Chapter 139: The Worst Demon and the Reward, Old Man Tang

Chapter 139: The Worst Spirit and Reward, The Old Man of the Tang Family!

Truth be told, that trick had worked quite powerfully back then, successfully deceiving all those demons and ghosts.

Consequently, Lin Yi was far too familiar with the aura of the Tang family's energy stones.

The lifelike paper crane radiating that distinct aura carried precisely the residual signature of the ominous energy stones once utilized by the Central Plains Tang Family.

Lin Yi could never mistake it!

Furthermore, the technique used to craft the paper crane bore an overwhelming resemblance to the paper carts and figures he had encountered previously.

Though they appeared remarkably lifelike, whether it was due to a scarcity of the ominous energy stones resulting in stingy placement, or simply a flaw in the craftsmanship, they always left a somewhat shoddy impression, with the texture of the paper remaining stubbornly prominent.

Lin Yi had not expected that within the humble confines of this Tianhe County villa neighborhood, upon coming to Lin Hexiang's home, he would stumble upon two consecutive unexpected occurrences.

The first surprise was how the fox spirit belonging to the Chuma immortal medium had inadvertently revealed the location of the ancient, cunning evil deity's dragon corpse.

The second was that the bizarre ordeal Lin Hexiang had encountered during his weight-loss attempts was actually tied to the Central Plains Tang Family.

At this moment, after gently guiding Ouyang Ran’s boneless, delicate hands away from his upper body, Lin Yi fixed his gaze on the paper crane. He noticed that as the crane fluttered gracefully and circled repeatedly around the living room, a slight color variation could be discerned near its tail, where the interlocking textures formed a distinct character.

It was precisely the character "Tang"!

This was a finished paper crane manufactured by the Central Plains Tang Family!

Listening further to Lin Hexiang’s earlier description, Lin Yi became convinced that the entity Lin Hexiang had described as not looking quite human, with an abnormally pale complexion—the woman who had guided him beneath the two-story building in Dawa Village—must also have been a paper figure.

That was why Lin Hexiang had found the entire encounter so intensely eerie.

Just as these thoughts crossed Lin Yi’s mind, the paper crane suddenly emitted a cold chuckle.

It was a woman’s voice.

The woman giggled softly toward Lin Yi and spoke:

"To see the paper is to see us. We are from the Central Plains Tang Family. We would prefer Your Excellency not to meddle in Tang family affairs. We are not harming anyone; we are merely making a living and helping people lose weight! By the way, we have already used a certain secret technique to ascertain Your Excellency's appearance."

The moment these words fell, Lin Yi noticed that the two eyes on the white crane looked quite vivid.

However, upon closer inspection, Lin Yi was left somewhat speechless.

Why did the eyes on this white crane look precisely like camera lenses?

Looking closer still, wouldn't you know it—they truly were a pair of pinhole camera lenses!

In an instant, all the lingering aura of mystery evaporated completely!

Yet at the same time, Lin Yi found himself even more speechless.

Since these camera lenses on the crane's eyes had captured him, the other party obviously knew what he looked like and had visual feed through the cameras, but he remained completely in the dark about who they were. That made things slightly troublesome.

Even so, amidst his speechlessness, Lin Yi found the other party rather comical.

A camera is a camera, yet they had to grandly claim they had discerned his situation through some "secret technique"—wasn't that just desperately trying to gild their own faces?

Without another word, Lin Yi instantly made his move.

He wanted to leap into the air, but a full-grown person was still clinging tightly to his body.

Ouyang Ran was plastered against him.

Her body emanated a fragrant aroma, her curves were exquisite, and as she pressed against him, he could vividly feel the elasticity and softness of her skin.

To put it bluntly, this tactile sensation was certainly not something one could experience from holding a pair of aces while playing cards.

***

But this was no time to dwell on such matters.

Therefore, Lin Yi hurriedly channeled a subtle surge of energy across the surface of his body, thoroughly repelling Ouyang Ran.

Following that, with a swift movement of his body, he sprang up over two meters high into the air and grabbed hold of the paper crane.

Without hesitation, Lin Yi twisted the crane's head completely off.

As he fell back to the ground after twisting the head off, Lin Yi stroked the paper with his hand. Sure enough, where the crane's head had been, those two black dots really were nothing more than a pair of pinhole camera lenses.

Lin Yi quickly clenched the cameras within his fist, enveloping them completely with the pristine, fiercely yang energy of the *Great Cave True Scripture* to thoroughly shield them.

Clearly, the other party had not anticipated that Lin Yi’s movements would be so rapid.

Although the crane had lost its head, it still flailed blindly back and forth in mid-air like a headless fly, finally hovering in a fixed spot as it beat its wings continuously.

The reason Lin Yi had not completely destroyed the entire crane was simply because he wanted to continue conversing with the woman from the Central Plains Tang Family.

In truth, Lin Yi was genuinely quite curious about the Central Plains Tang Family.

"Alright, beauty, you may continue talking now. By the way, let me just say, you're being utterly ridiculous. Claiming you used some 'secret technique'—aren't they just pinhole cameras? There's nothing mysterious about it at all. You're hardly being honest, and I honestly don't even know what to say to you."

Lin Yi’s words exposed the complete truth, yet they failed to make the other party flush with embarrassment or stutter in response. On the contrary, the caller remained entirely composed, her tone unchanged.

