Puppet Notes (Wearing Book) - 165

 

| PN | Glasses | 165

The shadows are the souls of the puppets who sleep in resentment. They guard the Mother Tree, loyally protecting the only existence they cherish on Blue Star.

When they sensed that Qi Chao was in pain, the shadows, who had been squatting on the tree branches, instantly leaped down and surrounded him.

Their faces were obscured by black mist, and they could only emit sharp, harsh sounds. It was clear that the shadows were anxious.

When the shadows surrounded him, Moss was still a bit wary. Only after confirming that they wouldn't harm his father did he shift his attention back to Qi Chao.

"Dad, are you okay?"

Moss's voice was hoarse, and his usually calm black eyes were filled with panic.

It seemed that the shadows realized their sharp voices couldn't help Qi Chao understand them, so they quietly stayed by his side, their gaze fixed on him.

"I'm fine, just feeling a bit nauseous."

Qi Chao tugged at the corner of his mouth and gave a forced reassurance.

Qi Chao understood that the scenes from just now were part of the Mother Tree's memories.

Whether it was the strange puppets disappearing inside the converter device, or Moss being converted right before his eyes, all of it was part of the Mother Tree's vast memory.

After gaining the memories of the Mother Tree, Qi Chao understood that the association was using the core of the Mother Tree to harm the puppets. 

He realized that the true culprits were the greedy high-ranking members of the association. 

Even though he despised them, he didn't act against the ability users in the trial grounds. 

Instead, he kept his composure and calmly planned to dismantle the trial grounds.

However, when those scenes replayed in his mind, Qi Chao couldn't help but feel extreme negative emotions towards the ability users who had benefited from this.

He even momentarily wanted to lock them all in the trial grounds forever, letting the resentful shadows take their revenge.

This was just a thought driven by Qi Chao's anger.

He couldn't let the shadows remain immersed in such negative emotions forever. In Qi Chao's view, teaching these people a lesson was something for the adults to handle.

"Is Dad really okay?"

Moss looked at Qi Chao's slightly pale face, and the unease in his heart didn't lessen. His father’s physical strength had been forcibly diminished by "that existence," and Moss was worried that his father’s condition was also caused by "that existence."

"I'm fine."

Qi Chao looked at Moss and the circle of black shadows around him. Even though his emotions were still not great, he wouldn't show it.

"Don't worry. Moss, can you check on what Ayu and the others are doing right now?"

Qi Chao could sense Ayu's movements through the Mother Tree, but this request was also meant to help Moss relax. He turned to the nearby shadows and smiled, just about to say something, when those shadows darted back up to the tree.

The shadows despised humans.

Even though Qi Chao was the incarnation of the Mother Tree, because of his human appearance, the shadows’ attitude toward him was inconsistent, changing between rejection and closeness.

He looked up at the blurred shadows, cursing the ability users and the association in his mind. 

However, his smile remained unchanged, still gentle, as if he were looking at his own child. "I'm fine, you don’t need to worry."

The shadow on the tree branch let out a sharp screech.

It was like a response, yet also seemed like an expulsion.

Qi Chao assumed it was the former. He chuckled lightly, then walked over to Moss's side, listening as he explained the current situation.

In ten minutes, Ayu and Chi Yao, along with the others, would return. Once the trial grounds were emptied, Qi Chao would reopen the barrier around the trial grounds.

Things were progressing exactly as planned. As Qi Chao thought about it, his gaze shifted to Moss, his eyes growing darker.

"What's wrong, Dad?" Moss asked, somewhat confused by Qi Chao's look.

"I'm fine." Qi Chao smiled, then quickly found an excuse, "I was just wondering when you would notice that your doll fell on the ground."

Moss followed Qi Chao's gaze and looked down at the dirty doll on the floor. His body stiffened, as if he had seen something unbelievable, his pupils contracting.

It wasn’t until this moment that Moss remembered he had thrown his doll on the ground.

"It’s fine. After we go back, Dad will wash the doll for you. It will be clean again soon."

Qi Chao patted Moss's shoulder, offering a comforting word. But deep down, he felt a little warmth. He knew that Moss had been so worried about him that he had dropped his doll.

Hearing his father's words, Moss nodded with difficulty, picking up the doll and holding it close to his chest.

Because his face was wrapped in bandages, many of Moss's expressions were hidden, but from his subtle movements, it was easy to guess that he was overwhelmed with immense sadness.

So cute.

Qi Chao couldn't help but smile as he watched this scene. It reminded him of the Mother Tree’s memory, a memory in which Moss had been one of the victims. 

But now, Moss was standing in front of him, healthy and unharmed.

Clearly, that scene wasn’t something that had happened. Qi Chao’s green eyes darkened slightly as he leaned toward the idea that the memory he had just experienced was a scene from the story within the "book," as described by the transmigrator.

Since the first time Qi Chao entered the Shadow Space, the memories he received were limited to the experiences of the Mother Tree from its childhood to the present, as well as the content of the trial grounds. There was nothing else beyond that.

