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"There’s something like this happening?"

Aboard the ship, after receiving a message from Wang Ye, Chen Qing glanced at Princess Royale’s vessel ahead and furrowed his brows.

In fact, from the beginning when the imperial reinforcements had been outmaneuvered by Princess Royale, Chen Qing knew something must have gone wrong in the Capital City, he just didn’t expect it to be this serious!

"You mean to say, Duke of Wei arrived in the Capital City first, then suddenly left for the north, and immediately raised an army after getting there?"

"Yes!" came the response from Wang Ye, "According to the news I received, that’s exactly what happened..."

Chen Qing fell silent for a while, "Think of anything?"

Wang Ye: "I’ve thought of some possibilities, but I’m not quite certain."

"Are you wondering if it’s possible... that the reason Duke of Wei took up arms, claiming His Majesty was bewitched by demons, is true?"

Wang Ye: "....."

Seeing that the other party was silent, Chen Qing continued, "Is it possible that the Emperor has indeed been beguiled by some entity, or even worse, directly controlled?

And that Duke of Wei found out, realizing that now the dynasty is actually being controlled by something else, or perhaps, Duke of Wei received a plea for help from the Emperor? "

"In this world... is there a demon capable of controlling him?" Wang Ye couldn’t help asking, "You saw how strong His Majesty was with your own eyes, didn’t you?"

Chen Qing rolled his eyes; he really wanted to say there were plenty.

Yet indeed, he was also puzzled. The power of the Siao Family Emperor obviously surpassed this era’s norms, and with the current version not fully unlocked, there shouldn’t be anything capable of controlling him.

"Have you encountered any other strange incidents?" Chen Qing asked.

There was too little information for him to deduce anything.

"Well... your mother-in-law has died..."

Chen Qing: "...."

"What’s the situation?"

After Wang Ye explained the circumstances, Chen Qing’s frown deepened.

The concubines in the palace can’t be protected?

Not to mention others, but Imperial Concubine Dong, who had given birth to a prince, despite him being disabled, was still a valued concubine who had provided the Siao Family with heirs.

Her background was not weak either; she was rumored to be the daughter of Yang Rui, a Grand Scholar of the Wenyuan Pavilion.

A concubine of her stature, dead just like that?

Had the Imperial Palace in the Capital City become as porous as a sieve, allowing anyone to enter?

He remembered how strict the security had been in the past; soldiers of imperial lineage patrolled every few steps, and all kinds of formations blanketed the entire Imperial Palace, like a minefield.

Before the era of Rune Masters and Array Masters, the palace’s security could be considered the pinnacle of the age.

The only reason Thousand-Faced Fox managed to get in was with the cooperation of the Path of Yin and Yang and the inside man, Mr. Origami.

What is it now, and how did it manage to sneak in?

The concubines met grisly ends, but what about his fiancée?

Chen Qing paused for a moment. Honestly, before his mother mentioned it, he had almost forgotten about the whole affair. But once his mother learned he could marry into the Royal Family, she was overjoyed.

Every day she was asking him when he would bring back the Princess.

"Would you like me to visit the Princess for you?" Wang Ye suddenly asked.

"Is it appropriate for you, an outsider, to do that?" Chen Qing frowned.

"Are you worried I might do something to your fiancée with this puppet body?"

"Scram..."

Chen Qing sighed, "Be careful. I have a feeling... it’s better you don’t enter the palace. I suspect there’s something inside that you can’t handle."

"But I’m curious..."

"Curious about what?" Chen Qing was startled.

"I’m curious what could compel that supreme being, who drove my master to his death, to seek help from Duke of Wei!"

Chen Qing: "..."

"My earlier guess was just speculation; it might not be as I imagined."

"If it’s not as you imagined, then there’s no danger,"

Chen Qing rolled his eyes; was this guy intent on courting death?

"Wang Ye, why not come back first? Come to Lyuzhou; I could use someone powerful to hold down the fort."

"But aren’t Shen San and Wei Gongcheng already there?" Wang Ye laughed, "I’d rather not be confined by you as a deity to some place for the time being."

Chen Qing’s enshrinement system was quite interesting, but it had a drawback: once one committed to a certain divine position, they were bound to it. Whether it was Wei Gongcheng as the City God or Duke Qi as the Western Sea God, once they were appointed, many of their actions were restricted.

Wang Ye disliked this point, being a Twilight Successor, for the people of Twilight were ones that could least tolerate confinement.

He believed that if his master had made certain promises, such as to be detained forever within Capital City, the Emperor might not lay a hand on his master, but the master did not do so.

Chen Qing sighed; he knew that Wang Ye was hard to persuade.

He suddenly felt complicated; he had been in this world for decades, and if not for Wang Ye, he might now be hunting roe deer with his mother and older brother in the north.

"Be careful, I can’t quite pin down that creature in the palace, but I do know something about the old steward you mentioned," Chen Qing advised.

"Oh?" Wang Ye instantly became animated, as this was a matter of great concern to him. "You should know, shouldn’t you? After all, you personally established the netherworld boundaries of Lyuzhou."

"That’s... a different matter altogether.

" Chen Qing’s forehead was immediately filled with lines of frustration.

