From Paper Craftsman to World-Suppressing Immortal

Zhang Zhixuan had just woken up from his deep sleep when a nauseating, rancid stench almost made him faint again.

He pinched his nose and frowned, forcing himself to look around. He found himself lying on an old earthen bed and a rotten straw mat, covered with a patched robe that hadn't been washed in ages and was covered in greasy grime.

The house was dilapidated and even mice wouldn't come. To say that the house was bare and destitute would be considered a compliment.

"Where am I?"

Zhang Zhixuan felt his head buzzing, and many memories that didn't belong to him flashed through his mind. After a while, Zhang Zhixuan finally realized that he had transmigrated.

The original owner was also named Zhang Zhixuan, a native of Wuliu Town, Tianjin.

The Zhang family has been making paper crafts for three generations. With their exquisite paper-making skills, they have gained some fame in Tianjin and are known in the industry as "Paper Figure Zhang".

Unfortunately, the original owner's parents passed away unexpectedly, leaving behind three tiled houses, twenty acres of fertile land, and a paper craft shop.

Although the family business they left behind wasn't extremely wealthy, it at least ensured they had enough to eat and wear in those days.

Unfortunately, his predecessor was an incompetent spendthrift who befriended a bunch of scoundrels. In less than two years, he squandered the entire family fortune accumulated by three generations of the Zhang family through drinking, gambling, and whoring, and ended up with a mountain of debt.

Now all that's left is this dilapidated house, barely enough to survive.

A few days ago, the creditor came knocking on the door. Unable to repay the debt, he was severely beaten and became bedridden. He died within two days.

Then Zhang Zhixuan arrived.

"Everyone else transmigrates into the body of a damn immortal, a noble family, but I transmigrated into this good-for-nothing's body, damn it!"

Zhang Zhixuan struggled to sit up, cursing and swearing. He felt pain all over his body, as if he was about to fall apart. He looked down at his body and saw that he was as thin as a stick, with his ribs clearly visible and no flesh on his hands.

"How the hell am I supposed to live like this?"

Zhang Zhixuan was cursing under his breath when, just then, there was a loud banging on the door.

"Zhang Zhixuan! You good-for-nothing! Open the door right now!" A middle-aged man's rough shouts came from outside the door.

Zhang Zhixuan was stunned for a moment, then subconsciously asked, "Who? Who is it?"

"Stop playing dumb! Don't you even recognize your own uncle? Say another word, and I'll kick your broken door down!"

"My maternal uncle?"

After a brief recollection, Zhang Zhixuan confirmed that the person calling at the door was indeed his maternal uncle from his previous life. His surname was Zhao, and he was the second son in his family. Everyone in town called him Second Master Zhao. His mother was his sister.

After his parents passed away, his uncle helped him a lot, but his predecessor was a good-for-nothing spendthrift who couldn't be helped at all. No matter how much money he was helped, it was like throwing good money after bad.

Later, my uncle was completely heartbroken and never visited again.

A few days ago, the protagonist, driven to desperation by his creditors, went to his uncle's house to kowtow and beg for help. His uncle's heart softened, but fearing that the money he gave him would be squandered, he changed his approach.

"There's a widow in Wangjiazhuang next door, about the same age as me. She only asks for ten yuan as a bride price. I'll give you the money, and you can go and propose. If you can get married, I'll feel at ease knowing someone is taking care of you, and you can live a good life together from now on."

The original owner readily agreed, then took the ten dollars as a bride price and went into the gambling den.

Unsurprisingly, they lost everything.

"This damn piece of junk! We're doomed, we're doomed..."

Zhang Zhixuan's forehead was sweating. Hearing the shouting and cursing outside, he knew that his maternal uncle from his previous life had a terrible temper. If the uncle found out about this, he would be beaten to death. It would be too humiliating for him to die right after transmigrating...

"What to do? What to do?"

Zhang Zhixuan was pacing anxiously when he suddenly noticed some bamboo strips, colored paper, paste jars, and other items for making paper crafts spread out in the corner. Among those items, there was also a half-finished paper figure.

Although his predecessor was an uneducated and wasteful good-for-nothing, he had not lost the paper-making skills passed down from his ancestors. Looking at the paper figure that was half-finished, Zhang Zhixuan had a sudden inspiration and hurriedly shouted towards the door: "Uncle, don't worry, my wife is weak and has difficulty moving around these days. Please wait a moment, we will come and open the door right away."

