Infinite Puzzle City

Chapter 21 Paper Figure Zhou Family
After closing the door, Xiao Ran sat in the yard and thought about it. He always felt a little unsure about his grandfather asking him to go to the Zhou family.

After thinking about it, I thought about the reward that the mystery city gave me this time.

So he reached out and took out the F-level spell rune [Trainee] contract from the mysterious city space.

To be fair, with just the [Corpse Stitcher] and [Evil-Suppressing Order], and giving himself enough time, he could become stronger and stronger, just like Xu Fu in the TV series Feng Yun, accumulating little by little.

However, the limitations of the [Corpse Stitcher] are too great. He might be able to deal with ordinary people, but if he really encounters a messenger who also holds the [Cursed Object], he is afraid that he will not be his opponent.

Since different spells and cursed objects have completely different abilities, why not give it a try?

"Tear"

As the oily yellow contract was torn apart, it was as if some kind of seal was broken, and red liquid gushed out of the contract, then entangled around Xiao Ran's palm like earthworms.

"hiss!!"

Even though he had experienced this once, when this force penetrated into his skin and flesh, the piercing burning sensation was still extremely intense.

Maybe it was because the rank of the [Trainee] was not as high as that of the [Corpse Stitcher], but the pain did not last too long. Before Xiao Ran could even adapt, it had already been completely integrated into his palm. A second spell pattern appeared in Xiao Ran's mind.

The triangular flame pattern was far less complex than that of the corpse-stitcher. At the same time, all the information about the trainees appeared in front of Xiao Ran.

[Spell Pattern: Trainee]

F-level (can devour other sequence spell patterns for enhancement, or combine with other series to achieve promotion.)
Attributes: Constitution +3,

Specialty: Photographic memory

When the holder uses a cursed object, the characteristics of the curse pattern will combine with the cursed object to derive unique abilities that belong to you.

(Note: The same cursed object will produce completely different abilities when it comes into contact with different curse patterns.)
"what!!"

After feeling the effects brought by the trainees, Xiao Ran immediately showed a look of disgust on his face.

I knew that the two spell patterns were one level apart, but I didn't expect the difference to be so huge.

Never forget?

"Well, this is a good ability. A strong memory will make people more perceptive in judging things and more likely to catch details that ordinary people overlook."

Then his eyes flickered with brilliance, he took out the [Black Swan Brooch] and placed it in his hand, trying to activate it with the new spell pattern.

F-level cursed item: [Black Swan Brooch - Trainee]

No one can predict what kind of surprises the black swan on the field will bring.

Perk 1: Grinding

When you are attacked, there is a 30% chance of gaining sharpening points. The sharpening points can be used to temporarily enhance your physique, strength, agility, and spirit according to your needs.

Duration: 20 seconds.

(Note: Once the enemy stops attacking for more than three minutes, the accumulated grinding points will be reset.)
Privilege 2: Detective

When you are subjected to hostility, spying, or mental attacks, the Black Swan brooch will alert you in time.

Duration: N
Feeling the information fed back by the Black Swan Brooch, Xiao Ran pondered it carefully. [Trainee] is an F-level spell pattern, but after combining with the Black Swan, the effect is better than that of an E-level corpse stitcher to some extent.

Black Swan Corpse Stitcher has two special privileges: one is to control corpses, and the other is to defend against curses.

It cannot be said that both are strong, but both have prerequisites.

Compared to trainee, it is more suitable for regular wear, and both privileges have good defensive capabilities.

After careful comparison, Xiao Ran made a basic judgment.

"The ability of a cursed item is not fixed, but there is a general tendency. However, even if the ability of the cursed item itself tends to be defensive, it may change its original nature under the influence of the curse pattern."

"But if the cursed object and the curse pattern have extremely compatible abilities, their strength will be greatly improved. For example, the Corpse Stitcher and the Evil Suppression Order are a match made in heaven."

Even if the Mysterious City Messenger also possesses the Corpse Stitcher, without the Evil-Suppression Order, I believe there is no possibility of taking away the abilities of the dead.

In order to verify the conjecture, Xiao Ran took out the Zhen'e Order and combined it with the trainees.

The answer he got was just as he expected.

Still two privileges.

When you are sewing a corpse, you can enjoy the following two privileges.

Privilege 1: Fault tolerance.

When you sew a corpse, you have three chances to avoid being harmed by evil.

Privilege 2: Learning.

When sewing up a corpse, you can activate the borrowing privilege and immediately extract strength, physique, spirit, and agility from the corpse as a special talisman (zhuan). When necessary, you can tear up the talisman to obtain temporary blessings.

