Disintegration

The paper bride suddenly fell to the ground, and the sedan chair she left behind, along with the sedan chair bearers, suddenly disintegrated, transforming into a long, pale paper snake that instantly lengthened and twisted, with a shrill sound of tearing through the air, and swiftly wrapped around Chen Xue's demon limbs!

The paper snake pulled hard, immediately dragging Chen Xue, the demon, to the ground, her body almost twisted by the constriction.

"Roar!!!"

The demon roared deafeningly, hellfire raged, and it struggled madly!

The red paper python that was wrapped around it was stretched taut, making a creaking sound as it could not bear the weight, and the part that came into contact with the hellfire quickly turned black and charred!

At that very moment of stalemate!

The paper bride's body also disintegrated!

She didn't turn into a paper snake, but into countless summoning banners, forming a pale whirlwind in the air that rushed towards the demon Chen Xue, and then—

With a whoosh!

The whirlwind rushed straight into the demon's gaping maw, which was dripping with sulfurous saliva from its roar!

"Uh... glug!"

The demon's roar abruptly ceased, replaced by sounds of painful swallowing and choking!

Then, a terrifying scene unfolded!

The surface of the demon Chen Xue's twisted and swollen body began to bulge violently and irregularly!

Her belly suddenly swelled up with a large bulge, followed by her chest, then her shoulders, arms, thighs... bulges of all sizes rose and fell, stretching her skin to the point of being almost transparent, revealing the white paper shadows surging and struggling beneath!

"Roar! Roar!!! -- Pfft!" The demon's roar turned into a desperate sob.

boom!boom!boom!boom!boom!

The first big bag started to burst, then the second, the third...

A series of cracking sounds echoed within Chen Xue's demonic body. The places that were torn apart seemed to explode from within, oozing out black blood mixed with scraps of paper!

final!

boom--!!!

A deafening roar!

The demon Chen Xue's body burst open like a balloon stuffed with explosives!

Black blood burning with green flames, shattered internal organs, broken bones, and... countless pale paper scraps soaked in black blood, flying everywhere like a torrential rain!

The pungent, fishy smell instantly filled the entire battlefield!

At the epicenter of the explosion, countless fluttering pieces of paper, like weary birds returning to their nests, splattered with black blood, spun, converged, recombine, and folded...

The figure of the paper bride slowly emerged from it.

She was still wearing that scarlet wedding dress, but it was torn, and there were burn marks on her veil and body. Her breathing was also becoming somewhat disordered...

As Chen Xue's demon exploded, the aura of the hell passage in the wooden house quickly disappeared. The remaining carrion demons began to rush towards the wooden house and returned to hell in an instant. Those who did not have time to escape were quickly devoured by the paper dolls.

The paper bride raised her pale hand and waved to the scattered battlefield.

Scattered scraps of paper and burnt paper figures floated up, trembling slightly, and gathered around her, quickly piecing themselves together to form a fragmented, riddled-with-holes team.

The bright red smile and ink-drawn features on the paper figure's face were almost impossible to form.

The paper bride, through her veil, looked in Qin Jin's direction, her voice filled with unprecedented weariness:

"This time... I got my revenge, but... I also helped you..."

Her voice paused, as if even saying another word was a struggle:

"This time... let's call it even..."

As the words fell, the entire wedding procession slowly walked to the edge of the pool, then sank into the dark water as if blending in. The blood jade bounced up from the water and fell back into Qin Jin's hands.

"Next time, next time something like this happens... please... please don't call me..."

A few ripples spread across the water before it returned to calm. In the sky, the shadows dissipated, the celestial dog vanished, and moonlight shone on the ground once more. Constanze sat down heavily on the ground, watching Qin Jin lower Alessa from his back, and gave a wry smile.

"Qin! You...you really are a master of disguise!"

As Qin Jin sensed Alessa's breathing gradually calming down, he felt a sense of peace and his mood improved considerably. His lazy expression finally returned, and he glanced at Constantine, smiling.

