Chapter 108
Chapter 108: Demonic Puppet
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In a dilapidated small hut, a snow-white little cat was tilting its head, staring at the girl who was chained up with iron shackles before its eyes.
This little cat was none other than Lin Xiaoyun in her cat form.
“Little cat, are you curious about why I’m locked up here?”
The girl spoke first, her voice carrying a hint of hoarseness yet unusually gentle, as if afraid of frightening the little cat before her.
Lin Xiaoyun’s heart was more than just curious.
When she was captured by human traffickers back then, at most she was just kept in a cage. Though she had no freedom, she wasn’t chained up with iron shackles.
But the girl before her not only had her hands and feet bound with heavy iron chains, the other end of the chains was also firmly nailed to a heavy iron ball, clearly someone had deliberately restricted all possibilities of escape.
“I…”
The girl had just wanted to explain something when suddenly rough shouting came from outside the hut, interrupting her words.
“Boss! That Cat Demon should be hiding in this hut!”
“Hiding my ass! What are you all standing around for? Hurry up and search inside! If we let it escape, we’ll all be in deep trouble!”
Another more violent voice rang out, accompanied by heavy footsteps approaching the hut.
“Are they coming to catch you?”
The girl caught the increasingly closer voices outside the door and asked softly.
“Meow! Meow!”
Lin Xiaoyun paced back and forth on the ground, her amber cat eyes filled with anxiety.
She perked up her ears listening to the commotion outside while secretly glancing at the girl beside her.
She was afraid of being caught by the hunters, but even more afraid that these people would harm the fragile child before her.
Although from the way the girl was locked up with chains, it was most likely not done by the hunters, and there was even a possibility they might take pity on her and rescue her.
But those big men clearly weren’t good people.
Though the girl was blind, her face was extremely delicate, with eyelashes as long and fine as butterfly wings, and skin as white as fine porcelain.
Just thinking about what might happen next made Lin Xiaoyun’s heart clench with worry.
“Don’t worry, kitty, quickly hide in that wooden box.”
The girl raised her slender wrist, pointing toward a large wooden box covered with a gray cloth curtain not far away.
Perhaps due to her blindness, her fingertip pointed slightly off toward the water jar beside the wooden box.
But Lin Xiaoyun looked in the direction of her gesture and immediately understood her meaning, hurriedly padding over to the wooden box with her cat paws.
“Meow! Meow?”
Before diving into the wooden box, Lin Xiaoyun turned back and called out twice, her meows filled with hesitation and worry.
Though others couldn’t understand the cat language, the girl seemed to precisely capture her emotions, showing a comforting gentle smile on her face.
“You’re asking me what I’m supposed to do, right?”
Her voice was very soft, yet carried a calmness that didn’t match her age.
“It’s okay, I have a way.”
Hearing this, Lin Xiaoyun’s anxious heart settled slightly.
She chose to trust this seemingly young yet remarkably composed child.
Though the girl was a few years younger than herself, this calm demeanor in the face of danger made her willingly offer her trust.
She dove into the wooden box, but kept her ears pressed tightly against the box wall, paying attention to the sounds outside.
“Third Brother, stop dawdling! Kick down this door!”
Suddenly the rough roar of the lead man came from outside the door.
The next second, with a loud crash, the old wooden door was violently kicked open, wood splinters flying and scattering on the ground.
And Lin Xiaoyun in the wooden box had already quietly returned to human form, curling up her body into a ball, her heart pounding.
“Oh ho, there’s a little girl locked up here? She’s quite pretty! Perfect to take back as a child bride for my boy!”
A tall, thin hunter stared at the girl, his eyes immediately lighting up like a wolf seeing prey.
He rubbed his hands together, his tone full of greed.
In their village, there were already many poor men who couldn’t afford wives, let alone his family which had 7 half-grown sons, each waiting to get married.
“Don’t get ahead of yourself with your schemes!”
The boss frowned, glaring fiercely at the tall, thin man, his eyes full of impatience.
But when he turned back to face the girl, he deliberately put on a gentle appearance, softening his tone to ask:
“Little girl, have you seen a Cat Demon come in here?”
As soon as he finished speaking, the room suddenly fell into an eerie silence.