It was from the transmigrator's mouth that Qi Chao learned that Brother Shen was the villain in the book. However, the transmigrators never told him the fates of the children in the house, including Brother Shen.

Thinking of Moss's tragic situation, Qi Chao's heart grew heavier, and he vaguely remembered the things San Yue had told him a long time ago.

If his guess was correct, then the dream San Yue spoke of might be a reflection of his past life.

"Dad?"

Moss noticed that his father was zoning out again. He keenly sensed something was wrong but couldn’t figure out what his dad was thinking. After hesitating for a moment, he asked, "Dad, are you still feeling unwell?"

"No, Dad was just thinking about what to have for lunch today." Qi Chao didn’t want Moss to worry. He patted Moss's head and added, "Since Dad's not feeling well, we'll eat something light these next few days."

Puppets couldn’t consume human food.

Yet, Qi Chao often talked about these everyday matters with the children at home. This didn’t bore Moss and the others; in fact, it made them feel more involved.

“Mm.” Moss nodded up and down. He paused for a moment before speaking in a hoarse voice, “Dad is really not feeling well right now.”

At this point, Qi Chao wasn’t yet aware of the "plot consciousness" concept. In his view, Brother Shen was simply a little weak because of the many hardships he had suffered in the past.

Moss didn't feel the need to explain further.

He wasn’t sure what his father was planning. If his father didn’t want dad to worry, telling him about it in advance might make him upset. 

But although he thought this way, withholding the truth from his father still made Moss feel a bit guilty.

Qi Chao’s senses had sharpened considerably compared to before. He could vaguely sense that Moss’s gaze was evasive. 

Just as he was about to ask, Chi Yao and the others returned.

On the outskirts of the trial grounds, Lu Chen and Qiao Sheng emerged from the forest together. 

Both of them had purple bruises on their faces, and there were visible knife wounds on some parts of their bodies.

In reality, neither of them could remember how they got their injuries, nor could they recall why they were in this place.

According to the ability users who came to retrieve them, Lu Chen had arrived in this forest while searching for missing ability users, and after that, he lost contact with the Empire.

As for why Qiao Sheng was here, it remained a mystery.

There were also others with unknown reasons for being here. They were neither ability users nor military personnel, but all of them had prestigious family backgrounds and were arrogant and violent by nature.

"I find this a bit strange," Qiao Sheng said to Lu Chen. For once, he didn't show his usual dejected and lazy demeanor. His glasses obscured his sharp gaze. "I think we’ve forgotten something."

His eyes shifted toward the ability users who had come to meet them. Their expressions were a bit odd, as if they were searching for something.

Lu Chen didn’t offer a rebuttal.

"This should be a dangerous place."

Qiao Sheng didn’t respond. He turned his head to look at the eerie forest in front of him. It felt somewhat familiar, but he couldn’t quite remember why.

"Once we get back to the Linjing District, let's head to the association," he said.

Lu Chen nodded upon hearing Qiao Sheng's words. Judging from the expressions of the ability user squad, they, too, seemed clueless about this place. If they wanted to uncover the truth, they would have to go to the association or the Empire’s royal palace.

The squad’s mission was to find the core of the convertor device. However, when they followed the president’s instructions and arrived here, they only found the missing Blue Star people, with no sign of the core.

"What should we do?" 

The vice-captain of the ability user squad wiped the sweat from his forehead.

They had made a military oath to recover the stolen core. The president had even provided them with the exact location, but they still couldn't find it. They knew that if they returned empty-handed, they would face severe punishment.

"Keep looking."

The captain gritted his teeth.

It was just an inanimate object. With their ability to gather information and track things, how could they not find it?

Clearly, the ability user had also detected the core’s location, but despite digging through the ground and even hollowing out trees, they still couldn't find any trace of the core.

But that wasn’t what was causing the captain the most trouble. They had originally planned that even if they found these missing people, they would prioritize completing their first mission. If necessary, they would abandon the missing people in order to finish the task.

But who could have predicted that most of the missing people were individuals they couldn't afford to offend? 

Marshal Lu was one thing—they already knew he was missing—but who would have guessed that members of the imperial family were among them? 

And not just one!

"Why haven't we set off yet?!" 

The youngest son of the Empire's most favored prince was now gaunt, his eyes bulging from hunger, with his eye sockets clearly showing the bones beneath. His body was covered in bloody whip marks, and no one knew what he had gone through. 

What remained unchanged, however, was his arrogant attitude.

He directly walked up to the captain of the ability user squad and kicked him. "This prince orders you, now, take this prince and leave!"

The captain’s muscles in his arm tensed with veins popping, but facing the arrogant royal, he couldn’t bring himself to say a word of refusal.

"Understood, Your Highness."

The three aircrafts quickly left the trial grounds. Shortly after their departure, Qi Chao reopened the barrier around the Mother Tree.

