Ye Chongguang's expression grew colder. “If your dear disciple hadn't insisted on fleeing the wedding, would any of this have happened?”
“You can't say that.”
Feng Qing raised her eyebrows mockingly. “If Young Master Ye had behaved himself and caused fewer scandalous affairs, why would Qingqiu have gone to such desperate lengths to flee the wedding and escape?”
Ye Chongguang: “...”
This woman was crazy, and her tongue was incredibly sharp.
The current situation was terrible, and he still needed the Beiyao Sect, so he absolutely could not cause any more trouble.
He didn't argue right or wrong with her. Exhaling slowly, he nudged the spiritual energy in his palm, and a puppet wrapped in dense red threads materialized out of thin air.
He looked up at the person below the platform and commanded in a low voice, “Chang'an only holds a portion of the soul-controlling device, so it's normal that he couldn't fully control Wen Tang. Summon Ye Yu immediately. Order him to take this item and rush to Black Cloud Mountain. He must suppress the chaos and restore order to Black Cloud Mountain. Furthermore, bring back the young master and the Saintess at all costs.”
...
After spending some time together, Song Yao had more or less figured out Wen Tang's situation.
She had heard before that the first step in refining a puppet was to wear away the person's mind, stripping their emotions and desires into a bound item, turning them into a heartless being devoid of feelings.
Generally speaking, after this step, one could use evil arts to completely turn them into a puppet controlled by others.
But there were exceptions.
If the person being refined possessed an extremely strong obsession, that obsession would instead be magnified countless times after their emotions were stripped away.
Wen Tang was likely in this state now—devoid of emotion, devoid of desire, and completely consumed by her obsession.
But what Song Yao didn't understand was: how could Wen Tang's obsession be... her?
Could it be because she had snatched Ye Chang'an away, causing Wen Tang's marriage contract to be annulled, leading to deep-seated hatred?
If so, the obsession should be Ye Chang'an. She should be the one getting a sword through the heart, right?
Instead, she was being pampered with delicious food and drinks—aside from not being allowed to leave—and Wen Tang even came to feed her medicine personally three times a day.
It was bizarre.
Or was this Wen Tang's method of taking revenge on her?
As expected of her junior sister. Even after being corrupted, she was still so gentle and kind, treating her arch-rival like an ancestor.
Through Song Yao's relentless pestering and efforts, Wen Tang finally agreed to lengthen the red cord a bit, allowing her to stroll around the courtyard and bask in the sun.
Song Yao had prematurely entered retirement life. For the past two days, she had spent her time lightheartedly eating and sleeping, sleeping and eating, and her injuries had healed significantly.
The only thing she couldn't accept was that every time she opened her eyes, Wen Tang would be sitting beside her, staring straight at her with an eerie, terrifying gaze that gave her nightmares several times.
Aside from that, everything was fairly normal.
Song Yao was considering that once some time passed, she could have her Fifth Junior Sister buy some chicks and ducklings from outside for her to raise.
It would be even better if she could just sneak over to the main peak and steal back her previous chicks, ducklings, and Lin Shui.
She wouldn't mind living in seclusion here for a while.
There were too many people outside; here, she only had to deal with her Fifth Junior Sister.
However, before she could put her plans into action, she opened her eyes on the rocking chair in the courtyard the following evening to find that the person standing beside her had changed to her Fourth Junior Brother.
The wind in the courtyard was quiet, and Xie Zhou stood silently to the side.
In the somewhat dim light, his expression was dark and unreadable.
His thin eyelids drooped, and an indescribable possessiveness swirled in his eyes. His voice was raspy and low. “Are you not going to run, even after being locked up here by her?”
Song Yao: “...”
She woke up instantly, alarm bells ringing in her head.
How did her Fourth Junior Brother find this place?
The imprint of the Nine Saints Hall shouldn't work here.
Forget it, that wasn't important.
The important thing was, did her Fourth Junior Brother know her identity?
