I can't move.
My body is completely under control!
At this moment, amidst the bustling crowds, no one noticed that several top-tier sorcerers were clashing here. The three of them huddled together, like an old man chatting with two young disciples.
Sixth Master Shen pushed Master Shen San's cart, and Wang Ye's body followed involuntarily behind him. No matter how he tried to resist, he couldn't muster any spiritual power to control his body.
In just one day, without any reaction, he was actually controlled to this extent?
Wang Ye sank to the bottom; he had underestimated the Shen Family!
"Consider it a lesson learned," said Master Shen San, sitting in his wheelchair, with a smile. "When I was paralyzed, I was about the same age as you, Lord Shaoqing. I was just as careless when Laoliu brought me that chair, and I got tricked badly back then. Lord Shaoqing, you should remember that with your current condition, you'd better stay away from sorcerers and magicians who practice strange arts."
Wang Ye's lips twitched, and he managed to utter a single sentence. "Thank you for your guidance, Sixth Master Shen!"
Shen Yixin smiled slightly, but didn't look at Wang Ye. From the very first day they met, he knew that this was indeed still an arrogant and ignorant young man.
What is Third Brother planning to do?
"Keeping him trapped indefinitely isn't a solution. In times of crisis, change is necessary. Trying to control his thoughts in a short time is unrealistic. The Minister of Ministry of Works isn't much less capable than you. Any restrictions you set, as long as they don't directly alter Vice Minister Wang's mind, he can easily remove. This approach will only make the court think our Shen Family is in greater danger!"
"What if we replaced your brain?" Shen Yixin asked with a slight smile.
The voice was as gentle as a spring breeze, a typical voice of a kind elder, but its contents chilled Wang Ye to the bone.
He knew that Sixth Master Shen, who was in charge of the Shen Family, was definitely not a kind person. However, after spending a day with him, he was still somewhat deceived by the other party's seemingly upright and kind image.
"If he had his brain replaced, he wouldn't be Vice Minister Wang anymore. Besides, only the Painted Skin Mister can do this kind of technology. If you can do it, you'll be the Painted Skin Mister."
Upon hearing this, Shen Yixin sighed slightly, expressing his regret.
"If I had known earlier that Painted Skin Mister was in Jiangnan, I would have visited him long ago. There are many technical problems that I have always wanted to ask that legendary gentleman for advice."
"You're no match for me?" Master Shen San laughed. "If I had known, I would have gone long ago and asked Painted Skin Mister to give me a new body, so I could at least stand up and walk around on my own."
The two chatted idly and unknowingly arrived at a corner in the north of the city. It looked very ordinary, but Wang Ye could see that there was a very strong sorcerer's barrier around it!
As soon as the spell was cast and the barrier was erected, Master Shen San's smile vanished, "Aren't you afraid that Laoqi will see you coming directly to me like this?"
" Laoqi is in my room, and I'm keeping a close eye on him. He doesn't have the energy to pay attention to this area."
"Watch it yourself?" Master Shen San laughed. "Is it your real body, Laoqi's or mine?"
"The real body?" Wang Ye looked at Master Shen San, then at Shen Yixin, somewhat puzzled.
What does this mean? Is this place a fake?
"Ever since Laowu went to the capital, Laoliu, you've become increasingly cowardly," Master Shen San said with a smile. "You never dare to show your true form. When you're out and about, you always use your puppet. You've used the Heavenly Craft Marvelous Art of the Beigong Family like this. I wonder what my family would think if they knew this from beyond the grave?"
Upon hearing this, Shen Laoliu's smile gradually faded, turning cold. Only then did Wang Ye realize that Sixth Master Shen's face was indeed somewhat strange. As a puppet, he practiced his expressions in front of the mirror every day, so he was very sensitive to this. This person in front of him was one of his own!
"Because you're all too frightening." Shen Yixin's face turned sinister, and his voice became heavy. "Someone as powerful as our Laoda died without a trace, and even our ancestor disappeared. I don't even know if you're human or ghosts, so what can I do?"
"So you've just been indulging me all this time?" Shen Yimiao's face also turned ugly. "From childhood to adulthood, how has your eldest brother treated you? How have your mothers treated you? Back then, when you wanted to send the whole family to the capital, why did my second brother and I agree to this decision despite the pressure from everyone? It was because we hoped that you could take action after you had no worries, but you still didn't dare. Are you that afraid of death?"
"If I were afraid of dying, I would have left long ago!" Shen Yixin roared back, "If it weren't for my elder brother's dying wish that I take good care of Laojiu, do you think I would want to stay in this godforsaken place? To be this damn clan leader?"
"Protect Laojiu?" Shen Yimiao sneered at the other person, "So you let Laojiu and Second Brother leave, I understand, Second Brother came to see you?"
Shen Yixin closed his eyes and remained silent for a few seconds before finally nodding. "Yes, Second Brother noticed something was wrong with some of the brothers several years ago. I didn't believe him at first, but he produced the blood jade left behind by Eldest Brother, which contained his last words."
"The original plan was to use the incident of the prefect of Liuzhou provoking us to have Second Brother take Laojiu out, along with Eldest Sister-in-law, to find an opportunity to go to the capital to find Fifth Brother, while I would keep an eye on you all. But I didn't expect..."
"Second Brother is dead." Shen Yimiao said grimly, " Laojiu is suspicious!"
"He shouldn't have any problems," Shen Yixin shook his head and said, "He's someone I and Laowu watched grow up since he was a child. Laowu and I have barely slept a wink to protect him. No matter what kind of monster it is, it's impossible for it to lay a hand on Laojiu under our noses."
