Chapter 249 - 248: The Paper Man’s Own Interpretation

Chapter 249: Chapter 248: The Paper Man’s Own Interpretation

Huo Xingchen turned and held his arms out to Huo Yunjing. "I don’t want to watch anymore. It’s boring."

Huo Yunjing lifted him down and casually brushed the dust off his clothes.

Huo Xingchen politely thanked him and ran back to Gu Qingyin’s side. The paper figure was already taking shape.

"Is it almost done?"

Gu Qingyin nodded. "Almost. I just need to enliven it, and it’ll be able to move."

Huo Xingchen was very curious. "How do you enliven it?"

Gu Qingyin took out a brush. "By dotting the eyes."

Huo Xingchen watched as his mom used the brush to dot two bright red eyes on the paper figure, a look on his face like he’d just learned something important.

Gu Ziqian couldn’t bear to watch any longer and spoke up. "Don’t be a bad influence on the kid. Dotting the eyes with red ink can easily attract evil spirits. If you can’t suppress them, you’ll suffer a backlash. It’s safer to use black ink."

Huo Xingchen had a moment of realization. ’So not just anyone can dot red eyes. My power isn’t strong enough. Once I learn paper crafting in the future, I should probably just stick to dotting black eyes to be safe.’

Gu Qingyin was also taken aback. "You can’t use a red pen to dot the eyes?"

Gu Ziqian had assumed she was just teasing the kid with the red pen, but seeing her reaction, he was suddenly unsure. "Your master didn’t teach you?"

Gu Qingyin thought back. ’Vaguely, I think... the first time I used a red pen to dot the eyes, my master’s expression was a bit complicated, but he didn’t stop me. Afterward, the paper figures I made were a little mischievous, and I had to beat them a few times before they behaved, but other than that... there didn’t seem to be anything wrong with it, right?’

Gu Ziqian understood. He laughed in exasperation. ’She can get an apprentice like this? Why can’t I?’

Gu Qingyin didn’t dare to say anything. She silently dotted the eyes, then gave the figure a poke between the brows to awaken its mind a little.

The next second, the seemingly soft and flimsy paper figure stood up. It was a full 1.4 meters tall, more than a head taller than Huo Xingchen, who still had to crane his neck to look at it.

The paper figure first made a deep bow to Gu Qingyin. Then it looked down at Huo Xingchen, paused for two seconds, and bowed to him as well.

Huo Xingchen was delighted and returned the gesture.

Gu Ziqian found it strange. This was the first time he’d seen a paper figure with red-dotted eyes be so polite.

If the newly sentient paper figure could have heard his thoughts, it would surely have shed a tear of bitter sorrow. ’Just look at the people in this room! How could it possibly dare to act up?’

Gu Qingyin circled the paper figure, nodding in satisfaction. "Go on. Ask those people outside what they want. If it’s nothing, don’t let them block our gate. They’re an eyesore."

The paper figure took her words out of context, hearing only the last part of the sentence and interpreting it as: Get rid of the eyesores outside.

With a license to cause trouble, it was ready for action.

Curious, Huo Xingchen followed the paper figure.

Zhang Qiuyan was also curious. It wasn’t often one saw such an intelligent paper figure.

Just as the Witch God was preparing to break the formation, the courtyard gate opened with a CREAK. A paper figure hopped out. It didn’t close the gate, leaving it wide open. A quick glance revealed a man and a boy standing just inside, with three adults sitting in the courtyard—one of whom was even rocking on a lounge chair!

The village chief’s eyelid twitched, his gaze growing even more sinister.

’Men, women, old, and young—the whole family is here. To dare come to our village at a time like this, they must have brought plenty of provisions.’

The village chief made up his mind and called out in a low voice, "Witch God."

The Witch God nodded, picked up his brush, dipped it in vermillion, and was about to step forward to break the formation.

But he was old, after all, and his limbs weren’t very nimble. As he passed the paper figure, it snatched the brush from him with a SWISH.

