The gluttonous little boy is four and a half years old, and even the wealthy family kneels down and

Yun Zi'ang looked at the two of them in disbelief. "Are you both serious?"

He turned to look at Xiao Jin, "Little Miss, this is no joke!"

Xiao Jin blinked, looking a little confused. "Xiao Jin has never been joking with you."

Seeing that Xiao Jin wouldn't listen, Yun Zi'ang turned to Yun Ziqian, "This could cost you your life!"

"Probably not," Yun Ziqian said calmly to Xiao Jin, "Xiao Jin, is there anything else I need to prepare?"

Xiao Jin pondered for a moment, "Hmm... my little paper doll can't go into the water."

"Then I'll have to go down and check it myself."

"This lake is very deep," Yun Mingyue felt something was amiss.

No matter how amazing Xiao Jin is, she's still just a four-year-old child.

"A paper doll?" Yun Ziqian looked at Xiao Jin in confusion. "What kind of paper doll?"

Xiao Jin took out the paper figures her master had taught her to make, her eyes lighting up as she showed them off, "These are them!"

"Draw this talisman, and they will be able to do things for me."

"But..." Xiao Jin instantly became dejected, "The paper doll got wet when it jumped into the water."

Yun Zi'ang reached out and picked up a small paper figure, hesitatingly asking, "This thing?"

Can this thing really come back to life?

Then what's the difference between this and magic?

Unlike Yun Zi'ang, Yun Ziqian didn't make a fuss. He stared at the yellow paper cut into human shape in Xiao Jin's hand for a long time, then thought for two seconds, "How about we laminate it?"

"That way the paper figure won't get wet when it's submerged in water."

"Plastic sealing?" Xiao Jin hadn't heard of these two words before and was a little curious. "What are they?"

Yun Ziang explained in simple terms, "It's like sealing the little paper figure with a layer of plastic film so that it won't get wet when water gets in, like putting a raincoat on it."

"Wear a raincoat?!" Xiao Jin understood and exclaimed happily, "What a clever idea!"

"The little paper doll won't get wet if it wears a raincoat!"

"Yes, it's about wearing a raincoat." Yun Ziqian's lips relaxed slightly as he watched Xiao Jin's eyes light up. "Draw the talisman on the paper figure first, then have it laminated. The plastic film shouldn't affect the talisman's power. I'll have someone find a laminating machine; it'll be done quickly."

"Mmm!" Xiao Jin nodded vigorously, hugging the little paper doll, her little face flushed. "Then I'll draw the talisman right now!"

Yun Ziqian and Xiao Jin then finalized the plan.

They had to wait until midnight, when the yin energy was at its peak, to go to the center of the lake, because that was when the creatures below were most active and the cracks were easiest to find.

Yun Mingyue and Yun Tianlin stayed at the hotel.

In addition, Yun Ziqian would also arrange ten guards on the shore, and tie a thick rope to the boat, one of which was a red rope with a small brocade tied to it containing the soul-fixing money. The other end of the rope was tied to a shore post, just in case.

After finalizing the plan, Xiao Jin lay on the table and carefully drew talismans for the eight paper figures, paying extra attention to each stroke, with fine beads of sweat on her forehead.

The finished paper figure was taken by Yun Ziqian to be laminated, and it was returned not long afterward. The yellow paper was wrapped in a transparent film, which felt smooth to the touch.

Xiao Jin pinched it and looked at it again and again, extremely satisfied: "It really looks like wearing a little raincoat! This way I won't be afraid of getting wet!"

When it was completely dark, a thin mist rose over the lake, and the wind carrying the moisture blew over, making people's arms goosebumps.

Yun Ziang was extremely worried about the two of them, but in the end he still followed them.

The two accompanied Xiao Jin, along with an experienced boatman, and quietly boarded a small motorboat.

People remained on the shore to guard the ropes, their flashlights shining far across the lake, creating a much more somber atmosphere than during the day.

The engine hummed softly as the boat slowly made its way towards the center of the lake.

The closer you get to the center, the lower the water temperature becomes. The lake water near the ship's side is dark and murky, like ink that cannot be dissolved, and not even light can penetrate it.

"The rope is tied up." Yun Ziang firmly tied the red rope with copper coins on it to the iron ring at the stern of the boat, and the other end was already tied to a big tree on the shore. "If something pulls the boat, the people on the shore can pull it back with all their might."

Xiao Jin sat cross-legged in the middle of the boat, with eight small, plastic-sealed paper figures in front of her.

She nodded, took a deep breath, raised her small hand, made a hand seal with her fingertips, and softly chanted a spell.

"Emperor Taiwei, guarding the spirit in the alchemy chamber, forging weapons and armor, driving away evil and assisting righteousness, spreading yang energy throughout the body, restoring the Yellow Court, with heavenly talisman and imperial power, deterring weapons."

The incantation was short, spoken in a childish voice, and floated in the night breeze.

After Xiao Jin finished reading, she blew a breath towards the eight paper figures.

The next second, the eight little paper figures that were lying flat on the wooden board actually stood up unsteadily!

A thin plastic film wrapped around yellow paper, and tiny arms and legs moved slightly, like little soldiers lining up.

"Holy crap..." Yun Ziang's eyes widened, and he instinctively shrank back, goosebumps rising on his arms. "He... he really stood up? That's too unbelievable..."

