I created the myth of the Great Old Ones.

Chapter 587 Not a Serious Person

Cao Manwen never expected that this seemingly well-behaved and quiet girl would actually believe him.

and many more.

Cao Manwen's earlier attempt at putting himself in someone else's shoes came back to mind.

No decent person would believe Lu Ban has superpowers just because of what he says, so wouldn't this female classmate be an imperfect person?

He hesitated for a moment, unsure how to reply.

At this moment, the other party sent another message.

[I previously joined a chat group about the occult, where people exchange information about urban legends and strange events. Most of it is fake, but there are some genuine stories. I met someone who claimed to be able to see ghosts, and he even had Lu Ban investigate him, discovering that he really does have something going on!]

Upon reading this passage, Cao Manwen felt conflicted.

Surprisingly, Tao Hongying, who seems a bit rustic, is interested in this kind of thing and has even joined some chat group.

In Cao Manwen's memory, people who like this kind of thing are all the kind of decadent young people with disheveled hair, wearing leather jackets, smoking cigarettes, and listening to heavy metal rock.

Hmm? Maybe Tao Hongying has become like that too.

Cao Manwen replied with a single sentence.

Did your group member really see a ghost around Lu Ban?

The other party remained silent for a moment.

Just when Cao Manwen thought she might just be making a joke, playing truth or dare to tease him, and was about to drop the topic, the other person sent him a conversation.

Cao Manwen read it carefully. It was probably a conversation from that occult chat group. There were some photos, including Lu Ban's Silent Media and the residential area where he lived.

The person named "Silverwing Ominous Star" in this conversation, after saying that he went to find evidence against Lu Ban, was in a daze for a while and didn't know what he was doing. Later, he became much more obedient and stopped talking about anything related to Lu Ban.

Everyone thinks that this person may have been possessed or brainwashed after meeting Lu Ban.

Some say that Lu Ban made those movies to get people used to seeing monsters, so that when real monsters invade, people won't be surprised and can conquer the world.

Some say that Lu Ban was originally a demon from hell or some other hellish place, whose purpose was to spread those indescribable horror stories and to pollute the minds of people all over the world.

Some people say that Lu Ban is here to destroy the world. The more people watch his movies, the stronger the monsters become. Once you believe it's real, those monsters will come out and hurt you!

In any case, in the occult chat group, Lu Ban had already transformed into a great demon king.

Cao Manwen, however, did not think so.

Judging from Lu Ban's demeanor and his attitude towards Professor Hu, the blind old man, Cao Manwen was more inclined to believe that Lu Ban was a guardian hiding in the shadows, protecting this world.

Moreover, "Nine Schools" is clearly a story about old people protecting their homes and country during times of war.

Cao Manwen mainly felt that Lu Ban had such powerful superpowers, so there was no need for him to use such methods to harm others.

The movies he makes are hurtful enough.

Actually, it's like this: when I was in the archaeology department, my advisor asked me to host Lu Ban, saying it was for research purposes...

Cao Manwen explained his experience to Tao Hongying.

The two chatted for quite a while, and the conversation drifted to some of the paranormal events that Tao Hongying had encountered herself, as well as Cao Manwen's archaeological excavations.

He discovered that the girl was listening with great interest to his stories about excavating ancient tombs, cleaning burial chambers, and exploring burial sites.

In the past, when Cao Manwen met women who arranged blind dates for him, they would frown and have a disagreement when they heard about his major and job.

This suddenly made Cao Manwen a little excited.

Of course, he quickly calmed down and thought before looking up the girl's photos, that she might just be interested in some legend of ancient tombs or curses, and he just happened to stumble upon it.

Are you still in Yannan? I'm working here now too. I think we could meet up sometime!

Tao Hongying extended an invitation.

"Does this mean I've been asked out?"

Cao Manwen felt a flutter in his heart, but he also reminded himself that she was just using him as a tool, and responded with a few words.

The two agreed to meet near Yannan University on the weekend to talk about Lu Ban and take her on a tour of the archaeology department.

That day, Cao Manwen tidied himself up a bit and sat in a milk tea shop near the school gate, waiting for the other party.

Incidentally, Cao Manwen did look up a photo of the other person later, and it was similar to his impression: double braids, wearing glasses, and unremarkable.

While waiting, Cao Manwen opened his reading app and continued reading what he had previously turned to.

After reading two chapters, he saw a girl walking towards him.

Her hair was slightly wavy and dyed flaxen. She was clearly wearing makeup and dressed fashionably and beautifully. She looked exactly like the kind of pretty woman you often see on the streets of Yannan who gets a lot of attention.

If Cao Manwen hadn't seen the photo beforehand and had some recollection of it, he probably wouldn't have recognized him.

