Cave Refuge

Mason Hart hurried home to check on the situation, not having the time to look back at Dong Tianyu's expression. After opening the courtyard gate, he quickly trotted to unlock the door and saw his spouse sitting alone in the living room reading a book, immediately he breathed a sigh of relief.

Still, with an urgent tone, he asked, "Spouse, I'm back. Where are Bobsy and Ava?"

Hearing Mason's question, the person originally sitting on the living room sofa looked up at Mason, who just entered, with a somewhat puzzled gaze. When the person noticed that Mason's face was not wearing sunglasses and that his eyes were open, a flash of doubt quickly disappeared from their gaze.

Then, with a very calm voice, the person answered, "Isn't it already afternoon? Have you forgotten? Casey is taking Bobsy and Ava for a nap upstairs at this time."

Hearing his spouse's response, Mason, knowing that there was no danger at home, felt his tense heart relax.

"Weren't you going to invite Old Taylor over for tea? Why didn't Old Taylor come, and who is this young man that you brought back?"

As his spouse asked the question, Mason was about to walk towards the living room with Dong Tianyu and was preparing to introduce the young man beside him to his spouse.

But before Mason could take two steps forward, his arm was immediately grabbed by Dong Tianyu, stopping him from approaching the living room. Detecting Dong Tianyu's action, Mason first looked at him in confusion and then, as if realizing something, his gaze shifted back to his spouse's face.

When seeing his spouse also looking this way and their eyes met, his spouse's gaze was equally vivid and didn't seem false. Then, he looked back at Dong Tianyu with a puzzled expression, as if asking with his eyes what Dong Tianyu was doing.

Dong Tianyu observed the well-kept interior of the house, if it weren't for Dong Tianyu's Divine Sense discovering many mummified corpses in different rooms on the second floor and confirming that their throats weren't like those of normal people, he might have been deceived by the pretense.

Sensing Mason's puzzled gaze, Dong Tianyu didn't beat around the bush and directly said to Mason, "She is not your spouse, or to put it another way, she has been infested by a monster."

Hearing Dong Tianyu's words, Mason was first startled, then began to question skeptically, "That's not right. Didn't you say that people controlled by that kind of monster would close their eyes? But my spouse's eyes are open."

"That's why I said that she isn't your spouse, or has been taken over by that kind of monster, rather than being controlled by the monster like you were."

Upon hearing Dong Tianyu say this, Mason also came to his senses. After all, it was an indisputable fact that he had just been controlled. At this moment, he did not have frequent contact with strangers, so it stood to reason that after confirming he had been controlled by the monster's Illusion Technique, his own spouse most likely was the prime suspect.

Having confirmed that he had been controlled, it was logical that his family would be the easiest targets. Regardless of whether the monster that used the Illusion Technique to control him was sentient or not, there was no doubt that his family members should be the first to suffer harm.

Understanding this, Mason immediately looked at the person standing in the living room with a wary expression. Seeing Mason's expression, the person's demeanor quickly became somewhat angry and they retorted angrily, "Old Hart, do you really prefer to trust a stranger over me? If I wanted to harm you, you..."

While the other party was angrily preparing to argue, Mason could already be sure that the person in the living room was not his spouse, so he turned his head and directly asked Dong Tianyu, "I believe you. What do we do now?"

Seeing Mason make his decision so decisively, Dong Tianyu asked him curiously, "Aren't you going to confirm it with another method? You just believe me on my word?"

Hearing Dong Tianyu's question, Mason explained with some pain, "Although he looks exactly like my spouse, the personality is too far off. If my spouse heard what I just said, there wouldn't even be an argument."

"?"

Seeing Dong Tianyu's probing gaze, Mason Hart hesitated at first, then clenched his teeth before speaking, "My wife has a volatile temper. Although she's getting on in years, she doesn't like arguing with me. Whenever we disagree, she won't talk it out with me; instead, she uses her fists and feet to make me submit."

Hearing Mason Hart's account and understanding the character of his wife, Dong Tianyu wasn't sure whether to console Hart not to be sad and to accept the changes or to congratulate him on escaping the sea of bitterness with a smile.

Dong Tianyu felt that choosing either option seemed likely to offend, so he chose neither and instead replaced them with silence.

Seeing Dong Tianyu silent, Mason Hart, with a face full of sorrow and anger, said to Dong Tianyu, "I don't know how strong the other party is. I'll go first, and you help me hold the line. If that monster is really strong, then don't worry about me—just leave immediately."

Without waiting for Dong Tianyu's response, Hart charged at the monster in the living room. Perhaps because the monster had taken on the appearance of his spouse, Hart didn't strike at the head and aimed his first attack at the creature's heart.

It seemed Hart was raging, but in reality, he was very calm. The fact that he only used seventy percent of his strength in the attack and was ready to change his moves at any moment indicated that Hart wasn't letting anger cloud his judgment.

What Hart hadn't anticipated was that, although the creature made a dodging move, it didn't avoid the attack at all. Hart's punch landed squarely on the target's heart.

With the force of the punch, the creature was instantly blown away and slammed into the wall. Seeing this outcome, Hart was stunned; he had not expected his punch to have such an effect.

Hart first glanced at the monster, which was slowly sliding down the wall, then turned to look at Dong Tianyu, who was standing at the entrance, as if asking why this had happened.

"Did you forget? Back in Master Ye's courtyard, didn't I mention that the creature which can control others with illusion techniques might have strong Illusion Technique abilities, but its combat capabilities are weak, equivalent to a physically strong ordinary person at most? And you, at the very least, have the Cultivation Level of the Energy Refining Realm, so dealing with it should be a piece of cake for you."

Hearing Dong Tianyu's explanation, Mason Hart immediately ran to the corner and picked the creature back up.

Although the creature's combat capabilities were weak, and it seemed not to feel pain, having withstood such a fierce attack, it still didn't pass out. When it saw Hart approaching again, it immediately got up, ready to fight back.

But just like Dong Tianyu had said, to a Martial Artist like Hart, any resistance from an ordinary person was a joke; thus, Hart easily subdued it.

Having the creature under control, Hart was now even more convinced that it was not his spouse. After all, his domineering partner at home possessed a Martial Path Cultivation not inferior to Hart's.

Hart had the creature under control and immediately brought it over to Dong Tianyu. While handing the creature over, he said with a somewhat trembling voice, "You keep an eye on this creature for me; I want to go upstairs and check."

After hearing the request, Dong Tianyu took the creature from Hart's hands. As he was hesitating over whether to say something, he saw Hart had already hurried to the staircase and could only helplessly mutter the words "condolences."

Although Dong Tianyu's voice was soft, the living room was very quiet. Plus, as a Martial Artist, Hart had very keen senses, so upon hearing the word "condolences," his rush to ascend the stairs halted for a moment.

He then misstepped somehow, faltered, and had to grab the railing to maintain balance and avoid falling. He then quickened his ascent up the stairs.