Yu Zhengzheng was shrouded in a gloomy darkness. Before his eyes there was only endless darkness and a desolate sense of emptiness.
Although this dream is peaceful, when she enters it, she can also resonate with the dream.
This feeling of dead silence was like a mass grave in the middle of the night. It was so quiet that she was not used to it.
Yu Zhengzheng never thought that An Ning's dream would be like this.
Although she had not entered many people's dreams, this situation had never happened before.
She couldn't help wanting to leave the peaceful dream, but the moment she had this thought, Shanshui's dejected look appeared before her eyes.
Yu Zhengzheng gritted her teeth and decided to endure it for the sake of the mountains and rivers.
After all, such opportunities are not always available. If you miss this one, you don’t know when the next one will come.
Fortunately, this darkness did not last long, and soon the scene in front of me changed.
A pair of black soap boots came into view, but the surrounding objects were blurry, as if covered by a hazy veil, and nothing could be seen clearly.
Yu Zhengzheng was stunned for a moment, then realized that this strange perspective should have been transmitted through An Ning.
This was somewhat strange, as she used to be able to enter dreams directly and could clearly see the dreams they constructed in their dreams.
But this dream was conveyed to her from An Ning's perspective. She could only see what An Ning could see.
The pair of black soap boots did not move, as if they were doing something to An Ning.
Yu Zhengzheng bit her lip. These black soap boots were for men. How could they appear in An Ning’s dream
Could it be the man she saw in the closet in the bamboo house last time
As she was thinking, the man gently bent down, and through An Ning's perspective, she vaguely saw a pair of bony hands.
He was untying the belt around An Ning's waist, his movements neither hurried nor slow, as if he had done it a thousand times before, with great skill.
"And this is the last time, Xue Xi." His voice sounded like an ink painting soaked in ink, or like a whisper in a midnight dream, making it hard to hear clearly: "You will become the first high-level puppet to be successfully refined in tens of thousands of years."
It was not difficult to hear the excitement and madness in his voice; his fingertips were even trembling slightly.
Yu Zhengzheng was stunned.
Xue Xi? Advanced puppet
Xue Xi is the name of the Palace Master of Lingbi Palace. What does this high-level puppet mean
This is not An Ning’s dream. Why would this man call An Ning Xue Xi
Many doubts came at her at once, causing a temporary blank in her brain.
Before she could think about it, the man took off An Ning's clothes, picked her up and put her into a large hot spring pool.
She tried to see the man's face clearly, but An Ning's head was like a chicken with a broken neck, drooping on the man's arm. She could only vaguely see the wooden floor and a red-painted pillar.
Yu Zhengzheng imagined An Ning’s current condition. Since she could see things, it meant that An Ning’s eyes were open.
With eyes wide open, his body stiff and rigid, his arms hanging down, his head bent like a roast chicken...
She smacked her lips. It would take at least ten years of being in a vegetative state for someone to be able to do such a weird posture.
An Ning was put into a bath full of red liquid, the color of which was as bright as blood. She could vaguely hear intermittent cries coming from An Ning's throat, and she seemed to be in great pain.
The man raised his hand and placed it on An Ning's forehead: "Be patient, it will be fine soon."
The man's voice was still unclear, as if it had been processed with a voice changer, which made Yu Zhengzheng anxious.
She couldn't see the man's face, she could only vaguely see him rolling up his sleeves, revealing a small piece of his warm white arm.
She saw a small bright red mole at the crook of the man's arm.
After an unknown amount of time, the man carried An Ning out and placed her on the edge of the hot spring.
Yu Zhengzheng saw the man holding An Ning's arm and gently cutting An Ning's skin with a sharp blade.
It was clearly a very light cut, with only a few drops of blood seeping out of the skin, but An Ning howled in agony, her whole body shaking with pain.
The man was laughing, and his laughter was so arrogant and twisted that it hurt her eardrums.
He said: "The puppet was born, and the six realms were in turmoil. An Ning, from now on you will be called An Ning."
At this point in the dream, it was as if the fast-forward button had been pressed. Yu Zhengzheng saw a man teaching An Ning to speak, a man teaching An Ning to read, a man teaching An Ning to walk...
He was like a responsible father, teaching An Ning patiently and tirelessly, but An Ning behaved like a child, from being unable to speak clearly at first to being able to recite the Book of Songs fluently later.
Yu Zhengzheng seemed to understand something.
An Ning is Xue Xi. She is a puppet made from Xue Xi’s corpse.
Just as she figured this out, her dream was suddenly torn apart. A feeling of dizziness came from her temples, and she was forced to stop the dreaming technique.
Before opening her eyes, Yu Zhengzheng felt an invisible pressure coming towards her.