"Your Excellency certainly possesses formidable martial arts. It seems your strength is quite considerable as well. I believe Your Excellency must have heard of the paper-crafting lineage of the Central Plains Tang Family. I repeat: if you do not interfere in this matter, we can forgive you. If you choose to meddle, then I am sorry, but you will become an enemy of the Tang Family. You had better consider carefully what you will face as an enemy of the Tang Family."

"Hmph, rest assured, I have no intention of setting myself against the Tang Family. However, you claim you're merely helping people lose weight and earn a living—that is a sentiment I cannot agree with... You have definitely taken lives; otherwise, the people in that village would not have all died. Moreover, what you're doing isn't earning money, it's robbery! And it's not losing weight, it's taking people's lives! This matter, I am definitely taking charge of! After all, I am Zhang Ruofeng, the Daoist Heir of Mount Longhu! When I do good deeds, I, Zhang Ruofeng, fully intend to leave my name behind!"

Lin Yi declared loudly!

Following that, Lin Yi leaped into the air once more.

This time, jumping to the same height as the paper crane, he thrust out a fist.

With a "bang," the punch, imbued with pristine and fiercely yang energy, completely obliterated the paper crane into pieces.

Right in the center of the paper crane's remains, a half-burned ominous energy stone was left behind, which Lin Yi promptly scooped up into his palm.

Only, this ominous energy stone was simply too small!

It was no bigger than a single grain of rice!

Which instantly made Lin Yi feel it was hardly worth the effort.

"What's the point of all this dawdling? So what if it's the Central Plains Tang Family? Is a paper-crafting family supposed to be terrifying? Even that cunning old evil deity of a city god from the City God Temple, and Lady Huang Jiujiu, I've offended them all—do you think I'm scared of you?"

*Clatter, clatter, clatter, clatter, clatter, clatter...*

The *Slaying Spirit Scripture*, which had remained completely dormant until now, suddenly produced a sound.

Pages were turning... Soon, a very, very small illustration appeared on one of the pages of the *Slaying Spirit Scripture*.

The image depicted was none other than the small paper-crafted crane he had just destroyed.

However, the picture was minuscule, smaller even than a grain of broken rice, and a line of tiny text appeared beside it, resembling a row of microscopic ants.

After reading the tiny script, Lin Yi almost burst out laughing.

"Sealed and cataloged: One low-tier paper-crafting trinket. Reward: Half an hour’s worth of cultivation."

Clearly, the reason the *Slaying Spirit Scripture* had not manifested earlier was because the grade of the paper crane was so pitifully low that the scripture disdained to give a prompt.

Only now had it grudgingly coughed up a mere half-hour’s worth of cultivation.

If he were to smash similar paper trinkets in the future, he figured he wouldn't receive any reward at all.

This was by far the worst reward Lin Yi had ever obtained.

Yet as Lin Yi landed back on the ground, his curiosity toward the Central Plains Tang Family grew even stronger.

It was precisely at this moment that a brief fragment of memory flashed into Lin Yi’s mind.

It was a series of memories concerning the paper crane, spanning from the moment of its creation up to the present.

These memories were vastly superior to the reward granted by the *Slaying Spirit Scripture*.

Even so, the memories themselves were relatively simple.

After all, this little trinket possessed no independent consciousness or soul to begin with, so having a short snippet of visual memory was already quite fortunate.

***

"Rumble, rumble, rumble..."

The sound of a torrential thunderstorm filled the air. Amidst the lashing rain, inside a dilapidated house, a paper crane was dancing gracefully.

It fluttered back and forth inside the room with a rustling sound.

There was only a single old man in the room. His hair was completely white, his face covered in wrinkles, and his age-spotted visage seemed entirely devoid of vitality.

His eyes were a milky white, making him look completely blind, yet he appeared to be staring fixedly at an old, battered black-and-white television set before him.

An episode of a Peking opera, *Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy*, was playing on the screen.

Without ever glancing at the objects on his workbench, his hands moved with blinding speed.

Numerous items were laid out across the table, and as his nimble fingers danced and wove continuously, another paper crane containing a tiny ominous energy stone was swiftly brought into existence.

The hovering paper crane seemed capable of observing its surroundings.

Passing through the doorway behind the old man, the view outside revealed a towering mountain lashed by torrential rain amidst flashes of lightning. Pines and cypresses on the mountain remained perpetually green, the trees grew in strange and towering shapes, and the raindrops fell in dense sheets.

*Clack.*

The old man suddenly bit down on his fingertip.

His finger was pitch-black, as though caked in filth, yet miraculously, when his fingers touched the white paper, they left not a single smudge behind.

With his fingertip broken, he flicked a single drop of blood toward the flying paper crane.

*Swoosh.*

That droplet of blood seemed to brim with a fierce, robust vitality, imbuing the paper crane with a semblance of heightened consciousness.

This was the fundamental reason why the paper crane possessed a rudimentary consciousness and a semblance of a soul!

Otherwise, it would have been utterly impossible for it to transmit memories to Lin Yi!

The old man’s milky-white eyes retained their lack of vitality, yet his wrinkled face broke into a smile.

"The finest paper-crafting masters can craft all things in heaven and earth. What a pity, I cannot reach that realm. You are not truly alive... Lately, business has been good, and the demons and ghosts have multiplied. I must redouble my efforts... The Hell Organization, that major client, has recently ordered another massive batch of goods. Why haven't those great demons and ghosts upon the high mountains come forth yet to plunge the world into chaos..."

The sound of thunder and lightning mingled with the old man’s muttering.

Within his words echoed mentions of the Hell Organization, demons, ghosts, and business.