The initial assumption that the Puppeteer held important clues now seemed less clear.
It was impossible to directly inquire about Lü Jingsheng's whereabouts from the Puppeteer.
To find Lü Jingsheng, one would likely need to locate the leader of the Twelve Yuan Chen first.
However, Yan Shouyi did obtain some crucial information.
First, Lü Jing and others were imprisoned in Ping'an Building. Once he left the dungeon, Yan Shouyi would immediately contact Long Feicheng and the others, instructing them to rescue Lü Jing and escort him back to the Lü Mountain Sect to manage affairs.
Second, the real Lü Xin was already dead, and had been silenced by the very Puppeteer standing before him. This piece of information actually saved the Puppeteer's life. Yan Shouyi intended to keep him alive so that Lü Jingsheng could personally avenge his granddaughter's family upon his return.
Third, Lü Jingsheng's whereabouts were in the hands of the leader of the Twelve Yuan Chen.
Fourth, a clue extended and elaborated upon by Yan Shouyi—Li Genmiao had not gone into hiding due to severe injuries; he was still pursuing some illicit plan.
Why did Li Genmiao send the Puppeteer to take over the Lü Mountain Sect?
What benefit would this bring to the New Xuan Mountain Sect?
If the Puppeteer successfully took over the Lü Mountain Sect, what would Li Genmiao plan to do next?
Yan Shouyi even considered with divergent thinking, had Li Genmiao planted similar hidden pawns in other sects, waiting to take them over?
If the facts were as Yan Shouyi suspected, the situation would become extremely grave.
The New Xuan Mountain Sect was already powerful. If they infiltrated other prominent sects, it would be even harder for people to stop him.
This was beyond doubt; Zhang Wuma of Longhu Mountain was the best example. In Li Genmiao's plan to attack Longhu Mountain, the defected Zhang Wuma played a crucial role.
"What else do you know?" Yan Shouyi grabbed the Puppeteer by the collar and asked.
The Puppeteer shook his head, "The information I have is limited. The Actor always conducts himself this way. We only follow his orders, and no one knows what he'll do next."
The Puppeteer was not lying about this; the people of the Twenty-Eight Mansions were also kept in the dark by Li Genmiao.
Yan Shouyi stared at the Puppeteer for a moment, then suddenly punched him, striking the bridge of his nose!
With a bang, the Puppeteer's nasal bone shattered, and the pain caused him to pass out immediately.
Since no useful information could be obtained from the Puppeteer, Yan Shouyi no longer intended to interrogate him. This punch was purely to vent his anger and to avenge the real Lü Xin.
Yan Shouyi got up and left, locking the old wooden door and departing without looking back.
Wei Changqing was not far away, leaning against the outside of the cell. Seeing Yan Shouyi emerge, he asked, "Did you kill him?"
Yan Shouyi shook his head and replied, "This Puppeteer killed Lü Xin's entire family. I'm keeping his dog life so that Senior Lü Jingsheng can personally take action upon his return."
Wei Changqing nodded slightly. He actually preferred killing the Puppeteer directly.
After all, he had no affection for Lü Jingsheng or Lü Xin. In his eyes, killing the Puppeteer was the safest option.
However, Wei Changqing also had an opinion on Yan Shouyi's decision.
"I've just examined the items the Puppeteer was carrying. I believe you'll be interested in this."
Saying so, Wei Changqing produced a rolled-up Taoist talisman, no longer than a segment of a little finger. He explained, "The bottom of the Puppeteer's horsetail whisk handle had a secret compartment. Upon opening it, I found this."
When the Puppeteer was disguised as Lü Xin, he had been holding a horsetail whisk. Yan Shouyi had previously thought it was just an item he carried to disguise himself, but now it seemed it was a magical artifact.
Yan Shouyi took the talisman and unfolded it, examining it. He frowned and said, "This is some kind of talisman for sending signals."
"Yes, once burned, the holder of another identical talisman will sense it," Wei Changqing stated.
The two looked at each other, seemingly seeking each other's opinion, contemplating whether to burn the talisman.
The Puppeteer's belongings were undoubtedly related to the New Xuan Mountain Sect.
Wei Changqing spoke with a more conservative tone, "Should we ask the Puppeteer?"
"Alright."
Without another word, Yan Shouyi turned and went back to find the Puppeteer with the talisman.
Poor Puppeteer, having just had his nose bridge shattered by Yan Shouyi's punch and rendered unconscious, was immediately revived by Yan Shouyi splashing a basin of cold water on him.
"What is this?" Yan Shouyi asked, holding up the talisman.
The Puppeteer, enduring the severe pain, squinted his eyes open and truthfully replied, "It's a talisman for contacting the Actor. The Actor instructed me to burn it and notify him once I became the sect leader of the Lü Mountain Sect."
"Why didn't you say you had this earlier?" Yan Shouyi demanded angrily.
"Your punch just now..."
The Puppeteer stopped mid-sentence, afraid of being beaten again.
Yan Shouyi let out a cold snort, put away the talisman, and asked again, "Is there anything else you haven't said? I don't want to waste words, but I have energy all over my body. If you don't mind taking a few more punches, you'd better confess everything honestly."
The Puppeteer hastily shook his head, "I really don't know anything else!"
Seeing the Puppeteer's panicked expression, Yan Shouyi believed he was telling the truth and didn't waste any more time on him, knocking him out with another punch.
Exiting the cell, Yan Shouyi found that Wei Changqing had already arrived outside the cell.
Glancing at the bloodied and battered Puppeteer, Wei Changqing said with some surprise, "This isn't like you."
"He almost caused the death of me and Zhitong's child," Yan Shouyi replied.
Wei Changqing pondered for a moment, a rare look of confusion in his eyes, "It seems every father will go to any lengths for their child. Your father would do anything for you as well."
Suddenly mentioning his father, Yan Shouyi was still somewhat unaccustomed to it.
However, he was now entirely focused on the talisman in his hand and didn't think much of it. He left the dungeon with Wei Changqing, explaining the origin of the talisman to him along the way.
Upon learning this, Wei Changqing asked, "What do you plan to do next?"
Yan Shouyi rubbed his chin and analyzed, "We've just dealt with the Puppeteer and the Wet Nurse. The news shouldn't spread too quickly. I want to take advantage of the New Xuan Mountain Sect not having reacted yet to burn the talisman, send them false information, see what they plan to do next, and thereby infer Li Genmiao's true objective."
"Are you confident?" Wei Changqing asked again.
"Naturally, I am," Yan Shouyi smiled. "Yu Lumin and the others are here. The strength of the Research Association is unprecedentedly powerful. Even the Actor himself would have to reconsider his position if he came here."
Half of the successors in the Xuanmen world were now in the Research Association, and they were not saplings needing protection; on the contrary, each of them possessed considerable power.
Therefore, Yan Shouyi's decision was to ignite the talisman immediately and set a trap for the Actor!