She knew that, if nothing unexpected happened, it was An Ning who was looking at her with scrutiny.
The dream-entering technique has its drawbacks. When she enters a dream, she uses half of her entity. Therefore, if she meets the dreamer in a dream, the dreamer will be aware of her existence.
Just like the last time she used the dream entry technique to enter Yu Jiangjiang's dream, because she couldn't help but want to watch Yu Jiangjiang and his senior brother Xiao Yuqing having a threesome, she broke into the dream and was caught by Yu Jiangjiang.
Thinking of this, Yu Zhengzheng was a little confused. She didn't meet An Ning in her dream just now, so how did An Ning notice anything unusual
No matter what, she must not alert An Ning before she reveals her true colors.
She held her breath and slowly opened her eyes.
The first thing she saw was An Ning squatting in front of her. Although she was mentally prepared, Yu Zhengzheng was still frightened by An Ning's infinitely magnified face.
She pushed An Ning hard and kept a distance from her: "Are you sick?"
An Ning stared at her intently: "You are not even afraid of the villagers who died tragically in Taohua Village, so what are you afraid of now, Miss Yu?"
Yu Zhengzheng frowned: "Miss An Ning, what you said is wrong. What's so scary about dead people? What's scary is those two-faced living people who say one thing in front of you and another behind your back."
She knew An Ning was suspicious of her, so she had to act as normal.
Especially the undisguised disgust towards An Ning and the sarcasm that came out of his mouth at any time.
As expected, An Ning's expression relaxed a little after hearing this.
Just as the two were staring at each other, Yu Zhengzheng's sharp ears heard footsteps coming from not far away.
The footsteps were very light, as if they were deliberately avoiding something.
She tilted her head and wanted to listen more carefully, but the sound disappeared.
Instead, there was Xiang Feng's roar.
"peaceful-"
Xiang Feng's voice echoed in the rainforest. Seeing An Ning respond in a low voice, Yu Zhengzheng turned his back calmly.
She originally thought that An Ning was yi'r0ng, but who knew that the body An Ning was using was Xue Xi's.
She had only heard some rumors about high-level puppets. First of all, the art of refining puppets was a forbidden technique and was strictly prohibited in the world of immortal cultivation. Only the demon world and the monster world had so-called puppet masters.
Secondly, high-level puppets are difficult to refine, and it takes time and energy, as well as a waste of medicine and money. The chance of successful refining is very small, and few people would be willing to do such a thankless task.
Just like what the man in the dream said, there hasn't been a high-level puppet in the six realms for tens of thousands of years. Not only is it difficult to refine high-level puppets, but also because the forbidden technique of refining high-level puppets has long been lost.
It goes without saying how much effort and cost it took to refine Xue Xi's corpse into a high-level puppet. So why did this man do all this
Yu Zhengzheng thought of the man who fled from the bamboo house that day. That man was probably not Xiang Feng, but the puppeteer who created An Ning.
Since An Ning is used to deal with Xiang Feng, Xiang Feng can be eliminated first, leaving only the Ghost King, Heng Wu Immortal Lord and Xiao Yuqing.
There is basically no suspicion on the Ghost King. It was the Ghost King who took Xiang Feng in in the first place. If he really wanted to do something to Xiang Feng, there was no need to go through so much trouble.
Among the remaining two people, Heng Wu Xianjun is more suspicious than Xiao Yuqing. After all, puppetry is a forbidden technique, and Xiao Yuqing is the adopted son of the leader of the Yuqing Sect. There is no reason for him to commit suicide by touching the forbidden technique.
Immortal Lord Heng Wu is different. The demon clan has mastered a large number of forbidden techniques, and he also understands medicine, so he must be able to make elixirs and medicines.
Refining high-level puppets requires a lot of elixirs. If someone doesn't know medicine, where can he get these elixirs for the puppets
Having said that, both of them are suspects.
In fact, the easiest way is to lift up the sleeves and just look at who has the red mole on the arm. But this is too abrupt. She can't just run up and roll up the person's sleeves.
If there is a chance later, she will find a way to test them.
Xiang Feng came with several other people who had gotten separated.
Rong Shang walked at the end of the crowd. His steps were calm and indifferent, but his eyes had already passed through everyone and fell on Yu Zhengzheng.
She seemed to be worried about something. She turned her back to them and looked at her lowered eyes. No one knew what she was thinking.
She has never liked An Ning, and she was alone with An Ning just now. Could it be that An Ning took the opportunity to bully her
Rong Shang was startled for a moment, then frowned.
Whether she was bullied or not, what does it have to do with him
He has been thinking a lot recently. Could it be that he is disturbed by this formation
Just as he was thinking about it, he looked up and saw Yu Zhengzheng, who had a worried look on her face just now, flying towards him like a happy little bird.
