Gu Zhe raised an eyebrow and looked at Ming Xuan.
"Still, this ghost really is tougher than I imagined. It isn't the feral spirit I thought it was, either."
Ming Xuan grew even more worried.
"Then what do we do?"
"Haha, vanquish demons from the world, of course!"
"It's just going to cost me dearly this time."
Yes, dearly: specialty paper, along with the Paper Figures he had cut himself.
And mental energy, too. He would need at least a day's rest-no, at least half a day-to recover.
Gu Zhe nodded inwardly.
That was a heavy price. No question!
This ghost was indeed stronger than he had imagined. And from what he could see now, there were even some extraordinary supernatural phenomena within the secret realm. It had certainly broadened his horizons.
Still, it was only a ghost inhabiting a tiny patch of land.
And judging by its current performance, it was far inferior to that being who had shattered the Bone Dragon and swallowed the hurricane, calling himself a Nether Ghost.
Back in the Netherworld, that Nether Ghost had blanketed the sky with black energy, forming mighty fists and palms that shattered the sky-high hurricane and shook the mountain-sized dragon's head.
A single casual strike from him could have torn this town apart.
Compared to that Nether Ghost, this ghost, Du Xiao, fell far short.
Gu Zhe estimated that Du Xiao had to rank above a Vengeful Ghost, and even above an Evil Ghost, the rank above that. Otherwise, he could not possibly be this powerful. Those few dozen Paper Figures of his would probably struggle to kill him.
Perhaps he was a Fierce Ghost, the rank above an Evil Ghost. He probably could not be a Malevolent Ghost, which ranked above a Fierce Ghost. After all, a Malevolent Ghost was only one rank below a Nether Ghost. Going by that Nether Ghost's strength, he should have been capable of much more!
Powerful, certainly, but not unbeatable.
Come to think of it, perhaps because the world had only recently reawakened, Gu Zhe had killed Vengeful Ghosts in the Netherworld and organized his subordinates to surround and kill Evil Ghosts, as well as ghost beasts of equivalent strength.
But he had yet to encounter a Fierce Ghost.
Now was a good opportunity to get used to one. It took no deep thought or analysis to realize that the ghosts of the Yin-Yang World would surely grow stronger and stronger as that so-called Spirit Tide revived.
So Gu Zhe would not shy away.
He looked at the people in the room with a faint smile.
"No need to worry!"
He walked over to Ming Xiao Fei.
He straightened the ends of her hair, damp with cold sweat.
"Don't be scared, Xiao Fei. Since I promised, I'll see this through!"
"Haha, it's just one vicious creature. I'll definitely take it down."
"Mm, thank you! Thank you for all your hard work."
"It's no trouble. Slaying monsters and subduing demons is my duty."
Stars shone in Ming Xiao Fei's eyes.
Slaying monsters and vanquishing demons is his duty! He's the most upright hero in the world.
She kept murmuring inwardly, Thank you... thank you...
Gu Zhe looked so calm and relaxed.
The other three felt all the more grateful, because he had just said that this would cost him dearly.
They had no idea what miraculous means he was using to battle that ghost in its world to save Xiao Fei.
With the ghost so powerful, he surely had to pay an enormous price!
Ming Xuan even bit her lip.
She looked at Gu Zhe, deeply moved.
When she first met him, she had thought him flippant, frivolous, and flighty. He certainly lived up to his reputation as a spoiled rich boy, with something of a womanizing playboy about him.
But as she spent more time with him, watching everything he said and did, she now felt that his refusal to put on a solemn front was simply a young man's playful charm.
The longer she knew him, the more she felt she could trust him. They had only just met, yet being around him felt natural and comfortable, without any sense of distance or estrangement.
Perhaps he was an interesting man with a unique charm.
Even though this was no time for her thoughts to wander, Ming Xuan could not help blushing.
Xiao Fei, her second uncle, and her second aunt might truly believe his talk about slaying monsters and subduing demons being his duty.
But Ming Xuan knew that was not what Gu Zhe had said at first.
Seeing him look her way, she wondered, Could he really be doing this because of me?
Because he took one extra look at me in the crowd, he feels duty-bound to slay monsters and subdue demons, even at such a heavy cost?
Does he like what that little girl mentioned-that, um, part of me that keeps me from seeing my toes? Is that why he...
Suddenly feeling shy, she almost wanted to huff, Men are such pigs.
Yet her heart could not help trembling.
What will this man have to pay this time?
She thought back to the novels she had read and the films she had watched.
Could it be... his lifespan, his life essence, internal injuries... something like that?
Is it... worth it?
Gu Zhe had no idea that a few words from him...
Had sent this girl's imagination running so far.
