Immortality: Grinding Experience Starting as a Paper Craftsman

Chapter 31 Using a borrowed knife to kill, sending a message by paper crane

In the afternoon, Changning County was as sweltering as a giant steamer.

The air was filled with the smell of dirt and impending mold.

The cicadas' desperate chirping is irritating and unsettling.

Gu Yan sat behind the counter, toying with a paper crane he had just folded.

The paper crane was not made of ordinary Xuan paper, but rather a thin film that he carefully scraped off from the back of the parchment map left by the Holy Son, mixed with powder from lightning-struck wood.

"Since you want to muddy the waters, then I'll boil them for you."

A glint of light flashed in Gu Yan's eyes.

He bit his fingertip and wrote a few extremely tiny words on the inside of the paper crane's wing:

"The Yin Vein of Earthly Fiends, three thousand offerings, the River of Blood is about to arrive."

These twelve words were enough to cause an uproar within the entire Demon Suppression Division of Changning County.

Gu Yan knew very well that with his strength alone, he wouldn't even be enough to fill a gap in the teeth of that Foundation Establishment cultivator.

The only way out is to completely involve the official forces, forcing the Demon Suppression Division to request assistance from higher authorities and send in true experts to confront the Blood River Sect.

"Go."

Gu Yan blew a breath of spiritual energy onto the paper crane.

The paper crane flapped its wings and actually let out a few clear crane cries. Then it transformed into a streak of light that was difficult to see with the naked eye. Following the shadows on the ground, it flew close to the ground and headed towards the Demon Suppression Office in the center of the city.

This is the detection method in "Paper Cutting into Soldiers": "Shadow Crane".

Although it has no offensive power, it excels in concealment. Even Foundation Establishment cultivators would find it difficult to detect unless they deliberately scan the shadows on the ground.

After doing all this, Gu Yan acted as if nothing had happened, picked up the teapot and poured himself a cup of cold tea. Before he could even drink it, the light at the door suddenly dimmed.

An elderly man dressed in a gray cloth robe stood silently at the shop entrance.

He was tall with a slightly hunched back, and he leaned on an ebony cane.

What's most unsettling is his eyes; there's more white than black in them, making him look at people as if they were lifeless.

Gu Yan's hand holding the teacup trembled slightly, and a few drops of tea splashed onto the table.

He didn't need any divine sense to tell him; the oppressive feeling from the depths of his soul told him so.

The Foundation Establishment expert has come knocking on our door.

"Sir/Madam...would you like to buy a paper effigy or a coffin?"

Gu Yan quickly stood up, his face full of businessman's enthusiasm, but his slightly trembling legs betrayed his inner "fear".

The old man in the gray robe didn't speak, but stepped into the shop.

With each step he took, Gu Yan felt as if an invisible hand was squeezing his heart tighter.

The old man's gaze swept over the wall blackened by lightning and fire, finally landing on Gu Yan.

"It was very lively here last night."

The old man's voice was hoarse and grating, like two rusty pieces of iron rubbing against each other.

"Oh dear, sir, you have no idea!"

Gu Yan immediately started talking, patting his chest with a look of lingering fear:

"Last night, that damned madman broke in, insisting on robbing us. I had no choice but to throw out our ancestral life-saving treasure, the 'Five Thunder Pearls'! Look at these walls, and that roof, how much will it cost to repair them…"

As he spoke, his eyes reddened, showing a distressed expression as if the small vendor had suffered an undeserved misfortune.

The old man watched his performance coldly, a sinister light gleaming in his cloudy eyes.

Suddenly, the old man raised his hand and pointed his withered fingers into the air.

hum.

Gu Yan felt his body stiffen as a chilling current entered his meridians and circulated throughout his body.

This is to examine his physical constitution and cultivation level.

Gu Yan sneered inwardly, but outwardly appeared even more terrified. His legs went weak, and he collapsed to the ground.

