Infatuation
Shuangjian's starting point should have been very far from hers, so how did he find her?
Why would he choose to cross the storm zone, and how did he arrive so quickly?
At that moment, it was as if a strange blizzard had also begun to fall within Yingshi's heart. Some indescribable substance filled her heart, stuffing it to the brim.
She desperately wanted to speak, but being in the center of the storm, opening her mouth would only mean swallowing freezing clumps of snow. She could not even shed tears, because any bead of moisture surfacing would immediately freeze into ice crystals.
She could only gaze at Shuangjian with incredibly emotional eyes.
The heavy, goose-feather snow blurred heaven and earth, constantly obstructing her vision. She could not make out Shuangjian's expression; she could only feel his arm wrapping around her waist, lifting her up entirely as if picking up a stray little animal in the snowy weather. Even though her limbs were still swinging incessantly under Qin Yuman's manipulation, her body retreated bit by bit with him, gradually approaching the safe zone.
Once the howling of the wind quieted down slightly, Yingshi immediately explained, Qin Yuman used Celestial Silkworm Weeping Silk to turn me into a puppet!
She didn't know what Celestial Silkworm Weeping Silk was, nor was she sure if it had been mentioned in the book. Regardless, it sounded very formidable, and in reality, it truly was. Once it wrapped around her body, it became completely invisible, as if it had melted right into her bones and blood.
Yingshi had originally been terrified, dreading that she would lose control of her body and become a doll at the mercy of others.
But from the moment Shuangjian appeared, that brewing panic was effectively suppressed. Deep down, she felt a vague sense that things wouldn't turn out too badly.
If you are going to fight him, you must be careful not to let him get close. If you are even slightly careless, the puppet strings will entangle you. That's how I got caught! Yingshi tried her best to warn him.
...
She didn't know how much Shuangjian had heard. He seemed to lower his eyes to look at her, his lips moving slightly, but Yingshi couldn't read his lips.
Her attention was entirely drawn to Shuangjian's hand. He gently brushed the back of his hand against her cheek, seemingly wiping away the thin layer of frost that had solidified on her skin. Yet, his own hair and eyelashes were still hung with heavy flakes of snow.
The time Shuangjian had spent in the storm zone was definitely much longer than hers. Just a little more, and he would have been eliminated entirely.
Yingshi stared at him blankly, not even realizing that her comical air-walking movements had stopped. The long-lost quiet returned to her ears, and the explosive howling of the wind faded away.
In just a few breaths, Shuangjian had already brought her out of the poison ring. The puppeteer, who happened to be at the edge of the safe zone, also noticed them. He noticed that the puppet he had sent away had actually been carried right back.
Qin Yuman let out a snort of laughter, looking even more intrigued. He showed no signs of surprise or wariness, and even teased, Oh, you made it out faster than I imagined. Let's play together...
As this shameless instigator spoke, his fingers flipped rapidly a few times. Yingshi then saw her own hands rise uncontrollably, spreading into claw-like shapes, and roughly tearing at Shuangjian's collar, as if intending to strip off his clothes.
Wait, what kind of move is this?
Qin Yuman, you're going too far!
Yingshi panicked, twisting her head and trying hard to lean back. However, besides her head, she truly had no other body parts she could control. Shuangjian's collar had already been grabbed against her will. Perhaps because the movement was too sudden, and Shuangjian was somewhat restrained when facing her, she actually managed to tear his lapels wide open.
Hahahaha! Since the little sister is so uninhibited, let's see how this brother will respond, Qin Yuman said despicably. Why not chop off those presumptuous hands of hers...
Yingshi was so anxious she wanted to kill someone. Never for a moment had she empathized so much with paralyzed patients. She wanted to stop molesting Shuangjian, but she couldn't!
Her disobedient hands even started reaching for Shuangjian's shoulders and chin, lingering on his skin, rubbing back and forth, and incredibly boldly kneading his ears!
Ahhh, help! Is Qin Yuman a pervert?!
How could she ever face Shuangjian again if she kept doing this?
The girl's anxiousness fell into Shuangjian's eyes. He did not dodge; he merely leaned forward slightly and changed the way he held her. The hand that had been clamped around Yingshi's waist moved down behind her legs, supporting the back of her knees to lift her up with one arm.
To Qin Yuman's disappointment, there was no shyness of being offended in Shuangjian's eyes. Even if there was, it had already been washed away by endless, icy coldness.
