Chapter 47

Chapter 47

Perhaps due to a preconceived bias, Chu Yue felt the paper puppet’s movements were somewhat sleazy.

The creature had casually placed the knife by Guan Doujin’s pillow, and its hands moved without the slightest hesitation. It began shaking out the neatly folded clothes one by one.

It rummaged here and felt around there.

Handfuls of loose silver and banknotes were pulled from the clothing pockets and placed on the table, then bundled together with the jade pendants and hairpins the trio had removed before bed.

The creature was busy at work, and judging by its methodical movements, it was clearly a repeat offender.

Chu Yue was quite surprised; he had expected a terrifying and difficult Monster, but it turned out to be a thief.

After packing the bundle of goods, the paper puppet turned back around.

It picked up the knife and looked at the three of them, having already decided who would be its first victim today.

Chu Yue noticed it was aiming for Guan Doujin. The puppet raised the knife high; if it fell, it would surely carve a bloody hole in a person’s body.

The sharp blade glinted coldly under the candlelight, but as it descended, someone suddenly caught it.

Guan Doujin’s eyes snapped open, and he lunged upward to grab the paper puppet’s wrist.

“Hey! My friend, it’s not very polite to sneak into someone’s room without a word, is it? And carrying a weapon, too. What’s the plan? Robbery and murder?”

The paper puppet clearly hadn’t expected him to wake up suddenly. It staggered back a few steps from his shove, though its face remained expressionless.

Guan Doujin rolled off the bed, standing barefoot on the floor, his eyes fixed unblinkingly on the paper puppet.

Shen Yubi and Chu Yue sat up as well.

“Is this the thing that killed that woman?” Shen Yubi looked the paper puppet-which only reached Guan Doujin’s waist-up and down. “Don’t tell me you can’t even handle this thing.”

Guan Doujin chuckled. “I know you’re too lazy to move. Just watch and learn, Lord Shen.”

Realizing the situation, the paper puppet retreated a few steps instead of continuing its charge.

Judging by its movements, it seemed to be glaring at them with its wide eyes.

From the way the paper puppet had just stepped back, Chu Yue could tell this thing wasn’t simple.

Despite its thin limbs and paper body, its strength was actually quite significant.

Unlike Shen Yubi, Chu Yue didn’t joke around; he cautioned Guan Doujin, “Be careful.”

The paper puppet was so small that it wouldn’t be easy for Guan Doujin to deal with it.

Guan Doujin didn’t let his guard down either. With a flick of his wrist, a longsword appeared out of thin air.

Chu Yue was momentarily stunned before quickly realizing it must be an item Guan Doujin kept in his inventory.

The paper puppet couldn’t speak, but its body was exceptionally agile. It took the initiative and lunged at Guan Doujin.

Guan Doujin stepped aside to dodge and threw a kick.

However, as his foot connected, Guan Doujin was secretly surprised.

The sensation was wrong; there was no weight to it.

Kicking a pebble could send it flying several meters, but what about kicking a piece of paper?

The paper puppet’s body was too flexible. When he kicked it, the edges of the paper almost wrapped around his foot.

Before they could put any distance between them, the paper puppet entangled him again.

Right at that moment, the candle in the room went out.

Guan Doujin’s movements faltered as he retreated from his spot, immediately feeling something brush past his arm.

In the darkness, the fight became uneven.

Guan Doujin had good eyesight, but it was impossible to track a thin slip of paper in such pitch-black conditions.

He could only barely dodge when he caught a glint of cold steel.

Shen Yubi sat cross-legged on the bed, his eyes closed.

“One step left. Right waist. Parry.”
Clang-!

The sound of cold weapons clashing rang out in the darkness.

Chu Yue glanced at the person beside him; Shen Yubi was actually directing Guan Doujin.

Guan Doujin laughed heartily and shouted, “Keep it coming!”

He didn’t need to prompt him; Shen Yubi’s next instructions were already being delivered.

“Two steps forward. Lower right rear, slash.”

“Stay put. Turn, thrust.”

“One step back. Press the arm, upward parry.”

His instructions came one after another. Chu Yue couldn’t see clearly what was happening in the dark, but judging by the sounds coming from that direction, he could tell that every one of Shen Yubi’s tips was concise and hit the mark.

One had to admire the rapport between the two. Shen Yubi quickly adjusted every sentence based on the paper puppet’s movements, and Guan Doujin had to follow them unconditionally to achieve the current results.

If he had hesitated for even a second, things wouldn’t have gone so smoothly.

“It’s no use! I can’t cut through it at all. What the hell is this thing made of?”

No one knew the situation on the field better than Guan Doujin.

He was certain he had stabbed that paper puppet several times, but it hadn’t had the slightest effect.

In particular, when he slashed down, it clearly felt like paper, yet it was as tough as cowhide-impossible to cut and slightly elastic.

“I’ll go get the fire starter,” Chu Yue said, moving past Shen Yubi to feel his way toward the bedside.

Given the current situation, cold weapons were completely useless against that paper puppet.

As a paper puppet, it didn’t fear being cut and felt no pain, but Guan Doujin was only flesh and blood.

Under these circumstances, using fire would be much more convenient.

Before he could get off the bed, Shen Yubi’s voice suddenly changed.

“Another one just came in through the door. Watch out!”

Chu Yue’s expression tightened. Ignoring everything else, he scrambled off the bed.

While it was difficult to see the paper puppets in the room, large objects like the table still had a blurry silhouette.

He stayed as far away from the fighting as possible, using Shen Yubi’s words to estimate the range of the combat and adjust his own path accordingly.

Guan Doujin was usually the one to light the lamps in the room, and he always tossed the fire starter onto the table afterward.

Chu Yue stood before the table, his hands searching blindly across its surface.

However, there was nothing on the table except for a candlestick and a tea set; the only other thing was the bundle of valuables the paper puppet had scavenged from them earlier.

Since it wasn’t on the table, he didn’t hesitate and pulled open the bundle.

A pile of silver pieces, large and small, lay inside along with their personal ornaments. Fortunately, the fire starter felt different from those items, and after a few quick gropes, he had it in his hand.

He pulled off the cap and blew on it a few times. Locating the candlestick, Chu Yue prepared to light the candle.

Behind him, Shen Yubi suddenly shouted, “Watch out!”

Chu Yue looked up and saw a life-sized paper puppet he hadn’t seen before, lunging at him with a small knife.

Now that he saw it, dodging the strike wasn’t difficult for Chu Yue.

However, just as he took a step back, a gust of wind came from behind him, and a sizable object slammed hard into the small of his back.

He hadn’t been standing firmly to begin with. Hit by the object, his body pitched forward instead of backward, and he slammed directly onto the table.

At the critical moment, he jerked his head to the side, and the opponent’s short blade plunged straight into his shoulder.

Chu Yue’s body stiffened. He froze for only a second, just long enough to raise his hand and light the candlestick in front of him.

An orange-red flame instantly flickered to life, and the room grew significantly brighter.

Setting down the fire starter, Chu Yue raised his other hand and twisted, wrenching the short blade from the paper puppet’s hand.

Dodging its next wave of attacks, Chu Yue stood his ground with the candlestick, finally seeing clearly what had just crashed into him.