Immortality: Grinding Experience Starting as a Paper Craftsman

Chapter 26 Golden Wings Decapitation, Locust Tree Ghost Market

The water in the teacup gradually cooled down.

Gu Yan remained seated, just like a clay or wooden sculpture.

His breathing was barely audible; he seemed to have blended into the old house filled with the smell of paper pulp, becoming part of the shadows.

That "thing" on the roof is very patient.

It was like a real gecko, clinging to the tiles, making no sound except for an extremely faint heartbeat.

Little did it know, the hunter had already laid out a net.

Gu Yan suddenly moved.

He seemed tired of sitting, stretched out a long yawn, then stood up, rubbing his lower back while deliberately muttering:

"This money is endless, time for bed. This token looks heavy, I wonder how much silver it's worth..."

He deliberately threw the black iron demon-slaying token on the table, making a crisp clanging sound.

At that very moment, the atmosphere on the rooftop became completely erratic.

That was a racing heart caused by greed.

Right now.

Gu Yan slightly raised his eyelids, and a golden light shot out from his sleeve.

The golden light was so fast that even the afterimage was not visible. Like a golden lightning bolt, it pierced through the thin window paper and shot straight to the roof.

"go."

Gu Yan parted his lips slightly and uttered a single word.

A very short scream came from the roof, followed by the sound of tiles shattering, and finally a dull thud as the roof fell to the ground.

"Bang."

A twisted figure appeared on the muddy ground in the backyard.

Gu Yan slowly pushed open the back door, carrying a windproof lantern in his hand.

The dim light illuminated the intruder.

It was a humanoid monster covered in fine, bluish scales, with disproportionately long and thin limbs, and fingers and toes that had been transformed into suction cup-like claws.

A thin red line, as fine as a hair, was gushing black blood from its throat.

Beside it, in the soil, the golden paper mantis rested quietly, its sickle-like forelegs unstained by any blood, gently fluttering its wings in the light.

"A lizard demon?"

Gu Yan squatted down, looking at the still convulsing monster, a hint of disgust flashing in his eyes.

These are likely "dead soldiers" created by the White Spirit Cult through some kind of evil magic, stitching living people and demonic beasts together. They have no humanity, only the instinct to kill and investigate.

The monster's throat was cut off, so it couldn't make a sound. It could only stare at Gu Yan with its vertical pupils, its eyes filled with disbelief.

It never understood, even in its death, how this seemingly weak paper craftsman had managed to deliver that fatal blow.

"Since we're here, let's not waste this opportunity."

Gu Yan took out a talisman from his pocket and casually stuck it on the monster's forehead, suppressing the resentment that was about to dissipate.

He reached into the monster's arms and rummaged around for a while.

There was no silver, only a letterbox sewn from human skin.

Gu Yan opened the mailbox, and inside was a note with only two lines of text.

"The Holy Son is about to arrive. Retrieve the storage bag, or you will be killed without mercy."

Gu Yan burned the note to ashes over the lantern fire, and looked at the falling black ash with a somewhat solemn expression.

"The Holy Son? He sounds much more troublesome than that Bai Yunfei."

Bai Yunfei was just a sect leader; his death is no big deal.

This so-called "Holy Son" is probably the true core fighting force of the White Spirit Cult.

Since the other party came for the storage bag, they must have a way to track its location.

We cannot sit idly by and wait to die; we must strike first, or at least thicken our shells.

Gu Yan stood up and directed the Yin Tie Luo Sha to drag the corpse into the cellar.

Although the corpses of these mutated humans are disgusting, their scales are good materials for making defensive talismans; they can be peeled off, washed, and used.

After cleaning up the scene, Gu Yan changed into an inconspicuous gray cloth robe and put on a wide-brimmed straw hat, covering most of his face.

He tucked the black iron demon-slaying token into his pocket, locked the shop door, and disappeared into the night.

……

West of the city, the Old Locust Tree Teahouse.

This place is in a remote location. In front of the gate stands an old locust tree that is said to have lived for three hundred years. Its canopy is so large that it blocks out the sun. In the night wind, it makes a rustling sound, like the wailing of ghosts.

It was already late at night, but the lights in the teahouse were still on.

Gu Yan pushed open the door and entered.

It wasn't as noisy as I'd imagined. There were seven or eight people sitting in the teahouse, spaced far apart, talking in hushed tones or quietly drinking their tea.

The air was filled with the smell of cheap tobacco and old tea stems, along with a faint, almost imperceptible odor of blood.

The shopkeeper behind the counter was a one-eyed old man who was wiping the table with a black rag.

"Sir, would you like some tea or a storytelling performance?"

The old man asked without looking up, his voice hoarse as if two pieces of sandpaper were rubbing together.

Gu Yan lowered his voice, walked to the counter, and gently pushed the black iron token over: "Buy some local specialties to color the paper figures at home."

The one-eyed old man glanced at the token, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his cloudy eyes.

He stopped what he was doing and pointed to a hidden door next to the counter.

"Since you're from the government, please come in. You know the rules, right? No questions asked, no haggling, and we're not responsible for anything once you leave."

"Understand."

Gu Yan nodded, put away the token, and pushed open the hidden door.

Behind the door is a downward stone staircase leading to the basement.

This is the real "ghost market," a secret trading point set up by the Demon Suppression Bureau.

The basement was extremely spacious, with shelves on both sides filled with all sorts of strange and unusual materials.

There were dried monster claws, unknown ores, and even several sealed jars, the contents of which were unknown.

A middle-aged man dressed in a black robe came up to them, glanced at the booklet in Gu Yan's hand, and without saying a word, led him directly to a shelf in the corner.

"Peach wood core struck by lightning, three hundred taels."

The man in black robes pointed to the piece of wood in front of him, which was only the length of an arm, charred black but glowing red, and spoke in a calm tone.

Gu Yan looked at the piece of wood.

Even from several steps away, he could feel the violent masculine energy contained within it.

The yin energy within the body instinctively tried to retreat, but the spiritual energy in the dantian cheered with joy.

This is lightning-struck wood, a combination of heavenly lightning and earthly wood, the nemesis of all evil and malevolent things.

"nice one."

Without hesitation, Gu Yan took out three hundred taels of silver notes.

This is the thank-you fee given by Shen Youwei and the income from selling paper before; this time, almost all of it has been invested.

Money can be earned back, but life is truly gone once it's gone.

That so-called holy son will never reason with him.

The man in black robes accepted the silver note, wrapped up the lightning-struck wood, and handed it to Gu Yan. During the handover, he suddenly asked a question:

"Recently, quite a few people have been buying this extremely yang item. It seems that trouble is brewing in Changning County again. If you want to save your life, you'd better buy a few more talismans to ward off evil."

"No need, I'm tough."

Gu Yan politely declined the other party's sales pitch.

He himself is a master of talisman making; buying talismans from others would be an insult to his professional dignity.

Holding the lightning-struck wood, Gu Yan left the teahouse without lingering.

It was already past midnight when I got back to the shop.

Gu Yan didn't rest. He placed the lightning-struck peach wood core on the worktable, his eyes becoming extremely focused.

With this piece of wood, combined with the "paper-cut soldiers" technique, he was able to create his true trump card: "Thunder General".

Ordinary paper soldiers fear fire and water, but this one, with its lightning-struck wood core, monster hide as paper, and combined with his paper-cutting skills, will create something that will be the nightmare of all evil spirits.

Gu Yan picked up the carving knife, and wood chips flew everywhere.

Under the dim light, his shadow was cast on the wall, and with the rise and fall of the carving knife, he looked like a god of war sharpening his knife.