WBICDPH Chapter 61 Part 2

In towns like this, shopkeepers usually lived where they worked. Behind the inn was a small kitchen and a modest courtyard.

The courtyard wall was low and partially broken—just wide enough for Lin Jin to squeeze through.

Inside, he found the vegetable patch the boy had mentioned. But it was overgrown with weeds, clearly abandoned for at least a year.

He then approached the only well in the yard and hauled up a bucket. The surface of the water was covered in dead leaves and debris. The water itself was murky—just as neglected as the garden.

That was enough.

Lin Jin dumped the bucket back into the well, brushed the dirt from his hands, and climbed out the way he came.

Hua Nanzhi had followed him the entire time but saw nothing unusual.

She didn’t want to ask directly—that would imply she hadn’t figured it out herself. So she waited for him to explain. When he didn’t, she finally burst out:

“Lin Jin! What are you playing at? Why did you sneak into their yard? And what was that about the water?”

“Hm?”

He paused, then said lightly, “I confirmed something.”

“What?”

He put on a mysterious look and sighed.

“There may be no living people left in this town.”

“You’re trying to scare me again!” Hua Nanzhi crossed her arms. “You already used that trick once!”

“This time I’m serious.”

His expression was so sincere that she wavered.

“…What makes you say that?”

Wasn’t it obvious?

But Lin Jin quickly reminded himself—Miss Hua had grown up pampered and sheltered. It was normal she wouldn’t notice.

“I asked where they got food and water. He said they grow vegetables and draw water from the well. But that garden hasn’t been used in at least a year. And the well water was filthy. If someone relied on it daily, they’d keep it clean. Living people can’t survive without food or water—unless they’re cultivators. And they’re clearly not.”

Hua Nanzhi frowned.

“But he said they buy supplies from nearby towns!”

“Excellent question!” Lin Jin clapped.

“He also said all nearby villages are empty. The closest town is eighteen li away. They have no cart animals. So they walk there every few days for fresh food? That makes no sense.”

Hua Nanzhi opened the map on her jade slip.

Eighteen li.

She closed it again, still stubborn.

“Maybe they just like walking!”

“Then where does the money come from?” Lin Jin asked gently.

She froze.

Right—money ran out. Without business, how had they survived seven years?

“They don’t feel like ghosts,” she protested. “Senior Brother, what do you think? Were they alive or dead?”

Xiao Yunkong blinked.

“I couldn’t tell.”

“Exactly. Not alive, not dead, not ghosts. Strange.”

Lin Jin lowered his voice.

“There’s another possibility. When I was recovering at the sect, I read some ancient texts. One mentioned a rare branch of the demon race—the Puppet Masters. They can turn living people into puppets. These puppets exist between life and death. They don’t need food or water, don’t decay, and sometimes retain memories—without realizing what’s happened to them.”

Hua Nanzhi frowned.

“But the mission slip clearly states the target is a red-clad wraith. Are you saying there might be a Puppet Master behind it?”

“Very likely.”

He turned to Xiao Yunkong.

“Senior Brother, among seventh-tier missions targeting red-clad wraiths, are repeated failures common?”

“Not particularly,” Xiao Yunkong replied. “Most are resolved in one attempt.”

“Then why has this one failed nine times? That suggests the difficulty exceeds its rating—and that something stronger lurks behind it.”

Hua Nanzhi suddenly realized something.

“If a Puppet Master is behind this… then the town itself—”

“Exactly,” Lin Jin said.

“We couldn’t locate Shuangxi Village even with a high-grade artifact. Others must have tried the same. Without Sanyang Town, no one would know where to go. That innkeeper’s son was placed there deliberately—to guide cultivators into the fog.”

They had reached the crooked tree.

Beyond it, gray-black fog churned thickly.

“Miss Hua,” Lin Jin sighed softly, “you really picked us a fine mission.”

“This case is anything but simple. I’m afraid we’re in for a hard fight.”