Madam Tang took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. Although she didn't turn around, she could already imagine the expression on Madam Fei's face. Some people change, like herself. Over the years, she had constantly adapted to her identity and life, integrating and enjoying them.

But some people don't change, like Madam Fei.

It's not that she doesn't want to change, but she doesn't have the conditions to change.

She's like a wound on a floor covered in thorns, festering and emitting a foul smell, accompanied by pain and suffering all day long.

But she has gotten used to it.

If you ask her to get up or turn away from this floor, her body will inevitably touch other thorns, and she will be afraid of the pain.

"The past...

Madam Fei asked, "Are you trying to persuade me to let go?"

Madam Tang shook her head and said, "The past has nothing to do with the children."

"Children?" Madam Fei frowned slightly. Madam Tang calmly added, "Because my son inherited my bloodline, he has been cursed and tormented until now. If there was a choice, I hope he wouldn't experience any of this pain. When I saw your granddaughter, saw her in a drowsy state as if she was dozing off, I knew that you must have made her childhood very bleak."

"As a descendant of the Fei family, she has a mission of revenge." "What mission?!" "Revenge!"

"Do you want her to seek revenge against Dis? Do you think it's possible?"

Madam Fei suddenly laughed and said, "But Dis also has descendants."

"Hehe."

Madam Tang laughed. Her laughter ignited the murderous intent that rose in her heart upon hearing those words.

Madam Fei picked up a raspberry from the plate on the table, took a small bite, and threw the rest under the table. Her son immediately stuck his head out and ate the strawberry, licking the floor clean.

"I'm glad you came to see me. Really, it reminds me of the past, hehe." Madam Fei laughed again, lost in her own thoughts. "I never thought you would end up with that foolish boy Delong. In my opinion, besides the bloodline of the Guman family, he's not particularly interesting in other aspects. Sigh, he's completely unworthy of being compared to Dis."

She could scold and mock her own husband, but she would definitely be unhappy if someone else spoke ill of him.

Madam Tang turned around and looked at Madam Fei, leaning forward and saying, "Delong is indeed unworthy of being compared to Dis." "Right, I knew you understood in your heart..." "But I've always known one thing, that is, I am not worthy of Dis."

Madam Fei's face stiffened because she knew that this statement was about herself!

Madam Tang straightened her body again and said, "Why do you keep living in your own dreams?"

"You don't understand!" Madam Fei's voice suddenly became sharp. "You don't understand what love is at all. People from your Alt family are like blood-sucking parasites!"

"Do you understand then?" "I understand, of course, I understand!"

"You understand love, so why did you confess to Dis even though you were already married?"

"Marriage is not love. Using marriage to bind love is a blasphemy against love!"

"Do you know why I haven't come to find you all these years since that incident happened? Even though our feelings back then were good. It's because I realized that you and I are not the same kind of people.

You treat reality as a dream. In your dream, you only care about yourself, only consider your own feelings and preferences. You are too selfish.

I don't feel safe being friends with you." Madam Fei didn't care and said, "I'm just more real than all of you, not like all of you, so hypocritical."

"Then guess whether Dis knows the truth about that incident back then?"

Madam Fei froze.

Madam Tang continued, "It seems like you already have the answer in your heart."

"Even if he knows, so what? He still couldn't bear to kill me. He still has me in his heart."

Madam Tang picked up a whole strawberry from the table, bent down, and handed it to the man under the table. The man opened his mouth, took it, chewed, and after swallowing, stuck out his tongue at her, showing affection.

"Have you been happy all these years? What do you mean?"

"My meaning is simple. He didn't kill you because he thought killing you would be a kind of mercy. It's better to let you live and continue to be tormented by life."

"You! Are! Talking! Nonsense!" "Alright, I'm leaving. I wish you a happy life." Madam Tang pushed open the door and walked out. As she walked out of the small wooden door in the garden, the villa behind her was engulfed by black mist and almost disappeared.

"Sigh."

Madam Tang sighed. Originally, she had only sent the crow her son had sent to Karun.

