Puppet

Mei Ye glanced at the young girl, tapped his blade with his left hand, and drew his long sword. A flash of silver light erupted, shattering the falling rubble into dust; every stone that plummeted through the air was sliced in two.

"Are you alright?"

Mei Ye helped the girl to her feet.

"I'm fine."

Wen Siyi was startled and spoke subconsciously.

But the next moment, as if she had recalled something, she suddenly wore a look of terror and clutched Mei Ye's lapels in a panic.

"I'm so scared, there's a monster here!"

Tears welling in her eyes, Wen Siyi pointed at Jin Hong.

"Leave it to me, step back."

Mei Ye patted her shoulder, signaling for Wen Siyi to let go of him, and turned his gaze toward the puppet monster standing to the side.

"Bitch!"

Seeing the person who had shown him nothing but cold indifference holding someone else, Jin Hong was so angry his face turned green.

"Students, a monster is here! Evacuate in an orderly fashion!"

The principal, who had just emerged, saw the massive puppet monster and, amidst his panic, hurriedly organized the students to evacuate.

Seeing the students move far away, Mei Ye took a confident step forward, his long blade shimmering with a chilling light.

The Vast Blade Art was designed to suppress demons and heretics; its style was bright and swift, like dancing on the surface of a lake, moving in harmony with the moonlight.

When paired with his Glazed Treasure Body Art, it became so magnificent and resplendent that it seemed as if heaven itself were appearing and the great sun were rising in the east.

It was perfectly suited for dealing with such a demon!

"I'm going to tear your face apart!"

Seeing Mei Ye's striking features, the puppet monster grew even more enraged. In a fit of fury, he struck first, his spider-like limbs flailing as he brought a force of ten thousand jun crashing down toward Mei Ye.

Seeing the monster, Mei Ye lifted his hand slightly, his blade hacking into the creature's limbs.

The edge of the blade collided with the puppet's limbs, emitting a crisp "clang" as sparks flew in every direction.

Jin Hong's wooden joints snapped upon impact, and splinters went flying.

With one arm severed, Jin Hong roared in anger and raised his other arm to strike at Mei Ye.

But a sneer flashed across Mei Ye's face. He grabbed Jin Hong's arm, pulled him in, and drove his fist into Jin Hong's chest.

A heart-piercing strike!

The force of the punch penetrated the body; Jin Hong's chest caved in, and the wooden grain cracked outward from the point of impact, sending sawdust raining down.

"Tell me, you monster, are you a puppet? That's quite interesting."

Mei Ye watched as Jin Hong flew backward, falling apart like a dismantled machine.

The birth of a demon was a new evolution of life; because they were hostile to humanity, they were labeled as demons.

But Mei Ye did not understand how a puppet could become a monster.

Weren't puppets supposed to be devoid of consciousness?

Jin Hong climbed up in a disheveled, stumbling manner. His smooth, hard skin was covered in numerous wounds, making him look as if he had just crawled out of a trash heap.

In the distance, the teachers and students saw that the Demon Suppression Bureau had suppressed the monster the moment they intervened, and they immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

"Finish it off!"

"Monster, you deserve to die!"

Urged on by the students, Mei Ye walked slowly toward Jin Hong.

Jin Hong let out a threatening roar, but the sound was ridiculous, filled with a sense of lacking conviction.

Mei Ye swung his long blade, leaping six zhang in a single bound, his pristine blade poised to descend upon Jin Hong's head.

But at that moment,

A streak of purple light suddenly shot toward Mei Ye.

Mei Ye's eyes narrowed. He turned and blocked it, leaving a crimson scorch mark on his blade.

It was caused by the intense heat of the purple light branded onto the steel.

Following the trajectory of the purple light, Mei Ye spotted a blurred figure on the teaching building.

"There's another one?"

Just as Mei Ye prepared to give chase, a commotion suddenly erupted behind him.