"The underworld of Lyuzhou is arranged by the divine system, and most of the souls collected there are freshly departed.

If you see the underworld is prosperous and the Yin Spirits are peaceful and indistinguishable from the living, it is because most are uninfected.

But have you ever thought about why Lyuzhou quarantined the evil ghosts of the past?

What about the people who died there, years ago, decades ago. ..?"

Wang Ye was startled, then shook his head, "I really don’t know. After death, the destination has always been a taboo; even my master seldom wants to talk about it, and I know very little."

"Of course, your master rarely talks about it," Chen Qing exhaled sorrowfully. "After death, all are taken to the Path of Yin and Yang; regardless of one’s wealth in life, there, they become infected and transform into other entities. Most are dismembered, their souls split into countless pieces and scattered in the bellies of numerous evil ghosts, utterly ripped apart. Especially the long-lived sorcerers, who were so powerful and free-spirited in life, face the same fate on the Path of Yin and Yang. It’s no wonder many sorcerers, after witnessing the ends of their own ancestors there, are reluctant to speak of it. "

Wang Ye nodded, understanding this was probably why many elders of sorcerer families sought eternal life. In this world, death did not bring peace, but led to a more terrifying place, which was indeed difficult to accept.

"So here’s the question, that steward you mentioned, who keeps human form and speaks almost exactly as the old steward in your memory—do you think that’s possible?

A hundred-year-old steward, who has never cultivated any soul arts, would be torn and devoured on the Path of Yin and Yang, even as a high-class sorcerer. How could he remain intact?"

"What do you mean?"

"What you saw, it definitely isn’t Butler He!"

"Then what is it?" Wang Ye felt an inexplicable chill in his heart, as if being watched, even in his puppet body.

"Something very troublesome..." Chen Qing spoke in a low voice.

"These beings are rare even in the Path of Yin and Yang.

They devour fragments of souls and memories, and then try to imitate the person from those memories.

Moreover, once such a creature reaches the world of the living, it will quickly locate and integrate into society based on the familiar scents from the memories it consumed. "

"Integrate? How can they integrate when the person is already dead?"

"Unfortunately, once it gets close to you, you won’t consider it a dead person," Chen Qing replied.

Wang Ye: "...."

"Didn’t you just say that after that Butler He left, no one remembers him anymore?"

"It changes memories like the Thousand-Faced Fox?" Wang Ye asked seriously.

"Not that powerful..." Chen Qing shook his head. "But more troublesome. They can’t change your memories, but they make you feel their existence is justified. For example, you know it’s not logical for a dead person to appear, but when it stands before you, you would find it logical. You would laugh and chat with it, and once it leaves, you would think that’s normal too, because it’s a state of hypnosis.

Therefore, you will completely forget its existence! "

Hearing this, Wang Ye suddenly felt a chill that he hadn’t experienced in a long time.

Such terrifying abilities sounded even more exaggerated than the Thousand-Faced Fox.

Does this mean that some things appear normal when they are present, and once they leave, you forget everything they did? What does this imply?

It implies that these creatures might have done something by your side at any time, and you would have no idea!!

"How can such things exist in this world?" Wang Ye couldn’t help but say.

Chen Qing: "....."

If the overtime pay was enough, what kinds of monstrous creatures couldn’t those group of designers think up?

"You just mentioned... these creatures are rare..." Wang Ye suddenly thought of something even more horrifying: "Does that mean there’s not just one of them?"

It suddenly remembered the rumors of the dead returning that spread when it left the Capital.

"Hmm..." Chen Qing gave a wry smile: "Not just one, there are many. If I’m not wrong, at present, Capital City is probably infested with those things!"

Wang Ye: "....."

"Normally, such beings themselves have limited harmfulness," Chen Qing spoke softly.

"Back then, Ali... that is, the Thousand-Faced Fox, also encountered this creature. I didn’t take it too seriously because I knew their harm is limited.

They are very frail, and this hypnotic ability is meant to protect themselves.

In the Path of Yin and Yang, these monsters survive by making the surrounding evil ghosts not attack them.

They rarely attack others and are one of the milder species in the Path of Yin and Yang. "

Relieved by these words, Wang Ye felt slightly eased. Harmless monsters, despite their terrifying abilities, seemed somewhat acceptable if they lacked aggressiveness.

"But you just said you felt an inexplicable chill?"

"Yes..." Wang Ye’s heart skipped a beat again: "Is there a problem?"

"Big problem..." Chen Qing’s voice grew even lower: "These beings are called Yin Devouring Demons, and they are a type of creature that enjoys the sensation of existence. That’s why they impersonate others’ family members and wander the world.

However, there’s a variant of these creatures, called. .."

-------------------------

"Yin Devouring Demon!!"

Mr. Heiyun was sitting outside Daqing Mountain, flipping through an ancient tome that contained records by an ancient sorcerer about Yin Devouring Demons.

Once, when the Emperor was emotionally unstable, missing the Empress, he heeded the fox’s suggestion and introduced a Yin Devouring creature to the Path of Yin and Yang.

But now it seemed... that creature... was not a mere Yin Devourer!

It was the entity described in this book!