Puppet Notes (Wearing Book) - 145

 

| PN | Bad Heart | 145

In the trial grounds, Agu sat under the mother tree, bored, listening to the deformed puppet report on the situation of the trial participants.  

"They still haven’t made it out of the Poison Mist Forest?"  

The smile on Agu's face widened a bit, but his voice remained cheerful. "Father really knows these humans inside out."  

He tilted his head slightly, looking at the deformed puppet beside him, and elongated his tone a little as he encouraged, "You did a great job, Xiao Bu."  

This deformed puppet had only one eye. After a brief pause, it said in an annoyed tone, "My name is Xia Dao, not Xiao Bu."  

"Got it, Xiao Bu."  

Looking at Agu's smiling face, even the slowest person would realize that Agu was doing it on purpose.  

How wicked. No wonder all the puppets in the trial grounds disliked Agu. Xia Dao felt a bit speechless and turned to leave, continuing to investigate the Poison Mist Forest.  

It's really not fun at all.  

Watching Xia Dao's back, Agu felt a bit disappointed. As expected, it was nowhere near as interesting as Xiang Yue. 

No matter what Agu did, Xiang Yue would never get angry.  

This was when Shen Yuxi arrived at the trial grounds, with Chi Yao and Moss following behind him. On the surface, the expressions of the two puppets remained unchanged, but Agu could easily see the joy in their hearts.

Of course they were happy.  

Agu thought, after all, the villa is quite interesting now.  

"Father, just like you predicted, that group of humans has been stuck in the Poison Mist Forest for quite a while," Agu said with a cheerful smile, looking at Shen Yuxi.  

Shen Yuxi gave a slight hum in response and then turned his head towards Chi Yao, "Proceed with what I instructed."  

After leaving the villa earlier, Shen Yuxi had already informed Chi Yao of what needed to be done. Hearing her father's words, Chi Yao nodded, lightly tapping the ground with her toes before leaping onto a tree and running off. Her red figure gradually disappeared into the gloomy forest.  

Watching Chi Yao’s retreating back, Agu squinted his eyes and then eagerly exclaimed, "Since Chi Yao came to the trial grounds, that means Agu can go back to the villa, right?!"  

Shen Yuxi did not deny it.  

"That's great!"

Seeing this, Agu immediately understood Shen Yuxi's intent. He jumped up in excitement, his long black ponytail swaying briefly in the air. His wheat-colored skin made the blue earrings he wore appear even more radiant.  

"When are we leaving?"  

Agu asked with a grin, running up to his father’s side but making no further moves.  

If Qi Chao were here, Agu wouldn’t hesitate to jump onto Shen Yuxi, expressing his joy. 

However, with Qi Chao absent, he restrained himself. For now, he didn’t want to anger his father.  

"In a few moments," Shen Yuxi replied coolly, then sat down beneath the mother tree, his expression even colder than usual.  

Noticing this, Agu vaguely sensed that something was off with his father’s mood. He glanced at Moss, who was sitting beside his father, braiding the hair of the doll in his arms, seemingly oblivious to Shen Yuxi’s change in demeanor.  

Moss indeed hadn’t noticed—or rather, in his eyes, the father’s increased coldness was merely because he couldn’t stay behind at the villa with Dad.

"Father, did you have a fight with Dad?"  

Agu's imagination was wild. Even when those transmigrators had come to the trial grounds, it hadn't left his father this silent. Thinking carefully, the only thing that could affect his father’s emotions seemed to be just this.  

A fight? When?  

Moss's hands paused mid-braid, his dark eyes turning towards his father, clearly shocked.  

"No."  

Shen Yuxi didn’t quite understand how Agu had reached that conclusion. His eyelashes fluttered slightly as his peach blossom eyes looked at Agu. 

He replied softly, "Agu is very perceptive, but it would be even better if you focused this keen insight on important matters."  

This was a clear signal that he didn’t want Agu digging any further.  

Since it wasn’t a fight with Qi Chao, it wasn’t important. Agu thought to himself, deliberately letting out a sigh. "Alright, if Father doesn’t need Agu’s concern, then Agu will head to the Poison Mist Forest."

