From Paper Craftsman to World-Suppressing Immortal

After the Zhang family's old house was renovated and looked brand new, this dilapidated house finally looked like a habitable place.

Zhang Zhixuan locked himself in the east wing. This room, which used to be used to store miscellaneous items, had now been cleaned up by Master Zhao and reserved specifically for Zhang Zhixuan to make paper offerings.

A large table was set up in the room, with materials such as Xuan paper, colored paper, bamboo strips, and glue jars neatly arranged in a tidy manner, which made people feel good just looking at it.

Although he had drunk some wine tonight, Zhang Zhixuan was not drunk at all. His mind was clear and his hands and feet were quick. Soon, he made three paper puppet soldiers.

"My innate supernatural power: Paper Fairy!"

Zhang Zhixuan offered three paper puppet soldiers as a sacrifice. With a thought, he activated the three paper puppet soldiers, which then hung in mid-air in a triangular formation.

Then, Zhang Zhixuan bit his finger and flicked a drop of blood into the air. The drop of blood hung there without falling, slowly rotating between the three paper puppets.

As Zhang Zhixuan unleashed his divine power, the three paper puppet soldiers glowed with white light, intertwining and combining with the drop of blood from Zhang Zhixuan, gradually condensing into a petite figure.

As the white light faded, only a tiny paper fairy, no bigger than a palm, reappeared, floating quietly in the air.

"Welcome back, Paper Fairy!" Zhang Zhixuan smiled faintly, opened his palm, and the Paper Fairy slowly landed in Zhang Zhixuan's palm.

"Owner."

A crisp, cold voice rang out, and the paper fairy's emotionless eyes looked at Zhang Zhixuan: "Master, what are your orders?"

Looking at the aloof appearance of the little paper fairy in front of him, Zhang Zhixuan recalled the scene of it falling from grace and becoming a demon that day.

The tiny figure transformed into a colossal behemoth over three meters tall, fierce and violent, taking down enemies with a single punch—truly terrifying.

"Make all the paper puppets."

"As you command."

Zhang Zhixuan gave the order, and the paper fairy quickly began to move.

Before long, all six paper puppet soldiers and the four symbol puppets were completed. Zhang Zhixuan put all the paper puppets into his Hundred Industries Mustard Seed Bag, keeping only the Paper Fairy by his side. Only then did he return to his room, sit on the kang (a heated brick bed), and fall asleep peacefully.

Zhang Zhixuan slept exceptionally soundly that night, only waking up leisurely when the sun was high in the sky the next day.

Master Zhao woke up earlier than Zhang Zhixuan. By the time Zhang Zhixuan got up to get ready, Master Zhao had already returned from outside with breakfast.

At the dinner table, Master Zhao asked Zhang Zhixuan about his recent plans.

Zhang Zhixuan pondered for a moment and said, "Uncle, I'll need your help to come over and look after the house from time to time. I'm planning to pack my bags and head to Tianjin today."

"You're leaving again so soon after you get back?" Master Zhao was quite surprised.

Zhang Zhixuan nodded without offering much explanation, and Master Zhao didn't press him further.

The two reached a tacit understanding of trust, which was quite precious in such chaotic times.

After breakfast, Zhang Zhixuan packed his bags, bid farewell to Master Zhao, and walked alone to the entrance of Wuliu Town, where he hitched a ride on a mule cart to Tianjin.

The mule cart swayed along the official road, and Zhang Zhixuan lay on the cart floor, gazing at the sky with utter boredom.

The coachman would chat with him from time to time, the conversation ranging from land prices in town to rice prices in the city, and from rice prices in the city to the war in Fengtian. They talked idly along the way, and Zhang Zhixuan would close his eyes and occasionally respond.

As they were about to enter the city, Zhang Zhixuan suddenly noticed that the number of refugees who had gathered outside the city earlier had decreased significantly.

He was puzzled. In recent days, he had seen more and more people fleeing from various places, many of whom were heading to Tianjin. But why were there fewer refugees gathering outside Tianjin?

By the time we entered Tianjin, it was already dusk.

Zhang Zhixuan did not rush to find Liu Ling, but instead took a stroll around the city and bought some more cinnabar and Xuan paper.

After purchasing what he needed, Zhang Zhixuan was about to head to Guihoutang when a pungent aroma wafted into his nose. He hadn't gone far when the aroma stopped him in his tracks.

Zhang Zhixuan stopped and looked in the direction from which the fragrance was coming.

Across the street, I saw a small stall where the owner was flipping pieces of fried mung bean jelly with an iron spatula.

