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Puppet Master: Shadows Strike Back
墨書 Inktalez
As night fell, darkness enveloped the land like a vast black cloth.
The village lay in silence, broken only by the occasional chirping of insects and the distant barking of dogs, which pierced the suffocating stillness. A few night owls called out, adding an eerie touch to the night.
Suddenly, a brilliant beam of light sliced through the sky like a sword, shooting straight up into the heavens, its brilliance overshadowing the stars above.
This beam appeared so abruptly and so dazzlingly that it illuminated the entire village as if it were daytime; even the winding river outside the village reflected shimmering waves of light.
The villagers were startled awake by this unexpected phenomenon, rushing out of their homes in their nightclothes.
Their faces were etched with fear, their eyes filled with confusion and unease as they whispered among themselves, exchanging hurried words.
“What… what is happening?” a young villager asked tremulously, his voice laced with terror as he clutched his companion’s arm tightly, seeking a semblance of safety.
“Could it be… punishment? But our village has been peaceful for years!” another villager exclaimed, his face pale and his legs trembling uncontrollably as if he might collapse at any moment.
“Stop talking nonsense! This… this is clearly…” an elderly woman stammered, her voice quavering, yet she could not articulate her thoughts clearly, repeatedly muttering, “Amitabha, Amitabha…”
The Old Village Chief, Lu Zhiyuan, though advanced in age, still maintained a sturdy physique.
He leaned on a cane made of jujube wood and walked slowly to the edge of the village.
Looking up at the strange phenomenon in the sky, a glimmer of insight flickered in his usually cloudy eyes as if he had grasped some hidden truth.
“No, this is not punishment,” he said slowly. His voice was soft but resonated clearly in the quiet night. “This is… the sign of the Puppet Master’s arrival. This is an omen of good fortune! I have finally awaited your coming.”
A rare smile broke across his weathered face, as if he could see hope for the village's future.
“Village Chief, Old Qu Family’s daughter-in-law is in labor; Mother Wang, come with me quickly!”
The Old Village Chief pondered for a moment: “Could it be you?”
Meanwhile, outside a dilapidated temple on the outskirts of the village, a couple waited anxiously.
The pregnant woman, Lin Wan, groaned in pain, beads of sweat rolling down her forehead. Her face was as pale as paper, as if she might faint at any moment.
Her husband, the father of the child, Xuan Qing, held her hand tightly, his voice filled with worry and encouragement. "Wan'er, just a little longer! Our baby is about to be born!"
As he spoke, he gently wiped the sweat from her forehead with his sleeve, his eyes filled with love and concern.
The beam of light in the sky grew brighter, as if it were about to swallow the entire world. The radiance even pierced through the roof of the dilapidated temple, casting its glow upon Lin Wan.
With a heart-wrenching scream, Lin Wan summoned all her strength. Finally, a baby's cry echoed through the night sky, shattering the tense yet sacred moment.
"It's here! It's here! Wan'er, it's a boy!" Xuan Qing exclaimed excitedly, his voice trembling with emotion.
As the celestial phenomenon faded away, the sound of a baby's cry also emerged from the Qu household next to the Village Chief's home. Qu Yuan's daughter-in-law had given birth to a girl. Due to the extraordinary occurrence in the sky, Qu Yuan named his daughter Qu Si Yang.
Meanwhile, a shadow silently appeared on a large tree by the village entrance, as if it had grown out of darkness itself.
Hidden in the shadow of a great tree, he observed everything in the village. His eyes, concealed in darkness, glimmered with an eerie light.
"Interesting..." he murmured in a hoarse and low voice, like a whisper from hell. "So it's a girl... It seems you are not meant to be..."
This shadow was none other than the leader of the shadowy forces—Shadow.
His purpose for coming was to find the Puppet Master and control him when the opportunity arose to fulfill his sinister secrets.
Inside the dilapidated temple, Xuan Qing and Lin Wan gazed at their newborn baby with joy and excitement that comes with being new parents.
"It's a boy! That's wonderful! The Xuan family finally has an heir. With such an extraordinary phenomenon in the sky, let's name him Xuan Yang," Xuan Qing said as he gently cradled the child as if holding a rare treasure.
"Xuan Yang... I hope he can grow up full of vitality like the sun," Lin Wan tenderly caressed the baby's face, her expression radiating happiness as if she had forgotten all her previous pain.
