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墨書 Inktalez
Have you encountered the Ghostly Veil? I think that even if you have, you might not realize that you have unknowingly been blinded by the hands of a ghost.
Xing Ruyi is currently feeling this way. She sits on the roof of a grass hut, looking at the yard of the Village Chief's house, feeling frustrated that Bai Shi has not noticed the Evil Aura swirling above that yard.
Yes, Evil Aura—not just a simple Eerie Aura or demonic energy, but a disturbing and uncomfortable malevolence created by the intertwining of several energies.
The moon is full tonight, yet there isn't a single star in the pitch-black sky, making the entire space seem unusually clean! According to fox lore, strange phenomena will occur in the village tonight, and the center of these occurrences is the Village Chief's house.
At this moment, following the fox's plan, Chang Tai is hiding outside the Village Chief's house with Li Mao. Yin Yuan has taken advantage of Si Niang and Bell's distraction to slip out and is now sitting on the roof of the Village Chief's house, resting her chin on her hand.
After midnight, a bizarre scene unfolds! First, the lights in the main room of the Village Chief's house turn on, then the door swings open, and many dolls jump out from inside. These dolls are less than a foot tall, some male and some female, some old and some young—just like those puppets Bell had seen before.
Seeing those dolls, Yin Yuan's eyes light up. He smirks and cautiously crouches down, adopting a posture typical of a hunter.
Xing Ruyi, who was originally sitting on the opposite roof, is startled by these dolls. Just as she is about to go down to take a look, she is suddenly embraced by a fox that appears out of nowhere. The moment she is in its arms, the fox casts an invisibility spell. Just as Xing Ruyi is about to ask why, the fox presses its finger against her lips.
Xing Ruyi pouts and glances at the fox. The fox smiles slightly and gestures for her to look below.
Only then does Xing Ruyi notice that in the center of the yard, an Old Man Doll is looking up in her direction, its eyes emitting an eerie green glow in the darkness.
"This doll acts as a regulator for this group of dolls; it serves as an informant for the Village Chief. If I hadn't arrived in time, it would have discovered you."
Xing Ruyi sticks out her tongue. Knowing that the fox can read her thoughts means she doesn't need to say everything aloud; it can understand just by her thinking it.
"What does the Village Chief raise these dolls for?"
"Look closely; you'll find out soon enough," the fox replies as it removes its finger from Xing Ruyi's lips.
Xing Ruyi no longer asked questions and focused all her attention on the dolls. At first, the dolls were just bouncing around the yard aimlessly, looking as if they were playing in the moonlight. After a while of jumping, they began to emerge one by one from inside the door under the direction of the Old Man doll, scattering in different directions, entering through doors but not appearing to intrude chaotically.
"Could it be that these dolls are choosing homes?" Xing Ruyi wondered aloud. When she caught sight of one of the dolls, she couldn't help but let out a gasp.
"Did you figure it out?" the fox asked, still holding onto Xing Ruyi's hand.
"That doll over there looks like the woman Bai Shi was talking about, the one who worked for the Yun Family. And did you notice? The clothes that doll is wearing are very similar to what Bai Shi gave to that Daughter-in-law."
"Not just that doll; take a look at the others. Don't they seem familiar too?"
The fox pointed to one of the dolls wandering down the street.
Xing Ruyi recognized it; that doll was indeed the Night Watchman that Bai Shi and Brother Chang had given him, wearing the outfit they had gifted him.
"Brother Chang?"
Xing Ruyi instinctively glanced towards where Chang Tai and Li Mao were hiding but found that both had also vanished. She didn't know if they had temporarily concealed themselves like she had or if they had gone elsewhere.
"Don't worry, he's fine. Li Mao took him somewhere else."
The fox finished speaking, picked up Xing Ruyi, and flew down from the rooftop. The fox's intention was clear: to follow behind the Groom Doll and let Xing Ruyi see what these dolls were really up to.
The Groom Doll seemed leisurely as it walked slowly down the village road, carrying a gong made of cloth. Occasionally, it would stop and look up at the moon.
"What is it doing? Surely it's not admiring tonight's beautiful moonlight?"
"No! It is watching the road, or in other words, it is receiving instructions from that Old Man doll."
"Receiving instructions? I thought these dolls could think independently. They seem so carefree when they bounce around while walking. By the way, if I catch two of them and take them home, can they keep Yin Yuan company?"
"Yin Yuan?" The fox looked at the Groom Doll with a playful tone and said, "I think Yin Yuan would prefer to eat them."
"Eat them? My Yin Yuan wouldn't be that indiscriminate, would he?"
"You'll find out soon enough. To an ordinary child, these dolls might seem like cute and interesting toys, but to a creature like Yin Yuan, they are equivalent to snacks."
