimly lit and nearly deserted.

The Night Owl looked like an iron monster crouching in the dark water, with only a few portholes casting a dull yellow glow.

A narrow gangplank connected the ship to the pier. A man with a cigarette dangling from his mouth stood beside it, lazily taking money and selling tickets.

Chen Mo lowered his bamboo hat and pushed the cart forward.

"White or black?" The smoking man glanced at the bulky object beneath the straw mat and asked offhandedly.

He was asking whether Chen Mo was smuggling anything. The shipping rates for the two types of cargo were different.

"White. Someone over there ordered a large piece."

Chen Mo asked the price and handed over two silver dollars.

The man weighed the coins in his hand, grinned, and asked no more. He waved Chen Mo aboard.

"Stop! Police inspection!"

Several bright flashlight beams suddenly shot over from either side of the pier, dazzling everyone.

Five or six uniformed policemen hurried over to surround them. At their head was a stern-faced, middle-aged officer, who swept a sharp gaze over Chen Mo and his cart.

"It's late. What are you hauling?" The officer stepped up to the cart and shone his flashlight at the shape beneath the straw mat.

Chen Mo's heart tightened, but he forced a few frightened, ingratiating expressions onto his face and bowed slightly. "Officer, it's an order from the shop. I'm delivering paper offerings to an old customer in Jin City. The old gentleman was in a hurry, so I had to catch the night boat..."

"Paper offerings?" A young policeman beside them frowned, seeming to find the idea ominous. He instinctively took half a step back.

The middle-aged officer, however, didn't budge. He used his baton to lift one corner of the straw mat, revealing the Guardian General's faded paper armor beneath.

He reached out and patted the general's arm. It made a muffled, papery thump.

"Open it up," the officer ordered, keeping his eyes fixed on Chen Mo's expression.

"Officer, that's against the rules."

Chen Mo looked troubled and lowered his voice, his words almost a sob. "The offerings have been sealed. If we open them on the way and disturb the spirit, the family will blame me. I couldn't bear the consequences. Besides, this thing carries yin energy. It's bad luck."

"Cut the nonsense! Open it!"

The middle-aged officer barked. His hand was already resting on his holster. "Linhe County hasn't been peaceful lately. We've got orders from above to thoroughly inspect all cargo on boats coming and going! Who knows whether you've hidden contraband in there?!"

The atmosphere turned tense in an instant.

The other policemen closed in, their flashlights trained on the cart.

Chen Mo's heart pounded, but his mind raced.

Should he resist and kill them all?

They had guns, and there were plenty of people at the pier. He'd surely be wanted afterward.

Open it outright? The more than thirty kilograms of valuables would be exposed!

Even if he explained they were payment for goods, he could easily be accused of possessing a huge amount of wealth from unknown sources. Besides, those valuables were connected to the Black Tiger Gang in the first place!

In that split second, Chen Mo turned his thoughts inward and reached out to the Stealth Paper Puppet hidden behind the paper general.

Just as the middle-aged officer was about to grab the edge of the mat and yank it away—

"Creak—!"

A distinct sound suddenly came from inside the massive Guardian General!

A faint, chilling aura spread from the paper general.

In the flashlight beams, the general's stiff face seemed to twist for an instant as the shadows flickered over it.

"Hss..." Several policemen sucked in a sharp breath at once, their hair standing on end.

The young policeman went pale and took another step back.

There were plenty of eerie folk tales about paper effigy makers.

Especially at a pier in the dead of night, faced with a cartload of paper funerary offerings, that sudden sound and chilling aura were enough to stir the deepest fears in anyone's heart.

The middle-aged officer's hand froze in midair, and his expression shifted.

He didn't believe in ghosts, but the aura and the sound were far too unnatural. "What's going on?!"

"Of-officer! You can't touch it! I'm afraid the spirit's displeased!"

Chen Mo's eyes widened, and the fear on his face deepened. "The bamboo in this batch came from beside an old grave, and the paper's specially made yin talisman paper. It attracts things easily! Once it's sealed, it mustn't be opened halfway! If we disturb it, everyone on this boat will be in trouble!"

His words were half true and half false. Combined with the chill conjured by the Paper Puppet, they worked like a charm.

The policemen exchanged uneasy looks.

They might not fear the living, but they had a natural reverence for ghosts and spirits.

Especially with all the talk lately about the Black Tiger Gang's strange troubles. It had everyone on edge.

Hearing that it might affect everyone aboard, the ticket seller, who had been squatting nearby and smoking as he watched the show, couldn't sit still. He hurried over, pulled the middle-aged officer aside, and muttered with him for a while.

The officer listened, his expression shifting between light and dark. He looked back at the Guardian General, still radiating its chilling aura, and finally gave a heavy snort.

"Damn it, what a bad omen!"

He cursed, took his hand off his holster, and waved irritably. "Get going! Get on the boat! Don't stand around blocking the way!"

He didn't look at Chen Mo or the creepy paper effigy again. Turning away, he led his men toward the other passengers waiting to be inspected.

As he left, though, his steps quickened noticeably, as if he wanted to put some distance between himself and the cart.

The ticket seller let out a sigh of relief and gave Chen Mo a meaningful look. "What are you waiting for? Get on! Move it!"

"Thanks, big brother!" Chen Mo hurriedly thanked him, his heart still thumping wildly.

He didn't dare waste time. He pushed the cart over the gangplank and onto the Night Owl's deck with care.

Two deckhands in short jackets came over and helped him push the cart to an inconspicuous corner of the cargo hold, where they loosely secured it with a thick hemp rope.

One of them took a few curious looks at the bulky object on the cart and muttered, "Well, that paper doll and horse sure have some heft."

But he didn't ask anything else. He took the copper coin Chen Mo quietly slipped him and left in good spirits.

The cargo hold was piled high with all kinds of odds and ends. The air reeked of fish, mold, and cheap tobacco.

Chen Mo found a relatively clean corner and sat with his back against the cold hull, slowly letting out a breath.

That was close... he thought.

If he hadn't kept a trick up his sleeve, things might have gone badly today.

But he knew this was only luck.

If he ran into an Inspection Bureau martial artist like Yue Shan, with abundant vital energy and some knowledge of unorthodox arts, this little trick would probably be seen through at a glance.