Puppet Notes (Wearing Book) - 143

 

| PN | Luck | 143

In the eyes of the shopkeeper next door, the male owner of Shop No. 3 is a powerful demon capable of taking lives with ease. Soon, this news will spread throughout the entire 677 Street. 

The kinder Qi Chao appears, the more the criminals on the street will fear him.

The real culprit behind all this, the demon doll Ayu, obediently follows Qi Chao's lead, occasionally handing him tools like scalpels or scissors. This should be the warehouse where Brother Shen stores his belongings.

Since Qi Chao had never really planned to open a shop at the beginning, he didn’t bother to organize the miscellaneous items in the store. The shop is filled with resins and various potions for puppets.

“Thank you, Ayu,” Qi Chao casually said as he took the scissors and gently cut open the skin of the puppet, focusing intently on Ayao, who was half-submerged in the repair liquid.

Based on Ayao's current condition, it seemed that he might remain in a deep sleep until he was completely healed. 

The reason puppets develop such illnesses is mainly due to the puppet masters being careless during production and failing to provide enough spiritual power and not clearing the spiritual nerve pathways of the puppets.

As Qi Chao thought about this, his dissatisfaction with Qing Yu grew even stronger. Not to mention the malicious creation of deformed puppets, this careless attitude is a complete disrespect for one’s profession.

To treat Ayao, Qi Chao needed to constantly replenish the puppet’s spiritual energy and rebuild its nerves. Normally, Qi Chao was quite talkative. 

However, when he was working, he was especially quiet, rarely allowing his attention to wander.

After handing the scissors to Qi Chao, Ayu took a step back to avoid interrupting her father's work. She calmly watched Qi Chao's movements, and suddenly, the fingertips of her right hand moved slightly, as if receiving some kind of message.

“Dad, I’ll go watch those two at the door,” Ayu said, pulling her hat down without making eye contact with Qi Chao. 

Although the two people had already come out of the hotel and were standing at the door again, Ayu's decision to go to the entrance was not actually for their sake.

Ayu wasn't good at lying. Normally, Qi Chao would immediately guess that this was just an excuse. However, since he was focused on the treatment, he didn’t think much and directly agreed. 

“Okay, you just sit at the door and make sure those two don’t come in.” 

Ayu nodded, standing with her back to Qi Chao at the door. After confirming that he couldn’t see her movements, her fingertips formed a red eyeball, then she closed her eyes, gradually hearing her father's voice in her ears.

【How is that person?】

This sentence from her father was vague and unclear, but Ayu instantly understood what he meant. Her lips moved slightly, silently saying: 【That human indeed just wants to repair the puppet; the danger level is low.】

On the other side, Shen Yuxi heard Ayu's reply, his eyelashes fluttering slightly. He responded calmly while looking at the red eyeball in front of him, “In two hours, I’ll come with Moss to pick you up. You make sure to protect him.” 

【Understood, Father.】

The calm voice of Ayu came from the red eyeball, and after the call ended, the eyeball burst in the air with a pop, like a water droplet.

Silence returned around the mother tree. 

Shen Yuxi leaned against the trunk of the mother tree and resumed reading the book in his hands. After a while, he spoke casually, “What about those people?” 

Surrounded by the cold, towering trees, there was no one else in sight, yet Shen Yuxi continued as if he knew something, “If they’ve entered the Toxic Gas Forest, you don’t need to pursue them for now.” 

“Father’s ears are really impressive; even though Agu was careful, you still noticed.” 

Agu jumped down from a nearby tree, a large blade appearing on his shoulder, his blue earrings accentuating the sharpness of the blade. He let out a deep sigh, looking somewhat dejected. “It really doesn’t give me any sense of achievement.” 

Shen Yuxi glanced at him and then turned his gaze back to the book, his voice gentle as he said, “You’ve worked hard these past few days. I’m worried that Chi Yao might not be able to handle those people along with Qiao Sheng.” 

Chi Yao was indeed a bit clumsy.

Agu knew that his father was flattering him to encourage him to focus on the task. However, if this had been in the past, his father wouldn’t have bothered with such things; he would have simply issued cold orders. 

From this perspective, it seemed that his father had become much gentler.

Thinking this, Agu put his hands on his hips, raised his chin, and proudly accepted his father's praise. “Of course! That guy Chi Yao is just a blockhead; only I can outsmart them!”

As soon as he finished speaking, Chi Yao appeared behind Agu, wielding a large blade. Agu showed no surprise at all. He turned around and cheerfully escaped, saying, “I’m going to play now! Bye-bye!”

Only Shen Yuxi and Chi Yao, one person and one puppet, remained beneath the mother tree. 

