Chu'he tugged at Ninth's sleeve. "That isn't a child in the swaddling clothes, but a puppet he made?"
"Not just a puppet," he chuckled. "But an ugly, crudely made one."
Ninth finally lowered his hand, letting her see what was inside the bundle. It still appeared to be a sleeping infant, undisturbed by any commotion outside, as if lost in a peaceful dream.
Chu'he stared at it for a long moment. "But... it looks like an ordinary child."
Ninth reached into the swaddling clothes and pulled out a sachet tucked against the "child's" body, casually tossing it out the window. He leaned down with a soft laugh. "Now take another look, Ah'he."
The "child" before Chu'he began to change.
The "infant" in the swaddling clothes withered at a visible pace, its skin losing color and turning into the rough texture of straw paper. Where its eyes should have been, two red dots had been painted with cinnabar, and its lips curled into an eerie grin, as if silently mocking something.
A night breeze slipped through the window crack, and the little figure's arm swayed faintly, revealing glimpses of a pale skeletal frame inside.
This was no infant—it was a paper effigy, its structure woven from human bones!
A shiver ran down Chu'he's spine, and she instinctively retreated behind the young man, clutching the red hem of his robe. Her scalp prickled, goosebumps rising all over.
"It's a paper effigy! Just like the one we saw in the underground chamber—the paper doll lying in the cradle!"
That chamber had been filled with such effigies, a scene both ghastly and chilling. But the one that stood out most was the "infant" in the cradle, tucked away in a corner, unnoticed by the "others."
Peeking out from behind Ninth, Chu'he exclaimed, "The paper effigies in that blood-soaked chamber—you made them all!"
Jin Yuyuan remained silent.
Ninth twisted the paper doll's leg.
A sharp crack echoed as Jin Yuyuan's left leg snapped. He dropped to one knee, sweat beading on his forehead.
"Didn't you hear?" Ninth smiled sweetly. "My Ah'he is speaking to you."
Jin Yuyuan clenched his jaw, pain searing through him. "So what if it was me?"
Chu'he pressed, "You hated that family."
Jin Yuyuan turned his face away.
Ninth arched a brow, ready to act again.
Jin Yuyuan spat out, "Yes, I hated them!"
Chu'he glanced at the paper doll in Ninth's hand, recalling the chamber's horrors. "Were you one of them?"
Back then, the effigies had been shackled at the feet, as if their souls were condemned to linger, barred from reincarnation.
The only exception had been the child—around seven or eight—lying on the bed.
Chu'he frowned. "You were the child doted on by the parents? No, that child had the whole family's attention. If you were him, you wouldn’t hate them so much."
Jin Yuyuan's lips twitched. "Right. If I were him, why would I hate them?"
"You were the infant in the cradle!" Chu'he's brow furrowed, but something still felt off—until a knuckle lightly rapped her head.
"Silly Ah'he," Ninth teased. "This paper doll is made from an infant's bones. If he were that baby, how could he still be standing here?"
He smirked at the kneeling man. "Well, 'standing' might be generous."
Jin Yuyuan's limbs were twisted, one leg broken. There was nothing "fine" about him.
Gritting his teeth, his fingers white with strain, he glared with smoldering rage and murderous intent, forcing himself to straighten his back.
Chu'he gasped in realization. "The family dynamics in that chamber were inverted! The infant was the one they cherished, while the child who seemed cared for was actually neglected!"
"The more you lack something, the more you crave it."
"He could only fabricate an illusion of love in that chamber of paper effigies."
Ninth laughed. "Ah'he, you’re so slow—"
She shot him a glare.
The young man swallowed, his eyes crinkling as he switched to exaggerated praise. "Ah'he is brilliant! It took me ages to figure it out, but you understood so quickly."
Jin Yuyuan suddenly let out a hoarse laugh.
Chu'he turned to him, curious.
"I once thought you two were nothing but useless fools," he rasped, voice thick with bitterness, like a cornered beast stripped of its last disguise.
His gaze locked onto the strikingly beautiful youth, throat tight. "I never imagined my last resort had long been exposed. You saw through everything, yet played the fool to lull me into complacency. Your cunning runs deeper than I ever guessed."
Chu'he lifted her eyes, studying the boy deemed "unfathomable."
Ninth tilted his chin up, his laugh laced with three parts indifference and seven parts icy insight. "Indeed. I am exceptionally clever."
Chu'he corrected, "Exceptionally is redundant. Just 'exceptionally clever' is fine."
Ninth paused. "I knew that. I was testing you."
Stubborn to the end.
Chu'he didn’t call him out—she had to save his pride in public. Instead, she stepped forward, half-emerging from behind him, puffing up like a fox borrowing a tiger's might. "Now you see? Our Ninth is wise beyond his years!"
It was this very unpredictability—his actions seeming chaotic yet meticulously calculated—that made him impossible to guard against.
This was why the Miaojiang people were feared.
But before the one he loved, Ninth was no different from any other teenage boy. He craved admiration, longed to impress.
With a flick of his wrist, he shook the paper doll, watching Jin Yuyuan's pained grimace with a wicked grin. His words were slow, deliberate, each syllable a needle.
"This life-substitute puppet requires the bones and blood of kin. You did well—as long as it exists, no injury can truly harm you. But the flaw is obvious: once someone seizes it, your life is in their hands."
Jin Yuyuan, ever distrustful, believed in no one. Even hiding the puppet wasn’t enough—unless it was under his watchful eye, he felt unsafe.
So he carried it in his book chest, masked by a scentless hallucinogenic sachet. To others, the effigy would seem just an ordinary baby.
And as a widowed scholar wandering the world with a child, who would look twice?
If not for being cornered today with no way out, he wouldn't have considered hiding the puppet first—just to save his own life.
