Chapter 1053: The Return of the Puppet Masters
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
In the fields, two people in black robes appeared with two iron-clad puppets in one of the croplands. After they looked at each other, one of them released the 18 wooden puppets in their sleeve.
The wooden puppets quickly bounced around the field, as if they were looking for something.
After half an hour, one of them suddenly said, “Cloud Yi, we’ve found a clue. The northwest.”
Cloud Yi removed her black hood and looked in the northwest direction. “Let’s go.”
They did not fly there. Instead, they ran on the ground. They had just returned here. It was not much different from when they first came here. Thus, it was better to be more cautious.
Cloud Yi stood on a mountain creek. She suddenly furrowed her eyebrows. “There is no sign of life. No one has come here in a long time.”
“Did anything happen to Zhang Weiyu and the rest?” Tiger Zhi observed their surroundings. “There are footsteps nearby, as well as horse prints. An army has pa.s.sed by here. Look. The stones below the mountain creek are cracked. Someone used a weapon to do so.”
“Let’s go in and take a look.” Cloud Yi jumped down the mountain creek. Then, she walked towards a small waterfall. When Cloud Yi approached the waterfall, the water naturally gave way. It was as if she had an invisible aura.
After they went in, Tiger Zhi took out a Night Pearl and lit up the cavern behind the waterfall. There was a tattered quilt in the cavern, as well as some rotten food, but it was a mess.
There were even weapon marks on the tattered quilt. It was as if someone had used a knife to explore this place.
“There are no signs of battle or blood. They probably escaped in advance,” said Cloud Yi calmly. “Who was chasing them? How were they able to find this place?”
On the other hand, Tiger Zhi was very silent. “Look at what they ate. The bowl in the corner still has some distiller’s dregs in it. The quilt is tattered as well. They must have lived a difficult life.”
Cloud Yi looked at the bowl. If they were not in dire straits, would they eat such things?
Furthermore, the distiller’s dregs did not seem to be very old. From the look of things, they did not spend more than one year here. Thus, this meant that Zhang Weiyu and the rest were still waiting, but had left the fields because of a sudden unforeseen event. They had no choice but to flee.
The 18 wooden puppets Tiger Zhi had released were used to find Zhang Weiyu and the rest, but they did not find them.
They had found some clues in this cavern, but the cavern was vacant.
When Cloud Yi thought about how the Black Feather Army fought the Heavenly Network, Cloud Yi suddenly said, “I’m afraid Duanmu Huangqi’s men have come here, but Zhang Weiyu and the rest obtained information in advance and left.”
If the Black Feather Army had not attacked the Earth, Cloud Yi and Tiger Zhi would not have known what Duanmu Huangqi was planning. Furthermore, they were at the border of the West Region. It was not difficult to guess who had sent soldiers here.
But how did Duanmu Huangqi know about the s.p.a.ce pathway leading to Earth? Who gave him the courage to do so?
“Wait.” Tiger Zhi suddenly said, “Do you think that Zhang Weiyu is together with that fellow? He would have pa.s.sed by this place as well.”
“That’s not impossible.” Cloud Yi nodded her head and calmly said, “If that is the case, we can only hope that he can be more normal.”
As she spoke, Cloud Yi ordered a small wooden puppet to go out of the cavern and go into a tiny hole. If one did not look carefully, they would not have realized that there was a secret in this small hole. It seemed like an ordinary hole that had been naturally constructed. It was very deep.
Not long after, Cloud Yi displayed a puzzled look.
“What’s wrong?” Tiger Zhi asked curiously.
At that moment, the small wooden puppet held a black stone. There was a note tied to the stone. There was nothing else strange about the stone. It had been used to store the note in a deep place. The wooden puppet jumped on Cloud Yi’s hand. Cloud Yi took out the note and saw Zhang Weiyu’s words. “The Black Feather Army has infiltrated the boundary. Those who have been waiting here have been forced to leave. There are 56 of us left. We have not forgotten our origins.”
Tiger Zhi looked at the note and sighed. “They have been suffering.”
Cloud Yi said calmly, “Third Brother has merged his body with the tree to pay for his sins. Their sins should have been forgotten as well. But finding them will be difficult. Let’s attend to more important matters first.”
“Sure.” Tiger Zhi nodded his head. Although he empathised with Zhang Weiyu and the rest, in the face of greater matters, he could only cast this empathy aside.
Before they returned, they had promised that the first thing they would do was to confirm whether the head of the Puppet Masters was dead. If he was dead, where was his corpse? Had it been placed in a coffin?
Many strange things had happened that year. Dream Chooser, whom they thought was dead, had suddenly “revived”. Thus, Cloud Yi and Tiger Zhi had another spark of hope. They had not seen their Older Brother die with their own two eyes. They simply felt that he had no reason to continue living.
If he was really dead, they had to find his body and place it in a coffin. Even this was not worthy of their relations.h.i.+p as brothers and sisters.
Tiger Zhi knew that Arcane’s return and reconciliation caused Cloud Yi to desire for affection among family members.
They had followed the old King of G.o.ds when they were young. The old King of G.o.ds was like their father and the eldest brother of everyone. Every single Puppet Master was a member of the family.
Later on, they grew distant due to power and authority. The bonds between them weakened.
Cloud Yi was still a young girl then. Everyone doted on her and gave in to her. Now that Cloud Yi had grown up, she wanted to try and find the things she had lost.
The two of them walked out of the cavern to the northwest direction. 18 years ago, they had been chased from there as well.
Tiger Zhi was suddenly hesitant. “Should we find the king first? What if he is in danger?”
Cloud Yi looked at Tiger Zhi. “If the king needs your protection, then he is not a king. Look at when he was on Earth. Even without our protection, he was full of vigor.”
“You’re right.” Tiger Zhi was instantly convinced by Cloud Yi…
They were the only Puppet Masters left. Many outsiders knew that Tiger Zhi was brutal, but was obedient towards their Older Brother. After their Older Brother was gone, he listened to Cloud Yi. He was not willing to make any decisions on his own. He was only willing to be a follower.
While Cloud Yi walked, she asked, “What do you want to eat for dinner? Hotpot or barbecue?”
Tiger Zhi thought about it. “Barbecue?”
“All you know is how to eat! Find that place, eat the fruit, and go through the heavenly punishment before talking about food!” Cloud Yi gave him the cold shoulder.
Tiger Zhi was confused.
You were the one who asked what I wanted to eat for dinner, right?