Chapter 46 Becoming a Puppet

The blood had already spread to his feet, and the demon cultivator stood aside and watched the excitement as if it had nothing to do with him.

Xie Buyu held onto the iron railing with both hands, leaned his head on it, and said to Xie Nan, who was already surrounded by the flames, "I am your elder brother... Isn't Xiao Nan the one who listens to his elder brother the most?"

"Now, come and save my brother, okay...?"

There was no heart-wrenching cry, but rather a low tone like mumbling to himself, so quiet that even the demon cultivator could not hear clearly what he was saying.

But Xie Nan, who was surrounded by flames, seemed to move. He raised his head and looked at Xie Buyou, who was halfway trapped in the blood pool, from a distance through a flame barrier.

“Brother…?”

Xie raised his head without hesitation and met his gaze, with his usual tolerant smile in his eyes. He opened his mouth and said to him silently: You finally "woke up"...

Xie Buyou was completely immersed in the pool of blood, and no trace of his figure could be seen.

“Brother——!”

Xie Nan suddenly stood up and crossed the flames. Regardless of the pain from the burn on his body, he punched the iron cage again and again with such force that it bent.

The demon cultivator was stunned for a moment, then he curled up a triumphant smile, still without any action, and watched Xie Nan break through the iron cage and jump into the blood pool.

After the two people completely disappeared in the blood pool, he laughed out loud, "Haha...hahaha...this method really works! He really jumped into the blood pool willingly! Hahaha——"

The demon cultivator laughed crazily, as if his long-cherished wish had finally come true today.

"I want to tell my cousin that I am right! Only puppets made from living people are the most perfect!"

“Hahahahahaha—”

The strong smell of blood invades the mouth and nose, and the sticky feeling spreads all over the body, making the person trapped unable to move, as if they have become a part of this pool of blood.

It was even more intense than the feeling of suffocation in the water. His whole body was squeezed in the cold and soft space. He closed his eyes tightly, and even with his mouth and nose covered, he couldn't resist the smell of blood. Xie Buyou almost vomited in disgust.

Just a few seconds seemed like a very long time had passed. Xie Buyou's brain was in a mess due to lack of oxygen and his consciousness began to blur.

The only real feeling on Hun's body was touch. A pair of cold hands grabbed one of his wrists and clung to it like a snake.

This was the last thing Xie Buyou felt before he fell into a coma.

…

Under the peach tree, there were handsome young men and graceful ladies. They surrounded the peach tree, tying red strings on the branches or pulling a red rope from the branches, and their laughter and chatter did not stop.

The young man in blue brocade clothes looked around curiously, standing out from the young ladies and gentlemen around him. He moved through the crowd and soon arrived under the peach tree.

There were many red ropes on the peach tree, hanging all over the edge of the tree, but they were all hung very high and the short boy couldn't reach them at all.

The young master did not give up. He looked up hard and, coincidentally, a red ribbon appeared in his sight.

The red ribbon was hanging under a thin red line, very low, almost within reach of the young boy. The boy pulled it down without hesitation and returned the same way, but was stopped after only a few steps.

The other party pointed at the red ribbon in his hand, then pointed at him and said, "Once you pull off my "red line", you are mine!" He said it with full of confidence.

The young man looked at the red ribbon in his hand, then at the other person, and then threw the red ribbon at the face of the other person who was the same height as him, "Oh, really? I was wondering why it was hung so low, it turns out the person who hung it is short." As he said this, he was about to turn around and go back to pull another one.

"Don't leave!" The other party grabbed his clothes and rudely tied the red ribbon in his hair. "You have to marry me in the future, because this is our "destiny."

…

When he woke up and opened his eyes, he saw the wooden bedtop. The delicate carvings and patterns on it made Xie Buyou feel dazed for a moment.

Turning my head to look away, I saw an ancient-style room with incense burning on the table. The smoke was rising with a faint scent of pear blossoms.

He has traveled through time again. Could it be that he has become a rich young man this time?

