Meeting an old friend (3)
"Living puppets!" Ye Yingying exclaimed in shock. That was an evil technique that turned living people into puppets for the caster to control. To create sufficiently obedient puppets, the caster would often use extremely cruel methods to force the enslaved person's soul to leave their body, while simultaneously retaining their own spiritual power for the caster's use. This evil technique was even more insidious and vicious than creating corpses. To ensure that the soul expelled from the body wouldn't turn into a vengeful ghost out of resentment, the caster would set up a restriction beforehand, causing the soul to scatter completely upon leaving the body, with no possibility of reincarnation.
Forcibly separating the soul from a living person's body is an inhumane act. Those who practice this method are demonic cultivators. Therefore, there is an agreement among cultivators that if such a situation occurs, the person should be executed immediately.
If she remembered correctly, this evil technique was wiped out hundreds of years ago in the battle against demonic cultivators, and all those who practiced it were exterminated. If it weren't for the records in the Ghost Calculator's library, Ye Yingying would have had no way of knowing about it. Could it be…?
Yun Yanqiu's expression grew increasingly solemn. He turned to Ye Yingying and said, "The situation has changed. The true nature of this divine doctor is still unclear. If you continue to act with me, it will hinder me."
Ye Yingying pursed her lips, feeling unwilling, but Yun Yanqiu's words made sense.
Inside the clinic.
Xue Guan returned from the landlord's house late at night, still feeling smug about the success of his experiment that day. But as soon as he stepped through the gate, he noticed a woman sitting in the courtyard. The woman had long, black hair that reached her waist, willow-leaf eyebrows, almond-shaped eyes, and a cryptic smile playing on her lips. She was leaning against the table, her legs crossed, one hand lazily supporting her head.
The woman was beautiful, and anyone who saw her couldn't help but take a second look. But when Xue Guan saw her, his face immediately fell, and he asked impatiently, "What are you doing here?"
If Yun Yanqiu were here, he would recognize at a glance that this woman was the one who had asked him and Ye Yingying to leave in front of the clinic that morning.
The woman sat with her legs crossed, her slender fingers casually twirling a strand of hair. Seeing Xue Guan return, she merely chuckled, "Keeping an eye on the clinic for you. Those two defective creations of yours really know how to cause trouble for their master. One came back from the dead and sent people to kill you, and the other, cowardly and afraid of death, offered himself up to apologize and beg for his life when the other came back for revenge. Now look what's happened—they know about your puppet-making scheme!"
Xue Jian's face darkened further. He silently walked to the table, threw the disguised medicine box on it, took out a bell from a hidden compartment, put it in his pocket, and sneered, "What is a mere Golden Core cultivator like him?"
"Hehe~" The woman seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world. "Dr. Xue, don't blame me for not warning you, your half-baked stuff won't pose any threat to them. Or are you going to follow the example of your ancestors and fight their self-destructing primordial spirit?"
"You surnamed Gu!" Xue Jian was enraged by these words and slammed his hand on the wooden table, causing several cracks to appear on the surface.
Xue Jian's expression was ferocious as he glared fiercely at the woman in front of him: "Don't think you can look down on people just because you know a little more. What's so great about you? You just want that ball of fire, so stop pretending to be high and mighty!"
The words had barely left his mouth when a cracking sound suddenly came from the shadows of the courtyard, and a chilling aura approached Xue Jian, making him tremble. Xue Jian steadied himself, glanced sideways, and said mockingly, "Oh, you brought that wooden thing today? What, not pretending anymore, planning to rob me outright?"
"Don't misunderstand, he's just here to see me." The woman surnamed Gu waved her hand casually. "Wait for me outside the city."
The figure in the shadows obediently retreated, along with the chilling aura that had just lingered, vanishing without a trace.
"Alright, I've said everything I needed to say. Like I said, I'm just following orders. Think it over before you give me the fire." With that, the woman stood up and slowly walked out of the clinic.
Just as she was about to cross the threshold, she suddenly turned back and said jokingly, "Of course, I hope you're still alive then."
On the other side, Yun Yanqiu briefly concealed the scene in the alley before escorting Ye Yingying back to the inn. He took out a communication talisman, briefly explained the situation to the other end, and then turned to Ye Yingying and said, "I've called for help to protect you. He'll arrive tonight. Until then, stay in your room and don't go out. I'll set up a restriction on this room, and no one outside can enter."
Ye Yingying nodded in agreement, and Yun Yanqiu quickly set up the formation. After giving a few instructions such as "be careful" before leaving, he departed.
With nothing else to do in her room, Ye Yingying began meditating and cultivating. She also took the opportunity to piece together the events: the renowned doctor at the clinic was likely a demonic cultivator who crafted living puppets in this remote county. The original owner of this body was probably a maid in his clinic, who had likely also been turned into a living puppet, causing her soul to dissipate and allowing Ye Yingying to seize this body.
To be fair, this unexpectedly saved her the trouble of being haunted by vengeful spirits. If Yun Yanqiu could kill this divine physician, it would be considered an indirect way of avenging the original owner of this body.
Yun Yanqiu's current level is definitely higher than that quack doctor's. Furthermore, judging from the fact that the living puppet in the alley earlier still had its own consciousness, this demonic cultivator's puppetry technique is still full of flaws, and he is probably not a very powerful person.
Ye Yingying had already decided who would win the competition, while Yun Yanqiu was holding his breath, lying in ambush on the roof of the clinic, watching every move below.
As night fell, a time that should have been a good time to rest, Xue Guan paced back and forth in the courtyard restlessly, pondering a solution. He had painstakingly built up his reputation in this county town for so long, it was impossible for him to be completely unprepared.
