Chapter 49: The Paper Effigy Artisan (Requesting Monthly Votes)

Ji Yun could think of this.

The two professionals from the Special Investigation Bureau naturally thought of it as well.

Wu Feng and Zhang Xiaonan exchanged glances, both seeing the trembling light in each other's pupils.

The situation had grown complex to the point of sending chills down their spines.

Intuition told Wu Feng that staying any longer would likely lead to serious trouble.

He decisively stated, "No, we have to leave here as soon as possible!"

Zhang Xiaonan nodded as well, "Mm!"

Being official personnel after all, they did not abandon the few college students present.

Zhang Xiaonan turned to look at the group and proposed, "You can either stay here and wait for us, or come with us to find the source of the resentment. But no matter which option you choose, we cannot guarantee your safety; we can only protect you within the limits of our abilities."

"I'll go with you."

"I'm going too."

"..."

Xia栗 and the others had long been scared out of their wits; how could they dare stay here alone?

Everyone knew that the two from the Special Investigation Bureau were their reliance, and one after another expressed their desire to follow.

......

Ji Yun and Zhao Kai naturally chose to follow the main group out.

This time, the group did not run around in a panic; instead, they huddled close together and slowly made their way up the stairwell.

Sure enough, the staircase was a loop.

Even though they walked upward from the fourth floor, the next floor up was still the third floor.

And going up one more floor brought them back to the fourth floor.

To verify their previous hypothesis,

they walked upward five times, and as expected, they returned to the room where the fill light had been left behind.

Now that the game was over and the rules no longer bound them,

Ji Yun also spoke of the corpse of "Song Wei" he had seen in the restroom.

Since Wu Feng and Zhang Xiaonan wanted to investigate, the group had no choice but to follow them to the restroom.

Upon seeing the corpse on the ceiling with its gruesome expression of death, everyone felt their scalps tingle.

However, with many people present generating a strong aura of vitality, the level of fright was far less than when Ji Yun had come alone earlier.

Still, Xia栗 and the others were seeing a tragically killed corpse for the very first time, and each of them shivered continuously.

Seeing the corpse, Zhao Kai admired Ji Yun's courage to the highest degree.

Walking out of the restroom, the two of them lagged behind the group, and the fatty whispered, "Brother Yun, when you went to the restroom alone earlier, weren't you scared shitless seeing that corpse? Damn, just now when I saw a human face on the ceiling, it almost scared my soul right out of me."

Ji Yun replied, "Of course I was badly scared."

He also realized that after coming out of the restroom just now, only the fatty did not suspect him.

Everyone else's attitude toward him clearly held a faint trace of wariness.

Even the two extraordinary individuals looked at him in a subtly strange way.

After all, Song Wei had gone to the restroom and been killed by a ghost.

Yet Ji Yun had gone by himself and returned alive.

Everyone had witnessed the terrifying scene of the corpse hidden on the ceiling, and any normal person would have been scared half to death—what right did he have to come back alive?

It would be a wonder if he weren't suspected.

Ji Yun did not intend to hide it either, and recounted the matter of the "Nine-Word True Mantra."

This was common folkloric knowledge, not some closely guarded secret.

Hearing this, Wu Feng, who was leading the way, suddenly understood and praised, "This classmate is right. If you ever encounter a situation, shout out the Nine-Word True Mantra."

Zhang Xiaonan on the side also took the opportunity to explain the utility of the Nine-Word True Mantra.

After hearing this, everyone realized that Senior Xia栗 was a fake medium,

while there seemed to be a real one in the group who understood a bit, namely Ji Yun.

......

Finding no useful clues on this floor, the group continued upward.

Soon, they arrived once more at the fourth floor of another time node.

It was still covered in dust, looking as though no one had ever visited.

As soon as they stepped up this time, everyone seemed to have a premonition, and their gazes involuntarily turned toward the windowsill.

Sure enough!

