Chapter 20: Retreat

However, this blow heavily strikes the tree, causing the person’s hands to go numb from the impact.

Yan Jin Chang has already manipulated the puppet to dodge and make it land on another person’s head, then hitting down hard! That person collapses to the ground without making a sound, unconscious.

Seeing this, the others raise their clubs and hoes, trying to cut the strings that attached to the puppet. But these are spiritual threads, not regular Bai Ling Silk, even if they are cut, they can be quickly reconnected. 

Plus, the puppet moves so fast that their weapons can’t keep up. And in their rush to attack together, they end up hitting each other instead.

“What are you hitting me for?!”

“I didn’t do it on purpose! Who told you to charge at me?!”

“Your sickle almost chopped me! You did that on purpose, right?!”

“Enough with the arguing! If you’re going to do something, just throw the torches up to burn it. I don’t believe he can stay up there forever without coming down!”

“Are you stupid? Did you forget about the fire last night? That’s because someone suggested burning the tree!”

“What’s there to fear? Those nobles are still living in the village, right? Once we get those two disaster stars down, we can call the nobles to put out the fire. It’s just a simple gesture for them, they put out last night’s fire so easily.”

Upon hearing this, others find it quite reasonable and actually start lighting fires under the tree.

An Shao expects Yan Jin Chang to quickly manipulate the puppet to extinguish the fire, preventing them from having the chance to set the tree ablaze. But instead, Yan Jin Chang pulls a roll of white cloth from his pocket and begins wrapping it around his face.

He moves swiftly, in no time, his entire face is covered, leaving only his eyes, nose, and mouth exposed. He says: “Get ready to leave.”

Just as he finishes speaking, someone below raises a torch up. The flickering flames quickly ignite the fresh green leaves, causing them to wither and burn. Sparks flying upwards and rapidly igniting a large area! The tree trunk soon becomes charred and emits a series of popping sounds.

At that moment, a shadow sweeps around the tree! The next second, the tree trunk, along with the leaves, collapses down. Especially the burning parts, falling with a thick cloud of smoke!

Those closest to the tree are inevitably struck, instantly crying out in pain. Some have their clothes caught by the flying sparks and catch fire. They roll on the ground trying to extinguish the flames! Some take the chance to run a bit further away, barely escaping.

Yan Jin Chang and An Shao use this opportunity to jump down from the tree. Yan Jin Chang quickly checks the wind direction and runs against it!

Seeing Yan Jin Chang jump down and evade the falling burning tree, the people below grip their weapons tightly and rush towards him, shouting: “That ugly thing is down! Hurry and chase!”

“Stop! You won’t escape!”

“Catch him!”

The black puppet jumps around in front of Yan Jin Chang. Guided by him, it swiftly whirls around, striking the legs of several people closing in. They lose their balance and crash to the ground!

“Wha-what? How is he controlling that black puppet?!”

Those witnessing this are stunned. Just now, only An Shao was talking back to them ,so they assumed there was another person beside Yan Jin Chang. They believed the black puppet was operated by another person on the tree, not Yan Jin Chang.

These people see Yan Jin Chang getting bullied by their children daily and have long assumed he is someone who can’t fight back. How could someone as weak as him control a puppet with such skill?

But now the facts are laid bare, forcing them to accept that they have been injured by a puppet controlled by him. That small puppet, about the size of two palms, moves so agilely and hits so hard that it causes numbness and pain upon impact.

“What’s going on?! Why can’t I move my hand after getting hit?!”

“My leg hurts so much!”

“I can’t feel my hand!”

Those who have been hurt retreat, some even turning to run away. They initially came to capture Yan Jin Chang, wanting to take out their frustration from last night by beating him, not to get beaten themselves.

When they realize they not only fail to catch him but also end up getting beaten into a mess, they quickly abandon the idea of capturing him. No one likes to be the only one taking a beating.

Just then, the black puppet, which has been bouncing around Yan Jin Chang and guarding him closely, as if its strings have been cut, suddenly falls to the ground with a sharp sound.

Yan Jin Chang freezes, and even the villagers who have retreated to a distance are taken aback.

Yan Jin Chang quickly realizes that his spiritual energy has nearly run out. Once he runs out of energy, the spiritual threads he gathered will disappear, and he won’t be able to control the puppet anymore. Taking advantage of the villagers’ moment of confusion, he grabs the fallen puppet and takes off running!

An Shao also quickly reacts, feeling the urgency to pick up the pace and follow! Two boys rush toward the distance like the wind!

Finally, someone reacts and hurriedly says: “What are you waiting for? Hurry and chase after them! Don’t let that disaster star escape! My child has been vomiting and having diarrhea all night because of him, and I absolutely won’t let him go!”

Upon hearing this, someone can’t help but grumble, “Isn’t that because you took the grass he left on that tree, mistaking it for spiritual grass, and gave it to your child?” 

The one complaining rubs his wounds, his expression clearly displeased. If it weren’t for these people urging him to come along, he would have been resting at home now. He hadn’t suffered last night by looking for spiritual grass with them, but now he ends up getting beaten. If he had known, he wouldn’t have come.

His words quickly resonate with others in a similar situation: “Exactly! You’re the one who took it for your son, just three stalks of spiritual grass—you, old Wang, and old Li each took one.”

Old Li: “What do you mean by that? If we hadn’t taken the spiritual grass, your child would be the one vomiting and having diarrhea now!”

“I wouldn’t be that foolish, not even knowing how to use medicinal herbs, and just directly feeding them to my child.”

Old Li: “So you’re not planning to catch that ugly thing then?”

“The sun is almost setting, and I still have to go home for dinner. Without food, how can I have the strength to catch someone? There are mountains and trees all around, and wild beasts in the deep mountains, he won’t run far. Maybe he’ll show up in the village again in a few days.”

“Whoosh!” As they speak, a gust of wind blows, bringing a wave of coldness. The sun gradually sets, and the night breeze here is usually quite strong.

Everyone was standing near the fire, feeling hot all over. Just as they begin to feel comfortable with the breeze, they suddenly hear a scream.

Following the sound, they see someone pointing behind them, shouting: “Fire! The fire isn’t out yet!”

Right! The fire! Only then do they react, but the burning fire won’t extinguish because of it.

At this moment, the fire has already consumed the tree and the surrounding grass. With the wind blowing, the sparks are scattered away. Some extinguished while others flare up brighter, burning the trees in the distance!

“This is bad! Quickly, go find water!”

“Are you stupid? What water? Go find those nobles staying in the village. They can extinguish the fire with just a flick of their sleeves!”

A few people rush toward the village.

“Whoosh!” Another gust of wind sweeps through, carrying the burning fire deeper into the mountains! At that moment, a piercing howl erupts! That direction happens to be where the fire spreads!

The wild beasts in the mountains sense the smell of burning, the unusual heat, and the blinding light of the fire. They are startled and scatter in a frenzy toward the direction without fire!

More and more wild beasts are startled, trying to move away from the flame. Some of the more intelligent animals charge into the village! In their eyes, only the two-legged creatures in the village would use such terrible things! 

They have been driven away by these creatures before, so they generally keep their distance from the village. But now, they clearly retreat to the deep mountains, yet these things still come burning toward them!

It must be those two-legged creatures’ doing! They roar angrily as they charge into the village!

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Author’s Note: 

A friendly reminder: Don’t play with fire!