Lakeside
Shang Yanting's body was half submerged in water and half mired in mud.
His body was covered in wounds, which had worsened in the harsh environment. Most importantly, there were deep knife marks on his wrists and ankles, some so deep that the bone was visible.
This was the third time Jia Xitong had given him a talisman.
However, due to environmental factors, his wounds repeatedly worsened.
Shang Yanting won't die, but he will feel pain.
I remember that in the original novel, Shang Yanting's injury was caused by this incident, which left him with a chronic illness, causing him immense pain whenever it rained.
Each time the pain is felt, the hatred deepens.
It's no wonder that someone who was once a prodigy has become like this is suffering so much that they've become twisted.
"System, do you really have no way to let me leave my body? Even a temporary one would be fine."
Jia Xitong couldn't help but ask.
[There are magical artifacts available to fulfill the quest taker's requirements; however, depending on the circumstances, the quest taker must exchange them for other items.]
[Magic Artifact: Puppet Clone]
[Purpose: Can be imbued with soul power to control puppets. Duration: 2 hours; movement distance cannot exceed 10 meters from the soul body, i.e., 10 meters around the male protagonist.]
[Price: 10,000 basic spirit talismans (any amount) are offered on credit to the quest taker, but must be repaid within 3 years.]
Do you need this much?
Ten thousand spirit talismans, based on her success rate, would require drawing one million talismans. That's equivalent to about 913 talismans per day. After calculating this, Jia Xitong couldn't help but gasp.
But people always need to improve. In three years, one's talisman-drawing skills should have improved by some extent.
Thinking about saving people and gaining trust points, she gritted her teeth and decided to switch!
One minute later
A furry creature with dark circles around its eyes, a grayish-brown body, and a patterned tail appeared by the river.
Jia Xitong spent half a minute figuring out how to use the puppet technique, and somehow transformed into a raccoon, which is commonly known as—instant noodles.
Her view shifted from a 360-degree ultra-wide angle to a low and narrow one. She shook her head, not quite used to it, and then manipulated the raccoon's body to approach Shang Yanting, grabbing his arm and dragging him out of the mud.
It was very difficult.
The instant noodles are too small and weak; it takes a long time to move them even a little bit.
It took Jia Xitong two hours to finally drag Shang Yanting to the clean, dry grass.
This ordeal left bloodstains that had spread from the riverbank all the way here, and Shang Yanting's already unhealed wounds reopened, his lips turning black and white. Jia Xitong had no other recourse but to burn some incantations for him to consume.
I just fed him the third card, and the puppet's time was up.
His soul power returned to Shang Yanting's sea of consciousness, and the puppet collapsed beside him.
The next day
The puppet that had been lying down next to him sat up.
Shang Yanting spent most of his time in mud and water, and his wounds became repeatedly infected due to the combined effects of the incantation talisman and the sewage.
Jia Xitong manipulated the raccoon to undress him, revealing the wounds on his body and the dried mud.
How do I deal with the mud and pus on my body?
She tore a clean piece of cloth from his clothes, carried the cloth to the river to soak his clothes, and then came back to clean his wounds.
The pus mixed with dirt was difficult to clean, and even a small piece of clothing became dirty after only a few uses. She went back and forth many times to clean the wound, spending all two hours of her control time on it.
The third day after falling into the lake
Shang Yanting still hasn't woken up.
She gently lifted the dented bark of the dead tree and carefully fed him water, then ran around Shang Yanting on all fours.
After cleaning the mud off his body, the incantation talisman worked extremely well. All his wounds had healed and scabbed over; the biggest concerns were his severed tendons in his hands and feet, and the fact that he hadn't eaten for three days!
Zhu You talismans cannot regenerate flesh from bones, nor can they connect tendons and veins, and they certainly cannot fill one's stomach.
Just as she was worrying about these things, an even greater crisis was quietly approaching.
As mentioned in the original novel, after Shang Yanting fell off the cliff, the eight great families sent people to search the area below. The search party had already come down and was following the direction of the water flow.
In the quiet environment, shouts and barking could be heard, and they were getting closer and closer.
Realizing something was wrong, Jia Xitong gave up looking for food and dragged his arm to move him, regretting that she hadn't become a stronger puppet.
The puppets were almost out of use when they finally hid in a patch of tall reeds.
Jia Xitong gathered up the surrounding grass and covered him with it all. This was the only way to hide him now, and she hoped he wouldn't be found so quickly. After covering him with the last layer of reeds, the puppet time expired, and the raccoon collapsed at her feet.
##
While in a coma, Shang Yanting suffered from recurring nightmares.
He calculated everything, but he failed to guard against the Shang Mou family.
The head of the Shangmou family, his own maternal uncle. He conspired with other aristocratic families to destroy the foundation of his cultivation and wanted to eliminate him completely.
All the friends, subordinates, kind teachers, and elders who had once benefited from his kindness became the ones who wielded knives against him.
The head of the Shangmou family, his own grandfather. After everything happened, he abandoned him, shielded the culprits, and stood by indifferently, just like... he had treated his parents!
In just a few days, he experienced the harsh realities of life. He suffered from a persistent high fever and was suddenly plagued by demonic possession.
Amidst the reeds, a pair of eyes, devoid of any emotion and utterly dark, opened.
##
"Sir, bloodstains and torn clothing have been found by the river."
"The traitor is here. Expand the search area. The clan heads have said they want to see him alive or dead!"
The voices grew closer; the aristocratic family had already searched the reed beds.
night.
Torches flickered among the reeds, and the faint barking of dogs could be heard from within them; they had brought hunting dogs with them.
Shang Yanting dragged his heavy body forward, unable to exert any force with his hands, and could only support himself with his elbows. His wounds, which had not yet fully healed, reopened due to his movements, and his elbows scraped against the ground, embedding themselves in blunt, hard pebbles.
"Woof!"
A fierce howl came from the reeds, and the hunting dog in the lead leaped out of the reeds to tear at him.
Shang Yanting swung his arm and used his elbow to tightly strangle the hunting dog's neck. Unable to exert force with his hands and feet, he pressed all his body weight onto the hunting dog, crushing it to death.
He threw the body aside and continued crawling forward. His elbows were worn down to the bare bone.
The footsteps and the sound of hunting dogs behind him grew louder and louder, but he was already exhausted.
Just then, a furry creature grabbed his elbow.
The puppet's time was finally up, and Jia Xitong couldn't wait to come out, "Host, hang in there!"
She quickly fed him the talisman and pulled him forward while holding his arm.
Shang Yanting ignored the strange little monster in front of him, his cold eyes filled only with hatred.
More hunting dogs caught up and tore at Shang Yanting's legs from behind. His legs were already covered in blood, but he seemed oblivious to the pain, mechanically crawling forward.
Jia Xitong manipulated the raccoons' bodies, causing their fur to stand on end. She continuously picked up stones and threw them at them, trying to scare them away.
The commotion caught the attention of those behind them. "Found it! It's up ahead!"
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