The moment they stepped up, they saw a figure in white standing on the windowsill.

At the exact instant the group arrived, that white figure leapt down.

With a dull "thud,"

the sound of the corpse crashing against the ground made everyone's hearts skip a beat.

Wu Feng and Zhang Xiaonan hurried to the windowsill to check, and Ji Yun followed along.

Upon looking, the posture of the corpse was different from the previous one once again.

It wasn't the same body!

This was the third one...

Ji Yun still didn't understand what the ghosts in this墟境 (Realm of Ruins) meant by making them watch a series of sequential suicides.

A reenactment of pre-death memories?

As he was thinking this, the next second, a plot almost identical to the previous one unfolded.

The moment the white figure jumped to its death, a chilling aura swept across everyone's backs.

Looking back, in the pitch-black corridor, the familiar "ghost shadow" had indeed returned!

Wu Feng reacted extremely quickly, kicking off the ground and aggressively charging toward the doorway.

"Thud!"

With a single punch thrown, green ghost fire burst forth on the ghost shadow's chest.

Yet unexpectedly, this punch failed to ignite the ghost shadow.

Instead, Wu Feng was pushed back several meters by the recoil of the shockwave.

.......

"Has this ghost gotten stronger again?"

Seeing this, Ji Yun's intuition told him that their exploration strategy might have gone wrong somewhere.

Only now did everyone clearly see the ghost shadow for the first time.

It looked like a translucent gelatinous human being, with countless tadpole-like, profound runes floating inside its body, along with a rakshasa mask.

The moment this ghostly entity appeared, everyone immediately felt a soul-shaking chill.

Ji Yun knew this was spiritual pressure—

the pressure that the soul could perceive.

Ji Yun glanced sideways at the fatty and the others; all of them were trembling with fear.

Being able to make ordinary people feel spiritual anomalies meant it was at least at the "Vengeful Ghost" level.

Ji Yun's expression turned stern, and deep doubt filled his heart: "It seems there is such a ghostly entity on every floor... But strangely, the previous two were only grievance spirits, so why is this one a vengeful ghost? Growing stronger and stronger... And the rakshasa masks are different too. What on earth does this mean?"

......

"Thud!"

"Thud!"

"Thud!"

"..."

With ghost fire wrapping around his hands, Wu Feng engaged in a fierce battle with the vengeful-ghost-tier entity.

It had to be said that as someone dual-cultivating martial arts and spiritual techniques, Wu Feng was truly strong.

His combat posture was overbearing and striking.

Likely afraid of collateral damage to the ordinary people in the room, he drew the ghostly entity out into the corridor.

One could only hear the whistling of punch forces and the bursting of green fire.

Man and ghost fought a fiercely intense battle.

Seeing that her partner had not yet resolved the ghost entity, Zhang Xiaonan did not stay idle either; she suddenly pulled two sheets of oiled paper from her pouch.

Unfolding them, they turned out to be two flat, color-painted paper dolls.

Ji Yun narrowed his eyes slightly at the sight, instantly guessing her extraordinary ability: "A paper-craft artisan?"

While the others were still wondering why she had taken out these paper cutouts, they watched as Zhang Xiaonan bit her fingertip, dotted blood pupils onto the eyes of the two paper dolls, and chanted under her breath, "Awaken spirits!"

A bizarre scene immediately played out.

Right before everyone's eyes, the two paper cutouts inflated like balloons, transforming in the blink of an eye into a boy and a girl of exact human height.

Blush was painted on their faces, looking eerie no matter how one gazed at them.

Zhang Xiaonan formed a sword-finger with her hand and gave a soft shout, "Refined paper underworld soldiers, go!"

The two paper dolls seemed to spring to life, jumping as they charged toward the battlefield.

Three against one, and the masked ghostly entity finally fell to a disadvantage.

.......

Seeing two paper dolls join the battle alive, this unscientific scene left Xia栗 and the others in the room completely speechless.

