That night.
Apart from the absolute darkness and the strange noises that rang out from time to time within it, everything remained relatively peaceful.
Waiting was the most agonizing part.
Especially in an environment whose dangers were unknown.
Yet neither Zhao Qian nor the guards, nor even the family members in the rear hall, made much noise. They simply watched over the candles that had turned green and quietly waited through the night.
Even the young man had quieted down.
He merely stayed with his mother and younger siblings, no longer offering Zhao Qian his opinions and suggestions.
Time passed.
The sky gradually brightened.
The darkness shrouding the town finally began to dissipate, strand by strand.
But it did so very slowly.
The light had appeared on the horizon, yet it seemed to be pressed down by something. It rose with extreme slowness, like an old grandfather climbing a mountain, nothing like the sunlight that usually surged upward swiftly.
However, just as dawn broke.
The guard who had first released the Puppet People discovered that his connection with them, severed for an entire night, had actually been restored!
"Quick!"
"Quickly check the situation outside!"
Zhao Qian immediately ordered.
"Yes!"
That guard immediately used the connection to control the Puppet Person lying on the ground, establishing a link to its five senses.
The three Puppet People were like his puppets. Through their eyes, noses, and ears, he could see, hear, and smell. He could even use their strange little mouths to communicate with others.
But.
The instant he controlled the Puppet Person and his vision returned.
The guard's expression suddenly changed!
The enormous estate.
Even the streets outside, which had been bustling the previous night, were filled with churning Black Mist. Within that Black Mist grew strange, dark-red trees.
The trees