Chapter 57

Chapter 57

The Paper-Cut Goddess possessed delicate features that weren’t particularly striking, save for a pair of eyes capable of expressing a spectrum of emotions, lending her an air of divinity.

“I am about to vanish,” she said. “I would like to ask for your help.”

“What do you mean?” Chu Yue asked, his brow furrowing slightly.

She sighed. “It is not that I am unwilling to act, but that I lack the power. I am merely a Wild Deity born from the incense and offerings of the people. The battle with the evil god thirty years ago left me severely weakened. Now that the incense has dwindled to almost nothing, I must naturally return to from whence I came.”

The Paper-Cut Goddess was not a Deity specialized in combat. The evil god was a tenacious foe; back then, she had risked exhausting centuries of accumulated incense to destroy him. She hadn’t expected him to make a comeback in a mere thirty years.

In the long river of time, what had eroded was not just the original simplicity of the villagers, but also their devotion to the Paper-Cut Goddess.

In the past, when the incense was flourishing, the Paper-Cut Goddess received offerings day and night.

Now that she had fallen into decline, it was a rarity to receive even a spark of incense during the festivals.

So-called Deities were nothing more than vessels for the desires and obsessions of mortals. When they needed something from a Deity, they would kneel and bow, grinding their self-respect into the dust to plead. But once a Deity lost their efficacy and could no longer provide benefits, the people would destroy the shrines, cast aside their reverence, and personally drag the one they once put on a pedestal into the mire, trampling them further.

Mortals revere Deities; Deities love the people.

In essence, it was nothing more than an unspoken transaction.

Chu Yue was stunned. A fading Deity… where else could she go besides vanishing?

“How do you want us to help?” Shen Yubi’s voice was neither cold nor warm. “We are leaving in two days.”

The three of them looked at the Paper-Cut Goddess, waiting to hear what she had to say.

“I’m not entirely sure yet.” A hint of embarrassment flickered across her face, her expression carrying a touch of girlish innocence. “But since you were able to find me and survive the evil god’s hands, you must have some level of skill…”

Guan Doujin interrupted her. “Our survival was largely thanks to your protection, Goddess. Without those Little Paper Figures, we would likely have been at our wits’ end.”

The intent to refuse in his words was clear. Chu Yue felt a sense of pity for her, but he didn’t want to meddle in this mess either. They only had two days left before they could leave.

Up to this point, the death toll wasn’t high enough yet. Helping the Paper-Cut Goddess would undoubtedly draw the special attention of the evil god.

Staying alive was the most important thing.

The Paper-Cut Goddess’s expression shifted, and she lowered her eyes.

“I’m not asking you to go to your deaths,” she muttered softly. “That wasn’t my intention.”

She then looked up at the three of them again.

“Actually, asking for your help this time is a last resort. I’m not afraid of you laughing at me when I say this, but I can’t sense where the evil god is at all this time.”

She poured a cup of tea for each of the three men, then drained her own in one gulp.

“A few years ago, when casualties began to occur among the wealthy merchants attending the festival, I suspected it was related to what happened thirty years ago. I just couldn’t be sure at the time. First, I didn’t sense any aura left by the evil god, and second, we are near the mountains; there are indeed bandits active on nearby Canglin Mountain.

“It wasn’t until the second year, when the same situation played out again, that I became certain. I searched extensively in private, even assuming the identity of this Inn’s Innkeeper to stay hidden.

“However, over all these years, I still haven’t found any clues. I could only watch helplessly as the town’s once-vibrant festival turned into what it is today.”

That fellow had become stronger than before, yet she was powerless.

The townspeople who had summoned the evil god this time were also smarter than those in the past.

They hadn’t flaunted their wealth after becoming rich, giving her no opportunity to follow the trail back to them.

That was also why she had rushed to pick up the merchants coming to town a few days ago.

As long as those merchants stayed in her Inn, she wasn’t afraid that the thing wouldn’t make a move.

When the time came, she would only need to follow those things to find the evil god’s hiding place.
However, she had miscalculated.

That thing was incredibly sinister; she was completely helpless against it using only the little things she manipulated.

When the girl in that house died two days ago, she had controlled the rabbit to follow the paper puppets as they left.

In the end, she was discovered before she had gone very far. Her paper puppets were no match for the opponent’s at all.

One of them pinned the rabbit down while the other gouged its eyes out.

Her movements might have alerted that person, because the next day, the opponent actually wore that girl’s skin and took a stroll around the area.

This had never happened before. Those skins had always vanished without a trace, and she had no idea what the evil god was using them for.

She had managed to scavenge a small piece of the woman’s skin, but her research yielded nothing.

There was no movement the night before last, but they returned again last night.

The Little Paper Figures she had scattered in the guest rooms overheard Chu Yue and the others’ conversation.

When she sought out that woman today, it turned out exactly as expected-she was indeed one of the people secretly worshipping the evil god.

Having seen the three of them fight the paper puppets last night without being affected by them, she had intended to make contact. She hadn’t expected them to come looking for her first.

Shen Yubi rested his chin on one hand, his lowered eyelids concealing the emotions in his eyes.

The Paper-Cut Goddess said, “Actually, I’ve always had the feeling that the thing has been watching me. All my actions are right under his nose.”

Chu Yue frowned.

Guan Doujin let out a cold sneer. “What? Are you threatening us?”

“No.” The young girl shook her head earnestly. “I’m just saying that whether you agree or not, from the moment you sought me out, you were already targeted by him. In this situation, it’s better to cooperate.”

The words had barely left her mouth when there was movement at the door.

Two paper puppets squeezed through the gap under the door, one after the other.

Seeing the four people sitting in the Hall, their movements paused for a brief moment.

Immediately after, they ignored the group and pressed their heads together, whispering to each other in broad daylight.

Chu Yue’s nerves grew taut. He glanced at the Paper-Cut Goddess; he knew how troublesome these two paper puppets were. Only her paper puppets could latch onto them and burn them to death.

“Tsk!”

Guan Doujin squinted at the paper puppets over there. As he watched, he nudged Chu Yue’s arm. “Young Master, look at the one on the left, the colorful one.”

Chu Yue looked over. “What is it?”

He didn’t see anything particularly strange.

“What do you mean, ‘what is it’?” Guan Doujin lowered his voice. “Look at that paper puppet. Don’t you think its face looks a bit like the woman who died two days ago?”

That nose, that mouth… Because he wasn’t familiar with the woman, he could barely see the resemblance.

It was clearly a male paper puppet, yet no matter how one looked at it, there were always some points of resemblance.

Chu Yue looked again. With the hint, he indeed saw something.

This paper puppet was actually made of human skin?

Human skin combined with Corpse Oil-no wonder it was so sinister.

It wasn’t afraid of fire, likely because of some special design on the exterior of its body.

In that short span of time, the paper puppets had already decided on a strategy.

Seeing the two of them walking toward the group, Chu Yue understood. Regardless of who their original target was, their target now was definitely them.

The Paper-Cut Goddess’s face was so dark it looked like it could drip ink.

The little things she created were, no matter what, under her control.

The two paper puppets opposite them, however, seemed like independent, sentient beings capable of independent thought. They were far more than just simple tools carrying out orders.

Guan Doujin was the first to stand up. “Want to fight? I’ll take you on.”

Chu Yue and Shen Yubi didn’t move. Since the Paper-Cut Goddess was here today, they wanted to see how things played out.

In a cooperation, it was impossible for them to do all the thinking, all the fighting, and all the work of destroying the Evil God Statue.

The Paper-Cut Goddess had to contribute something.