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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 485: Human Skin Puppet (Part 48)
The topic brought up by Xie Ke once again caught my attention, as he mentioned the past lover of the Wild Ghost. He also spoke of the Wild Ghost's ability to calculate and his considerable cultivation as an Evil Sorcerer. He had spent many years in Miaojiang, understood Mandarin, and was knowledgeable about Miaojiang Gu Technique. He came to this place seeking his past lover.
In his previous life, the Wild Ghost had a difficult relationship with his lover; they died in a war, and her grave was looted, leaving her body discarded. He used Regeneration Water to preserve her skin from decaying and extracted energy elements from her corpse to create a Reborn Human Skin Puppet, waiting for the opportunity to find the reincarnation of his past lover, a Japanese spy named Qianying.
At first glance, Xie Ke's words sent chills down my spine.
If Qianmi is indeed Qianying, could it be that she lured me into this illusory space as part of a conspiracy? If so, I would be walking right into a trap! However, having been here for so long, the Wild Ghost had not taken any action; instead, he seemed at ease doing his own thing, only briefly showing himself by the creek before disappearing.
The Wild Ghost must have gone to the real world.
And here I was, left behind, wondering how Qin Jian, Chi Xinrong, and Ling Juan were faring.
Noticing my troubled expression, Xie Ke said, "As long as you find Regeneration Water and adjust the time difference, you will successfully break through the Wild Ghost's barrier and unravel this troublesome illusory space."
"You’re being unreasonable. How about we collaborate? You help me find my friends, and I'll figure out how to get Regeneration Water," I suggested.
Xie Ke flashed a toothy grin and replied, "Are these three your friends?" Suddenly, as if performing magic, he produced three photographs from thin air—each one depicting Qin Jian and the others.
I nodded in agreement and reached out for the photos.
But Xie Ke pulled back his hand and said, "Helping you isn’t difficult, but you need to agree to one condition."
Damn it! At a time like this, he was negotiating terms. If the Wild Ghost discovered that I had entered this illusory space, it wouldn’t just be me—Ma Qi—who would suffer; he would be in trouble too.
I held back my words when Xie Ke gazed deeply into my eyes and pressed on, "So, do you agree?"
Seeing his aggressive demeanor, he displayed a face that was quite unpleasant. My guess was indeed correct; he was the fake Xie Ke. This guy was a fraud, and if I didn’t agree to his demands, he would surely expose my situation, which would lead to real trouble. Thus, I could only helplessly shrug and ask, “What is it?”
“I’ll help you save someone. We’ll return to the real world together, but you need to prove that I am the real Xie Ke and then get me a human identity card.”
This request seemed simple but was quite troublesome in practice. First, we would have to go to the Station to apply for an identity number, then request a notary to certify that Xie Ke was not dead, and finally convince everyone who believed Xie Ke was dead to accept his lie again.
Especially Master Thank You; how could he possibly want a son who was fake from blood to bone?
Seeing me lost in thought, Xie Ke pressed further, “I’ll give you half an hour; that should be enough. After that, we’ll see what happens!” With that, he stood up and started to walk outside. What should I do if he left? Right now, I felt like a headless fly; I couldn’t just wander around aimlessly. If a wild ghost found me and I couldn’t save anyone, I might lose my life.
Thinking this way, I quickly called out to stop him: “Wait.”
Xie Ke halted and handed me three photos, whispering, “As long as you agree, I’ll go retrieve the person immediately. The wild ghosts are urging me to create these three Human Skin Puppets as soon as possible. At that time, someone will bring out Regeneration Water, and then it all depends on how you act.”
“Alright, I agree.” Damn it, for the sake of saving someone, I couldn’t care less about the consequences; at worst, there would be one more cold-blooded human in the world.
I agreed to Xie Ke’s terms, and he smirked with satisfaction: “Oh, there’s one more thing I forgot to tell you. Actually, the wild ghost is not human either; if he were human, he’d be over five hundred years old.”
