The organization I founded has been exposed by the reborn!

"The vibrant colors of spring have faded, leaving only broken wells and crumbling walls..."

"Such a beautiful day, such a lovely scene, yet what a pity! Whose courtyard enjoys such delightful pleasures?"

The plaintive, melancholic singing of a woman in a blue dress, accompanied by the mournful strains of the jinghu (a two-stringed bowed instrument used in Peking Opera), echoed softly in the empty, deathly silent hall.

On the pale white curtain, two dim candle flames flickered in the cold wind, casting indistinct shadows.

The shadow puppet show has officially begun.

Two slender silhouettes were visible through the screen.

It was a young scholar and a beautiful woman in a green dress, performing a romantic dream in the garden, in time with the rhythm of the music.

With their flowing sleeves fluttering and their feet treading lightly, their movements, whether bending over or turning their heads, exude a classical beauty that is both poignant and exquisite.

However, this exquisitely beautiful stage is shrouded in a chilling eeriness.

Because with their flicking sleeves and cloud-like steps, what came through the air was not the soft sound of clothes rubbing together, but a teeth-grinding "crack, crack" sound of bones rubbing against each other.

By the dim candlelight, one could even vaguely see the thin, gossamer-like shadow puppets through the curtain!

"Flying at dawn and rolling at dusk, amidst clouds and rosy hues, the pavilion stands tall..."

The singing suddenly rose in pitch, and the originally lingering and mournful erhu sound instantly changed tone, becoming rapid and sharp, like tearing silk.

The style of the painting on the screen suddenly changed.

The young man's silhouette suddenly froze, and he pulled out a huge pair of bone scissors from somewhere, gently yet cruelly pressing them against the back of the woman in green's neck.

"Rip—"

A dull thud that sent chills down your spine.

The female puppet's skin was brutally peeled off.

Large patches of dark red bloodstains instantly spread across the pale white curtain, resembling clusters of tragically blooming spider lilies.

Crimson blood dripped down the edge of the stage, splashing onto the blue bricks and creating a nauseating, pungent stench.

"Raindrops and gentle breezes, a painted boat on misty waters—!"

The originally melodious and tender singing completely changed at this moment, turning into a heart-wrenching scream that seemed to tear at the trachea.

The dark red blood on the curtain then spread wildly.

Accompanied by the distorted opera singing, a cold, invisible force enveloped the entire audience, forcibly drawing everyone's attention to the blood-soaked shadow puppet.

"when--!!"

Accompanied by the resounding clang of a bronze gong that could shatter metal and split stone!

A murderous intent suddenly erupted!

"Swish! Swish! Swish!"

The blood-soaked curtain was instantly torn apart by more than a dozen skeletal claws.

Dozens of paper puppets, their skins peeled off and sewn onto bamboo strips with red thread, flew off the stage like blood-red arrows released from a bow, screaming shrilly!

Target: the six people seated in the front row!

By the dim light of the lanterns, everyone could see the true appearance of these puppets.

They're not made of paper at all!

The skin of each puppet is roughly sewn together from dried human skin.

The joints that support their torsos are all bare white bones.

The crimson cinnabar outlined a sinister smile on the human skin, sending chills down one's spine.

"court death!"

Feng Gang roared, his right arm muscles bulged, and crimson qi and blood yang fire exploded on his fist.

Facing a human skin puppet charging head-on, he unleashed a powerful straight punch!

"Bang!"

The explosive bursts of energy and fire tore through the darkness, and the puppet was smashed to pieces in mid-air by the violent fist wind, with broken limbs and fragments flying everywhere amidst the flames.

At the same time, the others also displayed terrifying combat power.

Shen Lesheng pressed down with both palms, forcibly shaking the dry blue bricks on the floor of the main hall into a cloud of flowing sand. The sand waves rose like angry pythons, instantly forming three thick, swirling sand walls in front of everyone, blocking and severing all the sharp claws that attacked from the flanks.

Zhou Tian's eyes blazed with pure golden light, and his illusory wings fluttered slightly, unleashing dozens of golden holy light blades as thin as cicada wings. Wherever the holy light passed, the puppets that had been flying through the air were sliced ​​into eight pieces, the cuts as smooth as mirrors.

Qin Xinran's figure blended into the shadow of the chair back, and several jet-black, sharp spikes shot out from the void, accurately piercing the white bone joints of several puppets and pinning them firmly to the beams and pillars of the main hall.

In just a few seconds, the menacing puppets were completely destroyed.

however.

Before everyone could breathe a sigh of relief, an even stranger scene unfolded.

"Hehe... giggle..."

The scattered tattered human skin and broken bones seemed to emit eerie sneers in the darkness.

The paper scraps scorched by the blood and qi, and the skeletons shattered by the holy light, seemed to be forcibly pulled by some invisible force as soon as they touched the ground.

