Chapter 4: Paper Man (4)
Xue Xian was stunned by this abrupt reverberation and sunk back down to the bottom of the pocket, suddenly muddled and a bit bewildered.
He was quiet for a while and then began to move a little again within Xuan Min’s pocket, returning to that previous area. He pressed up against the coarse white linen and listened carefully, even patting it up and down, but there was no more response.
“Was it the effect of that needle?” Xue Xian muttered to himself, picking up the fine needle again.
“Ah—what did you prick me with?” asked Jiang Shining in a low voice. “What on earth are you doing?”
Xue Xian suddenly replied, looking a bit puzzled, “How are you able to speak again?”
When asked, Jiang Shining himself was stunned, too.
Indeed, his time for today was already up so he shouldn’t be able to talk or move. How could he suddenly speak again?
Was it related to the reverberation earlier? No, that wasn’t right. Jiang Shining had already spoken before that but neither of them had noticed.
Or could it be…that there really were some valuable things hidden on this Baldy’s body? Xue Xian thought to himself, his curiosity increasing. Silently, he stabbed Xuan Min’s waist again with the needle.
Xuan Min, who was just about to step out of the group of people, paused in his steps. “…”
Xue Xian was probably the first to be so impudent after already being captured alive. What a genius.
Xuan Min frowned and took the eternally discontent paper man out from his pocket. Xue Xian, who had been folded up several times, unfolded himself a bit. But at first glance, it was merely the size of a folded letter with no distinguishable human shape, seemingly insignificant to onlookers.
Xuan Min pinched Xue’s paper head in an impolite manner, trying to remove a silver needle “stuck” on the paper.
Yet the needle “stuck” tightly as if it were a part of the paper.
Xuan Min looked down and said to the paper coldly, “Let go.”
County officers, “…” Was this charlatan monk sick? Or was he trying to trick them?
Adviser Liu, still shocked by the remark “You don’t have long to live”, came back to his senses in an angry rage. He pointed to Xuan Min and scolded, “Well, you unknowledgeable rogue monk, you have a suspicious background and come from nowhere. Even if you’re not the criminal on this wanted poster, I can still legally arrest you and investigate the names of all your eight ancestors before speaking to you again. I was generous enough to let you go. You don’t have to feel grateful, but to curse me in return?! Officers—”
Before he had finished speaking, Xuan Min interrupted. “Your ophryon appears gloomy and your face is pale but dark, which means that your qi is dying. Besides, there is a blood mark next to your left ear.”
“What blood mark?” Adviser Liu subconsciously reached out and touched his ear twice but there was no trace of blood on his fingers.
“You can’t see it.” Xuan Min finally removed the silver needle and put it back into his pocket, his gaze cold as he gave the paper man a flick.
For the first time in his entire life, someone dared to flick him. Xue Xian felt as if the Baldy before his eyes had drained the Yangtze River and was trying to ascend to heaven! He was on the verge of flying into a fit of rage but he heard Xuan Min mention the “blood mark next to the ear” and was momentarily stunned. With a great deal of effort, he managed to twist between Xuan Min’s fingers and take a look at Adviser Liu.
He saw that Liu Xu had some conspicuous marks beside his left ear. Indeed, there was a red mark which, at first glance, seemed to be splashes of blood.
At the sight of the blood mark, Xue Xian’s thin paper body trembled. Fury and hatred, all of which had long been suppressed, came spilling out of him in an overwhelming wave.
Dimly, he felt as if he was lying by that humid coast again. Dark clouds covered the sky and the salty tang of the tides struck him repeatedly. Thunder and lightning were neverending as the rainstorm poured down. Yet he could not move. He was disoriented and the pain in his back was bone-deep as if tens of thousands of ants were eating away at it.
