Coming out of Xu Shufen’s house, the man in the suit shuffled away, both respectful and fearful of Sang Que, laughing awkwardly.
Sang Que ignored him, put on her headphones, and called her childhood friend and confidante, Jiang Zao. She is the granddaughter of a puppet show inheritor in the North.
Just as Xu Shufen said earlier, now there are few people willing to learn and inherit the legacy of the ancestors.
But not Jiang Zao. She has loved puppet shows since she was little, and at five, she was determined to carry on her grandparents’ legacy. No matter what others said, she would not listen, throwing tantrums, rolling around, even going on hunger strikes to show her determination.
Her grandparents were very happy and supportive, so Jiang Zao was left behind in her hotown with them to learn the puppet show, while her parents, who were establishing themselves in a big city, had a second daughter and began ’leveling up’ anew.
Sang Que had everything arranged by her mother, with no worries for the future, while Jiang Zao only wanted to work in the puppet show business, so neither of them were particularly diligent in their studies. They often hung out together, idling away in Jiang Zao’s family’s studio.
For instance, they would recreate hidden weapons from novels or shoot ancient-style costu videos. Since Sang Que had been learning martial arts since a young age, she naturally had dreams of being a heroine.
"Zaozi, help find a dog."
A lazy nasal sound ca from the other end of the phone; she must have dozed off watching a series.
"What kind of dog? With as your lapdog, do you still need another? Wait, haven’t you even co to appease yet, and now you dare order to do things for you? You still haven’t given a reasonable explanation for disappearing for three days without a word!"
Sang Que couldn’t help but laugh, "Didn’t I call you yesterday and you scolded enough? I’m serious, I need a real dog to keep my mom company, a rural Five Black Dog. I’ll send you the specific requirents. The dog market is near your house. If you find a good one, buy it, count it on . Just help this one ti, and I’ll personally co and thank you later, is that alright?"
"Alright, alright. You saved my dog’s life once when we were little, and I’ve been at your service for life. You’ve hit the jackpot."
"Oh, and Zaozi, there’s another thing. About the ancient-style costu videos we shot earlier, pick a few, create a new account and post them, make sure to boost them, I’ll send you money for that later."
"What? You didn’t want to post them before, fearing your beauty would be envied, why now? Do you want to beco a web celebrity? It’s not like you’re short of money."
"I really have sothing to take care of, we’ll talk in detail later, I have to go now."
Just after Sang Que hung up, there was so static noise in her headphones.
"...zzz...help...us...zzz..."
Sang Que furrowed her brow, pulled down her headphones and hung them around her neck, ignoring it.
This Xujiawan Village backs onto the shady side of Dragon Spine Mountain, it truly feels a bit ominous.
As she walked out, near the ’Fushou Paper Shop,’ a Paperman suddenly appeared at the corner of the street, with a bizarre smiling face, its raised arm pointing in a certain direction.
When she arrived, Sang Que hadn’t seen this Paperman at the intersection.
The Paperman posed no threat to her, so Sang Que didn’t avoid it, slowly walked over, and cautiously glanced in the direction it pointed to.
She saw a massive black cocoon, like a flesh lump with no skin, or a mysterious heart, hanging outside a seven-story building, writhing and contracting.
Countless faint black threads erged from that black cocoon, piercing the walls, radiating towards various parts of Xujiawan Village.
One of them passed over Sang Que’s head, landing inside the paper shop.
Sang Que looked at the Paperman, its head imdiately turned 180 degrees, avoiding her gaze.
The enormous thing gave Sang Que a dangerous feeling, she didn’t want to ddle, put on her sunglasses, and left Xujiawan Village.
After she left, the Paperman at the intersection turned its head back, and its original smiling face turned into a crying face.
*
At the entrance of Xujiawan Village, Sang Que brushed past two n dragging suitcases while crossing the road.
One young man with curly brown hair, in a casual T-shirt and jeans, lifted his sunglasses and glanced back, "Brother Wu Jun, a long-legged beauty!"
Next to him, a man in a shirt and long pants with a tough guy vibe did not smile, "Watch the road!"
The lively Zheng Letian pouted, quickly caught up with Zheng Wujun, and the two turned around the barricade, heading into Xujiawan Village.
Upon entering, Zheng Wujun frowned, scanning the surroundings, "There’s a heavy yin energy here, sure enough, there’s a big problem."
Zheng Letian laughed, "But it’s quite cool here!"