She was a little curious about what her son and grandson were doing, so she followed and found out about this person.

Dis,

When you came to Vayne last time, why didn't you kill her?

- At the entrance of the farm, Karun and Mr. Eisen stood side by side.

Philomena brought them here and said that this is where that person is hiding. However, there are many defensive puppets arranged inside the farm to prevent anyone from escaping. She went in first to catch him.

Karun agreed.

Mr. Eisen asked, "Do you really believe her?" "Hmm." Karun nodded, "I had contact with her during the selection process, and her situation is a bit special."

"Special?" "Oh, no."

Mr. Eisen said, "I felt it. Yes, she and I are similar, both have some mental issues."

"I didn't mean that.""I have always been curious about one thing," Mr. Eisen looked at Karun, "I have always felt that you respect me too much, which puzzles me and makes me uneasy." "Because you are an upright person," Eisen shook his head at this answer, obviously not believing it.

"She is also strong-willed."

"Oh, so 'upright' means this in this context. I understand now, she doesn't like lying."

"By the way, I want to ask you, do you have any insights on the Crow Transmission technique?"

"Insights? It would be great if it could fold and fly, do we also need to pursue how beautifully it folds?"

"Well, you're right."

"That eagle, I think it can be investigated," Mr. Eisen said, "Shall I take care of this?"

"There are some issues with her background, don't investigate it yourself, I'll go personally." "Okay, I understand."

The sudden appearance of the eagle instantly changed Philomina's attitude. Karun vaguely felt that this might be related to his grandmother.

Next time he goes to the Guman family, he can try asking her.

Of course, if she is willing to say something to him on her own, he will call and ask him to come over, or let Richard invite him. After all, Richard's leg is healing quickly.

"Oh, by the way, there will be arrangements from the higher-ups soon. I will probably form a new Order Whip team. I have already talked to Richard, and he will join. However, he has a good relationship with 'Mr. Memphis' and asked me to let 'Mr. Memphis' join as well, otherwise he won't join.

What do you think?"

Mr. Eisen said seriously: "He dares to use your favor towards him to blackmail you?"

"He is in the wrong here. After you go back, you can educate him properly, but what about the new team?"

"Can I join?" Mr. Eisen asked, "I mean, would you find it troublesome?"

"No, I hope you can join. You and Richard are already external members, you can directly become regular members under me."

"Okay, I'll join. Thank you." "No problem."

Karun felt that his uncle really liked the life of the Order Whip and enjoyed being teammates with his son.

At this time, Philomina came out, holding a fat man in her hand. "Plop!"

Philomina threw the fat man on the ground. "Take him back to the pottery gallery and let Lemar take a look. If there are no problems, let Lemar decide."

"I understand."

Mr. Eisen walked forward, picked up the fat man, confirmed Karun's gaze, and then left with the person.

Philomina looked at Karun and asked, "Why didn't you go with him?"

"Although there have been some twists and turns, from my standpoint, you helped me solve a problem, so I should thank you."

You can't hold Philomina accountable for something that didn't happen, even if she was the "thug" hired by the fat man before.

"Can the pottery gallery make puppets?" "Yes, the craftsmanship is very good. You can directly find the shop owner, Lemar, to customize it. Mention my name and you can get a discount."

"I see." Philomina tilted her head slightly. "Do you know my grandmother?"

"Um, I don't know her, and I haven't investigated your background."

"Do you want to investigate?"

"If there is a chance in the future, I will visit your elders in person." Karun said politely.

Philomina asked, "Are you busy now?" "It depends on what you want me to do next."

"I want to take you home and introduce you to my grandmother. She heard about you from me and admires you."

"Sorry, I don't want to go." Philomina nodded. Karun continued, "It's not about you." "It's okay, my home is not a suitable place for a visit."

"I didn't mean to offend."

"I'm used to it and won't take it to heart." After speaking, Philomina turned and left. Karun picked up the Sword of Achilles and walked towards his car parked not far away. After sitting in the car for a while, he started the car and drove home.

