With virtue

But then they heard the paper tiger on the window leap down with a roar that shook the tiles like thunder, raising dust and ash that filled the room with white ash. The power of that roar would have terrified any ordinary ghost or spirit.

This tiger is truly lifelike, exuding the majesty of a mountain king; the phrase "tiger-like and majestic" perfectly captures its essence.

However, now that I think about it, if it had been made according to the original form of Zhao Yunshu, the tiger probably wouldn't have been very imposing. At most, it would have just roared and bitten a bit, turning into a hissing big cat.

But the tiger now was created by Bai Qianjian and then imbued with magic by Zhao Yunshu. At this moment, it let out a sudden roar, startling all the arms that were pulling back from the window.

The tiger's spirit was complete, and after Zhao Yunshu used talisman water to dot its eyes and cinnabar to infuse its energy, it was originally only exceptionally perfect in form, but now it was also complete in both form and spirit!

This is the paper-cutting technique he learned from the secret manual he found on the black-headed monk of Lushan! He infused the fierce spirit of a tiger into the paper-cutting.

As for where the fierce tiger's aura comes from?

Haha, don't ask.

The paper tiger had three horizontal lines and one vertical line on its forehead, forming the character "王" (king) in the center. It stood with its head held high, its four claws like hooks, its mouth like a blood basin, and its fangs sharp as swords. Although it was made of paper and its size was no bigger than a window, if people saw it on the street, they would probably be so frightened that they would run away.

At that moment, the hands that reached in through the window twitched at the tiger's roar, their trembling hands shaking as if they had been branded by a furnace, and they all withdrew their hands in a flash.

The tiger, however, was relentless. It leaped out of the window, its four paws in the air.

Because he himself was a paper cutter, and it was unknown where Zhao Yunshu had gathered the fierce tiger's aura, the window paper in front of him did not transform into a real tiger, but instead remained in the state of an artwork. Therefore, although it jumped down from the window, it was still flat, and this jump not only did not damage the window paper, but it also leaped out through the window crack.

Thus, the window paper blocked the view, making it impossible to see what was happening outside. All that could be heard were the constant sounds of tearing and howling, the waving of sharp claws tearing flesh, and a few shrill cries that didn't sound human, rising and falling with the roars of tigers, making one's scalp tingle and hair stand on end.

Outside the window, the roar of a tiger was deafening, mixed with sharp, strange cries, and it seemed as if something was frantically fleeing throughout the courtyard.

On the window paper, the shadows of the struggling figures in the courtyard outside were reflected, sometimes large, sometimes small, black and red, making one's heart pound with fear. It was like a shadow play where one could not understand anything, but the atmosphere was enough to make one's scalp tingle.

Bai Qian was extremely anxious and reached out to pry open the window paper to see what kind of monster was outside.

Zhao Yunshu reacted swiftly, grabbing her hand to stop her crime and shouting, "Don't be reckless! This tiger is pasted on the window paper, using the power of the paper decoration. If you break it, the spell will be broken!"

Bai Qian withdrew her hand. Although she didn't know what use the window decorations could have to transform a tiger into a real one, she didn't dare to actually break the spell. She gritted her teeth in frustration: "Damn it, this is driving me crazy!"

"Manners, manners," Zhao Yunshu reminded him.

But Bai Qian pretended not to hear, carrying his sword and wandering around the room. After circling twice, he came up with a plan. He leaned against the wall, pressed his ear against the window frame, and listened to the tiger roars and ghost cries mixed together outside, trying to distinguish the state of the battle from the sounds.

Zhao Yunshu was also prepared. He drew his sword and took out a Six Jia Talisman with his other hand. He stared at the window, waiting for the result.

Before long, the tiger's roar faded into the distance, but the ghostly wailing seemed to have disappeared as well. Bai Qian's heart was still pounding. After all... everyone knew that although the thing had been forced back, the night was still long, and no one knew when the next sound would be heard.

Just as the tiger was fighting the monster, then... something made a sound again from the other side, at the gate. Thump, thump, thump.

As Bai Qian and the young Taoist were pondering, the same sound appeared again, followed by two more knocks. The sound was neither too loud nor too soft, with even intervals and no sense of urgency.

The knocking sound pierced the stillness of the night, entering the doorway one by one. It was neither noisy nor fierce, and it lacked the intensity of the previous battle between the monster and the tiger, but... it was more awe-inspiring than the ferocious roar and pounce of the shadow puppet show.

Bai Qian was stunned for a moment, but the little Taoist reacted faster. He stood up directly, lowered his steps but did not slow down. He almost jumped to the door on tiptoe.

