From Paper Craftsman to World-Suppressing Immortal

In order to get to the city as soon as possible, Zhang Zhixuan bought two steamed buns and hitched a ride on a mule cart heading to Tianjin.

The mule cart swayed and rattled for at least two hours. When Zhang Zhixuan finally saw the city wall in the distance, he felt like he was about to fall apart from the jolting.

The distant, hazy city wall wasn't very high, its surface mottled and patchy, with some corners collapsed in places. At the base of the wall was a row of low shacks, crammed together crookedly, with tattered tarpaulins and rotten mats weighing down the roofs, rustling loudly in the wind.

Several people, men and women, were squatting in front of the shack. Their clothes were torn and exposed their skin, and their faces were streaked with black and gray. They stared longingly at the passersby on the road.

As soon as they saw the mule cart approaching, several teenagers swarmed around it, stretching out their hands and shouting, "Master, please give us some food! Master, please give us some food!"

The driver cracked his whip and cursed, and the children scattered and went to surround the carriage behind.

Zhang Zhixuan simply watched without saying a word. He had once lived in the best of times, and now he was experiencing the cruelty of the old era firsthand.

After the mule cart crossed the moat, it entered through the south gate. The gate opening was low and narrow, only wide enough for one cart to pass through at a time. The blue bricks were worn with two deep grooves by the cart tracks. The two ruffian soldiers guarding the city wore their hats askew and carried their guns at an angle. They didn't even lift their eyelids, just busy eating sunflower seeds.

Once inside the city, everything became clear and bright.

A wide street stretched straight ahead, lined with shops of all kinds, their signs and banners held high. There were silk shops, pharmacies, teahouses, restaurants, pawnshops, and jewelry stores, one after another, their storefronts decorated in varying styles. People came and went on the street, some wearing long robes and mandarin jackets, some wearing Western suits, some wearing short jackets, and some women in Western-style dresses strolling arm in arm with men.

The rickshaw driver, shirtless, pulled his rickshaw, the copper bells on it jingling. A tram passed through the middle of the street, its roof adorned with wires, its alarm bells ringing intermittently. Several fair-skinned women with permed hair and red lips stood at the entrance of the movie theater, their cheongsams slit up to their thighs, cigarettes dangling from their hands, laughing uproariously.

Zhang Zhixuan stood at the street corner, momentarily dazed.

"Young man, we've arrived." The driver's reminder pulled Zhang Zhixuan back to reality from his daze.

After paying the driver, Zhang Zhixuan carried his bamboo basket and walked along the street, looking around as he went.

Based on his predecessor's memories of the city, Zhang Zhixuan easily found a coffin shop—Guihoutang.

The name and plaque clearly indicate that they were chosen by a master.

Guihoutang Coffin Shop was quite large. Zhang Zhixuan walked into the shop and looked around. The shopkeeper was at the counter, but he didn't greet customers when they came in; this was the rule of the trade.

The shopkeeper was a middle-aged man with a round face. He was dressed quite respectably, but he had a very amiable appearance. Even though Zhang Zhixuan looked shabby and poor, he still smiled at him and didn't look down on him.

Zhang Zhixuan mustered his courage and stepped forward to ask, "Shopkeeper, do you accept skilled workers?"

"A craft? What kind of craft..."

"Paper effigy of a golden boy and jade girl, I made it, take a look."

As Zhang Zhixuan spoke, he took down the basket and took out the pair of golden boys and jade girls.

The shopkeeper craned his neck, glanced down, and his eyes lit up instantly. He couldn't take his eyes off him, but after a moment he frowned, looking troubled.

"Shopkeeper, what do you think?"

After looking at it for a while, the shopkeeper looked up, his friendly expression gone, replaced by a businesslike one: "Sir, to be honest, this is quite good! But we can't accept it here."

Zhang Zhixuan was taken aback: "Why?"

The shopkeeper moved closer and lowered his voice: "Your craftsmanship is so excellent. If we display this, how will we sell the other goods?"

"Shopkeeper, please reconsider. The price is negotiable."

The shopkeeper shook his head: "It's not about the price. To tell you the truth, our shop has its own master craftsmen. If you put these two paper figures on display, our master craftsmen will lose face."

Zhang Zhixuan was helpless. He thought the shopkeeper was trying to lower the price for him, but he didn't expect there to be another layer to it. He hadn't expected to run into trouble even when he did things too well.

"Alright, thank you for your help." Zhang Zhixuan didn't linger, and put the golden boy and jade girl into the basket, preparing to ask other shops.

Just then, a pleasant yet authoritative female voice rang out from the doorway: "Wait."

Zhang Zhixuan stopped what he was doing, looked in the direction of the sound, and saw a woman in her thirties standing at the shop entrance.

The moment Zhang Zhixuan saw her, he immediately thought of the term "domineering female CEO" from later generations. She was tall, over 1.7 meters, capable and efficient, with a powerful aura. She really had that kind of style.

The woman walked into the shop, and Zhang Zhixuan carefully examined her. She had an oval face, willow-leaf eyebrows, and almond-shaped eyes. She was very fair-skinned, with her hair tied back and adorned with a silver hairpin. She wore a light purple jacket and skirt, the fabric of which was inconspicuous, but the cut was extremely flattering, highlighting her shapely figure.

