Chapter 517: 517: Shasha

Du Lai promised Fu Miaoxue that he would return quickly. Given the choice between detouring along the winding corridor and scaling the wall, the latter was obviously faster.

But if the person outside wasn’t Du Lai, then who could it be?

All three stared at the figure with caution.

In an instant, the atmosphere in the room became incredibly tense.

Shen Mo pulled the piece of paper from his wrist. With a swoosh, it transformed into a dagger in his hand, and he told Bai Youwei and Fu Miaoxue in a low voice, “Both of you, step back.”

Fu Miaoxue quickly grabbed Bai Youwei’s arm!

Bai Youwei tugged twice but couldn’t pull free.

Fu Miaoxue turned towards Shen Mo, her voice strained with tension, “Be careful. What if that’s actually my boyfriend outside?”

Bai Youwei retorted internally, if it really was Du Lai, deliberately trying to scare them by lurking outside, he deserved a good slash.

Suddenly, Shen Mo sprang into action!

His movements were lightning-fast. The two women were taken aback and before they could respond, Shen Mo had flung open the door!

The dagger in his hand gleamed cold and deadly. It thrust straight towards the figure outside the door!

A rustling sound echoed.

There was no screaming, no shouting. Only the soft rustling, much like the sound of tearing paper!

Bai Youwei and Fu Miaoxue watched in horror as a paper man outside was stabbed by Shen Mo and sliced in two!n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

The rustle…

An incredibly thin paper man met an extremely sharp blade. In the span of an instant, it was cut in half, sent flying and then gently fell in the garden below.

The falling rain soaked the painted face of the paper man.

Black eyeballs…

Bright red lips…

The color slowly had seeped out, following the drops of rain and depicted a form of painful scars.

Bai Youwei and Fu Miaoxue stood in the doorway, their gaze fixed on the paper doll in the garden. It felt like something was squeezing their throats, and their hearts pounded uncontrollably.

They had grown up in the city and even though they had witnessed some folk customs and funeral cultures, most of those were influenced by the West. Now, facing this paper doll, they felt an indescribable discomfort, goosebumps erupted in waves, even their scalps tingled.

They didn’t understand why their ancestors had invented something so horrifying. Couldn’t they conduct funerals in a straightforward manner?

Paper, being just a thin layer glued to slender bamboo strips and once soaked with rain, disintegrated rapidly.

Like colorful muddy scraps, it hung from the bamboo, swaying and trembling in the wind and rain.

They were silent for a while when they suddenly heard the sounds of urgent footsteps. As they turned around, they saw Du Lai gasping for breath as he ran towards them!

Fu Miaoxue cried out in relief and rushed towards him!

“Why did it take you so long to return?! You scared me to death!!!”

She angrily gripped Du Lai’s collar and interrogated him, “Didn’t you say you’ll be back in six minutes?! How many six minutes have passed now? How many? Answer me!!!”

Shen Mo also asked him in suspicion, “Did something happen on the way?”

Du Lai’s delay in returning was indeed abnormal.

His face was as white as a sheet, soaked through with both rain and perspiration. He didn’t look like he’d gone out briefly but rather as if he’d run a marathon!

“Let’s discuss it inside.” Du Lai jerked his hand free from Fu Miaoxue’s grip, hastily dragging her inside.

Shen Mo was the last to enter, casting a cautious glance around, he shut the door.

Inside the room, Du Lai sat in a chair to catch his breath. After a while, he told them,

“Getting to Yunhai’s woman didn’t take much time, but on my way back, I encountered ghost walls. No matter how much I tried to bypass, I kept looping in the corridor.”

“It must have been that paper man causing trouble!” Fu Miaoxue shivered, burrowing deeper into Du Lai’s arms. “Just now it mimicked your appearance. I was about to open the door for it!”