Pei Siheng's sudden warning and the start of his counterattack prompted Zhu Yan to create a barrier around them, while Yun Guang shared the information he had gathered about their attacker during those few seconds in which he managed to establish a complete telepathic connection with Siheng's mind. He told them that Zhi Ren, the Paper Doll demon, was the one attacking them.
Golden threads clashed against ghostly white ones in a wave of energy that rebounded off Zhu Yan's barrier, making it glow an intense crimson red. The puppet's energy charged the air with malice and divinity, mixing them together as the two forces met in an invisible dance of control. Even Zhu Yan struggled to follow both attacks with his Truth Eye. They were too fast and too subtle to see clearly. Wen Xiao also found that she couldn't use her insight on Zhi Ren, probably because it was a true puppet without any emotions that could give clues about what it would do next. Her golden eyes could not see through her threads either, nor could any of the humans in their group.
"What the hell is this? I can't see anything!" Yichen shouted, unable to see a thing except Zhu Yan's barrier lighting up like a red star every time an invisible attack struck it.
"Wen Xiao, what about you?" Pei Sijing asked, watching her brother move like a Tai Chi master, throwing golden threads that they could only see by the faint glow they emitted.
"She is not a common demon. She feels empty, without emotions or thoughts. I can't read her at all, let alone see where she is attacking from." That Wen Xiao could not get to her was unsettling, but if Sijing concentrated her hearing, she could hear her moving like her brother was, not too far away, but not too close either.
Of course, Zhu Yan and Li Lun could sense her too, even if they couldn't see her, but she wasn't giving them any openings. It was obvious that she had set this trap precisely to confine them, so that other demons could take the opportunity to attack them by surprise.
"So, what do we do?" Ying Lei asked, gripping his Kunlun dagger tighter.
"I'll take care of this one, guys! Leave it to me!" Siheng shouted, launching his threads with superhuman precision from within Zhu Yan's barrier.
"Pei Sijing, can you use your arrows against her?" Yun Guang asked, ignoring Siheng's request, as he would never let him fight alone, especially against someone who could affect him emotionally, since they both shared a similar past.
"I can hear their movements, even if faintly, and if other demons appear, I will be able to hear them too. I can assist my brother in this fight, so rest assured, I got his back." Sijing was sure of what Yun Guang wanted from her, and she was more than willing to do it. She hadn't fought in a real battle alongside her brother since that fateful day when they lost too much.
"Good. Then leave this fight to the Pei siblings, and I will supervise it. Zhu Yan, Li Lun, and Yixuan, stay alert in case more demons appear. Wen Xiao, you know what to do when you have the opportunity, and we will be waiting for it. Ying Lei and Bai Jiu, prepare to act at any time. Didi... I am your sword, so just reach for me with your hand, and I will materialize there instantly." Yun Guang instructed, and Yichen nodded.
During his last trainings, he discovered that he was capable of dealing damage with more than just his sword. He was not helpless without Yun Guang, as he also possessed elemental control over ice and fire, originating from lightning.
"Do what you must. We will take care of the rest. Go now!" Yichen gave the order, and the three of them left Zhu Yan's barrier while Yun Guang protected them with his own shields.
This time, Sijing was going to do whatever it took to keep her brother safe because she trusted her instincts just as much as she trusted Wen Xiao's guidance. Thus, while Siheng countered Zhi Ren's threads, Yun Guang transferred energy to her brother's newly acquired meridians. For her part, Sijing sharpened her hearing and drew her bow, firing her first arrow, which shone like golden flames as it flew towards its target.
However, Zhi Ren dodged the arrow with ease, almost as if she were a ghost, gliding with agility. Sijing shot several arrows in a row, changing the angle slightly, but she did not hear Zhi Ren move; instead, it seemed like she was propelled by her strings out of the way.
"Keep going, Jiejie! Force her out into the open!" Siheng exclaimed, also pressuring Zhi Ren with his own power. Then, Li Lun used his vines to aid them in their pursuit until Zhi Ren was finally forced out of her hiding place, where they could see her. Upon seeing her, most of the humans felt a shiver run down their spines.
Zhi Ren emerged like an unsettling specter amidst the vibrant chaos of life. Ethereal and ghostly, she seemed to float, and her presence chilled the blood of those who dared to look at her. Her skin was pale as moonlight, giving her the appearance of being carved from frosted glass. Her aura shimmered with an icy coldness, a stark contrast to her ferocity. The threads she controlled wove intricate patterns in the air, forming an ephemeral tapestry that reflected both beauty and horror.
"Here you are... it's not so easy to catch a great demon in his domain, Zhi Ren. I understand you're a paper puppet without a heart or emotions, but what you're doing is nothing more than a suicide mission that Huan Jing has given you." Li Lun took a few steps out of Zhu Yan's barrier, causing Yixuan to instinctively reach out for him to stop him, even though he knew Li Lun was perfectly capable of protecting himself.
