Chapter 155: The Mastermind Behind the Scenes

Nangong Xue'er, who should have been completely healed, was once again filled with baleful Qi, and this time the concentration was even greater than before. Strangely enough, her vital functions were still relatively normal, obviously because the baleful Qi had just manifested and had not yet caused catastrophic damage. As the saying goes, Rome wasn't built in a day.

However, one thing baffled Ling Tian. This meant the heavy baleful Qi must have come from an external source, as Nangong Xue'er's physical condition was relatively stable and could not have generated such a dense concentration on its own. Reaching this conclusion, Ling Tian became even more certain that someone was secretly manipulating things.

Suddenly, the two nurses who had been holding Nangong Xue'er collapsed. Fortunately, a nearby doctor reacted quickly and caught them just in time. Right after that, the two female servants who had been tending to Nangong Xue'er also fainted. Ling Tian frowned, for he discovered that a thick wave of baleful Qi was rapidly spreading from his right hand, which had been grasping Nangong Xue'er's wrist, as if directed by someone's will.

Ling Tian's expression changed abruptly. He immediately channeled his true Qi to engulf and devour the baleful Qi, then spun around and shouted, "Everyone back up three meters! Those who were in physical contact with Nangong Xue'er, stand to my left. Those who weren't, go to the door, immediately!" Ling Tian emphasized the last word heavily.

Seeing Ling Tian look so grim for the first time, coupled with the sudden fainting of the nurses and servants, everyone turned pale with fright. They hurriedly scrambled to follow his instructions, splitting instantly into two groups. Among them, Nangong Zhenyu and the old butler had touched Nangong Xue'er, so they stood to Ling Tian's left.

Fearing that someone might disobey, Ling Tian scanned the room with his divine sense. He discovered that everyone gathered by the door had normal auras, except for Nangong Mei. Just as Ling Tian was about to single out Nangong Mei, he sensed something amiss and swept his divine sense over her once more.

Indeed, there was a trace of baleful Qi on Nangong Mei's person, though it was so faint as to be virtually negligible, making it impossible to cause any significant effect. "Nangong Mei, did you really not touch Nangong Xue'er?" Ling Tian asked with a grave expression, needing to verify one thing.

Nangong Mei immediately shook her head and said, "Absolutely not. Everyone here can vouch for me."

Nangong Zhenyu chimed in, "The only people here who touched Xue'er are myself, the old butler, the servants who care for her, and the doctors and nurses. No one else has come into contact with her."

Ling Tian gave Nangong Mei a cold glance. He realized this might be a massive conspiracy—one targeting both the Nangong family and himself. This bout of baleful Qi was not only powerful but also contagious; once infected, ordinary people would have no defense against it.

Ling Tian checked the bodies of Nangong Zhenyu and the old butler. Both were martial practitioners harboring true Qi within them, so a small amount of baleful Qi could not harm them. "You two are fine. Go wait by the door. Let me check on those people first." After having Nangong Zhenyu and the old butler step aside, Ling Tian walked over to the unconscious servants and nurses.

The doctor who was holding the female nurse did not look well either; he was already swaying on his feet, and a faint layer of black Qi had surfaced on his face. Clearly, the baleful Qi had transferred from the nurse to him. Ling Tian took the nurse from his arms, carefully laid her on the floor, and swiftly struck the doctor's chest with a palm strike.

Potent true Qi instantly surged through the doctor's entire body, forcing a wisp of faint black Qi to emerge from the crown of his head. Ling Tian swept out his hand to catch it, condensing it into a ball before rapidly pulling it into his body. The Chaos Art he practiced could ignore all forms of spiritual energy, swallowing even baleful Qi without batting an eye.

"You're alright now," Ling Tian said to the doctor, who looked like he was about to wet his pants from fright. "Find somewhere to rest. Let me look at them." With that, Ling Tian squatted down and began absorbing the baleful Qi from the nurses and servants. In less than a minute, all the baleful Qi was completely absorbed and converted into true Qi.

The dark Qi on the faces of the nurses and servants gradually faded, and they returned to normal.

***

Nangong Zhenyu asked nervously, "Mr. Ling, how could this thing be contagious?"

Ling Tian returned to Nangong Xue'er's bedside, grasped her wrist, and began absorbing the baleful Qi from her body. As he absorbed it, he replied, "This time is different from the last. Previously, Nangong Xue'er was merely infected by baleful Qi which caused her organ functions to fail, turning her failing body into a breeding ground for the Qi. But today is different; the baleful Qi was forcefully crammed into Xue'er's body, and someone is manipulating it from behind."

Hearing the words "manipulating" and "contagious," Nangong Zhenyu's expression sank instantly. This meant that the enemy hiding in the shadows wasn't just trying to harm Nangong Xue'er—their ultimate target was the entire Nangong family. Realizing the gravity of the situation, Nangong Zhenyu immediately instructed the old butler to tighten security.

"Family Head, I'll contact the head of the Security Bureau in Yunhai City right away. When something like this happens, only the people from the Security Bureau can handle it," the old butler said in a deep voice.

Nangong Zhenyu nodded and said, "And notify Elder Situ along the way."

The old butler hurried off in a rush.

