That was an exceptionally handsome figure,
His features sharply defined, his eyes deep, illuminated by the faint glow of ghost fire.
His robes were slightly tattered,
But he seemed not to care.
"…!"
Chu Liangliang's mouth was slightly agape, staring blankly.
Her brain had frozen.
Suddenly, the newcomer spoke, "What year is it now?"
Chu Liangliang's chin twitched, unable to make any sound.
"Never mind, the year doesn't matter."
The newcomer sighed softly, tossing the phone to her.
Accompanied by the ghost fire, he turned and re-entered the dim forest.
Just as the ghost fire was about to vanish into the woods, Chu Liangliang suddenly snapped back to reality and shouted:
"It's 2033!"
Upon hearing this, the ghost fire paused for a moment, then disappeared.
Darkness returned to the surroundings.
Chu Liangliang stared blankly for two seconds.
A gust of wind blew, leaving her feeling chilly.
"A ghost, a ghost… I saw a ghost…"
Her tongue felt thick as she fumbled to open the phone,
"Hello, I… I'm at Puyuan Mountain…"
She, she just spoke to a ghost, would she die…
…
In the distance.
Jiang Lin watched the figure disappear into the woods, seemingly entering some kind of barrier.
A ghost?
No.
He didn't sense any soul aura.
The feeling was akin to the two paper figures he first saw belonging to Fang Hei Yi.
But,
Jiang Lin had just scanned the area and found no other ghost messengers.
Moreover, judging by its words, it seemed to have been hidden here for a long time.
What was going on?
…
The next day.
Campus.
The first thing the Ox-Head Ghost Messenger said upon seeing Jiang Lin was, "Did you listen to a concert last night?"
Jiang Lin: "I did."
He listened via the live stream.
"That's good, that's good."
The Ox-Head Ghost Messenger breathed a sigh of relief.
He had thought Jiang Lin had secretly been working hard again; it was good that wasn't the case.
He asked excitedly, "How did it feel?"
"It was quite good. We rarely see such a large-scale event in the Eastern Hall."
After speaking, Jiang Lin remembered what he had seen last night.
Without beating around the bush, he asked directly, "Do you know about the paper figures at Puyuan Mountain in the human world?"
Those paper figures were of high quality, but their clothing looked like they hadn't been repaired for a long time.
If it had truly resided there for so long, the Northern Hall should have had some news.
"You saw it?"
The Ox-Head Ghost Messenger raised an eyebrow and looked around.
There were no other ghosts.
He wasn't good at academics, but he knew a lot of these miscellaneous rumors.
Speaking again, he said with a hint of regret,
"That is a life-bound paper figure left by a former captain."
Only a life-bound paper figure would possess such high quality and such flexibility.
Jiang Lin: As expected.
Although he had guessed it last night, he couldn't be sure.
Life-bound paper,
The quantity promised by the Northern Hall had been delivered two days ago.
He had kept only one sheet, leaving the rest for the other ghost messengers in the Eastern Hall.
After receiving the life-bound paper, Jiang Lin had also taken the time to study it.
But not knowing where to start, he had simply worn it with him.
"Former captain?" Jiang Lin asked.
The Ox-Head Ghost Messenger flew towards the teaching building, replying with an "Mm."
"He sacrificed himself during a mission."
"And the life-bound paper figure…?" Jiang Lin.
"It is still carrying out the last task the former captain assigned it before leaving… to guard the people on Puyuan Mountain."
The Ox-Head Ghost Messenger shook his head. "It wasn't called Puyuan Mountain before. After that incident, the people there built a temple on it themselves."
Gradually, it became Puyuan Mountain.
"The character 'Pu' is the surname of that former captain."
No wonder,
It was of such high quality, yet it hadn't been well-maintained.
No wonder it was guarding there alone.
It even didn't know what year it was.
Because its only task was to guard there.
To protect the people above.
Jiang Lin recalled the first lesson he received when he joined the beginner class of Paper Figure Arts.
Teacher Huo had said that the paper figure arts of the Northern Hall were about making paper pieces remember your instructions.
If it's to do a somersault, then do a somersault.
If it's to guard the door, then guard the door.
If it's to defend when encountering danger, then it must spontaneously defend.
If it's to move aside when seeing an ant, then it must move aside.
"If you can make the paper pieces remember your instructions and execute them accurately,
Then, they will be your most loyal soldiers!"
Unless…
Jiang Lin murmured,
"Unless death arrives, unless the ghost qi within them disappears completely…
Otherwise, they will forever execute the instructions left by their master."
At the time, he hadn't felt much hearing this.
Now, reflecting on it, there was a sense of emotion.
Although paper figures were not as flexible as humans and ghosts,
They possessed something that many humans and ghosts lacked.
…
…
On Jiang Lin's end, learning paper figure arts, musical instruments, and live-streaming daily tasks were all progressing in an orderly fashion.
Influenced by Jiang Lin, the Seven-Colored Egg also began to compete in the class.
It had even started skipping grades.
Just like in the human world, when others were only halfway through their first year, it had already self-studied.
It directly entered the second year of study.
When the news of the Seven-Colored Egg changing classes arrived, the ghosts in the same class were bewildered.
We enrolled together / I enrolled half a year before you, how did you skip grades?
Thus,
The undisputed 'king of competition' of the campus was born.
The Northern Hall had always favored a leisurely style.
With this competition, many ghosts didn't know what to do.
Wouldn't this make them look useless?
And it was being broadcast globally.
Lord Yama, truly, it's not that they are lazy, it's that this ghost and egg are too competitive!
…
Besides the Seven-Colored Egg skipping grades.
Another matter worth noting during this period was that some ghosts had been delivering small notes to Jiang Lin's apartment at night.
Since the Day-Roaming God took over, Jiang Lin had not managed it and had not received any further news.
However,
Two days before the Ghost Festival was about to arrive, he suddenly heard news from the Ox-Head Ghost Messenger.
In the underworld, a new ghost messenger of the Nether Envoy realm had been born.
Jiang Lin was currently in the Ghost King realm. Above the Ghost King realm were the Nether Envoy realm and the Nether Emperor realm.
Above the Nether Emperor, there was only one – the Underworld King realm!
Jiang Lin hadn't connected these two matters until that evening…
The Day-Roaming God called him, Xu Youzhi, and other ghost messengers together for a meeting.
"Prepare to return to the Eastern Hall and leave the Northern Hall before the Ghost Festival arrives."
Because a 'grand show' was about to unfold in the Northern Hall.
"Okay!"
Upon hearing this, Xu Youzhi's face lit up with joy, and he readily agreed.
Finally, he could leave.
The style of the Northern Hall was too laid-back; if he stayed any longer, he felt he would become completely useless.
"Can we go back?!"
Black Impermanence Liu Buwei clenched his fists, becoming somewhat excited.
He had learned a lot since coming out.
He had long wanted to go back and try it out.
"Alright."
In response, Yu Baixing, Qin Zhouzhou, Asi, and Jiang Lin had no objections.
The Day-Roaming God's arrangement must have its reasons.
Moreover, they had stayed in the Northern Hall for quite some time.
On this journey, they first went to the Southern Hall, then the Western Hall, the Northern Hall…
Now, were they finally going home?
…