Chapter 149: Chapter 149: Paper-cutting and Broom

"Ah, spirit money! Yes! Of course, we have it!"

The old man composed himself, put on a fawning smile, and pointed to a wall cabinet.

"High-grade tin foil ingots are fifty copper coins a basket. A stack of Rebirth Spell Yellow Paper is twenty. If you want something more presentable..."

He turned, took a brocade box from a shrine, placed it on the counter, and said,

"This is a Gilded Western Receiving Bodhisattva Statue we just got from Su City. It comes as a set with an Offering Table and Banner, all for only ten silver coins. We’ll even throw in eight paper-craft servant girls."

"Shopkeeper, that’s not the kind of paper I’m looking for,"

Wang Xi said coolly.

The old man looked puzzled and asked,

"I wonder what kind of paper Young Master Wang is looking for?"

"Paper cuttings."

At these words, the old man’s pupils shrank.

"We have paper cuttings, of course. Vests and Western suits, cheongsams and jackets, bagua lotuses, and..."

"None of those." Wang Xi waved his hand dismissively.

His calm gaze fell on the old man’s forced smile. "I want the paper cuttings you just acquired," he added.

"?!"

The old Shopkeeper froze, breaking out in a cold sweat.

’My private business has been discovered?’

’That’s impossible!’

"Oh, Young Master Wang must be talking about that batch of pavilion and terrace paper cuttings that arrived yesterday. Haha, those are from an old, established shop in the Provincial City—"

"Shopkeeper." Wang Xi’s expression remained unchanged. "Tell me, how does the Zhang Family usually deal with servants who betray them from the inside?"

"Young... Young Master Wang, what do you mean by that?"

The old man swallowed hard.

Wang Xi couldn’t be bothered to waste any more words on the man. He pulled out a revolver and slammed it on the table.

SLAM!

"Recognize this?"

he said, staring at the old man.

"Ah!" The Shopkeeper jumped in fright, shrinking back. His eyes kept darting to the lump of iron on the table. "I recognize it! I do! It’s a foreigner’s firearm!"

"Since you recognize me and you recognize this thing, are you ready to tell the truth?"

Wang Xi’s tone turned frigid.

"Don’t think I’m joking. If I shot you dead right now, no one would cry injustice for you!"

"..."

The old man was so scared he didn’t dare move, trembling all over.

Seeing the young man pick up the firearm and aim the barrel at his forehead, the Shopkeeper instantly shouted:

"I’ll talk! I’ll talk!!"

...

...

A moment later, Wang Xi tossed down two silver coins, picked up a small bag, and strode out of the coffin shop.

"This thing really comes in handy."

He patted the revolver before stuffing it back into his pocket.

According to the Shopkeeper, he was secretly in contact with several servants of the Provincial City’s Qi Family. He had them collect the discarded paper cuttings of the Qi Family’s young miss, which he would then resell at a high price to a mysterious organization called the "Five Lakes Wanderer."

When mentioning the Qi Family’s young miss, the Shopkeeper had worn an expression of reverence, saying she was the reincarnation of an Immortal. The paper figures she cut had magical effects like exorcising evil, warding off disaster, calming souls, and even curing various ailments—it was all simply unbelievable.

"The Qi Family’s young miss, Qi Luan..."

Wang Xi mulled over the name as he walked straight toward the west side of town, where the Zhang Family Mansion was located.

He unwrapped the package as he walked. Inside were more than ten discarded paper figures, neatly stacked.

The paper figures were no bigger than his palm, their silhouettes as lifelike as children, yet every single one was damaged. Some were missing arms or legs; others were cut clean in half at the waist. He couldn’t find a single complete one.

[Soul-Saving Paper Cutting (Damaged): A defective item cut by a Cultivator of the Paper-Cutting Path. It still retains a trace of their Primordial Spirit and possesses the ability to sustain a departed soul. This object harms the natural order; forcefully keeping the deceased in the mortal world will inevitably invite pursuit from the Underworld. Long-term possession will shorten one’s lifespan and damage their luck.]