Chi Yao seemed to have just come from a fierce battle, with dark red human blood still smeared on her left cheek. She looked in the direction where Agu had left, a hint of displeasure evident on her face, clearly annoyed that Agu had spoken ill of her in front of their father.

After a moment of silence, she shifted the topic, saying, “Father, I’ve already led them into the Toxic Gas Forest. However, they won’t be able to stay there for too long.”

Since Qiao Sheng and the transmigraters reached an agreement, Chi Yao had been following her father's orders, continuously arranging for deformed puppets to attack them and setting up obstacles for them.

Every place, from the Bug Valley to the Snake Cave, was enough to cost them their lives. 

However, strangely, that group of people was quite fortunate. Although both Qiao Sheng and Lu Chen were not weak in ability, whenever they were on the brink of death, some natural disaster would occur, like an earthquake or a fire caused by lightning, allowing them to escape successfully.

It was as if some mysterious force was always helping them.

Chi Yao looked up at her father, wanting to say something but hesitating. Unlike other puppets, Chi Yao had remained in the trial grounds.

She had witnessed those incredible scenes with her own eyes. She believed her father could handle those humans, but she also understood that this task would be difficult.

Shen Yuxi noticed Chi Yao's hesitation. He lowered his eyelashes, closed the book, and slowly walked in front of Chi Yao, gently using a handkerchief to wipe the dirt off her face. He spoke softly, “I understand. Leading them into the Toxic Gas Forest is enough; you’ve done well, Chi Yao.”

When her father approached, she awkwardly disassembled the large blade on her shoulder and fashioned it into a hairband tied around her wrist. 

Once her father finished wiping her face, her stiff body relaxed, and her heart began to leap with excitement. The fiery red of her eyes sparkled brightly with enthusiasm, and her earlier worries seemed to dissipate with this one gesture. 

Shen Yuxi slightly curled his lips, putting the handkerchief back into his pocket. His voice was somewhat soft, “Those people can’t remain this lucky forever.”

Chi Yao didn’t catch that clearly. When she looked up to ask a question, she realized her father’s gaze was no longer on her but had shifted to the top of the mother tree.

From Chi Yao’s perspective, she could see that the number of shadows on the tree branches had decreased significantly, with only thirty or so left. However, these remaining shadows appeared particularly fierce, their sharp voices wailing as if they were lamenting something. 

Only when the green light gently fell beside them did these shadows quiet down briefly, like children being soothed. 

At the top of the mother tree, the shimmering white light was soft and warm. In this dense, dark, and eerie forest, the white light was the only brightness.

Chi Yao looked at the white light at the top of the tree and felt inexplicably warmer. She cheerfully said, “Father, the mother tree is in better condition now. Once the shadows are purified a bit more, we can go to the association.” 

Their plan would finally be a complete success. 

Thinking of this, Chi Yao's large blade seemed to vibrate with anticipation.

“Mm.” 

Shen Yuxi curled his lips slightly, but then his smile faded a bit. The success of their plan depended on completely dealing with the obstacles in the trial grounds.

It was quite a headache that killing was not allowed within the confines of the mother tree.

Shen Yuxi’s fingertips trembled slightly as he walked to the mother tree and picked up the book he had left on the ground. He changed the subject, saying, “I’ll leave it to Agu. In an hour, come with me to pick up Qi Chao. He misses you and has been talking about you for quite some time.” 

As he said this, a barely perceptible smile crept into Shen Yuxi's voice. It seemed that just mentioning Qi Chao would uplift his spirits.

Meeting Qi Chao?

Chi Yao suddenly felt a bit nervous. She opened her mouth, wanting to ask something, but even she didn’t know what she wanted to say. 

It had been a long time since she last saw Qi Chao, and she hadn’t even called him “Dad” yet. 

However, she still remembered the warmth of his palm and the warmth in his deep brown eyes.

“Does… does he want to see me?” 

Chi Yao looked up at her father, her voice slightly stuttering. The red-haired demon, regarded by the humans in the trial grounds as a terrifying monster, actually blushed like a shy little girl at this moment.

How nervous must she be to forget to circulate her energy? Shen Yuxi looked down at Chi Yao. He paused for a moment before responding with a soft “Mm.”

The puppets all liked Qi Chao.

Shen Yuxi had known this for a long time. He would not feel disgusted if it was only the puppets that liked Qi Chao. If it were any other human, the subtle darkness in Shen Yuxi's eyes flashed and disappeared.

“He’s been repairing a puppet in shop No. 3 lately. If you have time while you’re resting, you can go help him,” Shen Yuxi said, his fingertips moving slightly.