Rong Shang raised his chin and sneered with a hint of disdain.
But we haven't seen each other for just a moment, why is she so excited
Look at her open arms, does she want to hug him
Women are such clingy animals.
Thinking of this, he gathered strength in his arms and calmly spread out his palms, ready to grab her clothes at any time to prevent her from being too aggressive and falling out again.
Seeing her running faster and faster, Rong Shang reminded her calmly, "Slow down."
As soon as he finished speaking, Yu Zhengzheng hugged Shanshui who was walking in front of him, and said in a soft and sticky voice: "Shanshui, I thought I would never see you again."
Shanshui patted her on the back and comforted her softly: "No matter where Miss Zhengzheng is, Shanshui will find you."
Pickled fish·Rong Shang: “…”
His outstretched palm trembled twice, and then he put it back without making a sound.
Heng Wu Xianjun happened to see this scene. He suppressed his laughter and said, "Did the Ghost King want to swat a mosquito just now? There are a lot of mosquitoes here."
His face was expressionless: "I shouldn't have taken your eyes away in the first place."
Immortal Heng Wu asked in surprise, "Have you found your conscience?"
Rong Shang: "I should cut off your tongue."
Immortal Hengwu: “…”
Well, he knew that the Ghost King had no such thing as conscience.
Rong Shang asked directly: "How do we get through this illusion?"
Heng Wu Xianjun smiled and said, "This level is not difficult. You just need to survive here for three days."
Then he added: "There is no ready-made food or water here, but it doesn't matter if you go hungry for three days. You won't die anyway."
Before Rong Shang could say anything, Yu Zhengzheng glared at Heng Wu Xianjun and said, "Men's mouths are always deceiving."
This is what you concealed and lied about before blaming him.
Heng Wu Xianjun laughed: "Little girl, you still hold a grudge. Don't worry, if I lie to you again, my whole family will die."
Rong Shang chuckled: "Your whole family died a long time ago."
Immortal Hengwu: “…”
In order to gain everyone's trust, he had to hold up three fingers and swore a poisonous oath: "If I lie, I will live my whole life alone and watch my beloved die in front of me."
Yu Zhengzheng felt that the oath was quite vicious, but Rong Shang didn't take it seriously.
Immortal Lord Hengwu once arranged a marriage, but it fell through before the wedding day because of his background.
Although there was no emotion between them, he was still honored. Immortal Lord Hengwu might hate that woman in his heart. It was obvious that this oath was made to his fiancée.
Rong Shang did not force Immortal Lord Heng Wu in the end. He found that Yu Zhengzheng, who had been with Shanshui just now, now ran to Xiao Yuqing again.
In his eyes, Yu Zhengzheng's little face was slightly red. She walked behind Xiao Yuqing, but did not dare to raise her hand to touch him. In the end, she just covered her red cheeks with her hands, like a young girl in love.
In fact, Yu Zhengzheng was sweating profusely. He rubbed the sweat off his face with his hands, and hesitated in his heart how to act most appropriately.
In fact, whether An Ning is a puppet or not, and who the puppeteer who controls An Ning is, has nothing to do with her, and it does not threaten her interests.
But she didn't want Xiang Feng to hurt Shanshui again and again because of a puppet. Even if Xiang Feng was a bastard, Shanshui shouldn't suffer such injustice.
She has grown up and endured hardships for more than ten years, and Shanshui is the only friend who treats her sincerely. She cannot tolerate others hurting her friend.
High-level puppets are almost the same as living people, and An Ning is very cunning and clever. Just based on Xiang Feng's self-deceiving appearance, if there is no irrefutable evidence, he will definitely find excuses for An Ning.
But if we can find the puppeteer, this will become much easier.
The puppeteer's blood must be incorporated into the refining of a high-level puppet. As long as An Ning is stabbed in the heart with a knife stained with the puppeteer's blood, An Ning will turn back into a corpse.
She only had one chance to take action, and she couldn't alert the enemy and needed to act secretly, so she could only test the two of them first.
Immortal Lord Hengwu always seems to be smiling and very approachable, but in fact, this kind of person is the most difficult to approach. His psychological defenses are very high and she cannot test them easily.
As for Xiao Yuqing, it is relatively easier to deal with.
Anyway, it's a process of elimination. If you eliminate this one, the other one must be the puppeteer.
Yu Zhengzheng adjusted her facial expression and gently patted his arm: "Brother Xiao..."
Xiao Yuqing's arms trembled slightly twice. He paused for a moment, then slowly turned around, with a smile on his jade-like face: "Miss Yu, do you want to talk to me about something?"
She lowered her head and whispered, "I'm sorry about what happened yesterday..."