Zhao Kai beside them also swallowed hard and exclaimed in disbelief, "Those paper dolls are alive..."

Although Ji Yun knew that the "paper-craft artisans" shared a traditional Daoist heritage just like his family's coffin shop, this was his first time seeing it in reality.

Watching the two paper-crafted dolls, identical to real people, trading blows evenly with the ghostly entity, he couldn't help but marvel inwardly.

The craft of paper dolls, much like corpse drivers, possessed a sectarian lineage.

You couldn't just buy a few paper dolls and have them fight for you; it required matching spirit-nurturing incantations and secret techniques.

This Zhang Xiaonan should also be an inheritor of some Daoist family.

Paper-craft artisans were among the formidable extraordinary professions capable of fighting multiple opponents at once.

Rumors on the forum had it that among the upper echelons of the Special Investigation Bureau, there were top-tier Daoist masters capable of controlling hundreds of vengeful-ghost-tier paper dolls.

Experts look at the doorway, laymen look at the spectacle.

As a layman watching this, Zhao Kai felt it was the only pity and commented, "My good lord... able to move and jump, if the painting skills were just a bit better, they'd look exactly like real people."

Hearing this, Ji Yun offered a bit of popular science: "It's not that the painting skills are poor. They are intentionally painted this way."

Zhao Kai didn't understand: "Intentionally?"

"Mm."

Ji Yun nodded and explained in a low voice, "If paper dolls look too real, they accumulate malevolence and easily attract unknown underworld entities to possess them, bringing misfortune. That's why those two dots of cinnabar blush were deliberately painted—to allow people to recognize at a glance that they are paper dolls, which also wards off malevolence."

Hearing this without fully comprehending, Zhao Kai marveled, "Brother Yun, you know even this?"

His friend had truly surprised him many times tonight.

Ji Yun didn't explain much.

Much like the coffin shop, paper-craft artisans were fellow sufferers among the declining folk industries.

He still knew a thing or two about it.

Having spent time browsing the gossip forums recently, he also learned that the paper-craft lineage had several Daoist branches passed down through generations.

Among them, the Lu family of Quanzhou was the most famous for paper crafts.

It was said their heritage spanned several hundred years.

Ordinarily, if an ordinary person stayed with underworld spirits for too long, malevolent Qi would invade their body, leading to illness at best or sudden death at worst.

However, extraordinary individuals were half-human and half-ghost to begin with, so they didn't need to worry.

"Crafted paper dolls" were originally custom-made for the dead, but due to demand, they were now custom-made for the living as well.

Since all human tactile sensations could be simulated through spiritual signals,

these simulated paper dolls, enhanced by spiritual entities and charm techniques, could provide sensory experiences even more perfect than real people.

And the greatest advantage of paper dolls was that any appearance could be customized.

One could say that any pleasure humans could imagine, paper dolls could fulfill.

Of course, those were lifestyle-oriented paper dolls with simple functions.

The combat-type paper dolls before them were even more precious.

......

With the help of the two paper-doll underworld soldiers, Wu Feng, currently in fierce battle, quickly gained the upper hand.

Finally seizing an opportunity, he slammed a fist into the vengeful ghost's back, igniting its spiritual body with a single punch.

The masked ghostly entity burned into a pile of ashes within the flames.

The battle concluded, and Wu Feng panted heavily for a few breaths.

Though considered "vengeful-ghost-tier," its techniques were singular and not particularly difficult to deal with.

Ji Yun had also watched the entire battle.

He had a very strange feeling that this masked monster and the jumping seniors didn't seem to belong to the same faction of ghosts.

The two extraordinary individuals also realized the problem.

As Zhang Xiaonan packed up her damaged paper dolls and inspected the residual ghost Qi left on them, she puzzledly stated, "This masked underworld entity is neither a corpse nor a grievance spirit; it leans more toward a later-born spiritual body. That mask should be a 'malignant artifact.' But it's a bit strange—after being killed, no [Soul Sand] was left behind, and the artifact vanished too. Furthermore, it grows stronger the more it is killed; we've likely touched upon some special rule..."

