The hyena girl was playing with the item in her hand, which looked like a watch.
Upon noticing Xu Xiaoyou's gaze, the girl visibly showed discomfort, clicked her tongue, and silently put the watch away, turned her head, and after walking a few steps away, continued leaning against the wall with her arms crossed.
Finally, Xu Xiaoyou's gaze returned to the center of the room, falling upon a group of middle-aged won who were gathered like a swarm, continuously discussing sothing, with the buzz of their chatter echoing throughout the room, much like a vegetable market.
This reminded her of the aunties at the village entrance, who would inevitably criticize even a passing dog.
"The village chief is dead too..."
"Let tell you, that old guy might have seed decent on the surface, but who knows how much he secretly took behind everyone's back, living indiscriminately."
"Exactly, exactly. Hmph, I think he deserved to die, and that bachelor Goudan from the neighbor's house, who peeps at other won bathing every day, isn't here either, serves him right."
"I think all those who turned into monsters deserved to die, shaless creatures one and all."
In the corner, the girl heard these words and her eyes turned red again, as teardrops the size of beans silently rolled down. The young man comforting her frowned slightly, but couldn't say much.
"It's so noisy, can we have so peace!?"
Finally, a man with bloodshot eyes couldn't help but shout, his voice echoing throughout the room.
He was one of the few cultured people here, responsible for teaching the children to read and write for free, called Scholar by the people here, without knowing if it's praise or criticism.
The man often emphasized to the children the importance of education, which is the foundation for the continuation of civilization and distinguishes humans from the beasts of the barbaric era.
But now, his heavy breathing reverberated throughout the room, his chest heaving violently, with eyes bloodshot like a beast.
The faces of those middle-aged won showed astonishnt, clearly not expecting the usually gentle man to reveal such a side.
Soon, a woman with large arms and a thick waist stood up, speaking in a sharp and sarcastic tone: "Mind your own business, if you're so capable, why don't you go shout at those monsters instead of yelling here, can't even protect your own son, look at your pathetic self."
The man clenched his fist, gritted his teeth, and finally slowly lowered his hand. Like an injured animal in the snowfield, he curled up in the corner and covered his face, crying silently.
The previous man was a teacher who taught and nurtured, but now he was just a father who lost his child.
Xu Xiaoyou flipped a coin with her fingers, silently watching this scene.
"I say, Er Gu, why are you like this? Let's all calm down, everyone..."
After the village chief's death, the youth responsible for gathering everyone here naturally beca the backbone. Bearing the gazes of many, he couldn't avoid standing up and speaking, only to be rudely interrupted by the woman:
"How dare you side with outsiders! Surna Qin, I spoiled you for nothing in your childhood, considering how Qin Family Village was willing to take you in after the incident due to my good words with the village chief!"
"Yes, yes, Xiaoyong, speak nicely to your Er Gu, apologize." The middle-aged won echoed.
Upon hearing this, Qin Yong's face showed a mix of complexity and helplessness, finally taking a deep breath and saying no more.
The youths behind him also felt a sense of difficulty, knowing how loud and troubleso this group of won is. After stabilizing people's emotions with great effort, any further disputes would only complicate matters.
The wounded in the infirmary and the little girls.
The hyena girl avoiding her gaze.
The teacher man with a different temperant from usual.
Those middle-aged won, along with the youths led by Qin Yong.
If the Puppet Master was in this room, who could it be?
Xu Xiaoyou pondered.
A little later, the screams of middle-aged won awakened those who were not deeply asleep.
"Soone stole my watch!"
Those who woke up showed displeasure on their faces. The little girls in the infirmary watched as the injured were awakened and groaned painfully, feeling at a loss and rushing forward in a panic to comfort them.
Tang Xin, who was awakened, uttered a few weak murmurs, slowly opened her eyes, and found that the girl cuddling with her had not slept at all.
Xu Xiaoyou sat leaning against the wall, her expression calm and seemingly lost in thought.
"Who stole my watch!?"
The obese woman raised her voice, stretching her bucket-like neck, angrily searching around the room. She first rushed into the infirmary and forcefully searched the two little girls.
The two little girls were frightened, trembling and not daring to utter a word. Only when they saw the woman's hands reaching toward the patients did they hurriedly speak to stop her.
The woman glared fiercely at them, avoided Lin Sheng, who was covered in blood, and rushed to the side of the teacher man, pointing at his face: "Was it you?"
"It must be you who stole my watch!"
The man's eyes turned gray, ignoring her.
Seeing the man's state, the woman sneered: "Look at your useless state, you don't dare to do such a thing."
Finally, her gaze turned and locked onto the hyena girl in the corner, who clicked her tongue, avoiding eye contact.
"It must be you! I've heard before that you hyenas have dirty hands, and it's true!"
"You must be the one who stole my watch!"
Saying this, the woman was about to forcibly search the girl, but the hyena girl cursed and directly slapped the woman's face: "Auntie, what the hell is wrong with you? It's none of my damn business."
"You dare to hit ?"
The woman was stunned by the slap, incredulously glancing at the girl, her face's fat twisted together, and she reached out to pinch the girl's face and pull her hair.
Qin Yong couldn't stand it anymore, this ti, he spoke sternly: "Er Gu, if you keep this up, you'll leave early in the morning!"
The woman ignored his words altogether, because she clearly saw her watch in the pocket of the hyena girl's worn-out robe, and loudly tried to start a brawl with the girl.
Qin Yong stepped forward, separating the two and pulling away the middle-aged woman who was screaming hell-bent on fighting the girl. Seeing the chaos in the room escalating and argunts intensifying, the girl who had remained silent in the corner finally spoke:
"The Puppet Master is among us."
Everyone in the room stared at Xu Xiaoyou, who spoke, her entrance into the settlent during the day left a deep impression on them. Lin Sheng, who was resting with eyes closed, opened his eyes at this mont, reaching for the Beheading Great Saber beside him.
"The deaths and transformation of your kin into puppet monsters are all connected to the Puppet Master."
"He killed the people here and caused all these disasters, and now..."
Xu Xiaoyou slowly raised her head, her calm gaze sweeping over everyone: "The Puppet Master is among us."
Everyone's expressions varied, and the woman on the edge of losing her mind found a vent and rushed forward, pointing at Xu Xiaoyou's nose and shouting:
"I think this Puppet Master you ntioned is you, isn't it?"
"It must be you, otherwise how do you explain that the village was peaceful for so many years, and as soon as you arrived, trouble started?"
Everyone in the room also cast doubtful glances, scrutinizing Xu Xiaoyou and her companions with suspicion.
The woman's words were not entirely unreasonable, as the village had been peaceful for so many years, not even suffering a beast attack for decades. Yet as soon as these several people claiming to be from Dawn Office arrived, disaster struck, making it hard not to associate them with today's calamity.
Lin Sheng crossed his arms and spoke coldly: "Who do you think it is?"
Xu Xiaoyou smiled and spread her hands: "I don't know, but I can be certain the Puppet Master is among these people."
Lin Sheng asked: "What do you plan to do then?"
Seeing the woman's hysterical deanor, Xu Xiaoyou's tone suddenly turned cold:
"It's simple. If we deal with them all, there won't be any chance of missing the Puppet Master."
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