Chapter 71: Golden Knife, Soul Annihilation: Puppet Art

In such a town, there’s usually a landmark and a map, so Louis knew where the theater was.

The red car sped at full speed; inside, Louis looked at Billy beside him—this doll was deliberately left behind.

Unfortunately, the old hag seemed afraid of his yang energy and talismans, and never appeared in the car to launch a surprise attack.

Fine, then let’s have a direct confrontation.

Reaching out the window, flames erupted, instantly burning the wooden doll Billy to ash; against the gale, the fire surged, and in an instant it turned to charcoal, which Louis hurled out.

Thud!

Completely shattered.

Boom!

The sky was choked with dark clouds, faint lightning flickered like serpents, adding a suffocating weight.

Soon Louis arrived at the so-called Death Lake; in its center stood a sizable building, its style dating back decades, and since it sat right in the lake, crossing required a boat.

Without hesitation, amid lightning and thunder, Louis boarded the boat and rowed across the water.

Entering the theater, it was in ruins—dust and cobwebs covered everything; tables, chairs, curtains lay overturned, clearly abandoned for a long time.

Looking at the theater, Louis paused briefly to think: Mary Xiao lived here, so it must be behind the stage.

Louis turned his gaze to the back of the stage—everyone knew actors used that area.

Soon Louis found a stone staircase at the rear; feeling the faint, elusive chill and seeing Coal Ball’s sharp, watchful eyes in his arms, he knew he’d found it, and his lips curled upward unconsciously.

Holding a slender dagger, he climbed the stairs, gently tapping the iron railing, singing the nursery rhyme that revealed Mary Xiao’s terrifying power.

“Mary Xiao stares with wide eyes.”

Ding!

“She cradles her puppet child.”

Ding!

“Remember, you little ones.”

Ding!

“If you see her in dreams, don’t scream.”

Ding!

In the empty building, Louis’s voice echoed far, the metallic chime piercing the soul, carrying an inexplicable pressure.

“Mary Xiao, where are you? Didn’t expect me to know this place, did you?”

“I’ve come for you.”

“Are you too scared to show yourself?”

“Do you need me to call out?”

“I’m going to call now… I’m going to call…”

His mocking tone seemed to taunt the opponent.

Crash!

He kicked open the second-floor room—a white shadow flashed past the window.

Louis stood motionless, sneering inwardly: at this point, still trying such childish tricks to unsettle him?

Looks like you’ve run out of tricks~

Whoosh!

Several balls of flame ignited around him, illuminating the space; suddenly, by the firelight, a ghastly face appeared right before him—clear, hideous, grotesque; rotten, dried, or crimson tongues twisted together; the pale, wrinkled face had no eyes, only two pitch-black holes.

A plain ugly hag.

Louis’s eyelid twitched slightly, and he immediately blew the golden knife from his hand.

But the next second, Mary Xiao’s figure vanished entirely, with no trace of movement.

Of course, ghosts’ abilities are truly bizarre; unless you destroy all her puppets from life, she can relocate at will.

But it doesn’t matter—I’m now at my second-favorite part: arson.

Puppets, heh…

Louis looked at the display cabinet covered in red cloth nearby, and gently lifted the cloth.

Neatly arranged in rows, countless puppets of various types stared directly at Louis.

The next moment.

“Aaaaaa!!”

A shrill, venomous chorus of overlapping screams erupted.

Each puppet’s face twisted into a ghoul’s visage, stretching, elongating, swirling, bursting through the display cabinet and surging outward.

Simultaneously, the entire room echoed with sounds of sorrow, rage, ferocity, and terror.

“No! Don’t kill me!”

“Aaaaaa!”

“Damn bitch! Aaah!!”

“Child, no, Aaaaaa!”

“…”

As expected, these were all the final words of those Mary Xiao had killed in life.

Needless to say, this scene was pure auditory pollution, and the sheer volume of similar screams could strike the soul—but Louis had seen enough blood to remain steady.

Louis forcibly stabilized his mind; three yang flames blazed on his shoulders and head, and every talisman on his chest, pockets, and body grew scorching hot, forming a golden film that blocked the writhing ghoul faces, while he channeled his internal qi and unleashed the Fire Art at full power.

Whoosh!!

One orange-yellow spark, two, three, ten…

Suddenly expanded!

Dozens of half-meter-high fireballs exploded toward the display cabinets across the room.

At the same time, Louis’s eyes darted—he had to find which puppet Mary Xiao was hiding in!

Cow’s tears had already been applied.

When the fireballs shattered and lit up the entire room, Louis saw it.

In the corner, a puppet resembling the clown from his memory moved its limbs; on its body, Mary Xiao’s ugly soul clung to it, now heading toward the window, trying to escape.

“Now, you’re dead!”

Doo! Doo! Doo!

Peachwood needles flew out in succession.

Mixed among them was a willow-leaf golden knife held under his tongue, all striking the puppet at once.

Golden light blazed!

“Aaaaaa!!”

Without the puppet to transfer into, Mary Xiao’s black-dressed form suddenly materialized, a large hole in her chest emitting golden light; her entire body was crumbling, dissolving into streams of black smoke.

Clearly, the willow-leaf golden knife’s ability to sever souls and destroy spirits was sufficient against Mary Xiao; one strike wasn’t enough, but two would be.

“No! No! No!”

“Damn it! I haven’t killed the last member of the Anson family yet!”

“Who are you?! Who the hell are you?! Why did you suddenly appear to stop me?! Why?!”

Louis, however, suppressed his urge to gloat—he never gave villains the chance to monologue and turn the tide; he blew again, and golden light flashed once more!

Amid a piercing scream, Mary Xiao’s form vanished completely into the air.

Watching this, Louis’s gaze flickered slightly.

Then he turned to the flames that had fully consumed the display cabinet and were now spreading through the room; he reached out and summoned his last bit of internal qi.

All flames, as if drawn by a force, flowed into Louis’s hand, forming a long dragon of fire that he guided out the window, diving straight into the lake.

Sssss!

Mist curled; the scene of water and fire was strangely beautiful.

Louis paid no attention to it; he stared at the completely burned display cabinet and began checking each piece one by one until he had inspected the entire cabinet.

Once certain every puppet had been burned, he began searching for notebooks.

Eventually, he found a black-bound notebook on a table, filled with meticulous details on puppet-making processes and parameters; most importantly, it contained records on the perfect puppet.

It didn’t just list materials—it included diagrams of human gear insertions and modifications, showing remarkable professionalism; even Louis, an outsider, could understand some of it.

Mary Xiao truly was an artist.

Her professional skill was undeniably formidable.

Of course, now all of it belonged to Louis.

Then Louis walked out—but did not leave.

(End of Chapter)