I was stunned and after a long pause whispered, “He’s also a Human Skin Puppet?”
Seeing my shock, Xie Ke couldn’t help but sneer and retort, “The wild ghost died of cancer. Before dying, he prepared by using Regeneration Water to preserve healthy DNA and then used soul separation magic to create his own Human Skin Puppet. He is both a Human Skin Puppet and knowledgeable in magic; thus ordinary people cannot discern his true identity unless they are prophets or deities. And one more question: do you think a normal human would kill their own kind and then create a soulless Human Skin Puppet?”
I pondered over Xie Ke’s words carefully and couldn’t help but ask in return about his actions: “So are you an exception?”
Xie Ke gazed into the distance with dreamy aspirations for a moment before replying earnestly, “Actually, I have no other demands; I just want to be a real human being. If you can help me achieve that, my lifelong wish will be fulfilled.”
I tried to maintain a calm demeanor and forced a smile, saying, "Alright, actually, this request is simple."
"Good, it's settled then. Let's each do our part."
As Xie Ke walked out, I followed closely behind. He turned to me and commanded loudly, "You, the newcomer, come with me to fetch the molds."
The molds referred to Qin Jian and the others. I couldn't help but curse under my breath; humans were referred to as molds here. How was this situation any different from the film 'Black Sun 731'?
Damn Japanese Invaders, you should have just died! Yet even in death, you continue your Human Skin Puppet tricks, causing countless innocent lives to be lost!
So how was this Regeneration Water made?
Xie Ke's Regeneration Water actually contained super-strong human genetic cells combined with some mysterious substance that was then refined.
It seemed that fully grasping the truth about Regeneration Water and finding a breakthrough through Xie Ke was a slim hope. The only way forward was to recall the person he had mentioned before.
However, doing so would make me quite detestable; I even hated myself for it.
As I walked, I glanced at the workers in the Workshop who were busily working in chaos. According to Xie Ke's rules, these people were purely controlled and imprisoned in this illusory space. Therefore, the wild ghosts didn't have to pay them for their hard-earned labor. Once they lost their basic ability to work, he would treat them like his private property, extracting anything from them that could be used to create Human Skin Puppets—such as hair or blood.
I needed to devise a plan to incite an internal conflict among them; amidst the chaos, I could destroy the wild ghosts' illusory space.
While walking alongside Xie Ke and thinking this way, he suddenly stopped and said softly, "Stop thinking about it; just walk honestly."
What did Xie Ke mean by that? My heart skipped a beat—could he see into my thoughts? If so, that would be disastrous!
I let out a small sound and stole a glance at Peng Yan, who was looking up at us. I quickly winked at her, hoping that the stubborn woman would understand my hint if she was clever enough.
However, to my disappointment, Peng Yan didn’t spare me a second glance, nor did she show any sign of change due to my suggestion. She continued to do her own thing as if I didn’t exist at all.
When we arrived at Xie Ke’s workshop, I saw Qin Jian, Chi Xinrong, and Ling Juan.
The three of them moved around the room like robots, their faces displaying complex and strange expressions, with inexplicable smiles between their brows, as if they were engaged in some joyful game. They seemed hypnotized; perhaps the people in the Workshop were also under hypnosis, moving mechanically and following the steps set by the wild ghost.
It was strange that Xie Ke hadn’t taken any hypnotic measures against me. Perhaps this was part of his plan—to use me to break free from the control of the wild ghost and Gousi, and then obtain the first identity card for humanity through me.
For now, I couldn’t wake up Qin Jian and the others. I needed to get them to the Workshop first and find an opportunity to approach Peng Yan alone for her awakening.
Once Peng Yan woke up and figured out where the Regeneration Water was stored, I could easily trade a urine sample for the wild ghost's Regeneration Water. The key question was whether I could make Peng Yan serve my purposes once she was awake.
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