Mysterious Resurgence: Starting with the Strange Bus

Chapter 256 First Steal the Goods, Then Demolish the Shop

"These things are good, I'll take them all!"

Li Hui's face was cold and stern. He reached out and grabbed the three-story paper villa that was closest to him on the container in front of him.

The villa was exquisitely crafted, but it seemed to have been there for quite some time, as it was covered in dust.

Just as Li Hui picked up the villa, that eerie voice rang out again in the dimly lit shop: "Guest, this villa is very cheap, only seven yuan."

However, Li Hui ignored this and, the moment he picked up the villa, his other hand reached for a black paper hat.

next moment.

He also picked up the paper hat.

Then a blank portrait appeared in front of Li Hui, and he threw the paper villa and paper hat in his hand into the portrait.

boom!
Suddenly.

Li Hui's "free purchase" behavior seemed to have triggered some kind of rule of the paper-making shop. The shop's door suddenly closed, and strange things began to happen inside the shop.

The two paper figures, one black and one white, that had been standing next to the paper shop were now blocking the entrance side by side. Their drawn faces were stiff and turned toward Li Hui, as if they were blocking his way.

And the beautiful paper doll that was standing motionless inside the shop now had two lines of water under its eyes, looking as if it was crying, which was very strange.

In addition, all the other paper figures in the shop turned around to face Li Hui at this moment, and finally, with stiff steps, they surrounded Li Hui's location.

At the same time, the owner of the paper-making shop rang out again: "Sir, the items in my shop are seven yuan each. You bought two, so please pay fourteen yuan!"

Compared to before.

This time, the voice was noticeably more emotional, and also more sinister and eerie, like a vengeful ghost growling.

Despite this, Li Hui continued his "free purchase" activity, ignoring the shop owner's words and forcibly throwing two paper items into the portrait in front of him.

The previously blank portrait was now filled with images of the three-story paper villa that Li Hui had just thrown in, as well as the black paper hat.

Simultaneously.

Li Hui's behavior seemed to have thoroughly angered the owner of the paper-making shop.

next moment.

A sharp scream suddenly came from inside the paper-making shop, like the scream of a dying person, or the long howl of a corpse. The sound was indescribable, but one could feel the danger and terror it contained.

The sharp scream echoed throughout the paper-making shop, causing it to tremble as if an earthquake had struck. Then, the shop walls began to change, becoming as if they were made of paper.

No, it's not just the walls.

Instead, the entire shop was transformed into the interior of a paper house.

At the same time, a dozen hands suddenly emerged from the paper wall, as if a dozen evil spirits trapped inside were struggling to break free.

It was only for a short while.

A dozen or so vengeful ghosts, their bodies smeared with paper and sealed away for a long time, were revived and broke free from the walls to enter the shop.

The appearance of the ghost made the room even darker, and a cold and eerie atmosphere began to spread.

Then these vengeful ghosts twisted their stiff bodies and walked towards Li Hui in an awkward posture, clearly intending to attack him. The reason for all of this was that Li Hui hadn't paid for the things he bought!

"There's something there, but not much." Li Hui commented inwardly.

If it were any other ghost tamer, facing a dozen or so fierce ghosts might be a real headache, but for Li Hui, that number of fierce ghosts was simply not a problem.

Then, before the vengeful ghost and the paper figure could get close...

Li Hui then launched the first attack.

He walked straight toward the vengeful ghost, without using any supernatural weapons, and began to punch the ghost's body with his bare hands.

Bang!
The seemingly ordinary punch contained immense power that was hard to comprehend. It sent a ghost covered in paper that was right next to him flying away. The ghost lay motionless on the ground, clearly indicating that its supernatural power had fallen into a state of dormancy.

It's important to know that the supernatural power contained in Li Hui's punch is more terrifying than a complete bus crashing into it. Even a vengeful ghost that isn't terrifying enough would be completely paralyzed.

Seeing this, Li Hui didn't hesitate and reached out to grab again.

Instantly, Li Hui grabbed the paper figure in the shape of a beautiful woman by the neck and lifted it up. The supernatural power contained in his hand suppressed the figure so that it had no reaction. The 'tears' that kept flowing stopped abruptly, and all the supernatural phenomena disappeared.

Li Hui then violently forced the paper figure into the portrait.

"Young man, don't go too far. Return the goods in my shop and I can let you out as if nothing happened. Otherwise, you will be trapped here to die today."

At this point, the shop owner became agitated and tried to talk to Li Hui.

As the sound rang out, the environment inside the shop became even more eerie and sinister. A gust of cold wind suddenly appeared in the room, howling as if a vengeful ghost was screaming in the wind.

At the same time, Li Hui felt that he was no longer in the ghost street of Taiping Ancient Town, but had come to an unknown supernatural space.

But the supernatural aspects of the bus allowed him to easily break down the boundaries between the supernatural and reality; this supernatural space was simply no match for him.

Therefore, Li Hui scoffed at the paper shop owner's words and didn't even bother to reply, but instead demonstrated his attitude through his actions.