He hated puppeteers the most.
And he also hated unbreakable threads the most.
Whether they were used on himself, or on Yingshi.
They were equally... damnably annoying.
...
When Qin Yuman met that expressionless face and felt a familiar danger spreading, he was both pleasantly surprised and terrified.
Pleasantly surprised that he might get what he wished for, and terrified because the situation was somewhat beyond his imagination.
Under an indescribable premonition, he hurriedly turned his head and saw a thick black mist that had long risen behind him. It was like the withered hand of an evil ghost, covering almost half the sky. It carried an overwhelming sense of oppression, yet it was extremely quiet, as if afraid of disturbing some other existence, silently and swiftly enveloping him.
His puppeteering movements were forced to a halt because the ghost mist unequivocally seized his limbs, just as he had done to Yingshi with his threads.
Qin Yuman was stunned for a moment.
An extreme, bone-piercing chill seeped in. He didn't want to tremble; his soul didn't find this sensation terrible, and even yearned to adapt to it as soon as possible. However, his physical body could not overcome human instincts. He spasmed continuously, feeling the spiritual veins within his body being severed by an extremely powerful, sinister force...
It was exactly this kind of power... There was no other possibility!
A crazy gleam flashed in Qin Yuman's eyes. He seemed to want to carve out a smile, but just speaking was arduous enough, let alone moving the corners of his lips. You really are...
A demonic cultivator!
Even an open and brazen one, completely unafraid of being exposed right under the noses of the teachers from the Dao Yi Immortal Alliance. Could it be that he had already figured out how to confuse everyone's judgment?
Just who exactly was this person?
Many wooden puppets that had triggered a passive attack mode crawled out from Qin Yuman's clothes. They seemed to want to form an army to battle Shuangjian, but most of them withered and fell to the ground upon contact with the thick black mist, rapidly melting and becoming part of the ghost mist.
Qin Yuman watched this scene with excitement. Unfortunately, his throat could no longer utter any more words, and even his breathing sounds were incredibly weak. Unable to move, he fell to his knees in the snow like a broken puppet, his head planting into the snow.
Eh? What's going on!
Yingshi's arms instantly dropped down limply. With her back to Qin Yuman's direction, she didn't know what had happened behind her. When she struggled desperately to turn her head, she could only catch a glimpse of that damn pervert slumped on the ground out of the corner of her eye, his head hanging low.
What happened to him?
Yingshi was incredibly astonished. Shuangjian hadn't even made a move yet, and this person had already dropped to his knees. Could he have been deterred by the male lead's tyrannical aura?
"He manipulated too many puppets, and his spiritual energy is exhausted," Shuangjian replied calmly.
His clothes still maintained the way they looked after being ravaged by Yingshi earlier. His collar was wide open, revealing a neck that was blindingly whiter than snow. Drifting snow fell onto his collarbone, silently melting into crystal-clear droplets...
Yingshi stared blankly for two seconds before hurriedly averting her gaze. She stammered out an apology, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I was controlled by him just now and couldn't command my own body, which is why I took liberties with you! Is there any way to release me from this bizarre state?"
Heaven knew how much she wanted to jump down from Shuangjian's arms if she could. In the past, she wouldn't have felt that this posture was overly intimate; she wasn't that sensitive.
But having just been forced to act like a hooligan and taking advantage of Shuangjian, it felt as if the blush-inducing sensation still lingered on her fingers. She didn't even dare to look him in the eye with a clear conscience anymore!
"..."
Shuangjian remained silent for two seconds. As if sensing her embarrassment, he gently set her down.
Yingshi stood stiffly in the snow like a soldier, with only her eyes still blinking nimbly.
"It is not that there is no way to untie the Heavenly Silkworm's Weeping Silk, but it can only be done after we get out of here," Shuangjian said softly. "You and I can destroy our beads together and leave this place."
"Ah?! No!" Yingshi stamped her feet anxiously in her heart. "I would rather remain immobilized than fail to make it to the end of the preliminary test!"
To obtain the original opportunities in the storyline, they had to clear three stages together. This was only the preliminary test; how could she drag Shuangjian down and make him forfeit with her?
But after saying that, Yingshi realized that even if she stayed, it seemed she would still be causing trouble for Shuangjian.
Because in her puppet state, she would have to be carried all the way. Whether it was escaping the danger zones or fighting other disciples, she would be the biggest burden...
Her face turned pale. Just as she was about to take back her thoughtless words, she saw Shuangjian nod and say, "I understand."
