Chapter 61: Point of Focus Is this really the time to be focusing on such matters?……

The tiny puppet stood up, its long white hair draped quietly over its shoulders, its pale eyes lacking discernible pupils. Unlike the arrogant puppets, it merely stood there, radiating an indescribable sense of detachment and intense fragility, as though it might vanish from this world at any second.

Lin Zhao pulled over a chair and sat down. "And who might you be? Dropping such obvious hints for us in that book—don't tell me you are the Great Master Qigong himself?"

Tch, he had merely come to recruit investment partners and find contractors, yet somehow he had gotten himself roped into a variety show titled "Where Has the Lord of Qigong Gone?".

The puppet replied calmly, "I am not entirely the Great Master Qigong. Ages ago, he cast his consciousness into the Puppet Heaven, merging with it. The other puppets and I are all parts of him, but now, a problem has arisen."

Lin Zhao ignored its remarks, simply watching it in silence to see what kind of game they were playing.

"However, the Puppet Heaven has mutated," the puppet said with a hollow voice. "We do not know when it began, but the Puppet Heaven has grown increasingly similar to the Qigong State. It was not like this in the past; we sensed nothing amiss until the Puppet Heaven began to encroach upon the Qigong State... The rifts you saw are not tears in the Puppet Heaven, but fractures in the Qigong State. The Puppet Heaven is devouring the Qigong State. Therefore, I wish to ask you to save the Puppet Heaven."

"...What utter nonsense," Lin Zhao scoffed coldly. "First, as the Lord of Qigong, you people should at least get your stories straight first. After all, the Puppet Heaven is merely a puppet totem; it cannot represent the Qigong State. Though I am hardly fond of those unmasked clans of Qigong who have yet to show their faces, they are the current rulers of the Qigong State."

"Second, how do you prove that what you are saying is true? Third, tell me, after entering the Puppet Heaven, where do those missing souls go?"

Lin Zhao looked down condescendingly at the tiny puppet. "And furthermore, why seek out Yaoguang and me instead of asking the Lord of the Di State, or appealing to the Wu State for aid?"

The puppet remained silent for a few moments before speaking slowly. "One by one. First, I shall provide you with proof."

It pointed a fingertip at the empty space before it, projecting an image of a pale, frail youth surrounded by phantom scenery.

***

At the same time, within the Qigong State, Sa'a rubbed his dark circles, sealed the summary he had just written into an envelope, stretched lazily, and energized himself before heading out toward the academy.

"A-Xia, Sister Qian, do you want breakfast?" Sa'a asked as he reached the doorway, turning back to look at the two friends who had come to help.

"No, you go ahead. Once we finish packing, we'll come find you." The two youths were currently studying sorcery related to communication, and they yawned at his words. "A three-person dorm is no problem at all. You go on ahead and don't be late."

Sa'a acknowledged their words and turned to leave. As he stepped out of his cramped basement, the street was as bustling as ever. Six in the morning was the time for people to head to work, making the streets extremely crowded. Sa'a dropped the envelope into the box embedded in A-Mo's abdomen, bought himself a cup of morning tea at a street stall—the white velvet paste in the tea had yet to dissolve and was still bubbling—shook it twice, drained the fragrant and invigorating tea in one gulp, and generously tossed down two blue shells.

"Sa'a, how is it you can afford morning tea today?" The stall owner, a neighborhood resident who was used to seeing the youth skip breakfast, looked somewhat surprised.

"I've caught a teacher's eye and am heading to the academy in the Second District," Sa'a said happily.

"Well, that's the stroke of a lifetime," the stall owner immediately displayed a look of envy and jealousy. "The Second District? That's the highest-tier academy. Truly... what kind of teacher has that kind of authority?"

Sa'a smiled without answering. With A-Mo in tow, he walked along the main thoroughfare, passed through two city gates, and suddenly the view ahead opened up wide.

Men, women, and children dressed in exquisite attire strolled leisurely down the wide streets. The sunlight was pleasant, and their garments were adorned with the cold gleam of various esoteric treasures. They chatted and laughed among themselves, entirely devoid of the haggard exhaustion seen in the other districts.

The Qigong State was divided into seven districts, ranging from the seventh district where commoners lived, to the sixth and fifth districts inhabited by shamanic servants, and the fourth through second districts occupied by shamans of varying ranks. The Second District was primarily a gathering place for the Earth Shamans of the Di Clan. Never before had he imagined he could enter the Second District and meet such exceptional mentors.

With no time to dawdle, he walked briskly inside, inquired about the location, and proceeded to an old yet magnificent building to process his academic transfer, submitting his summary article to a teacher who looked remarkably powerful.

***

The teacher looked at the article, finished reading it in a single glance, and fell silent. After a few moments, he chuckled softly, "Follow me. Someone wishes to see you."

Could it be that exalted personage?

Feeling somewhat nervous, Sa'a followed right behind, trailing him down a corridor until they spotted a woman in plain clothes holding a wicker basket and clearing away fallen leaves in a courtyard.

Sa'a was stunned.

He rubbed his eyes, and the next instant, he lunged forward with a hoarse cry: "Mother!"

The woman looked up in confusion, and the moment she saw the youth, tears welled up instantly in her eyes. "A-Bao?"

Sa'a crashed into that frail embrace, surrounded by the familiar warmth he had recalled in countless dreams, and tears immediately spilled over. "Mother... Mother... I've missed you so much."

The gentle woman held her child, softly stroking his face. "A-Bao, my A-Bao has grown so big. Let Mother take a good look at you."