The talisman can be kept for up to 70 days.

The better the suture, the greater the force that can be extracted.

(Note: Extraction cannot be performed on corpses above F level)
The two privileges are not even close to those of the Corpse Stitcher, but they also have their good points. One can obtain talismans to enhance oneself, so when encountering troubles in the future, one does not have to worry about having no use for one's abilities.

only……

Where did so many corpses come from?

Even for regular employees in the funeral home, they don't encounter cross-body fish that need repair every day.

Not to mention, not everyone is willing to let people go in a dignified manner, and not everyone would spend a large sum of money on this last bit.

"Um……"

Xiao Ran narrowed his eyes and thought for a while, then suddenly an idea occurred to him: "It seems...it doesn't say it has to be a human corpse, right?"

When this thought came to his mind, Xiao Ran suddenly felt refreshed, and all his troubles disappeared without a trace in an instant.

"Yeah, I can't get human corpses, but aren't there animal corpses everywhere?"

Not to mention the wild cats and dogs on the roadside, there are even more corpses in the slaughterhouse. It is not difficult to spend some money and buy a few animal corpses.

Thinking of this, Xiao Ran's mood suddenly improved a lot.

After reactivating the Black Swan, Xiao Ran wore the swan brooch under his clothes to keep it activated at all times.

With the warning from the black swan and the curse on his belly, even if he faces someone who also holds a cursed object, he should have no problem protecting himself as long as he is cautious.

Walking back to the front room, Xiao Ran skillfully put all the things the woman bought into an extra-large plastic bag.

Looking back at the white cat, he saw it lazily lying on the window sill licking its paws. Xiao Ran shook his head and didn't expect this guy to be able to watch the house anymore.

Xiao Ran spotted a shared bicycle at the door and rode straight to Panlong Cemetery.

The breeze was refreshing along the way. After obtaining the 3-point physical fitness bonus from [Trainee] and the 5-point physical fitness bonus from [Corpse Stitcher], Xiao Ran felt that his physical condition was better than ever before.

Even if it was uphill all the way, riding the bike didn't feel tiring at all.

Arriving at the cemetery, Xiao Ran registered at the security room at the entrance of the cemetery, then went to the incineration pool, threw everything in, wrote the three words "Guo Lingfei's position" with chalk on the ground, and picked up a ghost note to light it. Soon black smoke burned from the incineration pool.

Xiao Ran took out his mobile phone and shot a short video. Only after everything inside was burned to ashes did Xiao Ran leave.

Luo City is a thousand-year-old capital.

After experiencing several wars, it has long lost its former glory and is now just a third-tier city.

However, it is in the past two years, as the tourism industry has gradually recovered, that a wave of ancient costumes has suddenly emerged.

It just so happens that the antique buildings that have been renovated in Los Angeles in recent years have formed a chemical reaction with this trend of ancient costumes, so that now young men and women in ancient costumes can be seen everywhere on the streets of the entire old city.

Even local businesses joined in the fun, causing the usually deserted alleys to become bustling.

Xiao Ran walked down the street from Gulou, where there were rows of old houses.

Gray bricks, green tiles and bluestone paths.

Occasionally you can see photographers taking pictures of tourists at the door.

"This house is so big, I wonder what it's like inside."

A young couple stood in front of the vermilion gate, looking at the old house in front of them with envy.

Although it is an old house, the beams are high and the gates are wide. The stone lions on both sides of the gate show that they are many years old.

Unlike other houses, this outer wall alone is high enough to support three or four households. Stepping back a few steps and standing on the steps, you can vaguely see the loose leaves on the roof tiles inside.

Unfortunately, we can only see this much. There is a sign hanging in front of the door with the words "Private Residence Please Do Not Enter" written on it, which clearly shows that outsiders are not welcome to visit.

Just as the young couple was regretting that they could not go in to take a look and take some photos, Xiao Ran walked to the door carrying a box of milk and fruit.

He put his things down and pulled the knocker on the door instead of ringing the doorbell.

"Bang! Boom!"

After one light knock and two heavy knocks on the door, Xiao Ran stood by the door waiting.

After about ten seconds, the door was opened a crack.

A man in his forties poked his head out and looked at Xiao Ran standing outside the door in confusion. He scanned the area and saw what Xiao Ran had in his hand. His expression softened. "Who are you looking for?"

"Is it the Zhou family? My grandfather asked me to come and visit the elderly at home." Xiao Ran did not say the purpose of his visit. After all, he was not sure about it. He just hoped that the older generation of the other party's family was still alive and could remember the favor his grandfather mentioned.

