Clown

Unlike the regular carriage, the business class carriage was spacious with few seats. The aisle was wide enough for two people to walk side-by-side, and there was hardly anyone around. It was already quiet, so no one noticed the sudden situation in this carriage.

Incense smoke drifted lazily.

Huang Zhongxiao stared at this ordinary person, whose Blood Essence was weak and who didn't feel the slightest bit of danger.

Your mom.

You're lying through your teeth, aren't you?

He watched the smoke, inhaled it through the teenager's nose, and felt a cold coming on.

"Tsk!"

He let go of the incense, took three steps back, and pointed his hands, sending out yellow talismans that flew and stuck to the sleeping passengers.

"By Heaven's decree and the Dao, I beseech the Venerable, command the three corpses, govern the three souls, be my divine servants, and carry out my will, arise!"

One by one, the sleeping passengers stood up, heads drooping, slowly turning their heads to stare blankly at Zhang Fusheng.

Eerie and horrifying.

If it were before, Zhang Fusheng would have probably gotten goosebumps all over, just like Chen Nuanyu beside him.

But now, it was different.

"So that's how it's done?" he whispered, his eyes sharp, his mental will already discerning the truth within.

Those talismans, though ordinary, seemed to have been 'activated' after the cultist uttered those words, drawing threads of [mental will] as thin as silk from somewhere out of thin air!

Although these mental wills were weak, they were perfectly capable of manipulating the bodies of these unconscious people.

From Zhang Fusheng's perspective, those invisible mental threads, descending from an unknown place, pierced into the bodies of the unconscious, like

marionettes.

Borrowing power.

The cultist, through the talismans and the words from his mouth, borrowed mental power from that 'Venerable' to control others.

How was this achieved?

"Who are you?" Huang Zhongxiao asked indifferently, appearing calm. "Your Blood Essence is utterly ordinary, and your aura is that of a complete mortal."

"Yet you can ignore the bewitching smoke?"

"A special physique? Or...?"

He shook his hands, retreated further, and stood behind the passengers, using the human wall they formed to conceal himself.

The youth spoke sinisterly:

"Chen Nuanyu, who is he? Have you leaked information about the cult?"

"Cult matters. Have you leaked them?" A dozen or so passengers echoed sinisterly, their tone identical to the youth's.

Chen Nuanyu's eyes turned cold, and she swept her leg out with a sudden gust of wind!

'Pa!'

Zhang Fusheng grabbed her fair ankle, sighing softly, "Are you trying to kick the throats of all these passengers?"

Chen Nuanyu didn't speak, staring at Zhang Fusheng in astonishment.

How did this guy's strength increase so much??

Zhang Fusheng clicked his tongue, suddenly feeling that his painstaking act was inferior even to this 'little pet.'

He stood up, ignoring the passengers staring at him menacingly. His gaze followed those mental threads upwards.

His vision was blocked by the carriage ceiling, but his thoughts had already drifted out, extending his sight beyond his physical eyes.

Zhang Fusheng's brow furrowed.

These mental threads disappeared into the sky thousands of meters up, as if hitting a 'fault line,' making it impossible to see where they came from.

From an existence so powerful it surpasses my imagination?

The Venerable, is it a deity worshipped by the West Cult, or...

A high-ranking official?

His thoughts returned to himself. He looked up to see the dazed and wooden passengers approaching, surrounding him.

His gaze passed over the passengers, fixing on the youth hiding behind them: "You don't want to escalate this?"

Zhang Fusheng could tell that this cultist was trying to keep the commotion contained within a certain range.

Why?

As members of an evil cult, they naturally wouldn't fear the authorities.

And these passengers…

It was clear their muscles were abnormally bulging. Those threads of mental will seemed to have temporarily strengthened them.

Huang Zhongxiao raised an eyebrow, sizing up Zhang Fusheng. He seemed to be contemplating whether to make a move himself, but ultimately shook his head.

"Forget it. I'll see him after we get off the train."

He snapped his fingers, and the passengers listlessly returned to their seats. The talismans stuck to them spontaneously combusted, but the flames didn't harm the passengers in the slightest.

From Zhang Fusheng's 'perspective,' those threads of mental will snapped, and the passengers' bulging muscles returned to normal.

The young man then performed the Zi Wu Jue, his body gradually becoming ethereal until he vanished into thin air.

Chen Nuanyu swallowed.

Zhang Fusheng fell silent.

He had seen it clearly.

This guy had activated some kind of vessel again, borrowing mental will from who-knows-where to interfere with reality, distorting light and sound.

At this moment, Zhang Fusheng's thoughts were crystal clear. The invisible cultist was tiptoeing, like a thief, sneaking away.

Sigh, couldn't he have just left normally? Why the need to show off?

After a moment of thought, Zhang Fusheng darted forward, precisely blocking the cultist's path.

Then, he enthusiastically checked on the unconscious passengers.

Huang Zhongxiao's lips twitched. He silently cursed 'idiot' and quietly turned around, intending to leave from another direction.

Then he saw the young man turn back again, brushing past him, and then brazenly blocking the way once more to check on another passenger.

Damn it.

This guy is a real idiot.

Huang Zhongxiao's face contorted. If it weren't for the Manager's decree that the Flesh and Blood Plague was not to be spread on this train, and that no commotion was allowed, he…

He turned around again.

And then that little brat came walking over again and again and again!

Huang Zhongxiao desperately shrunk to the side. Fortunately, the aisle in the business class carriage was wide enough for two people to walk side-by-side.

It wasn't that he was afraid of bumping into him.

It was just that being bumped into and revealing himself at this moment would be rather embarrassing.

Why didn't I just walk away? Why use an invisibility talisman!!

Next.

Huang Zhongxiao numbly watched the scoundrel darting back and forth, leaving him nowhere to go.

It wasn't until the passengers and crew members gradually woke up that the scoundrel finally returned to his seat and stretched.

Idiot!

Huang Zhongxiao, his teeth aching, quickly slipped away.

Zhang Fusheng cheerfully watched the flustered figure leave. Beside him, Chen Nuanyu stared at him.

"What are you looking at me for?" He casually pinched the girl's cheek.

Mmm, still smooth and tender, feels just as great.

Chen Nuanyu asked expressionlessly:

"You can see him?"

"Huh? You can see him too?"

Chen Nuanyu pointed to her heart and said softly:

"I can't see him, but I can vaguely sense him."

Zhang Fusheng was greatly surprised. Under the shroud of mental will, even one's aura was concealed. This girl wasn't even at the Great Accomplishment stage of true Visualization, yet she could sense him through the obstruction of mental will?

Zhang Fusheng smiled:

"Then he must be quite embarrassed."

At precisely seven o'clock, the train arrived at Longzhou City's West Station.

Following the dense stream of people out of the station, Zhang Fusheng didn't take a taxi. Instead, he gestured for Chen Nuanyu to follow him as they turned into an empty alley and walked slowly.

A still-invisible cultist thought for a moment, then tiptoed after them. He got ahead of the pair and, as they were about to reach him, abruptly removed the invisibility talisman.

The young man's figure slowly materialized in the air.

"We meet again," he said indifferently, hands clasped behind his back. His voice, mixed with the alley's gloom, sounded particularly chilling.

Zhang Fusheng and Chen Nuanyu's lips twitched as they silently watched him.

The young man raised an eyebrow.

Hmm?

Why weren't these two surprised or startled by his gaze?

Instead, it was a bit like...

Watching a circus performance?

Zhang Fusheng sighed.

"Buddy, your nose fell off."