Chapter 55: The Puppet’s Deception

A chill ran through Lu Chen. He instantly halted his steps, turning his head to look at Old Nie.

“Mr. Nie! There’s a second puppet over there! Did you place it earlier?”

The magic circle was vast, separating the two groups by over ten meters. Old Nie’s figure flickered in and out of view amidst the swirling mist.

A hoarse voice drifted from afar.

“Where is a second one? I only placed one puppet!”

Lu Chen’s peripheral vision caught the second puppet. It hadn’t vanished; instead, it stood silently beneath the tree.

He immediately raised a hand, pointing towards it, and shouted loudly.

“Right in the direction I’m pointing! Can you see it?”

Old Nie’s reply echoed from a distance.

“I can’t see anything, the fog is too thick! Lily of the Valley, can you see it?”

Through the dense fog, Lu Chen saw the young girl behind Old Nie shake her head. Then, a bewildered voice drifted over from afar.

“Yes, I can. But Mr. Lu, there doesn’t seem to be anything special in the direction you’re pointing… I only see trees and rocks.”

‘How could this be? Something was clearly amiss with the current situation!’

A surge of anxiety filled Lu Chen. Just as he was about to call out again, an itch tickled his waist. Xia Shi, standing behind him, had poked him.

He turned, observing the girl narrow her beautiful red pupils, her gaze fixed on the puppet.

“Now I see it; there truly is a second puppet. You were absolutely right. Lily of the Valley and Mr. Nie are being affected by something.”

The girl’s voice remained as calm as ever. Lu Chen lowered his voice and asked.

“Should we immediately stop the casting ritual?”

Xia Shi extended a slender finger, and a flickering flame blossomed from her fair fingertip.

This flame emitted an incredibly bright light, one she often used as a beacon.

Yet, at this moment, the dazzling firelight, which should have spread, remained stubbornly contained, as if clutched by an unseen force.

The girl spoke in a hushed tone.

“After the second puppet appeared, I faintly sensed an anomalous magical energy mingling in the air, but I can’t yet pinpoint the rogue entity at work. Its power is quite formidable.

“Interrupting the ritual now might alert it. Let’s wait a little longer. We’ll make our move once we find it.”

“I see. Should we inform Lily of the Valley and Old Nie?”

The girl extinguished the flame, but the fire in her eyes shone with a brilliant intensity.

“It’s better not to speak loudly; the rogue entity might discover us. I will keep an eye on their side.”

“Alright.”

Lu Chen nodded, his gaze returning to the front. At the same time, Old Nie’s voice rang out.

“How is it? Can we continue the spellcasting?”

“Yes, we can! Let’s continue!”

Lu Chen took a deep breath, once more raising the rattle-drum. He began to chant the incantation, dancing forward along the reddish-brown ink marks.

Whether it was his imagination or not, the mist in the forest seemed to grow thicker, more viscous.

Distant withered trees and stones gradually dissolved, their outlines blurring and deforming as they merged into the milky-white fog. Having chanted for too long, his and Old Nie’s voices grew rougher, hoarser, rising and falling monotonously through the desolate forest.

One circle, two circles, three circles.

Each time he reached the spot where he had first glimpsed the puppet, Lu Chen deliberately cast a glance from the corner of his eye.

Yet, it merely remained silent, its pale blue collar gently swaying in the breeze. Before long, this puppet too vanished into the mist.

As he began the fifth circle, a light, ethereal female voice echoed beside Lu Chen’s ear.

“There.”

At first, he thought it was Xia Shi, but he quickly realized it was Silvermoon murmuring.

‘Someone was spying on him.’

A flicker of silver light darted past Lu Chen’s eye, plunging into the mist like a firefly.

Where the silver light passed, the dense fog thinned slightly, making the submerged scenery barely discernible.

Lu Chen squinted, following Silvermoon’s guidance. In the thick fog, he saw a third puppet.

Just like the second, it leaned silently against a tree.

Unlike the second, it had moved a step closer, its photo-covered face directly confronting Lu Chen.

A prickle ran down the young man’s scalp. Just as he was about to turn and inform Xia Shi, Silvermoon’s voice sounded once more.

“There. There. There. And there.”

Several streaks of silver light flew in all directions, disappearing into the mist. Lu Chen ignored his wildly pounding heart, looking around.

A fourth, a fifth, a sixth, a seventh…

They were everywhere.

Unbeknownst to him, the mist was now filled with countless puppets. They drew closer and closer to the young man, all staring fixedly at the magic circle, utterly silent.

