Puppet Notes (Wearing Book) - 49

 

| PN | Wolf King | 49

Dad?

Li Bai stared blankly at the scene before him. His beloved father was lying on the ground, a dagger embedded in his chest, blood seeping from the wound. It was as though his life had been lost.

Li Bai's steps faltered, and in the next moment, he was suddenly at Qi Chao’s side. Trembling, he looked at his father, feeling helpless and terrified. He wanted to cry out, to confirm if his father was still alive, but when he opened his mouth, no sound came out.

His father had been hurt.

By the very Wolf King he had been so eager to live with.

His breathing grew rapid. Under the fallen mask, his golden-amber eyes were tinged with red. 

The realization that the Wolf King had harmed his father was overwhelming. How could anyone hurt his father? 

Li Bai stared blankly at his father on the ground, the red light in his eyes seeming to engulf his entire gaze, his face slowly taking on an eerie and ominous look.

How dare anyone hurt his father?

Li Bai thought, as a crackling sound filled the air.

The sound of shattering reached Li Bai’s ears, causing him to pause. As he took in the scene before him, the strange expression on his face gradually faded, and his golden eyes grew somewhat vacant.

The Wolf King, twisted and shocked, seemed to be trying to speak, but before he could, a small figure shrouded in black mist kicked him away. As the mist dissipated, Li Bai saw that the small puppet was tightly clutching a shattered red crystal.

Lan Luo’s face was dark with anger. His hand tightened as if he intended to crush the puppet's heart into pieces.

“Leave it for now,” Shen Yuxi suddenly spoke up.

Lan Luo’s grip relaxed. He pressed his lips together, his eyes still clouded with anger, as if he were struggling with his emotions.

The series of events—from Qi Chao being stabbed to Lan Luo extracting the heart—had unfolded in mere seconds. 

Shen Yuxi moved in front of Qi Chao, noting that there was still a faint pulse. His lashes fluttered, briefly obscuring the troubled expression in his eyes. He spoke softly, “Moss.”

Moss, holding the doll Qi Chao had sewn for him, nodded, understanding the purpose. He rubbed his wrist where the bandage was, and a massive spatial vortex suddenly descended in the hall.

In the next moment, everyone present, including the remnants of the Wolf King, vanished into the vortex.

When Li Bai opened his eyes again, he found himself in an unfamiliar place. Both Shen Yuxi and Moss, as well as Lan Luo, displayed calm, familiar expressions, as if they knew this new location well.

Usually, Li Bai would be curious about where they were, but now he only focused on his father.

The air was filled with a rancid odor, and the mournful cries of crows could be faintly heard nearby. The building before them resembled an abandoned hospital from decades ago, but the lights on the second-floor windows made it hard to imagine that such a dilapidated place still housed people.

Moss lifted the Wolf King's remains with one hand and kicked open the large door with his foot, showing his distaste for the place. 

Shen Yuxi glanced at him but said nothing, walking straight inside.

The noise of the door startled a man who had been reading inside. He looked up in alarm and said anxiously, “Mr. Shen… what brings you here?”

“Emergency.”

“Emergency?” 

Wu Tao, who wore thick glasses, was initially puzzled by the term. It used to be plausible, but who could have injured a god of death now? 

Then he saw the man with a knife embedded in his chest, his face pale. 

Wu Tao snapped back to attention and quickly nodded, “Alright, please lay him on the bed. I’ll perform the surgery immediately.”

Despite its shabby exterior, the hospital was equipped with all the necessary facilities. Wu Tao donned a mask and sterile gown, his mind racing with guesses about the man’s identity. It was the first time he had seen a living person known to a death deity.

Once inside the operating room, Wu Tao noticed that Shen Yuxi and a few puppets were standing by the bed and seemed unwilling to leave. His heart skipped a beat, and his hands trembled slightly as he held the tray.

Wu Tao was stunned. Could they really just watch him perform the surgery? He felt a pang of fear at the thought—he was sure it would be terrifying.

Noticing Wu Tao's anxiety, Shen Yuxi addressed the three puppets briefly and then prepared to leave.