Xie Buyu sat up from the bed and was about to throw off the quilt and get out of bed, but the next second, the door of the room was opened.

The men paused in consciousness, and Xie Buyou raised his head to look at the person who came.

A figure passed behind the screen and soon went around it to see Xie Buyou who had already woken up.

"Brother."

The other person's red eyes were emotionless, and the words he spoke were cold and without any emotion, just like a puppet.

"Xie Nan?"

Xie Buyou was surprised. He didn't expect that not only was he not dead, but Xie Nan also appeared in front of him in good health.

But...where is this place?

Xie Nan seemed to have regained his sanity, but his appearance still had some devilish characteristics.

A thick black demonic aura emanated from Xie Nan's body. His skin was pale and bloodless, and he no longer had the youthful vigor that should have belonged to him. Instead, he was filled with an aura of death that made people feel uncomfortable.

"Brother."

Xie Nan took a step forward. He showed no emotion on Xie Buyou's face. He held a bowl of hot porridge in his hand and said to him, "Eat porridge."

Xie Buyou didn't know how to react for a moment. Xie Nan seemed to remember him, but now he was completely different. Except for his appearance, his personality was completely different from the previous Xie Nan.

Like a blackened little rabbit.

"……good."

Xie Buyu took the hot porridge and drank it spoonful by spoonful with a spoon, neither too fast nor too slow. While drinking the porridge, he also paid attention to observing Xie Nan's reaction.

Then he found that Xie Nan didn't react at all. She just stood by the bed and watched him drink porridge, like a motionless sculpture.

He only reacted after Xie Buyou finished drinking the porridge. He lowered his red eyes, took Xie Buyou's empty bowl, and prepared to leave without saying anything.

"Wait!" Xie Buyou called him in time.

"Xiao Nan, how are you...now? Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?"

It took him a long time to utter these words.

Xie Nan also stared at him for a long time before speaking, "I'm not feeling uncomfortable. How about you, brother? Are you feeling uncomfortable?"

"No." Xie Buyou breathed a sigh of relief. From what the other party said, it seemed normal at the moment.

He felt relieved and started to ask about the current situation, "Where are we now? Where is the demon cultivator?"

"Lin Mansion."

Xie Nan only answered the first question, but it was enough to shock Xie Buyou.

Isn't this the territory of that demon cultivator? So they never escaped from here. Are they under house arrest?

Xie Buyou glanced at Xie Nan. It seemed that he was the only one under house arrest.

That demon cultivator is extremely powerful and his origins are unknown. Although we don't know the specific reason why he was not killed, he was imprisoned here because he must have other uses.

I remembered the word "puppet" I heard before I was completely drowned in the pool of blood, and my cousin...

"Xiao Nan, what are you now?"

"puppet."

"……"really.

I shouldn't be the one, right? It seems that even his thoughts are normal.

Xie Buyou got out of bed and walked to Xie Nan's side, touching his cheek and rubbing his head. Hmm...soft.

"Xiao Nan, let's leave here. It's too dangerous to stay here. I will protect you after we get out and won't let you get bullied." Xie Buyou said every word to him seriously.

Xie Nan's expression was slightly moved at this moment, but it disappeared without a trace the next moment. He shook his head slowly and said, "I can't leave here. Brother can only stay here."

He responded with a worry-free tone, "I will protect my brother and will not let anyone bully him, including him."

"...Him? Are you referring to that demon cultivator?" Xie Buyu asked doubtfully.

Xie Nan's mind seemed to be in a conflict, his eyes were blurred for a moment, and finally he nodded and said, "Yes, I will protect my brother."

Why does it seem like Xie Nan is not completely controlled? Otherwise, why would he say something that defies the controller?

Thinking of the evil cultivator who had controlled Xie Nan and turned him into a puppet, Xie Buyou gritted his teeth and wanted to kill him immediately to release Xie Nan from his control.

But he couldn't be so impulsive. First, he didn't know the opponent's specific strength; second, he didn't know whether the opponent's injury or death would also affect Xie Nan, who was the opponent's puppet.

