"This mission was temporarily assigned by Hanya. It concerns a Xianzhou Person who had fallen into mara-struck. A few days ago, he voluntarily sought help from the Ten Lords Bureau and was placed on the observation list. But just a few days ago, his mara-struck erupted. He injured the Underworld Emissary monitoring him, then fled.
He used to be a Cloud Knight and was quite skilled. His prolonged time at war had weakened him mentally, but in theory, Cloud Knights who had survived war should mostly have steadfast wills and shouldn't have ended up like this.
"So there's reason to suspect that the Medicine Master's Secret Transmission was involved.
"That person has already escaped the Underworld Emissaries' pursuit and infiltrated Chang Le Tian. Hanya said she saw photos of the two of us in Chang Le Tian, so she handed this mission to us."
Bai Sheng spoke. At the same time, his eyes turned golden. His spirit puppet activated, and the surrounding environment was constructed in Bai Sheng's mind like a sonar image.
"Did Lady Hanya say anything else? Like the search area or something? Chang Le Tian is huge. If the two of us have to search for him, who knows how long it'll take. Besides, Chang Le Tian has almost the most people here at this time. Rushing into action could cause a lot of collateral damage."
Huohuo sounded worried. She certainly didn't think she was capable of dealing with a veteran who had once fought on the battlefield, even if he had fallen into mara-struck.
"No. To avoid drawing attention, the Underworld Emissaries didn't dare seal off the area openly. That guy is hiding among the crowd, so he really won't be easy to find. Now that I think about it... tsk, Hanya really has given us quite a difficult problem."
Bai Sheng and Huohuo walked along while discussing the matter in low voices.
Throughout this time, Bai Sheng's spirit puppet remained active. Every movement of the wind and grass around them was received by the spirit puppet, but there were simply too many people. Bai Sheng didn't dare expand its range with all his might, or the strain on his mind would become unbearable.
"If only there were some way to avoid squeezing through the crowd."
Huohuo spoke. Although Bai Sheng had been protecting her in front of him the entire time, she didn't want Asheng to keep getting shoved around by the streams of people.
"Where's Grandpa Tail? It's rare for him to be this quiet. Why hasn't he come out?"
Bai Sheng asked, only now remembering that Grandpa Tail was there too.
"Ah! Oh no, I forgot Grandpa Tail is still sealed inside the talisman!"
Huohuo hurriedly peeled back a small corner of the spirit talisman on her tail. In an instant, a ball of green foxfire drilled out:
"I was suffocating in there, Huohuo! Do you know how awful it is being locked inside? How did I end up with a host like you?!"
It was obvious that Grandpa Tail was furious. He had been able to hear the two of them talking from inside Huohuo's tail.
It was understandable that she had sealed him away while changing clothes earlier.
But from the moment they left the house until Huohuo peeled open a corner of the talisman just now, he had spent more than five whole hours in there. On top of that, he had been forced to listen to these two inhuman brats flaunting their affection. Grandpa Tail had truly had enough!
"Eek~ Grandpa Tail, I didn't do it on purpose. I'll remember you next time."
Huohuo spoke weakly.
"You're thinking about there being a next time?! I'll eat you in one bite! Don't think you can do whatever you want just because you have that lousy talisman. Even if you're going to lock me inside, you idiot, can't you at least hold down the corner of that lousy talisman?!
"Listening to the two of you talk, what was I supposed to do? Watch some human blind drama?"
Grandpa Tail even conjured a tiny, stubby arm and repeatedly poked Huohuo's head.
"Wah~ I know I was wrong. Grandpa Tail, stop hitting me. If you keep hitting me, I'll become stupid... Asheng~"
Huohuo hugged her head and looked at Bai Sheng pitifully, seemingly hoping he would speak up for her.
"That's enough. Huohuo didn't do it on purpose. Besides, if you were thrown into one of those Demon Suppression Towers, wouldn't it be even worse than this?"
Grandpa Tail recalled the five Demon Suppression Towers located in Huiyuan Garden. After thinking it over, this place did seem quite a bit better than there. But he still refused to back down verbally.
"Hmph! That still isn't a reason for her to lock me up for so long! I'm not helping you this time. I want to see how that little crybaby of yours completes that guy's mission."
Grandpa Tail spoke smugly.
Whether Grandpa Tail helped or not was indeed a completely different matter. To put it simply, when Grandpa Tail helped, Huohuo alone could deal with the combined assault of at least five veteran Underworld Emissaries.
But if Huohuo was on her own, she could basically start waiting for her seventh-day memorial.
"It's fine. You still have me. I was originally thinking of making you a body with emotions for you to possess, Grandpa Tail, but now that I think about it, forget it. You should obediently stay locked inside Huohuo's tail! Huohuo, press the spirit talisman down tightly. He won't be able to help you if he comes out. You might as well lock him back up."
Bai Sheng brought out his trump card directly. Unstable factors were best eliminated forever, lest they become a calamity in the future. Still, toward Grandpa Tail, he had only used temptation.
"Wait, wait, wait! Little crybaby, don't move yet. What did you just say? A puppet with its own consciousness?"
Grandpa Tail became interested. Trapped inside Huohuo's tail, his body's energy should only have been enough to sustain the most basic life activities. Only when he directly possessed Huohuo could he take advantage of the opportunity to eat a couple mouthfuls of the girl's fear and have a proper meal.
But if Bai Sheng truly had the ability to make a puppet with emotions, Grandpa Tail wouldn't have to worry about finding food anymore.
"Are you helping or not?"
Bai Sheng asked directly.
"I... I only can't stand seeing this little crybaby making such a racket when she's upset. It's not like I'm helping you two!"
After leaving behind those tsundere words, Grandpa Tail departed, vanishing from the alley in the blink of an eye.
"Asheng, is it really all right to let Grandpa Tail leave like that?"
Huohuo asked worriedly. She couldn't guarantee that Grandpa Tail would continue to behave without the spirit talisman restraining him. Although she and Grandpa Tail were normally extremely good friends.
"If I weren't absolutely certain, how would I dare let him out?"
Bai Sheng took out a small glass bottle. Inside was a mass of condensed blue-green flame.
"Asheng, what is that?"
Huohuo could guarantee that she had absolutely never seen anything like it before. It felt very similar to Grandpa Tail.
"You can think of this as Grandpa Tail's heart, or the energy source within his energy body. I extracted it using a special method without harming him. Since Grandpa Tail is your friend, I won't go so far as to kill him.
"If he comes back, I'll return this energy to him. If he doesn't, then he'll have to spend the rest of his days confined inside your tail."
Bai Sheng spoke.
In such a densely crowded place, his spirit puppet was severely restricted. As a heliobus, Grandpa Tail could find the Cloud Knight who had fallen into mara-struck more easily. Sensing emotions was Grandpa Tail's greatest advantage in finding him!
Huohuo could understand Bai Sheng, and this was indeed quite a thoughtful arrangement. Now it depended on what Grandpa Tail chose to do. Huohuo prayed for him constantly in her heart:
"Grandpa Tail, you have to come back obediently."
After living together for so many years, even a dog would develop feelings, let alone someone like Grandpa Tail, who possessed such a strong sense of self.
Although Grandpa Tail was sharp-tongued and loved teasing her for no reason, whenever trouble arose, he truly stepped up.
Huohuo thought about this, while Bai Sheng was likewise waiting for Grandpa Tail's choice.
Time quietly slipped away through their fingers...
Before you continue