The Witch God froze, watching dumbfounded as the paper figure used the brush to swiftly scribble a line of beautiful, small script on its own body.

—My master says if you have no business here, then scram. If you don’t, don’t blame me for getting rough.

After writing, the paper figure weaved through the crowd with the line of text, making a full circle to ensure everyone could see it. Then it returned to its original spot and stared at the Witch God, silently asking: ’What are you going to do about it?’

The Witch God’s face darkened, and he raised a hand to snatch the brush back.

The paper figure nimbly dodged backward. ’I get it,’ it thought. ’You want to get rough.’

’This is perfect!’

It raised its hand and tossed the brush at the Witch God’s face. While the Witch God was busy catching the brush, it raised a foot and kicked at his chest.

Well... the idea was good, but it had overestimated its own height. Being short, its legs were naturally not long enough, and the kick only landed on the Witch God’s abdomen. A bit lower, actually.

But! The kick had an unexpected effect. The Witch God collapsed to the ground, doubling over like a shrimp.

The paper figure was rather satisfied. It bent down, grabbed the man’s collar, and started dragging him into the distance. It would walk a short way and then look back, as if assessing whether leaving him there would still block their gate.

The village chief and the villagers were frozen in place, watching motionlessly as the paper figure committed this outrageous act against their Witch God. They... were truly powerless to help, able only to show their anger on their faces.

When the paper figure turned back, it saw a group of people glaring at it. It stood in place, tilted its head, picked a lucky winner, and pointed to the words on its body again.

The lucky winner glared back but made no move.

The paper figure shrugged, knocked the person down with one punch, and proceeded to drag them away.

After tossing them next to the Witch God, the paper figure returned, chose another lucky winner, and once again pointed to the line of text on its body.

This lucky winner wasn’t so hard-headed. He stared at the words, his eyes filled with confusion. "What does this mean?"

The paper figure froze. The watching Huo Xingchen and Zhang Qiuyan also froze.

’Of all the things to plan for, we never expected the villagers to be illiterate! What era is this, anyway? Famine is one thing, but how are the villagers also illiterate?!’

After waiting a few seconds without an answer, the villager was about to ask again, but he had barely made a sound before a fist flew at his face and knocked him out.

The paper figure flew into a rage out of humiliation, thinking the villager was mocking its inability to speak. After that, it didn’t bother asking anymore and just sent them all away, one by one, with a single punch.

The village chief was saved for last. Just as the paper figure approached, the chief spoke up: "I can walk on my own."

The paper figure scratched its head, then punched him anyway. ’If you can walk on your own, why were you standing at the gate for so long? Were you provoking me?’

Finally, the paper figure even lifted the log they had brought to ram the gate and threw it on top of the pile of people.

Looking at the clean, empty space outside the gate, the paper figure nodded in satisfaction. It then turned and found the Witch God again.

By now, the Witch God had recovered slightly but was still sitting cross-legged on the ground, unmoving. His face was as black as the bottom of a pot. When he saw the paper figure walking toward him, his body trembled noticeably. "What more do you want? Offending a deity will bring down divine punishment!"

The paper figure paid him no mind, retrieved the brush from his person, and wrote another line of text on its body.

—Don’t let me see you again. I’ll beat you every time I do!

After reading it, the Witch God was so furious his eyes rolled back in his head and he nearly passed out.

The paper figure ignored him, went to show the message to the village chief, and then, under the chief’s dark gaze, turned around, returned to the courtyard, and shut the gate.

Huo Xingchen and Zhang Qiuyan were both stunned. ’The paper figure is so strong! Its punches are so fast, and its presence is so powerful! The villagers just stood there and didn’t dare to fight back! That was so badass!’

’Of course, the most amazing one is his mom,’ Huo Xingchen thought.

’Gu Qingyin,’ thought Zhang Qiuyan, ’to be able to make such an incredible paper figure!’

But Gu Qingyin, the object of their admiration, was a bit dazed when she saw the two lines of text on the paper figure.

’Is that what I just said?’