Mei Ye tensed and turned back, only to see the figure of Jin Hong—who had been moments away from death—distort and scramble away from the scene.

"..."

There was more than one monster at the Second Middle School. They were able to harm the teachers and students because the other monster was powerful.

Mei Ye deduced the truth.

"Has the monster disappeared?"

The principal of the Second Middle School walked over, trembling. Although he was a decent martial artist, he was old and his cultivation realm was low; he was no match for a monster.

"Yes."

Mei Ye said candidly, "However, what I didn't expect was that the monster's true form was a puppet. Principal, do you know the origin of that puppet?"

The principal thought seriously for a long time before shaking his head. "I don't know, and I can't figure out the monster's goal either."

"Thank you for earlier, big brother."

Wen Siyi approached at this moment, smiling brightly.

Mei Ye noticed her then and said casually, "It was my duty."

Seeing that he was still thinking about the monster and had no mind to pay attention to her, Wen Siyi said:

"Big brother, do you remember? There is a person in the school who doesn't exist. That monster is the person who doesn't exist. His name is Jin Hong..."

"Jin Hong..."

Mei Ye was stunned, not just because this was the "ex-boyfriend" of the young girl Wen Siyi, but because of the peculiarity of the name.

Mei Ye suddenly had an inspiration.

He looked at the pot-bellied Dean of Students standing behind the principal, his gaze filled with scrutiny and coldness.

"Teacher Wang, you have been teaching at this school for over twenty years. Do you know the name Jin Hong?"

"Jin Hong...!"

The Dean's face turned pale, and cold sweat began to pour down.

"Teacher Wang?"

The principal noticed his old colleague's expression and felt a bit strange.

Seeing the Dean's reaction, Mei Ye's face darkened. "Teacher Wang, please cooperate."

Under Mei Ye's pressure, Teacher Wang recounted what had happened back then.

"Over a decade ago, there was a pair of students," Teacher Wang sighed. "They were secretly dating. I was the PE teacher at the time, and when I discovered this, I called the girl into the storage room to instruct her to prioritize her studies.

I promised her that as long as she studied hard, I wouldn't expose their affair.

However, as a price, she had to show me results. She had to come to the storage room every day for my private guidance. After all, I am an educator, am I not?"

"But one day, rumors started in the school that the girl was promiscuous.

The girl couldn't bear the humiliation and took her own life. Later, the boy also committed suicide.

It caused a huge stir at the time. Many students were downstairs watching their bodies, which had shattered into pieces."

Teacher Wang closed his eyes in pain, as if he could see that scene the moment he opened them.

"Where did they jump from?"

Mei Ye asked calmly.

"On the rooftop of the third teaching building."

"Let's go."

Mei Ye headed toward the rooftop of the third teaching building, followed by the panicked principal and the grim-faced Dean Wang.

"It was here. This is where they jumped."

On the rooftop, Teacher Wang pointed at the edge with a look of utter dejection.

A breeze blew, stirring Mei Ye's hair. Standing in a high place, far from the ground, it was easy for one's thoughts to drift and wander toward things that didn't matter.

Mei Ye couldn't help but wonder what the young boy and girl were thinking before they died.

"It's all my fault," Teacher Wang lowered his head in agony, his shoulders trembling. "As their PE teacher at the time, if I had provided them with psychological counseling earlier, this wouldn't have happened."

"Dean Wang, as an educator, you have done very well. Haven't you cultivated many promising students over the years? That was just an accident."

The principal patted the Dean's shoulder in consolation.

"That is a hurdle I will never be able to overcome. Two young lives were lost just like that. I wish it were me who had died!"

Dean Wang clutched his chest, his face full of regret and pain.

The onlookers, seeing this, could not help but feel a sense of admiration for this first-tier teacher.

He truly was a good teacher who cared about his students!

"In that case, please go ahead and die."

The words were shocking; a voice suddenly rang out abruptly.