Clearly, she wanted to say something, but felt it was inappropriate to speak at this moment, or even that it might be considered cowardly. So she could only clench her teeth and stare intently at the young Taoist's back.

This time, the young Taoist priest didn't blindly peer through the crack in the door; he simply kept a distance and peeked at the outside situation from a distance.

It was still pitch black outside, and you couldn't see anything outside. The darkness was empty and very quiet, except for a cold wind blowing in through the crack in the door.

However, even though they said there was no one outside, the knocking didn't stop, and it continued at the same unhurried pace.

thump.

thump.

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The knocking was still very steady, one knock after another, somewhat like the affected manners of a wealthy butler, but... there seemed to be something mimicking proper human manners.

But no matter what, behind a flimsy wooden door, something stood close to the door, silently watching.

Zhao Yunshu remained very calm.

He might be a little afraid of some kind of monster, but if it's a ghost, wouldn't he be able to easily defeat it? It's a perfect match for his expertise.

The young Taoist priest went behind the door and carefully observed the condition of the doorposts, especially the cinnabar runes.

As you can see, the cinnabar runes that lit up when the door was hit have now quieted down and dimmed considerably, but they haven't disappeared. They still pulsate slightly on the doorpost, breathing in and out, constantly flashing like a breathing light, with the strokes lighting up precisely with each knock.

The peach charms are still hanging there, firmly in place, showing no sign of being activated.

So Zhao Yunshu turned to Bai Qian and said, "I've checked, don't be afraid, the talisman on the door is intact, it can't get in."

Bai Qian, standing behind, raised his head and said, "Who's afraid? What haven't I seen? Thirteen bandits surrounded me, and I didn't even flinch."

Although that's what she said, her voice sounded a little unsteady.

"Then why are you pressed against the wall?" Zhao Yunshu turned around and asked. Bai Qian then realized that he had somehow shrunk himself against the wall, his back pressed tightly against it, not daring to move an inch away.

Enraged but not daring to raise her voice, she merely brandished her slender sword and feinted a slash towards Zhao Yunshu, saying, "I'm leaning against the wall with my back to avoid being attacked from both sides! Do you want to die?!"

Whether she was genuinely afraid or feigning fear, she seemed unwilling to admit it.

Zhao Yunshu gave a soft "hmm" and then didn't tease or provoke her anymore.

He's no longer the kind of person who would be scared by such a scene.

The young Taoist priest was trained to be brave by the old Taoist priest from a young age. In order to temper his courage, he was sent to all sorts of outrageous places. So although he was sometimes startled, he was not afraid at all.

At six or seven years old, he was thrown into a mass grave by an old Taoist priest to train his courage. By the time he was ten, he could doze off with his head on a tombstone in the mass grave. When he got older, he would close the eyes of zombies in the middle of the night and collect corpses for people in various places. These were all ordinary daily activities to train his courage.

He had seen real vengeful ghosts sit up from their coffins, headless ghosts chasing people while holding their heads, and a hundred ghosts wailing in the night. A ghost general led many monsters and surged towards him like a tide.

He's used to it. He does get startled sometimes by sudden changes and frightening scenes, but it's just a momentary fright. In reality, he's not afraid.

But Bai Qian was different. After all, she was a girl, and she couldn't suppress the chill in her heart. Even though she had prepared herself mentally, she still felt a little scared.

Zhao Yunshu confirmed the status of the talisman, then went back into the house, sat down on the kang (a heated brick bed), and said to the door, "Go to sleep. Let it knock, you go to sleep. I won't turn off the light tonight; I'll wait until the sun comes up. Besides, I think if that thing outside really has the ability to get in, it won't knock anymore."

Upon hearing the young Taoist's words, Bai Qian was taken aback and said, "Sleep? At a time like this? You want me to sleep?" She said incredulously, and couldn't help but look at the window again. Outside, it had become quiet at some point, and the tiger's roar had stopped without her noticing.

Aside from the calm young Taoist priest, all that could be heard was the punctual, rhythmic knocking on the door.

However, after that, even the knocking stopped.

The youngest sister was still asleep, and Bai Qian was a little envious of her; she actually wanted to sleep too.

After the knocking stopped, a little while later, Bai Qian couldn't help but swallow, her throat bobbing up and down.

She suddenly felt that this sudden silence was more maddening than anything else.

She walked over to Zhao Yunshu and sat down, holding her sword and staring at the door.

She swallowed hard and asked softly, "You mean... is that thing still at the door?"

Zhao Yunshu did not open her eyes, but simply said, "Yes."