This isn't just a case of a girl changing at eighteen; it's a complete transformation.

"Cao Manwen? You haven't changed at all."

Tao Hongying looked at Cao Manwen in surprise.

"Sorry, have you been waiting long?"

She sat down opposite Cao Manwen.

"No, I just read a couple of chapters and then you came."

Cao Manwen showed his phone to the other party.

"What are you looking at?"

Tao Hongying asked curiously.

"It's just something to pass the time. It's called 'I Created the Myth of the Great Old Ones,' and it's alright."

Cao Manwen replied.

"I'm reading it too. It's not bad, but the author updates too slowly. I wish I could lock him in a dark room and make him write fifty chapters a day."

Tao Hongying discussed the content with Cao Manwen again, which made Cao Manwen somewhat glad that he had read the book before, and that they actually had a common topic.

As they chatted, the two of them turned to Lu Ban again.

Do you think the story about "Nine Schools" is true?

Tao Hongying asked.

“I don’t know, but I’ve seen the people inside.”

Cao Manwen took a sip of milk tea.

"The paper cutter inside, it seems he's been setting up his stall in Panjiayuan for decades, and he hasn't aged at all."

"Really?"

Tao Hongying opened her eyes wide, looking at Cao Manwen like a curious child, causing him to look away.

"Can you take me to see it?"

"That's possible, but weren't we supposed to visit the archaeology department today?"

Cao Manwen scratched his head.

"The archaeology department is right here, so we can visit it next time. But who knows, maybe that old man will see the trailer for 'Nine Schools' and pack his bags and run away. We'd better go today!"

She was in high spirits.

Cao Manwen thought that made sense. He hadn't been to Panjiayuan since then, perhaps because he felt it would overturn his worldview, or perhaps he had simply selectively forgotten it. This time was a good opportunity to go and ask in detail.

He drove his old classmate to Panjiayuan, but when they arrived, Cao Manwen discovered that the antique market, which was not usually bustling, was now packed with people, three or four layers deep!

Chapter 588 Paper Butterfly

The small antique market used to be busiest, except for some exhibitions and the few days when TV dramas about antiques and tomb raiding were broadcast.

The property management of the antique market had never seen anything like this before, and they came with batons that hadn't been used in eight hundred years to maintain order.

"Holy crap, what's going on? Why are so many people here all of a sudden? Has someone discovered some treasure?"

Security guard Mr. Wang squeezed into the crowd.

He saw that in the most crowded area, there was an old man.

Master Wang remembers that the old man's surname was Zhang, and everyone usually called him Blind Zhang in private.

Ever since Mr. Wang started working as a security guard at this antique market, this old man has been setting up his stall here, day after day, year after year.

Master Wang didn't know how long the old man had been there, but there were many elderly people in the antique market. Don't be fooled by their white hair; they were much smarter than young people when it came to antiques. Whether buying or selling, they were shrewd and cunning. Moreover, this blind old man usually sat there quietly without causing any trouble, and it seemed that there had never been any disputes. So Master Wang naturally didn't pay much attention to him.

Unexpectedly, he became the key figure in this incident.

Did he get caught selling counterfeit goods?

That shouldn't be the case.

Although Mr. Wang is just a security guard at the property management company, in the antique market, buying and selling are all based on mutual consent. If he has poor eyesight and buys a defective item, he is responsible for it and there is no reason to ask the seller for a refund. Similarly, if he makes a mistake and a shrewd person gets a bargain, he has nowhere to complain.

Mr. Wang, wearing his security guard uniform, approached the old man.

Seeing that the old man was holding a pair of iron scissors, Master Wang had only seen this kind of scissors in the homes of his elders back in his hometown. They were the kind of simple, heavy scissors, not the small and delicate type with plastic handles that people use now.

But these rather large scissors were surprisingly skillful at cutting through the red paper, and in the blink of an eye, they cut out several intricately shaped butterflies.

"Your skills are excellent."

Master Wang couldn't help but praise it, saying that in his hometown, every Spring Festival, the village elders would use scissors to cut out beautiful paper-cut window decorations and paste them on the windows, which, together with firecrackers, created a strong festive atmosphere.

Fireworks and firecrackers are now banned, and the bright red paper-cut window decorations are gone. The New Year is quiet and deserted, no different from any other holiday.

Just as Master Wang was lost in reminiscing about the past, he saw the lifelike butterfly actually flap its wings and take flight.

"Holy crap???"

Master Wang and those around him exclaimed in surprise.

Amidst gasps of surprise from the crowd, the butterflies that had been cut out earlier suddenly took flight.

Suddenly, the sky was filled with paper butterflies.