"That's why I told you not to test them... Alessa doesn't like it!"

As he spoke, Gru Super Red Hawk was stuffed back into Frankenstein's monster.

"No, don't worry, I know what's important," Constantine said, raising an eyebrow as he looked at the mess on the floor.

"What do we do next? Report it? What should we say?"

"We'll do it like this..."

Under the moonlight, Qin Jin began to fabricate a story about a cult ritual to give the police an explanation and to close the case completely.

A cold wind swept through, leaving a mess everywhere. Having prepared his explanation, Qin Jin took out his phone and dialed a number.

"Manager Frank, it's me, Qin Jin."

"...Qin? Do you know what time it is?" Frank's voice was drowsy and typical of someone who was sleep-deprived.

"The culprit in the paper doll murder case has been found; it's the owner of the Big Guy Hiking Association."

Qin Jin briefly explained the gist of it:

"We're deep in the Santa Monica Mountains now. This guy set up an altar here and killed a fourth person, plus himself... I need backup!"

There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone, followed by a burst of immense joy:

"Well done, Qin! I knew you could do it! I'll send people right away! No, I'll bring them myself! Secure the scene!"

"Understood." Qin Jin hung up the phone and sent the location.

He turned to Constantine beside him, his eyes now filled with a tacit, languid look:

"Alright, Jack. It's our time now. Go in and search."

Constantine spat out the cigarette butt from his mouth, and the cigarette sizzled out in the cold morning dew.

His grey-green eyes showed no surprise, and he naturally followed behind Qin Jin, heading back towards the broken wooden door.

Alessa followed silently, but Qin Jin told her to stay behind: "Keep an eye out for me and see if anything else comes out."

Alessa stopped, drew her gun, and stood quietly outside the Dodge.

Inside the wooden house, the chaos after the battle was even greater. After the Hell Passage disappeared, the circle with the Five Elements talisman reappeared on the floor, but Chen Bonian's body, the glass coffin, the paper effigy, and the magic artifacts scattered on the ground had disappeared, probably falling into Hell.

Without saying much, Qin Jin began searching the first floor, while Constanze stepped over the mess and went up to the second floor.

Soon, Qin Jin found a thick booklet in a nearby drawer.

It feels cool and slippery to the touch, with a kind of toughness that is extremely uncomfortable.

By the dim moonlight streaming in through the window, Qin Jin could make out its cover—

Dark brown, with a rough texture and tiny pores along the edges, it has no decorations, only dark stains left by time. This texture... is human skin!

And it's from a very long time ago!

Following the title page is a large section of tiny regular script written in thick ink, with an ancient and vigorous style. It uses traditional Chinese characters, and the content is obscure and difficult to understand, seemingly a record of some kind of cultivation method or forbidden ritual.

As you turn the page, the handwriting gradually changes, revealing modern fountain pen handwriting. The content also becomes fragmented, resembling a diary, with English text interspersed at the end. The handwriting on the last few pages appears hasty and messy, which is indeed Chen Bonian's handwriting!

This is not just Chen Bonian's diary! It is a secret manual made of human skin that spans at least three generations of sorcerers and records countless forbidden knowledge!

Its era is much older than Chen Bonian's grandfather!

Qin Jin expressionlessly stuffed the ominous-looking booklet into the inner pocket of his large coat.

Constantine came down from upstairs carrying a plastic bag containing rolled-up US dollars. He squatted down and divided them into two roughly equal piles, each of which looked to contain about thirty or forty thousand dollars.

Qin Jin glanced at it and nodded in agreement.

Constantin's gaze swept over Alessa outside the door, then at the two piles of things on the floor. He picked up two lumps from his own pile and put them into Qin Jin's, gesturing with his chin towards Alessa:

"For her."

Qin Jin's lips curled into a barely perceptible smile, but he remained silent, which was taken as tacit acceptance of this arrangement.

He walked over, stuffed his and Alessa's portions into another bag, turned and left, putting the bag into his Dodge. Constantine also quickly put his portion into his pocket.