After Becoming a High-Risk Master, I Flipped the Script Chapter 89

Half an hour earlier, Gu Baiqing and the other two had sent off the last family.

In the guest courtyard, only Three Bean and Xie Qingrong remained. Xie Qingrong sat to the side, looking for an excuse to enter the room.

Suddenly, two people arrived. Three Bean opened his eyes to glance at them. Seeing they were acquaintances, he flicked his tail and ignored them.

“Young Master Xie, Sister Lan wants to go in and say a few words to Hua En. Is that alright?” Wu Hongxi asked anxiously, looking at Lu Sulan.

Xie Qingrong nodded. “Alright, I’ll take her in. You don’t need to go.”

Wu Hongxi nodded, obediently sitting down where the little jade figure had just been.

Xie Qingrong was about to leave when he suddenly felt something was off. But pressed for time, he did not think further and went ahead to lead the way. Lu Sulan followed him inside.

Inside, Hua En had just released all the soul controls and was utterly exhausted. Seeing someone arrive, he was puzzled—until he saw it was Lu Sulan.

“Get out.”

Lu Sulan stared deeply at Hua En, then turned to Xie Qingrong. “I want to speak with him alone.”

Xie Qingrong nodded, but he stepped forward to Hua En’s side.

“What are you doing?” Hua En said warily. “They swore a blood oath.”

“Nothing. Just setting up a barrier, to prevent accidents.” Xie Qingrong replied.

Hua En did not understand. Hadn’t that one called Mo Xuanli already set many? When he was captured, he had tried and could not undo them; they were already extremely solid. Did this man not trust his own companions, needing to add another?

But it had nothing to do with Hua En, and he could not be bothered to care. He let Xie Qingrong act.

The two present—one a mortal, the other only trained in puppet techniques—had no idea what Xie Qingrong was actually doing.

A split soul would indeed lose its memories, but his had long since recovered. He knew that although Hua En outwardly appeared to be a puppet master, in truth he was also a dead-puppet controlled puppet.

And the one controlling him was exactly the person Xie Qingrong sought. The technique Xie Qingrong was using was a secret method developed by the Rufeng Sect specifically to counter puppet techniques: by using a puppet, one could trace back to the puppet master.

But it could only be used once in a given time. He had to gamble on the moment when he was absolutely certain.

In Linxun Town, there had been three people controlled by this enemy: the dead-puppet Hua En, the living-puppet Zhu Jian, and Xie Qingrong’s own body.

But Zhu Jian had already been handed over to Hua En, so Xie Qingrong believed that path offered no chance. And as for the nature of dead puppets: once the puppet master’s control was cut off, the dead puppet would immediately become nothing more than a true corpse.

So as long as Hua En was not dead, Xie Qingrong would still have the chance to use him to track the one behind it all. This journey was dangerous, and he intended to face the problem personally—without dragging others in, and without letting the group know the truth hidden behind it.

After a round of spellcasting, Xie Qingrong opened his spiritual sight. From Hua En’s back stretched out a glowing thread—the control line that only the most formidable puppet masters could cultivate.

With the spell completed, Xie Qingrong no longer concerned himself with the two inside the room. He had to act quickly before the other three returned.

The line extended out the door. Xie Qingrong immediately ran after it. He had thought the line merely pointed in a direction—that the person must be hiding far away, perhaps even already fled. But unexpectedly, the other end of the line was right in the courtyard.

The moment he rushed out and saw, Xie Qingrong froze.

At the doorway, Wu Hongxi soon noticed him and came running over cheerfully, crouching down.

On the jade figure’s face, no expression could be seen, yet Wu Hongxi’s smile shone brilliantly.

Xie Qingrong struck at once. Though he was a jade puppet, after absorbing Jingzhan’s spiritual power he had already buried traps within his body. He could—

But in that very instant, Wu Hongxi moved a finger, gently touching the jade puppet’s head, then softly scooping it into his arms. Throughout, Xie Qingrong was already immobilized, unable to move.

Wu Hongxi’s voice was low and hoarse—clearly a man’s timbre.

“Eldest Senior Brother… surprised? Too careless. Don’t you know that once a soul has been controlled, even a split-soul will, upon meeting its master again, be effortlessly subdued?”

Xie Qingrong could not utter a word, nor show an expression.

Yet “Wu Hongxi” could easily imagine his senior brother’s look at this moment—surely furious, but with such a good-natured temperament that even anger would not twist his features into ugliness.

“See? In the end you still belong to me. And both times, it was you who walked straight into my hands. This is fate—you can’t blame me.” With seeming indifference, “Wu Hongxi” swept the puppet control line across every inch of the jade puppet’s body, checking whether Jingzhan had left any hidden dangers within. But as he swept, his expression gradually darkened.

He had discovered a Heaven-Net Array, a Death-Return Array—set upon the split-soul within the jade puppet. Formations that consumed the soul’s life-force as their foundation, the most vicious kind.

Yet also the hardest for others to detect.

