99: Thousand Puppet Sect

Li Feng knelt on the ground, his body trembling violently from extreme fear.

The shadows in the alley obscured Su Lin's face, but in Li Feng's eyes, this person was more terrifying than any being he had ever seen.

"Senior... Thousand Puppet Sect? I... I really don't know!"

Li Feng cried out, trying to explain, "I'm just a Mortal."

"Mortal?"

Su Lin's voice was calm. He ignored Li Feng's explanation and looked at the family servant whose arm was frozen.

"You don't know either?"

The family servant was already terrified, and the frost on his arm was spreading along his Meridians. He felt half of his body had lost sensation.

"I... I'll tell you! I'll tell you!"

The family servant shrieked in terror, "It's Young Master! Young Master hired a few guards and some... some playthings from a certain place!"

"Shut up!" Li Feng suddenly turned his head, his eyes full of venom, "How dare you spout nonsense!"

The family servant flinched, scared by his glare, but his fear of Su Lin was clearly greater.

"You're the one who should shut up."

A sweet female voice rang out.

Ye You stepped forward. She extended a finger and pointed it at Li Feng's forehead from a distance.

Li Feng's body instantly stiffened.

"Revered Master, you may ask."

Ye You's voice carried a smile, "He's very obedient now. Whatever you ask, he will answer."

Su Lin glanced at Ye You. Her casual method of controlling the life and death of others was becoming increasingly skilled.

Su Lin no longer looked at Li Feng but turned to the family servant: "Where is that place?"

"It's... it's in the Black Stone Forest outside the town!"

The family servant blurted it out like spilling beans, "Young Master goes there once every half a month! There... there are many strange people there!"

"Li Feng." Su Lin spoke.

Li Feng, who was kneeling on the ground, stood up straight uncontrollably.

His expression was twisted. He wanted to resist, but he couldn't even move a finger.

"What deal did you make with the Thousand Puppet Sect?"

Li Feng's mouth opened and closed, his own voice coming out, but with a desperate confession.

"I bought... I bought three iron guards and... and ten maidservants..."

Su Lin: "Iron guards are combat Puppets.

Maidservants are Soul Puppets refined from living people?"

Intense fear erupted in Li Feng's eyes, and his body trembled violently, but his mouth still faithfully answered.

"Yes... they said those maidservants are the most obedient, they'll never betray. I just thought it was fun..."

"Fun?"

Ye You's voice interjected. She hooked her arm through Su Lin's, tilted her head, a naive curiosity on her face.

"Revered Master, he thinks it's fun."

She didn't wait for Su Lin's response, but simply stomped her foot lightly at Li Feng's knee.

"Crack!"

A crisp sound of bone breaking echoed in the alley.

Li Feng's left leg snapped backward at a grotesque angle, and he fell to the ground.

"Ah!!!"

The intense pain made him let out a scream that was not human-like.

"Quiet."

Ye You spoke again.

Li Feng's scream caught in his throat. He opened his mouth wide but couldn't make any sound, only twitching on the ground.

"Revered Master, please continue asking."

Ye You returned to her obedient demeanor.

"Where in the Black Stone Forest is the Thousand Puppet Sect's stronghold? How many people do they have?" Su Lin asked.

In agony, Li Feng answered intermittently: "I... I don't know... I'm only responsible for... buying."

"He doesn't know." Su Lin concluded.

"Then he's useless." Ye You raised her hand, and demonic Qi began to gather.

"Wait." Su Lin held her hand, "Although he doesn't know the exact location of the stronghold, he knows the time of the transaction. And..."

Su Lin looked at Li Feng: "When is the next transaction?"

Li Feng gasped: "To... tonight... they said there would be new arrivals..."

"Very good." Su Lin nodded.

"Revered Master." Ye You tugged on Su Lin's sleeve, transmitting via Divine Sense, "He soiled your eyes and delayed our shopping. Youer wants to kill him."

Su Lin transmitted back: "He still has one last use, Youer. Confirm his memories.

I need to know all his information about the Black Stone Forest, and what those new arrivals are. Don't break him."

..."Alright." Though somewhat reluctant, Ye You still followed Su Lin's arrangement.

She walked in front of Li Feng, a sweet smile on her pure maiden's face.

"Relax, it won't hurt for long."

She extended her slender finger and pointed it at Li Feng's forehead again.

"Ah!!!"

Li Feng's body suddenly stiffened, letting out a non-human, Soul-level shriek!

His entire body convulsed violently, and black blood seeped from his seven orifices.

The surviving family servant witnessed this horrifying scene and fainted from sheer terror.

A moment later, Ye You withdrew her finger.

Li Feng's body went limp. Ye You had preserved a trace of his consciousness.

Her face still held that harmless expression.

"Revered Master, I've seen everything clearly."

She skillfully linked her arm with Su Lin's again and began to report:

"The stronghold is right in the center of the Black Stone Forest, three hundred zhang underground. The entrance is in a hollow stone pillar struck by lightning. Their transaction time tonight is at midnight."

"Also," Ye You's tone became somewhat excited, yet tinged with extreme disgust, "You guessed correctly, this Li Feng, he's not just a buyer."

"He uses his Mortal identity to constantly provide Materials for the Thousand Puppet Sect.

The missing vagrants, beggars, and even some small Cultivators from outside the town, he helped process them and sent them to the Black Stone Forest."

"He exchanged those people's lives for those ugly Puppets."

Su Lin's expression was calm, without a ripple, but the temperature in the alley dropped a few degrees.

The chill on Ye You's face instantly receded. She quickly took two steps, again intimately linked her arm with Su Lin's, pressing half of her body against him.

"Revered Master, where are we going now?" Her voice held a hint of eagerness, expressing dissatisfaction with their interrupted date.

Ye You's eyes lit up. She thought Su Lin would continue to shop at the market.

"We're returning to the Sect." Su Lin's words interrupted her speculation.

"Our newly recruited interrogator, she might know something." Su Lin said.

Ye You then remembered: "Yue Xiaoxiao? That crying ghost Cultivator?"

"She has dealt with Souls for a thousand years. The Thousand Puppet Sect refines Soul Puppets; both originate from the same source. She might have the information we need."

..."Alright." Although reluctant, Ye You immediately stood up.

She re-linked her arm with Su Lin's, her posture intimate, "Then it's settled. After we finish the important business, Revered Master must accompany me."

The two left the teahouse, the street's clamor left behind them.

In an instant, they crossed the mountain gate and returned to the Daochu Sect.

Xuan Zhen was directing Disciples to repair the damaged paving stones in the square. Seeing the two return, he hurried forward.

"Sect Master, Fourth Miss."

"Where is the captive?" Su Lin asked directly.

Elder Xuan Zhen's expression was a little strange: "Reporting to Sect Master, as per your instructions, Senior Yue... Senior Yue has been placed in the dungeon in the back mountain."