A clammy chill crept up his spine. Lu Chen involuntarily stopped his dance. Old Nie’s hoarse voice immediately pierced the mist, echoing from the other side.

“Mr. Lu! Why have you stopped?”

Lu Chen turned his head towards the other side of the magic circle. The figures of Old Nie and Lily of the Valley had completely vanished into the mist.

‘He couldn’t alert the enemy.’

He replied.

“It’s nothing, just a bit tired. You haven’t encountered any problems, have you?”

A childish voice drifted from the fog.

“No, Father. I’ll be over there with you soon.”

‘Damn it!’

Lu Chen bit his lip, steadying his mind. He immediately turned to Xia Shi, speaking in a low voice.

“Have you found it? We probably don’t have much time—”

The moment he saw Xia Shi clearly, the young man’s words caught in his throat.

The girl’s forehead was now adorned with a crumpled old photograph, and her fair skin had taken on the dull sheen of wood.

The boy in the photograph was lively and adorable, yet Lu Chen’s mind went utterly blank, his feet rooted to the spot.

The entity that was “Xia Shi” raised a hand, reaching for the young man’s cheek. It didn’t speak, yet a childish voice emanated from it.

“Mm, I found you.”

****

Several minutes later, within the White Shroud Forest.

In the constant, year-round thin mist, the four participants of the ritual lay motionless along the edge of the red and black magic circle, resembling lifeless corpses.

The puppet, adorned with the photograph, lay silently in the center of the magic circle, uttering no sound.

Envy materialized from a withered tree, stepping onto the ground. The man approached the puppet and snatched away the photograph.

He gazed at the child in the picture for a moment, a wide grin spreading across his lips.

“Hmph… Hah… Hahaha… Hahahahahaha! Effortless! Absolutely no problem!

“Indeed, indeed! As long as I personally take action, mere Fireworks is nothing to fear!

“Hey, Consultant, my dear Mr. Consultant, come out too! I must reward you handsomely!”

The Consultant pushed aside the mist, emerging from another withered tree. They wore a heavy robe and a large top hat, their face swathed in layers of white cloth.

They removed their top hat, pressing it to their chest, and bowed respectfully to Envy.

“Thank you for your generous regard, Lord Sin. However, I merely cast the illusion magic as you instructed and performed no feat worthy of your personal reward.

“Your boundless wisdom and magnificent power were the true keys to this victory!”

A week prior, Envy, unable to tolerate the continuous failures of his subordinates, had finally decided to act personally, intending to eliminate Fireworks and seize the Heart of the Moon.

However, Fireworks’ strength already surpassed his, and now, with Lily of the Valley as her new partner, she was not an opponent he could defeat head-on.

Thus, with a ‘nothing to lose’ mindset, he used the ‘Skin-Painted Bone-Masked’ technique to forge a magic book. He had The Consultant imbue it with mind-bending illusion magic, then presented it to the sorcerers’ library Old Nie frequented.

According to Envy’s instructions, the book would only reveal its true nature when Old Nie himself looked through it, appearing utterly unremarkable otherwise.

The middle-aged man had long grieved for his prematurely deceased child, and under the influence of the illusion magic, he had lost all reason.

Upon acquiring the book, he was immediately drawn to the magic it contained. As Envy had intended, he pleaded with two magic girls he knew well and who possessed kind hearts—Lily of the Valley and Xia Shi—to help him, leading them to this White Shroud Forest, a spectral domain highly conducive to the monster’s spellcasting.

Although dull-witted, Envy hadn’t truly believed such a hasty plan would succeed, merely thinking there would be no loss if it failed.

Yet, everything had proceeded more smoothly than he could have imagined, almost as if his opponents were actively cooperating.

Envy gazed at the humble Consultant, waving a hand with a laugh.

“Well said! I like people who know their place. I must reward you!

“After I fuse with the Heart of the Moon, I will surely bestow a great reward upon you!”

“I am most grateful, most grateful! However, I urge you to swiftly end Fireworks’ life now, lest complications arise.”

“Hah! Well said!”

Envy surged with magic, and his right hand instantly transformed into a steel blade of unparalleled sharpness. He approached the red-haired girl, raising the keen weapon high above his head.

“Fireworks, you can just return to hell—”

A brilliant rocket shot forth, tearing straight through Envy’s chest and leaving behind a charred, gaping hole.

Xia Shi smoothed her hair as she rose from the ground, her gaze fixed on the horrified avatar of sin.

“You finally decided to show yourself, you coward.”