The male teacher, wanting to appear brave in front of Qian Min, said loudly, "Don't be afraid, everyone. It's just a paper figure. I'll go take a look!"
He stood up, took a flashlight from a classmate, and slowly approached the paper figure. He stopped a few steps away, observed it, and indeed, it was a common paper figure from a paper-offering shop. He kicked it aside and turned back, saying, "Students, it's just a paper figure. It must have been blown here by the wind. You don't need to be afraid..."
As soon as he finished speaking, he noticed that in the firelight, everyone's faces had turned extremely terrified. A chill ran down his spine, his hairs stood on end, and then he slowly turned around.
At some unknown time, the paper figure he had kicked over had stood up again. It was now looking at him with eerie eyes, from which red blood was flowing.
"Ah!"
The male teacher screamed and retreated in a panic. But the next second, his body stiffened, and like a marionette, he mechanically and slowly turned around.
The onlookers watched as his expression became eerie and stiff, his eyebrows raised, his mouth curved into a crescent moon, revealing a row of neat teeth, and he let out a chilling, strange laugh.
The students screamed in terror and started running around. Eventually, two girls ran towards Ye Tian. Where there was one, there were two, and soon everyone ran to Ye Tian's side, leaving only Qian Min standing dazed.
"Teacher Qian, hurry over!" the class monitor shouted anxiously.
Qian Min finally reacted, her body trembling. She walked to Ye Tian's side and asked with a shaky voice, "Ye Tian, what happened to him?"
Ye Tian said, "Don't be afraid."
Then he asked Chen Hui, "If I'm not mistaken, the opponent is a puppeteer, right?"
Chen Hui replied, "Yes, most likely a puppeteer, though their technique is a bit stiff. I once saw a grandmaster puppeteer operate someone, and their demeanor and speech were no different from usual, much better than this."
Ye Tian said, "I have a set of puppetry needles, and it's also more skillful than this."
Saying this, he strode forward. As soon as he got close to the male teacher, a sharp knife suddenly appeared in the latter's hand, and he lunged forward to stab.
Ye Tian reached out and snatched the knife away. Then, with a flash of the blade, there seemed to be the sound of a string snapping. Immediately after, the male teacher collapsed to the ground with a cry of pain.
Ye Tian ignored him. He leaped up and flew behind a large rock.
A moment later, with a scream, he emerged holding a thin, short middle-aged man. The middle-aged man had been subdued by him, his face pale, and he stammered, "Please spare me, sir!"
Ye Tian asked, "Do you have any accomplices?"
The man replied, "They are down the mountain. After I scared you all away, they would make their move down the mountain to capture some girls for their enjoyment."
Ye Tian asked, "Who are you people?"
The man said, "We heard that strange things have been happening in this area recently, so we came to explore. We happened to encounter you coming here for camping. Brothers, we haven't touched a woman in half a month, so we..."
Ye Tian sneered and said, "Take me to find them!"
He released the man, and the thin man dared not resist, obediently leading Ye Tian down the mountain.
The group waited on the mountain, their hearts filled with trepidation. Ten minutes later, Ye Tian returned.
Qian Min quickly asked, "What about that person?"
Ye Tian said calmly, "I beat him up and let him go."
There were some things he didn't say. He had dealt with those men using his methods, and those who had intended to harm the girls would live the rest of their lives in torment, wishing they were dead.
Qian Min breathed a sigh of relief and hurried to check on the male teacher. Fortunately, he was fine, just a bit mentally drained, seemingly from being overly frightened.
Taking a deep breath, Qian Min said to him, "Ye Tian, I was rash just now. I shouldn't have doubted you, but..."
Ye Tian waved his hand, "It's fine. You all continue your fun."
However, no one was willing to return to their original spot. They all gathered around Ye Tian.
Ye Tian didn't mind and asked Liu Siyuan to distribute the meat to everyone. As the delicious roasted lamb entered their mouths, the fear of moments ago gradually subsided.
At this moment, a pure-looking girl with pigtails asked, "Big Brother Ye Tian, are you really the temple master?"