"Li Lun, although you are a great demon and have lived here as long as the rest of us, you have shown no true desire to be a part of this world. You chose to claim the territory near the gate because, deep down, you have always longed to return to Zhu Yan's side. We all know that you cross the gate every few centuries out of nostalgia, not because you care about the interests of our kind. If you had, you would have killed the human world's demon hunters, clearing the way for the rest of us to be free of this prison." Her voice was flat, and her expression was as cold as ice. She looked like a lifeless doll, perfectly beautiful yet inhuman, an empty shell filled with a demonic aura emanating from the soul of a corpse.
However, what she said touched him more than he dared admit, because he had decided to stay close to the door so he could cross it and meet Zhu Yan. When his loneliness became too much, he longed for his friendship, his company, or perhaps it was because on the other side was his soulmate, his Yixuan, his destiny. Seeing and feeling Li Lun's tension, Yixuan also crossed the barrier to take his husband's hand in his own.
"Don't let her affect you," Yixuan whispered to Li Lun, who squeezed his hand in return.
"She can't instill fear in me with mere words, much less empty ones. A human soul transformed into a puppet demon shouldn't speak of conquering other humans. Zhi Ren, you betrayed your humanity so long ago that you've forgotten your roots. Even though Huan Jing killed the demon that trapped your soul in a paper puppet, there is something you should never have done. And that is helping other demons hurt more humans. Your desire for revenge and your longing to return to how you were before should have prevented you from becoming what you hated most. You kill yourself for the second time by your own choice..." To Yixuan's surprise, he watched in horror as Zhi Ren vanished from sight with a movement so swift that she became nothing more than a blur.
Most couldn't see her, but they felt her chilling energy, which drained the life from everything around her, as if she were gathering enough power to deliver a fatal blow. Yixuan felt genuine fear, not for himself, but for Li Lun, and was about to pull him away when the sound of a drum shattered the unnatural silence with such force that everything around them trembled. The ground, the trees, the flowers, the grass, and even the air felt charged with power, with the pressure of an ancient, forbidden, and demonic sound, which caused Zhi Ren to freeze just inches from Li Lun's small drum, which floated before him.
The sound of Li Lun's small drum had penetrated her puppet's body, cracking it like a porcelain doll, but that wasn't all, because Siheng had also used his strings to trap it, preventing it from reaching Li Lin and Yixuan, although she wouldn't have been able to anyway, since Li Lun was far too powerful to allow her to touch him, much less get close to his lover.
"Li Lun, I'll kill you! I'll kill you all! You know nothing about being a puppet! I have no choice!" Zhi Ren charged her body with the malevolent energy she had cultivated and let her paper body crumble into hundreds of fragments, escaping Siheng's strong grip.
Yun Guang created a shield around the Pei siblings, while Yichen's fury caused something within him to snap; his skin showed signs of glowing blue ice tattoos, and his eyes changed color. Frost began to form on the ground, even more chilling than Zhi Ren's own ghostly essence. A vortex of icy air, sharp enough to cut wood, inflicted further cuts on Zhi Ren's true form before it reformed away from them. Her cold gray eyes now focused on Yichen, whose power continued to surge as he stared at her with bright sky-blue eyes.
"You're not the only human who has been a victim of a demon's cruelty. My friend also became one against his will. He lived in hell for years, unable to do what he wanted, unable to protect those he loved, unable even to show himself, and yet... Yet he remained by his sister's side; he swallowed his pain, his loneliness, and his regrets and remained human. Human! Even when he could only live trapped inside a wooden body, he never gave in to his demonic side! He preferred to remain in another dimension as a spirit rather than dare to hurt others! Becoming a puppet is no excuse for becoming a true demon!" Yichen's hand glowed with a turquoise hue with sparks that resembled faint flames.
Zhi Ren's cold rage at being judged by strangers after centuries of freezing and forgetting her human side, enjoying killing demons and feeding on their evil energy to strengthen herself, awakened that harsh reality she had chosen to bury. She launched her razor-sharp paper attacks at her adversaries while discarding her spectral threads. The pieces of paper, strong yet flexible, were an extension of her being, and she had absolute control over them without needing to use her hands, unlike the spectral threads.
She launched an all-out assault on them, slamming the barriers of Zu Yan, Yun Guang, and Li Lun with her tiny papers that carried her demonic energy like knives. She moved like the wind to try to breach Zhu Yan's barrier after realizing that her papers had failed. Zhi Ren looked at Yichen with what can only be called deep hatred, forcing demonic pressure into it. Zhu Yan, Wen Xiao, Ying Lei, and Bai Jiu held their breath for what might happen next as Yichen walked to the barrier's edge while keeping his eyes fixed on her.
However, Zhu Yan knew that Yichen was transcending, the whole realm was feeding him with their energy, and that could be felt as the ground vibrated in resonance with him, so he didn't stop him. To Zhu Yan, it seemed that Bing Yi and his father were wrapping Yichen in a soft cloak of protection and strength. This contributed to his beloved's growing maturity and his natural talent for leadership.
