Chapter 47

Chapter 47

This oil lamp was exquisitely crafted. Xu Muchan picked up the lamp and held it up to sniff the oil. The viscous oil gave off a scent that was both rank and sweet, and smelling it for too long made him feel dizzy.

Xu Muchan called over Wei Yao and Wen Dajiang, who were darting around the room, and held the lamp to their noses: "Sniff this and see if you can find anything else in the room that smells the same."

Wei Yao was displeased: "You're actually using us like dogs?"

Xu Muchan urged: "Move it!"

Wei Yao grudgingly sniffed it, then he and Wen Dajiang started tearing the room apart. Luckily, they didn't turn up a second oil lamp. Xu Muchan found a piece of red cloth, wrapped the lamp up tight, and stashed it in the crack between the wooden bed and the wall.

"So what do we do now?" Wen Dajiang asked, looking at him with pleading eyes.

Xu Muchan was just about to speak when the door swung open. Qiuyue stuck half her body in, her dark eyes darting this way and that as she peered inside: "Who's the madam talking to?"

Wei Yao and Wen Dajiang's legs gave a jolt, and they flopped to the ground, playing dead.

Xu Muchan didn't bat an eye, and said with confusion: "I wasn't talking. Did you hear somebody? There's not something creepy in the house, is there?"

Qiuyue studied him with a searching look. The paper effigy stepped out from behind the door, the two red circles on her cheeks shifting as she talked: "What creepy thing could be in the house? You're overthinking it, madam. The steward said the young master's gift for you has arrived, and he sent me to come get you to go see."

Xu Muchan went "Oh," putting on a show of interest while secretly going on high alert: "What did he send over?"

But Qiuyue wouldn't spill the beans, and said with a grin: "You'll see when you go, madam. The young master must have sent back something nice."

Failing to pry any info out of her, Xu Muchan could only turn back to Wei Yao and Wen Dajiang and instruct: "You two stay put in the room and don't go wandering off."

Then he followed Qiuyue to the front courtyard to find the steward.

This place was seriously big; it took a good ten minutes just to get to the front courtyard. Along the way, Xu Muchan asked out of curiosity: "How come I've never seen the steward before?"

Qiuyue said: "You have, madam. You must've forgotten."

Xu Muchan furrowed his brow. When he met the steward, he found the guy was, no surprise, also a paper effigy. However, compared to Qiuyue, the steward's papercraft was clearly more skilled. The facial features weren't just sloppy doodles but were painted with real precision.

But that kind of overly detailed paint job on a living paper effigy didn't make you admire the craft—it just cranked the uncanny valley effect up to max.

Xu Muchan stared at the steward's phony grin, forced himself not to look away, and gave it his all acting-wise, saying cheerfully: "What did my husband send over?"

The steward said with a smarmy grin: "The madam will see if she follows me."

With that, he led Xu Muchan into a room off to the side, crammed full of cages and boxes. What was in the boxes, he had no idea, but the cages were plain as day, stuffed with all sorts of animals.

Pigs, sheep, dogs—hell, even two oxen and three horses.

The animals were squished into tiny cages, and the whole lot was piled into a small room. Xu Muchan felt like he'd walked into some kind of black-market livestock operation.

And maybe because of what happened with Wei Yao and Wen Dajiang, Xu Muchan looked at these live animals and couldn't shake the feeling that their eyes held a human kind of fear and despair.

These animals in front of him... were they really animals?

This horrifying thought suddenly popped into Xu Muchan's head, and no matter what, he couldn't shake it.

He thought back to everyone he'd seen in this mansion, from the master on down to the servants—all paper effigies. But the animals were alive, which felt weirdly backwards.

Xu Muchan's eyes swept over the caged animals, and he asked out of curiosity: "What's my husband planning to do with all these animals?"

The steward said: "This is your bride price, madam. The young master went out this time just to put together your bride price."

Xu Muchan put on a look that was equal parts pleased and worried: "But there are so many animals. My courtyard can't hold them all."

