Yanqing instinctively dodged the Herta Puppet's hammer swing, his expression filled with grievance. He truly felt wronged! Yes, he had been chasing the Stellaron Hunters and planned to apprehend them. When Blade exposed Dan Heng's identity, he even considered capturing both of them.
However, when he noticed Fu Xuan standing idly by and looked at Pei Guang's group, he decided against arresting Dan Heng for now.
From Yanqing's perspective, the Trailblazers were invited by his own General. Even though he wasn't exactly happy about it, there was no denying that the Trailblazers had provided Xianzhou with immense help. Morally and logically, he couldn't attack Dan Heng.
As for Blade? Xianzhou still had an active bounty on him, so capturing Blade was perfectly justified!
And then there was Dan Heng's Pink Fluffy Bunny weapon. If he could avoid fighting Dan Heng, that was probably for the best.
Unfortunately for him, the Herta Puppet showed no mercy. Whether it was one or two opponents, it didn't matter—her hammer was going for his face.
Dodging the first strike, Yanqing noticed an opening in the Puppet's defense. Instinctively, as a warrior, he attacked. Six flying swords surrounded the Herta Puppet, while his main sword unleashed a burst of multicolored frost aimed directly at her.
However, the opening was a trap. The Herta Puppet had intentionally created the gap—except, unlike most warriors who bait openings to counterattack cleanly, she left just enough of a window to barely block the strike.
Yanqing was confident that even if his attack failed, the worst outcome was having it blocked. He could always follow up.
But the Herta Puppet had other plans. Just as Yanqing's attack was about to connect, she dropped her hammer. Her left arm shifted into a small shield, and in the exact moment Yanqing's blade arrived, she countered perfectly.
Parry activated!
This Herta Puppet, enhanced by Pei Guang with every blocking, parrying, and deflection mechanic he understood, pulled off a textbook parry against Yanqing's close-range physical attack.
For the first time being parried, Yanqing felt his body go numb for a moment, though he didn't take it too seriously. Seeing his attack fail, he immediately switched tactics, summoning his flying swords to bombard the Herta Puppet from every angle.
The Puppet, now back to her normal form, picked up her hammer again and began knocking away the flying swords effortlessly. "That's it? Your sword strikes are weak, your thrusts are soft, your footwork is sloppy, and your reactions are dull. You dare challenge me with this? Go train for another five centuries."
Her taunt made Yanqing's mind buzz with frustration. He had originally planned to dance around the Puppet with his flying swords, but now he was determined to prove himself.
"Hmph! Arrogant words. If I don't show you what I can do, you won't know the difference between heaven and earth!"
The Herta Puppet smirked. "Oh? You're lecturing me about heaven and earth? Little brother, come back after a few more years of practice."
The words "little brother" struck a nerve in Yanqing, and he said nothing further. He simply raised his hand, gathering immense power. A massive sword projection began to manifest beside him.
Seeing this, the Puppet yawned lazily and swung her hammer as if swatting a fly. What should have been an earth-shaking attack dissipated completely upon impact with her block.
Undeterred, Yanqing lunged forward, launching a series of sharp, angled strikes with his flying swords to overwhelm her defenses.
But the Herta Puppet ignored the barrage entirely and charged straight at him.
Yanqing: "Good! Let's see how you handle this!"
The Puppet smiled as she approached. "Do you know who I am?"
At that moment, Yanqing's strikes converged toward her. Learning from earlier mistakes, he adjusted his strategy—this time, his main sword acted as a feint, drawing her attention while the flying swords aimed for the kill. If she ignored his sword to block the flying swords, he would turn his feint into a real attack, making his offense unpredictable.
The Herta Puppet, however, didn't care about Yanqing's "thousand variations." Seeing him swing his weapon, she instinctively swung her hammer to parry again.
Yanqing, thinking he had accounted for this, planned to disengage the moment his weapon made contact, allowing his flying swords to land a decisive blow.
When his weapon made contact with the Herta Puppet's hammer, he suddenly felt his entire body go numb. His internal energy ran wild, his breath became unstable, and he lost his balance instantly. He struggled to regain control, but his body simply wouldn't respond.
At the same time, the flying swords he had been controlling lost all their power the moment he faltered. The Herta Puppet, however, pulled out a baby bottle—however this one filled with coffee.
Originally, this bottle was prepared for Dan Heng to calm him down when he had nightmares. But after Dan Heng mastered all kinds of strange techniques, nightmares had stopped altogether, so the bottle had remained unused.
Now, after defeating Yanqing, the Herta Puppet unceremoniously shoved the coffee-filled baby bottle into his mouth and squeezed it. Coffee gushed from the nipple straight into Yanqing's throat.
"Mmph! Mmmph!"
Yanqing tried to resist, but as the coffee settled into his stomach, he felt his consciousness slipping. By the time his body returned to normal, his mind had already fallen into a deep sleep.
While this was happening, Pei Guang smoothly took out a trash can and an IV drip. With practiced ease, he stuffed Yanqing into the trash can, attached the baby bottle to the drip stand, and clapped his hands.
Yanqing wasn't injured, nor was he dead. In fact, thanks to the coffee, he'd probably avoid falling into Mara-struck madness for another few decades—or maybe even a century. As Fu Xuan had said, he couldn't be hurt or killed, but whether he'd survive socially? Well, that depended on whether this footage ended up online.
Fu Xuan didn't know if the video would make it onto the network, but one thing was certain: the next time Yanqing tried to badmouth her, she would replay today's events for him. On second thought, Yanqing sucking on a baby bottle actually looked kind of cute.
After handling him, Pei Guang turned to the Herta Puppet. "How was that?"
Herta Puppet: "Amusing. It's been so long since you let me out to play. But anyway, what about that guy?"
Pei Guang gestured toward Dan Heng and Blade. "They haven't started yet. According to traditional story structure, this is the part where they build up their momentum. Once the dramatic tension peaks, the fight begins."
At this moment, Dan Heng and Blade still hadn't exchanged blows. Dan Heng was waiting for Blade to strike first so he could counterattack, while Blade simply stared at the pink bunny plush in Dan Heng's hands, a sense of familiar dread slowly crawling over him.
Yes, thanks to Kafka's intervention, Blade had forgotten the nightmares that had haunted him. But his body still remembered the fear. His instincts warned him: be careful.
For Dan Heng, this battle was different from any before. He would fight as Dan Heng, to show everyone who called him Dan Feng or Imbibitor Lunae that he was neither. He was simply Dan Heng—a nameless passenger on the Astral Express, and now a reliable companion.
Let's face it—could Dan Feng ever pull this off? Wearing the Abundant Ebon Deer armor, wielding a meowing Pink Fluffy Bunny plushie, accompanied by a modified Herta Puppet, and carrying a full inventory of consumables ready to go? No chance.
With this thought, Dan Heng's momentum grew sharper and more aggressive. Meanwhile, Stelle and March 7th offered their usual moral support from the sidelines.
Stelle: "Ah Guang, let's place a bet. What do you say?"
At her suggestion, two people instantly experienced PTSD: Silver Wolf and Fu Xuan.
Fu Xuan coughed awkwardly. "Ahem. Bet on what?"
March 7th and Stelle grinned mischievously. "We'll bet on who wins. We're putting our money on Dan Heng—guaranteed victory. If we lose… we'll fulfill one request from the winner! Hehe~"