As darkness fell, Ji Jingyu hid at the entrance of the alley, watching the soldiers changing shifts at the city gate.

Having spent a long time in Jingning City interacting with those puppets, he became very sensitive to these things.

He could see that these soldiers, without intervention, would become puppets within a few days.

Presumably, Tang Nian and Lou Mu came for this reason as well.

He turned around and disappeared from the spot.

When he reappeared, he had already reached the village entrance.

The bloodstains in the village have been mostly cleaned up, and the villagers who escaped the calamity are slowly returning.

However, they still subconsciously become nervous and try to avoid strangers.

This led to Ji Jingyu wandering around the village for a long time, but still not finding Chu Roujia's hiding place.

With no other option, Ji Jingyu found a secluded corner and used his magic to finally pinpoint Chu Roujia's approximate location.

It's no wonder Ji Jingyu was wrong. That day, when Lou Mu brought Chu Roujia to the village, he also set up a shielding formation to protect the village from auras.

It can make the people in the village safer.

Ji Jingyu wandered around the village, finally stopping in front of a wooden house.

He gently knocked on the door.

Very light footsteps could be heard coming from inside the house.

Ji Jingyu wasn't in a hurry. After waiting a while and finding no further movement, he raised his hand and knocked again.

The door creaked open and was gently pulled open a crack.

Through the crack, half of a weathered face was visible.

Who are you looking for?

His hoarse voice was very soft; if Ji Jingyu hadn't had good hearing, he probably wouldn't have been able to hear it.

"I'm looking for Chu Roujia."

"Who is Chu Roujia? I don't know her."

The man was clearly flustered.

Just as Ji Jingyu was about to press for more information, a head appeared behind the man.

Chu Roujia was clearly surprised when she saw Ji Jingyu, but she quickly composed herself.

"Uncle Qian, this is my friend."

"Oh, it's your friend. Come on in."

Upon hearing Chu Roujia's words, Uncle Qian changed his previous wary expression and opened the door wide to invite Ji Jingyu into the room.

Those who live in the forest don't really know much about what's happening in the Great Chu.

Many of Chu Roujia's deeds have not been reported here.

It's also possible that they had heard of Chu Roujia's name but hadn't paid any attention to it.

Therefore, when Chu Roujia mingled with the villagers using her real name, no one suspected that she was the princess of the Great Chu.

Chu Roujia poured Ji Jingyu a glass of water: "Thank you for those few days. I haven't had a chance to thank you yet."

Ji Jingyu paused, holding the cup, and looked up, his deep eyes gazing quietly at Chu Roujia.

"What if I said I kidnapped you?"

Chu Roujia smiled faintly and remained silent.

After a long silence, she finally spoke, but did not answer Ji Jingyu's question.

"Is it Master... Master Tang who sent you to find me?"

Ji Jingyu nodded, looking at the well-behaved and clever girl in front of him, and couldn't bear to take her to the city.

He couldn't help but say, "While it's still early, if you want to back out, you can still leave..."

Before Ji Jingyu could finish speaking, Chu Roujia interrupted him.

"No, I'll go with you."

"You really don't..."

Ji Jingyu didn't know what to say, but he could guess some of the reasons why Tang Nian and the other person brought Chu Roujia to the border.

But it's a bit cruel to make such a young girl carry such a heavy burden.

"What if the price of going is death?"

"I've already answered this question with Master Tang and the others. Thank you for taking me there."

Chu Roujia smiled faintly, as if she hadn't heard what Ji Jingyu said.

Ji Jingyu was helpless; both sides had agreed, leaving him feeling like he was caught in the middle.

That's fine, it saves him from having to put in any more effort.

...

Upon hearing the soldier's sudden report, the three men in the military camp stopped their standoff and, after discussing it, went to the city together.

Lin Zhenming wanted to call some soldiers to go with him, but Tang Nian stopped him.

These corpses are very likely to have become puppets as well, and ordinary soldiers would only cause trouble if they came.

Moreover, if Lin Zhenming and Old Yang were to do something after summoning those soldiers, these innocent soldiers would suffer.

only……

Tang Nian had been keeping an eye on Lin Zhenming ever since the soldier reported it.

Lin Zhenming's shocked expression seemed genuine.

Could it be that Old Yang's plan was kept from Lin Zhenming?

Fortunately, Tang Nian had cut the silver threads on the corpses in the military camp during the day, so they weren't involved in the riot at night.

After settling the frightened civilians, Tang Nian and the others headed towards the place the soldiers had indicated.

The once quiet street was now in chaos, and the corpses that had been at rest were now standing up, wandering around expressionlessly.

What terrified her even more was that, in Tang Nian's eyes, these corpses were all bound with puppet strings, as if they were being controlled by someone.

Tang Nian's heart sank; she understood what this meant.

The only person she could think of who could do this was Old Yang.

Before the two could think further, the wandering corpses had already locked onto them.

As a cold wind blew by, the puppets began to move slowly.

Tang Nian didn't bring a sword with her, but when she raised one hand above her head, a long sword flew from a distance and landed in her hand.

She gripped the longsword tightly in her hand, the blade gleaming faintly with a cold light.

Lou Mu also took off the folding fan from his waist, held it in one hand, and gently tapped it with the other.

Only Lin Zhenming, dressed in full armor, did not draw his sword; he simply stood to the side.

In the darkness of night, Tang Nian's figure shimmered in the moonlight.

She was not facing humans or demons, but the corpses that had once lay quietly in the cemetery, but had now become puppets.

No, they're not corpses anymore. They're just skin and bones; you could barely call them human.

Inside their human skin is nothing but a puppet, completely at the mercy of others.

The puppets are expressionless, but their movements are exceptionally agile.

Their souls are trapped inside the puppets, unable to control their own bodies.

The puppet is left with only a mechanical obsession: to attack the living person in front of it.

Tang Nian could feel the chilling aura emanating from them; it was the scent of death, chilling to the bone.

Tang Nian swung her sword to block the puppet's attacks, each collision producing a dull thud.

Her swordsmanship was light and agile, sometimes as smooth as flowing water, sometimes as fierce as a whirlwind.

Suddenly, a puppet lunged at Tang Nian.

Its face was expressionless, with only a pair of empty eyes and an open mouth.

Tang Nian quickly dodged to the side while simultaneously slashing back with her sword.

The sword's edge collided with the puppet's body, producing a dull thud.

The puppet did not fall because of this attack; instead, it attacked Tang Nian even more frantically.

The sword in Tang Nian's hand made a "buzzing" sound, struggling to leave Tang Nian's grasp, but Tang Nian held it firmly.