Chapter 36: Painting Yin Part 1

Yu Ruoyin secretly memorized Zhuang Huaisu’s words.

Zhuang Huaisu did not like Painting Witches and had not mistreated her either. As they neared Verdant South Courtyard, she tossed a peace talisman to her. “Little girl, be careful.”

“Mm!” Yu Ruoyin softly acknowledged and tucked the peace talisman into her pocket.

She stretched her arms behind her back, and the hands hidden under the red cloth tightly pressed against the coffin board.

Jiang Huaining provided more reassurance than the peace talisman. Her own strength was too weak, and if she developed a hot-tempered flaw on top of that, problems were bound to arise. Yu Ruoyin could only do her best to stay calm and composed.

The closer they got to Verdant South Courtyard, the faster her heart beat. The cowardice deep in her bones made her want to back out.

But she had to grow up eventually.

Not for herself, but to drag the person in the coffin down less.

Once she made up her mind, her steps became much firmer.

She gradually moved to the front. Only when she got close did she notice a paper person sitting in the guard room, with a ledger on the table. It kept its head down, recording something on the ledgerr—it seemed to be… a gift list.

The paper persons also noticed them and turned to look all at once.

Their grayish-white eyeballs slowly rotated, producing a rustling sound. It looked eerie and chilling.

Stared at by them, Yu Ruoyin felt her legs suddenly go soft. She hurriedly glanced back at Zhuang Ciyue, who quickly pulled out her wallet.

Zhuang Huaisu stopped Zhuang Ciyue and handed over a stack of nether coins.

Zhuang Ciyue stuffed the nether coins to the paper person in charge. He bent at the waist and slightly curled its lips. “Four guests from the netherworld, welcome!”

Yu Ruoyin noticed it secretly slip two nether coins out from the stack. Only then did it pass the remaining nether coins into the guard room. After stealthily pocketing two nether coins, the smile on its face became even more exaggerated. The other paper persons in the guard room followed suit, secretly pocketing two nether coins each before counting the amount and entering it into the ledger.

Yu Ruoyin was astonished by the paper persons’ intelligence.

According to the knowledge she had crammed, paper persons reaching this level of intelligence had only two possibilities. One was that the paper effigy master had instinctively enhanced the paper persons’ power. The other was that the ghosts they followed were very powerful, and they had absorbed considerable yin energy from those ghosts, gaining spiritual intelligence.

The other paper persons did not do this. They simply echoed the lead paper person. “Four guests from the netherworld, welcome!”

Four.

That meant they had not sensed Jiang Huaining’s presence.

Had Zhuang Huaisu done something, or was it Jiang Huaining’s own power protecting her?

Either way, it was good news.

Another paper sedan flew out from Verdant South Courtyard. A Red-Clothed Matchmaker still followed beside the sedan. It grinned at Yu Ruoyin. “Follow me, everyone.”

The paper sedan did not look sturdy. Souls had no weight, but they were different.

Especially since she was carrying a coffin on her back.

Yu Ruoyin was still hesitating when Zhuang Huaisu pushed her onto the sedan.

A thin layer of yin energy enclosed Yu Ruoyin. She entered the sedan but did not step on the bottom.

She floated inside the sedan without directly touching the paper sedan.

Fortunately, though the paper sedan looked cramped from the outside, the space inside was vast. It could accommodate her and even the coffin that towered over her.

Zhuang Huaisu was then pushed in by Zhuang Ciyue. The wheelchair and Zhuang Ciyue also floated. Nan He came in last, simply drifting straight in.

Accommodating five people at once made the spacious paper sedan feel cramped.

Zhuang Ciyue was about to complain when Zhuang Huaisu shot her a sharp look.

Perhaps because she was friends with Zhuang Ciyue, facing her elder made Yu Ruoyin nervous too. With just one look from Zhuang Huaisu, she did not dare speak up.

She and Zhuang Ciyue exchanged a glance. The two of them huddled together, both shrinking their heads like a pair of quails.

Nan He silently lowered her gaze along with them, wishing she could hide her head in her collar.

