Puppet soldiers are, after all, crafted, and are far inferior to Shen Yao in terms of flexibility and combat power.
In the ensuing battles with the puppet soldiers, Shen Yao clearly gained the upper hand.
Upon seeing this, the Dark Moon Pavilion Master looked somewhat displeased, and then summoned three more puppet soldiers.
The four of them rushed forward, and even though Shen Yao was made of iron, his two fists were no match for four hands, and he gradually fell into a disadvantageous position.
Seeing this, Xie Yu immediately drew his sword and joined the fight.
Just as the puppet soldier's sword was about to pierce Shen Yao, Xie Yu suddenly stood in front of him, blocking the fatal blow.
The puppet soldier's sword slashed Xie Yu's shoulder, causing him to grimace in pain. Even in this moment, Xie Yu didn't forget to urge Shen Yao to leave quickly, "Shen idiot, these puppets are too strange, you'd better get out of here..."
Having fought his way through countless battles, how could Shen Yao stand by and watch his brother die? He pulled Xie Yu behind him and fought against the puppet soldiers.
"Stop talking nonsense. I'll cover you. Hurry up and get reinforcements..."
Xie Yu was acutely aware of his own strength. If he were to cover the rear, he probably wouldn't last long. So he listened to Shen Yao's words and turned to leave.
The four puppet soldiers continued to besiege Shen Yao, and one of them seemed to want to chase after Xie Yu, but he stopped him.
Before long, Shen Yao began to feel powerless, especially since his shoulders and back were injured and bleeding was not stopping. He didn't even have the strength to hold the knife.
Just as Shen Yao could no longer hold on and knelt on one knee, the puppet soldiers raised their swords and slashed at his head.
Although Ye Qingzhu knew that she and Shen Yao could only be enemies for life, she couldn't help but tense up when Shen Yao was about to die in front of her, and subconsciously clenched her fists.
When she tried to stop him, she realized that the Pavilion Master was still beside her. She suppressed her fear and panic, turned her head to the side, not wanting to see Shen Yao die in front of her.
Just as the blade was about to fall, the Dark Moon Pavilion Master suddenly whistled.
Upon hearing the whistle, the puppet soldiers immediately stopped, dragged Shen Yao to the Dark Moon Pavilion Master, and threw him on the ground like trash.
The Dark Moon Pavilion Master looked at Shen Yao, who was lying on the ground on the verge of death, and a smug smile appeared on his lips. He squatted down, grabbed Shen Yao's hair, and forced him to look into his eyes.
"It seems that even Lord Shen, the number one expert in the Great Liang, is not so skilled after all..."
Shen Yao looked at the man wearing a blue mask in front of him, spat at him defiantly, and cursed, "You traitor Chu, do you think you can seize the land of Daliang and restore the Chu Kingdom with such a sinister thing?"
The Dark Moon Pavilion Master didn't take Shen Yao's arrogant words seriously, considering them merely the idle chatter of a dying man.
However, the Dark Moon Pavilion Master was somewhat surprised that Shen Yao knew his true identity.
"Even when death is imminent, you're still being stubborn..."
"However, I will not hold it against you. I will turn you into a puppet to serve me. As for whether I can restore the Chu Kingdom, I think you will not live to see it..."
Having said that, the Dark Moon Pavilion Master stood up, spread his arms wide, and laughed loudly, "Hahahaha... In less than two months, the Great Liang Empire will finally return to my hands, Chu Yu."
Shen Yao struggled incessantly, but his body was controlled by the puppet soldiers and he could not move. His gaze unexpectedly met Ye Qingzhu's.
Neither of them seemed to have anticipated that their reunion would turn out this way.
Ye Qingzhu said nothing, only coldly shifting her gaze away, and said to the Dark Moon Pavilion Master, "Godfather, one has escaped. I'll take men to pursue them immediately..."
The Dark Moon Pavilion Master nodded, granting Ye Qingzhu's suggestion.
After receiving permission, Ye Qingzhu led two puppet soldiers to chase after the place where Xie Yu had just left.
The instant she turned around, Shen Yao saw Ye Qingzhu's eyes suddenly change from indifference to other emotions, but he couldn't tell what they were.
Xie Yu, who was fleeing, had no idea what was happening behind him, but he knew that Xie Yu had not followed, and he roughly guessed that he was in grave danger.
The ghost market was completely different from when they first arrived. Every household had their doors tightly shut, as if what they had just seen was a fabricated illusion. Xie Yu then realized that he and Shen Yao had fallen into someone else's trap from the very beginning.
The Dark Moon Pavilion members were everywhere in the Ghost Market, and Xie Yu had nowhere to hide, so he had to take refuge in an abandoned local temple.
The earth god temple wasn't very big, only about the height of an adult's arm, not much different from a doghouse. It was built at the end of the street and could just accommodate a big child. Although Xie Yu could hide there, he was curled up, and with the injury on his shoulder, he was in so much pain that he was grimacing.
Soon, Ye Qingzhu led the people of Dark Moon Pavilion to search the streets, but they did not notice the Earth God Temple at all.
Seeing Ye Qingzhu gradually walk away, Xie Yu finally breathed a sigh of relief. The injury on his shoulder had exhausted all his strength, and he felt that the scene in front of him was becoming more and more blurred. He was about to faint.
Just as he was in so much pain that he was about to lose consciousness, he suddenly felt someone patting his face.
Startled, he quickly opened his eyes and looked up to see a little girl, covered in dirt, staring at him with concern. She asked, "What happened to you?"
Xie Yu didn't even have the strength to answer the little girl; he was just breathing heavily.
The little girl noticed something was wrong with him. "Are you injured?"
Xie Yu mustered her strength to keep herself from losing consciousness, nodded to the little girl, and regarded her as her last lifeline.
On her own, Xie Yu had no chance of escaping the ghost market. Although the girl in front of her was only seven or eight years old, Xie Yu had to take a desperate gamble.
Were those people arresting you?
Xie Yu did not answer. He was afraid that if he spoke, the little girl would be frightened and call the people from Dark Moon Pavilion. So he remained silent.
Although Xie Yu remained silent, the little girl had already guessed most of what was going on, so she patted Xie Yu and said, "They've already left. It's not safe for you to hide here. I'll take you somewhere."
After saying that, he reached out to help Xie Yu up, trying to pull him out of the low earth god temple.
After Xie Yu learned that the little girl had saved him, he began to stretch his body and crawl out. After a short while, he crawled out.
After they came out, the little girl led Xie Yu to a dark passage. They walked inside for an unknown amount of time before the view suddenly opened up before them.
After emerging from the dimly lit passage, the sky began to lighten with the first hint of dawn; judging by the color of the sky, it should be getting light soon.
The little girl led Xie Yu to a cave where there were seven or eight other children, all three or four years old, younger than the little girl.
As soon as the children saw their older sister bring people back, they immediately surrounded her, their eyes fixed on Xie Yu.
Seeing the child in front of him, Xie Yu was stunned. Who would have thought that even such a young child would dare to break into the Ghost Market?
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