Four paper figurines carried a bamboo palanquin, and upon the palanquin, a person lay slumped.

Wen Yan stimulated his yang energy and charged straight through without hesitation. Any nether soul from the rear that collided with Wen Yan evaporated on the spot.

The four paper figurines wailed miserably and turned to ashes, and the bamboo palanquin crashed to the ground.

Wen Yan stepped closer for a look, frowning—turns out, it wasn't Zhang Laoxi, but judging by the looks, a fruit farmer who worked on the mountain. Wei State had an abundance of fruit trees, and all sorts of fruits were quite famous there.

So besides Zhang Laoxi, there were actually other people being carried in.

He tried checking for breath—this person was no longer breathing.

Zhang Laoxi followed up from behind, glanced at the man, and let out a sigh.

"His body is intact; he must have had his soul taken directly. Maybe he was only just killed recently, and right after dying, was brought in here.

If his soul can be found, there might still be hope.

But we can't take his body out—without a soul, if we do take it out, at most after half an hour there'll be no life left at all.

Outside, if you lose breath and a heartbeat, in ten minutes it's pretty much hopeless to save you.

In today's terms, once you're out there, the brain starts suffering irreversible damage after just a few minutes of oxygen deprivation."

"What about a ventilator?"

"If we can keep the body alive immediately, don't waste any time, then maybe there's a chance. Since we saw him, we can't just let him die. My own body was probably already taken away a long time ago. Let's put this man near the entrance first."

Wen Yan hoisted up the bamboo palanquin and strode off with ease. After practicing the Scorching Sun Fist to the second stage these days, his physical strength had finally started to improve. Carrying a grown man was truly no pressure anymore.

When they reached the window, Wen Yan leaned out and instructed the people outside.

"Have Feng Yao call an ambulance over, and bring any emergency rescue equipment you have—someone has lost breath and heartbeat."

In less than five minutes, the sound of an ambulance could be heard outside. Wen Yan handed the person over and didn't bother further. With Zhang Laoxi, he sprinted ahead, following Zhang Laoxi's sensing toward the location of his own body.

While running, Zhang Laoxi looked at Wen Yan. Even while rushing, Wen Yan still carried the bamboo palanquin.

"Aren't you going to leave that thing behind?"

"No, since my yang energy didn't burn it up, that proves it's not made from funeral paper, but real bamboo.

If it's here, it's definitely not ordinary; it's a key tool they use to transport living people—can't leave it for them.

Besides, those paper figurines just now—you remember them, right?

You deal with this stuff more than I do. You should be able to tell where they came from.

Back when I worked in Guanzhong County, I saw the paper figurines from there before.

They're clearly quite different from the ones in Nanwu County, especially in the details, completely distinct.

Over there, they never use reflective oiled paper for the figures.

Do you recognize the maker of those figurines? Ordinary paper figures could never have such an effect, right?"

Zhang Laoxi recalled for a bit and then nodded.

"Indeed. The usual paper figures sold at funeral goods shops are made just for the living to see.

According to the rules, those paper men never have the eyes painted in, nor do they use living people as models.

Stuff that costs a few dozen bucks definitely can't do things like this.

Those paper carriers we saw were all specially made.

You have to first purchase the dead person's identity and birth details, then use that as a template to craft the figurine.

Once it's burned for the buyer, they gain a paper servant.

In Nanwu County, I've heard there are some people with this craft.

But that guy isn't from around here in Wei State. I've only heard of him, never met him.

These figurines are really expensive, usually bought by folks from Harbor City.

They're used to having servants at home while alive, so naturally, they want some after death too."

"Have you seen this bamboo palanquin before?"

"I haven't. And the bamboo doesn't look like it's from Nanwu County either."

Wen Yan nodded, examined the size of the palanquin. It likely couldn't be shoved out the window, but it also couldn't be left behind.

Tearing it apart now wouldn't make it easy to carry, so he'd just have to hold onto it for the time being and reevaluate later.

Time ticked away, and this desolate wilderness seemed endless. Under Zhang Laoxi's guidance, Wen Yan sprinted along the whole way.

Suddenly, Zhang Laoxi stopped and pointed to the side.

"Looks like we already passed it..."

"I didn't see a thing. Did you?"

"No, but according to my senses, my body is right here—we already ran past it."

Wen Yan gazed at the barren land, summoned the Scorching Sun, but still saw nothing.

He swung the Chunjun Mace to try splitting it open, but it did nothing either.

Thinking, he pulled out the Everbright Lamp from his breast pocket, focused his blessed yang energy into the wick. Gradually, a little fire seed erupted into sudden brightness.

The flame lit up the darkness; in this colorless world, a trace of orange appeared, with a gentle halo slowly spreading out.

It dispelled the darkness around them. As the light spread, a wall emerged in its glow at their side.

In a blink, a vast estate surfaced amid the fading darkness above the wild plain.

On the silent land, all sorts of lively noises now began to come from the other side of the wall.

"It's in there. This time, the sense is especially clear."

"You recognize a place like this? Ever heard of it?"

"I heard from my elders once—Central Plains County used to have a ghost realm. Supposedly, it was created by a guy who wanted to rebel but failed.

He never made it in his life. After death, he resurrected as a nether soul and somehow managed to create a nether soul realm.

He recruited all sorts of evil and fierce ghosts there. Any beings struck down by the Scorching Sun Department, he wanted them.

In the end, he even tried to launch an assault back from the nether soul realm—it became quite the uproar, reached a critical mass."

"And then?"

"Then that was it—I don't know what the Scorching Sun Department did, but they planted a sun right inside that realm. The entire ghost realm was obliterated. Those old relics know nothing about modern technology—why do you think the ghosts of Guanzhong County keep their heads down? Some of them are even adjunct professors in archaeology."

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