When he arrived at the funeral home, it was already evening, but to Karun's surprise, there were two unfamiliar cars parked at the entrance of the funeral home.

After getting out of the car and entering the lobby, he saw three men and two women standing inside. They were dressed casually, but as he approached them, he could sense a familiar professional aura from them. When they saw Karun coming in, their faces showed a slight change.

A woman in her thirties with many freckles on her face walked towards Karun and extended her hand.

"Team Jotto, Mariana." Karun shook hands with her. "Karun."

"Congratulations, Mr. Karun, you have passed the final selection."

"Thank you, what are you all here for?"

Karun noticed a stretcher with a man's body on it behind them.

Are they here for business?

Karun was really not used to it. After all, his own funeral home had been closed for a long time since he held the funeral for Old Suman.

"This is my captain, Jotto." Mariana pointed to the stretcher.

Karun walked to the side of the stretcher. On it lay a middle-aged... or rather, elderly man. His hair was half white, but his face was sharp and his physique was large. He should have been a very strong person in his lifetime.

"We have already discussed with your servant before. Your servant has agreed to hold a funeral for our captain."

This customer indeed met the new rules that Karun had set for the funeral home, which was to save manpower and only accept business that paid with vouchers.

"Okay, thank you for your trust. We will hold a good funeral for Mr. Jotto."

At this time, Alfred came out with a booklet in his hand. He bowed to Karun first, then handed the booklet to Mariana, saying, "The options and detailed requirements in this booklet, I hope you and Mr. Jotto's family can discuss and check or fill in the blanks together. Please send it back before the day after tomorrow evening. After all, the preparation of the remains takes some time."

"Okay, I got it. You've worked hard. Marlena turned to Karun and said, 'You've worked hard.' Karun immediately responded, 'It's what we should do.'

Marlena raised the booklet in her hand and said, 'Then we'll leave first, Captain. We'll leave it to you.'

'Please rest assured.'

After Marlena and the others left, Alfred called Pick and Dingkom and asked them to push Mr. Jotto into Mrs. Lake's workshop. Karun and Alfred followed behind.

'Is it a self-referral?' Karun asked. 'Or did someone introduce him?'

'He came on his own. Just had a simple chat with Marlena. I learned that Mr. Jotto, before he died, held the previous issue of the "Order Weekly" and pointed to the page featuring you, praising you as the pride of the York City District Order Whip. Then, he held onto that newspaper and died.'

'Why does that sound strange?'

'Sorry, young master. I didn't express it well. It was Mr. Jotto's own decision. He was injured and contaminated during a mission, and he has been receiving treatment at the church hospital for the past few months. But due to the worsening contamination, he voluntarily requested to sign a consent form for euthanasia. Yesterday was the day he was euthanized.'

After Pick and Dingkom pushed the body into the workshop, they walked out. Karun uncovered the white cloth covering the body and placed his hand on it to feel it. There was no residual spiritual power on the body anymore, indicating that it had been purified.

Being contaminated during a mission was not uncommon. If it was not treated in time or the contamination was severe and difficult to handle, it meant that the life of the priest had entered a countdown.

A small number of people would dissipate their physical functions as the contamination worsened, which was considered lucky as it meant death had come to an end.

But due to the nature of the priest, most of them did not die after the contamination worsened. Instead, they became lost and turned into new sources of contamination or transformed into violent and cruel demons, losing all rationality.

Signing a consent form for one's own death was not a cruel act, but rather a way to avoid reaching that situation and to leave behind a sense of dignity.

"His team members believe that this was the captain's final wish. They also found out that you work at the Pavaro Funeral Home, so they arranged Mr. Jotto's funeral to be held here."

"Okay, I understand."

Normally, when a priest dies, the body is collected by the church they belong to. However, Jotto died due to contamination, so his body would not be collected. But after his death, according to custom, his body was purified, which is why there was no residual spiritual power left in it.

Such a body no longer had any value for collection.

"I will handle this matter properly. After the funeral plan is prepared, I will submit it to you for review, young master."

