Dragon Tamer

Chapter 454: Chapter 456 Puppet Master
Zhao Yin Ge didn’t wait too long before he appeared on the narrow path in the tea garden.

When this fellow approached, Zhu Minglang found that Zhao Yin Ge seemed to have drunk quite a bit of alcohol and was inebriated.

He arrived at the teahouse and started chatting with the little princess who wore a silk cap that partially concealed her face; the curtains of the teahouse were drawn down, with no servants in sight for hundreds of meters around.

In the deep of night, a solitary man and woman in the teahouse of Mount Chayuan—if not for the curtains, Zhu Minglang might even have witnessed a shameless exchange between nobles…

Zhu Huo was indeed clever, using the same trick against the perpetrator. They had encountered an assassination attempt while going to a flower-drinking party, so how could Zhao Yin Ge, a man in his prime, be without such desires?

Zhu Huo had obviously started with the little princess, who wasn’t exactly known for her chastity. Tracking the whereabouts of a Princely Heir was no easy task, but for a small-country princess motivated solely by profit, it was simple.

Speaking of princesses, some are from small, remote countries where their status might not even match the courtesans of the Imperial City. Apart from the Miao Kingdom, where women are encouraged to be strong and princesses are successors to the royal power, most princesses from small and distant countries cannot escape the fate of political marriages.

Of course, rather than being passively married off, it’s better to choose the best prospects early. This is what these low-status princesses from neighboring countries around Qin City often think, thus they also frequently gather in Qin City, seeking change or establishing connections in advance…

…

Zhu Minglang didn’t know what was happening inside the teahouse curtains, and really, he had no interest in watching.

“Zhu Huo, oh Zhu Huo, I know you want to strike when they are deep in their romp, but you can’t measure Zhao Yin Ge by the same fiery zeal most men would have; he doesn’t even have his own hands and feet…”

Seeing Zhu Huo still patiently waiting, Zhu Minglang couldn’t help but feel a sense of urgency.

But soon, Zhu Minglang remembered something important.

Zhao Yin Ge had his limbs severed by him.

Though he later became a Puppet Master and fitted himself with lifelike prosthetic limbs and learned to control Undead Puppets, could such a malformed person really stagger around drunk?

“Something doesn’t seem quite right,” Zhu Minglang thought back to Zhao Yin Ge’s behavior.

If it were himself, Zhu Minglang would have definitely abandoned the plan, for he would not easily risk danger at the slightest doubt.

But at that moment, Zhu Huo made his move.

Light as a swallow, he descended from the high tea plants and landed on the roof of the secret meeting teahouse.

He made no sound as he moved, and quickly he hooked the curved eaves with his foot, hanging upside down at the teahouse curtains…

His one-handed Longsword suddenly thrust into the teahouse with astonishing force, leaving Zhu Minglang somewhat amazed at how Zhu Huo could unleash such power in that inverted position!

If Zhu Huo had succeeded with this strike, it would have confirmed that he had no involvement in the attempt on his life; he had simply been careless for a moment, neglecting the safety concerns and failing to investigate the courtesan’s identity in advance.

No scream was heard at the thrust of the sword, nor was any blood seen.

Zhu Huo was confident in his own strength, or else he would not have taken action personally, but when he lifted the teahouse curtains, he saw a face with an alluring, sinister smile looking disappointedly at him.

“Disturbing my pleasures in the deep of night won’t end well, you know!” the little princess from the neighboring country said sweetly, but her tone was far from charming, instead sending chills down the spine!

Seeing his assassination attempt failed, Zhu Huo didn’t hesitate to flee into the tea mountain.

Meanwhile, “Zhao Yin Ge” unexpectedly erupted with astonishing speed, dashing toward Mount Chayuan and with one hand, he grabbed the lightweight Zhu Huo, brutally slamming him down to the ground.

Zhu Huo crashed into the fields of Mount Chayuan. He did not panic over the authenticity, but instead, raised his sword and thrust it heavily towards “Zhao Yin Ge.” The cold light of the sword swept across Zhao Yin Ge’s chest, yet it seemed that Zhao Yin Ge possessed a body made of copper and iron; the blade left no mark on his bare skin!

The valiant Zhao Yin Ge lifted his foot and stomped down hard on Zhu Huo’s chest.

Zhu Huo raised his sword to block, but Zhao Yin Ge’s foot was so powerful that it stomped the tea fields apart. Zhu Huo couldn’t get up in time and he was thrust into the muddy soil of the fields, coughing up blood…

Not far away, Zhu Minglang, who was secretly observing, was also secretly astonished.

When had Zhao Yin Ge become so ferocious? Wasn’t he a useless individual who only knew about trivial trickery? Or could it be that this time he had switched to a stronger body?

Zhu Huo was also skilled. Despite his injuries, he didn’t just passively take the beating but used the loose soil of the tea mountain to escape and fled deeper into Mount Chayuan.

The fierce Zhao Yin Ge pursued relentlessly, obviously not intending to let Zhu Huo leave this place alive.

…

“Puppet Master??” Just when Zhu Minglang was about to leave, he suddenly noticed an unusual gleam in the eyes of the woman in the pavilion.

This promiscuous little princess stood in the pavilion with her clothes unadjusted, her eyes rapidly shifting, yet strangely devoid of any expression…

She did not seem to be watching, but more like she was controlling something!

Zhu Minglang had seen this unusual pupil movement a few times before; it was indeed characteristic of a Puppet Master!

The person meeting her was not Zhao Yin Ge??

It was an iron-hard puppet that looked very much like Zhao Yin Ge??

This notorious little princess was actually a Puppet Master, seemingly having set this trap on purpose for someone to walk into.

“Charge, all of you, we must capture him by any means necessary. I’d prefer him alive!” Just then, a group of men appeared on a small path through the sheepfold, one of them shouting orders loudly.

Soon, Zhao Yin Ge himself arrived with a group of experts. They first headed for the high ground of Mount Chayuan, surrounding Zhu Huo, who was entangled by the iron-hard puppet.

At the same time, another group of men appeared in the direction Zhu Huo was running toward; they forced Zhu Huo back to the vicinity of the tea pavilion.

Realizing that escape was difficult, Zhu Huo unleashed an even more powerful Sword Territory, fighting alone against these undead minions. These surrounding minions could not subdue him in a short time.

“Bang!!!”

The iron-hard puppet threw a punch towards Zhu Huo’s face, which Zhu Huo narrowly dodged, but the fist’s wind tore apart his mask.

After his true face was revealed, another person emerged in the tea pavilion area, An Qingfeng, the son of King An. He smiled and said to the little princess and the real Zhao Yin Ge, “You see, this man is not Zhu Minglang. Although that guy Zhu Minglang is quite useless, he still has a bit of brains. Without absolute certainty, he wouldn’t venture here alone.”

“Dammit, we’ve only caught such a small fry!” Zhao Yin Ge said, seething with anger.

“He is Zhu Huo, not exactly a small fry,” An Qingfeng walked over and said with a hint of a smile on his lips.