Nangong Yunkun and Nangong Mei were unsettled by how miraculous Ling Tian had proven to be.

Nangong Yunkun pulled Nangong Mei out into the hallway. Glancing around to make sure no one was there, he whispered anxiously, "Ling Tian is too formidable. He was actually able to deduce that someone was manipulating Nangong Xue'er's condition, and he came out completely unscathed after absorbing contagious baleful Qi. I'm starting to get worried."

"Father, rest assured. No matter how powerful Ling Tian is, he's still just an upstart punk. I have complete confidence in that Master." Although Nangong Mei was nervous inside, thinking of the mysterious powers the Master had previously displayed immediately renewed her confidence.

When the father and daughter returned to the room, they found Nangong Xue'er looking just as she had before, which considerably eased their minds. It seemed that with the Master personally intervening this time, even Ling Tian would struggle to hold his ground.

In less than ten minutes, Ling Tian cleared away all the baleful Qi in Nangong Xue'er's body, swiftly converting it into true Qi. Free from the torment of the baleful Qi, Nangong Xue'er gradually recovered. Aside from her complexion still being a bit pale, she was just like any normal person. "Brother, why are you here?" Nangong Xue'er said with immediate excitement upon seeing Ling Tian. Had there not been so many people around, she probably would have thrown herself into his arms.

"Little girl, you're fine now." Ling Tian reached out and patted Nangong Xue'er's head. Suddenly, his fingers brushed against a strange hair. Using his divine sense to investigate it, he couldn't help drawing a sharp breath—he had been too focused on saving lives earlier to notice this.

This bizarre strand of hair was unusually thick, braided together from several individual hairs to grant it greater tensile strength. Just as Ling Tian reached out to grab it, the strange hair suddenly snapped, darting away as if it possessed a life of its own. Ling Tian hurriedly gave chase, pulling a black wooden doll out from under the bed.

When Ling Tian retrieved the palm-sized, pitch-black puppet, his expression darkened instantly. This was a form of Nanyang sorcery, and the method used was exceptionally vicious.

Seeing the small wooden doll, Nangong Zhenyu trembled with rage and blurted out, "Mr. Ling, could my daughter's illness all be the work of this little puppet? What kind of vile person could be so malicious as to resort to such dark sorcery..." He went on and on, venting a flood of words regarding sorcery.

Ling Tian shook his head and said, "It's not as terrifying as you think. Sorcery does exist, but it's not as horrifying as portrayed in movies. This puppet is carved from underworld wood, which is inherently baleful in nature, but the puppet merely serves as a connecting medium." Ling Tian left some things unsaid: a puppet carved from underworld wood acts as a medium for sorcery practitioners. Since sorcery practitioners lack divine sense, they rely on spiritual force instead, which necessitates a physical anchor.

Moreover, even with a medium, the mastermind could not be very far away, as their spiritual force was only at a low tier, falling far short of true divine sense.

Ling Tian could be certain that the mastermind was nearby—perhaps even lurking in some corner of the Nangong estate.

"The mastermind used Xue'er's hair as a medium to transmit their spiritual force into the puppet, and then used the puppet as a base to cast sorcery against Miss Xue'er. This person's intentions are venomous and they are definitely no benevolent soul; they must be eliminated," Ling Tian declared in a grave voice. Such evil arts were originally created to save lives, but they had since been hijacked by villains. If this person wasn't eradicated, they would undoubtedly harm more people.

Seeing that Ling Tian had found the puppet and analyzed the situation so clearly, Nangong Yunkun and Nangong Mei grew somewhat panicked. However, to avoid arousing Ling Tian's suspicion, they could only stay put and force themselves to remain composed.

Ling Tian did not destroy the puppet immediately; instead, he placed it back right where he found it. He intended to use the puppet to track down the mastermind. To prevent the culprit from escaping, Ling Tian instructed Nangong Zhenyu, "Family Head Nangong, the mastermind must be nearby, perhaps even inside this very mansion. Please arrange for sentries and forbid anyone from leaving. If anything happens, notify me immediately."

The mere thought of a sorcerer living under the same roof made Nangong Zhenyu's hair stand on end, and the others were thoroughly terrified as well.

"I've already had the old butler arrange it," Nangong Zhenyu said, quietly wiping the cold sweat from his forehead.

Ling Tian said, "Good. No matter what happens next, none of you are to panic, and certainly do not run around. Understood?"

Everyone nodded in unison, though inwardly they were all muttering: *Not panic? Running into something this terrifying, it would be a miracle not to panic!*

Ling Tian released his divine sense, tracing the hairs on the puppet to locate the mastermind's position. A strong residual spiritual force still lingered on the hair, indicating that the culprit had not yet fled and was pouring every ounce of effort into manipulating the puppet. He had to find them before they escaped.

The hair on the puppet had clearly been refined through a special technique; although braided from just a few strands, it radiated an evil aura and possessed incredible toughness—even an adult pulling with both hands might not be able to snap it. This showed that the adversary's strength was not to be underestimated.

Ling Tian did not touch the hair directly, using only his divine sense to probe. He discovered that the hair drilled straight through the flooring and extended down to the lower floor. Without a moment's hesitation, Ling Tian threw open the window and jumped straight out, amidst the astonished gasps of the onlookers.