 Wu Tao felt a sigh of relief, though he wasn’t completely at ease until he heard the god of death’s calm, dispassionate remark as he passed by, “If he dies, don’t expect this hospital to remain standing.”

Wu Tao was taken aback. His nerves were already frayed, and this only added to his stress. 

Approaching the bed, Wu Tao saw the critically injured patient and felt his heart relax a bit. At least he was still alive for now.

Outside the operating room, the atmosphere was eerily quiet.

Li Bai huddled on the floor, his golden-amber eyes misty behind his mask.

Lan Luo, holding the red crystal heart, examined it with a somber expression. His blue eyes held a shadow of melancholy. 

Lan Luo had been deeply unsettled by Qi Chao's stabbing. He initially thought that penetrating the Wolf King’s chest would bring him some comfort, but soon realized it didn’t alleviate his distress. 

When he saw Qi Chao lying motionless on the bed, seemingly never to open his eyes again, his sadness grew even deeper. 

The sight of Qi Chao not waking up to praise him as a good child filled Lan Luo with overwhelming grief—grief akin to the first time he left his father. 

Lan Luo hated feeling this way. He glanced at the red crystal in his hand and walked over to his father’s side.

“Father, can I crush this?” 

Though he didn’t understand why his father forbade him from destroying the crystal, Lan Luo felt that crushing it might somehow make him feel better.

The quiet of the corridor was shattered by Lan Luo's question, causing Moss and Li Bai to shift their attention.

Moss glanced at the crystal and then back at the puppet, his bandaged fingers carefully smoothing the doll's hair. A closer look revealed that his movements had slowed, as though he were lost in thought.

Shen Yuxi observed the crystal in Lan Luo's hand, his eyes hiding an ambiguous expression. 

After a few seconds, he chuckled softly, “No, Lan Luo.”

Lan Luo bit his lip, lowering his head and fiddling with the crystal, his reluctance evident. 

“Moss, take the heart to Agu,” Shen Yuxi instructed.

Deliver it to Agu? Lan Luo didn't want to part with it. He usually followed his father's orders, but this time, he was reluctant to comply, clutching the crystal tightly and refusing to hand it over.

Shen Yuxi’s gaze shifted between Lan Luo and Moss, who stood there with a hint of hesitation. 

Shen Yuxi's eyes sparkled with interest, and he said with a gentle smile, “I have something to ask the Wolf King.”

To question the Wolf King? Lan Luo's resolve wavered as he considered this.

Moss moved to Lan Luo’s side, extending his bandaged hand. “Give it to me.”

Lan Luo hesitated but ultimately handed over the half crystal to Moss. Moss took a quick glance at it, feeling the texture with a grimace of distaste, then gave a nod of farewell to his father. He dragged the discarded Wolf King’s body and stepped into the space vortex.

The corridor fell silent once more.

Lan Luo’s thoughts lingered on Qi Chao, feeling more favorably toward him than he had anticipated. Shen Yuxi observed Lan Luo’s silent demeanor, his lashes lowering in contemplation. He wondered whether this change would affect their future plans positively or negatively.

Shen Yuxi acknowledged that Qi Chao was indeed a commendable person. Even he, Shen Yuxi, recognized that Qi Chao’s presence had influenced him. Given his usual approach, if the Wolf King still held value, Shen Yuxi wouldn’t have let Lan Luo destroy him from the start. 

However, Shen Yuxi had waited until Lan Luo was about to crush the crystal before intervening.

This deviation from his usual behavior was troubling. Shen Yuxi noted his own unease, recognizing that his frustration at nearly losing his piece was understandable. It was a sign that he needed to exercise more restraint in the future.

With these thoughts, Shen Yuxi's gaze fell on Li Bai, who was huddled in the corner. Shen Yuxi approached him slowly. 

The white-haired "boy" still wore his favorite fox mask, his previously innocent eyes now clouded with confusion and emptiness. Dried blood streaked his face from the earlier incident.

Gently, Shen Yuxi took a handkerchief from his pocket, moistened it, and began to wipe away the blood from Li Bai’s face with a tender, caring expression.

“Daddy…” Li Bai’s voice quivered as he looked up, his eyes reflecting a mix of fear and longing.