He had a sense that Qi Chao wouldn’t just repair the puppet once; perhaps he would spend a significant amount of time in the shop afterward. 

Shen Yuxi didn’t mind Qi Chao opening a shop. Once the plan was completed, he could even accompany Qi Chao in running the shop. 

The premise was that no one would disturb their lives.

Hearing her father’s words, Chi Yao felt a great deal of her tension dissipate. She nodded and said earnestly, “Okay, Father.” 

The help her father mentioned wasn’t just a literal meaning. 

Chi Yao thought that it also implied cleaning up any messes she encountered. 

After all, this was something she excelled at.

Meanwhile, Qi Chao was unaware that his partner and child had already begun plotting how to clean up some of his troublesome customers.

He carefully placed the puppet back into the glass case, then removed his gloves and mask. 

The black-haired puppet inside the glass case hadn’t changed much since before; it was still covered in yellow stains, with numerous cracks, and even had several scissor marks across its chest, making it look somewhat terrifying.

Fortunately, the puppet was still in a deep sleep. Otherwise, without the puppet's anesthetic, he would be in a lot of pain.

Thinking this, Qi Chao turned to look at the door.

Ayu, dressed in a white naval uniform, was leaning against the wall, her gaze focused outside, diligently guarding the entrance to prevent Zhang Cheng and his assistant from entering and interrupting his work.

Noticing Qi Chao's gaze, Ayu straightened up and walked over to his side, calmly saying, “Dad, Father said he will come to pick you up soon with Moss.”

“Is that so?” 

Qi Chao wasn’t surprised; there was a hint of a smile in his eyes. It felt somewhat novel to have his partner and child come to pick him up right after finishing work.

He turned his head to look outside, deep in thought. It wouldn’t be good if Zhang Cheng happened to walk in and run into Shen Yuxi. 

Qi Chao didn’t want them to see Shen Yuxi and his other children.

According to Shen Yuxi, he hadn’t disclosed Ayu’s existence, which meant that the outside world didn’t know who had made her; they would only associate her with superman. 

That would make it easier for them to escape later.

It would be a problem if they saw Shen Yuxi.

Thinking this, Qi Chao turned and walked out, finding an excuse to tell the two of them to come back tomorrow to see the puppet, successfully persuading them to leave.

“Will I be able to see Ayao tomorrow?” 

After returning to the hotel, Zhang Cheng murmured to himself. He had been with Ayao every day, and this was the first time they had been apart for so long. More than feeling unaccustomed, he was filled with worry. 

He really wanted to know how Ayao was doing right now.

The assistant could vaguely sense Zhang Cheng’s discomfort. Teacher Zhang was a bit socially anxious; since he had no family, he lived alone in the laboratory every day. 

It was only after Ayao came along that he felt more alive, treating the puppet like a child.

“Teacher Zhang, don’t worry. From the relaxed tone of superman just now, there surely isn’t anything wrong.” 

Zhang Cheng understood this logic, but some things weren’t so easy to let go of. 

Just as he was thinking, his light brain suddenly vibrated. 

A photo came in with the caption: [Sorry, I had to close up in a hurry and didn’t have time to let you see Ayao. Tomorrow I’ll tidy up the shop and clear out a room. If you want, you can also keep him company.]

The photo showed Ayao lying in the glass case. 

When Zhang Cheng saw the scissor marks on his chest, his heart sank. But perhaps it was a psychological effect; he felt that Ayao’s skin seemed to be a bit better than before. 

Just based on the picture sent by superman , Zhang Cheng was willing to trust him. 

If such a person were a fraud, then his skills would be too impressive.

In Shop No. 3, Qi Chao had just sent out the message when Shen Yuxi, Moss, and Chi Yao stepped out of the spatial vortex. 

Fortunately, he had cleverly sent them away ahead of time.

Qi Chao breathed a sigh of relief, then reached out to hug Shen Yuxi, smiling as he said, “Brother Shen, you’re here.”

Shen Yuxi naturally sensed the change in Qi Chao's emotions. He glanced thoughtfully at the glass case, his eyelashes slightly lowered, and said in a gentle and pleasant voice, “Have you started repairing the puppet?”

“Yeah, I just strengthened the puppet’s nerves a bit.”

Qi Chao wanted to complain to Shen Yuxi about how careless Qing Yu had been while making Ayao, but with the kids around, he refrained from saying much. His gaze shifted and met Chi Yao, who was standing next to him.

Chi Yao felt a tightness in her chest and awkwardly wanted to greet him, but before she could organize her words, Qi Chao reached out and ruffled her hair, his deep voice carrying a hint of laughter as he said, “Welcome back, Chi Yao.”

Welcome back.

This was the first time someone had said that to her.