"No need to worry, madam."

The steward's tone suddenly got creepy: "On the wedding day, all your family will come, madam. These animals will be slaughtered right then and there to feed your family."

Hearing that, Xu Muchan's heart lurched.

At the same time, the caged animals, as if they understood the steward, all started wailing.

Xu Muchan was just about dead certain these animals, just like Wei Yao and Wen Dajiang, used to be people.

Xu Muchan forced a smile onto his face: "Oh, I see. My husband is just too good to me."

The steward's beady eyes fixed on him, and he let out a wheezy laugh: "The young master adores you, madam, so of course he's willing to go to the trouble. You'd better serve the young master well from now on, madam."

Xu Muchan nodded dismissively, his eyes sweeping over the big key ring hanging from the steward's belt, wondering if the front gate key was on there.

Xu Muchan asked, testing the waters: "When my husband comes back, can I go out to meet him?"

That question seemed to trip some kind of switch. The steward's face suddenly went terrifying. The phony smile was gone, and his beady eyes locked onto Xu Muchan, asking in a bone-chilling tone: "You want to go out, madam?"

Xu Muchan was quick on his feet, frowning: "I want to go meet my husband. If I'm the first person he sees when he gets back, he should be happy, right?"

The steward's eyes stayed locked, unblinking, but that skin-crawling fake smile was back on his face: "Oh, I see. My mistake. I thought you were trying to run out on the wedding, madam."

Xu Muchan put on a displeased look and scolded: "My husband treats me so well. Why would I run away from the wedding? If you keep bad-mouthing me like that, I'll tell my husband when he gets back!"

The steward's fake smile stiffened for a second. He gave a little bow and apologized to Xu Muchan over and over.

Xu Muchan put on a look of grudging satisfaction, turned and headed out: "Then take good care of these animals. I'm heading back now."

Once he was back in his own courtyard, Xu Muchan shooed Chunhua and Qiuyue out, shut the door, and filled Wei Yao and Wen Dajiang in on what had just happened: "I think those animals are all people."

"According to the steward, at the wedding, all the animals are gonna be slaughtered and eaten right there."

Xu Muchan's eyes moved to Wei Yao and Wen Dajiang: "We'd better figure out a way to get out of here before the wedding."

Otherwise, he had a feeling Wei Yao and Wen Dajiang were gonna get eaten too.

Wei Yao's fur stood on end. He scrambled to his feet and made for the door: "Then what are we waiting for? Let's figure out how to bolt!"

Wen Dajiang asked, "Run where?"

Xu Muchan thought it over and said: "Let's wait till tonight. Once Chunhua and Qiuyue are gone, we'll sneak out and scout for a way out."

We're outnumbered and outgunned, so this is the only play for now.

The one man and two dogs bided their time until nightfall. Xu Muchan pretended he was turning in for the night to get rid of Chunhua and Qiuyue, then pulled the blanket over his nose and stayed on guard.

After about half an hour or so, the tightly shut door gave a faint "creak," followed by the sound of paper rubbing together.

Something had gotten in.

Xu Muchan didn't dare breathe. He forced his body to relax, slowed his breathing, and played possum, while his other hand kept a tight grip on the two dogs under the blanket so they wouldn't panic and squirm and give them away.

The faint rustling stopped in the outer room for a beat, then moved into the inner room.

Xu Muchan felt something lean in close to him, as if checking to see if he was asleep.

The feeling of being watched lingered for a good while, and just as Xu Muchan was on the verge of losing control of his frantic heartbeat, the sensation of being stared at finally disappeared.

But Xu Muchan didn't dare move, keeping up the pretense of being fast asleep.

A smell that was equal parts fishy and fragrant hit his nose—the oil lamp had been lit, and he immediately held his breath.

It was a long while after the door creaked again that Xu Muchan sat up, pinching his nose, washed his face with the cold water from the basin he'd stashed under the bed earlier, and sure enough, the dizzy, drowsy feeling faded quite a bit.

