| PN | Moon | 98
Agu looked up at the black-haired puppet in the sky, already starting to think about how he would explain things when he saw his father later.
Who would have thought that this puppet could actually pass through the Mother Tree's illusion and directly enter this space?!
Thoughts continued to rush through his mind, one after another, but on the surface, Agu had already resumed his smiling demeanor.
“Your name is Xiang Yue, right?” He tilted his head slightly, his emerald eyes fixed on the other person, and spoke in a friendly tone, “Are you here to play with Agu?”
Xiang Yue looked down at Agu from above, his red eyes appearing somewhat indifferent.
However, when he spoke, he was quite polite. He first recounted what Agu had done to his father, then said, “Father doesn’t like us fighting, but I’m very angry, so can we have a duel?”
According to Brother Li Bai, as long as both parties agree, a duel is not considered fighting.
Upon hearing Xiang Yue’s words, Agu understood the situation. It was indeed because of this matter. He had suspected it from the beginning and now was even more certain.
Agu's smile gradually faded, and he still remembered those dark days.
Forced to study during the day and then having to duel with the energetic Li Bai Lan Luo until dawn, he would be attacked by the noise of bamboo poles whenever he nodded off.
Agu had already admitted his mistakes.
Why did they have to bring it up again?
Feeling aggrieved, he kicked a stone beside him. His father had not completely forgiven him yet, and now a puppet had come knocking at his door. Agu's heart sank.
He knew that, in this matter, the only one who truly forgave him was Qi Chao. Agu looked up at Xiang Yue, his emerald eyes narrowing slightly.
But putting that aside, Agu was actually quite happy that Xiang Yue came to challenge him.
After all, dueling in a place like the trial field was quite enjoyable, provided that Xiang Yue did not enter the trial field.
“Of course we can duel, but only if you can catch up with me.”
Agu smiled as he spoke. After giving a nod to Xiang Yue, he quickly ran toward the outside of the trial field, seemingly trying to escape.
Xiang Yue watched his movements, the ears atop his head twitching slightly. He glanced into the depths of the forest and then tilted his head.
For some reason, Xiang Yue felt a bit of comfort in this place. However, it was clearly not the time to ponder this.
Watching Agu about to disappear from view, his wings fluttered slightly as he immediately gave chase.
When Xiang Yue caught up with Agu, he paused momentarily. The dark, soft feathers on his back gradually hardened, faintly shimmering with a silver light, appearing as sharp as iron.
When Agu turned to look, the dark feathers shot through the air like arrows, piercing continuously.
Agu hesitated for a moment, then ran even faster. He licked his lips, feeling the energy within him speeding up significantly.
This indicated that the puppet was very nervous. In contrast, Agu's smile grew wider and wider.
As the feathers struck the ground, they instantly transformed into stardust, leaving various-sized holes on the ground. Agu immediately understood just how deadly these feathers were.
So thrilling.
He loved this kind of excitement the most.
After leaving the trial field, Agu seemed even more energized, like a peacock spreading its feathers, chirping away to distract Xiang Yue’s emotions.
However, unlike the irritable Lan Luo and the easily swayed Li Bai, Xiang Yue not only responded to Agu’s questions politely but also showed no mercy when taking action.
After losing a few centimeters from the tip of his hair, Agu became fully serious.
When Xiang Yue saw Agu throw something towards him, he instantly retreated. The blue object struck a rock and, in the blink of an eye, the rock was completely eroded.
Xiang Yue raised an eyebrow, no longer holding back.
He was a very measured puppet, aware of the boundaries of a duel. Since the opponent was serious, he could now focus on avenging his father.
Several black feathers fell from Xiang Yue’s wings and shot towards Agu.
Agu dodged with agility, but the feathers seemed to come alive, changing direction and continuing to chase him.
Agu paused, quickly adjusting his position and managing to evade them with some difficulty.
When Moss arrived, he happened to witness this scene.
Moss's ability had limitations; he could only locate places he had previously visited. After coming out of the trial field, he saw Agu and Xiang Yue engaged in a fierce battle.
Despite the bandages wrapped around his face, Moss's remaining eye revealed his displeasure. His deep black eyes were fixed intently on the two puppets not far away.
Moss knew that although Agu was unreliable, he understood what he shouldn’t do. The fact that Agu had come out of the trial field meant that Xiang Yue had likely entered it.
This should have been impossible.
Moss blinked slightly, his dark eyes growing darker. Even as a puppet, it was impossible to enter the Mother Tree’s space without a token.
Moss clenched the puppet in his hand and quietly waited for the two to finish their fight.
Xiang Yue will win.
Moss thought silently as he watched the scene before him. Xiang Yue’s abilities were quite effective. If he could help his father discipline the humans in the trial field, the shadows would likely be much happier.
However, the matter of the trial field should not be known to Xiang Yue. It would be very troublesome if Xiang Yue found out.
Meanwhile, Qi Chao found the basement following his previous memory. He opened the door and walked down the narrow, dimly lit stairs. Qi Chao's brow furrowed slightly.
Upon entering the basement and seeing Brother Shen sitting under the yellowish light, Qi Zhao's expression relaxed a bit.
“You're here?”
