Chapter 117: Question for the Puppet

Little Ming Zhuo’s innocence and naivety made him seem to believe Luo Xu’s words completely. “Are you about to pass out now? The person you mentioned, what does he look like?”

Luo Xu replied casually, “He looks about the same as you—two eyes and a mouth.”

Little Ming Zhuo said, “Everyone in the world has two eyes and a mouth. You're being too vague; I can’t transform into him based on that.”

He thought Luo Xu had a heart condition, and the only way he could think to ease it was to transform into the likeness of “that person” and let Luo Xu see him.

“No need to transform for me,” Luo Xu stared at Little Ming Zhuo for a moment, as if he were revealing a secret. “The reason this illness is so difficult to handle is because he is irreplaceable.”

“Who is he, a Tongshen?” Little Ming Zhuo asked, confused. “Why is he irreplaceable?”

“I don’t understand either,” Luo Xu said, his fingers still stained with blood as he took out a handkerchief, a faint smile appearing on his face. “Maybe it’s just that he’s the only one who can make my heart ache.”

“Is he really that bad?” Little Ming Zhuo couldn’t comprehend. “He makes you anxious and makes your heart ache?”

“If we’re talking about bad, he is indeed the person who’s treated me the worst,” Luo Xu said. “But he’s not a bad person. In fact, he’s a good person, one with a stubborn mouth but a soft heart. If you met him, you’d realise that any story in this world could move him, but he would never admit it.”

Little Ming Zhuo seemed to understand somewhat but remained silent for a while before asking, “You’re holding a handkerchief. Why don’t you use it to wipe yourself?”

Luo Xu said, “I’ll wipe, then.”

He extended his hand without giving Little Ming Zhuo a chance to back out, using the handkerchief to wipe Little Ming Zhuo’s face. Little Ming Zhuo tried to dodge but couldn’t. This handkerchief was the one Little Ming Zhuo had given to Luo Xu inside the Nightmare Sealing Array, and Luo Xu had kept it close to him ever since he left the array. He hadn’t used it on himself but instead used it for Little Ming Zhuo.

A woman continued humming nearby. Luo Xu asked, “Does Hui Mang always go berserk like this, devouring people?”

“No, He also eats mountain spirits, demons, and incense offerings,” Little Ming Zhuo frowned as if Luo Xu's wiping hurt him. He pointed toward the spot where memorial tablets were placed, “Auntie and Great-Grandfather were eaten by Him, and so was my mother.”

Ming Zhuo’s aunt and great-grandfather were both from the Ming family. The Ming family had always taken pride in worshiping the Sun and Moon deities and had ordered all sects in the Baiwei Dynasty to revere these deities. Given such connections, why would Hui Mang devour them? Moreover, both Ming Zhuo’s aunt and great-grandfather lived centuries ago. Could it be that Huimang wasn’t driven mad by Ming Han but had always been prone to madness?

Luo Xu said, “If your aunt and great-grandfather were eaten by Hui Mang, they should seek revenge against Him. Why would they come after you?”

“Ming Han said, how could a human seek revenge against a god?” Little Ming Zhuo raised his hand, grasping the corner of the handkerchief. “They don’t dare to confront Hui Mang, so they come after me.”

He had been scared just moments ago, glancing at Luo Xu several times in quick, fleeting looks. But this time, he stared straight at Luo Xu. The chewing sound above had stopped, and the vibrating memorial tablets and the woman’s humming also ceased.

“You like this handkerchief? Here, take it back,” Luo Xu released his fingers, snapping his fingers, “But if you want to manipulate me, you’ll have to wait until you grow up.”

Silver flames swirled around his fingers, burning away the puppet strings in the darkness. The robe, afraid of the fire, flew up suddenly, wrapping around Little Ming Zhuo and pulling him back.

Little Ming Zhuo had barely retreated two steps when the white floral pattern on the robe unfolded, which Luo Xu caught hold of. Little Ming Zhuo’s face showed no trace of fear; instead, it was cold as he said in his childish voice, “I told you, this is my mother. Why are you trying to take my mother? I’ll chop your hand off!”

“If I take your mother, you get mad; if I take my mother, you get mad too,” Luo Xu’s fingers still held traces of flame, casting a glow on his face that made his expression look anything but innocent. “Isn’t there a way to make both you and your mother not mad?”

“I don’t understand your nonsense.” Little Ming Zhuo tugged on the robe with all his strength, but his strength was no match for Luo Xu’s. His whole body leaned sideways from pulling, but he couldn’t retrieve the robe. He had no choice but to say, “Let go!”

Luo Xu replied, “No, I’m pulling you back.”

Little Ming Zhuo’s body tilted again and was indeed pulled back. He was furious, “If you don’t let go, I’ll kill you!”

Luo Xu smiled and said, “Weren’t you going to chop off my hand?”

Ming Zhuo said, “I’ll help you and chop it off now!”

With a “pēng,” he turned into a light, fluttering paper figure—it turned out this Ming Zhuo was a fake.

Little Ming Zhuo had used a paper figure to impersonate himself, crying in the treasure chest to deliberately lower his guests’ guard, indicating that others besides Luo Xu had been there. Based on what Ming Han said inside the Nightmare Sealing Array, Ming Zhuo would have faced all sorts of difficulties. Thus, this eerie sleeping chamber was likely used not only to shift the array but also to “train” Ming Zhuo under Ming Han’s orders.

Without a host, the robe fell to the ground. Luo Xu stretched his arm, catching it and folding it neatly over his forearm, behaving as courteously as if supporting a senior.

The puppet strings in the air, as thin as spider silk, tightened with a swoosh, causing the small paper figure to float up. In an instant, it transformed into the figure of a fair-faced servant.

The servant, just like the one from the future, wielded a pair of steel knives, slashing down as soon as he landed. Luo Xu sidestepped with a light step, tapping the blade, “The person may be fake, but the temper is real.”

Though his movement was light, the steel blade reacted as if struck by a ghost, veering off instantly. The strength of the servant official depended on the prowess of the puppet master. This move would have been ineffective against the future Ming Zhuo but was more than enough to deal with young Ming Zhuo.

One of the attendant’s arms went limp, reverting to a paper form from the residual force. Luo Xu extended his fingers to grab it, but the paper figure rose like a kite, swiftly soaring into the air before transforming into the form of Hui Mang.

Luo Xu applauded, “What excellent puppet skills! You almost fooled even me.”

He spoke half-jokingly. This impromptu puppetry was so fluid and lifelike that even if young Ming Zhuo wasn’t the heir apparent of the Ming family, he could still be called a genius. Especially when considering that puppet skills were only Ming Zhuo’s secondary discipline, while the Lord's command of Thunder Incantations was even more formidable.

A hum came from the bed chamber, its tone ambiguous, leaving it unclear whether it expressed joy or displeasure. The imitation of Hui Mang was indistinguishable from the real one, blindfolded and plucking the strings of the pipa in its arms toward Luo Xu.

Hōnglóng!

What you wish for is what comes.

The curtains, which had just been tightly “biting” down on both of them like a sack, flew open. From somewhere above, a bolt of lightning aimed straight at Luo Xu’s head!

The Author Has Something to Say

(pulls out a little onigiri) The 19:00 daily shift schedule is activated for the 100008th time! Thanks for reading.