Next time, this group of ability users would never be able to enter the trial grounds so easily.

"Dad, can we go home now?"

After the trial grounds were cleared, it was eerily quiet. The only sound was the daily wailing of the shadows on the tree branches. 

But for Lan Luo and the others, this was the peaceful life they had longed for.

With the core of the Mother Tree restored and the trial grounds no longer in existence, it meant they didn’t have to pretend in front of their dad anymore. They wouldn’t have to complete troublesome tasks. 

They could live freely and happily with their dad and father forever.

Qi Chao looked at the pleasant atmosphere surrounding the children and smiled gently, his eyes full of warmth and patience, the affection of an elder for their children. "Alright, since everything is settled, let's head back. Your father is probably waiting anxiously for us."

In fact, the one most eager for Qi Chao to return wasn’t Shen Yuxi, but the three transmigrators. 

They were curled up in the corner of the sofa, looking at the two men sitting across from them, unable to stop themselves from swallowing nervously.

The man with golden hair and blue eyes had a gentle smile, and his words were as soothing as a spring breeze, making one almost lose themselves in his soft tone. 

But this strikingly handsome man was, in fact, a ruthless villain.

On the other hand, the young man with black hair and black eyes was quite large, probably over 1.8 meters tall. 

Yet, whether it was the pitiful look in his brows or the slight tremor in his voice, it made others want to cradle him in their arms.

However, the three transmigrators wouldn’t fall for looks. They had known since the trial grounds that the more beautiful someone was, the more dangerous they were. Not to mention, this pitiful aura was definitely a sign of a villain-level character.

The more harmless the two acted now, the more afraid the transmigrators felt. If a hole appeared in the ground at this moment, no matter how small, they’d probably fight to get into it.

"Uncle, when will my brother be back?" 

Again, it was "Uncle." 

Shen Yuxi looked at the smiling face in front of him, and it was hard not to see this as an intentional provocation. 

He smiled faintly and replied, "You might need to wait a bit longer. After all, I've only heard of Qi Chao's two brothers, Qi Feng and Qi Ye. I've never heard of your existence."

When he mentioned Qi Feng and Qi Ye’s names, he deliberately emphasized them, noticing the rising frustration in the young man’s eyes. Shen Yuxi’s smile widened.

He truly was the kind of person who never let go of a single slight.

Qi Yang, having seen his fair share of things, quickly realized that the other was intentionally trying to provoke him. 

No wonder this person had managed to deceive his older brother. 

Thinking this, Qi Yang once again put on a pitiful and aggrieved expression. "But I am Qi Chao's brother. If you don't believe me, you can ask my brother. He would never deny me. He just didn't tell you..."

"Maybe it's because Uncle is not someone important to my brother."

Qi Yang's last sentence was laced with so much malice that it nearly spilled over, but his tone remained deceptively innocent.

Shen Yuxi’s expression remained unchanged, still gentle and smiling. 

Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he said, "My lover did tell me he had a younger brother, but when I asked to know more, my lover said it wasn’t important, so he didn’t mention any more than that."

He spoke with such sincere eyes, as if genuinely feeling apologetic. "If I had known you were coming, I should have asked Qi Chao to tell me more. After all, my memory isn’t very good."

Qi Yang choked for a moment. 

He almost couldn’t catch his breath.

He clutched his chest, about to say something, when he suddenly noticed a subtle shift in the space around him. 

In the next second, Qi Chao’s figure appeared from the vortex.

Qi Yang’s face brightened, and he quickly swapped his expression to one of pitiful distress, rushing forward to greet his brother before the annoying person could speak.

"Brother, I feel so sad. I came all this way to find you, and Uncle says I’m not important in your eyes..." 

Shen Yuxi’s smile faltered slightly at this, though he had already anticipated Qi Yang would go running to his brother with complaints. 

He had prepared a counterstrategy. Still, he couldn’t help but think that Qi Yang was even more irritating than Agu.

His gaze turned to Qi Chao, and just as he was about to speak, he saw Qi Chao, after a brief moment of surprise, immediately raise his fist and land a solid punch on Qi Yang's back.

“How many times do I have to say it? Stop pretending to be pitiful, you are a grown man! And what’s with calling him ‘Uncle’? Show some respect, call him ‘Brother’!”

Qi Yang, who was a solid 1.8 meters tall, always putting on this pathetic, whiny look whenever he felt wronged, was something the neighbors had even described as "a soft little puppy." 

Qi Chao could never stand it, even though his brother was indeed very obedient.

“Where are your glasses? If you’re severely myopic, wear your glasses properly. You’re calling my handsome Brother Shen ‘Uncle’?”

Qi Yang was left speechless, his pitiful expression frozen on his face, unable to swallow the retort that was stuck in his throat. 

He had forgotten, in front of his brother, he had to change his persona. The moment he saw Shen Yuxi’s subtle smile tugging at his lips, regret filled his heart, reaching its peak.

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