Xiao Yuqing was stunned for a moment, and it took her a while to remember that she was talking about applying the medicine yesterday.
He smiled gently and said, "Miss Yu, you don't have to apologize. I overstepped my bounds. Men and women should not touch each other. I should be the one apologizing."
Seeing that he was not angry, Yu Zhengzheng breathed a sigh of relief: "I'm glad that Brother Xiao is not angry with me. What I said yesterday was just angry words."
"The Ghost King's woman too?"
Yu Zhengzheng nodded: "Yes, I was too stubborn at the time, and always felt that Brother Xiao didn't speak up for me. In fact, I was just angry..."
Before she could finish, her body froze.
The person who asked her the question was not Xiao Yuqing.
Rong Shang lowered his eyes, and a cold smile appeared on his lips: "Why don't you continue?"
Yu Zhengzheng was going crazy inside. Although she didn't say anything bad about the Ghost King behind his back, what she said seemed like she disliked the Ghost King. She was afraid that he had misunderstood her.
"That's not what I meant. I meant that I didn't find my place." She forced a smile and explained, "How can I be considered the Ghost King's woman? I'm not even worthy of carrying his shoes."
There was no expression on his face: "You are very self-aware."
Yu Zhengzheng: “…”
Three people stood together, no one said a word, and the remaining two could only stand there with awkward expressions.
Yu Zhengzheng really wanted to kick him away. If you have something to say, just say it. Why are you standing here motionless? Do you want to find a good piece of wood to use as a tombstone
This awkward atmosphere lasted for a cup of tea, and she finally broke the deadlock: "Brother Xiao, I applied the medicine on my feet, but it still hurts."
She looked embarrassed, her hands tightly tugging at the corner of her clothes, her teeth biting her lips lightly: "Do you know any medical skills? Can you... help me take a look at the wound?"
Yu Zhengzheng was very proud of herself. With her excellent acting skills before the end of the world, she would have won an Oscar.
If Xiao Yuqing knew medical skills, it would increase his suspicion. How could a sword cultivator like him know medical skills? Only puppeteers need to learn medical skills so that they can refine pills.
She looked at him expectantly. Even a man couldn't stand such a wet look. Xiao Yuqing hesitated: "I don't know medicine, but I have some pills here, maybe they can help Miss Yu relieve the pain, and simply treat the injury."
This was to tell her that he didn't have any medical skills, but he could help her with her foot.
Yu Zhengzheng hesitated for a moment and was about to nod.
This was also a good opportunity. While he was checking his injury, I pretended to accidentally dirty his sleeve, then apologized in a panic and rolled up his sleeve to check for the red mole.
She was about to nod, but Rong Shang interrupted her: "Men and women should not touch each other."
Yu Zhengzheng forced a smile: "It's an emergency, I don't mind."
Rong Shang raised his eyes lazily: "In that case, I'll show it to you."
After that, he added slowly, "Anyway, what part of your body have I not seen?"
Yu Zhengzheng: “…”
See your sister! See your grandmother's legs!
Xiao Yuqing agreed: "What the Ghost King said makes sense."
Yu Zhengzheng was on the verge of collapse and ran wildly. She said reluctantly, "It doesn't seem to hurt that much anymore. I won't bother you with this little thing."
Without waiting for the two to say anything more, she left with big, vigorous strides.
He glanced at Xiao Yuqing meaningfully, and raised the corners of his lips slightly: "That old man Xiao Bichi is not honest, and the little guy under his command is also the same."
Xiao Yuqing wanted to refute, but when he looked up and met Shang Rong's sinister eyes, he was speechless.
Everyone was resting on the spot. After all, they would be staying here for three days, so this would help them retain their strength.
Immortal Hengwu was leaning against a tree trunk with two pieces of cloth blocking his nose.
Yu Zhengzheng asked curiously, "Are you bleeding from your nose?"
Immortal Heng Wu shook his head: "How could that be? I never have nosebleeds."
She was stunned: "Then why do you block your nose?"
Immortal Hengwu showed a mysterious smile: "Because there is a cannibal tribe nearby."
Yu Zhengzheng was still confused: "What does this have to do with your blocked nose?"
He held up three fingers and said patiently, "The cannibal tribe will come here to look for food. The air here is poisonous. As long as I count to three, all of you will faint. When you wake up again... Oh no, you may not wake up. You will become the cannibal tribe's dinner."
As he spoke, the fingers in his hand turned into two: "Three, two—"
Yu Zhengzheng finally understood why the Ghost King liked to beat him. If her strength allowed it, she would also want to slap him.
Just as she was about to cover her nose, Immortal Heng Wu smiled and spat out the last number from between his teeth: "One."
There was a loud 'thump' and everyone fell to the ground in unison, rolling their eyes and losing consciousness.