Xiao Muyu looked at the eyes of the paper figures. Except for Baihe Langjun’s parents and grandmother, the other paper figures’ eyes were not dotted.
“Searching for the eyes, Captain Xiao, are we supposed to dot their eyes?” Zuo Tiantian asked eagerly.
Xiao Muyu shook her head, “I’m not sure yet, but it’s very likely. The problem is, we don’t have anything to dot the eyes with.”
Chen Kaijie and the others began searching the room, while Xiao Muyu noticed two paper figures in the corner holding money jars. She bent down and tentatively touched one of the jars.
It didn’t budge. She looked closer and felt a mark at the bottom of the jar. She picked up a lantern and saw writing underneath: the boy to the south, the girl to the north. As she suspected, something had been overlooked.
Xiao Muyu sighed inwardly but didn’t dwell on it. There was no point in thinking too much about it now.
Soon, Chen Kaijie excitedly came over with a brush and an inkstone.
“Captain Xiao, we found a brush, but there’s no ink. And this brush…”
They looked closely and found that both the brush and the inkstone were made of paper.
Despite continuing to search, they found nothing, and the situation reached a stalemate again.
“Besides the extra paper figures, do you notice anything different?” Xiao Muyu asked, looking at the two groups of paper figures.
Hearing this, the group began to scrutinize them. Shen Qingqiu coughed softly. Xiao Muyu noticed her sweating and hurried over to wipe her forehead, her lips pressed into a thin line.
Shen Qingqiu tilted her head to let Xiao Muyu wipe her sweat, coughing intermittently. After a while, she asked with a smile, “Aren’t you going to test me?”
Xiao Muyu frowned deeply, shook her head, and held Shen Qingqiu’s hand. Her usually calm eyes were filled with unrestrained anxiety and worry.
Finally, she whispered, “I can’t test you.”
Shen Qingqiu laughed lightly, “You trust me that much?”
She knew Xiao Muyu’s current feelings. Standing was exhausting, and she couldn’t fool Xiao Muyu anymore.
Taking a deep breath, before she could say anything, Xiao Muyu placed a cotton cloth on the floor and helped Shen Qingqiu sit against it, “Rest well. Leave this to us. Don’t exhaust yourself.”
She held Shen Qingqiu’s hands, rubbing them to warm her.
Shen Qingqiu’s lips were dry and white, her forehead quickly covered in sweat again, making Xiao Muyu anxious and pained.
“I’m just weak and a bit cold, but my mind is clear. Don’t let me delay you. Go check.”
Su Jin and the others were equally concerned about Shen Qingqiu, feeling helpless.
Chen Kaijie quickly fetched a pot, checked its temperature, and wrapped it in a cloth before handing it to Shen Qingqiu.
“This is warm, Vice Captain, it should help.”
Shen Qingqiu laughed as she took the pot, “This pot has never been used for its intended purpose.”
Chen Kaijie laughed too, but felt saddened when he saw Su Jin and Zuo Tiantian’s worried faces.
They had gone through so many trials together, and Shen Qingqiu had always been their rock, fearless in the face of danger. Even when severely injured in Instance 002, she hadn’t been this weak. Seeing her like this was unsettling.
“Stop looking at me. There’s no clue on me. Focus on finding it. If you come over, I can still knock you down. Don’t worry.” Shen Qingqiu, aware of their concern, tried to lift their spirits.
“Captain Xiao, the house’s layout hasn’t changed, but it’s different from when we came in. I remember the last ‘double happiness’ character was half red and half white, but it’s reversed now, left white and right red.” Su Jin glanced at Zuo Tiantian and Chen Kaijie.
They nodded, “Yes, no wonder something felt off.”
Zuo Tiantian, closest to the ‘double happiness’ character, examined it closely and discovered it was pieced together. Her heart raced as she carefully peeled it off, revealing a booklet inside.
Excited, she called the others over, “There’s something behind here, Captain Xiao. It looks like the bride’s birth certificate.”
Xiao Muyu opened it and found it was indeed a birth certificate, listing the bride’s name, Liu Jiaolan, her birth date, and her parents’ and grandparents’ names. However, next to it was a note indicating her fate: pure yang, potentially harmful.
“Why hide this? In ancient times, people believed in fate. If this was found, how could they agree to the marriage?”