Without knowing the situation, we can't act rashly. But if we don't release Xie Nan's control, it seems that even if we take Xie Nan away, it will be useless.

To release control... this seems to require someone who knows what's going on, right?

Wait, who does that demon cultivator look like? He looks like the young cultivator I saw in the tavern. Could the cousin the demon cultivator mentioned be him?

It's really strange that a righteous cultivator and a demonic cultivator are cousins.

I don't know what happened to Tang Fengshan, but I think he's not in danger.

Before Xie Buyou could think clearly, Xie Nan suddenly made a move. He half-lowered his eyes, and the bowl in his hand fell to the ground with a "pop" and broke into pieces. He turned around mechanically and walked towards the door. He even left the room as if he didn't hear Xie Buyou calling him.

Xie Buyou stood there in a daze, feeling very upset. The other party could actually control Xie Nan remotely. Could they still escape from here?

Suddenly, he felt a warmth around his waist. Xie Buyou subconsciously touched his waist, and then suddenly remembered that he had hidden a voice transmission talisman around his waist.

He took out the voice transmission talisman hidden at his waist, and soon heard Tang Fengshan's voice, "The fact that you can use the voice transmission talisman means that you are not dead for the time being."

Xie Buyou: “…” Why do you say such unlucky words right at the beginning?

"Where are you now? You are with the monk I told you about. I didn't expect you to trust him so much that you gave me the talisman he gave you. But he did save me, so I'll just assume he's a good man. I didn't expect to be discovered so quickly. Now tell me about your situation."

Xie Buyu told him about his current situation and Xie Nan's matter, and asked him to ask the young monk how to solve it. It was his cousin's mistake, and he, as a cousin, should solve it.

After getting the reply, the voice transmission talisman also disappeared at a certain time. It seems that now all we can do is wait for rescue on the spot.

Just like that, Xie Buyou waited for several days but there was no news at all, let alone anyone breaking in here.

Didn't you say you were coming to save him? Where are they? Why don't you come?

Xie Buyou lay on the table doing nothing. He was extremely idle. He was not allowed to go out and there was nothing new to interest him.

However, he did discover a few things. During the day, there would be a lot of people in the Lin Mansion, but almost everyone had a weird smile like the passers-by he met when he first came to this city. But at night, these people disappeared without a trace and no one knew where they were.

Xie Nan seemed unaffected by all this, and would come to see him every day, or whenever he had time, and would leave only because of instructions. Sometimes Xie Buyou felt that Xie Nan was very normal, remembering everything and knowing everything, but every time he proposed to leave the Lin Residence, Xie Nan would stop him.

The space bag and sword on him were gone, and he had no way of contacting the outside world. He didn't know how far Tang Fengshan and Lin Yu were in the rescue effort.

Lin Yu was the young cultivator, and the other party also told him the name of the demon cultivator - Lin Lishi.

It doesn't sound like magic at all.

Another night passed, and the Lin Mansion soon became empty. The cold wind blew through the place, making it like an eerie and scary empty house.

Perhaps the only place with candlelight was his room. The warm orange light shone on Xie Buyou who was reading a book, outlining a soft curve on his face.

These are the books he asked Xie Nan to find for him. It doesn't matter what kind of books they are, as long as they can relieve boredom. It would be very difficult to bear without some time to kill boredom.

With a creak, the door was opened from the outside. Xie Buyu said without even raising his head, "You're here so late? That Lin Lishi didn't ask you to work overtime? Amazing."

It's no wonder Xie Buyu said that. Although Xie Nan came every day, he would be called away after a short while. Xie Nan said that he was dealing with the corpses.

Xie Buyou thought of the people imprisoned in the secret room, a group of failures in the process of being made into puppets, who ended up with serious physical defects and could not survive for long.

The person who entered the room came to Xie Buyou's side and spoke after a pause, "You seem to be doing well? You are even in the mood to read."