Someone had pulled out all of his bones but he couldn’t even see their appearance clearly…
As Xue Xian’s mind was being overwhelmed, Adviser Liu was still touching his own ear. He sternly questioned Xuan Min, “What do you mean I can’t see it?! Don’t talk nonsense to me, you monk! Saying that my ophryon is appearing gloomy or that a bloody disaster awaits ahead is something any charlatan could make up! What even is a blood mark?!”
What even is a blood mark?
Xue Xian lifted his gaze and stared unwaveringly at Adviser Liu.
This kind of blood mark by the ear was caused by blood splashed out from someone with a deep hatred. The mark it left made it impossible for their foe to mistake them for anyone else. Earlier, Xue Xian had been confined to the dark pocket and had focused only on fighting Xuan Min and so he hadn’t realized. But now, he focused and smelled Adviser Liu’s scent.
It was the scent emanating from the blood mark, similar to rust, but a little different. Xue Xian was extremely familiar with this scent—it was his own blood.
Since the day he had woken up, he had been looking for the one who had taken his bones. But he didn’t know what they looked like or where they were from so there were no tracks to follow. His only lead was his own blood. Those marked by his blood were those who had happened to be at the beach at that time.
There were about a hundred such people of whom he had found a few. From those few people, Xue Xian had learned a few vague things. But it still wasn’t enough, it was far from enough. Trying to find the culprit from such a small lead was as difficult as finding a needle in a haystack.
And so, in the past half year, Xue Xian had followed the clues here all the way from Huameng in order to find more leads and discover the culprit as soon as possible.
Suddenly, the paper man who was trying to wrestle with Xuan Min’s fingers calmed down in his hands. Xuan Min seemed to have decided that the opponent had finally admitted defeat and wouldn’t stir up any unnecessary trouble. He put Xue Xian back into his pocket as he glanced at Adviser Liu and said, “You should have died today but someone substituted you.”
He glanced away, leaving one final sentence. “To believe me or not is up to you.” He wasted no more words and walked away.
After having offended someone to this extent, how could he simply walk away?
Adviser Liu was infuriated by this talk of “dying sooner or later”. On one hand, he felt that the rogue monk was a charlatan spouting nonsense. But on the other hand, because it concerned his own life, he was still more or less a little uneasy.
Eight or nine out of every ten swindlers liked to play this trick. First, they would surprise you with a warning of “imminent disaster” so that you would be plagued with anxiety. Then, they would put on an act and walk away in a virtuous manner. That way, there would always be some people who took the bait, thinking, Well, might as well act as if disaster is imminent, just in case it does come true.
Adviser Liu murmured to himself not to take the bait. At the same time, he ordered the county officers, “Draw your swords and take the man!”
To trick the head of the county office, wasn’t this monk bringing trouble down upon himself?!
Just as the county officers caught up and grabbed Xuan Min’s sleeves, a gasping voice approached them. “My lord! My lord, terrible news!”
When they turned around, they saw what seemed to be a young servant stumbling toward them. He came to a halt in front of Adviser Liu, his face full of fright. “My lord! Young Master, Young Master has fallen into the well!”
“What?!” Adviser Liu’s legs trembled and his scalp went numb.
He subconsciously glanced at Xuan Min, who was surrounded by the county officers, his heart dropping. For a moment, he didn’t know whether to run home first or to deal with Xuan Min first.
“My lord!” the young servant called again.
Adviser Liu shuddered. He raised his feet in a panic to hurriedly follow the young servant back. In the chaos, his head felt heavy and his legs felt light as if his legs were not his own. He ran just two steps and abruptly turned back—
“Let go! All of you, let go of him!” Adviser Liu grabbed Xuan Min’s sleeve and said, “You, you…Wait! Come with me and have a look!”
Xuan Min frowned and pulled his sleeves back with a slight disgust. He was about to say something but he felt his pocket move. The paper man that he had just put back in seized the opportunity and leapt out. He grabbed onto Adviser Liu’s cuff, used the momentum to land on the young servant’s collar, and ran off with them!
