Chapter 48

Chapter 48

A massive red rabbit was currently crouched in the center of the room, its front paws digging into the floor in an offensive stance. Its crimson eyes stared intently at Chu Yue, watching him like a predator.

That rabbit was none other than the one from the paper cutting they had bought from the woman’s stall earlier that day for comparison.

He had never imagined that this rabbit would actually come to life, let alone trip him up at such a critical moment.

Yet the reality was right before his eyes-this rabbit was truly alive!

Chu Yue’s expression darkened.

He could accept the two paper puppets, and he would have resigned himself to fate even if the things under the bed crawled out, but what was this rabbit supposed to be? A disaster he had brought upon himself?

He glanced at the wound on his shoulder. Because of its location, even a slight movement of his other arm sent a piercing pain through him.

However, he ignored it. The candles in the room were lit, and Guan Doujin no longer needed Shen Yubi’s instructions.

Turning his head, he saw that the man had already joined the fray.

Chu Yue kept his eyes fixed on the rabbit. Under its watchful gaze, he snapped the candle in his hand into several pieces and lit them one by one.

The rabbit continued to stare at him, looking both cunning and wary. Chu Yue didn’t intend to make it his first target for the fire.

Taking advantage of the moment while the two paper puppets were locked in combat with the others, he made a feint and threw a candle piece at the paper puppet closest to him.

Startled, the rabbit opposite him lunged forward, pouncing directly at him.

Though Chu Yue managed to dodge, its front claws still grazed him. His white inner robe was instantly stained red, leaving only a few tattered strips hanging from his arm.

His arm recoiled uncontrollably. Compared to the wound on his shoulder, this injury was minor. He looked up.

The candle rolled across the floor, but the expected flames did not erupt. When the fire hit the paper puppet, it was as if it had struck some fireproof material; it didn’t leave a single mark on its body.

Chu Yue frowned. The paper puppets were actually immune to fire.

With the other two occupied with the paper puppets, he was left to face the rabbit alone. Logically, this should have been the easiest task, yet he was the only one who had been wounded.

If the situation remained at this stalemate, they would definitely be at a disadvantage. He didn’t know if there were more paper puppets outside, and they couldn’t afford to find out.

Right at that moment, Chu Yue heard that familiar sound again.

Click.

Click.

Chu Yue’s expression stiffened. He had forgotten that there was a group of unknown entities under the bed, waiting for their moment.

He shifted his footing, keeping the bed within his line of sight.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw several small red figures rush out from beneath the bed.

They were a swarm of Little Paper Figures, only about ten centimeters tall. One after another, they squeezed through the gap under the bed-some sideways, some face-up, some crawling on all fours.

In this situation, he had no way of telling if these little figures were the same as the ones in the paper cutting on the bed canopy.

As the dense swarm of little things rushed out, Chu Yue felt his heart tighten and quickly called out a warning to the other two.

He braced himself, ready for the worst.

But after the Little Paper Figures rushed out, they ignored the men entirely. Instead, they sprinted toward the two paper puppets and the rabbit.
A massive swarm of Little Paper Figures rushed past their feet, leaving Guan Doujin and Shen Yubi momentarily unsure of where to step.

However, just like Chu Yue, they watched as these Little Paper Figures bypassed them and charged straight toward their opponents.

When the two paper puppets saw these tiny creatures, their movements stuttered for a fraction of a second.

For some reason, Chu Yue thought he could see fear on their unchanging faces.

Once the Little Paper Figures reached them, they began climbing up the paper puppets’ legs one by one.

They moved with incredible speed. In no time, each paper puppet was covered in so many figures that they were nearly submerged under the swarm.

No matter how the two paper puppets kicked and thrashed, or how the rabbit sprinted wildly around the room, the Little Paper Figures remained firmly stuck to them.

Chu Yue didn’t understand what was happening, and Shen Yubi and Guan Doujin were equally baffled.

These Little Paper Figures didn’t seem to be on the same side as the ones that had entered from outside; in fact, they were actively causing them trouble.

This turn of events left the three men unsure of how to proceed.

However, the Little Paper Figures possessed no real combat strength, relying entirely on their overwhelming numbers. As time passed, they began to show signs of fatigue.

At that moment, Chu Yue noticed a few Little Paper Figures running toward the candle he had thrown earlier. Several of them worked together to lift the candle and carry it back toward him.

Chu Yue looked at the Little Paper Figures, then at the candle in his hand, and seemed to understand their intention.

His grip tightened. Finally, as the rabbit dashed past, he grabbed it by the neck and slammed the candle down hard against its body.

The smell of burning paper instantly filled the air, followed immediately by a bright flame erupting from the rabbit.

There was no scream, yet as he watched the rabbit roll on the ground, Chu Yue seemed to hear a chorus of ghostly wails in his ears.

The creature that had been fireproof was now burning, fueled by the Little Paper Figures.

The Little Paper Figures really were helping them!

Seeing this, Chu Yue didn’t hesitate any longer. He took the remaining two candle stubs, one in each hand, and hurled them at the two paper puppets.

Just like the rabbit, as the Little Paper Figures caught fire, the two paper puppets were engulfed in flames.

The two paper puppets leaped and scrambled around the room, but every time they tried to touch something flammable, they were kicked back by the men.

They must have been made of a substance that was truly difficult to ignite, as it took nearly ten minutes for them to finally burn away.

A foul, acrid stench lingered in the room.

It wasn’t the smell of burnt paper; on closer inspection, it smelled more like burning grease.

Shen Yubi walked over to the remains of the two paper puppets and used a chopstick to poke through the pile of ashes.

Some parts had turned black. He picked through the debris, crushed a piece between his fingertips, and brought it to his nose to sniff.

“It’s Corpse Oil.”

He uttered the words calmly.

Chu Yue froze for a moment before it clicked.

It wasn’t that he hadn’t heard of such a thing; on the contrary, he had heard of it many times. It was a common trope in horror movies.

He hadn’t expected to encounter it here today. So, these things had been soaked in Corpse Oil. But why would being soaked in Corpse Oil make them fireproof? What was the logic behind that?