He turned around, threw back the quilt, and urged Wei Yao and Wen Dajiang to get down, only to see that the yellow dog and the white dog's eyes were already half shut.

"..." Xu Muchan grabbed one in each hand, flipped them upside down, and dunked them headfirst into the cold water.

The two sleepyheads jolted awake like they'd been shocked back from the brink of death, yelping, "What's going on? What's going on?!"

Xu Muchan clamped a hand over their mouths: "Quit yapping. We're heading out."

Wei Yao and Wen Dajiang shook the water off themselves, shut up, and crept out after Xu Muchan.

As they passed through the outer room, Xu Muchan blew out the oil lamp, then pressed himself against the door and listened for a good long while, and only after confirming Chunhua and Qiuyue weren't posted at the door did he crack it open and squeeze out sideways.

Wei Yao and Wen Dajiang padded along at his feet.

Xu Muchan retraced the route from earlier and said, "Let's head to the main gate first."

By common sense, a place this big would have a gatekeeper or something at the entrance, so Xu Muchan wasn't holding out much hope for the main gate.

But when they actually got to the main gate, things were worse than expected.

"Where's the gate?"

Wei Yao looked back, unsure—they'd walked all the way to where the main gate should've been, only to hit a dead end. In front of them was a tall brick wall, not a hint of a door anywhere.

Wen Dajiang said, "Did we take a wrong turn or something?"

Xu Muchan scanned the area and shook his head: "No, we're not lost. The main gate is right here."

But the gate had vanished into thin air, which was even more infuriating than a ghost standing guard.

"What if we try climbing the wall?"

Wei Yao craned his neck up at the tall brick wall.

"Too high, no way we're getting over that." Wen Dajiang sized it up—the wall was over three meters, totally smooth, and there wasn't a tree in sight to use for a boost. Unless they sprouted wings and flew, they were stuck.

Xu Muchan was studying the wall too, brow furrowed, before asking, "Don't you guys think this place feels like a tomb?"

The main gate had vanished without a trace, and the whole mansion was boxed in by tall walls—you could get in but never out. That didn't sound much different from a tomb.

"Shit, don't scare me like that. If this really is a tomb, are we ever getting out? I don't wanna spend the rest of my life with these paper effigies." Wei Yao said, face all twisted up.

Wen Dajiang let out a cold laugh: "Dream on. What whole life? Didn't you hear Xu Muchan say earlier that all the animals are gonna get eaten at the wedding?"

Wei Yao: "..."

"Let's go check the steward's room," Xu Muchan cut in, putting a stop to their squabbling.

He remembered the big wad of keys he'd spotted on the steward's belt earlier. There were a lot of keys, and at first he figured they were for the animal cages, but when he counted the cages in his head, they clearly didn't match up with the keys on the steward's belt.

The steward only had about a dozen keys, but there were thirty or forty animal cages in those rooms.

Those keys might be for something else—like, say, opening doors.

Xu Muchan was sure the mansion had a main gate. When he'd gotten out of the bridal sedan, he'd stepped over a high threshold—no doubt about that.

So either the gate only showed up at certain times, or their senses were being messed with, keeping them from seeing it.

Given how many animals had been hauled in during the day, the gate only showing up at certain times didn't seem likely.

Xu Muchan leaned toward the second option—that outsiders' senses were being clouded, some kind of illusion, so once you came in, you couldn't see the gate anymore.

Maybe only by following those paper effigies, or getting the keys, could they find the way out.

Xu Muchan filled Wei Yao and Wen Dajiang in on his theory, and the one guy and two dogs then felt their way through the dark to find the steward's place.

Luckily, Xu Muchan had made a point of scouting around during the day, so he had a rough idea where the servants' quarters were.

The steward, being the top dog among the servants, would definitely have the biggest and best room.

They found the servants' courtyard without a hitch. Xu Muchan scanned the area carefully before tiptoeing in. Wei Yao and Wen Dajiang stuck close, ears pricked and on high alert.