Zhuang Huaisu chuckled but said nothing. She just extended her hand, signaling Zhuang Ciyue to help her up.

Zhuang Ciyue stood behind the wheelchair. Changing positions in the cramped space was extremely difficult.

Zhuang Ciyue stealthily poked Yu Ruoyin’s arm. Yu Ruoyin immediately extended her hand, though she feared Zhuang Huaisu might not want her help.

Fortunately, Zhuang Huaisu was clear-headed and had a good sense of the big picture.

Knowing Yu Ruoyin’s position was more convenient, she placed her hand on it. Borrowing Yu Ruoyin’s strength, she stood up. Unlike them, Zhuang Huaisu’s feet touched the bottom of the paper sedan. Strangely, this living person did not break through the obviously paper-made sedan—not even leaving footprints.

The hand resting on the back of her hand weighed almost nothing.

Yu Ruoyin looked down and saw faint dark red veins under Zhuang Huaisu’s skin.

She lightly walked to the innermost part and sat on the sedan bench.

Dark red also floated faintly at Zhuang Huaisu’s neck, and her skin had gained a translucent quality. Yu Ruoyin was not so blind as to fail to recognize the signs of ghostification on her body.

This sedan must have the power to verify visitors’ identities. Aura could be altered, but weight could not. That was why they all floated, while Zhuang Huaisu, whose body was fully ghostified and even her weight reduced, could sit and let the sedan identify her.

Yu Ruoyin figured this out clearly, and in doing so, grew curious.

Zhuang Ciyue had said that top Painting Yin Masters had ghostified parts of their bodies. After all, the more ghost energy a Painting Yin Master could accommodate, the stronger they became. Ghostifying parts of the body was undoubtedly the best way to hold more ghost energy. But full ghostification meant no longer being human. No matter how powerful Zhuang Huaisu was, she should have only ghostified parts of her body. To fully ghostify still required witchcraft, yet there were no witch marks on her face.

Was she so powerful that she could fully ghostify without witch marks, or was there another explanation?

Yu Ruoyin was different from Zhuang Ciyue.

Zhuang Ciyue did not like to think. Yu Ruoyin’s mind never stopped.

“Jie—” A chilling laugh sounded outside the paper sedan. After a gust of wind, the paper sedan carrying them lifted off. Yu Ruoyin and the others were already floating, but the obvious jolt made them lurch forward involuntarily. Yu Ruoyin was bumped on her left arm by Zhuang Ciyue and lost her balance.

Zhuang Huaisu saw the coffin nearing the sedan’s top and hurriedly reached out to pull her.

She used some force, but with the heavy coffin on Yu Ruoyin’s back, she could not catch her breath. Her whole body bent under the coffin’s weight.

Yu Ruoyin nearly fell into Zhuang Huaisu’s arms, her chin colliding with her shoulder.

The fully ghostified body was abnormally hard. Yu Ruoyin’s teeth nearly shattered from the impact.

“Hiss…” She drew in a sharp breath of cold air and hurried to steady herself. Her gaze swept across Zhuang Huaisu’s profile and froze.

Up close, Zhuang Huaisu’s face actually had layers.

The extremely thin and fine skin was indistinct even this close. If Yu Ruoyin did not have spiritual energy in her body now, she might not have seen it.

Zhuang Huaisu also noticed Yu Ruoyin’s gaze. She said coldly, “Keep staring, and I’ll dig out your eyes.”

Startled, Yu Ruoyin straightened up with Zhuang Ciyue’s pull from behind.

Zhuang Ciyue was very dissatisfied with Zhuang Huaisu. “Granny, what’s wrong with letting Xiao Yu take a look? It’s not like it’ll cost you a piece of flesh.”

“Heh.” Zhuang Huaisu brushed off Zhuang Ciyue as usual. “The little girl is interesting. She doesn’t look at her pretty wife but stares at an old hag like me.”

Zhuang Ciyue puffed up in anger. “Granny, Boss Jiang is in the coffin.”

“Oh, she can open the coffin and look.” She lowered her head and idly fiddled with her fingers.