Chapter 4: Paper Man (4)
Xue Xian was stunned by this abrupt reverberation and sunk back down to the bottom of the pocket, suddenly muddled and a bit bewildered.
He was quiet for a while and then began to move a little again within Xuan Min’s pocket, returning to that previous area. He pressed up against the coarse white linen and listened carefully, even patting it up and down, but there was no more response.
“Was it the effect of that needle?” Xue Xian muttered to himself, picking up the fine needle again.
“Ah—what did you prick me with?” asked Jiang Shining in a low voice. “What on earth are you doing?”
Xue Xian suddenly replied, looking a bit puzzled, “How are you able to speak again?”
When asked, Jiang Shining himself was stunned, too.
Indeed, his time for today was already up so he shouldn’t be able to talk or move. How could he suddenly speak again?
Was it related to the reverberation earlier? No, that wasn’t right. Jiang Shining had already spoken before that but neither of them had noticed.
Or could it be…that there really were some valuable things hidden on this Baldy’s body? Xue Xian thought to himself, his curiosity increasing. Silently, he stabbed Xuan Min’s waist again with the needle.
Xuan Min, who was just about to step out of the group of people, paused in his steps. “…”
Xue Xian was probably the first to be so impudent after already being captured alive. What a genius.
Xuan Min frowned and took the eternally discontent paper man out from his pocket. Xue Xian, who had been folded up several times, unfolded himself a bit. But at first glance, it was merely the size of a folded letter with no distinguishable human shape, seemingly insignificant to onlookers.
Xuan Min pinched Xue’s paper head in an impolite manner, trying to remove a silver needle “stuck” on the paper.
Yet the needle “stuck” tightly as if it were a part of the paper.
Xuan Min looked down and said to the paper coldly, “Let go.”
County officers, “…” Was this charlatan monk sick? Or was he trying to trick them?
Adviser Liu, still shocked by the remark “You don’t have long to live”, came back to his senses in an angry rage. He pointed to Xuan Min and scolded, “Well, you unknowledgeable rogue monk, you have a suspicious background and come from nowhere. Even if you’re not the criminal on this wanted poster, I can still legally arrest you and investigate the names of all your eight ancestors before speaking to you again. I was generous enough to let you go. You don’t have to feel grateful, but to curse me in return?! Officers—”
Before he had finished speaking, Xuan Min interrupted. “Your ophryon appears gloomy and your face is pale but dark, which means that your qi is dying. Besides, there is a blood mark next to your left ear.”
“What blood mark?” Adviser Liu subconsciously reached out and touched his ear twice but there was no trace of blood on his fingers.
“You can’t see it.” Xuan Min finally removed the silver needle and put it back into his pocket, his gaze cold as he gave the paper man a flick.
For the first time in his entire life, someone dared to flick him. Xue Xian felt as if the Baldy before his eyes had drained the Yangtze River and was trying to ascend to heaven! He was on the verge of flying into a fit of rage but he heard Xuan Min mention the “blood mark next to the ear” and was momentarily stunned. With a great deal of effort, he managed to twist between Xuan Min’s fingers and take a look at Adviser Liu.
He saw that Liu Xu had some conspicuous marks beside his left ear. Indeed, there was a red mark which, at first glance, seemed to be splashes of blood.
At the sight of the blood mark, Xue Xian’s thin paper body trembled. Fury and hatred, all of which had long been suppressed, came spilling out of him in an overwhelming wave.
Dimly, he felt as if he was lying by that humid coast again. Dark clouds covered the sky and the salty tang of the tides struck him repeatedly. Thunder and lightning were neverending as the rainstorm poured down. Yet he could not move. He was disoriented and the pain in his back was bone-deep as if tens of thousands of ants were eating away at it.
