Puppet Path Eighth Rank

"Father, this major incident in Wendeng County this time, I'm afraid it will be difficult to resolve in the end."

In the courtyard of the Huang Mansion, Huang You and his father were sitting in a pavilion, drinking tea and chatting.

They had already heard from their servants about the incident in Wendeng County today where over a hundred people had died.

Such a heinous event had never happened since the establishment of Wendeng County.

"The wound of Wendeng," Old Master Huang sighed.

Although he no longer held the position of County Magistrate, Old Master Huang, who had always loved his people like his own children and cared for them, couldn't help but feel sad upon hearing about today's events.

"By the way, didn't you tell me you invited a Lord Ning to stay at the mansion? Why haven't I seen him?" Old Master Huang asked, changing the subject.

Huang You scratched his head. "This child doesn't really know. This Lord Ning has official business in Wendeng County this time, so he's probably attending to his own matters."

Just then, a servant suddenly ran over quickly and said in a hurry, "Master, Young Master, a yamen runner has arrived outside the mansion to deliver a message. He said the new County Magistrate was unfortunately killed by a demon. Following Lord Ning's orders, he asked that you resume your official duties and temporarily act as County Magistrate."

Huang You: "Hmm! Such good fortune!"

Old Master Huang: "Hmm? Such an unfortunate event has actually occurred."

Hearing that it was by Lord Ning's order, Huang You's heart instantly brightened.

It was indeed worth it that he had spent four thousand taels of silver for this lord.

As long as one was willing to spend money on the right person, wouldn't the benefits come back in return?

For a moment, Huang You felt immensely impressed with his own judgment in investments.

"The yamen runner also said that he hopes you will return to the yamen to take over your duties as soon as possible. There are quite a few accumulated matters in the county yamen that urgently need to be dealt with recently."

"I understand," Old Master Huang nodded.

Huang You laughed heartily, "Father, I've truly made a valuable connection this time! I never expected this Lord Ning to go this far. Now that you're back as County Magistrate, I can finally use the imperial post station to send goods again."

"That's all the ambition you have."

"Father, you don't understand. Without my ambition, who in Wendeng County would be willing to spend four thousand taels to buy a hammer?"

Outside Wendeng County, a plain-looking old man sat in a corner of a tea stall by the county entrance.

He held a fire starter and a straw doll in his hand. When no one was paying attention, the old man forcefully pressed the fire starter onto the doll and then began to murmur softly.

"Chu Gu, a Demon Subduing Captain has arrived in Wendeng County. Du Luo and I were discovered. Du Luo is dead, and I've been captured and imprisoned in the yamen's jail."

As soon as he finished speaking, the doll spontaneously combusted, turning into a pile of ash in the blink of an eye.

After finishing everything, the old man got up and left the tea stall.

After the demon, who could turn living people into puppet avatars, was locked up in the deepest part of the prison, Ning Xiu took his seat in the yamen and waited patiently.

He was currently unsure if there were other puppet avatars of the demon hidden within Wendeng County, and if so, how many.

Therefore, Ning Xiu could only wait for Su Qianqian to send Demon Subduing Captains who could identify such issues.

Only after completely eradicating all hidden dangers in Wendeng County could he escort the demon back to Chaotian Capital.

Through some analysis of the demon, Ning Xiu had also made a few conjectures.

Although the demon could control puppet avatars to move around, there should be a general range of activity, such as the entire Wendeng County, and it couldn't go any further.

Because of this, the demon had to sneak into Wendeng County and disguise itself using Lu Dengke's identity.

Otherwise, if there were no distance restrictions, it wouldn't need to take such risks and personally come to Wendeng County to cause harm.

After a long wait, as the sky was about to darken, figures from the direction of Chaotian Capital finally appeared outside Wendeng County.

Three Demon Subduing Captains wearing Mysterious Silver Lock Armor galloped into Wendeng County and headed straight for the yamen.