But the courtyard was dead silent—not a single sound.

Not just this courtyard—the whole mansion was quiet, like nobody even lived there. The paper effigies from earlier had vanished to who knows where, and the silence was seriously creeping him out.

Xu Muchan thought it was weird too, but they were already here, in too deep. They couldn't just bail because things felt a little off. He gestured toward the biggest room in the courtyard, signaling they should check it out.

Creeping up to the room, Xu Muchan poked a hole in the paper window and peered through it.

Luckily, the steward's room was just a regular room, not split into an inner and outer section. Once his eyes adjusted to the dim light, Xu Muchan saw that the only bed in the room was empty, but the steward's clothes were draped over it, the big bunch of keys still hanging from the belt.

[Found them.] Xu Muchan mouthed, then pointed at the door, signaling for them to go in and grab the keys.

He carefully eased the door open just enough for one person to slip through sideways without a sound.

Seeing Xu Muchan squeeze through, Wei Yao and Wen Dajiang hurried in after him.

Being dogs now, Wei Yao and Wen Dajiang had better night vision, so they used their sharp eyes and speed to dash to the bed first.

Wei Yao gathered himself, leaped onto the bed, and grabbed the keys on the belt with his teeth, tugging at them.

Wen Dajiang hissed at him: "Slow down, those keys are gonna jingle and tip off the paper effigies."

Wei Yao froze at that, then used his sharp teeth to gnaw at the belt, planning to bite through it and get the keys off.

But Xu Muchan suddenly hissed: "Wei Yao!"

Wei Yao stood there with his paws on the clothes, belt still in his mouth, and looked up at Xu Muchan with a blank stare, his round eyes full of confusion, like he was asking "What's up?"

Xu Muchan swallowed hard, staring at the clothes under Wei Yao's paws. The upper half of the figure slowly sat up, and a face with bright red rouge on its cheeks poked out from the collar, its creepy little eyes locked on Wei Yao standing on it.

That wasn't the steward's clothes lying there at all—that was the steward himself!

Wen Dajiang realized something was off too. He glanced back and saw the flat paper figure starting to puff up, like it was about to turn into a full paper effigy any second.

"You idiot! The paper figure's alive! Run!"

Wen Dajiang kicked Wei Yao, then bolted toward Xu Muchan. Wei Yao, slow on the uptake, finally caught on, looked back, and then with a "woof" tore off after Xu Muchan.

Xu Muchan scooped them up one in each arm, and at this point he couldn't afford to worry about making noise—he bolted for the door.

Behind them, the thin paper effigy swelled like a balloon, then wobbled over to the table, picked up the bamboo frame placed beside it, and put it on. The steward smoothed the creases on his body and shrieked in a piercing voice, "Someone! The bride has run away!"

The house, deathly silent like a tomb, suddenly came alive.

Countless eerie green flames flickered to life as a flood of paper effigies rushed out with torches, searching everywhere for the runaway bride.

Xu Muchan hid with the two dogs in the narrow gap between the house and the wall, peering out through the gaps in the wood.

"So many paper effigies, and they're holding torches—aren't they supposed to be afraid of fire?" Wei Yao whispered under his breath.

Xu Muchan carefully watched the movements of the paper effigies and noticed a small squad already searching along the base of the wall. He immediately shifted positions, and sure enough, not long after, two paper effigies appeared at the gap where they'd been hiding.

The eerie green torchlight illuminated their deathly pale faces—one look was enough to stop your heart.

Xu Muchan said gravely, "There are too many paper effigies. We probably can't stay hidden much longer."

Wei Yao said, "If worst comes to worst, we fight them head-on. Better than being served up on a platter. With any luck, we might even fight our way out."

Maybe because these paper effigies looked way less tough than the monsters they'd encountered before, Wei Yao figured it was worth a try.

Xu Muchan shook his head. "They turned you into dogs—they could probably turn you into something worse. The wedding is still two days away. A head-on fight isn't worth it right now."