If he had known, he would probably have considered coughing up some blood and putting on a mysterious, eerie air.
Gu Zhe looked at them.
"Do you have scissors, paper, brushes and ink, and paste?"
"Yes, yes, yes! Our family... well, we've done some spiritual work too, so we keep all of those on hand. If there isn't enough, there's a shop downstairs. We can buy more right away."
Gu Zhe nodded.
An idea struck him, and he explained:
"My Gu Family has Deathbound Elite Warriors in the Netherworld Land. I'll send them into the world where that ghost resides to wage war, so I need Paper Figures for them to possess."
With that explanation...
Although they knew nothing about the supernatural, it all made sense to them.
So that was how it worked. "Very scientific."
No one would imagine that Gu Zhe was not summoning his subordinates from the Underworld at all. The moment he finished cutting a Paper Figure, it could become one of his eerie Paper Figure subordinates in a world imbued with yin-aspected spirit nature.
That was far too outrageous, too irrational, and too uncanny. No one's thoughts went in that direction.
Gu Zhe had said this deliberately, gradually spreading that explanation for why his paper cutouts became supernatural.
After all, according to mythology and imaginative speculation, even if Paper Figures could move, having them enter the Netherworld after being burned and turn into strange, eerie beings six feet tall was something that could frighten people if they thought too deeply about it. It did not exactly fit "conservation of energy" or "conservation of life," either.
So Gu Zhe gave people an explanation in advance.
He would never reveal his class talent or his panel, not even to those closest to him.
A secret was only a secret if he alone knew it. Only then could he rely on it to sweep aside opposition, keeping it as a hidden trump card no one else could fathom!
Even to kill a chicken, he would use an ox-cleaving blade. Gu Zhe had always been cautious. Whenever circumstances allowed, he preferred to overwhelm the weak with superior strength and take the safest approach.
While the Ming Family fetched the tools, he also made a call, asking Zhaodi to bring over all the Paper Figures and specialty paper in the shop.
Gu Zhe projected his consciousness into his Paper Figure subordinates.
He watched Du Xiao roar as he continued tearing Paper Figures apart.
He watched that enormous body rampage unchecked, its sharp-toothed mouth spitting out one frigid supernatural attack after another.
At the same time, he saw that his eerie Paper Figure subordinates still moved with uncanny speed. Thin bloody lines and wounds kept appearing on the ghost's body. They were like tireless ants, gnawing bite by bite at a thousand-mile dike until it collapsed.
He also saw some Paper Figures rush among the lesser ghosts, their faces expressionless, their movements swift as phantoms, white streaks of their blades cleaving the ghosts apart.
Looking at the situation within the secret realm...
Du Xiao would surely wipe out his Paper Figure subordinates in the end, though he would suffer grievous injuries doing so.
"Hehehe! Die, die, die, die! Just wait, just wait, just wait..."
Du Xiao was still roaring in fury.
Gu Zhe smiled.
That was merely the possible outcome under the secret realm's current conditions.
Looking at the ordinary paper before him, Gu Zhe did not turn up his nose at it. He simply began cutting, his scissors snipping away.
Even with ordinary paper, even if the figures were slightly less tough and resistant to water and fire after reincarnation, their speed and other attributes would remain unaffected.
His current Paper Figures were built for agility in the first place. Quick Blade was one of their traits.
Through his consciousness, he watched Du Xiao tear apart Paper Figures one after another, roaring with savage delight.
"Let the bullets fly a little longer!"
With practiced hands, Gu Zhe cut out one Paper Figure after another, then dotted in their facial features.
He stacked them in overlapping layers.
The other members of the Ming Family in the room watched it all with awe.
These unsettling Paper Figures would carry those warriors from the Underworld into the ghost's domain to do battle.
The thought alone was chilling and terrifying, supernatural and uncanny enough to make their souls tremble!
This was a glimpse of the supernatural, an unimaginable truth about the world. What powerful means and abilities!
Compared to their family's old tricks for swindling ordinary people, this was true mystery and supernatural power!
They looked at the unhurried young man.
Their eyes held nothing but awe.
Ming Xuan and Ming Xiao Fei found him increasingly mysterious, like a bank of mist they could not help wanting to part, to explore the secrets within.
After a while...
Liu Zhaodi arrived by taxi.
She had brought the hundred-odd Paper Figures remaining in the shop, along with the ordinary Paper Figures he had just cut.
Gu Zhe stretched.
"Du Xiao must be getting impatient by now. Time to give him a surprise!"
"Let's see how much ghost energy you can spit out, and how much power this tiny world can lend you. Young Master Gu is taking you on! A World Master... interesting, very interesting. This world is more interesting than I imagined!"