Seeing the familiar comfort, Li Bai’s eyes welled up with tears. He began to cry, and even though high-level puppets like him could display a wide range of emotions and convert excess energy into tears, it was rare for him to cry so much.

"Don’t be sad; your father will wake up soon," Shen Yuxi said soothingly, drying Li Bai’s face before withdrawing his hand. "Otherwise, he’ll be sad when he wakes up."

"When will Daddy wake up?" Li Bai asked, removing his mask and trying to wipe his tears, but they flowed like pearls from a broken string, refusing to be wiped away completely.

"His medical skills are very good," Shen Yuxi reassured him with a smile. "He’ll wake up soon."

"Really?" 

"Really."

With that reassurance, although Li Bai’s heart remained heavy, he felt a bit lighter and managed a small smile. He then looked up at his gentle and beautiful godfather and glanced toward Lan Luo, appearing hesitant as if he wanted to ask something.

Lan Luo noticed Li Bai’s gaze and stiffened, realizing that Li Bai had seen him use his special abilities earlier. Not just him, but Moss had also been involved.

At that moment, Lan Luo felt a pang of regret. He wished he had handled things differently. If he could do it again, he would have knocked Li Bai unconscious first before destroying the Wolf King.

As he mulled this over, Lan Luo approached and crouched beside Shen Yuxi and Li Bai.

"Li Bai’s eyes seemed to turn red earlier," Lan Luo said quietly, his voice carrying a note of remorse.

Shen Yuxi, perceptive as ever, understood what Li Bai had been hesitant to ask but did intend to explain. 

Instead, he gently addressed Li Bai’s concerns, “I noticed you had some patterns on your face earlier too.”

“Is it a special ability?” Lan Luo asked, turning his gaze to Li Bai.

Li Bai shook his head, looking puzzled. He wasn’t sure if what he experienced was his own ability. Lowering his head, he pressed his lips together, troubled by a voice inside him that suggested using such an ability might change him, making him feel less like himself.

“If Lan Luo hadn’t destroyed the Wolf King…” Li Bai thought, “perhaps I would have been the one to do it.”

Shen Yuxi, noticing Li Bai’s response, continued in a soothing tone, “Lan Luo and Moss both have special abilities, just like what you saw earlier.”

Li Bai nodded firmly, his resolve growing stronger. “They’re amazing. I want to become stronger too, so I can protect Daddy!”

Shen Yuxi was initially planning to gradually diminish Li Bai’s negative perception of Lan Luo, but this declaration made him pause. 

Lan Luo, caught off guard, looked at Li Bai in surprise and asked, “Don’t you think it’s cruel to tear out the Wolf King’s heart directly?”

Li Bai looked confused. “Why would it be cruel? Daddy was stabbed in the chest, so this seems fair. As long as the heart isn’t destroyed, the puppet isn’t truly dead. It must hurt a lot when they’re separated from their body, but Daddy is in pain too. Pain is pain, no matter what.”

Lan Luo was taken aback by Li Bai’s perspective. He had expected the reaction to be one of disgust or horror, not a rationalization of fairness in the context of pain.

Shen Yuxi observed the exchange with a thoughtful expression, realizing that Li Bai’s understanding of pain and fairness was deeply shaped by his own experiences and beliefs.

Li Bai wanted to become stronger; if he became strong enough, he could protect his father. He hated seeing his father get hurt. 

Li Bai hesitated and looked at Shen Yuxi with eyes like golden amber, filled with a plea: “Godfather, can you not bring the Wolf King home?”

Li Bai knew his father had a soft heart, but he didn’t want his father to see the Wolf King again. 

He had once eagerly hoped that the Wolf King could live with them, but now he wished he would never appear. Li Bai gripped the corner of Shen Yuxi's clothing and pressed his lips together.

“Alright,” Shen Yuxi smiled. “As long as you don’t talk about what Lan Luo did to remove the Wolf King’s heart, I promise I won’t bring the Wolf King home.”

Why can't he talk about it?

Li Bai didn’t understand. In his view, it was to protect his father, and Lan Luo could also receive his father’s praise.

