Xiao Xun'er froze when she caught sight of the tall, shadowy figure standing a short distance away.
Her heart skipped a beat.
That familiar silhouette…
"Uncle Ying!" she cried, her voice trembling between shock and relief.
In the next instant, her delicate figure darted forward, her steps quick and almost stumbling in haste.
She dropped to her knees beside him, her hands gripping his shoulders.
"Uncle Ying, wake up!"
Her voice shook as she spoke, half-command, half-plea. She could feel a faint warmth from his body .... he was still alive! A rush of joy swelled in her chest.
If Ling Ying lived, then maybe… just maybe… there was still hope.
Ling Ying was no ordinary guard; he was a powerhouse at the Dou Huang level.
If he regained consciousness, suppressing Ye Chen would be child's play.
As for the terrifying display of power Ye Chen had shown earlier, Xiao Xun'er's sharp mind quickly formed a conclusion .....it must have been the result of some dangerous secret technique, the kind that burned life force or damaged one's foundation.
She had seen enough in her years as the heiress of the Gu Clan to know that such bursts of power came with heavy costs.
If Ye Chen truly possessed that level of strength naturally, Ling Ying would never have captured him so easily in the first place.
But before she could shake Ling Ying again, a calm, almost mocking voice cut through her thoughts.
"Stop wasting your energy," Ye Chen said, standing a short distance away with arms loosely crossed.
His expression was unreadable, but there was a quiet confidence in his tone. "He won't wake up… at least, not the way you're hoping for."
Xun'er's brows knitted in confusion and dread. "What did you do to him?"
Ye Chen's gaze lowered slightly toward Ling Ying, and for a fleeting second, his lips curved into a faint smile .... the kind that made Xun'er's heart constrict with unease.
He could feel it .....the invisible tether that now bound Ling Ying to him.
The Puppet Pill's power was working perfectly, knitting its control into every fiber of Ling Ying's being.
With just one pill, he could control the life and death of a Dou Huang… even bend his will to obedience.
The realization sent a shiver of satisfaction through Ye Chen's mind.
Truly worthy of being a product of the system.
And this was only the basic version. If a low-grade Puppet Pill could enslave a Dou Huang… what could an advanced one do? A Dou Zun? A Dou Sheng?
The thought lingered in his mind like a tantalizing promise.
Xiao Xun'er's voice snapped him back to the present. "Ye Chen, tell me what you've done to him!"
He met her gaze evenly. "Relax. I won't kill him. In fact, I'll make sure he lives… very well."
The way he said it made her skin prickle ....not from comfort, but from the foreboding hidden in those words.
A sliver of fear crept into her chest. She had seen Ling Ying's loyalty firsthand.
Even in mortal danger, he had urged her to flee. But now, something in Ye Chen's tone made her fear that the man she knew might no longer exist in the same way.
No… I can't just sit here and wait for fate to decide.
Steeling herself, she rose abruptly and scanned her surroundings for an escape.
Her steps slowed almost immediately. The "place" they were in… was unlike anywhere she had seen before.
A strange, enclosed world stretched out no more than a hundred paces in each direction, its edges swallowed in dense, swirling white mist.
There was no sky, no ground beyond ..... just an endless veil that concealed everything outside.
Her breath caught in her throat. "What… is this place?"
She had thought Ye Chen had brought her to some hidden location within Wutan City. But this? This was something else entirely.
Was it some kind of secret realm? A forbidden pocket space?
Panic began to gnaw at her composure. She walked quickly to the mist's edge and lashed out with her Dou Qi.
The golden light of her attack vanished into the fog without so much as a ripple.
Again and again, she struck — to no avail.
Her heart sank.
"This is my world," Ye Chen's voice came from behind, calm yet carrying an undeniable weight.
"I am the master here. Everything within it exists because I allow it… including you."
She whirled on him, her eyes blazing. "Don't even think you can keep me here forever!"
But he only smiled faintly, not bothering to argue, his eyes instead drawn back to Ling Ying.
The older man stirred. His eyelids fluttered before slowly opening, the glaze of unconsciousness fading as focus returned.
"Uncle Ying!"
In an instant, Xun'er was beside him again, joy breaking across her face like sunlight. "You're awake!"
Her relief was palpable. In this suffocating, alien world, Ling Ying's presence felt like her only anchor to safety.
"Miss…" Ling Ying's voice was flat, his expression unreadable. His eyes flickered briefly toward her before settling elsewhere.
She didn't notice. She grasped his arm tightly, speaking in a rush. "Uncle Ying, we don't have much time! That man...." she jerked her chin toward Ye Chen "....is the one who brought me here. Kill him, and we can leave!"
Her plea carried urgency, desperation… and trust. Trust in the man who had protected her since childhood.
Ling Ying slowly turned his head toward Ye Chen.
His gaze, once sharp and cold toward outsiders, now softened ... no, shifted ... into something far more chilling. Respect. Submission.
Then, without a word, he began walking toward Ye Chen.
Xun'er's eyes lit with hope. In her mind, the moment Ling Ying struck, the balance would shift.
But halfway there, something in Ling Ying's body language made her breath hitch.
There was no killing intent.
Her smile faltered. "Uncle Ying…?"
Ling Ying stopped just short of Ye Chen and, in a voice steady and obedient, said, "Master."
Xun'er's blood ran cold.
The sound of that single word felt like a crack opening beneath her feet, plunging her into a void of disbelief.
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