"Click, click!"

The ear-piercing sound of bones snapping together rang out one after another.

Strands of cold, black energy, barely perceptible to the naked eye, frantically weaved through the debris. The severed head was reattached to the neck, the shattered sternum snapped shut again, and the torn human skin automatically closed its stitches as if it were alive!

In the blink of an eye.

Dozens of paper puppets that had just been blasted apart somehow bounced up from the ground unharmed, their empty vermilion eyes glowing with a sinister red light, and they brandished their stark white bone blades as they charged forward once more!

"These damned things can't be killed?!"

Feng Gang frowned, and with a backhand punch, he smashed a puppet that had rushed towards his face, but the flying bone fragments instantly reassembled in mid-air.

Su Yu sat upright in the grand chair, his gaze slightly narrowed, his eyes piercing through the flying fragments of limbs, keenly catching the faintly visible transparent filaments in the air above the hall.

It is these eerie threads that are constantly pulling and reassembling the scattered bones and human skin.

Information from the "Book of Strange Things" flashed through Su Yu's mind.

[Behind the Scenes]!

The evil spirit manipulates the paper puppets through these threads.

Even after being broken, it can be infinitely reassembled.

"As long as these transparent threads remain, these cardboard puppets cannot be completely killed."

With this in mind, Su Yu stopped holding back and unleashed two completely different energies within his body.

"BOOM—!!"

A blinding purple-gold light, like a blazing sun tearing through the long night, exploded in the darkness!

This is a killing move created by Su Yu by fusing the Golden Light Mantra with the Five Thunder Orthodox Method.

The intertwined purple lightning and golden Qi flames were expressed in Su Yu's body as a mysterious fusion.

The violent arcs of silver-purple electricity seeped into the golden light, wandering and weaving along the patterns of the golden light.

The originally pure golden protective light deepened in color layer by layer, eventually transforming into a terrifying and destructive aura, with fine purple lightning constantly flowing across its surface—the [Lightning Pattern Golden Light]!

Su Yu felt the terrifying power within his body almost overflowing, and he transformed his finger into a gun, pointing it into the dim void above the stage!

"break."

The moment the deep, resonant sound of the words fell.

A solid, cast purple-gold beam of light shot out from Su Yu's fingertip!

This gun-shaped energy surge was incredibly powerful, with countless raging, deep purple arcs of electricity crackling around the gun's body.

As it soared through the air, the violent air currents tore through the gloom, like a giant dragon emerging from the abyss of a long night at dawn, sweeping across the entire area above the hall with its divine might that could pacify everything!

"Sizzle—crack!"

A series of piercing, dense, and scorching explosions suddenly erupted in mid-air.

Those incredibly tough, transparent threads of vengeful spirits, hidden in the shadows, reacted as if snow had collided with molten iron the moment they touched the golden light of the lightning patterns.

It instantly vaporized, burning into wisps of green smoke in the void, disappearing without a trace!

It lost the guidance of the "behind-the-scenes puppeteer".

The dozens of human skin puppets that were about to be slaughtered suddenly stiffened, like machines that had lost their power, and collapsed to the ground, turning into a pile of motionless bones and rotten skin.

Inside the main hall, the suffocating, eerie atmosphere suddenly vanished.

The pungent stench that permeated the air was completely washed away by the scorching heat of the pure Yang energy and the lingering warmth of the thunder and fire, leaving only a faint trace of char and desolation.

The five team members, sitting upright in their armchairs, finally relaxed, their backs already soaked with cold sweat.

They looked at the figure in the front row, their chests filled with an indescribable shock and awe.

The leader only made one move throughout the entire process.

But this one move, with overwhelming force, completely suppressed everything.

This unfathomable power, like an insurmountable chasm, pushed the awe and fervor in everyone's hearts to their peak.

……

"when--"

"Eeya—"

Although the broken human skin and bones scattered on the ground were limp as mud, the gongs, drums and erhu on the stage never stopped for a moment.

The sound of the erhu, like weeping and lamenting, like resentment and longing, echoed and lingered among the empty beams and pillars of the main hall.

Immediately afterwards, a poignant and lingering aria sung by a female lead in a blue dress drifted out from behind the blood-stained, pale curtain:

"Whose courtyard now enjoys such delightful pleasures? Lost in contemplation, I sit and admire, wasting my youthful years..."

The lyrics, now melancholic and subdued, have completely shed their previous sharpness and violence, instead carrying a strange, captivating magic.

As the eerie wind swirled within the hall, it silently seeped into the ears of everyone present.

The five team members, who had just experienced a fierce battle, found their nerves, which had been as taut as bowstrings, gradually relaxed amidst the layers of mournful opera music.

A faint, cool fragrance quietly spread through the air.