As a paper-craft artisan, she was more sensitive to such later-born underworld spirits than ordinary people.

Though she guessed the mask was a malignant artifact, since the mask had vanished, she couldn't be certain.

Wu Feng also wore a solemn expression, "Mm."

Now they had fallen into a dilemma.

Staying put meant being trapped to death.

Yet continuing to explore meant the monsters they encountered would likely grow increasingly formidable.

Right now, Wu Feng and Zhang Xiaonan could still handle them, but the next one was hard to predict.

The bizarre nature of this realm of ruins didn't stop there.

The looping staircase was a major issue.

Whether going up or down, no one knew when it would end.

This left the two investigators at a loss for what to do.

With neither of them able to make a decision, students like Xia栗 were like clueless geese, able only to foolishly follow along as dead weight.

No one spoke in the room, which fell into a dead silence.

.......

The dim light illuminated eight faces of extreme fright.

Ji Yun could also see that while the strength of these two Special Investigation Bureau investigators was real,

they seemed to lack practical experience in handling realms of ruins.

Moreover, judging from their cooperative tactics earlier, their mindset and handling methods clearly carried a "rigid, by-the-book" aura fresh out of the training camp.

To Ji Yun, they felt even less reliable than the cat-faced old woman and the zombie man he had encountered before.

Dragging this out any longer definitely wouldn't work.

Ji Yun finally spoke up, "I have an idea, though I don't know if it's useful."

With the thighs looking somewhat unreliable, even if he was targeted by ghosts, he could no longer remain silent.

At this prompt, everyone turned their gazes toward him.

Wu Feng asked, "What is it?"

Ji Yun voiced his thoughts: "I don't know if anyone noticed, but we heard a 'nursery rhyme' earlier that mentioned these stairs."

At this reminder, everyone tried their best to recall, and it seemed there had indeed been such a thing.

The ringtone that suddenly sounded the first time they entered the old building and climbed the stairs.

And another time when they made a phone call later.

However, terrified all night, how could they remember whether "stairs" had been mentioned?

Ji Yun's memory was exceptionally good now.

He remembered those lines of the nursery rhyme.

Reminded of this, Wu Feng also seemed to find some inspiration: "That's right!"

Instructors in the training camp had said that everything in a realm of ruins was related to the ghost's obsession.

Clearly, that "nursery rhyme" was no exception.

Zhang Xiaonan on the side couldn't remember the lyrics either, but prompted by this, she thought of a method: "Make a phone call!"

Earlier, calling the police had played the unfinished horror nursery rhyme; perhaps it would work again.

Wu Feng nodded in agreement.

Without much hesitation, Zhang Xiaonan directly dialed the police emergency number.

Almost instantly, the receiver transmitted the terrifying nursery rhyme that had not been finished earlier.

Inside the quiet room, a melodious children's choir-like tune echoed.

Pleasing to the ear.

Yet paired with the lyrics, the atmosphere turned indescribably bizarre.

......

Two little children holding small hands,

The moon cuts ears while walking up and down the stairs,

Third-floor operating lamp, do not, oh do not look back,

Two red leather shoes parked at the morgue;

Hiding beneath the fifth hospital bed is a person.

Eight little girls laughing, not a single shadow to be seen,

The ninth squats on the beam, watching everyone laugh ha-ha.

Broken hands and broken feet, sewn into a new mother.

......

This time, everyone mustered the courage to listen to the entire nursery rhyme.

It would have been fine not listening, but upon hearing it, everyone's expressions froze.

Even Ji Yun, as he listened, felt a malign Qi within the children's voices strike deep into the terror of his soul.

Echoing beside his ears, lingering for a long time.

However, having heard it through,

everyone realized what Ji Yun was talking about.

