Most of the people who came here after receiving their invitations were weapon refiners. Almost everyone brought their favorite puppets with them. All kinds of unique and unique puppets, large and small, accompanied their owners and shuttled between the splendid halls.

.

The short stature and old-looking Qianji seemed a bit unattractive on such occasions. When it led its friends to walk under the feet of humans, there would occasionally be some surprised comments around it.

"Look, this is a style from a hundred or two hundred years ago, and it's actually still available today."

"Oh, how old is this antique? My grandfather has the same one in his warehouse."

"Who are you? Are you embarrassed to bring such a shabby puppet to the Jin family's banquet?"

But someone will soon remind these ignorant young people, "Be careful, open your eyes and look carefully before you speak. That is the most powerful combat puppet in Futon City. If you tell me who his master is, you will be scared to death."

.”

The young people turned their heads and thought of a legendary figure. Their faces suddenly turned pale and they quickly shut their mouths.

"Don't mind what those guys who have never seen the world say," Qian Ji held out his small chest and said as he walked, not caring at all about the comments of those people, "Don't look at the glamorous and beautiful appearance of the puppets here.

In fact, most of them are just empty shells, and few can compare with us."

Shan Xiaojin held up his little lotus leaf and looked around curiously. He was born into this world only a short time ago, and it was the first time he saw so many of the same kind.

Looking up from the edge of the lotus leaf, from time to time, similar people in gorgeous clothes would bend down to salute. Shan Xiaojin held his head high, watching their stiff faces and jaws opening and closing as they bent down, speaking mechanically.

Repeating the words of welcome.

Shan Xiaojin waved to them quietly, but his companions who clearly saw him just smiled blankly and did not make any reaction to him.

Shan Xiaojin slowly stopped saying hello. He suddenly felt a little sad. He felt that he should not be classified as the same kind as these cold and dull wooden people. He felt that he should be the same kind as his masters, Xiaoqian and Xiaoya.

"Huh? This time the Jin family's banquet was not in vain. I found an interesting little guy." The lake blue skirt stopped in front of Shan Xiaojin. A female nun with gray hair and sharp eyes.

He bent down to look at Shan Xiaojin. The woman's wrinkled palms were in front of Shan Xiaojin, "Come, show me."

Shan Xiaojin was startled, and quickly retreated, turning into a puddle of water and sliding away from the ground. He slid right next to Mu Xue, and then returned to his human form and hid behind Mu Xue.

"Is it you? We meet again. It turns out you are also a puppet master." The woman was a little surprised when she saw Mu Xue. It turned out to be Mu Xue's old friend Ruan Honglian.

Mu Xue picked up Shan Xiaojin and stood up.

She and Honglian met when they were young and spent the darkest years of their lives together.

The young Honglian and she once helped each other cheat in school, were whipped by the master together, and hugged the master's legs and cried together.

When she was a girl, Honglian was beautiful, high-spirited, had many suitors, and lived a carefree life. She was the only guest in her almost closed courtyard.

Honglian in his childhood, Honglian in his youth, and Honglian in his youth gradually overlapped with the gray-haired old man in front of him.

The frost on the temples and the beauty on the mirror are the most unbearable in the world.

"Is this the puppet you made? Can you show it to me?" When Mu Xue was in a daze, Ruan Honglian in front of her pointed at Shan Xiaojin and asked.

"Ah, okay. Of course." Mu Xue reacted, comforted Shan Xiaojin, and handed it to Ruan Honglian's hand.

Ruan Honglian held Shan Xiaojin in her hands and looked at it carefully, and sighed, "It seems that I am really getting old. There are talented people from generation to generation, but I can't fully understand its material at a glance."

"The main material is meteorite iron, and a section of lotus root and lotus leaf obtained from Dongyue Temple are also refined." Mu Xue said hurriedly, "It's because the materials are relatively rare, not because you are old."

Ruan Honglian laughed and said, "You and I are strangers, why do you tell me so casually? What a silly boy. Looking at you reminds me of an old friend."

She looked at Mu Xue, her sharp eyes softening, "She is a genius just like you. She is simple, kind and has no evil intentions."

It turns out that in Honglian’s heart, she is such a person.

Ruan Honglian returned the little puppet to her, and treated the girl in front of her like a junior, who she liked.

"Your puppet is very well done, but it seems that it is not completely finished yet. What do you think is the most important thing for a good puppet?"

Mu Xue had not yet recovered from the memories of the past, and said in confusion, "The most important thing is to have the ability to think, self-awareness, and an energy system that circulates autonomously."

These few words of hers instantly brought back memories of Ruan Honglian's teenage years. The scenes from that year clearly emerged in her mind.

At that time, I was still a young girl who didn't know the heights of the world. I always felt that there were endless years for me to squander as I pleased.

She still remembered that day, when Ashue sat astride a tall puppet to practice repairs, wiped her nose with black engine oil, and asked,

"Guren, what kind of puppet do you want to be in the future? What do you think is the most important thing for an excellent puppet to possess?"

"What is it? Powerful attack capability? Indestructible defense capability? Easy switching between multiple modes? Keen sensing system? They are all important, I can't think of them." Ruan Honglian sat on the ground and looked at her, "Anyway, I want

Be the kind of puppet that sells the most and makes the most money."

"I think the ultimate dream of an excellent puppet master is to be able to make a puppet with self-awareness and autonomous action capabilities." Young Ashue stopped what he was doing, his eyes bright, "Such a puppet

, whether it is a combat type or a life type, they will be countless times more powerful than puppets that can only lazily execute orders. They can even stay with me and become my family and partners."