The scent was like the long-forgotten cosmetics of a secluded boudoir in the old days, mixed with the bittersweet aroma of aged sandalwood, refreshing and invigorating, making one unconsciously want to take a deep breath.

The people sitting upright in their armchairs had slightly drooping eyelids, their thoughts drifting with the melody, and their gazes gradually being drawn back to the flickering lights and shadows on the stage.

The dim candlelight flickered quietly behind the curtain.

Behind the white cloth, several shadow puppet silhouettes were moving to the rhythmic beat, their flowing sleeves billowing and their figures graceful and swaying, exuding an almost bewitching beauty.

The crowd's attention gradually became more focused, shifting from the gracefully dancing water sleeves to the shadow puppet's face.

On the originally blurry shadow puppet face, two eyes, meticulously outlined with thick cinnabar, quietly shimmered with an eerie, flowing scarlet halo under the dim candlelight.

That vermilion glow seemed to contain life, following the invisible trajectory of interwoven gazes, and unknowingly penetrated into the deepest part of everyone's pupils!

The shadow puppet's vengeful spirit's ability—【Cinnabar Bewitching】

It is released quietly and imperceptibly, like a gentle rain nourishing the earth.

Unbeknownst to them, everyone's consciousness was stripped away, and they gradually sank into one incredibly realistic illusion after another...

……

The gloomy and dilapidated hall receded from Qin Xinran's view like the tide.

Instead, there is a large, single-level restaurant bathed in warm, yellow light.

The air was filled with the sweet scent of vanilla cream and fresh lilies, and the crackling of firewood in the fireplace dispelled all the chill.

In the very center of the long dining table sat an exquisite two-tiered cake with candles, the candlelight casting warm, dappled light on the tableware.

The figure sitting at the table was the one she longed for day and night.

Her father, who was always busy at multinational board meetings and could only send her greetings through his assistant when she was sick, had taken off his cold, expensive suit, rolled up his shirt sleeves, and was now gently serving her hot soup.

"Ranran, happy 20th birthday."

Her parents clapped their hands and softly hummed a childhood birthday song for Qin Xinran.

There was no harsh scrutiny of the heir in their eyes, only the purest warmth of parents.

This scene quietly touched the most hidden soft spot in Qin Xinran's heart.

In reality, every birthday of hers is either a performance at a lavish business party or a hasty celebration during a multinational video conference.

Even when they rarely get together for a meal, their parents always talk about the group's stock price, mergers and acquisitions, and family responsibilities.

She hadn't experienced this kind of pure family warmth in far too long.

This female CEO, who was used to making ruthless decisions in the business world and single-handedly supporting a multi-billion dollar conglomerate, gradually softened her gaze, and a barely perceptible redness flashed across her eyes.

She reached out involuntarily, wanting to take the hot soup her mother offered, and obediently succumbed to the tranquility and warmth she had longed for...

……

On the other side, Zhou Tian's consciousness was drawn into a bright world bathed in sunlight.

It was a small single room, simply furnished but spotlessly clean.

The curtains on the windowsill swayed gently in the breeze, and the air was filled with the fresh scent of sun-dried soapberries and the sweet, warm steam of cooked white rice from the rice cooker.

You can't hear the sticky dripping sound from the dark sewers, nor the violent banging on the door when the Black Tiger Gang is forcing you to steal.

At the dining table, Zhou Zixin, the younger sister, had her hair neatly braided and was wearing a clean light blue cotton dress.

Her little face glowed with a healthy rosy hue, and she skipped lightly between the stove and the dining table to set out the bowls and chopsticks, humming a childish nursery rhyme.

On the table were two steaming bowls of scrambled eggs with tomatoes and a plate of stir-fried pork.

"Brother! Wash your hands and eat! We have your favorite scrambled eggs today!"

The little girl turned around, her eyes clear as a spring, and waved to him with a strong voice.

Her breathing was steady and smooth, and there was no longer any trace of the paleness and pain she had suffered from her congenital heart disease.

Zhou Tian stood frozen in place.

This young man, who had struggled for years in the darkest corners of the city and risked his life for a few life-saving pills, suddenly lost all his guard as he looked at the mundane daily life before him.

He never cared about any divine authority, nor did he aspire to be a savior.

His only thought in the past, when he gritted his teeth and worked desperately, was simply to ensure his sister's safety and allow her to live such an ordinary and peaceful life.

This ordinary tranquility surpasses all other things in the world.

Zhou Tian's eyes welled up with tears, and he involuntarily stepped forward, a pure smile that he hadn't seen in many years spreading across his face.

He obediently reached out his hand, wanting to take the rice bowl his sister handed him.

The last vestige of awareness deep within the soul, unknowingly, has already succumbed to this tranquil illusion woven from the deepest obsessions...