"Okay, let's do that for now." "Young master, there's also the matter of Teacher Daisan." "You found out so quickly?"

"Yes, Teacher Daisan seems to have been in contact with some new ideological organizations recently and will attend their activities. However, those organizations have nothing to do with the church."

"That's good."

"I will continue to keep an eye on these matters." "Okay, thank you for your hard work."

Lemar Pottery Museum, underground workshop. A fat man was restrained on an upright workbench, with additional restraints on his body, preventing him from moving or making any sound.

In front of him, Lemar released the "lock" on his sister's puppet.

After Serina regained her freedom, her first words were, 'Brother, Mr. Karun specially came to my room to talk to me and comfort me.'

"Brother, I was worried about you being locked up for so many days. I thought you might develop some psychological problems. It seems that Mr. Karun is truly an excellent part-time psychologist."

"Brother, have you forgotten? I have lived in various puppets for many years. Being locked in a puppet is no different from you closing the shop for a few days without going out. How could there be any psychological problems?"

"It's good that there are no psychological problems." Lemar walked to a small boy puppet beside him and patted his head. The puppet opened his mouth and spat out a crystal carving knife.

Holding the carving knife, Lemar smiled at the man in front of him and said, 'You didn't expect this, did you? The Ilmaz Carving Knife, I placed it in such an obvious place because, although it is precious to me, it is still just a tool.'

Then, Lemar handed the Ilmaz Carving Knife to his sister.

"Brother, why are you giving this to me?"

Lemar pointed to the carving knife and then to the man in front of them, saying, 'Serina, today, your brother will officially teach you the art of puppet making, and you will use him as the raw material for your first creation.'

"Brother, are you sure you're not joking? I might really develop psychological problems if that's the case."

"That's good. Then you'll have a reason to see Mr. Karun for treatment."

"But I am a puppet, a puppet. What do I need to learn puppet making for?"

"Our ancestor, Voss, was originally a puppet."

"Brother, are you running a fever?"

"No."

"If our ancestor Voss was a puppet, how could we exist?"

According to the mythological narrative in the Abyss Church's "Abyssal Chant," it is recorded: 'When the Abyss God went to explore heaven, he called Voss to make a puppet of himself, making the fierce beings in hell mistakenly believe that the Abyss God was still in hell and dared not act recklessly.'

In the legend passed down by our family, it is described as follows:

'After the matter was completed, the Abyss God asked our ancestor what kind of reward he wanted. Our ancestor replied: "Please bestow upon me a drop of the great god's blood."'

In history, the reason for the decline of our family was that the Bright Church demanded that our family create a puppet for them, but our family refused. As a result, under the suppression of the Bright Church, our family declined and fell apart.

Because back then, the Bright Church produced a drop... of terrifying blood. Can you guess whose blood it was?

And what was their purpose?""Brother, you know I've never been particularly interested in these grand mythological narratives and the true or false family legends since I was a kid."

"Serena, I've always speculated that the ones truly suited to practice Puppet Forging Technique might not be us descendants, but... the puppets. We create tools, but you and our ancestors create your own kind."

"Brother, you know how lazy I am. Mr. Karun is engaged." "Brother, why are you bringing this up all of a sudden?"

"Mr. Karun is a principled man, he won't be with you. Besides, your body can't bear children. Don't you think that's a great regret?"

"Brother, don't you think it's cruel to say this to a sister who has just been released from confinement for so many days?"

"But perhaps one day in the future, you can find a suitable excuse to ask Mr. Karun for a drop of blood."

This novel is available on bit.ly/3iBfjkV.

"Hehe, brother, do you think your sister is a fool to be fooled so easily? Even if I study hard and truly reach the same height as our ancestors, the thing you're tempting me with will never happen. After all, Mr. Karun is not a god." "Well, then there's nothing we can do, sigh." Lemar sighed. Just as he was about to take back the Ilmaz carving knife, he found that the handle had been taken away. The one who took the knife was his own sister...

Serena also sighed, saying:

"Sigh, I'm soft-hearted. Seeing my brother's disappointed look makes me feel so bad."