Jingzhan would never do such a thing to Xie Qingrong. Which meant…

“Wu Hongxi” gave a hideous laugh. “Senior Brother, were you planning to risk your life to resist me? To capture me? And if you couldn’t, then perish together with me? I’m certain that if my current identity weren’t something you’d never expect, the instant I revealed my true self and held the little jade man, that would have been the moment of my death.”

When had his senior brother ever been so cruel to him?

Truly too much. He had once said he would always cherish him.

“Wu Hongxi” gripped Xie Qingrong’s throat. Though he was a jade puppet and could not be strangled to death, the act still could not ease Wu Hongxi’s fury.

“Is there truly no place for me in your heart? Do you truly wish me gone? You’re just like that old man from Rufeng Sect—hypocritical! No… you’re worse. At least he never gave me warmth that he later coldly took back.”

“But so what? I won’t disappear. Even if I cannot cultivate, I can still live eternally. And I’ll make you live eternally with me—by my side, forever and ever. What you withdrew from me, I’ll force you to return. I’ll make you treat me well again—only me.”

Here, “Wu Hongxi” suddenly thought of something amusing. He rubbed his cheek against the little jade figure. “What do you think of Hua En and Wen Jiang’s relationship? Why don’t we hold a wedding banquet too? After all, we’ll be together forever—being Dao companions is closer than just senior and junior.”

At last the little jade man trembled, unable to endure further. But “Wu Hongxi” only smiled cruelly. “Not yet. First we finish matters here. Those three—especially Jingzhan—I’ll make them all my puppets. A fine show awaits them.”

Behind them came a meow, as if puzzled at what they were doing.

“Wu Hongxi” sneered and, controlling the jade puppet, walked toward the corridor.

“Alright, go see Uncle Zhu. When they return, I’ll pass along the message,” he said breezily.

Three Bean watched the jade puppet vanish, but paid no mind, closing his eyes again to bask in the sun while waiting. He didn’t notice that the jade puppet had in fact slipped into Wu Hongxi’s embrace.

Wu Hongxi patted his chest and whispered menacingly, “Senior Brother, ever heard of a Spirit-Gathering Formation? That’s the task I’m carrying out here.”

Imagining Xie Qingrong’s startled face, his mood lifted immensely.

Soon, the three returned.

Hearing that Xie Qingrong had gone alone to find Zhu Jian, Jingzhan instantly realized the b*stard had truly decided to ditch him and act on his own. He was furious.

This brotherhood was finished. Once they dragged him back, he’d sever ties… at least for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea. But first, he’d beat him senseless.

Cursing under his breath, Jingzhan stormed toward Zhu Jian’s guest room.

He flung open the door and shouted—but not at Xie Qingrong. Instead he startled Zhu Jian awake.

Zhu Jian had been about to wake anyway.

Still groggy, he blinked. Jingzhan, thinking he had already spoken with Xie Qingrong, grabbed him by the collar and shook him hard—almost shaking him unconscious again.

“Who the h*ll are you? You—” But Zhu Jian, quick to adapt, didn’t bother clarifying. Seeing the other was a cultivator in Tianyuan Sect robes, he quickly said: “No time—listen! Is this still Linxun Town? There are demon clan puppet masters causing havoc here, and they’ve set up a Spirit-Gathering Formation. It’s extremely dangerous—you must call for aid!”

Jingzhan froze.

The information in that one sentence was overwhelming. The puppet master lurking behind Hua En was a demon? But how could demons have any connection with Xie Qingrong?

And a Spirit-Gathering Formation! To place such a thing in a place full of living people—it meant draining everyone away slowly to death!

His face went pale. He quickly dragged Zhu Jian to find the others.

Meanwhile, Gu Baiqing already had Wu Hongxi by the throat.

Wu Hongxi looked up at him with wide, innocent terror. “Older Brother Mo, what’s wrong with you?”

“Don’t call me that—it sounds creepy. Who knows whether the voice behind it is a man, a woman, old, or young?” Gu Baiqing sneered.

In truth, Gu Baiqing was panicking inside, but outwardly he remained steady.

Someone tell him what on earth was going on with this plot? Wasn’t she supposed to be just a pure, cute, talented good girl? Wasn’t she supposed to join another sect in the future?

How did it turn into this… how did it…

Wu Hongxi also seemed unwilling to keep acting any longer. She no longer cared about the hand gripping her throat, which could snap it at any time, and said with a smiling squint: “And who exactly are you? Always at the side of Zixiao Sect’s most famous disciple, respected and honored by him. Clearly your strength is extraordinary, yet you claim to be a rogue cultivator… hm? A tricolor illusion cat, power of thunder and lightning…”

“You know about lightning power. So that night, the one who chopped my hand was you.”

“Older Brother Mo, you really hit hard—it hurt for days.”

Gu Baiqing didn’t understand. If the Wu Hongxi before him was a disguise, then surely he would be able to see evidence of an injury on her body. Yet what he saw was a genuine girl. If not for his absolute trust in Mo Xuanli, he might actually have begun to waver.

“Where is the real Wu Hongxi? Or was there never a Wu Hongxi from the start?” Gu Baiqing asked the question weighing most on his heart.

