Chapter 67: Averting Disaster with Paper Effigies

Click!
The door to the room opened on its own, even though I had locked it from the inside.
Unless it was a hotel staff member, no one should have been able to get in.
However, I hadn’t seen a single employee during my two trips in and out of the hotel since earlier.

There was no one outside the door, or rather, I couldn’t see anyone.
But I could already feel that something had entered.
The room became exceptionally cold.
Then, the two candles on the offering table lit up on their own, but the flames burning on the red candles were a ghostly green.

Mo Qingyan had told me that when the candles lit up, it meant the ghosts had arrived.
I was not to make any sound that would let the ghosts discover my presence.
I could only hold my breath and kneel on the ground, staying as still as possible.

Then, I saw two clumps of ominous aura rush into the paper effigies bearing the names of Xia Yubing’s parents.
Following that, the two paper effigies stood up as if blown by the wind.
They rotated their paper bodies as if they had a life of their own, seeming to inspect something.

According to Mo Qingyan’s instructions, I should turn to look in the mirror to confirm.
I turned my head and saw in the dressing table mirror two deathly pale, bloodless figures standing in front of the offering table, covered in blood.
It was Xia Yubing’s parents.

This meant the two of them had mistakenly possessed the paper effigies stained with my blood, thinking they were me.
According to Mo Qingyan, they would soon realize they had possessed the wrong bodies and would definitely fly into a rage.
If I made a mistake in the next step, I would be done for.

My reaction at this point had to be swift.
I kowtowed directly towards the offering table, even knocking my head on the ground, and said, “Your unfilial daughter, Xia Yubing, respectfully invites Father and Mother to enjoy the sacrificial feast.”

The two paper effigies immediately turned around, only now discovering my presence.
But after hearing my words, they turned back and saw the blood-stained rice and fruits offered on the table.

I saw a wisp of life force being sucked out of the offerings and flowing into the paper effigies.
Mo Qingyan had told me that, being lonely ghosts who had only recently died, they had little willpower and would act purely on instinct.
They would definitely consume the offerings.

I continued to speak the words Mo Qingyan had written for me beforehand, “Your unfilial daughter informs you, Mother and Father, that the Painted Skin Ghost who harmed you has already been brought to justice. I have avenged you. Today, a ceremony will be held to deliver you both. The paths of humans and ghosts are different. Please have pity on your daughter and enjoy your heavenly rest. Do not suffer the hardships of this world any longer.”

After saying this, I nervously watched the paper effigies and the candles beside them.
A green, ghostly fire burned on them.
According to Mo Qingyan, if the flames returned to normal, it meant the ghosts had given up on resurrection.
If it remained a ghostly fire, it meant the two ghosts still couldn’t let go of their worldly attachments, and I would be in danger.

While I was feeling uneasy, the flames on the candles suddenly turned from green to red, becoming ordinary flames.
I let out a long sigh of relief.
This meant the two ghosts had temporarily settled down.

I kowtowed respectfully once more.
According to Mo Qingyan, once I kowtowed to Xia Yubing’s parents and identified myself as their daughter in the capacity of Xia Yubing, our parent-child relationship would be formally established and could not be broken thereafter.

I stood up and looked at the two paper effigies lying back on the offering table.
They were now lying quietly and motionless, but in my eyes, they were filled with ominous aura.
The ghosts of Xia Yubing’s parents had been sealed within these two paper effigies.
After they had enjoyed the offerings in their paper bodies, it would be very difficult for them to get out again.

But on the other hand, they would not be able to pass on to the Pure Land.
From now on, they would remain in the mortal world, with their souls attached to the paper effigies.
And I would have to worship them with the rites of a daughter and not allow the paper effigies to be damaged.
Otherwise, they would be released from within and find me again.

My legs were weak from kneeling.
It took a great effort to stand up, and the fear made my limbs even more feeble.
I finally managed to walk to the offering table and saw that the fruits and rice had lost their luster and moisture.
The fruits were withered, and the blood on the rice had turned black.

Even the basin of blood that had dripped from the burning clothes was now dried up, leaving only the copper basin.
Mo Qingyan told me not to touch the offerings that had been consumed by ghosts, as they needed to be disposed of using a special method.

I was completely exhausted now and couldn’t tidy up this mess by myself.
I could only go back and close the door, leave the paper effigies on the offering table, blow out the candles, and then go back to bed.
I first sent a message to Mo Qingyan to let her know the matter had been resolved.

In truth, I was still very scared.
I could clearly feel that I wasn’t alone in this room; there were two other non-human things quietly watching me.
But I was indeed too tired.
After finishing all this, my consciousness was a bit scattered, and I soon fell into a drowsy sleep.

This time, I slept peacefully, without experiencing sleep paralysis or being visited in my dreams.
It was only in the morning that I was awakened by a series of urgent knocks on the door.

“Hmm? Who is it? Wait a minute!” I sat up and realized I had fallen asleep without even taking off my clothes yesterday.
The offering table was still exactly as it was, facing the door of the room.
It was just that the two paper effigies had changed their positions at some point; the two paper effigies were embracing each other.

“Brother Xiao! Are you okay?” an urgent voice came from outside.
It was Xiao Qing.
She really had come first thing in the morning.

“I’m fine, you don’t need to worry,” I opened the door to find two people outside.
Besides Xiao Qing, Mo Qingyan was also there.

“That’s great! I sent you so many messages yesterday and you didn’t reply!” Xiao Qing cried out anxiously and was about to pounce on me to check, but Mo Qingyan grabbed her, “Don’t forget what I said when we came. She might not be her anymore!”

Before I knew it, Mo Qingyan suddenly struck out, jabbing the red pencil towards my forehead.
Seeing the tip of the pencil coming at me, I was startled and couldn’t dodge in time.
She tapped me lightly on the forehead.

“Senior Sister Mo! What are you doing?” I asked, a little annoyed.
Why did she just jab me on the forehead without a word as soon as she came in?
It scared me into thinking she wanted to stab me in the eye with the pencil.

“Nothing. I have to make sure you haven’t been possessed by a ghost. After all, you didn’t reply to my messages all night. If you were possessed, I would have had to use other methods to save you,” Mo Qingyan said, putting away the pencil.

“Huh?” I picked up my phone and saw that there were indeed more than a dozen unread messages, mostly from Xiao Qing.
But I had already sent a message in the group chat reporting that I was safe. “Didn’t I already send a message saying I was safe?”

“That’s hard to say. After all, a ghost could have sent the message too. And after you sent that one message, you didn’t reply to any of our questions. It’s very worrying whether you’re really safe or not,” Mo Qingyan said.
There was indeed a message from her on there, probably asking me to briefly describe what had happened.

“Sorry, I was really tired last night. I fell asleep right after reporting that I was safe. And since you didn’t teach me how to clean up the offering table afterward, I just left the scene as it was. Can you confirm now that I am Luo Xiao?” I asked.