Folding

“The Underworld... has no... paper or pen... I'll take... your bones... to write it down...”

A raspy, drawn-out operatic voice echoed from the darkness.

Hearing this opera, accompanied by the wooden clicking sounds, Brother Gui and his fellow thugs felt their hair stand on end.

“Who the fuck is singing in the middle of the night? Shut the hell up!” the yellow-haired thug roared toward the figure approaching from the darkness, desperately trying to mask his fear.

Brother Gui's expression shifted rapidly. Though he was terrified, his lackeys were watching.

He drew a short knife from his waistband and snarled, “I'm Gui of the Sanhai Gang! This is none of your business. Get lost before I teach you a lesson!”

The figure ignored his shout, stepping out of the darkness and into the pool of lamplight.

The moment the Opera-Robed Puppet appeared, the faces of Gui and the other three paled in unison. “What the fuck is that?!”

Under the streetlights stood a puppet wearing a faded white opera robe, carrying three small flags on its back, its face painted with heavy stage makeup.

Its red eyes held absolutely no emotion as it steadily drew closer.

“Run!” one of the thugs behind him shrieked. All four of them, including Brother Gui, scrambled toward their motorcycles.

It was too bizarre, too terrifying.

Gui turned the key, but the motorcycle that usually started instantly wouldn't make a sound, no matter how hard he twisted the ignition.

Cold sweat poured down his forehead, driven by sheer terror. He looked up at the other three, only to find that their bikes wouldn't start either.

“Brother Gui, the bikes won't start! It must be interfering with them!” the yellow-haired thug cried out in panic, looking at Brother Gui.

Brother Gui looked at him, and just as he was about to speak—

A sharp, crisp sound echoed. This time, it didn't come from the creepy puppet. It was the sound of the yellow-haired thug's neck snapping backward at a clean ninety-degree angle.

Brother Gui watched, his face drained of color, utterly paralyzed with fear as the yellow-haired thug's body continued to fold.

His arms and legs snapped inward, joint by joint, as blood began to pour out.

“Ahhh!” Suddenly, a blood-curdling shriek erupted beside him. Startled by the scream, he abandoned his motorcycle and bolted forward.

As he ran, he glanced back. The red-haired thug's arms were folding backward, and the excruciating pain made him scream in agony.

On the other side, the last thug's legs had folded, sending him crashing to the ground.

He dragged himself across the ground with his hands, looking at Gui with eyes full of terror. “Brother Gui, save me...”

The folding grew faster and faster. Before Gui's eyes, the thug's legs folded all the way up to his waist, shrinking his entire body to just a meter in size.

And the folding didn't stop there. Even after the three thugs died, their bodies continued to compress until they were turned into ten-centimeter-wide cubes of minced flesh, bone, and clothing.

His heart hammered against his ribs.

Gui's heart raced. He screamed in terror as he ran, “Help! Is anyone there? Save me!!!”

But no matter how loud he yelled, there was no response. The road ahead, which should have been lit by streetlights, had plunged into pitch darkness.

Gui couldn't see a thing. He could only stretch his hands out in front of him and slow his pace, terrified of crashing into something.

Pant! Pant! Pant! In the darkness, Gui had no idea how long he had been running. With his heart pounding furiously, he was forced to stop and gasp for air.

He pulled out his phone to call for help, but there was absolutely no signal. Despair washed over him.

The moment he stopped, the sound he dreaded most echoed from behind.

“Help... Help me...” Gui could only force his legs to move again. Tears streamed down his face; he didn't want to die.

On the other side, Zhao Jin stood silently, looking at the three flesh cubes on the ground, then at Gui, who was running in place, his eyes vacant as he screamed and shouted.

Folding bodies out of thin air, and what seems to be the ability to create illusionary walls or hallucinations... those 5 wisps of Destiny Force were definitely well spent, Zhao Jin thought, looking at the Opera-Robed Puppet.

The three dead thugs combined had only granted him a single wisp of Destiny Force. These guys were truly worthless.

“Good people are buried under the Archway of Loyalty and Righteousness...” The chipped paint on the Opera-Robed Puppet's face, combined with its raspy operatic singing, made the surroundings feel exceptionally eerie.

It raised a wooden hand, preparing to finish Gui off.

“Don't kill him. He's still useful,” Zhao Jin suddenly spoke up from the side.

He wanted to test if the puppet would obey his commands. After all, the Opera-Robed Puppet wasn't human, and even its name had been given by him.

The moment Zhao Jin spoke, the Opera-Robed Puppet froze. It glanced back at Zhao Jin, then turned and walked into the darkness.

Zhao Jin stared into the darkness, sensing that the Opera-Robed Puppet was still lingering nearby.

The creature seemed to be following him, but he didn't mind.

Zhao Jin walked over to Gui. The man was still running in place, drenched in sweat. Without intervention, he might have literally run himself to death.

Zhao Jin stepped up to him and kicked him to the ground.

“Ah!” Gui let out a strange yelp as he hit the ground.

The next second, his cry cut short. He looked at Zhao Jin standing before him, then at the streetlights overhead, his face a mix of shock and confusion.

“Brother Gui, you sure have a loud voice,” Zhao Jin said, a faint smile on his face.

Gui spun his head around. The three flesh cubes were still there, but the creepy puppet was nowhere to be seen.

“Is that thing gone? There are ghosts in this world... there really are ghosts!” Gui stammered in panic, completely ignoring Zhao Jin's words.

Seeing this, Zhao Jin walked over, grabbed him by his green hair, and said with a calm smile, “My time is precious. Take me to the Sanhai Gang's headquarters. Otherwise, if that thing comes back, I won't stand in its way.”

He yanked hard, causing Gui's face to contort in pain.

Zhao Jin's words and actions snapped Gui back to reality. “I'll take you! I'll take you! Big brother, I was wrong! Just don't let that thing come back!” he begged in terror.

The four of them had been completely helpless, yet this young man was entirely unscathed. No matter how stupid Gui was, he knew this youth was far from ordinary.

Zhao Jin let go and stood up.

He needed quite a few corpses to test his previous ideas, and since the Sanhai Gang had practically delivered themselves to his doorstep, he would start with them.

Gui scrambled to his feet, looking at Zhao Jin with utter dread. “Big brother, to be honest, the Sanhai Gang is a brutal bunch. I'm just an outer member. If anything happens because I brought you there, they'll definitely kill my whole family.”

The Sanhai Gang ruled the underworld of Ningcheng, involved in smuggling, murder, and kidnapping. Their fearsome reputation was enough to make local children cry at the mere mention of their name.

“What, are you trying to negotiate for my protection? You're in no position to bargain with me. Lead the way!” Zhao Jin's smile vanished, replaced by an expressionless gaze.

Gui shrank back, swallowing hard. “Follow me, big brother. I'll take you there right now.”

Gui quickly walked back to his motorcycle, forcing himself not to look at the cubes his companions had turned into.