Saying this, Agu turned and left, chasing in the direction where Chi Yao had gone.  

With Agu no longer around to make playful comments, the space beneath the mother tree grew noticeably quieter. 

Moss glanced at his father with a desire to speak, recalling what his father had just said to Agu. He pressed his bandaged lips together, silently organizing his thoughts.  

Sensing Moss’s gaze, Shen Yuxi’s fingers twitched slightly. He spoke softly, “If you have nothing else, Moss, go help Chi Yao in the Poison Mist Forest.”  

“Yes, Father.”  

Moss tightened his grip on the doll in his hands. He looked at his father, hesitated briefly, then nodded. In the blink of an eye, he disappeared into a spatial vortex.  

Now, only Shen Yuxi remained under the mother tree. Occasionally, sharp shrieks from shadowy figures in the branches pierced the air, adding an eerie sense of dread to the already quiet forest.

Shen Yuxi, however, seemed oblivious to the eerie noises, leaning against the mother tree with his pale fingers resting at the corner of his lips.  

Earlier this morning, he had used a few kisses to divert Qi Chao’s attention, persuading him not to follow along. 

But Shen Yuxi knew this was only a temporary measure; if he couldn’t find a new reason, Qi Chao would soon realize something was off.  

In the past, Shen Yuxi could come up with no less than ten different excuses to dissuade Qi Chao from accompanying him to the trial grounds. 

Yet perhaps due to a shift in his mindset, he found that he no longer wanted to deceive Qi Chao.  

A single lie requires countless others to cover it up.  

Shen Yuxi’s eyelashes trembled slightly—this wasn’t like his usual behavior. In order to achieve his goals, he was always willing to pay any price. Both his teacher and he had always been such people. 

But now, this hesitation left Shen Yuxi feeling a bit lost.  

His fingers moved away from his lips, and his eyes drifted off as he stared blankly at the forest in front of him. 

A sudden realization dawned on him: perhaps Qi Chao meant more to him than he had initially thought.

At the same time, just a barrier away from the mother tree, in the Poison Mist Forest, Qiao Sheng and his group were struggling to make their way through, attempting to escape this hellish place.  

Their lips had turned purple, and they covered their noses with damp, ragged cloths. Their legs were weak, and they leaned on each other for support.  

The Poison Mist Forest looked no different from the forest in the trial grounds, except for one sinister detail: the leaves here were peculiar. Every so often, they would rustle without any wind, emitting a faint rustling sound before releasing a deadly toxin potent enough to kill a human.  

“Old Liu, can you still hold on?”  

Zhang Li anxiously glanced at his friend, whose face had taken on a deeper shade of purple. Old Liu’s eyes were barely open, and he looked drowsy, sending a shiver of fear through Zhang Li.  

Old Liu was heavier than the rest, and he waved his hand weakly, struggling to catch his breath. “I’m… fine…”  

As he spoke, Old Liu could barely lift his hand. If it weren’t for knowing that the cloth could filter out some of the toxins, he probably wouldn’t have lasted this long.  

At the front, Qiao Sheng and Lu Chen noticed this situation. They exchanged a glance, both fully aware that if things continued as they were, their entire group would likely be wiped out.

“Things were going too smoothly earlier. I knew Shen Yuxi wouldn’t let us off so easily,” Qiao Sheng sighed as he pulled a map out of his pocket. 

This was a map he had collaborated on with the transmigrators. Given enough time, in less than two months, he believed he could fully map out the entire trial grounds.

Over the past few months, they had ventured through the Bug Valley, entered the Serpent Den, and even spent three weeks in the stinking Swamp Forest, where the danger level was no less than that of the Poison Mist Forest. 

Yet, each time when they were on the brink of death, something would always allow them to make it through safely.

Qiao Sheng was a cautious person. He only believed half of what the transmigrators said, and he stayed with them solely to leverage their foresight to find a way out of the trial grounds. 

At first, their string of luck through one peril after another made Qiao Sheng feel uneasy.