Chi Yao momentarily didn’t know how to respond. She stood there dazed for a few seconds before stammering, “I... I’m back.”

Qi Chao smiled again, ruffled her hair once more, and then looked at Shen Yuxi, asking, “Did Agu go to your friend's house?”

Shen Yuxi’s expression remained unchanged. “Mm.”

Almost every so often, the children at home would stay at Shen Yuxi’s friend's house for a few days. Since they had met, Qi Chao had hardly seen Shen Yuxi's friends, and it seemed Shen Yuxi wasn’t inclined to introduce them.

He might be feeling a bit jealous.

Qi Chao rubbed the tip of his nose with his index finger; this really wasn’t ideal. After all, Shen Yuxi was an independent individual, and too much interference might make him unhappy.

Thinking this way, Qi Chao decided to skip over the topic and simply mentioned, “If your friend has time another day, they can come over for a meal and meet everyone.”

Shen Yuxi replied with a soft “Mm.” 

He suppressed the subtle discomfort within him, his peach blossom eyes curving slightly as he said, “If there’s nothing else, shall we head back? The kids at home must have been waiting for a long time.”

They indeed had been waiting for a long time.

However, one of the advantages of having many puppets at home was that there was no need to worry about the children getting bored. Even if they didn’t want to study, there were other puppets to play with.

As soon as Qi Chao arrived home, he heard the sounds of laughter and play from Li Bai, Lan Luo, and Qiu Qiu, and the smile in his eyes deepened instantly. 

Life was really that simple. Having a loving partner and a few lively, obedient children, seeing their smiles every day when he came home, and enjoying three meals a day through all four seasons was enough to make one feel happy and lucky.

From that day on, Qi Chao returned to the same routine as in his previous life, leading a nine-to-five life as a working adult. 

Ayu and Chi Yao took turns accompanying him to work, helping him with tools like pens and knives. 

Although Qi Chao didn’t need the children to go to such lengths, seeing how they were genuinely happy to help without any reluctance, he stopped refusing their assistance.

Days passed one after another. 

Since there hadn’t been any significant events happening recently, the puppet enthusiasts’ forum was filled with the same old discussions every day. Netizens would excitedly browse through the posts, only to leave feeling disappointed.

That day, an old post from nearly two months ago was bumped to the top of the forum. 

Normally, this wouldn’t be a big deal, as many bored netizens loved to dig up strange and quirky threads using their metaphorical "Luoyang shovel."

However, the title of this post was rather amusing: Can Treat Any Doll?

How could anyone start dreaming about such things before evening? 

If someone could really treat any puppet, then the repair fees charged by those puppet masters wouldn’t easily reach hundreds of thousands or millions. 

This was not just a joke; it was a mockery of their intelligence.

Most netizens didn’t even have the interest to click into it. However, all day long, that post stayed at the top of the forum, with the number of replies in the corner steadily increasing. Bored netizens finally decided to click in, trying to mock it.

Yet, as soon as they entered, their eyes were assaulted by a flood of text.

# I am very grateful to Mr. Superman. Thanks to his help, my puppet has finally recovered. He’s just as talkative as before; it’s wonderful. If it weren’t for Mr. Superman, I might have lost my only family member. Friends in need can contact him; Mr. Superman is very nice, so please be polite. #

The screen was filled with dense, small characters.

From the cause of the incident to the results, and then to the joy and satisfaction of bringing the puppet home, every word was clearly written, revealing the poster's heartfelt gratitude.

This made the readers feel that the person might truly have some issues with their sanity.

【Damn!! My eyes, does this guy have a problem? It must be at least ten thousand words! My God, he's still posting?!】  

【Dude, if we're bored, we can go outside and kick pebbles, but can we not bump up such a stupid post? It’s dragging the forum’s IQ down.】  

【Ah, I’m done! I’ve been brainwashed! Is this real or not? Damn!】  

Most netizens treated it as a joke, but as the number of viewers increased, some different voices began to emerge.  

678L: 【Is this true? Can this Superman really treat puppets? What are the requirements to contact him? I'm really in a hurry, please answer me! He has grown up with my sister and me, saved us from our drunk father. He’s really clumsy and can’t even make facial expressions, but the puppet is really good. Now it can’t even move, and it’s really upsetting.】 

 

679L: 【No way? Is there really an idiot who believes this?】  

At this point, the original poster seemed to notice the many negative comments and finally replied to a couple of them.

【678L: It’s true. There are no requirements; Superman is very kind. I hope your puppet recovers.】  

【679L: Because you haven't experienced it, you don't know what a person who has fallen into despair is willing to try when they see a glimmer of hope.】  

【I’m very grateful; I made the right bet.】  

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