I Forged the Myth of the Ancient Overlords
Chapter 590 - 590 589. Substitute_1

Chapter 590: 589. Substitute_1 Chapter 590: 589. Substitute_1 After work, Liu Huajian called his family to say he would be coming home late and told his wife and children not to wait for him for dinner.

He drove to the vicinity of Panjiayuan Market. The antique market was still bustling with people in the evening, but he didn’t know if it was because of the incident with the paper butterfly or something else.

Liu Huajian walked into the antique market, took a quick stroll, and soon spotted an old man.

That old man was wearing sunglasses, sitting quietly in a corner, his figure casting a somewhat eerie feeling in the shadow of the setting sun.

His skin was unnaturally white, as if he had applied too much foundation.

Only his cheeks were rather ruddy—and that rosiness was unnatural too, an excessively bright red.

Combined with the small hat he was wearing and his long gown, Liu Huajian had a strong feeling that if the old man were to take off his sunglasses, his eyes would probably be vacant and lifeless, just like those of a paper man.

The tourists were coming and going in streams, but not a single person stopped in front of that stall.

People seemed to ignore the old man.

That shouldn’t be the case.

Liu Huajian had seen videos online; he was certain that, even though the makeup was a bit different, this was that old man.

How could other people not recognize him?

Not to mention, there were young people clearly fans of Lu Ban’s films, coming to find the old man. They had walked past him several times without ever glancing into the corner.

Liu Huajian found it strange.

But he didn’t concern himself too much. While it was still light out, he hastened to the old man’s front.

“Old sir.”

Liu Huajian greeted him.

At first, the old man did not respond until Liu Huajian moved closer and called out again, causing the owner of the neighboring stall to give a curious look in their direction.

Finally, the old man showed some reaction.

His head turned slightly toward Liu Huajian.

It wasn’t a natural neck twist but rather a rotation that resembled the movement of some machine, some artificial creation.

“Old sir, I’ve heard that your paper cutting is impressive.”

Seeing this, Liu Huajian said.

“It’s just a minor skill of little significance,” the old man replied in a hoarse, dry voice that sounded like the friction of dry paper.

“I’ve seen the trailer for ‘Nine Streams.’ Old sir, are you a descendant of Nine Streams?”

Liu Huajian asked further.

“Heh, those are all trivial matters,” the old man chuckled.

His smile was also stiff, as if painted on.

The chorus of cicadas suddenly rose, abrupt and grating.

It wasn’t the season for summer cicadas, and as Liu Huajian realized this, he noticed that the surroundings had become significantly quieter.

“Young man, the fact that you can see me directly shows that you’ve been severely affected by ‘Corrosion.'”

The old man suddenly spoke amidst the noisy cicadas.

“Corrosion?”

Liu Huajian didn’t understand.

“Ordinary people are better off not seeing me. Those severely corroded can see things that normal people can’t, and such things are bound to drive one mad,” the old man explained with a smile as he picked up scissors and a piece of paper.

He worked patiently, and although his head never bowed down to look at his hands, the paper quickly turned into a human figure.

“Seeing me means there is a connection between us. I’ll give this to you as a gift. If you keep it with you, it should ward off a disaster one time,” the old man said as he handed over the item to Liu Huajian with no hesitation, like a person with normal vision.

“What is this?”

Liu Huajian carefully examined the paper man in his hand. Although it was made of paper, it had facial features and looked almost lifelike. Strangely, it bore some resemblance to himself, which instinctively made him touch his own face, then look at the old man and wave his hand in front of the old man’s sunglasses.

“Paper Man Stand-in, the Daoist arts of the past would use paper effigies as stand-ins to ward off disasters and eliminate misfortune, but one should not rely too heavily on them, or you might end up like me.”

The old man explained.

“End up like you?”

Liu Huajian didn’t understand.

“Enough talk, it’s already dark out, I should be going. Remember, carry the Paper Man with you.”

The old man waved his hand.

Liu Huajian glanced at the Paper Man again and when he looked up, he found the stall was completely empty, as if no one had ever been there.

“???”

Liu Huajian felt it was incredible. He noticed that the sky around him had also nearly turned completely dark. Approaching the next stall over, he asked the owner who was packing up.

“Boss, where did the old man at this stall go?”

Upon hearing Liu Huajian’s question, the boss who had been looking at Liu Huajian with a strange gaze immediately furrowed his brows.

“That spot’s been empty for several days now. There used to be a blind man selling things there, but after a lot of people came a while back, he hasn’t shown up since. He probably fell ill and went home.”

“Ah?”

Liu Huajian rubbed his eyes and looked toward the stall again.

All at once, a chill climbed up his spine, goosebumps forming on the skin of his hands. Liu Huajian quickly left Panjiayuan Market and got back into his car.

It was then that he noticed he was clutching the Paper Man tightly in his hand.

“Ooh!”

Liu Huajian threw the Paper Man in a panic.

Staring at the Paper Man, he calmed down, picked it up, and placed it in the glove compartment of the car.

Starting the car, sweat poured from Liu Huajian.

“There was nobody there at all, so who was I talking to?”

“The old man said I had misfortune coming, but is that true or false?”

“Did I see a ghost? Are those ghost stories they shoot in ‘Nine Streams’ real?”

“No, that all happened decades ago, wait, so did that old man live from decades ago until now?”

His mind was filled with a myriad of thoughts.

Suddenly, Liu Huajian saw an electric car in front of him inexplicably accelerating as if the brake had been mistaken for the accelerator, charging towards him.

Liu Huajian had no chance to evade and watched as the car was about to collide with him head-on.

Bang—

But the car suddenly skidded when it was about to hit Liu Huajian’s car, merely brushing past it and crashing into the trunk of a tree on the divider.

Everything happened in an instant, and Liu Huajian hadn’t even had time to react.

His heart only now began to race, a sense of relief from narrowly escaping calamity sweeping over him.

Liu Huajian saw the driver of the deformed electric car open the door and climb out, muttering vengeful phrases like “I want all of you dead” and “I’ll kill you all.” He didn’t dare open his door.

It was only when someone called the police and traffic officers arrived to subdue the driver who tried to attack the pedestrians that Liu Huajian finally breathed a sigh of relief.

That’s when he remembered the Paper Man the old man had given him.

Opening the glove compartment, Liu Huajian took out the Paper Man, eyes widening.

The body of the Paper Man had been torn in two, as if someone had violently ripped it apart, yet Liu Huajian clearly remembered it had been intact when he put it inside; it shouldn’t have been damaged like this.

“Could it be… what he said was true, that something is ‘Corroding’ me?”

Liu Huajian thought of the books he had researched on Abandoned Capital and the basic information on Foreign Domain he had discussed with others.

Among them, the most important thing was that knowledge brings ‘Pollution’!

*

I had errands to run during the day, so today’s extra update will be postponed.

Seeking recommendations, seeking monthly votes!