Chapter 2583: Master Duan Missing

Only Dong Rui stared without blinking, while Ling Jinbao and the others were startled, a chill running down their backs.

This was the monster that had killed seventy or eighty people in the northern suburbs of Baishan City just a few months ago.

Duan He Yun's expression also changed slightly.

Although he had long been accustomed to it, his expression quickly recovered, but A Lian still caught his oddness—

"This is me. But you dislike this face, don't you? Before, every time you saw me, your heart was filled with disgust."

Don't forget, she can sense others' emotions—this is her unique talent.

Expressions can be controlled or concealed, but emotions are truly genuine.

Dong Rui also unconsciously scratched his arm. Indeed, that's the case—puppet masters daily handle horrifying creations, merely unafraid, not that they like them.

Who would truly like ugly things?

A Lian raised her hand and gently stroked Duan He Yun's face: "Father, are you doing this for my sake?"

Her eyes were still as round and large as ever, but that face, which usually only appeared in nightmares, was now only half a foot away from him. She asked word by word: "Father, did you truly consider my well-being?"

Duan He Yun was speechless. A Lian's accusation was correct—he had once treated her merely as an experimental subject, but later he had genuinely come to love and protect her.

"I don't remember the past, but A Lian hasn't forgotten a single bit!"

"I..." Duan He Yun swallowed, about to respond, when A Lian's right finger joint suddenly protruded a sharp spike, sharper than a blade, and stabbed fiercely into his shoulder!

Duan He Yun suddenly winced in pain and cried out.

"Since I learned to count, Father and his subordinates have stabbed me exactly a hundred times." A Lian bore that terrifying face, using the same childish, sweet tone as before, "You taught me to speak and read, but the first thing you taught me was pain, obedience, hatred, and using obedience to conceal hatred!"

Dong Rui, watching from the side, also felt a twinge of pain in his shoulder.

Puppet experiments are filled with absurdity and cruelty—cutting and assembling are everyday fare.

The two most common emotions puppets feel toward their masters are mostly fear and hatred.

Zhu Xiuer then said to Dong Rui: "Your profession has quite a few deviants, huh."

Dong Rui's mouth twitched—who was he referring to?

"Don't kill him." He Lingchuan could only utter a warning.

A Lian pulled out the spike, and blood instantly splattered onto her face.

She stuck out her tongue to lick it, then laughed: "So sweet, sweeter than the fried dough sticks Hu Xin brought me."

Nothing is sweeter than the taste of revenge!

At this moment, a few knocks sounded on the door—the little stone person came to find He Lingchuan.

He immediately instructed Dong Rui to stay on site and watch, making sure Duan He Yun didn't die, then he himself walked out.

Another cry of pain came from inside the room, while the little stone person emerged from the stone wall beside him:

"I am currently interrogating the army and elite forces of Lingyun Palace, but they seem to only know that there are great demons and heavenly gods inside the palace, without knowing the exact numbers."

"Well done."

Zhu Xiuer stood beside him: "Are you sure, besides using your sword, we can also block the gods' gaze?"

"Of course." He Lingchuan was very confident: "I've tested it many times."

Before dawn, without sunlight to help, he could still imprison these captives in the Secret Realm to block the gods' gaze.

Yes, the Secret Realm is also an independent space, equally effective in blocking heavenly signals.

He Lingchuan had previously used the "Yangguan Dao" to observe each captive, ensuring that aside from A Lian, they had no tracking organisms on them, and after scanning multiple times with his magic eye, found no tracking spells.

So, "When Lingyun Palace notices the tracking signals available to them rapidly decreasing, they will surely grow anxious."

The Earth Mother's avatar asked: "When should we begin?"

"Not urgent, wait a little longer." He Lingchuan gestured with his chin toward the tightly closed door: "We still need to make some preparations—you go full speed ahead, buy us some more time."

"Lingyun Palace will soon lose track of us. For the heavenly demons to find us again, their only option is to descend directly onto A Lian!"

"Do we need to surface?" The Earth Mother's stone avatar tapped twice on the battlements: "Can that so-called divine avatar come down underground?"

He Lingchuan laughed heartily: "Then let's go meet it!"

Dong Rui whispered from the side: "This means he isn't certain either."

Two ke later, the door behind them opened.

A Lian walked out, again transforming from the monster back into the soft, lovable little Miss.

But this time, everyone remembered: no matter how her appearance changed, her core remained a terrifying monster.

Her body was still stained with blood, and Dong Rui stood beside her.

……

Time passed bit by bit, while the Lingyun Palace troops remained stationed at Baiqiu.

They had already recalled all their puppets on schedule, except A Lian—A Lian was brought into Baishan City by Duan He Yun himself, so she was not under their jurisdiction.

Two ke passed.

The puppet masters wanted to send a flying message to Duan He Yun, saying their work was done, but the water mirror they cast rippled for half a day, its surface still empty, and they could not find anyone.

This indicated that no one was receiving the signal at the other end of the water mirror.

Then they folded notes into paper cranes and released them.

Logically, these should fly straight into Duan He Yun's hands, but after flapping twice, they fell down.

This meant they could not find a recipient to fly to.

No target, naturally no itinerary could be set.

The puppet masters felt something was wrong and hurriedly reported:

Grand Master Duan's whereabouts are unknown, contact lost.

At the same time, a night owl descended from the sky and sternly said to Zhao Tongling, the army commander: "Heavenly God decrees: Duan He Yun's position is wrong—he has already left Baishan City and is speeding south. You must hurry to pursue and investigate!"

Zhao Tongling exclaimed in alarm: "Dare I ask the Heavenly God, where exactly in the city did Grand Master Duan encounter trouble?"

East Willow Bank, east of the city.

Zhao Tongling immediately divided his forces, personally following the guidance of the divine gaze to pursue Duan He Yun, and sent Deputy Tongling Xue into Baishong City to investigate the circumstances of Master Duan's disappearance.

Deputy Tongling Xue received the order and immediately rushed into the city.

No one noticed that several night owls were perched on the large trees on the outskirts of the city, watching the chaos of the troops, then flapped their wings and flew away.

The arrival of the troops disrupted the entire Spring Yuan Festival order within Baishong City. They headed straight for the east willow bank, questioning witnesses on one hand and searching for people on the other.

The people of Baishong City did not know where this group of fierce and evil spirits had come from. The city garrison originally wanted to intercept them, but having received some unknown order, they sullenly retreated, not daring to utter a single sound.

Finally, a witness said they saw Duan He Yun and the others go beneath the bridge arch, after all, a little girl like A Lian leaves a deep impression.

And then, there was nothing after that.

It was clear that the enemy had already laid an ambush within Baishong City and used an escape technique to take Duan He Yun away; otherwise, passing through the city gate would not have been easy.

Deputy Tongling Xue immediately led his men to the city gate to inspect the barrier.

(End of Chapter)