Ever since Xiao Nian had taken first place in the outer sect competition, Shu Chen could hear news about him even without going to the outer sect. Even senior brothers who went on missions together could casually mention a thing or two about the male lead’s recent situation.
Qin Yu’an held a map while looking for the way. “Moved? Why is there nothing here?”
Shu Chen: “It’s unlikely the entire city moved.”
He was terrible with directions, so when his senior brother offered to accompany him outside, he didn’t refuse but he hadn’t expected this one to be just as lost, and even led him the wrong way.
Qin Yu’an folded the simplified map and sighed. “Looks like I went the wrong way again. How did that outer sect number one manage to complete three tasks in a single day?”
He couldn’t even find the mission locations in one day.
Shu Chen listened intently for a moment, then said to Qin Yu’an, who was silently admitting his mistake, “I hear the sound of a bell. Let’s go ask for directions.”
He had to copy his junior brother’s work, and now he’d even led him astray. Qin Yu’an walked over to Shu Chen with a hint of guilt and caution. “Junior brother, do you blame me?”
Shu Chen: “No. If I were leading, I probably couldn’t even find anyone to ask for directions.”
His emotionless voice sounded as gentle and warm as a breeze under the sun to Qin Yu’an.
In an instant, he reverted to his image of a graceful young master. “Is that so? Seems I still have some use after all.”
Shu Chen: No, you’re completely useless.
Following the sound, they found a temple. The moment he saw the name, Qin Yu’an sighed and didn’t want to go any further.
Shu Chen: “?”
Qin Yu’an explained, “To be honest, I’ve always had bad luck with these bald… monks. Nothing good ever happens when I run into them.”
Shu Chen was shocked. “There’s such a thing?”
Seeing that he was interested, Qin Yu’an was happy to elaborate. “I even think they’ve drained my good fortune. The moment I come into contact with them, I’m plagued with bad luck.”
Shu Chen had never heard such a claim before. Just as he was about to ask, a sharp bird cry came from above, drawing both their gazes upward.
They saw traces left by the bird sparse white liquid falling toward someone.
Qin Yu’an’s face darkened as he used spiritual power to scatter the filth, grinding his teeth. “All they know is how to disgust people.”
Shu Chen subtly stepped a little farther away and sincerely suggested, “Why not have senior brother stay here while I go ask for directions alone?”
Qin Yu’an fanned the air in front of his nose, as if trying to dispel the lingering stench. Hearing his junior brother’s words, he disagreed. “No way! Why should I be the one to back down!”
He grabbed Shu Chen’s sleeve. “Come on, we’ll go together. I want to see what else can go wrong.”
Shu Chen looked at the man ahead of him, not understanding where his fighting spirit came from, or what he was even fighting for.
The two walked to the temple gate and found it tightly shut. Qin Yu’an made no attempt to hide his hostility and kicked it open.
Shu Chen glanced at the wooden door that had fallen backward along with its frame, silently apologizing in his heart.
The Buddha statues inside could see clearly if there was a debt, there was a debtor. He hadn’t done anything.
“Why is no one here?” After seeing the interior, Qin Yu’an muttered, his tone showing no guilt whatsoever for damaging someone else’s property.
In an instant, bone-chilling cold flooded through their bodies.
Shu Chen hastily grabbed his senior brother, who was stepping over the door to walk in. “Wait ”
Before he could finish, an invisible force hurled both of them into the inner courtyard. Behind them came a loud “bang” as the broken door returned to its original place.
Mid-air, Qin Yu’an instinctively tried to shield his junior brother, intending to let him land on top of him, but his outstretched hand grabbed nothing. Shu Chen had long since let go, abandoning his misfortune-plagued senior brother, and landed steadily on the ground before Qin Yu’an even hit it.
Qin Yu’an let out a deep sigh as the back of his head hit the ground, clearly realizing he’d lost this round.
He stood up, brushed the dust off his clothes, and said indignantly, “Wait here. I’ll go grab a monk and ask what’s going on.”
“Senior brother, I just checked with my spiritual sense. There are no living people nearby.” Shu Chen stood beside him and calmly delivered the bad news.
Those words added another layer of supernatural dread to their situation.
Qin Yu’an: “Are we really dealing with ghosts?”
Shu Chen glanced at him, then quickly looked away, turning his gaze toward the “person” silently moving in their direction.
Seeing that he didn’t answer, Qin Yu’an followed his gaze. The moment he turned his head, he nearly came face-to-face with the “person” who had moved right behind him.
Shu Chen quickly grabbed his senior brother’s hand before he could attack, pulling him behind him to prevent him from triggering another chain of bad luck through destruction.
“Senior brother, stay calm.”
Qin Yu’an stared at the lifeless thing before him, frowning as he whispered, “What is this?”
“A puppet.”
Now that it was closer, Shu Chen could confirm what it was.
The City Lord’s residence also had many similar puppets, used for tasks unsuitable for living people. He’d call them “advanced robots.” He just didn’t know what commands the puppet’s master had given it.
The moment he finished speaking, the puppet suddenly turned its head to look at him, and its voice was still somewhat pleasant to hear. “Please follow me.”
Qin Yu’an’s journey had been nothing but trouble, and he’d been stewing in frustration the whole way. Finally finding an outlet, he instinctively did the opposite of what was asked.
“Why should I go with you!”
The puppet didn’t waste words with him. With a raise of its hand, it flung Qin Yu’an, a Golden Core stage cultivator, straight into the back courtyard, then turned its gaze to Shu Chen.
Its expressionless face nonetheless radiated a full measure of menace.
Shu Chen: “I’ll walk on my own.”
Only then did the puppet turn around and lead the way ahead, apparently unafraid that he might try to slip away from behind.
Shu Chen trailed leisurely after the puppet, and for once took the initiative to contact the system.
“I hate these mindless dead things that only carry out orders.”
The system clicked its tongue in displeasure. [Who exactly are you bad-mouthing in such a roundabout way? Can it compare to me?]
After transmitting his pent-up frustration, Shu Chen immediately cut off contact with the system, feeling considerably better.
The puppet led him to a courtyard that held only a small pond and Qin Yu’an, who lay unconscious on the ground.
The puppet blocked Shu Chen’s steps as he moved forward to check on him, pointing at the pond over there. “There’s half a jade pendant inside my master’s keepsake. Retrieve it for me, and he’ll be returned to you.”
Shu Chen’s gaze fell on the pond, which radiated an odd aura. “Something this simple, and you can’t do it yourself?”
The puppet: “I cannot touch water.”
Shu Chen looked at the puppet and probed, “You’re very human-like. Was your master good to you?”
The puppet, which had just seemed so human, immediately turned lifeless again, as if its spirit had been cruelly drained away. It now only repeated its demand mechanically, without saying another word.
Shu Chen swept his spiritual sense over the area around the temple once more, still finding no living person besides himself and Qin Yu’an.
Either the puppet’s master had a cultivation level far above his own, beyond his ability to detect, or the one controlling the puppet was truly a dead man.