Someone had pulled out all of his bones but he couldn’t even see their appearance clearly…
As Xue Xian’s mind was being overwhelmed, Adviser Liu was still touching his own ear. He sternly questioned Xuan Min, “What do you mean I can’t see it?! Don’t talk nonsense to me, you monk! Saying that my ophryon is appearing gloomy or that a bloody disaster awaits ahead is something any charlatan could make up! What even is a blood mark?!”
What even is a blood mark?
Xue Xian lifted his gaze and stared unwaveringly at Adviser Liu.
This kind of blood mark by the ear was caused by blood splashed out from someone with a deep hatred. The mark it left made it impossible for their foe to mistake them for anyone else. Earlier, Xue Xian had been confined to the dark pocket and had focused only on fighting Xuan Min and so he hadn’t realized. But now, he focused and smelled Adviser Liu’s scent.
It was the scent emanating from the blood mark, similar to rust, but a little different. Xue Xian was extremely familiar with this scent—it was his own blood.
Since the day he had woken up, he had been looking for the one who had taken his bones. But he didn’t know what they looked like or where they were from so there were no tracks to follow. His only lead was his own blood. Those marked by his blood were those who had happened to be at the beach at that time.
There were about a hundred such people of whom he had found a few. From those few people, Xue Xian had learned a few vague things. But it still wasn’t enough, it was far from enough. Trying to find the culprit from such a small lead was as difficult as finding a needle in a haystack.
And so, in the past half year, Xue Xian had followed the clues here all the way from Huameng in order to find more leads and discover the culprit as soon as possible.
Suddenly, the paper man who was trying to wrestle with Xuan Min’s fingers calmed down in his hands. Xuan Min seemed to have decided that the opponent had finally admitted defeat and wouldn’t stir up any unnecessary trouble. He put Xue Xian back into his pocket as he glanced at Adviser Liu and said, “You should have died today but someone substituted you.”
He glanced away, leaving one final sentence. “To believe me or not is up to you.” He wasted no more words and walked away.
After having offended someone to this extent, how could he simply walk away?
Adviser Liu was infuriated by this talk of “dying sooner or later”. On one hand, he felt that the rogue monk was a charlatan spouting nonsense. But on the other hand, because it concerned his own life, he was still more or less a little uneasy.
Eight or nine out of every ten swindlers liked to play this trick. First, they would surprise you with a warning of “imminent disaster” so that you would be plagued with anxiety. Then, they would put on an act and walk away in a virtuous manner. That way, there would always be some people who took the bait, thinking, Well, might as well act as if disaster is imminent, just in case it does come true.
Adviser Liu murmured to himself not to take the bait. At the same time, he ordered the county officers, “Draw your swords and take the man!”
To trick the head of the county office, wasn’t this monk bringing trouble down upon himself?!
Just as the county officers caught up and grabbed Xuan Min’s sleeves, a gasping voice approached them. “My lord! My lord, terrible news!”
When they turned around, they saw what seemed to be a young servant stumbling toward them. He came to a halt in front of Adviser Liu, his face full of fright. “My lord! Young Master, Young Master has fallen into the well!”
“What?!” Adviser Liu’s legs trembled and his scalp went numb.
He subconsciously glanced at Xuan Min, who was surrounded by the county officers, his heart dropping. For a moment, he didn’t know whether to run home first or to deal with Xuan Min first.
“My lord!” the young servant called again.
Adviser Liu shuddered. He raised his feet in a panic to hurriedly follow the young servant back. In the chaos, his head felt heavy and his legs felt light as if his legs were not his own. He ran just two steps and abruptly turned back—
“Let go! All of you, let go of him!” Adviser Liu grabbed Xuan Min’s sleeve and said, “You, you…Wait! Come with me and have a look!”
Xuan Min frowned and pulled his sleeves back with a slight disgust. He was about to say something but he felt his pocket move. The paper man that he had just put back in seized the opportunity and leapt out. He grabbed onto Adviser Liu’s cuff, used the momentum to land on the young servant’s collar, and ran off with them!