After a long while, Sa'a asked with a hint of confusion, "Mother, didn't you go to the Puppet Heaven? Did you see Father there?"

"What Puppet Heaven?" the woman asked, perplexed. "I merely went out for a long time and told you to study hard at home. And your father—didn't your father go out as well?"

Sa'a froze. He reached out to stroke his mother's face; beneath his fingertips was the warm flesh and blood of a living body, utterly devoid of the cold and rigid feel of a puppet, as though his true mother had truly returned.

"Mother, do you remember where you just came from?" Sa'a asked softly.

"I... I am..." The woman shook her head slightly, sensing that something was amiss as her tone grew hurried. "Strange, I don't remember..."

"It's fine, don't rush," Sa'a hurriedly comforted her. "We don't need to think about it. As long as you're here, that's enough. Mother, look, my A-Mo has gained a spirit. Come, A-Mo, say hello to Mother."

"A-Mo? This is actually A-Mo? A-Bao, you were actually able to craft such a fine puppet? That's amazing! Mother is going to buy grey mushrooms and meat right now to make something delicious for you."

"Alright, let's go together as a family, shall we?" Sa'a asked through tears.

"Alright. Here, carry the basket..."

***

The projection was not long. The more Lin Zhao watched, the graver his expression became. "What will happen to them?"

The puppet replied slowly, "Once Sa'a follows his mother and enters the Puppet Heaven, the spirituality within him will be gradually stripped away. Souls from the Puppet Heaven will occupy his body, while his own soul, along with his mother's, will remain trapped inside the Puppet Heaven."

"And live happily ever after?" Lin Zhao asked, propping up his chin.

"No. He is an unauthorized soul, absent from the records. Before long, he will become nourishment for the Puppet Heaven," it pointed toward the books nearby that had brought them here. "The spirituality that sustains these artifacts is derived precisely from this."

At this, the puppet sighed softly, "The Puppet Heaven is devouring the entire Qigong State. I do not know how many commoners have already been replaced. Who is real, and who is fake? The only way is for you to proceed to the Heart of Heaven, seize the Primordial Heart, and control the entire Puppet Heaven in order to save the Qigong State."

***

"Well said. But why should we save the Qigong State?" Lin Zhao asked casually. "To put it simply, what's in it for us?"

The puppet was taken aback, never expecting that a youth who ought to have been warm-hearted would be such a pragmatist. It said sincerely, "When the time comes, I will sever a portion of the Puppet Heaven and gift it to you. In this miniature world, you will have one million tireless puppets that never tire or complain. They can produce esoteric treasures for you day and night. Thus, production costs will be extremely low, and the kind of magical artifacts you desire can be mass-produced and made available for commoners to purchase."

"That's quite a generous offer," Lin Zhao smiled slightly. "So, the reason you didn't ask the Lord of the Di State for help is to prevent the Puppet Heaven from being seized?"

The puppet smiled helplessly. "It is not that we mistrust the Lord of the Di State, but rather that he never deals ruthlessly with the puppets inside the Puppet Heaven. We made the same request of him before, but he merely chose to help us suppress the vitality of the Puppet Heaven. We suspect he intends to conquer the Qigong State and merge it with the Di State, seeing as the Di State is truly impoverished. Therefore, I had no choice but to ask for your assistance."

"Very well, I'll help with this." Lin Zhao's smile was as flawless as if it had never cracked.

A pure expression of relief surfaced on the puppet's plain face. "Then many thanks..."

"Old Tree, kill it," Lin Zhao said without a moment's hesitation.

In an instant, the puppet's smile froze on its face, but it no longer had the chance to change its expression.

Almost simultaneously, a small tree sprouted from within its body, instantly taking root and nailing it in mid-air. Its tiny limbs didn't even have time to struggle, remaining frozen in a posture of flight.

Lin Zhao slowly stood up, walked over to the puppet-tree, and asked without looking back, "Will anyone notice?"

Ji Yaoguang curled the corners of his lips and hugged him from behind. "No. I have imprisoned its spirituality within the tree. The Puppet Heaven won't notice; it will only think the puppet is still right where it was."

Lin Zhao sneered, "Tireless puppets that never complain, working day and night? Anyone who can utter such words is no good thing. We didn't come here to solve mysteries or play detective—I don't really care for detective stories, and I have no interest in figuring out which ones among them and those foolish puppets across the way are real and which are fake!"

Ji Yaoguang didn't quite understand why A-Zhao had suddenly grown so angry, but he comforted him, "If you dislike this place, we can simply leave..."

"It's not just that I dislike this place; this abomination has no right to exist," Lin Zhao said angrily, before thinking of another matter. "Old Tree, how many souls can the totem on the back of your hand hold?"

The ghost-face totem on the back of Ji Yaoguang's hand shrank quietly. Ever since it had been squeezed by that terrifying solar power last time, it preferred not to attract the attention of this little sun.

"Well, the upper limit is truly hard to say," Ji Yaoguang placed the back of his hand before him, speaking with casual nonchalance. "Though its potential is quite high, I haven't really used it much over the years. Still, a mere tens of millions of wandering souls shouldn't be an issue. After all, my cultivation realm is above that of the Celestial Shaman Qigong; what he can accomplish, I can manage just as easily..."

"You talk too much," Lin Zhao raised a hand and pinched his cheek. "Come, do me a favor. Temporarily absorb all the wandering souls of this Puppet Heaven into your totem."

His expression was calm, yet his words carried a soaring, murderous intent. "I want to see whether, stripped of its wandering souls, that Great Master Qigong can still sit so comfortably!"

Playing detective?

Nonexistent. What does it mean to have a high-level veteran player carry the team!