Chapter Twenty-Eight: A Secret Crush-Sou o Rei do Submundo, e após a morte, experimento dez vidas de tribulações.(Dois grupos de imitação de tinta para o ritual de sepultamento aterrador)

Li Yan smeared his own blood from the tip of his tongue onto his blade and began to strike relentlessly at the small puppet creatures. Had these puppets not existed, he could have struck the puppeteer with precise lightning. However, Li Yan had not anticipated that the puppeteer's creations would be endless; as soon as one wave was destroyed, another immediately took its place. At a glance, these puppets looked indistinguishable from living people—it was highly probable that they had been crafted from actual human beings.

With no other choice, Li Yan pressed on, though his stamina began to wane. Seizing the moment, the puppeteer launched another attack. Li Yan appeared to be on the verge of defeat, yet he did not fall. Instead, he thrust his dagger directly beside the puppeteer’s heart. He stopped short of piercing the organ itself; the man’s life was still useful.

The puppeteer clutched his side, collapsing to the ground as blood poured from the wound. Li Yan smiled down at him and said, "I have some questions. If you answer me truthfully, I will treat your wounds and spare your life. How about that?"

The puppeteer, hearing this, was skeptical; could such a person truly be so benevolent? Li Yan was not surprised by the man's distrust. He simply placed a restrictive seal within the puppeteer’s body to prevent him from casting any further arts, and then proceeded to heal him. Once the puppeteer realized his injuries had indeed vanished, he knelt and kowtowed to Li Yan. "Thank you for saving my life. I will certainly repay you."

Li Yan found the display repulsive. He did not believe a villain was capable of gratitude, nor did he expect it; he had only saved the man to ensure he didn't die before the questioning was finished.

Li Yan smiled and shook his head. "Tell me the story between you and Xue Huaiyuan. Why did you do this to him?"

Though hesitant, the puppeteer decided to speak, having had his life spared. Under his description, the truth began to emerge. The puppeteer’s real name was Bu Yao, and he and Xue Huaiyuan had grown up together as close friends. Bu Yao had secretly been in love with Xue Huaiyuan for years. Initially, Xue Huaiyuan had treated him with great kindness, and their families were of similar standing. Bu Yao had hoped that if they could not be lovers, they could at least remain friends for life.

However, he had not expected Xue Huaiyuan to marry another woman—Qin Lian. Bu Yao had been consumed by jealousy, yet he still attended the wedding to offer his congratulations. But upon arriving at Qin Lian’s home, he was immediately cast out by Xue Huaiyuan before he could even offer his well-wishes. Qin Lian had mocked him, seemingly aware of their past history.

Devastated by this rejection, Bu Yao watched as Xue Huaiyuan slowly distanced himself. His heart turned cold, and he attempted to find someone else to marry to forget Xue Huaiyuan, but he found it impossible. Worse, Qin Lian kept sending him word of how blissfully happy she and Xue Huaiyuan were. Bu Yao’s resentment grew. He could not understand why Xue Huaiyuan had changed so drastically after having been so kind to him in the past. He began to loathe him, choosing to forget the good times and fixate only on the bad. In his eyes, Xue Huaiyuan was a traitor, and he himself was blameless. He began to wait for an opportunity to exact his revenge.

Before that chance arrived, disaster struck his own home. His parents fell gravely ill, draining his family’s remaining wealth. Desperate, he sought out Xue Huaiyuan for a loan. This time, Xue Huaiyuan did not avoid him and agreed to help, though he explained that his money was controlled by Qin Lian and they would have to ask her. Bu Yao, knowing what kind of woman Qin Lian was, understood the difficulty, but he was shocked when Qin Lian not only refused to provide the money but also beat Xue Huaiyuan, who returned to Bu Yao with his face bruised and swollen.

When Bu Yao went to confront Qin Lian himself, she beat him as well, and this time, Xue Huaiyuan did not defend him. This final humiliation cemented Bu Yao’s resolve to destroy them both.

Shortly after, he encountered a person distributing flyers for an organization called the "Shadow Puppet." It promised to teach specialized techniques and offered a reward of ten thousand gold taels to those who joined. Though initially skeptical, Bu Yao thought of his sick parents and decided to try.

Upon entering the organization, he was met with a chilling sight: countless puppets and dolls. The leader of the Shadow Puppet, noting his potential, took him on as a personal disciple. He was taught various puppetry and dark arts, and the money provided was used to heal his parents. However, he soon found himself under the organization's control. They placed a restrictive curse within his body that required a recurring antidote to prevent death. He was forced to kill and craft puppets for them to survive.

As his power grew, his master became wary and burdened him with more, increasingly complex curses. Realizing the master intended to control him forever, Bu Yao searched for a way out. He conceived a plan: to refine a powerful venomous parasite—a *gu*—that might allow him to resist the internal restrictions. He needed a soul with the right horoscope to serve as a vessel, and he determined that Xue Huaiyuan was the perfect candidate.

Discovering that Xue Huaiyuan had been imprisoned, Bu Yao committed the same crime to get himself incarcerated. He then tortured Xue Huaiyuan into a state of mental collapse and extracted one of his three souls, leaving him even more broken and silent. When Xue Huaiyuan was eventually released, his family noticed his condition and sought out a master. Bu Yao, already lurking nearby, followed them back to the Xue residence, lured Xue Huaiyuan into a room, carved out his heart to turn him into a puppet, and began to cultivate the parasite within his body.