Bailong Village, a grayish mist obscured the vast expanse of the sky. Every now and then, two crows would caw loudly before flying ahead into the thick fog.

Below a thick fog, there was a wide street. The street looked rather dilapidated, and on both sides of the street stood many mud houses. Many villagers were standing at their doorsteps, wearing tattered cotton-padded jackets with their hands tucked into their sleeves, heads bowed, staring at the long queue in the street.

In that crowd, there were many young men in suits and ties, as well as many alluring women. Of course, the majority were poor villagers who had come from nearby, hoping for fortune or a reading of their fate. Of course, some came to repay debts.

Debt, simply put, is when someone does something wrong and harmful in life, resulting in a debt! There are also cases where people accumulate debt before they are born and do not repay it before reincarnation. Therefore, in this lifetime, they are still born with the debt, and their entire life will be filled with poverty and hardship. They struggle to achieve anything and encounter obstacles in everything they try.

"Next, Li Xiulian!" At the doorway of the mud hut, stood a five or six-year-old boy. He was somewhat thin and wore a slightly faded cotton coat, shouting at the top of his lungs.

"Hey, Master Xiao Yu, I'm here!" a small voice came from the crowd. Then, a fashionable young man emerged from the throng, carrying two large plastic bags and beaming with excitement.

Xiao Yu glanced at the two plastic bags and immediately said, "Honored guest, is this your first visit?"

"That's right, how else would I know your name? Here, take this red envelope, don't be shy," she said. Zi took a brand new red envelope from her wallet and slipped it into Xiao Yu's cotton-padded jacket pocket while she wasn't looking.

When the other party took out a red envelope, Xiao Yu was delighted, but he still put on an air of nonchalance and said, "The donor is truly boundless in merit. My master and I will definitely pray for the donor's well-being."

"Then, thank you, Master." Zi happily nodded repeatedly and immediately followed Xiao Yu with large strides into the house.

The house was not large, just two mud-brick rooms. Behind the rooms, there was a small courtyard. In one corner of the courtyard sat an old man who appeared to be in his sixties. He hung a pipe from his lips and had a sallow complexion. He wore thin cotton clothes. Before him lay a table, and under the table was a charcoal brazier.

"Master, Mr. Li has arrived," Xiao Yu shouted from the corner of the courtyard.

"Well, let him in." The old man replied with a grunt, still wheezing.

"Master Xiao, I apologize for disturbing you. This is the second batch of paper figures you requested, and I brought them all here. Two pairs of male ones. Please take a look," he said as he opened the plastic wrap, revealing several paper figures. These figures were different from the others because they had no eyes but four hands, and they were also much larger than the average paper figure, looking quite peculiar.

"Master Xiao, I heard you like Lao Han cigarettes. This is some tobacco I bought for you. Give it a try." He took out a bundle of tobacco from another plastic bag and then pulled out a stack of banknotes. Judging by the thickness, there was probably around 10,000 yuan.

Xiao Yu's eyes widened, and he thought to himself, "Is this the big business that Master mentioned last night? Ten thousand yuan, that's definitely a big deal, much more than those times when they only paid twenty or ten at a time."

"Well, I'll take good care of your business, don't worry." He glanced at the thickness of the money and replied with a sound. Immediately, he picked up the paper man and looked at it, saying, "Not bad, the paper man has no eyes, going to the underworld will help you repay your debts. Although these paper men have two extra hands, they are also easy to become paper spirits. As the saying goes, a paper man with four hands makes even Yama let him pass, so don't think I'm cheating you by charging you this amount of money. Sending this paper man to the underworld without some compensation, the ghost messengers won't let it go."

After finishing his words, the old man gave Xiao Yu a wink. Xiao Yu immediately understood and carefully drew out three incense sticks from beside the wall, handing them over. Xiao Yu knew that although his master had exaggerated the role of this paper figure, it was generally like that.

Taking the incense, Master Xiao Yu picked up a paper figurine and immediately used the incense to repeatedly shake it toward the ear of the paper figurine, saying, "Incense opens the ears of the paper figure, do not listen to slander." Then, the incense turned to the front of the paper figurine, "Incense passes through the five organs, following the five elements, do not eat human grains, bear the master's criminal punishment."

It's done, starting with the feet, then the back, followed by the forehead. Basically, I burned every part of each paper figure with incense! The other paper figures were treated the same way, taking about half an hour in total.

After doing all that, Master Xiao Yu extinguished the incense and stood up. He put several paper figures into a plastic bag and walked to a land temple in the corner of the yard. He arranged the paper figures in a line and then addressed someone saying, “Come here, kneel before the paper figures. They will take your sins upon them. You must bow three times.”

That child, upon hearing this, did not hesitate. He immediately knelt before the paper figure and kowtowed several times. Only then did the old man appear satisfied, allowing him to rise. He then walked towards the several paper figures, clasped his hands in a seal, and bellowed, "Heaven is clear, earth is bright, four ghosts answer, land god respond, open the Cao gate, go!"

As Master Xiao Yu's words fell, a gust of wind suddenly swept through the courtyard. With the wind came a series of giggles. Then, one paper figure stood up and took two steps forward. The other three turned their heads to look at <>, then also stood up and walked directly into the land temple. The moment they entered the land temple, the paper figures suddenly burst into flames, but the flames were a pale green, looking extremely eerie.

At that moment, the boy was stunned, especially after the paper figurine had looked at him. Although the paper figurines didn't have eyes, he saw a red glow emanating from their eyes.

“Master Xiao, this…” The child was so choked up he couldn’t speak.

The old man remained silent, his brow furrowed in thought, but he couldn't figure out the reason. He could only comfort her and say, "Don't worry, there's nothing to it. I have a soul-calming talisman here. Take it back and place it at home. Be sure to wait until sixty-four days later, then bring the talisman to a crossroad and burn it."

"He glanced nervously at the land temple, then quickly added, “Thank you, Master Xiao. Is there anything else?”

"It's all settled, you can go back first! Xiao Yu, see Master Li out. Tell everyone else that it's over for today, and those who have questions should come back tomorrow."

"Yes, Master," Xiao Yu bowed respectfully and immediately took the child out. He repeated the master's words without regard to anyone's reaction, directly closed the wooden door, and then returned to the courtyard.

(Editor in charge:classic novels)