Chapter 12

Chapter 12: The Paper Figure

Bai Zhengliu and Mei Yinghan happened to be facing the paper figure’s painted eyes at this moment. They watched as the paper figure slightly nodded—shook its head, then tilted its head back again, continuing to pose as if reading the book.

At this point, they also saw the mechanism behind the paper figure’s head.

It turned out to be a few bamboo strips that were not securely fastened. It seemed intentional, as every time the paper figure’s head swayed to one side, the bamboo strips would slowly shake, making the paper figure’s head tilt to the other side.

This repeated motion was why the paper figure seemed to shake its head when they were outside.

The question of “Why were there no voices inside the room?” was now answered, but a new question emerged.

Where was Master Chang?

Bai Zhengliu’s gaze was like a sharp knife, quickly scanning the entire room.

He focused on the bed, the table... places where signs of daily life might be found. After a few glances, he did spot something.

The young swordsman moved to the bedside, and with the candlelight reflecting off the paper figure, he gazed at the bed before him.

If Prince Jiuwang and Young Master Gu were here, they would no doubt comment on the furnishings of Master Chang's house. While it wasn’t as luxurious as the Huang family’s residence, it was filled with quality redwood, understated but genuine. A connoisseur could immediately tell that this was the home of someone truly wealthy.

But Bai Zhengliu didn’t care about what wood the bed was made of, nor the expensive bedding on it. What caught his attention was one thing: there were traces of someone having sat on this bed.

At his side, a shadow slowly approached. Bai Zhengliu moved aside, allowing Mei Yinghan to clearly see his discovery.

The two young men continued to speak in hushed tones. Bai Zhengliu said, “The imprint is already faint, but a strand of hair is still there... at least ‘Master Chang’ is still a real person.”

Mei Yinghan replied, “It’s so late. If he isn’t in the room, where else could he have gone?”

Bai Zhengliu thought for a moment. “Perhaps he has something to hide and is afraid Lady Liu will come looking for him?”

Mei Yinghan thought about the dried-up pond outside and agreed with the swordsman’s guess. But he also added, “Could he really avoid her? Lady Huang, those little servants and maidens…”

Bai Zhengliu listened, then turned his gaze toward the paper figure not far away.

The paper figure’s head continued to sway, completely unaffected by the arrival of the two unexpected visitors. It still cast the shadow of a scholar reading a book on the window.

Without needing further explanation, Mei Yinghan immediately understood what the swordsman meant.He followed up, “Bai Xiong, do you think it’s the paper figure’s doing?” After a pause, he asked further, “Is this useful?”

Bai Zhengliu said, “Who knows?” He looked around again. “The important thing now is to find Master Chang.”

Mei Yinghan replied, “That’s true.”

Once they find Master Chang, they could get the answer to the purpose of the room’s current arrangement from him.

But, where was Master Chang, the current owner of Chang Manor, the culprit behind all this trouble?

Bai Zhengliu and Mei Yinghan moved away from the bed and returned to the table, slowly observing the surroundings.

“The paper figure is delicate,” Bai Zhengliu said, “It probably wouldn’t be a problem if it’s placed here during the day.”

Mei Yinghan whispered, “Staring at it every day, wouldn’t it be... creepy?”

Bai Zhengliu replied, “If we’re afraid of even this, facing Lady Liu would probably make us panic and jump into a well without thinking.”

“...” Mei Yinghan couldn’t help but chuckle. He wanted to say, with the kind of heinous deeds Master Chang had done, could he still “panic and jump into a well” now?

The normally righteous and heroic Senior Brother of Mount Tianshan had no good feelings toward a man who had abandoned his first wife and watched his new wife torment his original wife.

However, thinking back to what they had discovered earlier, the character of Miss Huang, as described by the little servants and housekeeper, might be fake, and the news about Master Chang might not necessarily be true.

When his thoughts reached this point, the mocking expression in Mei Yinghan’s eyes slightly faded. He simply said, “Even though the paper figure can stay like this, the candles have to be lit around nightfall.” Combined with the traces on the bed, it could be concluded that there were living people in the house during the day.

Bai Zhengliu stroked his chin. “We just need to see where the person who did this went tonight.”

Mei Yinghan followed with a thoughtful pause.

Bai Zhengliu suddenly had a flash of insight. “Mei Xiong, you said, since he lit the lamp, it means he wanted the house to stay lit.”

Mei Yinghan followed this line of thought. “Exactly.”

Bai Zhengliu smiled. “He’s wary of Lady Liu, but you and I—”Mei Yinghan’s gaze shifted to the burning candle. “Bai Xiong, are you going to blow out the candle?”

Bai Zhengliu shrugged. “We’ve already circled the entire courtyard, and this is the only place with any clues.” Besides, they had already subtly interacted with Lady Liu during the day, and she had even intentionally hinted at them. If they really encountered her, maybe she wouldn’t go as far as wiping them out completely?

Furthermore, even if Lady Liu loses her sanity tonight, wasn’t there still the matter of the Twenty-Eight Generals?

Mei Yinghan had already noticed the unusual aspects of the Twenty-Eight Generals from last night, and as the blade master, Bai Zhengliu naturally understood even better: last night, when he faced the vengeful ghost, Lady Liu, with the Twenty-Eight Generals, a mysterious force emanated from his blade at the critical moment. Later, when he drove his long sword into the water to save Fu Ming, the same force appeared again.

These two experiences had sparked Bai Zhengliu’s curiosity.