This nursery rhyme indeed concealed many useful clues.

"Holding small hands" should be a hint about the method of entering the ruin realm by holding ropes together?

"Walking up and down the stairs," viewed now, hinted at the looping nature of the stairwell.

Hearing this, everyone broke out in lingering fear.

At the same time, many prominent and clearly crucial terms appeared in the nursery rhyme.

Third-floor operating lamp, morgue, red leather shoes, bed number five...

It would have been fine without listening, but hearing it made the problem even bigger.

They hadn't encountered a single one of these things!

Which meant that far more terrifying existences were waiting for them in this building.

......

Ji Yun and the two Special Investigation Bureau members knew they had to find the source to escape, and they had to face whatever horrors came their way.

The others didn't have such composure.

The two male students, Zhao Kai and Jiang Tian, were okay; while scared, they at least hadn't completely lost composure.

Xia栗, the exploration live-streamer, had long since seen her goddess halo shattered into pieces. Now, aside from hugging her knees in a corner and weeping tearfully, she had entirely lost her initiative.

Ji Yun glanced at Liao Feifei as well, who was in a similar state.

On the contrary, the girl named Lu Jiu appeared relatively calm.

She just squatted alone in silence, hiding her face in her collar, neither speaking nor crying nor making a fuss.

Wu Feng memorized the contents of the nursery rhyme and quickly analyzed the problem: "This is troublesome. We might not have touched the obsession core of this ruin realm at all."

Zhang Xiaonan also nodded, "Mm. Many keywords in the nursery rhyme point toward a hospital. It seems that if we want to get out, we must first find the [426 Hospital]."

Ji Yun shared this exact thought.

Before this old building was converted into a dormitory, it was the 426 Hospital, and the contents of the nursery rhyme were all hospital-related.

Yet they kept spinning around in the girls' dormitory without ever touching the core of the resentment.

Wu Feng pondered and added, "This is a realm of ruins with overlapping time periods. If I'm not mistaken, if we keep going up the stairs, or perhaps keep going down, we should be able to reach the hospital. The core of the resentment is likely the 'morgue' mentioned in the nursery rhyme."

Logically, that deduction was correct.

Yet another problem arose now.

Should they go up or down at this point?

Normally, morgues were always on the negative first floor.

Yet Dormitory T4 had no negative floors.

At least, not since the school converted it into a dormitory.

Ordinary people could not chime in on topics regarding realms of ruins.

After conferring with each other, Wu Feng and Zhang Xiaonan prepared to explore downward.

After all, they figured the morgue should at least be below.

.......

This time, the two Special Investigation Bureau members did not plan to bring the others along.

Judging by the clues, if the 426 Hospital was the source of the resentment, it would inevitably be even more dangerous.

Dragging along a group of dead weight would only harm others and themselves.

Instead, the malevolent spirits on this floor had already been cleared, making it seem temporarily safe here.

Though scared, Xia栗 and the others had nothing to say after hearing Wu Feng's arrangement.

However, just as the two extraordinary individuals were about to leave, Ji Yun, who had been frowning in thought, suddenly spoke up: "Wait!"

Everyone turned their heads simultaneously, looking at him with doubtful eyes.

Wu Feng turned back to look at him: "What is it?"

Ji Yun pondered for a moment and said, "If our goal is to get out, I have another approach."

Wu Feng looked surprised: "Another approach?"

It was Ji Yun's reminder earlier that had led them to think of that nursery rhyme.

Daring not to ignore any detail, the two extraordinary individuals wore attentive expressions.

Without beating around the bush, Ji Yun stated directly, "Didn't you two say earlier that if we can resolve the obsession of the ghost in this realm of ruins, there's a chance we can get out?"

Without waiting for an answer, he continued, "I have another line of thought. If we bet right, we might have a chance to leave."

With these words spoken, everyone's gazes converged on him.

(PS: Begging for a wave of monthly votes at the beginning of the month, thank you everyone~)