"babble……!"

Bai Qian froze.

Zhao Yunshu added, "It's listening to us." Bai Qian almost cursed out loud, but she managed to swallow her words through sheer willpower, her face turning red.

Zhao Yun adjusted the torch on the wall, making the fire burn brighter and the room brighter.

He wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but he felt the flame on the torch shrink slightly before quickly straightening up again.

It seems... someone is gently blowing a breath through the wall.

Bai Qian let out a "Woo... Ha!!" sound, first shrinking her head, then letting out a vicious growl.

Zhao Yunshu cursed inwardly, then calculated the time and took out the yellow book.

It's been so long since the beginning, the Yellow Book should have gathered enough energy by now, right? It should display information about the monster by now, shouldn't it?

Yes, from the very beginning, the reason he kept turning around and delaying was actually to let the yellow book record the aura within, so that he could directly open the box on the other side.

What kind of nonsense is this, this pretentious nonsense? Let me see!

He reached into his robes, took out the yellow book, and expertly turned the pages. Using the torches burning on the wall, he began reading the latest page.

Sure enough, a clump of marks appeared on the page.

But... it's so blurry. The pattern is indistinct, like ink spilled on a book page, leaving a blot of ink.

The picture was still in its infancy, like a mass of black water with countless fine lines that seemed to be trying to break free, but ultimately failed and scattered among all the dark traces.

Zhao Yunshu squinted, brought the pages of the book close to the torch, and examined them carefully, but still couldn't figure out what it was.

Moreover, and most importantly, there wasn't a single word of textual annotation following it.

His heart sank.

After all this time, the yellow book still doesn't show the details of the outside world?

In this situation, either the external creature is not an ordinary ghost or monster, or the energy absorbed is insufficient.

The same thing happened when I was at Ding Kiln, when I faced that demonic monk Yuanmeng. He didn't react at all when we first met, and even after we had been in contact for a long time, he only left a shadow of me without any explanation.

Later, he used his methods to destroy the resentment, which caused the other party to make a move, revealing the picture of the snake's body, but still without any words.

Finally, the visualization diagram was completed only after the killing was finished.

But that was because the demon monk was half-demon and half-human, actually in human form. His resentment was brewing in his belly, and eventually a viper coiled in his intestines and coexisted with him, which is why he was unable to absorb it.

But the monster in front of him was probably not related to a human at all, and the shadowy figure in the painting was not detailed. What was going on? "Strange." Zhao Yunshu closed the yellow book, put it in his pocket, picked up his sword and stood up.

He glanced at the gate, then at the window paper, and said, "We still don't know the details. It seems we have no choice but to go out and see. You stay here. If things look bad, take Yaomei and run."

Upon hearing this, Bai Qian was taken aback at first, then smashed his sword, his eyebrows raised in anger, and said, "What kind of flower is this? How can I, a wanderer of the martial world, not uphold loyalty? What kind of hero would abandon you at a time like this!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yunshu glanced at Bai Qian.

The woman was defiant, but although she could barely stand up, her legs were still trembling slightly.

He was somewhat surprised that, despite being so afraid, he was still willing to stay.

I initially thought he was just a braggart, but it turns out he actually has some guts.

"Are you sure?" Zhao Yunshu asked.

Bai Qian puffed out his chest and said, "What nonsense are you talking about? I, 'A Gust of Wind,' roam the world relying on loyalty. If I ran away at a time like this, how could I face people in the underworld?"

As she spoke, she pointed to the youngest sister in the corner: "Besides, there's another little girl in this room. If I were to leave her with a quack Taoist priest who only knows how to trim dogs, wouldn't that be a terrible sin?"

Zhao Yunshu was so angry she laughed.

However, he didn't argue and said, "Alright, then you stay inside and protect your younger sister. If that thing outside keeps banging on the door, take her and run. There's a hillside just over the back of this house. Don't look back, just keep running." Bai Qian opened her mouth, as if she wanted to say that she wanted to go out too, but when she met Zhao Yunshu's gaze, she swallowed her words and nodded.

Zhao Yunshu put away the iron sword, walked behind the door, closed his eyes and regulated his breathing, and reorganized the gallbladder, heart fire and kidney water in his inner vision.

The monster in the yellow book was still just a blurry mess, not even a complete outline had appeared. But the more it was like that, the less careless we could be. The unknown was the more troublesome it was.

He held a sword in one hand and a Six Armor Talisman in the other, then turned to Bai Qian and whispered, "No matter what you see or hear later, don't make a sound. Protect Yaomei. I'll go out and investigate first."