Her figure is curvy where it should be curvy and slender where it should be slender, with a waist so thin you could wrap your hand around it. Standing there, she exudes the charm of a mature woman.

The woman walked up to Zhang Zhixuan, looked down at the golden boy and jade girl carefully, and asked, "Did you make this?"

"I did it."

"This craftsmanship... is it from the Zhang family of paper figurine makers in Wuliu Town?"

Zhang Zhixuan was taken aback: "You know the Paper Doll Zhang? That's right, I am the successor of this generation, my name is Zhang Zhixuan."

"There are only a handful of top-notch craftsmen in this industry, and among them, only Zhang the Paper Doll Maker has this skill."

After speaking, the woman turned coldly to the shopkeeper: "Old Wu, what's going on?"

The shopkeeper, sensing his impending doom, quickly approached with a fawning smile: "Sir, this craftsman brought two paper figures, hoping to do business. His work is indeed excellent, but we have our own craftsmen, so I had to decline..."

"Bullshit!" the woman shouted sternly.

She pointed to the paper figure in Zhang Zhixuan's arms: "Look at this, and then look at all the junk displayed in our shop. How dare you say you 'have your own master'? Are you deliberately trying to ruin my business?"

"No, no! I..."

The shopkeeper lowered his head, too ashamed to utter a sound.

The woman then looked at Zhang Zhixuan: "I'll take these paper figures of yours. Not just these two, but as many as you make in the future, I'll take them all."

Shopkeeper Lao Wu quickly intervened, saying, "Boss, this...this is a bit against the rules, isn't it?"

"Not in accordance with the rules? Not in accordance with what rules? I'm the owner here, and what I say is the rule." The woman answered forcefully, completely silencing Old Wu, the shopkeeper, from uttering another word in rebuttal.

In this era, it was somewhat unexpected that the owner of a coffin shop, a business dealing with the dead, was a powerful woman.

According to the memories of the predecessor, the owner of this shop in earlier years was an old man surnamed Liu. It is possible that the old man has passed away and the business has been passed on to his descendants.

As Zhang Zhixuan was thinking, the woman reached out and took one of the paper figures of the Golden Boy. She looked at it again, her eyes filled with admiration: "Your craftsmanship is in no way inferior to your old man's. The Zhang family of paper figures has a worthy successor."

"Do you know my grandfather?"

"I wouldn't say we know each other, but we've met a few times."

The woman put the paper figure of the golden boy back and continued, "My grandfather and your grandfather were friends back then, and their shops also had dealings. After your grandfather passed away, your shop went bankrupt in a few years, and they stopped interacting."

As the woman spoke, she sized up Zhang Zhixuan: "I heard you're the one who squandered the family fortune?"

"Yes, I went astray." Zhang Zhixuan smiled bitterly. He could only admit to the mess his predecessor had made. He couldn't very well say that it was the sins of his predecessor. He was a transmigrator who had just arrived.

The woman didn't seem to mind and smiled gently, "It's alright, a prodigal son who returns is more precious than gold."

After saying that, she took out a few silver dollars from her sleeve, counted them, and handed them over.

"This is the deposit and the money for this perfect couple. I happen to have a few orders that I need within seven days. Take them back and work on them. Once they're done, bring them over. The payment will be separate."

Zhang Zhixuan silently accepted the money, and when he spread it out in his hand, he saw that it was six silver dollars, which was quite a lot.

"This is too much, we can't use it all..."

"Here you go. Food, clothing, daily necessities, and materials all cost money. We'll be working together for a long time to come. Oh, and when you get back, take care of yourself and change out of this. You smell terrible."

Zhang Zhixuan blushed upon hearing this. The woman smiled, turned to leave, and he quickly asked, "How should I address you, sir?"

"Liu Ling, you can just call me Sister Liu."

"Hey, Sister Liu..."

Liu Ling smiled without saying a word, nodded, and went to the backyard.

Zhang Zhixuan watched Liu Ling's departing figure, then came to his senses and was met with Manager Wu's meaningful smile.

"How is it? Pretty good, right? Our boss isn't an ordinary person. You better not get any other ideas."

"No way, I know my own limitations."

Manager Wu sighed and said helplessly, "Our boss is good in every way, but his fate is too strong. He has already killed three people in a row. If you want to live a long life, you'd better not get too close."

"Thank you for the reminder, shopkeeper." Upon hearing this, Zhang Zhixuan nodded in understanding.

After leaving Guihoutang, Zhang Zhixuan's previously depressed mood eased somewhat.

Although there were some minor setbacks, the trip was generally smooth, and we even received a helping hand from Liu Ling out of consideration for our old relationship, which was an unexpected bonus.

Now that I have some money, and since I rarely come to the city, I should do some shopping.

The materials needed for paper offerings go without saying, but some daily necessities also need to be purchased...

Zhang Zhixuan's bamboo basket was quickly filled to almost empty. He looked up at the sun and realized it was time to hurry back.

Just then, a tall figure appeared silently behind him, raising a large hand and bringing it down on Zhang Zhixuan's shoulder.