Hearing the noise behind him, Shen Yuxi turned around, his peach blossom eyes filled with a smile as he looked at Qi Zhao.
Qi Chao responded with a sound of acknowledgment, then moved past Shen Yuxi to glance at the blueprints on the table. He smiled and asked, “Are you planning to create a new puppet?”
“Mm, I suddenly had an inspiration.”
Shen Yuxi put away the blueprints. He knew he needed a reasonable excuse for his recent busyness. Looking at Qi Chao, Shen Yuxi smiled and said, “So you brought Li Bai and the others here?”
Qi Chao nodded, unaware of the conflict among the children at home. He replied with a smile, “They’re upstairs playing with Moss.”
The basement was slightly brighter than the stairs but still very dim, comparable to the brightness of candles from the previous life. Working in such light could easily damage one’s eyes.
“Why don’t you get a different lamp, Brother Shen?” Qi Chao asked, somewhat puzzled.
“I’m used to it.”
Shen Yuxi seemed to understand that the basement was not ideal for work. He spoke gently, “I’ve always used this lamp since I was young. It would feel strange to switch to a different one.”
Growing up in such dim conditions?
Qi Chao’s eyes darkened slightly. The type of lighting that was almost the same as candles had been outdated in his previous life, let alone in the more technologically advanced Blue Star.
Due to Shen Yuxi’s behavior and manners, Qi Zhao had always thought of him as a refined, wealthy young master.
Even though Shen Yuxi’s villa was in the Ganfen District, Qi Chao had never thought much of it.
It seems that's not the case now.
Qi Chao suddenly realized that, from the first time they met until now, Shen Yuxi rarely talked about his own matters.
Qi Chao had always been the type to respect others' privacy by not asking too many questions if they didn't offer information willingly.
However, this approach had unintentionally created a distance between them. He didn't really know about Shen Yuxi's past.
"What's wrong?"
Shen Yuxi noticed that a casual remark of his had caused Qi Chao to appear distracted. After a brief moment of confusion, Shen Yuxi quickly understood the reason.
His gaze flickered briefly to the dim electric light and then fell away as he lowered his eyelashes, redirecting the topic.
"I still need to calculate the body proportions. Let's wait a few more minutes and go up together, okay?"
Shen Yuxi could pretend to be vulnerable to gain Qi Chao's sympathy, but he wasn't willing to use his past to manipulate the situation.
His eyelashes fluttered slightly; he didn't want to seem pitiful.
"Okay, you take your time. I'll just watch from the side."
Qi Chao came back to his senses and smiled at Shen Yuxi. The scene was reversed from usual; normally, it was Shen Yuxi who observed him while he worked.
After that, the basement was quiet. Qi Chao sat back in the chair, his gaze shifting from Shen Yuxi to other things.
Aside from the dim lighting, the basement was filled with books. The bookshelves were almost level with the walls, packed full of all kinds of books.
Qi Chao had originally been leaning his head on his hand while watching Shen Yuxi work. After about ten minutes, he decided to pick a random book from the shelf and read it.
The dim light made it hard on his eyes. As soon as Qi Chao opened the book and saw the dense black text, his eyes began to strain.
Even though he was used to this kind of lighting, he realized he couldn't keep this up, or his eyes would really suffer.
He glanced at Shen Yuxi's back but said nothing for the moment, focusing instead on the handwritten notes under his thumb.
From the two different styles of handwriting, one was solemn and simple, while the other was graceful and elegant. It was obvious they were written by two different people.
Qi Chao knew that Shen Yuxi's handwriting was the latter. He wasn't sure who wrote the earlier notes.
Once Shen Yuxi had finished calculating the proportions for the puppet, Qi Chao casually asked, “Who wrote these?”
“This is my teacher’s handwriting,” Shen Yuxi said calmly, his tone gentle. “My teacher used to give me assignments when he was teaching me.”
Teacher?
Qi Chao looked at the book in his hands, a hint of a smile in his eyes, and teased, “It seems that Brother Shen wasn’t exactly easy on himself while studying in the past.”
Shen Yuxi chuckled.
He didn’t want Qi Chao to know too much about his past, but Shen Yuxi was also aware that if Qi Chao had come just to see him, he wouldn’t have been as focused on teaching at the villa as he was last time.
Qi Chao’s curiosity about the layout of the villa and his decision to reveal the basement, which held many secrets, were efforts to alleviate Qi Chao’s curiosity.
What Qi Chao saw now was all that Shen Yuxi was willing to let him know. Anything beyond that, Shen Yuxi was determined to keep hidden.
He watched as Qi Chao, interested, flipped through his old notes. Shen Yuxi remained silent until Qi Chao closed the book, at which point he suggested they head upstairs.
Qi Chao naturally had no objections.
As they left the basement and entered the living room, they saw Li Bai excitedly talking to Moss.
When Qi Chao asked, Li Bai and Moss did not speak but looked at him with smiles, appearing in good spirits.
Shen Yuxi glanced thoughtfully at the silent Moss beside him, sensing that something might be amiss.
That evening, after learning that Xiang Yue had accidentally wandered into the trial grounds, Shen Yuxi’s expression remained unchanged, as if he quickly accepted the reality.
He said to Moss, “Bring Agu here.”
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