The man nodded and opened the door: "Come in and talk."

Xiao Ran picked up her things and walked inside. The young couple behind her tilted their heads and took the opportunity to peek inside while the door was open.

Unfortunately, to the disappointment of the young couple, there was a screen wall behind the gate and they could not see anything.

Beyond the screen wall, there is a design layout of three halls and two horizontal ones.

The front hall is spacious and bright, with a bluestone floor, an octagonal table with mahogany chairs, and a landscape painting hanging behind.

The side rooms are the kitchen and bedroom respectively.

Further back there should be two inner houses.

The house looks old and has only one story, but it is much more comfortable than the brick houses around it.

Xiao Ran couldn't help but feel envious: "As expected of a great expert who controlled the funeral industry back then, his family background is indeed extraordinary."

The man motioned Xiao Ran to sit down, then asked, "My mother is still resting inside and will be out soon. May I ask who your elder is..."

"The second door of the North Street Hutong, Sheng, Guan and Di."

Xiao Ran spoke the jargon with a smile, wanting to try and see if the person in front of him was someone in the same industry.

If not, then don't mention your own affairs. Wait until the old lady comes out and then you can talk about it yourself.

The man was startled when he heard this, but he quickly reacted, frowning slightly, and his tone suddenly became unfriendly: "So it's the little brother who closed it. Unfortunately, my old basin has been replaced by a golden basin, and the temple is too small to accommodate a big Buddha. Please forgive me, please."

Although Xiao Ran was well prepared when he came, he didn't expect that the other party would order him to leave with just one sentence, and he felt a little embarrassed for a moment.

But if I leave in such a disgrace, without accomplishing my task and without even asking for repayment for the favor, I'll be embarrassed when I go back and tell my grandfather about it.

He coughed lightly and said with a bad look, "It's only a few months now, the spring ice hasn't melted yet."

It is said that when spring ice does not melt, human nature is shallow.

Xiao Ran's words were both a request for a favor and a mockery of men.

When the man heard this, he sneered and reached out to grab Xiao Ran's shoulder: "Where did you come from, you bastard? You only have a few hairs and you're asking for a favor from me!"

Unexpectedly, Xiao Ran was faster than him. He raised his hand and used the grappling technique from the tiger fist to block the man's hand with one hand. Then, he hooked his four fingers and hooked the man's wrist with his backhand. He then twisted it. Even though the man was much bigger than Xiao Ran, he was hit on the pulse and lost his balance, almost falling to the ground.

If Xiao Ran hadn't shown mercy, his arm would have been dislocated.

He raised his hand and pushed, and the man staggered and fell on his butt. He looked up at Xiao Ran in surprise, then stood up in anger and prepared to fight this guy to the death.

"stop!!"

Fortunately, at this moment, the door behind him was pushed open, and an old lady came out on crutches, glaring at the man angrily: "You useless thing, how can you touch a guest, get out of here."

"Mom, this kid..."

The man covered his arm with his hands and glared at Xiao Ran with resentment. He wanted to argue a little, but the old lady just glared at him. The man instantly became like a deflated ball and lowered his head: "Oh."

"Madam, I am sorry for being so abrupt. I was just joking with my brother."

Seeing the real owner coming, Xiao Ran hurriedly stood up and bowed slightly to the old lady in front of him.

"Okay, okay, kid, sit down."

The old lady waved her hand and motioned Xiao Ran to sit down: "I heard what you said just now. I can't make the decision on this matter. You have to ask my husband."

"it is good."

Then the old lady said to her son, "Please take good care of this child."

The man nodded reluctantly.

The old lady turned around and walked back to the inner house. She pushed open the door and started to complain before she even entered the house: "I told you that you shouldn't have asked the Xiao family for help back then. Now look what happened. They've come to collect the debt. You can't even live a peaceful life at your old age."

As he said this, he sat in front of the dressing table as if in a huff and kicked the paper figure next to the dressing table in annoyance.

"It can't be helped. The only person who had that skill back then was the old fellow from the Xiao family."

The voice sounded hoarse as if someone was sharpening a knife. The old lady frowned when she heard it: "I'm afraid that since they are here, it may not be so easy to repay this favor."

As he spoke, he turned his head and slowly spoke to the mirror on the dressing table:
"What are you afraid of? If the enemy comes, we will fight him. If the water comes, we will block it. Since you owed it a long time ago, you should have expected this day to come. Don't you think so, old woman?"

As he spoke, he took off the wig on his head and carefully placed it on the table...

(End of this chapter)