The Mo Family

After leaving Yan Family Castle, Lu Shang felt rather bored. With neither missions nor anything else to do, he could only go stir up trouble for the Fu family.

Half a month later...

Over that half month, Lu Shang killed dozens of Fu family disciples, drawing the family's attention.

However, he had only killed disciples at the Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining stages. He had yet to actually go after the Fu family patriarch.

Lu Shang learned that, for some unknown reason, the Fu family patriarch had fled into a sect guarded by a Nascent Soul Cultivator before Lu Shang had even started killing anyone.

He had to admit that this Golden Core Stage cultivator of the Fu family was truly lucky. Otherwise, the next time Lu Shang came to clean house, this patriarch probably would no longer be the patriarch.

"Judging by the time, the demonic path should be invading the Yue Kingdom soon." Lu Shang hovered in the air and gazed up at the sky.

This was the first time since reaching Core Formation so long ago that Lu Shang had lingered so leisurely at such a height.

Before his soul transmigrated, Lu Shang had only been able to reach such heights aboard an airplane, but the feeling was completely different.

Being high in the sky yet feeling as steady as if his feet were on solid ground left Lu Shang refreshed and carefree.

"Ding!" The system's notification interrupted his leisure.

System mission issued!

Hearing that notification, Lu Shang knew this was no ordinary mission, and its reward would certainly be extraordinary as well.

Lu Shang opened the system panel.

System mission: Join the defense of the Yue Kingdom and kill at least one Core Formation Stage cultivator.

Lu Shang continued reading.

Success reward: Tickets for two rounds of the Super Lottery; failure penalty: Random teleportation to any location in the Human Realm and sealing for ten years.

The mission was fairly simple. Essentially, he just had to join the Yue Kingdom's side and kill a demonic-path cultivator.

There was one thing Lu Shang still did not understand, though.

"System Sis? Are you there?" Lu Shang called.

A moment later.

"What is it, host?" the familiar voice replied.

"Does this mission have a time limit?" he asked bitterly.

"Any time before it ends is fine."

After that, there was no further response.

"In that case, there's no problem. This is simple, just like last time with that Core Formation outer sect elder from the Spirit Controlling Sect."

Lu Shang immediately flew down.

Within the Yue Kingdom, this place was populated mostly by mortals, with only a handful of Qi Refining Stage cultivators wandering about.

It was far from sects like the Seven Sects and cultivation powers like Yan Family Castle.

Lu Shang entered a restaurant. There was nothing particularly special about it except that it offered a view of the Mo Residence.

Across a street less than thirty feet wide, Lu Shang could see the Mo Residence clearly.

Before long, Lu Shang discovered a Qi Refining cultivator inside. Strangely, however, he remained in one spot, seemingly unable to move at all.

Lu Shang released his divine sense.

"Is that man a puppet?" That was Lu Shang's conclusion after probing with his divine sense for a moment.

Lu Shang snapped his fingers to summon a waiter.

Hearing him, the waiter immediately hurried over.

"What can I do for you, sir?"

He seemed to be an enthusiastic waiter.

Lu Shang was generous, taking out two taels of gold.

The moment the waiter saw the gold, he realized Lu Shang wanted information.

"What would you like to know, sir? To tell you the truth, there's nothing in this city I don't know."

Lu Shang smiled.

"Since you know everything, why don't you tell me about the Mo Residence next door?" Lu Shang asked directly.

"That's easy. The Mo Residence was actually only established within the last thirty years."

"They say it wasn't this large when it was first built. Apparently, its master joined a sect called the Seven Mysteries Sect over ten years ago, and only then did it gradually grow into what you see now."

"But after its master left, he rarely came back. And every time he returned, he looked much older."

"He's only come back once in recent years, and compared to when he first left, he looked like a completely different person."

The waiter told him everything he knew about the Mo Residence.

Roughly three or four years ago, a man dressed in black and wearing a bamboo hat had arrived, and there had been no further developments after that.