"Great Immortal, have mercy! I'm broke! The officials have taken all my money!"

The "Concealing Breath Turtle-Snake Technique" within his body had already been pushed to its limit, compressing all his pure spiritual power deep into his bone marrow. The only manifestation of his condition was the mixed and chaotic qi and blood of an ordinary martial artist, making him look like a slightly stronger ordinary person.

A moment later, the cold wave subsided.

A hint of disappointment and contempt flashed in the old man's eyes.

He was indeed an ordinary person with extremely poor physical constitution and turbid qi and blood in his body, unable to even touch the threshold of qi cultivation.

Such a person is not even worthy of carrying the Holy Son's shoes, let alone killing him.

It seems that the accident was indeed caused by that so-called "Five Thunder Pearls".

Have you ever seen this person?

The old man flipped his hand, and a portrait unfolded out of thin air, depicting the white-robed holy son.

"I've seen it!"

Gu Yan glanced at it and immediately nodded vigorously:

"That's the madman! He's quite handsome, but not very bright. He insisted that I was some important person. As a result, he was blown up by the Five Thunder Pearl and disappeared without a trace. The officials said he was blown to ashes."

"Blown to ashes..."

The old man muttered to himself, a murderous intent surging in his eyes.

The Holy Son carries the sect's most precious treasure; how could mere mortal firearms possibly destroy it?

Unless... someone beat them to it and took it.

"Besides that madman, who else came last night?" the old man pressed.

Gu Yan's eyes darted around, as if recalling something, then he lowered his voice and said:

"Yes! Just before that madman came in, I think I saw a figure flash across the roof. That person was carrying a sword and was incredibly fast, disappearing in a flash! After the madman came in, he was cursing and swearing, as if he was chasing someone."

If you're going to make something up, then make something decent.

A master swordsman is always the best scapegoat in the cultivation world.

The old man frowned slightly upon hearing this.

Sword cultivator?

That makes sense.

If a righteous sword cultivator happened to pass by, killed the holy son, stole the treasure, and then framed this mortal shop, it would indeed be reasonable.

"snort."

The old man snorted coldly and turned to leave.

He had no interest in killing such insignificant mortals, lest he dirty his hands and attract the flies of the Demon Suppression Division.

As he reached the door, the old man suddenly stopped and casually tossed out a silver ingot, which landed squarely on the counter, embedding itself three inches deep into the wood.

"Give me the best paper figure in your shop."

Gu Yan was stunned for a moment, then overjoyed. He scrambled to the shelf and picked up the most elaborately painted and thickly rouged paper maid:

"Great Master, you have excellent taste! This is my shop's prized possession, 'Spring Flower.' Look at her figure, her eyes and eyebrows..."

The old man glanced at the vulgar paper figure with disgust, then with a wave of his sleeve, he rolled it up and it disappeared into the end of the street as a wisp of gray wind.

He bought the paper figure not for appreciation, but to use his "tracking technique" to see if he could use the aura emanating from it to find clues about the "sword-bearer".

Of course, he was destined to be disappointed.

Only after the old man's breath had completely disappeared did Gu Yan slowly stand up from the ground and pat the dust off his backside.

He looked at the silver ingot deeply embedded in the counter and a cold smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

"Old man, trying to make trouble out of my paper dolls? You'd better watch out."

Inside the paper figure's belly was a bad luck charm meticulously drawn by Gu Yan.

Although it wouldn't harm a Foundation Establishment cultivator, it would be more than enough to annoy them and cause them a minor misfortune at a crucial moment.

Just then, a red firework suddenly rose from the direction of the Demon Suppression Division.

That was the highest level of warning.

It seems the paper crane has been delivered.

"The wind has risen, and the rain should fall soon."

Gu Yan walked to the door, looked at the rolling dark clouds in the distance, and reached out to catch a drop of rain.

The rain was slightly cool and carried a hint of earthy smell.

This game of chess, which covers Changning County, has finally officially begun.