The surrounding environment became even darker.

This wasn't some supernatural occurrence in the paper-making shop; rather, Li Hui had forcibly activated his own ghost domain in this supernatural space.

A dark, ghostly aura enveloped everything, permeating every corner of the paper shop. The ghostly aura even broke the restrictions imposed on the paper shop by the supernatural phenomenon on the bus, spreading outside the shop.

and this.

This also gave Li Hui a clearer understanding of his current location.

Outside the shop was a pitch-black void, with no buildings around except for a paper house sitting quietly in this void.

The supernatural power of the ghost realm continued to increase, eventually breaking the boundary between reality and the supernatural and extending back into Taiping Ancient Town.

next moment.

The ghostly realm that enveloped the entire paper house forcibly broke the boundaries of the supernatural space, pulling the paper house back into reality, back to the ghost street of Taiping Ancient Town.

"How can this be?"

"How could a young person like you possibly control such a supernatural phenomenon? Even back in our day, very few of us could do it!"

The paper shop owner sounded quite surprised, and at the end, he said with a hint of panic:
"Young man, it was indeed my fault for setting the price of the paper figures too high before. How about this, I'll pretend that everything you did in the shop today never happened, and I'll let you leave now?"

It's hard to believe.

At this moment, the owner of the paper shop surprisingly chose to back down.

However, this also foreshadows Li Hui's strength; as long as one's own strength is sufficient, then all rules can be broken.

However, despite the paper shop owner's surrender, Li Hui had no intention of letting him go and continued to rob the shop.

Whether it was paper goods or paper figures in the shop, he accepted them all without exception, throwing them all into the portrait in front of him and taking them all with him.

During this process, he also discovered the secret of some paper figures in the shop.

Some paper figures are just ordinary supernatural creations, simply paper figures, while others are made by humans.

As the name suggests.

Inside the paper figure's body is a real person, or more accurately, the corpse of a ghost tamer, a real vengeful ghost!

Perhaps there were times when ghost tamers violated the paper shop's trading rules. After being trapped and killed in the shop, or killed by the shop's vengeful ghosts, their corpses and the vengeful ghosts inside them were made into new paper figures and sold as merchandise.

This situation was not unfamiliar to Li Hui, and it reminded him of someone.

That was Liu San, codenamed 'Paper Man'.

Yes.

The methods used in paper-making shops to create paper figures, as well as the ability to use ghost tamers or vengeful spirits to create paper figures, are very similar to the abilities that Liu San possesses.

"Perhaps... the supernatural power of the paper figures in the paper shop and the paper figure abilities controlled by Liu San are indeed part of the same supernatural puzzle."

This thought came to Li Hui's mind.

After all, the two have too many similarities.

However, this has little to do with Li Hui. He would not take the supernatural things in this shop and hand them over to Liu San. After all, he is not anyone's babysitter. He has never even licked the boots of the original protagonist Yang Jian, let alone a mere Liu San.
As his thoughts raced through his mind, Li Hui's actions in reality were equally swift.

It was only for a short while.

He emptied out the paper-making shop.

He threw all the original goods in the shop into the oil paintings, and even stole half of the dozen or so vengeful ghosts that had fallen from the shop walls. Now only six remained, and Li Hui's actions continued...

"Damn it, you robber, get out of here! You're not welcome here. Leave my shop right now!"

The owner of the paper shop, his voice filled with exasperation, regret, and helplessness, drifted from the dimly lit environment.

This is not the first time the shop owner has raged in a fit of impotence.

It seems that this is the only way he can vent his anger, and he is completely unable to effectively stop Li Hui's actions.

Actually.

If the paper shop owner hadn't disappeared when Li Hui first took action and the shop underwent an anomaly, Li Hui might have taken him along as well.

This is not an exaggeration.

Li Hui is really capable of doing this!

soon.

Finally, Li Hui forcibly took away the six vengeful ghosts covered in paper and stuffed them into the portrait.

Since then.

The entire shop was empty except for the display cases and Li Hui himself; all the strange items had been taken away by Li Hui.

If he hadn't been certain that the container was just an ordinary item without any supernatural aura, he would have taken the entire container with him.

"You robber! You've looted everything in the store. Are you satisfied now? Now leave immediately!"

The shop door had been open for some time, but the two paper figures, one black and one white, that had initially stood beside the door had disappeared and appeared in the portrait in front of Li Hui.

"How can this be?"

A slight smile appeared on Li Hui's face, but his tone was unusually cold as he said, "For a shrewd businessman like you, either don't do it at all, or do it thoroughly. Since I've already offended you, I'm not afraid to go even further!"

The words fell.

A wood-chopping knife appeared in his hand.

This is the supernatural weapon of Li Qingzhi, one of the Seven Elders of the Republic of China. It has the ability to dismember supernatural beings. Although it is somewhat weak in the later part of the original work, it is still quite effective in dismembering and dismantling other supernatural beings.

He immediately swung his knife and slashed at the shipping container next to him.