The uncle outside the door wasn't having any of it and continued to hurl insults: "You bastard! The widow from Wangjiazhuang remarried yesterday! Where the hell did you get a wife from?!"

"I...I bought it!"

Zhang Zhixuan was spouting nonsense, and his uncle, who was banging on the door, was half-believing and half-doubting: "Fine, I'll wait a moment. If you lie to me again this time, I'll break your legs!"

Zhang Zhixuan didn't care about anything else. He quickly squatted down and began to organize the bamboo strips, paste, white paper, and colored paper, and then set up the paper figure that was only half-finished.

"Uncle, wait a moment, I'll get ready and be right away," Zhang Zhixuan shouted, his hands busy at work.

The uncle outside the door snorted and ignored him.

Inside the room, Zhang Zhixuan looked at a pile of materials, took a deep breath, and tried his best to steady his hands.

He doesn't know how to make paper figures.

But the original owner's body would.

His hand touched the half-finished paper figure, and instantly, as if awakening muscle memory, he split bamboo, whittled strips, bound them together, and pasted paper, working faster and faster, becoming more and more skilled...

Before long, a complete paper figure stood in front of him.

This paper figure is about three feet tall, with a body made of white paper, clothes cut from colored paper, and willow-leaf eyebrows, phoenix eyes, and cherry lips painted on its face. It looks very lifelike, and its eyebrows and eyes even reveal a bit of elegance. At first glance, it really looks like a living person.

Even Zhang Zhixuan himself found it hard to believe when he looked at the paper figure he had made with his own hands.

"This skill is incredible..."

Just as he was in a daze, a pale blue light suddenly appeared in front of Zhang Zhixuan's eyes.

[Completing a burial paper figure increases the paper crafting skill by 2.]

The next second, pages of messages flashed by, eventually transforming into a thick, ancient book with two large characters on the cover—"All Trades."

The first page of all trades – [Paper Craftsman]

[Level: Lv1 (2/100)]

[Rank: 0]

【Paper Manipulation Lv1 (Permanent Passive, Upgradeable): A special technique developed through years of experience making paper offerings, increasing the efficiency and quality of all paper products by 40%】

[Upgrade to the next level to unlock skills.]

A moment of surprise followed by joy, but before he could even process this excitement, his uncle outside the door grew increasingly impatient: "Zhang Zhixuan! What the hell are you doing in there incubating eggs? Get the hell out here right now!"

Zhang Zhixuan was startled, but still felt uneasy.

What should I do?

The paper bride has been made, but she's not a person; she can't speak or move!

He had no choice but to grit his teeth and continue to deceive them. He quickly put the paper figure on the kang (a heated brick bed), pulled over a tattered straw mat and a worn-out quilt to cover it, hoping to get away with it.

After doing all this, Zhang Zhixuan walked to the door and opened it.

Outside the door, a middle-aged man in his fifties stood in the doorway, his face stern and his eyes glaring, his complexion as black as the bottom of a pot.

"Zhang Zhixuan, you bastard! Where's the wife you bought? Let your uncle take a look. If you dare to fool me, I'll break your legs..." Master Zhao cursed as he entered the room and headed straight inside.

With a paper effigy of his wife lying inside, how could he really let anyone watch her? Zhang Zhixuan could only shamelessly pester and try to get away with it, but Master Zhao wouldn't fall for it.

"Get out of here! Let me see what kind of wife you bought."

Just as the two were at an impasse, a sweet voice came from inside the house: "Brother Xuan'er, there's no reason to keep your uncle outside. Please come in and sit down."

Upon hearing the woman's voice coming from inside the room, Zhang Zhixuan's mind went blank for a moment, his face turned pale, and when he turned around, he saw a woman with delicate features and a plump figure getting off the kang (a heated brick bed).

This woman was fair-skinned, with willow-leaf eyebrows, phoenix eyes, and a small cherry-like mouth. But upon closer inspection, her face was deathly pale, devoid of any color, relying entirely on bright red makeup to conceal her complexion.

Isn't this the paper doll of my wife that I just made?

"Damn it, that paper-mache wife is alive..."