"So, there's only one possibility," Shen Yimiao said grimly, "Someone followed them, went with Second Brother and Laojiu, and secretly killed Second Brother!"
"But you've seen it yourself these past few days, the brothers are all here!"
"You're not here?" Shen Yimiao laughed. " Laoliu, where is your real body?"
Shen Yixin remained silent.
"If you don't tell me, then I'm leaving!" Shen Laosan turned to look at the other person, his eyes serious. "I'm going out. I'm going to find the person who killed Second Brother. If he's you, Laoliu, I swear, I'll tear you apart, bone by bone. I'll also go to the capital and twist all your cherished descendants into pretzel shapes right in front of you!"
"You can't get out." Shen Yixin shook his head. "You all should know, Third Brother, without my permission, none of you can leave Nanyang City!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the magic array surrounding Nanyang shone brightly, causing the living corpses on the outskirts to roar. The people Nanyang City were also alarmed and retreated to their houses in a panic.
"Do you know, Vice Minister Wang?" Shen Yimiao laughed, "Everyone says that our Shen Family has a prodigy in our Laowu, so he went to your court and became the Ministry of War. But that's not actually the case. In terms of talent, the Laoliu is far superior to the Laowu. Do you know why he was the one who stayed?"
Looking outside, Wang Ye understood something and nodded, saying, "The magic array that the Shen Family boasts of being able to defeat a million armored soldiers, is being controlled by Sixth Master Shen?"
"This magic array comes from the Dragon Palace!"
" Dragon Palace?" Wang Ye was taken aback, but his heart began to race.
Because what he said was exactly the same as what Chen Qing said!
The magic array surrounding the Shen Family's residence most likely originated from the Dragon Palace!
"What kind of place is that?" Wang Ye asked hurriedly.
"We still don't know." Shen Yimiao shook his head. "We only know that our ancestor's dragon transformation technique came from there. He brought out many secrets back then, and it was those secrets that made the Shen Family famous for a thousand years. Outsiders only think that this magic array in Nanyang City is the result of the Shen Family's accumulation over a thousand years, but that's not actually the case. The magic array here is worlds apart from that in your capital or even Cloud Capital. If it were to operate at full power, even if all the magicians in the world gathered together, they wouldn't be able to break it!"
Wang Ye was shocked. These words were too arrogant, but coming from the mouth of the Third Master of the Shen Family, they didn't seem like a lie.
" Laoliu inherited these magical formations, so as long as he's here, no one from the Shen Family can leave. Over the years, everyone has kept quiet about it, but they all know that Sixth Master Shen can imprison the entire Shen Family."
"Third Brother's words are cutting to the heart," Shen Yixin said quietly. "Over the years, everyone has tacitly agreed to stay in Nanyang, so how can you call it imprisonment?"
"But that's the truth." Shen Yimiao smiled. "I don't object to it either, because my second brother and I both guessed that the Ancestor was hiding among the brothers, so releasing any one of them could allow the Ancestor to set up plans outside. So we tacitly approved of your actions. Otherwise, do you think you could have suppressed everyone in Nanyang without our support?"
"So, which ones does Third Brother represent?" Shen Yixin asked coldly.
As soon as he finished speaking, a fat figure walked in, which startled Wang Ye. It was the Shen Family's Eighth Master, who seemed the most amiable and whose techniques were the most righteous.
"I really didn't expect that Laoba would be so close to you and Third Brother."
"Let us out, we'll come back once we find out the cause of Second Brother's death!" Shen Yimiao finally stated his request.
"What if I don't?" Shen Yixin said coldly.
"Then we'll have to resort to unconventional methods," Shen Yimiao, looking at Wang Ye.
"You want this kid to use the Flying Star to take you out?" Shen Yixin laughed as well, "Third Brother, are you aware of the risks? Besides, I wouldn't allow it."
As soon as he finished speaking, Wang Ye's body visibly cracked open.
Wang Ye's pupils dilated as a feeling of being unable to control life and death surged into his heart again, filling his eyes with resentment.
He thought that the last time he had such a life-or-death situation in the hands of others, like the one at Great Azure Mountain, was the last time.
"You want to kill a high-ranking official of the imperial court?" Shen Yimiao laughed. "Do you know the consequences?"
"Nothing has more serious consequences than letting Third Brother and the others out," Shen Yixin said coldly. "Besides, the fact that the Emperor could kill Liu Yu means he doesn't value this Junior Minister too much. I will naturally explain to the court later!"
"See? Vice Minister Wang?" Shen Yimiao winked at Wang Ye and smiled, "I told you so, didn't I? Choosing to believe Laoliu was a mistake, wasn't it?"
Wang Ye angrily said, "Since Master Shen San anticipated this, why haven't you made your move yet?"
Shen Yixin watched the other party warily. Wang Ye was under his control; he could cause Wang Ye's body to collapse with a single thought. Even if Third Brother had foreseen this, how could he save Wang Ye?
"Would destroying you save Vice Minister Wang?" Shen Yimiao asked Shen Yixin with a smile.
"Sure," Shen Yixin laughed. "But destroying just one won't do. The device on Vice Minister Wang was set up by three puppets, each with a different activation mechanism. Third Brother, you have to destroy all three puppets at the same time. Otherwise, with just the remaining one, I can remotely activate different mechanisms and kill Vice Minister Wang!"
Upon hearing this, Wang Ye's heart turned completely cold.
In other words, the other party used three puppet clones to meet with me on this day?
Not only did he not notice, but the three puppet clones also tampered with his body, and he didn't even realize it?
Master was right. Although I am now Above First Rank sorcerer, there is still a huge gap between me and the world's best sorcerers!