Xu Yi munched on chocolate, watching Hunter and the puppet's combat, transforming himself into a mber of the spectator crowd.
Hunter held an Exorcism Artifact in his hand, but Xu Yi didn't know whether to call it a dagger or a sword.
It was a standard cross-shaped sword, slender and long-bladed with a hilt carved with exquisite florals, and a sky-blue gemstone embedded at the center of the guard, looking particularly fine.
It was called a dagger because the Magic Artifact was very short, roughly only 30 centiters long.
Xu Yi stared at the Cross Dagger, his eyes full of covetousness.
The puppet's shell was not that fragile, but in front of the Cross Dagger, it was like paper mâché, easily sliced open, even the bones inside were cut in two with a single stroke.
Such a sharp dagger was truly a Divine weapon!
Hunter stabbed the dagger into the puppet's chest, but he didn't pull it out imdiately; he waited two seconds.
When the dagger left the puppet's chest, the puppet collapsed onto the ground like a deflated balloon.
To deal with puppets, besides removing the device under their throats, one could also use an Exorcism Artifact.
Xu Yi was well aware of this fact, but he only had a few Exorcism Lighters, with pitifully little external fuel, hardly sufficient to handle the puppets.
"The efficiency is amazing!" Xu Yi envied fiercely; if he had such a dagger, he would have dealt with these puppets long ago.
Not many puppets remained, and even if Xu Yi didn't help, Hunter could handle them, but Xu Yi still quickly stuffed the last piece of chocolate into his mouth and got up to move forward.
He could tell that Hunter was very anxious now.
The two joined forces to deal with all the puppets, and before they had ti to catch a breath, Hunter eagerly asked, "Have you seen Laura?"
Xu Yi shook his head.
Hunter paced back and forth with a pale face, "What to do now? Laura only has one spare Exorcism Artifact; all the others are with . I should've split the box into two, it's all the fault of the stubborn old folks in the family!"
Xu Yi listened quietly; it wasn't a good ti for him to express his opinion.
After a few seconds of hesitation, Hunter suddenly looked up at Xu Yi, "I am planning to go back and look for Laura. Can you help ? I know you want that painting; after we find Laura, I will give it to you."
"Actually, I just wanted to borrow it to make a copy." Xu Yi chose to be honest.
It wasn't that he didn't want another Exorcism Artifact, but he had an unpleasant premonition that Laura might already be in trouble.
If they ended up finding Laura's body, and Hunter felt compelled to keep his promise and give him the painting, it was highly likely that what he would receive wasn't gratitude but resentnt.
Why bother with such a thankless task?
Hunter was stunned for a mont, then he placed the tal box flat on the ground and opened it, retrieving the painting from inside and thrusting it into Xu Yi's hands.
"I am lending you the painting, and I hope you can help find Laura!"
This ti, Xu Yi didn't refuse and nodded his head.
They set off again heading deeper into the tunnel, planning to return to that Dissolving Cave from before where they hoped to find so clues.
Taking advantage of this brief respite, Xu Yi began to examine the painting in his hands.
Truly a masterpiece, he was captivated from the first glance.
The painting depicted an Angel slaying a Demon, employing a style that was not purely realistic but included so abstract elents.
Yet it was this approach that made the scene burst with an intense Vitality.
The painting seed to co alive, with the Angel holding up the golden Holy Sword, piercing through the Demon's wings.
Xu Yi felt as if he could sll the scent of the Demon's blood, feeling the searing radiance of the Holy Sword.
He subconsciously took out his sketchbook from his backpack, intending to copy the scene, but after only few strokes, he was interrupted… A group of Puppets ca pouring out from the end of the passage.
The Puppets did not cause much trouble for the two of them. After disposing of the Puppets, they continued on.
Monts later, they returned to the Underground Cavern.
The cavern was empty, not only was Laura not there, the Puppets had also vanished.
"Looking at the footprints on the ground, so extend in that direction, it's very likely the way Laura fled," Xu Yi squatted down to examine the ground.
Hunter, without a word, chased after the direction of the footprints.
The surroundings of the Dissolving Cave connected to passageways of all sizes; they followed the footprints into one of them, and Hunter's golden bell suddenly shook violently.
Xu Yi glanced at Hunter, whose complexion had turned even paler, evidently realizing sothing.
Hunter quickened his pace, almost breaking into a run.
There were still many side passages ahead, but Hunter followed the direction indicated by the golden bell in silence. anwhile, Xu Yi observed the footprints on the ground, which matched the direction indicated by the golden bell.
The golden bell suddenly rang incessantly, halting both n. Xu Yi turned off the bright flashlight, as there was no need for it montarily.
Before them appeared another cave, smaller than the previous one, with walls adorned with densely packed kerosene lamps, illuminating the entire cave.
The cave's walls had been carved into grid-like spaces of various sizes, each holding differently shaped Puppets, one of which Xu Yi had seen before—it was the sa Puppet that had attacked Hunter and Laura.
Xu Yi quickly counted the number of Puppets; if nothing was amiss, all of Mary Shaw's Puppets were here.
Mary Shaw's lair had been found!
Hunter's pupils shrank suddenly, fixating on sothing above. Ropes crisscrossed overhead and a human figure dangled from them.
"Laura!" Hunter called out in urgency.
There was no answer. Laura's body swayed with the ropes, it was unknown whether she was unconscious or already dead.
Anxious, Hunter headed straight towards Laura.
"Be careful!" Xu Yi warned, following him.
The kerosene lamps on the wall suddenly started to swing, causing the light to flicker on and off. Xu Yi quickly turned on the strong flashlight, brightening the whole space.
Puppets flanked the corridor as they walked through.
The creaking sound of turning began, and the Puppets' heads followed their footsteps, turning as they did. Xu Yi felt the Puppets' gaze upon him, the hairs on his body standing on end.
Hunter's face was even paler; had it not been for Laura ahead, he might have already started to retreat.
All of the Puppets' mouths suddenly began to open and close continuously, clacking together and emitting a "thump thump" sound, as if they were shrieking with laughter.
"Be careful!" Xu Yi barked a warning, feeling a surge of chilling eeriness about to engulf them like a tsunami.
All of the Puppets' mouths opened to their fullest, blood-stained, stitched tongues spewed out like Spears lunging at them.
Xu Yi felt a familiar surge; he had experienced it once before at the hotel. It was Mary Shaw's Aura of Fear.
Before it had been just one Puppet, but now there were dozens. The effect was amplified by several tis, and Xu Yi's heart began to jump uncontrollably.
Hunter's condition was terrible to the extre, shaking uncontrollably, his face so pale it was devoid of color, as if he might collapse at any second from his heart bursting.
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