The next morning, Xuan Qing and Lin Wan took Xuan Yang to the village.
After visiting the Old Village Chief and obtaining his consent, they decided to settle down here and start a new life, after all, this was the place where their child was born, which felt like a kind of fate.
When the Old Village Chief learned that the baby boy in Lin Wan's arms was also born last night, he suddenly became thoughtful. Being an outsider, he chose not to reveal anything, and both parents were taciturn about the miraculous phenomenon that had cast a beam of light upon Lin Wan.
In the village, discussions about last night's phenomenon continued, with various speculations and rumors flying around.
The villagers believed that the newly born daughter of the Old Qu Family, Qu Si Yang, was the source of the phenomenon. Their eyes were filled with fear and rejection as they looked at Qu Si Yang. For nearly a century, the village had been peaceful; how could such a phenomenon occur just because Old Qu's daughter was born?
“If disaster is to fall from the heavens, it must be her who brings it! This is an ominous sign!” shouted a villager, pointing at the swaddled Qu Si Yang. His voice was sharp and grating, drawing more onlookers.
“Old Qu, you should send your daughter away! We cannot let her stay in the village! She will bring us misfortune!” another villager echoed, his face twisted with anger and disgust as if Qu Si Yang were some kind of monster.
“Yes! Send her away! Send her away!” The crowd erupted in shouts, their anger boiling over as the situation spiraled out of control.
Qu Si Yang's parents held her tightly, their eyes filled with helplessness and sorrow.
They could not understand why their daughter faced such misunderstanding and rejection; she was just a newborn baby!
“Fellow villagers, listen to me! This girl is not a harbinger of disaster; she is just an ordinary child!” cried Old Qu’s wife, Qu Si Yang’s grandmother, her voice hoarse from shouting. But her words were quickly drowned out by the uproar of the crowd.
Old Qu knew that nothing he said would matter at this point; it was time for the Old Village Chief to step in. He had to use his authority to quell this uproar.
“Everyone calm down!” The Old Village Chief spoke loudly, his voice booming and commanding attention. “The appearance of this phenomenon is not a sign of disaster but a symbol of the Puppet Master’s arrival. This is a blessing for our village!”
“The Puppet Master? That was hundreds of years ago! Village Chief, are you losing your mind?”
“Village Chief, are you saying that Old Qu’s granddaughter is the reincarnation of the Puppet Master?”
“Is… is this true?”
The villagers exchanged glances, unsure of what the Old Village Chief meant. They murmured among themselves, their faces filled with confusion and curiosity.
The Old Village Chief did not provide a direct explanation; he simply cast a meaningful glance at Mother Qu, who was cradling the infant in her arms. That look was filled with profound significance, as if to say, "You will understand in due time."
The shadow observed everything with keen eyes, and a strange smile crept across his face, hidden in the darkness.
His lips curled slightly into a cold smirk as he thought to himself, "The son of the Puppet Master... is actually a girl? The Girl of the Qu Family, or perhaps that boy born in the dilapidated temple? No matter who it is, they cannot escape my grasp!"
Night fell once more, and the villagers had all drifted into slumber, with only a few night owls still calling out tirelessly.
The shadow stealthily infiltrated the Qu residence, moving like a ghost without making a sound.
He intended to investigate the Qu family's secrets and see if this infant was truly, as the Old Village Chief claimed, the reincarnation of the Puppet Master.
However, just as he approached Qu Si Yang's room, the Old Village Chief Lu Zhiyuan suddenly appeared, blocking his path as if he had anticipated this intrusion.
"Who are you? Sneaking around at this late hour, what do you want at the Qu residence?" The Old Village Chief demanded sharply, his gaze piercing like a knife as he fixed his eyes on the shadow, seemingly trying to see through him.
The shadow did not respond; he knew he had been discovered, and there was no point in hiding any longer.
In an instant, he transformed into a dark figure and vanished into the night with astonishing speed.
The Old Village Chief stared at the empty room, his brow furrowed. He understood that the shadow's appearance signaled an impending crisis for the village...
What kind of crisis would it be? A natural disaster or man-made calamity? Was it aimed at the birth of the Puppet Master or directed at the entire village? The Old Village Chief's heart was heavy with worry; he knew that the road ahead would likely not be smooth.
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