Chapter 1551: Found It

He casually took out a bag of Xiangyue wine beans and threw them over. These were beans re-made with Xiangyue powder, filled with sweet plum wine in the middle, resembling wine-filled chocolate beans from another world, with a bit of wine aroma in the unique mellow cocoa, and the slight acidity of plums to relieve greasiness.

After the Yangshan Chamber of Commerce found a workshop to adjust this flavor, it became popular in Tianshui City for a time, and both children and monkeys loved to eat it.

The Ghost Ape had followed its master away for more than a month and couldn't eat it in Jucheng, so it missed it very much.

A figure flashed outside the house, and Dong Rui also walked in. While reaching out to pick a wine-filled bean from the monkey's paper bag to eat, he greeted He Lingchuan perfunctorily: "Yo, I'm back. Water!"

He Lingchuan wasn't used to his bad habits and pointed to the corner of the wall: "Pour it yourself."

Dong Rui's face was covered in stubble, his clothes were wrinkled, and he had a smell of horse sweat. He collapsed into a "big" shape as soon as he sat down; it was clear he had traveled a long distance and had just landed.

A month, ah, he went back to Jucheng to handle affairs and only used a month for the round trip! It was because he was worried that He Lingchuan couldn't handle things here alone that he rushed back day and night.

It was Lingguang who couldn't bear it and poured a cup of tea for Dong Rui.

Dong Rui took it with a moved face: "My Lingguang is still the most thoughtful!"

He looked at the fat monkey with resentment. The Ghost Ape was peeling the oil paper and licking the sugar beans, not even sparing a glance for its master.

Fragrant, truly fragrant!

Taking advantage of the time Dong Rui was gulping down a few large mouthfuls of tea, He Lingchuan casually set up a sound-insulating barrier: "Was this trip back smooth?"

"Smooth beyond belief. Sure enough, as long as you are not there, everything is easy to handle." Dong Rui collapsed in the chair, "When I found Xiao An, she was still staying at that merchant's house, and the two little girls were having a great time. The merchant's wife rushed out to stop me, not allowing me to take her away, but County Lieutenant Li came forward to guarantee it."

"Was Xiao An willing to go with you?" The difficulty of this errand lay in Xiao An herself, not anyone else. Those puppet masters had tried to force her, and the consequences weren't very good, "You don't look like a good person either."

Dong Rui touched his face; it wasn't exactly fierce-looking: "I only used one sentence to coax the child away."

It was Lingguang who supported him: "What did you say?"

"I'm taking you home."

"She believed you?" He Lingchuan was slightly surprised, "Just that simple? Why didn't the group of people chasing her use this method?"

Xiao An's memory was chaotic, but she always remembered she came from Xingyun Village.

A small village that had been slaughtered by mountain bandits twenty years ago.

"She had long since stopped trusting that group of people, and besides, I truly took her to Xingyun Village." Dong Rui said solemnly, "As soon as she saw the ginkgo tree at the entrance of the village, she recognized it."

"And then?"

"She searched the whole village for her family, but of course, she didn't find them, and she cried her heart out." Dong Rui laughed, "I originally thought she would turn into a Tongtun, so I had County Lieutenant Li clear out the whole village in advance, sent the villagers away temporarily, and prepared formations, letting the Black Armor Army stand by in full battle array."

After the Chen Family Manor and Green Intent Villa murder cases, he judged that Xiao An was a Tongtun, but this little girl seemed to only turn back into her original form when her emotions were out of control.

"She didn't change?" He Lingchuan's impression of that white monster was still very deep.

"No, she cried until she was tired and curled up under the ginkgo tree to sleep, never changing form." Dong Rui took out an apricot branch and placed it on the table, "The next morning, she woke up and told me that the white monster that had been chasing her was gone."

"White monster? Tongtun?"

"Mostly likely." Dong Rui snorted, "She felt that the white monster had been chasing her, which might be a distortion of memory. When I modified other puppets, I also discovered this sign."

Lingguang asked curiously: "But many of her memories are true, such as Xingyun Village. How can she have the memories of a little girl and also be the monster Tongtun herself?"

"This is the masterpiece of the puppet master." Dong Rui grabbed a few more sugar beans to eat; he had rushed back all the way, so he had to replenish some energy, "Not only modifying the body, but even the divine soul was tampered with, stuffing the little girl's soul into the skull of the Tongtun."

"To be able to achieve this point, truly—" He gave a thumbs up, "This!"

"The 'father' in Xiao An's mouth should be the person who modified her. This kind of modification is a bit twisted, leaving sequelae in both the divine soul and the body, so her spirit is very unstable. But this little girl's divine soul is especially powerful, which is why she could suppress this disorder."

"Divine soul is powerful?" The divine soul is especially difficult to cultivate; even for cultivators in the ancient period, refining the soul was a difficulty.

"Born with it, a gift from the heavens."

"Hmm." He Lingchuan knew that a very small number of people were born with exceptionally powerful divine souls. For heavenly deities looking for a skin to descend into, this was one of the hard conditions.

This kind of person, he had already known one.

"Did you research anything? For example, why did that group of people want to create 'Xiao An'?"

"Hey, just asking about that little girl is useless. Her memory is still chaotic. I asked her to take me to find her father's residence, but she couldn't find it." Otherwise, Dong Rui would have taken the Black Armor Army to dig the rabbit hole, "But I discovered one point: this Tongtun only has two forms: original form, or Xiao An. It cannot change into any other appearance."

Tongtun is a shapeshifter, born able to change into other humans or animals.

Xiao An's talent was forcibly suppressed, which is very abnormal.

He Lingchuan stroked his chin: "It seems that those puppet masters were trying hard to keep her in the appearance of 'Xiao An'. Why?"

"The point is—" Dong Rui coughed lightly, "Puppets are mostly very unstable, and Xiao An is no exception. Originally, her body would collapse within three months. I judged that her 'father' had tried many times and was helpless, because there were traces of multiple modifications on Xiao An, and she had also taken some drugs, which were also helping her stabilize her form."

Lingguang was shocked: "She could only live for three months? No, it's already been more than two months. Then she only has less than a month of life left?"

"No, no." Dong Rui shook his index finger, looking smug, "With me here, it's not that easy. I have already stabilized her. Although it took a lot of effort, and she still needs careful maintenance later, she won't die within at least a year."

Lingguang asked curiously: "How did you do it?"

The instability of the work has always been a thorny problem for puppet masters.

"Remember the secret technique contributed by Second Mother Zhu?" Otherwise, the Ghost Ape would have died long ago, "And the little baby in my backpack is always on the verge of collapse. As I refined it, I naturally gained experience. As for Xiao An's situation, it's just a little bit harder to fix than other puppets; how could it stump me?" ===== CHAPTER 1552 =====