Afterward, quite a few people suddenly began harassing the family, but after a burst of ringing bells, the black-clad man drove them all away.

It was said that shortly after the black-clad man arrived, the family buried an empty coffin.

Lu Shang surmised that the black-clad man was Zhang Tie, and that the empty coffin had probably been buried upon receiving news of Doctor Mo's death after his failed attempt to possess Zhang Tie.

Lu Shang had not expected Doctor Mo to have prepared a backup plan even without Han Li around.

Afraid that his family would be bullied if he died unexpectedly, he had even turned Zhang Tie into a puppet and left him at the Mo Residence.

Lu Shang left the two taels of gold and departed, but he did not go far. Instead, he waited until nightfall to act again.

That night, Lu Shang entered the Mo Residence and reached the bedroom where Zhang Tie was kept.

Lu Shang removed the bamboo hat, revealing a face as stiff as iron. Though Zhang Tie's eyes were open, they were lifeless.

Lu Shang had come primarily to place restrictions on this puppet. To prevent any mishap in which someone else possessed the puppet, he intended to help the Mo family this once.

"Who's there!"

Just then, a voice rang out.

Along with it, a woman dressed in white burst through the door.

The woman had a graceful figure. Her white clothes were thin, seeming to faintly reveal her curves beneath the moonlight.

As soon as she entered, the graceful woman scrutinized everything in the room with her bright eyes. Clearly, Lu Shang's arrival had still alerted her.

Of course, she could not possibly discover Lu Shang. All he had to do was cast an aura-concealing spell around himself and hide a little, and a mortal would never find him.

Lu Shang roughly understood that this woman was probably one of the Mo family's three daughters.

As for whether she was Mo Caihuan, Lu Shang was unsure.

After a moment, the white-clad woman had found no one else, but she noticed the change in Zhang Tie's bamboo hat.

"I clearly heard something in here just now," the white-clad woman muttered softly.

The Mo family girl looked around again.

Only after finding nothing for a while did she breathe a sigh of relief.

Now that the Mo family had lost the Seven Mysteries Sect's protection, the few remaining women alone could not possibly keep the family prospering.

This puppet had become the Mo family's sole support.

Still, Lu Shang had to come out. He had made some modifications to the puppet, Zhang Tie, and would have to tell this member of the Mo family how to use him.

"Shh!" Lu Shang stepped out from the side and signaled for her not to speak.

To prevent any accidents, however, it was better to cast a spell that rendered her unable to speak.

Upon seeing Lu Shang appear, the Mo family girl wanted to scream, only to discover to her astonishment that she could not open her mouth. This frightened her even more.

"Don't be afraid," Lu Shang explained.

Then Lu Shang took out a bracelet.

This was the first magical artifact Lu Shang had refined.

A control bracelet that allowed a mortal to command a puppet.

"With this, you can control this puppet."

Seeing that Lu Shang truly neither threatened her nor did anything to her, the Mo family girl gradually lost the terrified expression she had worn moments earlier.

The Mo family girl accepted the bracelet.

After accepting it, she gestured for Lu Shang to dispel his spell.

Lu Shang casually waved his hand.

"Who are you? Why are you doing this?"

Two questions in quick succession.

Lu Shang did not want to answer either question.

"When the puppet stops, crush one of the spirit beads on the bracelet. You can only do that three times, but even so, it will be enough to keep the puppet running for over a hundred years."

Lu Shang had done this deliberately. After all, in the mortal world, a family being able to command a Qi Refining cultivator at will was not a particularly good thing. Over time, it could put the entire family at risk of extermination.

Clearly, the white-clad woman still wanted to ask something, but Lu Shang had already done a great deal and did not wish to do anything more, so he quickly left.

Within moments, only the white-clad woman and a puppet remained in the room.

What Lu Shang did not know, however, was that his brief appearance had left an image in this Mo family girl's heart that would be difficult to erase.