VILLAGE OF DOLLS

The sky turned a cool, silvery gray by the time Crown Prince Longxuan, Mo Tianzun, the Liu Twins, and Jiang Fenglie left the peaceful fish village. With the villagers reassured for now and the sea mist dispersed, they had moved on—chasing the growing whispers of anomalies appearing across the realm.

The road was quiet but unsettling, with fewer travelers than usual. They followed the directions of an elderly fisherman who had warned them "Don't go beyond the hills near the crimson river. There's a village there… not right anymore. No one comes back."

It took nearly half a day of traveling through winding mountain paths and thick woods before they finally saw it.

A village—perfectly still, unnaturally quiet.

"This must be the one," Fenglan whispered, eyes narrowing. "Looks peaceful from here… but why does it feel so off?"

Zhenhai frowned. "I don't hear birds. Or livestock. Not even wind chimes. Nothing."

They dismounted slowly and entered the village on foot. The houses were quaint, the streets clean—almost too clean. It looked like someone had cleaned the dust but left everything eerily untouched. Then—

"W-What is that?" Fenglan pointed.

A woman stood by a well, her head slightly tilted. Her hands were in a bucket of water, but she didn't move. Not even as they approached. Her face was serene, but her skin… waxen.

Zhenhai stepped forward cautiously and waved a hand before her eyes.

"She's not alive," he muttered. "She's… a doll."

Longxuan's face turned serious. "There's more of them."

Indeed, further inspection showed that every 'villager' here was a human-sized puppet. Some stood by doorways, others held baskets, and a few even sat by tea stalls like they were frozen mid-conversation.

Mo Tianzun's expression darkened. "These puppets... their formations are too intricate. Their energy is faint, but not mundane. Someone powerful made these."

"They look too lifelike," Fenglie said, voice low. "Like they used to be real."

Longxuan turned to Mo Tianzun. "Could it be… a forbidden technique?"

Tianzun nodded. "Most likely. This is not ordinary puppet mastery. These are soul-bound constructs. It requires living vessels to bind."

"You mean—someone's turning humans into these dolls?" Fenglan choked.

Zhenhai drew his sword. "Then whoever did this might still be here."

They pressed deeper into the village, weapons at the ready. As they reached the ancestral shrine at the heart of the town, they felt it—a faint pulse of dark spiritual energy, hidden under layers of sealing talismans.

"It's coming from underneath," Jiang Fenglie muttered.

Longxuan walked to the shrine altar. His fingers brushed against the worn wood—and with a flare of spiritual energy, a concealed staircase revealed itself.

"Below," Tianzun said. "The truth waits below."

They descended into the dark, where shadows clung to the walls and ancient symbols marked the stone. The further they went, the colder it became. Then, they reached the heart of it—a chamber filled with shelves. And on every shelf—dolls. Hundreds. Each carved with human-like features.

Mo Tianzun walked past them, stopping at a table at the center. A journal lay there. He opened it.

"'Project Immortality,'" he read aloud. "'Replace the fragile body with perfected shells. In each puppet, I leave a sliver of soul… until I become god.'"

Longxuan's eyes narrowed. "Someone was trying to reach ascension through twisted means."

"And succeeded in turning an entire village into vessels," Tianzun murmured.

Suddenly, the torches along the wall lit by themselves, and a voice echoed through the chamber.

"You shouldn't have come."

A woman emerged from the shadows. Her face was pale and elegant, but her eyes gleamed with madness. "They were dying. I gave them beauty. Eternal grace. And now you want to ruin it?"

Fenglan stepped forward. "You're sick. This isn't eternal life—this is slaughter!"

The woman laughed—and the dolls on the shelves began to twitch.

"They will protect their mistress," she sang. "They are loyal."

The dolls sprang into motion, leaping from their shelves like soldiers.

"Form a barrier!" Longxuan shouted.

The chamber erupted into battle. Jiang Fenglie conjured a defensive seal, blocking the first wave of puppet strikes. Zhenhai and Fenglan moved as one, slashing and cutting down the dolls with swift precision. Longxuan's Lingxu sword shone bright, breaking enchanted strings with burning strikes.

Tianzun, calm amidst the chaos, raised a single hand. A wave of silver flame spread from his palm, engulfing the chamber. The dolls screeched, seizing up before collapsing into piles of ash.

The woman hissed in rage and flew at Tianzun, daggers flashing.

"You ruined my paradise—!"

Before she could finish, a golden chain from Longxuan's sword lashed out, binding her.

She struggled, screamed, but was subdued.

Moments later, silence returned to the chamber. The dolls lay broken and burned. The ritual scrolls were destroyed.

Back outside, the skies cleared.

"That… was horrific," Fenglan muttered, brushing soot from his robes.

"But it's over," Zhenhai said.

Longxuan looked to Mo Tianzun, who gazed quietly at the horizon.

"The world is changing," Tianzun murmured. "Something has disturbed the balance. We're only seeing the beginning."

"Then we keep going," Longxuan said, taking his hand.

Fenglan broke the silence. "Can I just say, I hate creepy dolls. Next time, can we find a haunted tea shop instead?"

Zhenhai elbowed him. "Shut up."

Everyone chuckled, the tension easing. But the path ahead remained uncertain.

They would travel to the next village at dawn—guided by rumor, intuition, and fate.

The true storm had just begun.

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