“You mustn’t say anything.”

Lan Luo also emphasized, knowing now how abnormal Li Bai’s thoughts were.

Li Bai looked at Shen Yuxi and Lan Luo’s eyes, nodded in confusion, and then resolutely said, “I definitely won’t say anything! So, godfather, you mustn’t bring the Wolf King back!”

Shen Yuxi smiled and nodded.

Before long, the door to the operating room opened, and Wu Tao came out. Seeing the almost eerily cheerful look in his eyes, he nearly fainted from shock.

“The surgery is over. I’ve placed him in a nutrient solution; he’ll need to stay in it for an hour. His injuries are too severe, so he needs to be immersed in the heart-nourishing solution for seven days,” Wu Tao, having regained his composure, said to Shen Yuxi while maintaining his professional ethics and overcoming his fear. 

After finishing, he looked at Shen Yuxi's face and swallowed nervously.

“When will he wake up?” Shen Yuxi asked.

“If his condition improves, he should wake up once the nutrient solution treatment is complete,” Wu Tao replied.

“Prepare the transfer paperwork,” Shen Yuxi instructed.

Wu Tao understood the implication immediately, “Which hospital would you like to transfer him to?”

Shen Yuxi smiled gently, “Transfer him to a hospital where the doctors won’t be afraid of me.”

Wu Tao: …

Meanwhile, Moss, after handing over some items to Agu who was slacking off at the trial ground, turned and left despite Agu’s desperate calls from behind. Returning to the hospital, Moss then used a spatial vortex to transport his father and others away from the dilapidated hospital.

“Why are we leaving?” Li Bai didn’t understand.

Shen Yuxi answered softly, “The environment there is not suitable; it will affect your father’s recovery.” Of course, it would also affect their image in Qi Chao’s mind.

Li Bai quickly nodded in understanding upon hearing it was for his father's injury.

The new hospital they were transferred to was the most luxurious one in the Linjing District. 

Upon receiving the notification, the doctors arranged for them to be placed in the best patient rooms.

Li Bai, Lan Luo, and Moss had not consumed any energy stones that afternoon. Shen Yuxi had prepared some high-quality energy stones for them, but they only ate a little.

As night deepened, the three of them remained crowded in the patient room. Shen Yuxi did not make them leave and arranged for them to sleep in the beds next door.

Li Bai originally wanted to stay by his father's bedside, feeling he wouldn’t be at ease until he saw his father wake up. However, after waiting for a long time, he couldn’t control his drowsiness and ended up falling asleep at the bedside.

Shen Yuxi moved him to the bed next door.

Lan Luo and Moss also fell into a deep sleep, perhaps due to the use of their abilities earlier in the day. They fell asleep much faster than usual.

Shen Yuxi was not tired, or rather, it was difficult for him to fall asleep in an unfamiliar environment. The cold moonlight streamed in through the window. Shen Yuxi sat in a chair by the bed, watching the person lying in bed. His lashes shielded the contemplation in his eyes.

His fingertips lightly brushed the surface of a book, the smooth, white nails appearing clean and delicate under the moonlight.

Who would want to kill Qi Chao?

Shen Yuxi thought about the Wolf King’s frenzied expression of joy and sorrow after stabbing Qi Chao in the chest, his lashes trembling slightly.

Puppets are a tragic kind of being.

From the moment they are born, they are searching for a place to belong.

There seems to be only one reason why the puppet did this, but Shen Yuxi harbored doubts about this sole reason. He lowered his gaze, looking at the book cover—it was a book that Qi Chao had specially brought from the Qi family for him.

Perhaps it was the Wolf King’s father who instructed him to kill Qi Chao. But what could be his father’s reason for wanting Qi Chao dead? Could it be simply out of jealousy of Qi Chao, and disregarding the Qi family’s standing in the Blue Star?

Shen Yuxi lightly tapped the book with his fingers. Under the cold moonlight, his gaze held a faint chill, as if he had thought of something. He lowered his lashes.

It would be best if it wasn’t the outcome he feared. Otherwise, Shen Yuxi didn’t continue his thoughts, as he sensed someone’s gaze on him.