He wanted to understand what had happened to the Twenty-Eight Generals, and where that mysterious force came from. Unfortunately, aside from those two instances, the Twenty-Eight Generals remained silent, leaving Bai Zhengliu deep in thought. Perhaps only facing a vengeful ghost could trigger something different within the Twenty-Eight Generals.

Even if blowing out the candle truly caused some disaster, it was still something Bai Zhengliu desired.

For these reasons, the blade master didn’t speak, but his fingers hovered around the hilt of the Twenty-Eight Generals, clearly signaling to the swordsman.

Mei Yinghan saw this, paused for a moment, then said, “Alright. Standing here the whole time won’t help.”

With that, he moved forward.

It was Bai Xiong who had lifted the roof tile earlier; now it was his turn.

Bai Zhengliu watched the swordsman’s movements, his gaze flickering briefly, but he didn’t stop him.

Lady Liu was a vengeful ghost from the water; no matter what, she couldn’t suddenly appear from the flames. With Mei Xiong blowing out the candle, he could remain alert behind him.

While silently considering all of this, Bai Zhengliu quietly unsheathed his sword. Even though the room was dim, the blade gleamed like snow.

Mei Yinghan blew. “Hoo—”

The flame wavered, and the paper figure just happened to turn toward the direction of the two young men.

It had an exaggerated smile on its face, and now, as the shadows of the two youths fell on it, that smile appeared far more vivid than before, showing traces of malicious excitement and resentment.

Bai Zhengliu and Mei Yinghan stood with their backs to it—one acting, one on guard. A long breath escaped, and the candlelight flickered reluctantly before the room fell into darkness.

The flame was extinguished.Bai Zhengliu gripped the hilt of his sword tightly.

He heard a loud “clang” coming from behind him. At the same time, the Twenty-Eight Generals remained quietly in his hand, without any of the special sensations he had felt when facing Lady Liu. The gentle, powerful force that had made him feel a hundred times stronger, like an illusion that had occurred during the encounter with the vengeful ghost and again in the day, now seemed to have faded as if awakening from a dream.

Bai Zhengliu closed his eyes for a moment and suddenly said, “Mei Xiong, look outside.”

Mei Yinghan froze slightly. He had been about to investigate what had caused the noise just now, but then heard Bai Zhengliu’s words. What was more puzzling was that Bai Zhengliu had said "outside the window," yet his actions were directed toward himself.

Mei Yinghan’s gaze met his. He spent only a brief moment thinking, then a sudden realization struck.

The eldest disciple of the Heavenly Mountain sect slightly nodded, saying, “It’s that!”

His voice raised just slightly. Though his expression remained calm and composed, there was a hint of fear embedded in the tone of his voice.

Bai Zhengliu, hearing this, couldn’t help but find it somewhat amusing. However, he knew the situation was different now and thought with some regret, “I never noticed before, Mei Xiong really is quite clever.”

Bai Zhengliu said, “Mei Xiong, we must leave this room immediately!”

Mei Yinghan didn’t hesitate, responding immediately, “Let’s go!”

Footsteps echoed in the room. In no time at all, the figures of the blade master and the swordsman had vanished.

The place where they had been, the paper figure’s head continued to shake, moving from one direction to another… from the door to the wardrobe, still wearing that exaggerated smile.

After a while, there was a soft “creak,” and the wardrobe was pushed open slightly.

A middle-aged man with a pale, sallow complexion and a thin frame peeked out from inside, quietly observing the outside. After a while, he shakily crawled out of the wardrobe.

When he landed on the floor, he stumbled slightly. This one movement revealed the weakness of his body.

Despite being such a man who could barely stand, he didn’t go straight to the open door. Instead, he gritted his teeth, turned around, and sought out the window on the other side.

By now, his movements showed a bit of agility; despite the darkness, he skillfully maneuvered around the furniture and quickly reached the window, pushing it open.

The blade master was watching him from outside.

Moonlight poured in, and the middle-aged man looked at the blade master outside, his face showing an expression of sheer panic, as if struck by lightning. His entire body shook uncontrollably. His mouth gaped open, making choking sounds, and his body involuntarily staggered backward. Finally, he collapsed with a “thud,” sitting on the ground.Bai Zhengliu helplessly flipped over and leaped into the room. At that moment, Mei Yinghan also walked in from the door, saying, “Bai Xiong, you won.”

They had made a bet outside, guessing from which direction the source of the “clang” sound would appear. The result was obvious.

Faced with these two young men, the middle-aged man in the room slowly transformed his terrified expression, his fear gathering and solidifying... In the end, there was no need for him to react at all. Bai Zhengliu stepped forward, grabbed the man, and casually placed him on a nearby chair, making sure the man was facing the paper figure.

The man: "..."

Mei Yinghan: "..." cough I mustn't laugh.

However, Bai Xiong certainly acts unconventionally.

A slight curve appeared at the corner of Mei Yinghan's lips, but it was quickly suppressed.

At this moment, Bai Zhengliu was already asking, "Who are you? Why are you here in the middle of the night?"

At the same time, the blade master vaguely thought: "Hmm? Why does it feel like the way I lifted this guy was... off?"

The author has something to say:

Today, I feel like I’m in danger...

The department next door, the one diagonally opposite, all got wiped out, and now someone from our department tested positive.

I had originally said that the daily commute is too dangerous, and that I might as well not come this week, but now, the number of people who can come to work has dropped sharply, so I guess anyone who can come in is coming in (:з」∠)

The good news is that the subway has fewer people, and even the seats aren’t fully occupied.