However, the powerful slash failed to dismantle the container; it only managed to cut a small but significant notch in it.

"As expected, it's just an ordinary item. If it possessed supernatural properties, this knife could dismember it, just like the ghost cabinet in the original story. After all, the ability of a woodcutter to dismember supernatural objects is well-known."

This time.

This completely dispelled Li Hui's doubts about whether the container in front of him might be a supernatural item.

He then walked straight to the wall where the ghost had appeared earlier, and swung his knife to cut it, wanting to see if there was anything else strange inside.

The process went very smoothly.

With a single, effortless strike, Li Hui cleaved a huge gash in the wall before him. Seeing this, he quickly swung his blade a few more times, 'tearing down' the wall and revealing what lay beneath.

The walls were made of paper, and in the middle of this paper, there was a withered, but unrecognizable, mummified corpse curled up and buried inside.

"Kakaka~"

suddenly.

A series of sounds of bones twisting and turning rang out.

Li Hui's act of dismantling the wall seemed to have attracted the attention of the mummified corpse inside, causing it to lift up and look in Li Hui's direction.

At this moment, Li Hui also got a clear look at the mummified corpse.

It was a terrifying mummified corpse with its facial features almost distorted together, its body severely shrunken, and its entire head probably no bigger than Li Hui's palm.

"Young man, leave now, you're not welcome here!" The owner of the paper shop's voice rang out again, this time with a clear sense of urgency.

"Are you really that concerned about this mummified corpse?" Li Hui immediately understood the other party's intention.

The more so.

He became increasingly curious about the mummified corpse in front of him.

However, just as he was examining the mummy in the wall, it suddenly reacted in a new way, its withered hand reaching out to grab Li Hui's body at an incredible speed.

"Ok?"

Seeing this, Li Hui reacted quickly, swinging his old woodcutter's knife and striking the withered hand of the mummified corpse.

The two collided, and the dried-up old corpse opened its mouth, immediately letting out a chilling scream that echoed around.

The attack of the woodcutter's knife was terrifying, but the withered old corpse in front of him was also clearly very dangerous, as it successfully blocked the woodcutter's knife for a moment.

But it was only for a moment.

In a brief clash, the supernatural forces of the two immediately determined the victor.

The withered hand only held on for a moment before being severed by the woodcutter's knife. At the same time, the knife continued its momentum, striking the withered old corpse directly.

A terrifying blade fell diagonally from his shoulder, almost cleaving him in two, but the angle was slightly off, and it only severed an arm and left a gruesome wound on his chest.

pat!

next moment.

Li Hui's hand suddenly reached into the paper-covered wall and grabbed the withered old corpse by the neck. The terrifying supernatural suppression instantly rendered it unable to resist, and its supernatural power immediately subsided.

"This mummified corpse is quite good. It was able to withstand the attack of the old woodcutter's knife. Although it was only for a moment, it showed its extraordinary nature and was much stronger than the previous ones."

Li Hui made his assessment in his mind, but his hands moved quickly, stuffing the dried-up old corpse into the portrait in one swift motion. He didn't even spare the hands and arms that had fallen to the ground, collecting them all at once.

To everyone's surprise, his actions instantly panicked the paper shop owner.

"Young man, let's make a deal. I won't pursue the goods you stole, but what do you want in return for returning that paper ghost?"

The voice of the paper shop owner rang out again in the dim light.

Just this time.

His tone was extremely urgent.

"Paper ghosts?"

"You mean that mummified corpse from earlier?" Li Hui asked curiously.

"Yes."

The paper shop owner said, "As long as you return the paper ghost to me, you can ask for anything. I can even give you eighty, no, one hundred yuan, as payment for that vengeful ghost. How about it?"

I can tell.

The paper shop owner was quite fond of the paper ghost he mentioned, and was willing to pay 100 yuan for it. You should know that the money he was talking about was not ordinary RMB, but ghost money!

"I'm sorry, your offer didn't sway me. After all, the main purpose of ghost money is to buy things, but I can choose to buy things without paying for them, just like we did just now."

Li Hui refused without hesitation.

"Besides, I stole it with my own abilities, so why should I return it to you?"

"Furthermore, how can you call it robbery when it comes to matters in the paranormal world? It's clearly a matter of the virtuous taking what's due, and it's obvious that my 'virtue' is greater and more than yours!"

These words immediately enraged the owner of the paper shop.

Immediately, shouts and curses rang out.

However, Li Hui paid no heed and continued to busy himself with his "demolition" business. At this moment, the old machete in his hand danced wildly, tearing down all four walls of the paper-making shop.

Unfortunately, no strange items were found, nor was there any sign of the vengeful ghost. As for the ghost money that the paper shop owner mentioned, not a single hair was found.

In the end, Li Hui even tore up the floor of the shop, but still found nothing.

Apart from the initial shouts and curses from the paper shop owner, no further sound came from the other party, leading Li Hui to seriously suspect that the other party had quietly left.

(End of this chapter)