CHAPTER 581: CHAPTER 580 PUNISHMENT

"What are you doing?" Shen Siyuan asked curiously.

"Hehe~"

Tang Tang raised the toy in her hand, it was a puzzle similar to Huarong Dao, and she had already completed more than half of it.

"Great job."

Shen Siyuan patted her little head.

Then he glanced back toward the balcony.

Xiao Yue and the others should have returned long ago, why hadn’t he seen them?

As his thoughts moved, he sensed they were next door, then suddenly realized and didn’t dwell on the issue.

At this time, Mao Sanmei brought up two trays, one with fruit and the other with small cakes.

Tang Tang’s eyes lit up at the sight and she reached for the small cakes.

But Mao Sanmei’s hands were faster. She made two "ah" sounds and used her eyes to gesture.

Tang Tang seemed to understand her meaning and didn’t reach out again.

Shen Siyuan was a little surprised, guessing in his heart that Mao Sanmei’s meaning might be that he and Ruan Hongzhuang hadn’t eaten yet, and she had started first.

So Shen Siyuan directly took the tray and placed it in front of Tang Tang.

"Eat up."

"Yay~"

Tang Tang looked up at him, her eyes full of joy, and her little feet on the high stool joyfully swayed back and forth.

Shen Siyuan turned to Mao Sanmei and said, "Our family doesn’t have so many rules. In the future, if Tang Tang wants to eat, just let her eat."

Mao Sanmei gestured as if she wanted to explain, but upon seeing Shen Siyuan’s determined gaze, she slowly lowered her hand and bowed slightly to express gratitude.

Shen Siyuan didn’t stop her, he glanced at Tang Tang who was gobbling up the cake, then turned and walked to the balcony.

Even though this place is dozens of kilometers from Haiyue Square, using the Ten Thousand Soul Banner’s properties, the entire Haiyue Square was still in his field of vision.

He saw tourists lingering in the square, children playing, and the circus crew packing up and preparing to go out for a midnight snack...

"What are you looking at?"

Suddenly, a voice sounded behind him, and Taozi peeked over beside him, looking out at the balcony.

Though the lights were bright, they couldn’t completely unveil the dense night sky, and all he saw was vast darkness.

"Nothing~"

Taozi looked at Shen Siyuan with suspicion, full of curiosity.

She knew that tonight’s matter wouldn’t simply end. Shen Siyuan must be using some method unknown to her, just like that day when she saw that towering Divine Banner.

Shen Siyuan knew that if she didn’t find out something today, her curiosity would keep her awake all night.

"Mmm~Mmm~" Taozi’s beautiful eyes flashed with delight.

"If possible..."

Before she could finish speaking, Shen Siyuan took her hand.

"Hey hey... are you now being so blatant and open?" At that moment, Ruan Hongzhuang’s voice came from behind them.

The two turned their heads to see Ruan Hongzhuang holding a cup of coffee, watching them with a knowing smile.

Taozi blushed and tried to pull her hand back but couldn’t.

Shen Siyuan gestured for Ruan Hongzhuang to come over.

"What for?"

Ruan Hongzhuang said disdainfully, but her body walked over honestly, attaching herself to Shen Siyuan’s other side.

Before the two could speak, the scenery abruptly changed, and their perspective switched to a bird’s-eye view from the high sky.

A severely damaged but awe-inspiring Divine Banner floated in mid-air, its fabric billowing with the breeze, an indescribable aura spread in the air.

The two glanced at the flag’s patterns and felt dizzy, their consciousness swaying, a sense of panic spreading in their hearts.

Ruan Hongzhuang shivered, and the coffee cup fell from her hand.

In an instant, their consciousness snapped back to their bodies, just in time to see Shen Siyuan quickly catching the falling coffee cup.

With an elegant motion, he tilted the cup, catching the falling coffee back into it.

"Be careful."

Shen Siyuan handed the cup back to Ruan Hongzhuang.

Ruan Hongzhuang intuitively reached out to take it but found her hand was shaking badly as if coffee could spill out at any moment.

"Do you want to continue watching?" Shen Siyuan asked with a smile.

"Of course..."

Ruan Hongzhuang and Taozi responded in unison. No one could refuse an encounter with the extraordinary, with such colossal power.

Out of curiosity or awe of strength, the chance to observe Shen Siyuan’s display of divine skills up close was not something they wanted to miss.

"Then let’s continue." Shen Siyuan said with a smile.

"Wait a minute..."

Ruan Hongzhuang hurriedly placed her cup back on the table, then quickly stepped forward, actively taking Shen Siyuan’s arm.

Then their consciousness was drawn back in, once again appearing in the high sky.

At this moment, they couldn’t feel the presence of their bodies, but their awareness was exceptionally clear. Looking down at the land was even clearer than seeing with their eyes.

This was Shen Siyuan connecting his divine sense with the two’s consciousness, then observing the outside world through the Ten Thousand Soul Banner.

"Is this Haiyue Square?" Ruan Hongzhuang said in surprise.

"Yes, tonight, we’re at Haiyue Square..."

Taozi began to explain but suddenly sensed that her consciousness seemed uncontrolled, with scenes of memories flashing in her mind. This process was extremely short, but Ruan Hongzhuang received the information, instantly understanding the context.

"Wow, amazing..." Ruan Hongzhuang marveled.

"Now we’re connected in awareness; the faster the awareness, the faster the communication." Shen Siyuan explained.

Communicating through awareness directly eliminated the delay from verbal communication, achieving end-to-end connections in the truest sense.

Ruan Hongzhuang found the simplicity and speed of this communication fascinating at first and then became angry at Zheng Min’s plight.

But soon, doubt surfaced again. Was Zheng Min’s death really just an accident?

Thoughts can change faster than light; they’re fleeting. Shen Siyuan, whose consciousness was linked with theirs, easily captured their thoughts.

So when that doubt arose in Ruan Hongzhuang’s mind, fragmented images surfaced in their minds.

These were the memories of the dead soul previously absorbed into the Ten Thousand Soul Banner by Shen Siyuan. Unfortunately, this dead soul wasn’t a good person either, with its soul corroded by Karmic Fire, desires devouring its soul, rendering memories fragmented and intermittent.

Yet, even so, within these fragmented memories, Zheng Min’s ordeal was extremely tragic.

She was dragged by her hair...

Locked in a lion’s cage...

Whipped until scars multiplied...

Humiliated in public...

Mauled by lions...

...

"This... this..."

Ruan Hongzhuang, seeing these images, was filled with rage, her consciousness surging, anger nearly breaking the connection with Shen Siyuan.

Taozi’s consciousness was equally turbulent, and it seemed like she had also been impacted strongly, becoming unstable.

"Peace~"

Right then, Shen Siyuan spoke calmly, his voice like a great bell echoing within their consciousness, instantly calming their spirits, no longer wavering.

"Watch my skills~" Shen Siyuan said.

Then they saw the Soul Banner fluttering, countless ghostly blue flames appeared from thin air, directly plummeting toward the large tent below.