"Stay close to ."
Zheng Wujun quickened his pace, while Zheng Letian curiously surveyed the surroundings and continued his chatter.
"Isn’t Granny Xu very powerful? How co suddenly she can’t handle it and had to ask our Zheng Family for help? I don’t feel there’s any particularly strong evil spirit here?"
"Moreover, didn’t the Xu Family’s Mountain God already command the Little Ghosts to handle any issues? Why make us co here? My brother’s gone who knows where, and Grandpa instructed to find him. Brother Wu Jun, do you think my brother..."
Bang!
The signboard of the paper shop by the roadside suddenly fell, startling Zheng Letian so much that he trembled, instinctively stepping back towards Zheng Wujun, but bumped into sothing that felt wrong.
He quickly turned around, only to see a Paper Mache Man beside him, grinning at him!
"Brother Wu Jun!!"
Zheng Letian grabbed the jade pendant hanging on his chest and shouted. Suddenly, a thick fog enveloped the area, and shadowy figures appeared—all kinds of Papern.
Slap!
A hand patted Zheng Letian’s shoulder, almost making him jump, but he heard Zheng Wujun’s reassuring voice.
"Don’t run around; it’s just a Wandering Soul."
The warmth of Zheng Wujun’s palm cald Zheng Letian down; as long as there was no fear in his heart, those Wandering Souls couldn’t harm him.
Zheng Letian took a deep breath with his eyes closed, and upon reopening them, he found himself standing in the paper shop, surrounded by nothing but dusty wreaths and Papern covered in cobwebs.
The two of them exited the paper shop, and when passing the intersection, Zheng Letian halted, pointing towards the distant seventh-level building.
"Brother Wu Jun, I feel sothing over there, I hear a lot of arguing."
Zheng Wujun frowned and gazed in that direction, but he couldn’t see anything. Zheng Letian could only see a shadow and hear so sounds.
"Let’s go find Granny Xu first."
Soon, they arrived outside Xu Shufen’s courtyard, where the persistent man in the suit was still there, holding gifts and waiting outside.
Upon entering the courtyard, Zheng Letian instantly felt on edge, clutching Zheng Wujun’s arm tightly, and even Zheng Wujun sensed the courtyard wasn’t very clean.
Xu Shufen was prepared, serving them cold tea and inviting them to sit in the courtyard, "Don’t worry, there’s only my deceased husband here, he won’t harm you."
After they sat down, Xu Shufen straightforwardly began, "I have already explained the matter to your family’s elder. To protect this city, since ancient tis, the Xu Family established their village here, suppressing the yin acupoint of Dragon Spine Mountain, which causes the villagers’ resentnt and evil thoughts to be prone to increase. Only by worshiping the Mountain God can we ensure peace."
"Over the years, the number of incense offerings to the Mountain God has decreased, and many of the Xu Family have also moved away. The city needs to develop, and the village needs to be relocated, so we can’t stand in the way of the city’s growth. But during the relocation, disputes arose among families, couples turned against each other, fathers and sons beca enemies, and siblings fought bitterly, resulting in an ever-growing accumulation of resentnt."
"Now the Feng Shui Formation at the village’s entrance has been destroyed, and the yin and evil energy that was originally suppressed under the village by the Mountain God has surfaced, eventually forming the ’village resentnt.’ If we cannot eliminate the ’village resentnt’ before the Mid-Autumn Festival, when the Ghost Gate opens, the increased yin energy will undoubtedly give birth to a terrifying Evil Ghost from the ’village resentnt.’"
"Once the Evil Ghost erges, it will certainly retaliate, and by then, anyone who ca from Xujiawan Village, regardless of age, generation, whether they are surnad Xu or not, as long as there’s a trace of the Xu Family’s blood in their veins, will be sought by the Evil Ghost. I’m old and my abilities are limited, so I can only turn to you for help."
Zheng Letian chuckled, "Don’t worry, Granny. Though our Zheng Family may have declined, we share the sa heritage, all safeguarded by the Mountain God. Even if it’s not the sa Mountain God, they’re all protectors of Huaxia’s landscapes. Our Zheng Family’s Mountain God won’t stand idly by, especially with Brother Wu Jun here. He’s our family’s most capable person, besides my brother!"
After thinking for a mont, Zheng Wujun stood up, "This matter won’t wait. We should start arranging things now. Granny, could you help prepare so offerings for the Mountain God?"
"Alright."
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