When Ning Xiu learned from a yamen runner that Demon Subduing Captains had arrived, he immediately went out to greet them. After waiting for so long, reinforcements had finally arrived.

Su Qianqian was not among the three who arrived in Wendeng County this time. They were three men who appeared to be about seven or eight years older than Ning Xiu.

This made Ning Xiu a little surprised. Was the matter he reported not urgent enough for Su Qianqian to personally come?

"Greetings, the three of you. I am Ning Xiu, an Iron Horse Demon Subduing Captain. May I ask your names?" Ning Xiu asked, cupping his fists.

"You are too kind, Brother Ning. Actually, there are not three of us, only I am here this time. My name is Ren Qianxing," the man in the middle said with a smile, taking out an Iron Horse Demon Subduing Captain token and waving it in front of Ning Xiu to prove his identity.

"Ah?" Ning Xiu was stunned, then reached out and patted the two men on Ren Qianxing's left and right.

As expected, his hands felt extremely hard, and there was a 'thump thump' sound. The moment he touched them, he knew they were not real people.

"They are incredibly lifelike and vivid! Without your reminder, I wouldn't have noticed at all. Brother Ren, you have great skill. Could it be that you cultivate the Puppet Path?" Ning Xiu retracted his hand and asked in surprise.

Ren Qianxing nodded. "Precisely. I am an Eighth Rank Puppet Master of the Puppet Path. I heard that a demon in Wendeng County who is skilled in puppet avatars is causing trouble, so Madam Su entrusted me to come and take a look, and to help Brother Ning deal with the issue of puppet avatars."

Initially, seeing that Su Qianqian had not come in person, Ning Xiu had felt somewhat uncertain.

Now that he learned that the person before him was an Eighth Rank Puppet Master of the Puppet Path, his heart immediately settled.

As the saying goes, every trade has its specialty. Who could be better suited to find the hidden puppet avatars in Wendeng County than a puppet master who specializes in making puppets?

"That's wonderful, Brother Ren. Please follow me, I'll take you to see that demon now."

Deep within the yamen's prison.

Lu Dengke's corpse was placed inside a large iron cage. To prevent the demon from suffocating, Ning Xiu unwrapped the bedding that covered Lu Dengke's body.

This allowed anyone to see Lu Dengke's tragically skeletal form at a glance, as well as the demon coiled within the rib cage.

Ren Qianxing stared at the demon for a long time, then sighed inexplicably. He then remarked, "What a remarkable 'body-snatching' technique. If it could be further developed, it would surely become another branch of the Puppet Path. It's a shame it has degenerated into a demon."

"Brother Ren, what do you mean by that?" Ning Xiu asked.

Ren Qianxing pointed a finger at the demon's head, which had merged with Lu Dengke's heart: "This person entered another's body like a worm. By fusing with the heart, they can control the target's actions and speech.

At the same time, their own appearance will begin to transform into the likeness of the deceased. You can tell just by looking at its face.

If I'm not mistaken, after a period of time, once its limbs grow palms and soles, it will crawl out of the deceased's body. Then, it will finally fill its own body with various animal hides. This demon can then be reborn, truly replacing the original owner's identity."

Listening to Ren Qianxing's explanation, the demon in the iron cage let out a cold laugh: "You are quite skilled to have discerned the function of this self-created Puppet Path technique."

Ren Qianxing ignored the demon and continued, "Fortunately, Brother Ning, you discovered this demon's existence and captured it in advance. Otherwise, by the time its technique is perfected, it will be too late."

Ning Xiu suddenly understood. He finally realized why the demon's appearance was exactly the same as the deceased Lu Dengke.

So that was the reason behind it.

"Brother Ren, while this secret is interesting, I'm not particularly concerned. This demon has likely created many puppet avatars in Wendeng County. The urgent priority now is to find and destroy all those puppet avatars one by one, and restore peace to Wendeng County," Ning Xiu said in a low voice, to prevent the demon from hearing.

