Chapter 182 - 168: The Puppet’s Demise

In the attic, when Yin Zhen realized the Puppet Ghost behind her shoulder wasn’t looking at her, she instinctively held her breath and stayed perfectly still. The Emotion Suppressor was still in effect; her emotional fluctuations were so faint they were negligible.

The Puppet Ghost kept staring at the charred puppet inside the box. She reached over Yin Zhen’s shoulder—her baby-sized body hovering in the air above the box. Puppet strings extended from her body, wrapping around the charred puppet’s limbs, hoisting it into the air. The Puppet Ghost controlled the charred puppet. Together, they hopped and swayed, acting as if they were greeting each other, then held hands while bobbing their heads. It was just like... good friends reuniting after a long separation!

Yet this was no friendly reunion—it was merely the Puppet Ghost manipulating another inanimate object.

Yin Zhen watched as the Puppet Ghost opened her wooden arms and, in a twisted posture, carefully embraced the charred puppet. That rotting head, covered in theatrical greasepaint, rested gently on the charred puppet’s shoulder. Suddenly, Yin Zhen felt a profound sense of sorrow. An intensely powerful urge washed over her; she wanted to know their story. For the first time, she felt pure curiosity about someone else’s past. It involved no ulterior motives or personal gain—just simple curiosity.

Last time at Renxin Hospital, Bai Qiang had used her spiritual power to read the memory fragments of those ghosts. This ability stemmed from the knowledge and power the Cavendish family inherited from Lilith; no one else could do it.

Yin Zhen prepared to attempt Spiritual Resonance. Since her Blood Source Resonance had upgraded, she hadn’t truly tested it. Her only successful Spiritual Resonance had occurred when Lucia’s consciousness was implanted into her. Doing this was highly risky. Direct contact on a spiritual level meant that a single misstep could result in her being overwhelmed—or even consumed—by the other party’s immense resentment. But witnessing this twisted "reunion" made her feel like a cat that couldn’t control its own claws, compelled to reach out and scratch the surface.

Hesitating no longer, Yin Zhen took advantage of the Puppet Ghost’s complete immersion in the fake embrace. She carefully and silently extended her powerful spiritual power, recalling the sensation she felt when resonating with Lucia’s memories. The instant contact was made, Yin Zhen’s vision violently went black, only to be forcibly stuffed with countless shattered images and voices.

...

On a small hillside, a little girl focused intently on whittling a piece of wood with a small knife. Wood shavings flew into the air as a crude but recognizable little puppet gradually took shape in her hands. Beside her, another girl of the same age draped an old bedsheet over her shoulders. Standing on a large rock and wielding a sheep-herding whip, she imitated the posture and vocal cadence of an operatic martial heroine. Her singing was a messy cacophony, yet she was incredibly absorbed in her performance.

Chunhua, who was whittling the puppet, was so amused by Chunmiao’s exaggerated movements that she let out a PFFT of laughter. Chunmiao also found it hilarious, clutching her stomach and laughing HAHAHA uncontrollably. Their laughter completely drowned out the BAA BAA sounds of the grazing sheep.

...

In the attic of the old theater.

Now teenagers, Chunhua and Chunmiao carefully lifted the ceiling cover over the makeup room. Putting their heads together, they peeked down at the theater troupe actors applying greasepaint, attaching hairpieces, and putting on elaborate costumes.

Chunmiao’s eyes sparkled astonishingly bright. "Just watch, Chunhua," she whispered. "One day I’m going to perform on stage, and I’ll sing better than all of them!"

"I’m sure you can. Proper theater troupes never said girls couldn’t sing. As for me... sigh!"

The moment the words left her mouth, Chunmiao sensed her best friend’s disappointment and gently nudged her arm.

"Don’t be sad, Chunhua. Your craftsmanship and puppeteering skills are so amazing—you’re even more nimble than the old masters in the troupe! Sooner or later, you’ll definitely shine brightly. You’ll show them that girls can perform puppet shows too! When that day comes, you’ll be on stage controlling the puppets, and I’ll be in the back singing accompaniment for you!"

"Then it’s a promise. Don’t look down on me once you become a famous star."

"I would never! Let’s pinky promise!"

In the dim attic, the two young girls solemnly linked pinky fingers and shook them three times.

...

Inside a poor, dilapidated house, Chunhua was carefully feeding water to her mentally unstable mother. Suddenly, the door was smashed open. Her drunken father staggered in, his eyes immediately bulging in fury the moment he saw Chunhua.

"You wretched girl! Do you have a death wish? How dare you offend the Puppet God and break the puppet troupe’s rules!"

Chunhua shuddered in fear, nearly dropping the bowl in her hands. The man grabbed a stick by the door and viciously rained blows down on her.

"Chen Huandie told them everything! She said you’ve been secretly carving your own puppets for a long time! And you often sneak onto the theater stage in the middle of the night, stealing puppets from the storeroom to learn how to perform?! This is sheer blasphemy! You’ll bring divine retribution down upon us and get our whole family killed! Come with me! We’re going to the theater right now so you can kowtow and apologize to the Puppet God!"

"I won’t go!"

Shocked and enraged, Chunhua dodged the swinging stick.

"You little bitch! I’ll beat you to death today!"

Just as the man lunged at her again, the deranged woman suddenly screamed and rushed forward. She headbutted the man, knocking him over, and used her body weight to pin him down tightly.

"Run, Huahua, run quickly—"

Gritting her teeth, Chunhua turned and bolted out of the house, rushing out into Ye Se. Biting her lip hard the entire way to keep her tears from falling, she ran to Chunmiao’s house, wanting to demand an explanation. But instead, she heard Chunmiao’s heart-wrenching sobs and pleas coming from inside.

"Dad, I was wrong! I’ll never do it again! It was Chunhua who dragged me there! Please, Dad, don’t make me get married. I don’t want to get married!"

"Child, your dad has no choice. The theater troupe hasn’t been doing well these past two years. No one comes to watch operas anymore; everyone goes to watch discs and listen to pop music. The troupe members were already bottling up a lot of resentment with nowhere to vent. For the two of you to break the puppet troupe’s rules at a time like this, aren’t you just walking right into the line of fire?

"The puppet theater profession has rules passed down from our ancestors—women are forbidden from touching the puppets. You two just wouldn’t listen. Now they’re demanding an explanation from me. If I let you continue singing opera, wouldn’t that be a slap in the face to the puppet troupe? If that happens, even I won’t be able to stay in the troupe anymore. If I lose my livelihood, who’s going to feed this whole family?"

Standing outside, Chunhua listened to her best friend’s desperate, tearful pleas. The light in her eyes gradually dimmed.

...

On the empty stage of the old theater, Chunhua stood completely alone in the center. She was wearing an ill-fitting old opera costume she had dug up from who knows where.

In her hand, she held a meticulously carved, lifelike puppet. It had delicate joints and female-role greasepaint on its face. It looked exactly like her—as if it were a projection of her own soul, held firmly in her grasp.

Just then, the main doors of the theater burst open, and countless beams from flashlights illuminated the stage.

"Chen Jiannü! You really are here!"

"Grab her! It’s all because of her that the Puppet God no longer protects us and the troupe’s business is getting worse and worse!"

"Drop the puppet in your hands! Get down here right now and kowtow to apologize to the Puppet God!"

"Hang this jinx who blasphemed the Puppet God!"

Facing the surging wave of malice, Chunhua did not back down. Instead, she hoisted the puppet high. Manipulating the silk threads under the "spotlight" created by their flashlights, she made the puppet strike a proud, unyielding pose.

Then, facing the mob rushing toward her, she began to sing at the top of her lungs!