Huo Xiuxiu, who had been watching from the sidelines, grew impatient and stepped in to take action herself. She summoned a ball of ghostly blue fire out of thin air, which condensed into a ghostly face that bared its fangs and claws as it charged toward the winged monster. Ge Dalong and Zhao Feng, who were standing nearby, quickly scattered to avoid being accidentally injured by the ghostly fire.
That winged monster was no ordinary being either. With a flap of its wings, it created a storm vortex beneath its feet, effortlessly blocking the will-o'-the-wisp in front of it.
Huo Xiuxiu snorted coldly, then clenched her hands tightly, manipulating the will-o'-the-wisps. The will-o'-the-wisps surrounding the winged monster exploded, the shockwave shattering the vortex beneath its feet. The will-o'-the-wisps rapidly spread across the monster's body. The winged monster roared in pain, then struggled to flap its wings and fly upwards.
Ge Dalong and Zhao Feng were shocked by Huo Xiuxiu's methods. Such methods were not something that the survivors at this stage could use. Ge Dalong began to silently guess Huo Xiuxiu's current state.
However, Huo Xiuxiu's methods went far beyond that. She clasped her hands together, and countless pale ghostly hands instantly appeared around the three-headed monster. With a wave of Huo Xiuxiu's slender hand, those ghostly hands grabbed the three-headed monster's legs and then pulled hard.
The three-headed monster was suddenly pulled to the ground by a ghostly hand, its body lying on its back in a "T" shape.
Zhang Shi acted at the opportune moment, severing all of the three-headed monster's arms. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Huo Xiuxiu manipulated her ghost hand to firmly grasp the three-headed monster. Although the three-headed monster possessed the ability to heal itself, it was unable to use it at this moment and could only be controlled by Huo Xiuxiu, becoming a prisoner.
Huo Xiuxiu walked unhurriedly to the three-headed monster, squatted down, and gently breathed on its face. The three-headed monster, which had been struggling violently, immediately quieted down. Zhang Shi noticed that the monster's three heads seemed to be bewitched, their eyes all glazed over, as if they had lost their minds.
Huo Xiuxiu patted her skirt, released the ghost hand, and pointed at the stunned three-headed monster.
"Take the prisoner you wanted back alive. It would be best if we could get some useful clues out of him, so that all my efforts wouldn't have been in vain."
The group, escorting the three-headed monster controlled by Huo Xiuxiu, embarked on their journey back to the wooden house. Zhang Shi secretly rejoiced; although the expedition had yielded no results, capturing the three-headed monster alive undoubtedly added significant leverage to their upcoming actions.
As night approached, the group finally returned to the cabin, but the scene before them made their hearts tighten. The cabin door was ajar, and the interior was a mess, clearly indicating that someone had broken in. Zhang Shi quickly exchanged a glance, signaling everyone to remain vigilant, and slowly approached the cabin.
Pushing open the door, she saw that the tables and chairs inside were overturned, the cabinet doors were wide open, and the items inside were scattered all over the floor. Huo Xiuxiu frowned, her gaze quickly sweeping across the room, as if searching for some clue.
Zhang Shi walked to the window and cautiously peered outside, but he could see nothing but blurry shadows in the mist. He turned back to Huo Xiuxiu: "Miss Huo, who do you think it could be?"
Huo Xiuxiu shook her head, her expression grave: "It doesn't seem like a monster. It looks like the other party has a clear target, and this person obviously knows our whereabouts, otherwise they wouldn't have found this place so accurately. We must be careful; the other party may have ill intentions."
After cleaning up and finding no danger, the group closed the door, pinned the three-headed monster to the open ground outside the wooden house, and prepared to deal with the immediate situation first.
"Tell me, what is your background, and what is the situation between Chen Beipan and his mother?"
Zhang Shi originally thought that the three-headed monster would obediently talk after being under Huo Xiuxiu's spell, but he did not expect that the other party would be unmoved by his question and would still maintain that blank expression.
Even Huo Xiuxiu was somewhat surprised and personally went closer to check the situation.
Huo Xiuxiu simultaneously extended three hands from her robes and placed them on the three heads of the three-headed monster. After a moment, Huo Xiuxiu narrowed her eyes and whispered.
“These three people are alive, but this thing isn’t. We need to find a way to safely separate them.”
Huo Xiuxiu's words stunned everyone present. They hadn't expected that such a seemingly simple three-headed monster harbored such a complex secret. Zhang Shi frowned and asked, "You mean to say that this three-headed monster is being manipulated?"
Huo Xiuxiu nodded, her expression becoming even more serious: "That's right, I can sense the life force inside the heads, but their bodies and consciousness are inanimate, controlled by some kind of force, unable to act on their own. We must find a way to separate them, otherwise they may be trapped inside this monster forever."
Ge Dalong and Zhao Feng listened in stunned silence; they had never encountered anything so bizarre. Zhao Feng couldn't help but ask, "So what should we do now? We can't just use a knife to peel them off, can we?"
Huo Xiuxiu pondered for a moment, then said, "Your idea is not bad, it's worth a try."
Zhang Shi quickly shook his head and said, "Miss Huo, the old woman among these three is our friend. We have important matters to ask her, and I don't want to hurt her unless absolutely necessary."
Huo Xiuxiu chuckled and casually tore off a piece of flesh from the monster's body.
"Who said it would hurt them? The substance connecting the three of them is a magical substance, not a living thing. That's why it can heal itself without limit. Find a way to clean this thing up completely, and the three of them will naturally wake up."
Huo Xiuxiu's words brightened everyone's eyes; they seemed to see a glimmer of hope. Zhang Shi's tightly furrowed brows gradually relaxed, and he looked at Huo Xiuxiu gratefully: "Miss Huo, then I'll leave it to you."
Huo Xiuxiu shook her head and said jokingly.
"Why thank me? I just gave you an idea; I have no way to separate them."
After saying that, Huo Xiuxiu placed her hands on the three heads of the three-headed monster again, closed her eyes, and began to sense the magical substance controlling them. Zhang Shi and the other two stood aside, looking miserable and nervously watching, not knowing what to do.
Huo Xiuxiu said she had no way to get rid of the three-headed monster's filth, but she still tried to dispel it.
Time ticked by, and fine beads of sweat began to appear on Huo Xiuxiu's forehead. Finally, she suddenly opened her eyes, her hands moving swiftly, and streaks of ghostly blue fire shot from her fingertips, accurately striking several key parts of the three-headed monster.
As the will-o'-the-wisps burned, the parts connected by the magical substance began to hiss, as if something was melting. Then, plumes of black smoke rose from the monster's body, accompanied by a pungent, acrid smell.
Everyone held their breath, watching this scene with tension. Finally, with Huo Xiuxiu's delicate shout, the three-headed monster's body suddenly went limp, and its three heads drooped helplessly to the ground. The black substance on the monster's body had clearly shrunk even further.
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