From Paper Craftsman to World-Suppressing Immortal

Pei Shouzhen was decisive and efficient. He set off immediately when he said he needed to check the county records, without any hesitation.

He took extremely long strides, and with his cultivation skills, he could walk so fast that Zhang Zhixuan had to keep up with him. Before long, Zhang Zhixuan's stamina was almost exhausted, and he was covered in sweat, panting heavily.

"Master Pei...slow down...slow down..."

Pei Shouzhen suddenly stopped and turned around.

Zhang Zhixuan thought he would slow down and wait for him, but Pei Shouzhen swept his hand around and sprinted a hundred meters with Zhang Zhixuan in tow.

The journey from Tianhou Temple to the Jincheng Prefectural Government Office was not short, but it only took Pei Shouzhen a quarter of an hour.

"vomit……"

The moment Zhang Zhixuan's feet touched the ground, he felt a wave of nausea. His legs went weak, the world spun around him, and his internal organs nearly turned inside out. He almost vomited up the noodles he had just eaten.

"I must find an opportunity to activate the various professions like martial arts masters soon, otherwise, if there's another time like this, I won't even be able to keep up with others," Zhang Zhixuan secretly vowed.

When the two arrived at the Jincheng government office, it was already time for their shift to end. However, Pei Shouzhen had a token in his hand, so he didn't need to go through any complicated procedures and could go straight to the warehouse.

The government storehouse was located in the northwest corner of the backyard. It was a separate two-story building. The old clerk who looked after the storehouse lived downstairs and was on duty all year round. Upstairs, the storehouse contained all kinds of documents and archives from Tianjin over the years.

The old official looked to be in his sixties, hunchbacked, and wearing a pair of brass-rimmed glasses. He was currently dozing off on a recliner by the warehouse entrance.

"Old Zhou!" Pei Shouzhen called out from afar, like a thunderclap. The old man cried out in surprise and almost fell off his chair.

When the old official surnamed Zhou saw Pei Shouzhen approaching, he sighed and slowly stood up: "Master Pei, it's so late, what brings you here?"

"Mr. Zhou, we would like to borrow the county gazetteer of the Panlong Mountain area in Wuliu Town."

The old clerk yawned, stretched, and looked reluctant, saying, "You can come again tomorrow. It's already so late, it's time to rest. I..."

Before he could finish speaking, Zhang Zhixuan took out three copper coins and placed them in the old official's hand: "These are for you to have some tea."

The old clerk smoothly stuffed the money into his pocket, his attitude immediately changing: "I don't have time to serve anyone else, but it's different for you two."

After saying this, the old official surnamed Zhou took a bunch of keys from his waist and walked up the stairs shakily.

Pei Shouzhen, with a look of helplessness on his door-guardian-like face, looked at Zhang Zhixuan apologetically.

Zhang Zhixuan paid no attention and gestured to follow the old official.

The two followed the old official into the storeroom, which was dimly lit. They did not linger and went straight up to the second floor.

The upstairs room was darker than the downstairs room, filled with the strong smell of paper and books, as well as a faint musty smell. There was only one window on the second floor, covered with thick Korean paper, and the light that came in was dim and yellowish.

There were more than a dozen large wooden cabinets standing against the wall, with labels on the cabinet doors indicating the year and category.

The old official surnamed Zhou walked to the third cabinet, unlocked it with a key, took out a stack of yellowed paper rolls, and placed them on the table in the middle.

"These are all the files from Wuliu Town. If you want to find any information about Panlong Mountain in the county annals, you'll have to search through these files one by one."

"Alright, you two take your time looking around. Call me when you're done." After saying this, the old official surnamed Zhou turned on all the lights in the room and then turned and went downstairs.

Without further ado, Zhang Zhixuan and Pei Shouzhen each picked up a thick scroll of paper and began to search through it, one by one.

Time passed by, the only sound being the rustling of the two carefully flipping through the files.

"Found it, come and look at this." Pei Shouzhen pulled out a piece of paper and placed it on top.

Zhang Zhixuan leaned closer and saw that the page on the scroll read "The Zhou Family Annihilation Case at Panlong Manor, Wuliu Town".

Looking at the date of the record, it dates back to two dynasties, which is about two hundred years ago, and the content of the record is only a few sentences.

"In the autumn of the sixteenth year of the reign of Emperor Wuzong of Ming, Zhou Huaiyuan, the owner of Panlong Mountain Villa, lived in the villa with his family of thirty-seven. On the night of September 17, a scream was heard from inside the villa. Neighboring villagers went to see what was happening and found the villa gate wide open and the lights on. All thirty-seven people in the villa had died suddenly. The dead were pale, had no injuries, and their pupils were dilated, as if they had been greatly frightened. The government investigated for half a month but did not find the culprit or any signs of poisoning or external injuries. At that time, an autumn epidemic was prevalent, so the case was closed as an epidemic. After that, the area around the villa gradually became deserted and no one dared to go near it."

Pei Shouzhen said indignantly, "The case of the massacre of thirty-seven people was just closed so hastily..."

"The fewer the words, the bigger the matter; it's probably not that simple."

Zhang Zhixuan intuitively judged, and carefully considered the clues: "Who exactly is this manor lord, Zhou Huaiyuan?"

"At that time, someone who could own a mountain villa must have been a prominent figure in the area. Let's look through the files again and see if we can find more information about this person."

Just as Zhang Zhixuan was about to continue searching, he suddenly heard Pei Shouzhen shout, "Watch out!"

Pei Shouzhen swept his hand around, instantly carrying Zhang Zhixuan more than two meters away.

At the same time, a ghostly green flame suddenly rose from the spot where Zhang Zhixuan had just stood.

The eerie green flames burned extremely fast, transforming from a small ball of fire into a two-meter-long fire serpent that instantly devoured all the files.

The surrounding area was filled with dry wooden cabinets and paper, which would ignite easily and spread rapidly.

"Layman Zhang, leave this place immediately!"

"Walk!"

Even without Pei Shouzhen's reminder, Zhang Zhixuan knew something was wrong when he saw the huge fire snake suddenly rise up. This was a storeroom for the scrolls, and even a small spark could ignite a huge fire.

Seeing that there was no way to save them, the two had no choice but to quickly evacuate.

Zhang Zhixuan was puzzled: why did the old official surnamed Zhou, who was guarding the building, not react when the demonic fire rose upstairs?

The two rushed out of the door and witnessed a horrifying scene. Above the head of the old official surnamed Zhou was a strange wooden puppet, entirely blood-red. It was the same kind of soul-binding witch that Zhang Zhixuan had seen before. The old official surnamed Zhou was clearly under the spell and was walking forward step by step as if he had lost his soul.

"Three Pure Ones' Edict - Golden Light Thunder Spell!" Pei Shouzhen reacted swiftly, throwing out a yellow talisman that landed squarely on the wooden puppet. With a "bang!" an explosion rang out, and the wooden puppet was shattered into pieces.

Without the control of the wooden puppet, the old official surnamed Zhou collapsed to the ground like a boneless corpse.

"You audacious fiend! I was just wondering where to find you, and here you are, delivering yourself right to my doorstep!"

Pei Shouzhen's beard and hair stood on end. He roared and shook the coarse cloth roll he had been carrying on his back, revealing two thick black iron rods, each over three feet long. Pei Shouzhen held the iron rods in both hands and twisted them together, turning them into a large spear in the blink of an eye. The spear was black with a dragon-headed mouth, and when he held it, it was as if Zhong Kui had appeared.