He thought for a moment and said, "Let's go back first. You two hide, and I'll play dumb. If I can talk my way out of it, great. If not, they'll probably make me sniff that lamp oil, but I shouldn't be in mortal danger before the wedding. That oil messes with your memory if you breathe it in too long—you'll have to find a chance to snap me out of it."

Having made up his mind, Xu Muchan carefully dodged the patrolling guards and made his way back to the courtyard.

The courtyard usually only had Chunhua and Qiuyue, but now, probably thinking he'd run off, it was completely empty.

Xu Muchan set Wei Yao and Wen Dajiang down, told them to hide somewhere safe, then took off his clothes and got into bed, waiting quietly.

Sure enough, before long, a rustling sound came from the courtyard—the paper effigies were closing in.

Leading them was a paper effigy all decked out in gold and silver. Miss Ling, the steward, Chunhua, Qiuyue, and a bunch of unfamiliar paper effigies trailed behind in a crowd, all pouring into the room.

They stared at Xu Muchan, who'd been roused, their flat faces completely blank.

Xu Muchan, acting like he'd just woken up, asked sleepily, "What's going on?"

"Where did you go?" the leading paper effigy spoke, its voice sounded aged. Xu Muchan recognized it as the one who'd given him his instructions on the first day—the old lady, the groom's mother, as the steward had called her.

Xu Muchan said, playing innocent, "I didn't go anywhere. I just went to the bathroom and came back to sleep."

"Madam didn't go anywhere?" The steward's sinister face leaned in, its small eyes gleaming with malice.

Xu Muchan shook his head. "No, I didn't. What's happened?"

The steward stared at him coldly, its eyes darting around the room like it was searching for something. "Where are Madam's dogs?"

Xu Muchan looked even more confused. "I don't know. Maybe they snuck out to play? I went to bed early. Ask Chunhua and Qiuyue if they saw them."

The steward turned to Chunhua and Qiuyue, who shot Xu Muchan a nasty glare and said with their heads down, "We'll go look for them now!"

Xu Muchan broke out in a cold sweat, hoping Wei Yao and Wen Dajiang were hidden well enough not to be found.

Then the old lady spoke again. Her deathly pale face stared at Xu Muchan without any expression, but her words were dripping with fake concern. "There's a thief in the house—it's chaos out there. Afraid you might get scared, we'll stay here and keep watch until you're asleep, then we'll leave."

She grinned at Xu Muchan, a creepy, sinister smile. "Good boy, go to sleep now."

Xu Muchan had no choice but to lie back down, close his eyes, and pretend to sleep.

But before long, that sickly sweet, fishy smell drifted to his nose—clearly the paper effigies had lit the oil lamp again. Xu Muchan dug his nails into his palm, praying Wei Yao and Wen Dajiang would pull through, as he was forced into a deep sleep.

When Xu Muchan woke up, he found Chunhua and Qiuyue standing rigidly by the bed.

Their clothes were torn in several places, and the looks they shot Xu Muchan were filled with pure resentment.

Xu Muchan was confused. "What happened to you two? How did your clothes get torn?"

Chunhua screeched, "Where are Madam's dogs hidden?"

Xu Muchan thought of the two little dogs and instinctively glanced at the bedside, but saw nothing. Puzzled, he said, "They were by the bed when I went to sleep. Could they have snuck out and wandered off?"

Qiuyue leaned in, staring right at him. "Lost, huh? Let's go find them together, Madam."

Xu Muchan grew even more confused, feeling like Chunhua and Qiuyue had become different people. He frowned, but he was genuinely worried the two dogs had been caught by Miss Ling again, so he nodded. "Alright."

As soon as they left the courtyard, they ran into the steward.

Xu Muchan found it odd. The steward's expression toward him was also unfriendly. It gave a dark, strange smile and said to Xu Muchan, "Just got word—the young master has returned early. You can perform the wedding ceremony tonight."

Remembering the husband he'd never met, Xu Muchan felt a bit shy. He lowered his eyes and said, "I understand."