’So there really are Cultivators in the Profound Mysterious Realm...’

Wang Xi tied the package shut again, a thoughtful look on his face.

From this, it was clear that the young miss of the Provincial City’s Qi Family was a Cultivator.

’But what is this Paper-Cutting Path?’

’And the Underworld...’

’It’s not that simple, after all.’

Wang Xi thought, a hint of anticipation in his heart.

’If I can get more involved in this Extraordinary Domain, maybe I can master the power of the Profound Mysterious System.’

If wuxia is every man’s dream, then Cultivation is every mortal’s obsession.

Although Wang Xi had pretended to be an Immortal in front of Shen Miaowei, he wasn’t one himself. Now that he had a clear clue pointing to the ethereal path of immortals, he would not let it go easily.

...

...

When Wang Xi arrived at the Zhang Family Mansion, it was the beginning of the hai hour, just past nine o’clock. He still had about forty minutes to wait until the forty-five-minute mark the vendor had mentioned.

In the darkness of the night, Wang Xi slipped quietly into an alley on the east side of the mansion. He leaned against the mottled courtyard wall, melting into the shadows. Time flowed by in the silence, but he remained as still as a stone statue.

Forty-five minutes later, a faint sound indeed came from the alley’s entrance. In the dim moonlight, four figures dressed in black appeared like phantoms.

Wang Xi held his breath and focused his gaze—

The entry "Five Lakes Wanderer·Gray Swallow" appeared above the heads of the four men, exactly the same as the two folk martial artists who had posed as deputies beside Mao Xinrong.

On closer inspection, three were Whiteboard Three Stars, with only one having reached Whiteboard Four Stars. Their faces were covered with black cloths, and their movements were agile. With a single leap, they cleared the three-meter-high wall as if it were flat ground and silently vaulted over.

Wang Xi waited a few more breaths before he moved, following the group of black-clad men over the wall and into the Zhang Family Mansion.

He tailed them like a ghost.

Passing through the courtyard’s archway and covered walkway, he pressed himself silently behind a large podocarpus tree, watching the four men furtively searching for something outside a side room.

Finally, their search fruitless, they exchanged a look and gave a silent hand signal. The leader pushed open the door to the side room, and the group filed in.

Wang Xi silently activated "Mud Howling Dark Frog."

In the darkness, five red lines representing heartbeats pulsed. One of them suddenly accelerated. Faintly, he could also hear the soft, terrified sound of a mouth being covered.

’That must be Mrs. Zhang Sr., Zhang Fuyun’s grandmother...’

Wang Xi was about to intervene, ice already gathering in his palm, but he suddenly stopped.

The men in black didn’t harm her. They simply and efficiently snatched a jewelry box, half a bag of silver coins, and grabbed the broom from the room on their way out. Then, as quickly as they came, they retreated from the side room. After a few leaps, their figures vanished into the night.

A few moments later.

In a dark alley two streets away from the Zhang Mansion, the four men came to a sudden halt and ripped off their masks.

"We got it." The leader, who had a goatee, spoke in a hoarse voice as he thrust the broom into another man’s hands. "According to the rules, this item is to be sent to the branch immediately."

"As for the other valuables..." He glanced at his companions. "You can deal with them as you see fit."

"Master Feng is generous!" a crony grinned, but he couldn’t help but heft the shabby old broom. "I just don’t get what the higher-ups want with this thing."

"Ask fewer questions!" The man surnamed Feng’s eyes turned cold. "Don’t forget the Gray Swallow’s rules: just do the job, don’t ask why."

"Got it, Master Feng. No questions, no questions."

The man chuckled and quickly backed down.

But just as the men squatted down to divide the loot, the man surnamed Feng suddenly sensed something. His expression changed drastically as he barked, "Watch out!"

PFFT! PFFT! PFFT!

The instant he shouted his warning, the three men squatting on the ground collapsed simultaneously. Bloody holes were left in their foreheads or temples, the blood itself frozen solid.