“Maybe he didn’t believe in fate, so he stole the certificate,” Shen Qingqiu suggested.
“Shouldn’t it have been burned? If they didn’t want others to know, why keep it?” Su Jin couldn’t understand.
“Burned?” Xiao Muyu murmured, something dawning on her. She quickly picked up the paper brush and inkstone. Both were intricately made of paper, indistinguishable from the real thing.
“Why paper? If they wanted to prepare, why not use real ones? Unless… the paper brush can be dipped in ink.”
Xiao Muyu stood in the center, looking at the paper figures, tables, and lanterns.
“Because they’re for the dead. The dead use things that are meant to be burned,” Shen Qingqiu reminded her softly.
Xiao Muyu’s eyes lit up, “Yes, they were burned. That’s why they’re here. The paper figures are not for the living to see, but for the dead. Those two paper figures can’t be dotted because they’ve been burned. Only when sealed by talismans, losing their spirit, can they be ignited.”
Everything made sense now, from the fallen, unlit lanterns to the paper figures.
“But what’s the use of the birth certificate?” Zuo Tiantian was puzzled.
Xiao Muyu felt more clear-headed than ever.
“Qingqiu, do you remember your birthdate?”
Shen Qingqiu was momentarily stunned, then nodded, “Yes, it’s Jiawu, Renshen, Wuxu, Jiazi.”
Xiao Muyu nodded, “And mine is Guisi, Jiwei, Jichou, Ding Si. Our birthdates are special. Seeing the bride’s birthdate just now, I realized we both have pure yin and pure yang fates.”
“In the Eight Characters of Birth, odd numbers are yang and even numbers are yin. So, the heavenly stems Jia, Bing, Wu, Geng, Ren are yang, and the earthly branches Zi, Yin, Chen, Wu, Shen, Xu are yang. If all eight characters are yang, it’s pure yang, and if all are yin, it’s pure yin.”
Shen Qingqiu quickly understood, “So my birthdate is pure yang, and yours is pure yin?”
“Yes,” Xiao Muyu confirmed.
“And he dared to marry me, not afraid I’d harm him?”
Xiao Muyu laughed, giving her a playful look.
Realizing her mistake, Shen Qingqiu quickly corrected herself, “I mean in the instance. Our real birthdates aren’t like that. I wouldn’t harm you. Superstition is nonsense.”
Chen Kaijie, Su Jin, and Zuo Tiantian: …
The conversation had taken a strange turn. They felt like third wheels.
Xiao Muyu sighed, “That’s not what I meant. You’re not harming anyone. Look at yourself now. The interplay of yin and yang isn’t absolute. Here in the underworld, the paper figures suppress you. You’re the one being harmed. I think I understand why your health is deteriorating.”
She seemed relieved. Once they left, Shen Qingqiu would recover.
“Now I understand why the boy and girl point in opposite directions,” Shen Qingqiu realized.
“So it’s not about male and female, but red for joy as yang and white for mourning as yin. I’m pure yang, you’re pure yin. I’m chosen by red, you’re chosen by white,” Shen Qingqiu concluded.
Xiao Muyu nodded, “That makes sense. Similarly, these red and white paper figures correspond to yang and yin.”
Chen Kaijie realized, “When we entered, the house was decorated for a wedding, but now it’s set up for a funeral.”
Everything fit together. But how to dot the eyes?
Xiao Muyu pondered, carefully examining the wedding procession paper figures. They wore red clothes.
But something felt off. Besides not having dotted eyes, the front ones held suona horns, and two carried plaques—one for the wedding, one for the funeral, just like the procession that day.
The paper figures carrying the sedan chair indeed carried it, but two of them seemed less robust than their companions.
Focusing on the hint about dotting the eyes, Su Jin and the others also examined the paper figures.
After a moment, Su Jin touched one of the sedan carriers, one of the less robust figures.
“This small frame is actually a sedan chair bearer.”
She was a bit puzzled and sighed. Over there, Xiao Muyu immediately turned her gaze back to the paper figure. When she looked at its waist, she was stunned to see a black bell.
This brought back memories of the first time Xiao Muyu saw the wedding procession. She looked at the four people in front again and pointed at two of them, saying to Su Jin, “Don’t you think those two are more suitable for carrying the sedan chair?”
Everyone took a look and agreed.