Ren Qianxing nodded in agreement, "Yes, I understand."

Ning Xiu glanced at the demon. "Brother Ren, you've seen the demon. Let's discuss our plans outside."

"Alright."

After leaving the prison, Ning Xiu immediately asked, "Brother Ren, do you have any countermeasures? If you need help, please tell me. I will cooperate fully."

"Puppet masters generally control puppets through three methods: thread, soul, or talismans. Each method has its own advantages and disadvantages. Judging by the demon's appearance in the cell just now, it's not controlled by thread.

Controlling puppets with thread is the hardest to leave traces of. The latter two methods of controlling puppets are relatively easier to find. Brother Ning, please stay in the yamen and rest for now. I can handle this matter alone."

"Then I'll trouble you."

Having obtained the information he wanted from the demon, Ren Qianxing immediately took action, leaving the yamen with his two puppets.

Although Ning Xiu didn't know this person, he was specially arranged by Su Qianqian and was a puppet master of the Puppet Path, so Ning Xiu felt very reassured.

After Ren Qianxing left, he returned to the room arranged for him by Dong Fu in the yamen and began his evening scripture chanting.

Counting the days, the Golden Bead in his hand was nearing the time when its inscriptions would be completely filled.

The night deepened.

The entire Wendeng yamen was silent, extremely quiet.

Two yamen runners, carrying lanterns, patrolled the yamen to prevent any outsiders from sneaking in.

Although the chance of such an event was low, precautions had to be taken.

Just then, several figures leaped over the wall. Before the two yamen runners could even react, their bodies began to melt terrifyingly.

In an instant, they became pools of blood on the ground, leaving no trace of them, only the deceased's clothes in the blood.

"The prison is that way. Hurry, don't let the Demon Subduing Captains notice."

Several figures rapidly traversed the rooftops of the yamen buildings, quickly reaching the entrance of the prison.

Four jailers stood outside the door. The area illuminated by the brazier and torches was brightly lit, and anyone approaching would be detected immediately.

But these figures showed no intention of hiding. They leaped directly from the rooftop and rushed towards the prison entrance.

"Someone is breaking into the prison!"

"Quick, strike the alarm drum! Notify Lord Ning!"

Before the jailers could make any move, the figures were already in front of them.

The seven orifices of the four jailers instantly spewed out large amounts of blood, which were all absorbed into the mouths of one of the figures.

In an instant, the four were drained of blood and collapsed into dry corpses.

The mysterious figures had already disappeared inside the prison entrance.

"Hmm?"

Ning Xiu, who was chanting scriptures for the Golden Bead, suddenly stopped speaking.

In his senses, he felt a strange chill emanating from the room, which was not a normal sign.

He immediately used the Spiritual Eye Qi Observation Technique and saw wisps of Evil Qi continuously drifting in from outside the door and windows.

Although this Evil Qi was not very dense, it was enough to indicate that the situation had become somewhat serious.

Before this, there was no Evil Qi in the Wendeng yamen, but its sudden appearance now.

It indicated that a large number of Malevolent Spirits or demons were present, otherwise, such a significant commotion would not have occurred.

"Could it be... No!" A flash of insight struck Ning Xiu. He quickly pocketed the Golden Bead, got up, and rushed out of the room.

There was nothing in the Wendeng yamen that could attract Malevolent Spirits. Therefore, the problem must lie with the demon he had imprisoned in the yamen's jail today.

Perhaps there wasn't just one demon hidden in Wendeng County; did he have other accomplices?

Taking advantage of the quiet night, they intended to forcibly break into the prison and rescue that demon.

Ning Xiu certainly could not allow such a thing to happen. That demon still held many secrets that needed to be escorted back to the Demon Subduing Bureau and handed over to specialists for interrogation under severe torture.

Not the slightest mishap could be allowed.