“In the book, was Lu Chen always this lucky?” Qiao Sheng asked, glancing towards the leader of the transmigrators, Li Ge.

“Yes,” Li Ge replied. “But in the book, you were always supporting Lu Chen from outside the trial grounds. So in the story, Lu Chen was practically invincible while inside. It’s a bit different now, but still more or less the same.”

Similar to the book?  

Qiao Sheng made a mental note of this, but deep down, he still felt uneasy. It was as if Shen Yuxi was holding back some grand scheme.  

When Shen Yuxi finally retaliated in the Poison Mist Forest after bringing his group here, Qiao Sheng strangely felt a sense of relief, as if a long-awaited shoe had finally dropped.  

Shen Yuxi had likely known about these transmigrators for some time. The fact that he had held back until now to make a move was what truly caught Qiao Sheng off guard.  

Due to the effects of the Poison Mist Forest, Qiao Sheng’s face had also turned purple. He looked around at his fellow collaborators, and amidst his despondent expression, a rare look of seriousness emerged.  

“We need to get out of here quickly. Knowing Shen Yuxi’s methods, he’s likely to have other moves planned,” he said firmly.  

Just as the words left his mouth, the ground began to tremble.  

This tremor didn’t resemble the earthquake that had helped them escape from the Serpent Den earlier. Instead, it felt more like the vibrations caused by a horde of creatures crawling across the ground.

For those who had been living in the trial grounds for an extended period, this tremor felt eerily familiar.  

The eight or so trial participants exchanged glances, and immediately began to cover their noses and mouths, fleeing in panic. If they were attacked in the Poison Mist Forest, it was highly likely that they wouldn’t even have a chance to recover and would die on the spot.  

How ruthless.  

Qiao Sheng ran with labored breaths, his brain gradually losing oxygen, making it increasingly difficult to gasp for air. 

For such a fierce attack to come out of nowhere—was this meant to take their lives?  

Meanwhile, three puppets perched on the branches of the trees in the Poison Mist Forest observed the scene below with calm expressions, seemingly uninterested in everything happening before them. 

Even Agu, who usually loved to smile, was currently focused elsewhere, not on the transmigrators.  

“Turns out Father has been unhappy all this time?”  

Chi Yao looked up at Moss and Agu.  

Moss hummed in response, feeling somewhat guilty for not noticing his father’s emotional shift sooner.  

“What does it matter?” Agu replied with a smile. “Even if Father is upset now, once he sees Dad, his mood will definitely improve.”

As he spoke, Agu pulled out his holographic device and began typing rapidly on the keyboard.  

After a brief vibration from the device, Agu waved it at Mos and Chi Yao, saying, “This should do! Once Dad knows that Father is feeling down, he’ll definitely find a way to comfort him.”  

The holographic device displayed the chat history between Agu and Qi Chao, featuring Qi Chao’s most recent message: [Got it.] 

Moss and Chi Yao exchanged glances, both feeling that Agu’s approach was indeed the right one. With Dad to comfort him, Father would likely feel better soon.  

Meanwhile, far away at the villa, Qi Chao was watering flowers with a few children when he received Agu's message. He was a bit surprised.  

Brother Shen isn’t feeling well?

Qi Chao instinctively exited the chat interface with Agu, preparing to check in with Shen Yuxi. 

However, just as he opened the chat box, he paused.  

Asking directly would expose Agu.  

He hesitated for a moment on the holographic device, then ultimately closed the chat app and decided to buy a diamond worth six million gold coins online.  

Six million was the maximum amount of funds he could currently use, and Qi Chao had originally intended to buy a diamond for Shen Yuxi, so spending it didn’t sting too much.  

As he watched the order confirm successfully, a hint of a smile appeared in Qi Chao's eyes. Shen Yuxi should be very happy to receive this gift.  

With that thought in mind, Qi Chao paused, then raised his hand to switch the holographic interface. He accepted a long-pending friend request that had been awaiting verification.  

Though he hadn’t yet confirmed the intentions of these two individuals in adding him as a friend, if it was about repairing puppets, he felt quite motivated. 

After all, Qi Chao is short on money now.

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