"Zhi Ren, you rose to fame as the Paper Doll puppet, and even humans told stories about you with fear and sadness. Once upon a time, you were a human; you were subjugated, you lost hope, and you were powerless to take revenge. Then, in return for what was left of your humanity, a second demon offers to help you, right? He could kill your enemy and avenge your death. I feel sorry that you end up being his puppet instead. However, you sold your soul to a crueler monster and ultimately became another one, and I cannot forgive that." Yichen turned his gaze to Siheng and saw intense emotions reflected in his dark eyes. He smiled gently at him, and Yun Guang felt immense pride in his Didi.
"As someone who experienced the same hell, Siheng, you are the one with the right to judge her soul. I'll lend you Yun and my power. Use it how you see fit." Upon hearing Yichen's approval, Yun Guang smiled broadly and placed a hand on Siheng's back, transferring energy to him. It wasn't only his, but also Yichen's, who had already summoned a divine fire on his hand.
Of course, Zhi Ren wouldn't give up without a fight, and fight she did. As Siheng emerged from Yun Guang's barrier, feeling both completely human and divine. Now on equal footing with her, he condensed his golden threads into weapons. Anything he could imagine manifested according to his needs.
However, he had mixed feelings about fighting her, because he knew how horrible it was to become a puppet, to be controlled and unable to escape the prison they had been forced into. He had been lucky enough to receive a second chance, but Zhi Ren hadn't. Yet, she was still bent on killing others. She had lost all sense of humanity and felt no remorse for the evil things she had done before being sealed away with the rest of the demons. The way she drained life even from the environment was proof that there was no turning back.
"Siheng, don't hesitate..." Yun Guang whispered in his mind.
"I know she deserves it... trust me," Siheng replied through their mental connection, keeping the fight exactly where he needed it. As a wooden puppet, he was as attuned to nature as Li Lun and Bai Jiu. So he was setting a trap for her with every attack he launched, guiding her to step exactly where he wanted her to.
Li Lun's roots subtly shifted beneath their feet, a faint trace of Yichen's fire casually channeling into the ground. Just as Siheng maneuvered her into his trap, Li Lun's vines sprang to life with such speed that Zhi Ren couldn't react in time to evade their grasp. Before she could transform back into her paper form, Siheng used one of Ying Lei's sealing talismans and forcefully thrust it into her chest, further cracking her delicate porcelain skin.
A blinding golden light burst from the talisman, and Zhi Ren cried out in pain. She expected to die next, from the spell Huan Jing had cast on her core, but to her surprise, the man with the blue hair also placed his hand on her chest, but this time not to seal her, but to break the spell on her core... to free her from his control.
"Although you deserve punishment for the numerous sins you have committed in the past, there is something that cannot be ignored. You were unjustly murdered by a demon, who imprisoned your soul in a puppet. It is also true that no one saved you or freed you from his control. Therefore, we will be merciful to you this time and determine your punishment later. Do we agree on this?" Yun Guang asked, looking at the others, and Yichen nodded; so did Yixuan, and the rest was history.
Yun Guang sealed her inside the dimension that Zhu Yan had created for Yichen in a pendant, which he still wears around his neck. Since Zhu Yan had already created a mirage of Yun Guang there, it would ensure that she wouldn't try to escape or hurt herself.
Watching from afar, two more demons witnessed the exchange in astonishment. They had been sent to hunt Li Lun and his companions. If they succeeded, they would gain free passage to the human world. After deciding to check for themselves whether Li Lun had returned weakened, as Huan Jing had claimed, they soon discovered that not only was Li Lun as formidable as ever, but he was also accompanied by intriguing allies capable of counteracting their core spell.
"What do you think?" Du Wu asked the demon beside him.
"You see it yourself. Huan Jing is a master of deception, so we knew from the beginning that he would always trick us into doing his bidding. I've grown tired of his influence for centuries. The only reason he hasn't killed us yet, is because he feeds on our energy, which fuels his cultivation without having to put in the effort like the rest of us," Yu She replied, looking at the demon in the center of the barrier that glowed crimson every time it was struck.
"So what do we do? I'm sure Huan Jing is aware of what's happening here. He had already killed Gu Yue and Luse Zhimei. The only reason Zhi Ren's core didn't implode is because that guy in blue interfered with her spell," Du Wu saw it all clearly.
"Well, even as a loner, Li Lun has always been... let's call him... honorable..." Yu She said, and Du Wu chuckled.
"Perhaps he's the only one in this world who can be called that, but I agree. Do we trick them into thinking we've surrendered? Or do we beg on our knees for our freedom?" Du Wu suggested, and Yu She sighed.
"Come on, let's play along with them for a bit to satisfy Huan Jing, at least somewhat."
"And then?"
"The rest is up to fate..." Yu She replied, and as Du Wu smiled, he began to release his poisonous mist through the forest, directly into the path of the strangers path.
AN: Ah, scheming demons, you are smarter than the others before you, at least. 🤭 The reason Wen Xiao could not read her was because she was a full puppet, without emotions, until Li Lun provoked her with the past she wanted to forget most of all. In other words, Li Lun piss her off. 😂 Thanks for reading, and until next time, please take care.