“Wu Hongxi? Isn’t she standing right before you? I’ve no patience to explain!” As she spoke, Wu Hongxi raised both hands, and control lines shot out.

Gu Baiqing felt his entire body tremble, as though losing control.

“Older Brother Mo, I was so close to you before, even made your junior brother jealous. If I didn’t take advantage of that, wouldn’t it have been a waste?”

Jealous, my *ss.

“You planted control lines inside my body?”

“Of course. You’re the strongest among them—I had to take you down first, didn’t I?”

Gu Baiqing gave a cold laugh. “I’m afraid it won’t be so easy!” The moment he finished speaking, a burst of lightning power erupted from within his own body—

A spectacular sight of striking himself with his own thunder.

His lightning carried the effect of cleansing the body. Back when he fought Hua En, he had discovered that control lines could be severed easily by lightning. He hadn’t known before, lacking experience against puppet masters, but this also explained why, in Wu Hongxi’s earlier story, Zhu Jian had briefly regained clarity during thunderstorms—because lightning was the natural nemesis of puppet masters.

Gu Baiqing instantly broke free of control. He drew Morning Snow and struck with thunder straight at the opponent’s chest.

Not knowing exactly what Wu Hongxi’s current state was, Gu Baiqing refrained from using a killing move. He only sought to capture her for now.

But to his utter shock, the blow landed squarely on Wu Hongxi’s face. It seemed she had deliberately dodged her chest to avoid injury but couldn’t escape the speed of lightning, and so her face was struck instead.

Head wounds are worse, aren’t they? Could her chest be the true weak point? Gu Baiqing took note.

And then came an even more horrifying sound.

Her face split open, like a puppet with a piece shattered and fallen away.

Though only palm-sized, it was enough to reveal what lay beneath: the fair, handsome face of a young man.

“Ah… how annoying. I’d just finished fusing this puppet visage.” This time it was no longer a girl’s voice, but that of a youthful boy.

A pair of red eyes, a faint demonic aura, the lingering traces of past lightning wounds—all spilled out.

Because of the puppet disguise, all the traits of a true puppet master had been hidden, showing only what belonged to “Wu Hongxi.”

A lifelike human visage, genuine spiritual roots and talent.

Such a method of puppetry—unheard of.

But it confirmed one thing for Gu Baiqing: the “Wu Hongxi” before him could not possibly be alive.

Gu Baiqing’s expression darkened in fury, and he launched a killing strike.

The puppet master, however, seized the instant of Gu Baiqing’s daze to retreat out of the room.

Just then Jingzhan arrived with Zhu Jian. Witnessing the scene, he was dumbfounded.

Zhu Jian shouted: “Impossible! Miss Wu was clearly murdered already!”

“Look at her face, she’s—” Jingzhan suddenly gasped.

Because of the shift in angles during the fight, Jingzhan saw clearly the face hidden beneath.

“Luo Yi?!” Jingzhan cried out.

Luo Yi turned back and, sure enough, saw that annoying Jingzhan again.

He barely dodged another strike, landing atop a stone table. With one foot stamping down, light flared and black smoke rose. Lights lit up across the courtyard—arrays hidden everywhere.

And their concealment was just like those beneath Hua En’s underground mansion, difficult to detect yet lethally strong.

Seeing the danger, Jingzhan was about to rush in to help, but Gu Baiqing barked, “Stay back, it’s dangerous!”

Luo Yi sneered, “Then I’ll catch you first!”

At once the array activated, engulfing Gu Baiqing within the courtyard.

But when the light dispersed and Luo Yi turned to deal with Jingzhan, a sword gleaming with blue lightning flew straight at his chest—Gu Baiqing charging behind it.

The black smoke cleared. Jingzhan saw Gu Baiqing unscathed, and Luo Yi utterly stunned. Rushing forward, he cried, “What’s going on, this—”

“Why are you unharmed? Lightning power can’t possibly dispel an array. Even if you were Old Master Luofeng himself, you couldn’t emerge without a scratch!” Luo Yi had indeed guessed Gu Baiqing’s identity.

Now it was Jingzhan and Zhu Jian’s turn to be horrified.

“Because I have an excellent disciple,” Gu Baiqing said lightly.

His body wasn’t touched for nothing.

Gu Baiqing didn’t know how Mo Xuanli had seen through Wu Hongxi’s disguise, but when the three of them approached the doorway, Mo Xuanli must have already been certain. Knowing this puppet master excelled not only at puppetry but also at arrays, Mo Xuanli had boldly wrapped an arm around his waist, secretly inscribing a powerful protective formation on his body in advance, and written a note on his back explaining the reason, letting Gu Baiqing know the truth.

The protective formation would block a strike at the most critical moment.

But after that strike…

Luo Yi, refusing to believe it, said coldly, “I want to see just how many times you can block me.”

As soon as he finished, Luo Yi was about to stomp his foot again.

Jingzhan and Zhu Jian immediately tensed, but Gu Baiqing’s expression remained calm—while Luo Yi looked completely baffled. The entire Wen residence was utterly silent.

“This… what’s going on?”

Gu Baiqing said with a perfectly straight face: “I told you, I have an excellent disciple.”