Chapter 56

Chapter 56

Guan Doujin looked at the silent Innkeeper and crossed his arms. “I say, Innkeeper, since we’ve already reached this point, there’s no need to be secretive anymore. What else is there that can’t be said?”

The Innkeeper didn’t speak. It took a long time before he finally let out a chuckle.

“You’re right. There’s nothing that can’t be said.”

A light flickered in his eyes as he looked up and said slowly, “The Paper-Cut Goddess didn’t lose to the evil god; she simply thought she had already destroyed the thing.”

As he spoke, he seemed to fall into a memory.

“If I had to put it one way, that evil god and the Paper-Cut Goddess shared many similarities, yet they were also very different.

“Both she and he were born from statues, gaining consciousness after years of consuming the incense and offerings of the people.

“The Paper-Cut Goddess can bestow spiritual power upon paper cuts, allowing the things depicted on them to take form. The evil god could do the same.

“However, the Paper-Cut Goddess can leave her statue to manifest, while he could not.

“In other words…

“If the statue he resided in was destroyed and his incense offerings were cut off, that evil god would vanish into thin air, ceasing to exist.”

He paused before continuing:

“The Paper-Cut Goddess did exactly that. She didn’t just destroy the statue in Zhou Laoda’s home; she didn’t spare a single Evil God Statue held by the rest of the townsfolk. She was quite certain she hadn’t missed a single one.

“Therefore, in her understanding, there had long been no evil god left in this town.”

“That’s strange then,” Guan Doujin said, looking puzzled. “Since she found the culprit, why did she still kill Zhou Laoda’s entire family?”

“Displaced anger,” Chu Yue mused for a few seconds, offering a guess.

“That might not be entirely accurate,” the Innkeeper said. “What Zhou Laoda did was despicable enough on its own.

“But the reason the Paper-Cut Goddess wiped out his family was more likely because they had destroyed the town’s original peace.

“They broke the ancient simplicity that had been passed down through generations. His hands were stained with blood; he had become a base, shameless thief and murderer.

“Such a person should not, and did not have the right to, live in this town.

“The Paper-Cut Goddess inherited the will of that girl to protect this town.

“From the story, it’s clear that the girl was very kind-hearted, and the townspeople were very simple and honest.

“The Paper-Cut Goddess would not allow such a person to live.”

Once he finished, a momentary silence fell over the Hall.

“Heh.” The silence didn’t last long before the Innkeeper laughed. He looked at Chu Yue. “You’re right. That is exactly what she thought.”

Such a despicable and shameless person, someone so devoid of a moral compass that they would lead the entire town into eternal damnation…

They didn’t deserve to live. They didn’t deserve to stay in this town.

They didn’t even deserve to be the descendants of those simple villagers!

They had to die! Only by having their souls tortured day and night could they repent and offer solace to the spirits of the dead.

Shen Yubi said, “But the events of the past have resurfaced. The evil god has descended upon this town once more, yet the Paper-Cut Goddess has taken no action.”

According to the introduction they received when entering this game, their group of merchants was already the latest in an unknown number of victims.

The town’s festival happened once a year. It had been at least five years since the lively celebration began turning into the desolate scene it was today.

The Paper-Cut Goddess had handled a similar case over thirty years ago. She should have realized something was wrong the moment the first incident occurred this time.

Yet many years had passed, and just a few days ago, another Player had been killed.

The Paper-Cut Goddess hadn’t made a move this time.

Or rather, she hadn’t made any obvious move.

Now they could be certain that the paper cuts pasted on the ceilings of their rooms all came from the Paper-Cut Goddess. They might have been ordinary decorations, or perhaps they were a thread of hope she left for those in the rooms.

That was why those Little Paper Figures had the ability to come to life and had even helped them that night.

There was no one else it could be besides the Paper-Cut Goddess.

“The small idol I saw at Zhou Chun’s place today should belong to the evil god. The Paper-Cut Goddess hasn’t dealt with it yet. However, that woman died in a strange way. Could it have been the Paper-Cut Goddess’s doing?”

Shen Yubi’s finger tapped slowly on the table. The candle flame flickered with his movements.

Their conversation had been intermittent, and the story told by the burly man had been halting. The night was already deep.

The Players upstairs had already fallen into slumber.

Only the four of them remained in the Hall, their shadows dancing on the walls.

Shen Yubi narrowed his eyes and looked at the man opposite him. “I’ll have to ask you about that. Isn’t that right, Innkeeper? Or perhaps, I should call you the Paper-Cut Goddess.”

Chu Yue arched an eyebrow but showed no other reaction.

Guan Doujin looked back and forth between the two but didn’t speak either.

Clearly, they had all realized this; they just hadn’t pointed it out as bluntly as Shen Yubi.

The events of the past were so hidden that few people knew of them. Those who had worshipped the evil god back then would never have publicized the matter, nor would they know the various details between the Paper-Cut Goddess and the evil god.

The only one who could know these events and details so clearly was a participant from that time.

It was just unclear what kind of mood she was in now as she recounted these events.

These things had been happening again for several years. Why hadn’t she acted again?

She had opened an Inn in the town and hidden herself among the townspeople, so she must be very aware of what had happened over the years. In fact, many incidents must have occurred right here in her Inn.

For example, this time, even at this very moment, strange things were still frequently happening in the town.

Every time the merchants died, some town residents died with them. What was that about?

When the dark-skinned man heard these words and saw the reactions of the three, he knew they had guessed his identity.

He sat where he was as mist began to rise from his body. When the mist cleared, a petite young woman appeared in his place.

A bitter smile touched her face, and her eyes seemed to hold an inextinguishable gloom.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to act; it was that she couldn’t.