Then, his figure briefly disappeared from Yingshi's line of sight.
The direction where Shuangjian had placed her earlier was too far off to the side. Even if she turned her head, she couldn't see what he was doing; she only knew he was walking toward where Qin Yuman was.
...Perhaps he was going to eliminate that guy?
Her fingertips suddenly twitched. Treating it like a grave threat, Yingshi quickly raised her voice, "Shuangjian, be careful! Qin Yuman seems to be able to move again!"
"It's me," Shuangjian said.
Accompanied by the sound of his reply, Yingshi's stiff body actually turned around. Her movements were slow and light, showing that the puppeteer was very careful, completely lacking the reckless disregard Qin Yuman had when he controlled her earlier.
Yingshi was stunned. She saw that the remaining wooden puppets in Qin Yuman's arms were hanging loose on his clothes, as if he had been searched. His head hung low, clearly in an unconscious state, yet his ten fingers were moving nimbly, manipulating Yingshi to walk toward that direction step by step.
Standing to the side, Shuangjian held a handful of nearly transparent silk threads, controlling Qin Yuman with just one hand.
...Th-th-this works too?!
Shuangjian was manipulating Qin Yuman to manipulate her—Qin Yuman himself had become a proxy for the puppet technique!
Wasn't this a bit too heaven-defying?
Yingshi never imagined things could be done this way. The key point was that Shuangjian could actually pull it off!
"Whatever you want to do, just tell me," he said softly.
"You actually know how to control people too?! This must be a very high-level puppet technique. Could it be that you also comprehended this in the Marrow Cleansing Spring?" Yingshi's voice was both shocked and envious. She let out a few meaningless exclamations, feeling dizzy and speaking incoherently, "I want to hop on one leg, raise my arms high above my head, rush over to high-five you... and I also want to slap Qin Yuman a hundred times on both sides of his face..."
For everything she said, Shuangjian made her do it. When she saw the unconscious Qin Yuman actually start slapping himself, Yingshi couldn't hold it back anymore. "I was just joking! You don't have to really do it. Won't this consume too much of your spiritual energy?"
"It's no matter," Shuangjian said casually. "It's enough to last until the end of the preliminary test."
"So amazing!" Yingshi's eyes sparkled. "Then just use me as a puppet! If we encounter enemies, let me fight for you! Actually, I'm quite strong. If Qin Yuman hadn't played a dirty trick on me, I would have already buried him in the snow."
"..." Shuangjian seemed unable to hold back his amusement. He smiled at her, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
Yingshi then smiled foolishly as well. The faint awkwardness between the two of them, born from Qin Yuman's earlier outrageous actions, completely dissipated.
"Let's go," Shuangjian said. "Qifeng Plains is at the edge of the storm zone. There will be people specifically waiting in ambush for those escaping the blizzard. We should leave."
Yingshi nodded, then whispered, "How about you let me reach up and fix my hair? After experiencing a category twelve gale, my hairstyle must be a mess right now."
She really didn't want to look unkempt, yet Shuangjian had seen the whole thing!
Meeting the girl's expectant and reliant gaze, Shuangjian paused for a moment and tucked the Heavenly Silkworm's Weeping Silk into his robes.
He didn't choose to manipulate the puppet; instead, he reached over directly and gently smoothed her hair.
The pitch-black strands were incredibly cool and silky. The feeling of them slipping through his fingertips was wondrous, making one faintly crave more... but Shuangjian only lost focus for a brief moment before withdrawing his hand with perfect restraint.
He acted incredibly natural, for his heart was already at peace with it—he had said he would dedicate something to Yingshi, and this small care was merely the most insignificant part of it.
"..."
Yingshi subconsciously held her breath.
Even after Shuangjian's hand left her hair, she didn't exhale.
She could no longer tell if she was stiff because of the puppet technique, or if she was just physically stiffening on her own.
It was most likely the former. After all, if she could move, it definitely wouldn't be as simple as just being stiff. Curling her hands and feet up would be the normal reaction...
Just as her thoughts were drifting away, amidst a rumbling sound, a solemn heavenly voice echoed from the horizon, broadcasting loudly like a system announcement in a game:
"The rogue cultivator Bai Feng has consecutively broken a hundred beads, becoming the first to reach the realm of 'Unstoppable.' His traces have appeared in the northern lands of the Heavenly Mountain, Qifeng Plains..."