The man in bed had somehow woken up, though Shen Yuxi did not know when or how long he had been watching. His usually warm, deep brown eyes were filled with lonely confusion, like a lost traveler in the desert, unable to find the way forward and at risk of perishing in the desolation.

He said, “Did I do something wrong?”

Shen Yuxi's smile had not yet appeared before it froze. His lashes trembled as he struggled to find a response, only to see the man in bed close his eyes and fall back into a deep sleep.

In the moonlight, Shen Yuxi could see the man’s furrowed brow, perhaps from the pain of his injuries or from being trapped in a nightmare from which he could not awaken.

The next morning, when Qi Chao opened his eyes, he was met with a white fox mask.

After a second of staring into the eyes behind the mask, those golden eyes instantly filled with tears.

“Daddy, you’re awake!”

Li Bai wanted to say “I missed you so much,” but after just one sentence, he couldn’t help but start crying, like a child who had been wronged and couldn’t contain their emotions upon seeing their parents.

Qi Chao, still in a daze, couldn’t help but chuckle at Li Bai’s crying. He quickly grabbed a tissue to wipe his tears and comforted him.

After a while of soothing, Li Bai seemed to understand that his father was injured and forced himself to hold back the tears. He jumped off the bed, saying, “Dad, you rest. I’ll manage to calm myself down soon.”

Qi Chao wanted to laugh at those words, but his chest was still sore from the injury. Moving his muscles caused intense pain. He turned to look at Lan Luo, who was pursing his lips, and gave a faint smile, reaching out to ruffle Lan Luo’s hair.

“Lan Luo is so good.”

Hearing this, Lan Luo beamed with a bright smile, as he indeed was very well-behaved.

Moss, sitting on the bed next to them and brushing the doll’s hair, glanced up at Qi Chao as if by chance, their eyes meeting.

Moss stiffened, quickly shifting his gaze back to the puppet. The next moment, he heard Qi Chao say, “Moss, why isn’t the doll’s hair done yet? Did you wake up late today?”

“Mm, it will look good soon,” Moss replied, pressing his lips together under the bandages and emphasizing, “Very soon.”

“That’s great. I’m looking forward to seeing what hairstyle the doll will have today,” Qi Chao said.

Moss nodded at this, and his movements with the doll’s hair became much quicker.

After Qi Chao asked each child, he realized that the doctor was not present and felt a bit puzzled. The next moment, he saw the man walking in from outside the patient room.

Shen Yuxi’s gentle smile appeared as soon as he saw that Qi Chao was awake. Qi Chao smiled back, his eyes still warm.

However, Shen Yuxi noticed that something was off about the man’s emotions. Although he was smiling, there seemed to be something extra in his demeanor.

Shen Yuxi’s expression remained unchanged as he called over Moss. “Moss, could you take the two younger brothers home first?”

“Home?” Moss was a bit confused.

Shen Yuxi smiled. “Since Qi Chao just woke up and hasn’t eaten yet, could you bring some food?”

Upon hearing this, the three puppets immediately nodded.

Qi Chao was still puzzled. “Brother Shen, how will the three kids get home? They can’t cook, and the hospital should have food.”

Shen Yuxi declined with a smile, while the three puppets insisted they could handle it.

Just as Qi Chao was about to say something, a spatial vortex suddenly appeared beside him. The next moment, the children went through it one by one, waving goodbye to Qi Chao as they left.

“Moss’s ability is spatial transfer,” Shen Yuxi explained, looking a bit embarrassed. “I’m sorry I hadn’t mentioned it before. There wasn’t an opportunity, and frequent use of such abilities can be tiring for puppets, so I didn’t bring it up.”

After the puppets went through the spatial vortex, Qi Chao understood everything. He smiled and said, “There’s nothing to apologize for. I should be thanking Moss. Without him, I might have been dead.”

He was well aware of how severe his injuries were. The Wolf King’s knife had been intended to kill him. He remembered the frenzied joy and tears in the Wolf King’s eyes as he drove the dagger into Qi Chao’s heart.

Qi Chao touched his chest, where a new scar had formed. The technology of the Blue Star was truly advanced; the wound had started to scab over in just one day. 