Yun Ziqian also frowned, bent down to take a closer look, his eyes full of surprise.

This was the first time he had ever seen such a scene.

Ignoring their reactions, Xiao Jin made another hand gesture and gently touched her temple. She closed her eyes, her brows slightly furrowed, and her voice softened:

"The paper figure transforms into a real person, receiving the Dharma and experiencing spiritual connection; through this spiritual connection, the Dharma manifests its power; so be it!"

She connected her five senses with the little paper figures; whatever they saw, Xiao Jin could see too.

As soon as she finished speaking, she picked up the red rope and tied it securely around the waist of each of the little paper figures.

"Go ahead."

With a gentle wave of her little hand, eight tiny paper figures, with their short legs, flipped over the gunwale one by one and jumped into the water with a "plop, plop," instantly disappearing into the dark lake surface, leaving only eight thin red ropes swaying gently with the ripples.

The boat quieted down, with only the low hum of the engine and the sound of the lake water lapping against the boat.

Yun Ziang and Yun Ziqian held their breath, staring nervously at Xiao Jin with her eyes closed, not daring to make a sound to disturb her.

After about a minute, Xiao Jin's eyelashes trembled, and she whispered, "I see stones... huge blue stones, piled up one by one, it's a tomb wall."

Her voice gradually changed as the paper figure moved:

"Go forward... there's a door! There are doors on the wall, on all four sides, a total of four doors. The doors are carved with many patterns, winding and twisting, they are talismans."

"The door on the west side... is cracked." Xiao Jin frowned even more. "The crack is quite large, and black smoke is billowing out of it in gushes."

She opened her eyes, looked at Yun Ziqian and Yun Ziang, her little face very serious:

"I've seen this sealing technique in my master's notes; it's called the Four Gates Suppressing Evil."

"The four doors faced the four directions, sealing the evil spirits inside the tomb. But the door on the west side, which faced the death position, cracked, and the energy inside seeped out through the crack."

"What's down there isn't an ordinary water ghost; it's called an Earth Spirit," Xiao Jin explained earnestly. "When you use a dragon's lair to nurture a tomb, the evil energy in the tomb absorbs the energy from the dragon's lair, and over time, it transforms into an Earth Spirit."

"It originally had no shape, but if it is nurtured for too long and its malevolent energy is too strong, it can condense into a false shape. The blue face that Brother Tianlin saw during the day was a false shape that it condensed."

Yun Zi'ang felt a chill run down his spine and rubbed his arms: "Earthly Soul... is that thing even more ferocious than a vengeful ghost?"

"It's much fiercer." Xiao Jin nodded. "It has been at the bottom of the lake for countless years, intertwined with the energy of the dragon's lair. Ordinary talismans can't harm it."

"Can it be sealed back?" Yun Ziqian asked in a deep voice.

"Just patch up the cracked door on the west side." Xiao Jin pursed her lips. "But how to patch it and what to use to patch it depends on who is buried in the tomb and how fierce the earth spirit is."

"If we rashly lose the seal, and accidentally crack the other three doors as well, it will be even more troublesome."

She had barely finished speaking when the boat suddenly lurched violently!

"What's going on?" Yun Ziang grabbed the gunwale, his expression changing drastically.

Suddenly, the once calm lake surface began to bubble and churn, as if something was rising from the bottom.

The pitch-black lake water churned with white foam, and wisps of black mist rose from the water, winding upwards along the gunwale, instantly enveloping the entire boat in a chilling aura.

"Oh no, it's spotted us!" Xiao Jin exclaimed, anxiously reaching into her bag for talismans.

Something underwater seemed to slam into the bottom of the boat with a loud thud, causing the boat to tilt violently and Yun Ziang to nearly fall out.

The boatman panicked, gripping the steering wheel and shouting, "Boss Yun! Something's wrong underwater!!"

The red rope was taut, and the people on the shore noticed something was wrong. They tried desperately to pull the rope back, but the boat didn't budge and instead sank little by little.

"Get out of the way!"

Xiao Jin grabbed a handful of talismans and stood up, her small body standing steadily.

She bit her little finger, pressed it onto the talisman, and quickly chanted the demon-slaying incantation. With a wave of her hand, seven or eight talismans, glowing with a faint golden light, flew towards the darkest part of the lake!

"boom--"

The moment the talisman fell into the water, it exploded into a faint golden light.

A muffled sound came from underwater, like a wild beast or the sound of wind. The churning lake water suddenly stopped, and most of the black mist clinging to the boat dissipated instantly.

"Hurry up!" Xiao Jin shouted.

The boatman reacted quickly, immediately jerking the steering wheel, the engine roared, the bow turned, and the boat sped towards the shore.

The lake behind them was still churning, and black mist followed the stern of the boat, but it was blocked by the golden light of the talisman and dared not get too close.

Only when the boat docked safely and the people on shore helped them aboard did Yun Ziang finally breathe a long sigh of relief, his back soaked with sweat.

"My God..." His legs were a little weak. "This thing is too fierce. It can even cause ship collisions."

Xiao Jin stood on the shore, gazing towards the center of the lake, her brows furrowed tightly: "It's even more powerful than I thought. If it absorbs vital energy for a few more days, the other three gates will soon collapse as well."

Yun Ziqian looked at her little face and gently patted her head:

"Now that we know what's down there, we're not worried about not being able to solve it."

"I'll check and see if I can find any useful information."