Chapter 1 The Paper-Doll Village

As the villagers of Mo Family Village rushed towards the village chief's home, Mo Caiwei and I arrived at Paper-Doll Village.

Built against the mountain, with houses rising in tiers, Paper-Doll Village looked from the outside like a settlement without any planning. However, upon closer inspection, it wasn't hard to see that every building held hidden secrets.

I looked up at the entrance to Paper-Doll Village and couldn't help but mutter to myself, "A truly strategic and impregnable stronghold."

In my view, any two houses could form a mutually supporting position simply by opening their windows. That design alone was enough to amaze anyone.

I was certain that without heavy fire support, trying to fight your way into Paper-Doll Village in street-to-street combat would require casualties at least ten times greater than theirs.

Mo Caiwei said, "The village doesn't refuse entry to outsiders. Besides, the villagers like to joke with outsiders. Don't worry, they aren't malicious."

As soon as I followed Mo Caiwei to the entrance of the village, I saw two paper figures in blue jackets pushing open the gate in a wobbly fashion.

One of the paper figures leaned against the gate and waved his hand, instantly producing a piece of white paper that read, "Welcome to Paper-Doll Village."

I laughed and said, "The people in your village are quite interesting!"

Mo Caiwei led me into the village. "The villagers are usually busy with their own affairs and rarely interact. They only come out to meet when outsiders come. Ahead is the village's commercial street. If you want to...never mind, maybe you shouldn't buy anything."

As Mo Caiwei spoke, my eyes had already landed on a butcher shop. Hanging on the meat rack was a set of human ribs, completely stripped of flesh.

The butcher inside the shop saw Mo Caiwei and grinned, "Caiwei, you're back! I have freshly butchered human meat here, take some back for your master to enjoy with his wine!"

The butcher was speaking to Mo Caiwei, but his eyes, marked by a horizontal scar, were fixed on me. Seeing that I didn't react, an old woman with a hunched back walked out of the shop. "Young man, we have freshly grilled skewers here. Why don't you try a couple?"

As the old woman spoke, she pulled out a handful of skewers still sizzling with oil from behind her and held them out to me.

I said, "Thank you," and took them. The old woman took a step back, pulled a bloody finger from her pocket, and began chewing on it with a crunching sound.

Her eyes, filled with laughter, kept glancing back and forth at my face. I took a couple of bites of the skewers. "Too much cumin. It covers the taste of the meat."

The butcher laughed loudly. "Kid, you're alright. I'm called Human-Meat Chef. Come find me when you want to buy meat!"

I ate the skewers as I walked forward. "The sheep bones you hung up are quite fresh. Next time, carve the illusion spells directly onto the bones. Don't twist them into ropes and tie them to the iron hooks. The cinnabar is showing."

"And you, little girl, next time you pretend to be an old woman, don't hunch your back. Pull your collar up a bit, too. The lace is showing." The old woman, who was eating a human finger at the door, froze. The finger she was chewing on fell to the ground with a thud and turned into a bamboo shoot tip.

The old woman screamed, "Ah!" and stomped her feet as she ran back into the house.

The butcher holding the meat cleaver was stunned for a few seconds before laughing. "Kid, you're wicked enough. I like you."

I looked at Mo Caiwei, who had an awkward expression on her face. "Is this how your village welcomes people?"

Mo Caiwei covered half of her face and said, "In a while, there might be something even more special."

Before Mo Caiwei could finish speaking, I saw a paper-doll child jump out from the side of the street. It tugged on my clothes and said in a soft voice, "Esteemed guest... no, boss... no, handsome guy. Aren't you thirsty after eating so many skewers? Come in and look at the furniture, have a cup of tea?"

"It's okay if you don't buy furniture. You can still have tea!"

"They even have paper-dolls soliciting customers? Let's go take a look!" Out of curiosity, I followed him into the shop on the street.

The first thing I saw when I entered was a tea table more than two meters long, pieced together from the bones of dead people. Around the tea table were several chairs made of human bones.

Curious, I pulled out a chair and sat down. The armrests made of human hand bones immediately flipped open and slowly opened their palms, supporting my arms as if wanting me to sit more comfortably.

The things hanging in that butcher shop were fake. This time, I was sitting on real human bones.

The paper-doll opened four teacups made from human skulls and poured tea with practiced movements. "Handsome, try it! My tea ceremony is top-notch!"

I picked up a cup of tea, smelled the aroma, and took a sip. "The tea is good, but the water isn't. Next time, remember to use water from the heart of the river to brew the tea. The taste will be purer."

Lao Liu taught me how to appreciate tea. He told me that I would have to deal with social situations in the future, so he taught me a bunch of random things so I wouldn't embarrass myself.

The paper-doll had just snorted coldly when someone walked in smiling. "So, a good friend has arrived. Only those who understand tea understand life and have better taste. Friend, what do you think of my furniture?"