In a few days, the scar might disappear, leaving no trace of the past injury.

He was lost in thought for a few seconds before speaking up, “Brother Shen, what happened to the Wolf King?”

After being stabbed, Qi Chao had been in a daze, not understanding why he had been treated this way. He was just an ordinary person, overwhelmed by a mix of anger and confusion. He pressed his lips together, wanting to get some clarity from the Wolf King.

Shen Yuxi paused for a moment. “After he injured you, the Heart of the Puppet shattered, breaking into two pieces.”

Shattered?

Qi Chao’s mouth twitched. He had survived being stabbed, but the Wolf King was dead?

It felt like a cruel joke. The anger and confusion inside him suddenly dissipated, but his mood grew heavier, more disoriented than before.

His mind went blank. Not knowing what to say, he just stared at Shen Yuxi. Shen Yuxi sat beside him, quietly waiting for him to regain his composure.

The silence in the patient room was eerie. After some time, Qi Chao’s deep and confused voice broke the quiet: “I just wanted to take care of him.”

Shen Yuxi’s fingers paused, but he remained silent.

Qi Chao seemed not to need any further words from him. His voice was hoarse, devoid of emotion, as if he were merely recounting a story. He said, “I wanted to take care of him, but I never considered whether he needed my care.”

“Compared to being cared for by someone, there must have been something more important in his heart.”

Qi Chao guessed that there must have been someone giving orders behind the scenes for him to be killed. The kind of look the Wolf King had in his eyes could only have been instigated by the Wolf King’s father.

“Something so important that it justified hurting others.”

Qi Chao gave a bitter laugh, even though he was unsure of who he was mocking.

The patient room fell silent again.

“Did I do something wrong?”

After a long silence, Qi Chao suddenly asked.

Shen Yuxi’s lashes fluttered as he recalled the events of the previous night. He parted his lips slightly and asked：“If a similarly battered puppet, abandoned by everyone, appeared before you again, would you still save him?”

Qi Chao was taken aback by the question. His lips moved slightly, but before he could respond, his light brain suddenly vibrated.

On the screen was his father. Qi Chao apologized to Shen Yuxi before answering the call.

【Did you get injured by a puppet master?】

【Don’t leave the patient room. I’m on my way.】

After those two sentences, the light brain went silent again.

Qi Chao: ???  

Did news travel that fast?

…

On the other side, Zhao Benben was furious with Zhang Ya.

“Who told you to stab him in the heart? I only told you to make sure he didn’t participate in the competition! Stabbing his heart is outright attempted murder! Damn it!”

Zhao Benben, usually gentle with others, was cursing for the first time.

He had coincidentally discovered that Qi Chao intended to take the abandoned Wolf King home and thought of a plan to make the Wolf King interfere with Qi Chao’s participation in the competition, reducing one competitor.

Who could have expected that not only did this idiot make the Wolf King stab Qi Chao, but he also acted out in the venue? Does he not know there are surveillance cameras at the venue? 

He acted so stupidly, damn it!

At this moment, Zhang Ya was at a loss. He anxiously said, “I don’t know what happened. It was like my mind wasn’t my own yesterday. I didn’t mean to do that, but my mouth just said those things on its own. I really didn’t do it on purpose!”

Zhao Benben was not in the mood to care about excuses. He angrily said, “It’s one thing if Qi Chao can’t participate, but no matter how arrogant the richest man is, the association and the empire will still protect you. But now it’s not so certain. If the richest man goes all out against you, the association definitely won’t protect a puppet master who doesn’t even have an S-level puppet!”

Zhang Ya couldn’t believe it. He angrily said, “I’m an S-level puppet master. The association will just abandon me like that? Besides, everything I did was for you! If they abandon me, I’ll drag you down with me!”

Zhao Benben laughed, “And what if they do? If you don’t want your family to be safe and sound, just let me know.”

Zhang Ya’s eyes were red, and his lips trembled, but he didn’t know how to handle the situation.

He thought about the Wolf King.

With the Wolf King around, he wouldn’t be bullied.

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TL: I feel bad for leaving you guys on a cliffhanger so here's a double chapter today! 

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