It wasn't convenient for her to ask directly, nor was it convenient to probe. After some thought, she leaned back resignedly and wrapped her small blanket tightly around herself. “I did run, but I couldn't get away.”
She casually lifted her foot to show him the red cord and bell on her ankle. “Fifth Senior Sister won't let me leave.”
Xie Zhou's gaze fell upon that slender, exposed ankle and the swaying red cord tied to it. His eyes grew increasingly cold and dark.
In the next instant, pale gold runes surged from his palm, carrying a sharp, swift energy as they shot toward the red cord.
Before they could touch it, a sudden gust of dark wind swept in, violently dispersing the pale gold runes.
At the entrance of the courtyard, Wen Tang stood with a bag of pastries hanging from her fingertips, bathed in the twilight.
She looked up at Xie Zhou in the courtyard and spoke slowly, “Fourth Senior Brother, long time no see.”
...
A moment later, Song Yao squatted silently in a corner, holding a peach pastry. She munched on it while giving half-hearted, muffled protests: “Stop fighting, you two. Let's talk things out. We're all on the same side.”
“We're fellow disciples, senior brother and junior sister. Is this really necessary?”
“If you guys aren't going to eat, I'm going to finish these...”
No one paid her any attention.
One was a talisman cultivator, and the other was a poison cultivator; neither was cut out for a physical brawl.
Yet at this moment, the courtyard was thrown into a turbulent frenzy by the two of them.
Layer upon layer of pale gold runes shot through the air, while a dark wind carrying poisonous curses surged in all directions.
The collision of the two forces erupted in waves of shockwaves. The courtyard walls trembled, branches and leaves snapped, and the surrounding rocks crumbled into dust. It felt as if the entire mountain forest would be flattened under their dual might.
Fortunately, the two of them still had a shred of decency left, leaving a small patch of clean, undisturbed ground for Song Yao.
Song Yao crunched through another two peach pastries. She wanted to grab some water, but she was pinned in place by their colliding spiritual energies, causing her to furrow her brows in utter confusion.
Hadn't Wen Tang already broken free from control?
And wasn't Xie Zhou here to save Wen Tang?
Why on earth were the two of them fighting like this?
In their past lives, these two children had been the most obedient, polite, and kindest members of the Nine Saints Hall.
Had they gone mad in this life?
Anger flared within her. She abruptly stood up, preparing to lecture them using her authority as Third Senior Sister, but then she plopped right back down.
Never mind.
She still didn't know the exact situation with her Fourth Junior Brother.
It was better not to draw the crossfire onto herself for now.
As she anxiously ate her peach pastries on the outside, the two individuals at the center of the clashing spiritual energies caught her every movement.
Xie Zhou's eyes were dark with gloom as he spoke first. “I am taking Song Yao with me.”
Wen Tang's dark eyes remained completely devoid of emotion. “In your dreams.”
The light of the talismans on Xie Zhou's body flared dramatically. He slowly lifted his drooping eyelashes. “She is your senior sister, not a cat or a dog. Locking her up here is incredibly selfish of you.”
Hearing this, Wen Tang suddenly let out a soft laugh.
The laugh was quiet but carried a bone-chilling coldness. She looked up at Xie Zhou, her eyes filled with unmasked mockery. Parting her thin lips, she exposed his pretense word by word: “Don't you want to do the exact same thing?”
Xie Zhou: “...”
Wen Tang stepped forward slowly, her lips curving into a completely emotionless arc. “Third Senior Sister knows that my root of emotion was gouged out and that I was turned into a puppet. She pities me. Even though I have imprisoned her, she still said she would stay here to accompany me forever.”
“She is staying with me of her own free will. What about you?”
Wen Tang looked at him, her eyes laced with sarcasm. “Do you dare let her know that you have fallen so deeply into demonic possession because of your hatred for her?”
“Do you dare let her know that the peace jade pendant you gave her is actually an evil object used to monitor her location?”
“Do you dare let her discover that you have never once viewed her as a Third Senior Sister from the very beginning?”
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