Zhuang Ciyue ignored her and grabbed Yu Ruoyin’s arm. “Xiao Yu, if your eyes are bored, look at me. Or look at Nan He. She’s not as pretty but younger!”

“Sister Yue, my eyes aren’t bored.”

Yu Ruoyin pulled away from Zhuang Ciyue’s hand. Her gaze fell on Zhuang Huaisu again.

It was not that she wanted to look—it was too strange.

Zhuang Huaisu seemed to have more than one face.

Truth be told, Zhuang Huaisu was a beautiful old lady. Her bright eyes were not cloudy and dim like those of ordinary elders. Her face had piled-up wrinkles, but they did not detract from her fair and translucent skin, her ink-black brows like distant mountains, or her hair—gray yet still fluffy and thick. The signs of aging did not diminish the refinement of her features.

She was not fat, nor did she appear shriveled and emaciated.

She must have been very beautiful in her youth.

Even in old age, she was an elegant and dignified lady. But…

Why did her face have layers?

Confusion weighed on her heart, filling her mind.

This was different from Jiang Huaining’s matter—she did not need to avoid imagining it, so she could not stop thinking about it.

Zhuang Ciyue could not help but cover her eyes. “Xiao Yu, what are you doing?”

“Sister Yue, Granny Zhuang, she…” Yu Ruoyin pulled down Zhuang Ciyue’s hand, wanting to voice her doubts. Before she could, she met Zhuang Huaisu’s warning gaze.

Immediately, she felt a stream of energy wrap around her throat.

The energy was very cold and icy, identical to ghost energy.

Yu Ruoyin averted her gaze and shut her mouth.

The energy coiling around her neck soon dispersed. Yu Ruoyin clutched her throat and stealthily gasped for breath. Zhuang Ciyue sensed something was off. “Granny, did you bully Xiao Yu?”

“Quiet.”

Zhuang Huaisu was not just telling Zhuang Ciyue to shut up—she was telling her too.

Yu Ruoyin understood Zhuang Huaisu’s implication and subconsciously touched the coffin.

Zhuang Huaisu had no Painting Witch marks—none on her face at all.

No wonder Zhuang Huaisu and the others dared to chase the jade puppet. They truly had great skill. If Xia Yu had not interfered back then, using a barrier to attack them, they might not have been injured so badly.

Yu Ruoyin gave up on voicing her inner confusion. After all, she could not speak it now even if she wanted to.

The paper sedan fell quiet again until sudden clamor erupted outside.

The noisy voices flooded into their ears. Yu Ruoyin instinctively covered her ears, but plenty of sounds still drifted in.

“Drink up! We can’t get wine this good usually!”

“Try this meat of mine—fragrant!”

“Sister Zhan is so generous. When do we ever live this well? Haha!”

“If something goes wrong…”

“Shut your crow’s mouth. What could go wrong? Yin City’s Yin Messengers are all in our hands. This barrier is…”

“Don’t worry. Outsiders won’t discover it. Even if they do, heh, they won’t get off easy. None of those Taoists will get a message out. By the time the Netherworld reacts, Sister Zhan will have already taken her new bride.”

“…”

The four exchanged looks, all vaguely sensing something was wrong.

Bang—

With a loud noise, the paper sedan suddenly shattered.

Yu Ruoyin and the others also saw the situation outside. Tables and chairs were piled along the roadway through Verdant South Courtyard. Fresh fruits and incense candles sat on the tables. What drew Yu Ruoyin’s attention most were the tables laden with meat. Just one glance made her stomach churn.

The meat on those tables was human flesh!

Human flesh!

Some tables had meat already sliced into thin strips with sharp tools, laid out on cloths.

Others were hacked into chunks. Yu Ruoyin could clearly see intact arms and legs.

Without exception, a human head sat in the center of every table. Hair mixed with flesh dripped blood downward. They resembled prime cuts for selection, with the central head symbolizing the person’s pre-death status and serving as one criterion for choice.

The two tables closest to them held unsliced meat. Their heads had not been severed, but their clothes had been stripped off and padded under them. They lay naked on the tables, palms and ankles pierced and locked by long nails. They were already dead, but their bulging eyes still oozed blood.