All the hunters looked at their boss in unison, the air seeming to freeze.
“? Why are you all staring at me? What did I say wrong?”
The boss felt uncomfortable under their stares, scratching his head with a completely baffled expression.
“B-Boss…”
A short, fat hunter approached, his voice extremely low, carefully reminding him.
“She… she’s blind…”
“…I’m not blind! Of course I know she can’t see!”
The boss’s face instantly turned red as a cooked shrimp, his tone carrying some anger.
How could he not know his question was absurd, but the words were already spoken, he couldn’t back down in front of his subordinates.
Everyone looked at the boss’s pointy head and wisely kept their mouths shut.
Just then, the girl suddenly spoke, breaking the silence:
“Uncle, could you take me away? I’m so scared being alone here.”
The tall, thin hunter immediately got excited upon hearing this, rubbing his hands together as he quickly walked to the girl, his face full of smiles:
“Of course! Little girl, don’t be afraid. As long as you’re willing to be uncle’s child bride, uncle will rescue you right now and make sure no one bullies you!”
As he spoke, he reached out to touch the thick iron chains locking the girl, his fingertips almost touching the cold iron rings.
The boss stood nearby watching the tall, thin man’s actions without saying much.
He knew the tall, thin man’s family situation, 7 sons indeed needed wives. Since the girl was willing herself, he couldn’t be bothered to interfere.
Instead, he turned to command his other subordinates:
“Don’t just stand there! Hurry up and search! Be thorough, don’t miss any corner!”
Lin Xiaoyun, crammed in the wooden box, heard everything clearly, her heart rising with anxiety.
This wooden box was placed in the corner, only covered with a thin cloth, it wasn’t well hidden at all. As long as the hunters searched seriously, they would definitely discover her.
She clenched her fingers tightly until her knuckles turned white, her mind racing for a solution, but she couldn’t think of any way out.
Just at this moment, as the tall, thin man’s finger was about to touch the cold chain, the figure that had been sitting motionless in the corner with closed eyes like a statue suddenly slowly opened its eyelids.
Those eyes held no emotion, only a cold deathly silence.
In just an instant, a cold light flashed, and the tall, thin man’s hand was cleanly severed from his wrist, falling to the ground.
“Ahh—! My hand! My hand!”
Piercing screams instantly echoed throughout the room.
Everyone was startled by this sudden scream, instinctively looking toward the tall, thin man, but when they saw the scene clearly, they all froze in place.
The tall, thin man’s severed hand was still twitching on the ground, warm blood gushing from his sleeve, staining the floor red.
Even more terrifying, the next second, his head suddenly slid off his neck, hitting the ground with a thud and rolling several times before stopping.
Warm blood sprayed out like a fountain, splattering blood stains everywhere.
“Wh-what’s happening?!”
All the hunters were shocked, their hair standing on end. They couldn’t care about searching anymore and instinctively turned to flee.
But before they could take a step, a sharp sword light suddenly struck from outside the door, fast as wind.
Before their screams could escape their throats, their necks were already sliced by the sharp sword light, blood flowing freely.
In the blink of an eye, the once noisy hut fell completely silent, only the smell of blood lingering in the air.
Then, a demonic puppet as tall as a person slowly walked to the girl.
The demonic puppet’s mouth curved into an eerie arc, and Ji Jiaying’s somewhat lazy voice came from its mouth:
“Oh my, I didn’t expect these crude hunters could actually see through this illusion. It seems that an illusion without the enhancement of the demonized Bead of Shattering Delusions is indeed too crude, it can’t even stop such trash.”
After a pause, she turned to the girl again, her tone carrying some playful threat:
“Stay here obediently, okay? Big sister has been a bit busy lately and temporarily can’t come see you.”
“Also, with this demonic puppet here, don’t expect anyone to rescue you~ As soon as anyone dares to approach, it will immediately attack~”
After the demonic puppet finished speaking, it retreated back to the corner, like a guardian statue.
At this moment, within Qinglan Sect.
Ji Jiaying was being held in the Enforcement Hall for interrogation.
After all, in everyone’s eyes, she had been closest to Ye Fan recently, so naturally she was suspected of being an accomplice after Ye Fan’s incident.