Xiao Muyu roughly understood the peculiarity here; something was wrong with these paper figures. She suddenly thought of something, bent down, and touched the waists of the other paper figures. Sure enough, some had bells, and some didn’t.
Because the room was dim, Xiao Muyu took out a lantern and looked at each one. Su Jin and the others, who had not experienced that night, were a bit confused, but they also noticed that those with bells had bells of different colors.
Images began flashing through Xiao Muyu’s mind. The paper figure with the black bell shouldn’t be among the sedan chair bearers. This confirmed Xiao Muyu’s suspicion.
“Their positions are wrong,” Xiao Muyu said with certainty.
“Positions are wrong?” Su Jin was stunned. Before she could say more, the long-awaited system finally appeared. “Congratulations to the player for triggering the third core character. Please arrange the wedding procession properly. Note that you only have one chance to adjust. If you make a mistake, the mission will fail, and players will not be able to enter this room for 24 hours.”
Everyone exchanged glances. Chen Kaijie rubbed his forehead and said with difficulty, “But I didn’t even notice there were differences in the paper figures, let alone the bells.”
Chen Kaijie felt a bit flustered and annoyed. Su Jin and Zuo Tiantian were equally at a loss and couldn’t offer any suggestions.
“The one with the purple bell is the one holding the sign on the right,” Shen Qingqiu said.
Xiao Muyu and the others quickly looked at her. Shen Qingqiu explained softly, “When I was carried over in the sedan chair, I saw a paper figure with a purple bell at its waist when I got out. I was a bit groggy at the time, so I didn’t think much of it and didn’t have time to look at the others.”
“My head was tilted to the right, so he should be on the right side, and his hands were raised. But I could tell he wasn’t playing the suona, which means he was holding the sign.”
The protective talisman she had reacted, waking her up. Unfortunately, it turned to ash when she got injured.
Listening to her, Xiao Muyu couldn’t help but smile. “This information is so important. That night, I noticed they had bells on them. The ones with black bells are the ones holding the signs.”
“He was holding a sign for a funeral, so he should be on the left. So, he was wrong. That night, I wanted to check the other paper figures for bells, but I only had time for a quick glance because the suona player was in front. I could only hear the bells but didn’t see any other colors before he passed by.”
“You didn’t see anything?” Shen Qingqiu frowned, having a guess but didn’t want to influence Xiao Muyu.
Xiao Muyu nodded. “It was nighttime, but the moonlight was so bright it cast shadows. So, the light wasn’t as good as during the day, but I could still see colors clearly.
“At least, I could see their red clothes clearly. So, if I didn’t see any color, it was probably red.”
“Since Captain Xiao and the vice-captain have each confirmed a color, that leaves red and blue. The contrast between blue and red is significant. If it were blue, Captain Xiao would have noticed immediately,” Zuo Tiantian analyzed carefully.
Xiao Muyu looked at Shen Qingqiu, who seemed to have made a decision. “I think the same as you. Let’s arrange it this way,” she said.
Xiao Muyu understood her intent and signaled Chen Kaijie and the others to switch the positions of the paper figures.
The paper figures originally in their positions had their postures. After switching, the ones with the suonas took the signs, and those holding the signs took the poles at the coffin.
“Are there any differences among the eight paper figures?” Chen Kaijie asked nervously.
“The eight are similar in size and wear identical clothing. If that’s the case, there’s nothing we can do.”
With that, Xiao Muyu placed the other wedding sign in front of the paper figure with the purple bell, and it immediately raised its hand to grasp it.
A faint clicking sound was heard, and the suona started playing again, startling everyone.
“Ding, congratulations to the player for successfully completing the core character task. Reward: safe house protection for one incense stick’s duration.”
“Safe house protection for one incense stick? This never ends!” Su Jin couldn’t help but get annoyed.
Author’s Note: Happy Qixi Festival to everyone!
So embarrassing, I made a typo again. I meant to thank everyone for their support, not just my sister. To all my younger sisters, I’m sorry… Haha, I find it both funny and embarrassing.
You’re all my sisters. Mistakes must be avoided, or they can be deadly.
For example: “Accompanied the bride all night” instead of “Did the bride all night,” which would be terrifying.
40799724, Ning Mo today three parts sugar, HUA, Drunk to Immortality, pq, freja white, Qing Banxia, 27485254 – one each.
