Chapter 39

Chapter 39

Because they were bosses from out of town, the man felt a bit inclined to curry favor.

He didn’t hold back or play hard to get, launching straight into the story of what had happened back then.

“The paper-cutting craft in our West Window Town has been passed down from our ancestors. I hope you won’t laugh at me, Boss, but I’ll be honest with you-this business really doesn’t make any money.”

He shook his head and sighed.

“Paper-cutting isn’t a necessity of life. A rough one costs one wen, a delicate one costs two. People buy window flowers just for a bit of festive cheer. It’s all just red paper in the end, so who’s going to buy the expensive ones? It’s not like they’re collectibles, and wealthy families certainly won’t travel thousands of miles here to look for them. Back then, everyone’s lives were hard.”

His rambling seemed completely unrelated to what they wanted to ask, but the three of them didn’t interrupt. Since they had no other leads anyway, they might as well listen to him chat; they might actually gain something.

“I forget how many years ago it was; I was only about this tall.” The man patted the stall in front of him. “That was our town’s most prosperous time. Every household’s business was doing quite well. We went from only being able to scrape together a bit of meat for the New Year to being able to eat meat every few days. Everyone was smiling more.”

“Back then, if you wanted to talk about the wealthiest household, it had to be Zhou Laoda, who lived on another street.

“It was incredible. He became rich overnight. Not only did he move into a house with blue bricks and large tiles, but he also bought several shops.

“You never saw him taking many orders, but he definitely made a fortune.

“But the good times didn’t last. Less than two months later, something happened to the Zhou Family.”

The man narrowed his eyes, carefully recalling the events of that night.

“I remember it quite clearly. It was the sixteenth day of the sixth lunar month. Zhou Laoda’s son was getting married that day.

“You should have seen the spectacle-tsk, tsk. Red cloth was laid out all the way from the entrance of the Hall to their front door. Big red lanterns hung high. If nothing else, it was a first for our entire neighborhood.

“Of course, the most noteworthy thing was the paper-cutting pasted in the main hall.

“I’m not sure if we’re talking about the same one, but it does sound somewhat similar to what you described.

“It was too big. I was small back then, and my first impression upon seeing that paper-cutting was just how massive it was.”

That was true. A three-meter paper-cutting-never mind a child, even an adult standing before it would say the same thing.

The man looked up at them and couldn’t help but rub his hands together, his eyes flashing.

Chu Yue pulled a silver ingot from his sleeve and placed it on the stall. “We’ll take all the paper-cuttings on your stall, brother.”

The woman beside the man couldn’t control her expression, her face twitching. How could an old story be worth this much?

She quickly snatched up the silver. The man beamed with a smile. “Thank you, Big Boss! Thank you, Big Boss!”

“Continue,” Shen Yubi said impatiently.

“Right, right,” the man complied.

“The Zhou Family’s house was large, so many guests who drank too much stayed the night there. But in the middle of the night, someone heard a strange sound.

“This part is what I heard from my grandfather. I was too young at the time and didn’t hear anything at night.

“They said it was a strange sound, but it wasn’t actually very loud. It was just the sound of water dripping-drip, drop.

“Someone got up in the night and saw a terrifying scene. The little figures on the wedding paper-cutting had actually jumped off the paper and were committing murder.

“They even saw Zhou Laoda and his wife, who were supposed to be resting in their room, collapsed in the wedding hall. Even the son who had just married that day and the daughter-in-law who had just entered the family had met with disaster.”
That scene scared the man so badly that he didn’t even finish his business in the latrine; he just rushed back to his room to call for help.

He managed to gather quite a crowd, and they made a huge fuss searching the place, only to find that there was absolutely no one there.

Zhou Laoda even came out and said the man had one too many and was just talking nonsense.

Not many people took the farce to heart, but less than a month after that incident, Zhou Laoda’s entire family died a violent death.

It was truly pitiful.

All four of them were slumped in the main hall, their faces twisted into hideous masks. By the time they were discovered in the morning, their bodies were already stiff.

I remember having nightmares about that scene for days on end.

As for the person who saw Zhou Laoda’s family dead in the hall in the middle of the night, he went mad the moment he caught sight of the actual corpses in the Zhou Family home.”

Finishing his story, he sighed again. “Big Boss, I’m not just trying to be an alarmist. Those paper-cuts… they really can’t be used. People will die.”

“Where is Zhou Laoda’s house? Is it still there?”

The woman edged closer and spoke up first. “It’s there, it’s there! After what happened back then, no one dared to touch that house. It’s been empty all these years. Look, Boss, just follow this street all the way down. When you see a house with a locust tree out front, turn right. Go to the very end, then turn left, and you’re there.”

Chu Yue glanced at her and tossed over a piece of silver.

The woman didn’t mind that it wasn’t much. She picked it up, bit it to check its authenticity, and then tucked it away gleefully.

Since it was a windfall, she didn’t care that she got less than the man.

Following the route the woman provided, the three of them headed down the street. After walking a considerable distance, they finally saw the locust tree peeking over a wall.

They continued following the directions until they arrived at the entrance of the Zhou Family Mansion.

Over a decade had passed. What was once a grand residence of blue brick and tile was now dilapidated and in ruins.

Cobwebs covered the eaves, and the main gate was splattered with mud from years of rain.

Chu Yue took a look and reached out to push the door.

It didn’t budge; it was locked from the inside.

Guan Doujin didn’t care for such subtleties. He delivered a sharp kick, and the gate let out a loud bang. The door he hit slowly toppled backward, revealing the true state of the mansion.

It clearly hadn’t been used in a long time. Green and yellowed weeds were tangled together, growing waist-high.

Guan Doujin took one look inside and immediately pulled his foot back. He crossed his arms, looking righteous and solemn. “I’m a clumsy fellow, so I won’t go in and cause trouble while you’re looking for things. I’ll stay right here and guard the door for you. I’ll wait for your safe retur-ah!”

A sudden shove hit him from behind. Guan Doujin was ruthlessly kicked inside by Shen Yubi. “No need. I think you’ll do just fine leading the way.”

“No, no, no!” Guan Doujin shook his head frantically, scrambling back in a few quick steps. “You know I’m scared of those things. I’m not going in.”

Guan Doujin was afraid of snakes.

When he was a kid and didn’t know any better, he used to swing them around by their tails. Karma eventually caught up to him when a venomous snake bit him, landing him in the emergency room where he nearly died.

Ever since then, those slimy things had left him traumatized.

Chu Yue asked, “What things?”

Guan Doujin backed away a few more steps and answered, “Snakes.”

Chu Yue, who had already stepped one leg inside, immediately pulled it back upon hearing that.

He looked up at Shen Yubi. “To be honest, I’m deathly afraid of those things too.”

Shen Yubi: “…”

Useless, the lot of them.