The man stood rooted to the spot, a chill shooting up from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head. He reacted instantly, spinning around and assuming a defensive stance, staring as if facing a great enemy at the figure emerging from behind him.

When he saw the newcomer was a young man in a long black gown, the man’s pupils shrank.

"Huo Family Martial Arts Hall’s Grandmaster Wang..."

He caught a glimpse of the frost and the bloody holes on his companions’ heads, and his heart sank.

"It seems you haven’t just opened the Nine Palaces and Two Instruments, but have also turned from outer to inner, nurtured the Five Energy, and mastered Innate Primordial Energy—a Grandmaster of both Inner and Outer Cultivation?!"

"..."

Wang Xi remained composed and said nothing.

Inwardly, however, he was a little curious.

’He had no idea what all that gibberish meant.’

"Why did you ’Five Lakes Wanderers’ go to the Zhang Mansion to steal a broom?"

Hearing this, the man surnamed Feng felt a chill in his heart.

The corner of his eye twitched, cold sweat beaded on his forehead, and he hissed, "No comment!"

"Forget it. I can tell you’re a tough nut to crack."

Wang Xi shook his head.

SWOOSH—

With a single movement, he crossed seven steps and was right in front of the man.

The man was shocked.

’This isn’t right!’

’Why didn’t he ask a few more questions? I might have told him! Attacking at the first disagreement—what kind of Grandmaster has no bearing?!’

The man could only use a Body Technique to dodge sideways while simultaneously shooting out his right arm, his five fingers like a grappling hook, aiming for the young man’s shoulder.

He had painstakingly practiced grappling for twenty years. Facing a Grandmaster on the same level as his own leader, his heart pounded with uncertainty, but he could only grit his teeth and strike, desperately fighting for a sliver of a chance to survive.

The wind from the sweeping palm strike stung his face. Fortunately, his Lightweight Skill was superb, allowing him to narrowly dodge the palm and clamp his hand onto the young man’s shoulder.

A flicker of joy ignited in his heart.

’An opening!’

He had only heard of this young Grandmaster’s name yesterday. The horrifying feat of catching a bullet with his bare hands had already reached his ears from his comrades in the Black Eel Army.

’But his opponent is too young, lacking in combat experience!’

He channeled his strength, unleashing a finger force powerful enough to pierce an iron plate—

CRACK!

But instead, he heard the sound of shattering bones as an excruciating pain shot through his five fingers.

"Aargh!" the man screamed. In his peripheral vision, he saw a crystalline sheen of Ice Crystal appear on the young man’s shoulder.

BANG!!

Immediately after, he saw the young man’s right arm flash, his palm striking his chest like a great seal.

"Puh—"

The man’s feet left the ground. A terrifyingly immense force, like a battering ram, slammed into him, sending him flying backward.

After landing, he forced himself to stay on his feet, staggering back several steps before coming to a stop and spitting out a mouthful of blood.

But the mist of blood turned into sparks in mid-air.

The man stared down in a daze.

A charred handprint was branded on his chest. He opened his mouth to speak, but in that instant, flames erupted from his seven orifices, and his entire body was incinerated into ash.

[Target eliminated]

[Capture "Feng Qiang’s" ability?]

’Yes,’

Wang Xi thought to himself.

A ball of green light emerged from the ashes drifting in the air and shot straight into the space between his eyebrows.

"This ’Three Thousand Flames Great Sun Buddha Heart-Burning Palm’ is truly tyrannical."

Wang Xi shook his head, marveling.

He’d just pulled the name out of thin air.

The Fire Magic, derived from the "Master of Scorched Earth," when added to his Palm Force, created this terrifying effect.

After the Whiteboard Four-star Martial Artist Feng Qiang was incinerated by the Fire Magic Palm Force, the minuscule amount of energy Wang Xi had just expended was instantly replenished, returning him to his peak state.

—"Ash Return Flow"

The Fairy Tales version of the Star Absorption Technique. Effective, and his favorite.

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