The steward gave him a cold, sinister look, let out another eerie laugh, then instantly wiped the smile away and glared at Chunhua and Qiuyue. "Watch Madam closely!"

Chunhua and Qiuyue trembled in fear and nodded repeatedly.

On the way back, Xu Muchan asked in confusion, "Is the steward in a bad mood today?"

But no one answered him. Even Chunhua, who had been lively before, fell silent, and the atmosphere turned cold.

Xu Muchan felt increasingly uneasy and a little annoyed. "There's nothing to do back at the room. I'll sit here for a while."

Ignoring Chunhua and Qiuyue's opinions, Xu Muchan walked into the pavilion and sat down.

The pavilion was surrounded by blooming flowers, and Xu Muchan reached out to touch the vibrant blossoms.

Hidden in the flower bushes, Wei Yao and Wen Dajiang watched that hand, ready to pounce.

"Those two paper effigies aren't far away. We'd better split up. If one fails, the other still has a chance." Wen Dajiang held back Wei Yao, who was already lining up his angle, and whispered.

Wei Yao thought it made sense and said, "I'll go first then. You stay hidden. If I can't snap Xu Muchan out of it, you go."

"I'll go first." Wen Dajiang shoved him aside, limping. While dodging the paper effigies yesterday, he'd nearly been caught. He'd escaped by luck, but one of his hind legs was injured.

Wen Dajiang figured it was broken.

If they got discovered later, he wouldn't be able to run anyway. Better to go now—if luck was on his side, he might trade himself for Xu Muchan, and Wei Yao could still get away.

"You run now—I'm going!" Before Wei Yao could argue, Wen Dajiang found his angle and burst out of the flower bushes, lunging to bite Xu Muchan.

He'd picked a perfect angle—his leap would have caught Xu Muchan's hand. But just as he was about to reach him, Chunhua suddenly rushed over and shoved Xu Muchan aside.

Wen Dajiang missed.

He hit the ground hard and was grabbed by the leg and hoisted up by Qiuyue.

Wen Dajiang cursed and glanced at the bewildered Xu Muchan, thinking that Wei Yao had better come through, or they were all done for.

"Little Yellow?" Xu Muchan reached out to take him, but Qiuyue dodged away.

Qiuyue giggled as she found a cage and put Wen Dajiang inside, then said with pure malice to Xu Muchan, "This is Miss Ling's dog. She just came to ask for it, and I'm sending it to her now."

With that, she strolled off happily, cage in hand.

Xu Muchan looked at the little yellow dog in the cage, which was gazing at him pitifully, and felt a pang of pity for some reason. He was about to chase after her, but Chunhua blocked his way: "Madam, the young master has already returned. The wedding ceremony will take place this evening, so you need to go back and get ready."

Xu Muchan was yanked back by her, while Wen Dajiang was taken to the front yard by Qiuyue.

The front yard was buzzing with excitement, and many paper figures had gathered together, as if waiting to welcome someone.

Wen Dajiang curiously glanced over and saw a tall figure passing through the paper figures, walking slowly in.

It was a human! Not a paper figure!

The newcomer seemed to be of high status, and Qiuyue also stopped, lowering her head in a bow of welcome.

Wen Dajiang struggled to stand up, squeezing his puppy face against the cage bars, straining to see out. He saw the tall figure approaching from the end—first the luxurious, exquisite robes, and then a face even more refined than the robes.

Wen Dajiang's eyes widened in shock, and he yapped desperately, "Great Ancestor! Great Ancestor, help me! I'm Wen Dajiang, woof woof!"

The person welcomed in by the paper figures was actually Wei Xilou.

This was a real lifesaver. Wen Dajiang jumped and barked excitedly, finally catching the other's attention.

Wei Xilou turned to glance at the noisy little rat, his gaze passing over him, and asked the butler, who was bowing beside him, "Where is the madam?"

The butler said with trepidation, "Young master, please follow me."