"Hmph, you really dare to think about it. If so, can you still call it a puppet? It's almost the same as us humans. Is this something that only gods can do?"

"Although you can't do it, you can always think about it." Ashue, who was still very weak at the time, scratched his head in embarrassment, "If you don't even think about it, how can you achieve it? Even if you can't do it in this life,

, I might have a chance to make it in my next life.”

Later, Mu Xue, who immersed herself in the art of weapon refining, really made the puppet she wanted. Even today, there are still her apprentices who have inherited her will and constantly perfected and improved her wishes.

And I was distracted by having fun and playing, even though I lived so many years longer than Ashue, in the end, I accomplished nothing.

Outside the door of the banquet hall, puppets in rich clothes and exquisite makeup came in with uniform steps carrying dishes, pulling Ruan Honglian back from her memories.

The girl in front of her was looking at her, her clear and firm gaze was exactly the same as that of Ashue back then. The little puppet on her shoulder made a very anthropomorphic grimace at her.

Ruan Honglian looked at the girl's eyes, her thoughts fluctuated, and she was pleasantly surprised to find that her cultivation, which had been silent for a long time, seemed to have fluctuated slightly.

The head of the Jin family arrived a little late. He was a short, fat, middle-aged man with a rich appearance. When he smiled, his eyebrows were crooked, and he was very happy. Only this time, he seemed to have something on his mind, and his face looked melancholy.

After drinking for three rounds, he stood up and cleared his throat.

"Everyone, most of you must already know the reason why we have been invited here this time."

The venue buzzed with voices of discussion.

"Is that what it's for? I knew it."

"Another person died."

"Which number is this? It can't be covered, can it?"

"Have you found out the cause?"

Ding Lanlan, Mu Xue and Lin Yin, who were sitting at the same table, looked at each other in confusion. Naturally, they who had just arrived here didn't know what happened in Fuzhou City today.

"They are talking about the puppets that killed their masters one after another during this period." A demon cultivator sitting next to Ding Lanlan opened his mouth to explain to the three girls.

"The puppet killed its master? This is impossible." Ding Lanlan and Mu Xue said in unison.

As weapon refiners who are proficient in puppet making, both of them know that the first factor in making a puppet is to obey the master wholeheartedly and absolutely.

The first thing when the puppet is delivered is to integrate it into the master's heart and soul, so as to establish a connection between the master and the slave and ensure the user's absolute control.

Over the years, I have heard that countless puppets risked their lives for their masters, but I have never heard of any rumors of puppets harming their masters.

At the head table, the head of the Jin family was talking, "The first person to have an accident was none other than the maker of these puppets, Sun Junde, from the Sun family. The scary thing is that although the Sun family is dead, he still had the skills to refine such puppets.

But it’s gone.”

He clapped his hands, and the light of the mirage light came on in the center of the banquet hall, and a virtual scene of the crime scene appeared in the light.

It was in a dark basement. As the camera turned, the four walls were dripping with blood and covered with foreign objects. Many people put down their tableware and no longer had the desire to eat.

"Everyone, if we don't find out the truth of this matter as soon as possible, it will affect the reputation of all puppet masters. Soon, everyone will be worried about using puppets. Our puppet master's status in the city will plummet." Shopkeeper Jin Da Shen

Shen bowed to everyone, "So I hope that everyone can work together to help our Jin family find out about this matter. If we can take back the masters of the Sun family who refined the technique, I, the Jin family, will definitely thank you very much."

Next, a row of several puppets in brocade clothes carried the precious tokens of gratitude promised by the Jin family and walked around the entire venue, arousing intensive discussion.

"This batch of troubled puppets were purchased by the Jin family from Sun Dejun and sold to high-profile people in the city at high prices." The young demon cultivator talked enthusiastically with Mu Xue and others, "So the Jin family is responsible for

I am very anxious because of the relationship."

"What kind of person is Sun Dejun?" Mu Xue asked him.

When the demon cultivator saw the delicate and beautiful girl in red being attracted by his words, he jumped up in his heart.

He couldn't help but rub his hands and reported his net worth to Mu Xue, "My surname is Liu, Liu Xiangquan. I am in the middle stage of foundation building. I am a disciple of the 32nd room of the Liu family. Don't you know the names of my sisters?"

Mu Xue did not answer his words, nor did she look unhappy. She just asked with a smile: "So, what kind of person is Sun Dejun?"

Liu Xiangquan was dazzled by that smile and wanted to show off more and more, "Just ask me about this. I know all about Sun Dejunde."

"That's the year Sun Laizi was called everyone. In the past, he was just a very confused weapon refiner. The puppets he made couldn't be sold, and his wife ran away with others. The family was too poor to eat.

When I was young, I couldn't even afford the materials for making weapons, so I had to rely on borrowing money to survive. Even I once lent him a few dollars. When he saw me once, he even called me Brother Liu."

"And this man is also wretched, and his clothes are sloppy. Even cats and dogs dislike him. I used to see him being pushed into the ditch on the street. Hey, I don't know what luck happened to me half a year ago, and I suddenly got the idea.

, the puppet he made was smarter and smarter than anyone else, and everyone rushed to get it. Just like that, it became popular from then on."

"As soon as this man got angry, his whole person changed. I don't know where his habit came from. Not only did he change his house to a bigger house, but he also bought a whole yard of adopted sons and daughters. He stopped calling anyone when he saw me."

"Hehe, it's a pity that God didn't let him shake for long."

"Sisters are interested in this matter. Why don't I take you to Sun's house to have a look after we disperse here. I know that street very well, and I won't let a deceiver bump into my sisters."

…
To be continued...