"Then let me see what's so fearsome about this Art of the Medicine Man." Su Changhe remained unperturbed, raising his dagger as he charged forward again.
The two Medicine Puppets immediately swung their fists at Su Changhe, their strikes far more vicious than before. Su Changhe met their fists with his dagger, intending to slice off half their hands in one slash. Yet, to his surprise, their fists suddenly hardened like stone, withstanding his blade before continuing toward his face.
Su Changhe leaped back with a flip, barely dodging the blow. He muttered, "Dead, yet stronger than when alive?"
Before his words faded, the two Medicine Puppets struck again. Far from intimidated, Su Changhe grew playful. He flicked his fingers lightly at Su Muyu, signaling him not to intervene, then raised his Inch Finger Sword and charged once more. The dagger bloomed like a flower at his fingertips, delivering seventeen swift strikes—each aimed at the puppets' vital points. Some were blocked by their hardened bodies, while others landed true, yet the puppets showed no reaction. Instead of collapsing, they only grew more frenzied.
Killing someone already dead was absurd—and naturally, not an easy task.
Purple True Qi gradually emanated from Su Changhe’s body. He grinned. "If a single strike to the throat is useless, and piercing every vital point does nothing, then how about just cutting off the head?" With a flick of his hands, a strand of Puppet Silk appeared between his two daggers. He whipped it forward, the silk spinning through the air before wrapping around one puppet’s neck. With a sharp tug on the other end, the daggers tightened, cleanly severing the puppet’s head.
The head rolled smoothly to the ground, tumbling a few times before stopping at Su Changhe’s feet. No blood gushed from the dark hollow—proof that this puppet was truly already a corpse. Yet, the headless body did not fall. Instead, it staggered wildly around the courtyard, as if disoriented.
"After twenty years in Dark River, I’ve seen all manner of strange things," Su Changhe marveled. "But something this bizarre? Truly a first."
Bai Hehuai stepped out from the house. "Crush its heart, and it’ll stop."
"Bai Guniang, next time, say that sooner!" Su Changhe shook his head helplessly before hurling another dagger, piercing the headless puppet’s chest. Finally, it collapsed lifelessly to the ground. Meanwhile, the remaining puppet lunged at him again.
"If crushing the heart works, then reducing it to ashes should too." Su Changhe sheathed his dagger, gathering energy in his palms.
Seeing this, Bai Hehuai cried out, "No!"But it was already too late. Su Changhe swiftly gathered his energy and struck the Medicine Puppet with a palm strike. The power of the Yama Palm was immense, instantly obliterating the upper half of the puppet's body. Flesh and blood splattered everywhere as black-purple blood rained down from the sky, threatening to fall onto Su Changhe.
At that moment, a paper umbrella unfurled above Su Changhe's head. Su Muyu had appeared beside him, saying somewhat helplessly, "That was too reckless."
"Just wanted to test our opponent's strength," Su Changhe shrugged.
The black blood landed on the umbrella's surface, making sounds like beans hitting the ground.
Bai Hehuai hurried over: "Throw that umbrella away! Now!"
Su Muyu nodded and immediately discarded the oil-paper umbrella in his hand.
Bai Hehuai sighed in relief and complained to Su Changhe: "You always act on your own. If you had any wounds and came into contact with that black blood, you'd be turned into a Medicine Puppet too!"
Su Changhe smiled: "I have my ways to avoid it."
Su Muyu looked down at the two corpses on the ground: "These two were normal people when they arrived, and their martial arts weren't weak. So the Medicine Puppets can be created while the person is still alive?"
Bai Hehuai frowned: "The Art of the Medicine Man from Western Chu can indeed achieve this. But back in Medicine King Valley, Ye Ya only managed to develop techniques for Corpse Transformation. It seems his research has advanced significantly over the years. We must stop him!"
Su Muyu looked toward the door: "He must have learned about the incident at the magistrate's office and sent people to probe our strength here. Now that his assassination attempt has failed, he'll likely try to leave Nan'an City first."
"Not so easily." Bai Hehuai took out a transparent glass vial from her robe, containing a spider glowing with a faint white light.
"Did Yumo give this to you?" Su Muyu was surprised.
"Yes," Bai Hehuai opened the vial and carefully placed the white spider on the ground. After circling the black blood once, the spider began crawling toward the courtyard gate. Bai Hehuai quickly followed, turning back after a few steps: "Su Muyu, come with me. Su Changhe, stay here and guard Crane Rain Medicine Manor. If anyone else comes, remember—take them alive!"
Su Changhe curled his lip: "Got it, got it."
Bai Hehuai waved at Su Muyu: "Let's go!"
The two of them began moving through Nan'an City, following the white spider's lead. Bai Hehuai felt deeply frustrated. They had finally resolved the major trouble in Heaven Revelation City, thinking they could enjoy some peaceful days. Yet barely days after opening Crane Rain Medicine Manor, they encountered such trouble. Moreover, that disciple named Ye Ya wasn't as easy to deal with as the honest and simple Xin Baicao. She remembered how she had been scared to tears the first time she saw him as a child.
Though a healer by profession, he looked emaciated, like a walking corpse.
Noticing Bai Hehuai's unease, Su Muyu said solemnly, "Don't worry. Though the Art of the Medicine Man is troublesome, once we find its weakness, it won't be hard to counter."
Bai Hehuai nodded: "True. But I fear Ye Ya may have already created a Golden Body Medicine Man. That would be troublesome.""Golden Body Medicine Man?" Su Muyu asked in confusion.
"A Golden Body Medicine Man is created by truly refining a living person into a Medicine Puppet. Such a refined Medicine Puppet loses all self-awareness, yet their martial prowess becomes several times greater than normal. They fear no death and feel no pain, often being refined from peerless masters," Bai Hehuai said gravely. "If it reaches this stage, they become extremely difficult to deal with."
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