Xue Jian subconsciously touched the bell at his waist. He had just entered the Core Formation stage and was well aware of how powerful the spiritual pressure of the outsider cultivator was. If he were to confront him head-on, he would have no chance of winning. The most suitable method at the moment was to stall for time and use the incomplete living puppets in the city as hostages to force those so-called righteous sects to submit obediently.
Thinking of this, Xue Jian immediately went outside, took down the red lantern hanging outside, his eyes filled with greed. He couldn't wait to peel off the outer layer of bright red oil paper, revealing the cage hidden inside. Yun Yanqiu looked at this scene, his pupils shrinking slightly, staring in surprise at the sight before him—a ball of bluish-green flame was confined in the cage.
Xue Jian is really carefree, hiding the flame in the lantern outside the door. Isn't he afraid someone will blatantly take it away? Yun Yanqiu sighed inwardly, took out the prepared immobilization talisman from his sleeve, and silently poured spiritual power into it.
Driven by spiritual power, the talisman flew towards Xue Guan with a "whoosh," about to collide with the man's back. In an instant, Xue Guan, who had been staring blankly at the blue flame just a moment ago, suddenly changed his expression, flicking his black robe to dodge the immobilization talisman. He looked up and shouted in the direction the talisman had come from: "Who's there!"
Under the silvery moonlight, a tall, elegant man in white robes stood, exuding an otherworldly air. His phoenix eyes coldly stared at Xue Jian, and the spiritual pressure he intentionally released instinctively made Xue Jian feel a little intimidated. But remembering that he still possessed this precious flame, Xue Jian mustered his courage and provocatively said, "I wondered who I was, but it turns out to be just a pretty boy!"
Yun Yanqiu ignored Xue Jian's crude provocation and said expressionlessly, "Hand over the flames."
"Alright, so they're all here for this thing!" Xue Jian's eyes widened, and he laughed arrogantly. "I found this thing first, and nobody's taking it! Go ahead and kill me if you dare!"
Before the words were finished, the person on the rooftop flashed and landed behind Xue Guan. The overflowing spiritual energy in his hand condensed into a long sword, and without the slightest hesitation, he thrust it straight towards Xue Guan's neck.
A long sword pierced through a throat, blood splattering everywhere. But upon closer inspection, the injured person was not Xue Jian, but the woman who had begged Ye Yingying for mercy in the alley during the day. At the time, the situation was urgent, and Yun Yanqiu judged that she was no longer a threat, so he did not take any action. Now, this demonic cultivator had used her again.
Yun Yanqiu's icy gaze swept over the already cold corpse on the ground. Shifting positions—this was a technique favored by demonic cultivators who crafted puppets. If it were someone like Ye Yingying, who had never fought a living puppet before, Xue Jian might have already escaped. Unfortunately, the one currently targeting him was Yun Yanqiu.
Yun Yanqiu remained calm and composed, leaping into the air with his right foot. He closed his eyes, seemingly searching for something. Soon, a faint white light emanated from the talisman in his sleeve. He moved instantly, wielding his longsword, sending several sword energies striking the same spot. Immediately afterward, a scream ripped through the silence of the night, its shrill sound enough to make anyone tremble. At this moment, not a single house in the entire city lit a lamp; everyone seemed to have been struck by some strange spell, falling into a deep sleep without prior arrangement.
There was no time for Yun Yanqiu to think things through. He landed where the screams had come from, and looked down to see a thick pool of blood winding forward. He followed the trail of blood, but still couldn't find Xue Guan.
"They did manage to escape." Yun Yanqiu's eyes were cold and stern. The talisman in his hand lit up with a white light, but suddenly, it turned into ashes.
The tracking talisman had gone out, indicating that the other party had already noticed, but Yun Yanqiu didn't care. He shook the dust off his hands, drew his sword, and leaped up, following the scent of blood into the night to continue hunting his prey.
"Damn it!" Xue Jian cursed under his breath, dragging his blood-covered body. Blood kept gushing from the wounds left by the sword energy on his body. Some of the wounds were deep, and Xue Jian trembled in pain. He couldn't help but curse Yun Yanqiu a thousand times in his heart.
"That treacherous fellow!" Xue Jian cursed inwardly. Just now in the clinic, that pretty boy had actually cast two talismans at the same time. He had dodged the first one, but that had played right into the other party's hands.
That immobilization charm was just a decoy; his real purpose was to attach a tracking charm to himself! What upright people? They're all hypocrites, a bunch of sanctimonious scoundrels. That guy surnamed Gu is one, and this pretty boy is another—they're all extremely hypocritical, resorting to disgusting little tricks!
Despite the insults, the exchange of blows lasted only a short while, but Xue Jian already knew that this person's strength was far beyond what he could contend with alone. The teleportation he had just used had almost exhausted his spiritual power, and now there was only one way to survive... Xue Jian gritted his teeth, summoned his bell-shaped magic weapon, and poured all his remaining spiritual power into it. As the spiritual power increased, the bell began to sway back and forth.
Then, Xue Guan's spiritual power spread out like waves as the bell swayed, "awakening" the city's residents. People responded to the call, young and old, men and women, in a staggeringly large number. Without exception, everyone walked with lifeless eyes and stiff limbs in the indistinct night, even the innkeeper and waiters. In an instant, the controlled people formed a surging tide, concealing Xue Guan within it, and the stench of blood mingled with the crowd, spreading far and wide.
Yun Yanqiu frowned at the scene before him. The scale of the attack was truly beyond his expectations, and acting rashly could lead to disaster. Yun Yanqiu stood with his sword in hand, pondering Xue Jian's next move. Where would he flee to now?
Suddenly, Yun Yanqiu's eyes lit up, and he quickened his pace toward the location he had anticipated.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