As they spoke, the Groom Doll moved again! After turning down two streets, it stopped in front of a house and then nudged open a crack in the door with its head, squeezing itself inside sideways.
"Whose house is this?"
"That's the home of the Night Watchman!"
"Oh!"
Xing Ruyi exclaimed softly as the fox led her inside. When the Groom Doll squeezed into the bedroom using the same method with its short legs, the fox used a Spell to bring Xing Ruyi in as well.
The Groom Doll circled around the room before jumping onto the bed, walking across the chest of the Night Watchman until it reached his mouth and nose, leaning down to inhale deeply.
The breath of a living person was drawn into the body of the Groom Doll, causing the Night Watchman's face to change from a healthy color to a waxy yellow, while the green light in the eyes of the Groom Doll faded significantly.
"This Groom Doll is consuming a person's Soul!"
Xing Ruyi exclaimed, wanting to intervene, but was stopped by the fox.
"There's no use, you can't save them anymore. Their souls have been nearly consumed by those doll-like figures that resemble them. Even if you were to save them, they would just be living corpses. What's the point?"
"But if we don't save them, they'll become dead for real!"
"Fox Demon, sometimes the dead are happier than the living, especially these living corpses. I brought you here just to let you understand the truth; I didn't want you to get involved."
"But I..."
Xing Ruyi sighed inwardly and silently thought, "I really can't bear to just ignore them!"
"I know!" The fox said softly, hugging Xing Ruyi tightly. "My Fox Demon is too kind, so I'm wondering if I was wrong to bring you here to see this."
Xing Ruyi took a deep breath and forced a relaxed expression. "It's okay, I just can't get past this hurdle myself. The reason you brought me here is that you know even if you hadn't, I would have sneaked away to come here myself. That would only lead to things spiraling out of control beyond what either of us could manage.
I also know that my softness of heart may not be a good thing in this world. Don't worry about me; I'm fine. I just want to know what that Village Chief is planning. There are so many strange dolls here, yet I had no inkling beforehand. Is my Ghost Technique failing?"
"Someone doesn't want you to know!" The fox released its grip and looked into Xing Ruyi's eyes. "Do you remember what I said when we were in Divine Capital? The reason we are here must have some unknown significance, and that Moxuyou didn't appear in our sight by chance."
"So? Is there another purpose for bringing me back to Qingqiu besides marrying me? I understand you, and you understand me. I don't care where the marriage takes place as long as it's with you. And though you were once the Azure Fox Emperor, it doesn't mean you'd necessarily care about Qingqiu at this moment.
You brought me back partly because you know Qingqiu is safer than Divine Capital; you don't want anything to happen to me and certainly don't want me caught up in someone else's schemes, whether intentional or not. On the other hand, you also want to return to Qingqiu to investigate Moxuyou's true nature because you feel there are some mysterious connections between Moxuyou and Qingqiu, right?"
"Indeed, nothing escapes the eyes of a Fox Demon like yours. That's right; Moxuyou's appearance is too coincidental, and his ties to Qingqiu are too numerous. He is neither human nor demon, neither monster nor deity; I truly cannot see through what he is.
In the past, I could have ignored him, but now I have you!" The fox looked at Xing Ruyi and smiled slightly before adding, "You are my Achilles' heel; so it is in others' eyes and in mine as well!"
"Then it seems I'm still a bit too weak!" Xing Ruyi covered her face with a bitter smile. "So what do we do now? I mean, should we still concern ourselves with these doll figures?"
"These dolls will be handled by Yin Yuan. Let me take you back to see the true face of that Village Chief!"
"Village Chief? Could it be that he has other secrets hidden besides these dolls? Is he perhaps disguised as Moxuyou?"
"You'll know once you go!"
The fox teased, taking Xing Ruyi's hand and casting a Spell. Both Xing Ruyi and the fox appeared in the yard of the Village Chief's house.
Some of the dolls had already returned, neatly surrounding the Village Chief, their heads tilted upward at strange angles, exhaling the Soul they had absorbed from living beings!
The Village Chief stood in the center, wearing a bizarre smile, inhaling the Soul strands through his mouth and nostrils. His features and physique gradually began to change with each inhalation of these Souls.
Just like that, the Village Chief transformed from an old man into a Young Man! From a man into a graceful woman!
"Who is she?"
"Village Chief, or perhaps the newly married Yun Madam of the Yun Family!"
As soon as the fox finished speaking, the woman turned around to face Xing Ruyi. Xing Ruyi was stunned because this face looked strikingly like her own—oh no, it resembled her appearance before she traveled back to the Golden Tang Dynasty!
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