"Hey, it's been a while since I've had mung bean curd." Zhang Zhixuan smiled and strode to the stall, where he saw the stall owner frying a pot of mung bean curd until it was golden brown on both sides, with hard, curled edges, sizzling with oil in the pot.

"Pan-fried mung bean jelly! Crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, so delicious, and the sauce, garlic, and cilantro are all you can eat!"

"Boss, a bowl of braised pork belly, please! Extra cilantro!"

"Here you go!" The stall owner quickly ladled out a bowl of braised meat, first pouring a spoonful of perfectly diluted sesame paste, then scooping out garlic water, and finally sprinkling a handful of cilantro, handing the full bowl to Zhang Zhixuan.

"There's vinegar on the table. If you like it sour, you can make it yourself."

"Alright."

Zhang Zhixuan agreed, then picked up a bamboo skewer, pried off the crispiest piece, and bit into it. It was crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside, with a rich sesame sauce mixed with garlic and spiciness that hit his nose. This flavor was just right!

After finishing a large bowl of braised meat, Zhang Zhixuan was completely satisfied. He looked up at the sky, took out two copper coins, placed them on the table, wiped his mouth, and strode towards Guihoutang.

However, Zhang Zhixuan hadn't gone far when dark clouds suddenly gathered on the horizon, a thick, dark mass. A strong wind suddenly came, rumbling thunder echoed in the clouds, and a torrential downpour began in an instant.

Zhang Zhixuan was caught off guard by the sudden downpour and ran around covering his head, quickly taking shelter in the nearest shed.

"Damn it, this rain came out of nowhere."

Zhang Zhixuan muttered curses under his breath, shook his clothes, and inadvertently looked up and saw a sign not far away with four characters: Wuhe Ferry.

Looking around, Zhang Zhixuan realized that the ferry crossing was not very big.

It consisted of a few wooden sheds and a stone-step dock. The steps were blackened and shiny from being soaked in the river water and covered with moss. Several small boats were moored to wooden stakes and swayed in the torrential rain, their hulls hitting the stakes with dull thuds.

Several boatmen huddled in a wooden shed to avoid the rain, some squatting, some standing, all staring intently at the river.

"What are you looking at? Staring blankly. In this godforsaken place, how can there be an old woman bathing in the river?" Zhang Zhixuan complained, but he also followed the others' gaze to the river. What he saw immediately made his heart clench.

A person was seen floating on the river surface amidst the torrential rain.

Zhang Zhixuan certainly wouldn't believe that it was still a living person.

At this moment, the person was floating on the water, face down, motionless, his body being pushed back and forth by the waves.

"River drifter..." Zhang Zhixuan frowned and muttered to himself.

An old boatman next to him took a deep drag on his pipe and added in a low voice, "That's the sixth one this month."

"The sixth one this month?" Zhang Zhixuan's heart clenched with anxiety.

Tianjin is located at the confluence of nine rivers.

These days, it's not unusual to see a dead body floating on the water every now and then, but six have floated by in just one month, which is quite frightening. And judging from the old boatman's tone, he's probably seen this kind of thing many times and is used to it.

"Eh...."

A young man's sigh suddenly rang out from inside the wooden shed. Zhang Zhixuan turned his head and saw a young man in a blue robe squatting behind him.

This man looked to be in his early twenties, wearing glasses, with fair skin and a scholarly air.

At this moment, his eyes were fixed on the corpse on the river, and he was clutching a yellowed photograph in his hand. The young man in the photograph had a similar appearance to him.

"Young man, don't be so sentimental. These days, it's common to see a few dead bodies floating on the river," the old boatman said casually, but he was actually trying to comfort him.

The bespectacled young man in the long robe responded indifferently, his gaze still fixed intently on the corpse floating on the water.

The heavy rain came quickly and suddenly, and stopped just as abruptly. Not long after the rain stopped, several members of the body retrieval team had already arrived at the riverbank.

The members of the body retrieval team were all relatively young. After staring at the floating objects on the river for a while, the team leader asked:

"Who went into the water to pull this out?"

"I'll go."

"Okay, then take it easy."

"Easy."

After the man finished speaking, he gathered his tools and was about to go into the river to retrieve the body when Zhang Zhixuan, who was standing aside watching the commotion, frowned and stopped him, saying, "Wait, don't go into the water yet."

Everyone turned their heads, looking at Zhang Zhixuan with puzzled expressions, wondering why he wanted to stop them.

While everyone was wondering, Zhang Zhixuan pointed to the corpse floating on the water and said calmly, "Take a closer look."