Chapter 187 - 173: Puppet

The wound at Yin Zhen’s severed wrist healed at a visible rate, seamlessly connecting with the Ghost Hand until they were perfectly integrated. Yin Zhen stared at this newly acquired pair of hands, feeling the Strength contained within them. The red threads binding the ten fingers seemed to sense the threat; they suddenly tightened, cutting into the flesh in an attempt to imprison this Strength once again. Her dagger couldn’t touch the red threads. Yin Zhen furrowed her brows, mobilizing the Strength of the Inheritance within her body to resist their binding.

In midair, Ying had reached its limit, unable to swallow Chunhua’s massive resentment.

"Ying, let her go," Yin Zhen commanded.

The black shadow wrapping the Puppet Ghost rapidly shrank back, returning to Yin Zhen’s feet and trembling violently. Without Ying’s suppression, the wooden puppet fell to the ground. Its pitch-black eye sockets stared at Yin Zhen’s pair of hands, which had originally belonged to her. The puppet tilted her head, seemingly not understanding why Yin Zhen had attached her hands. However, she could feel her Strength flowing into Yin Zhen through this pair of hands.

This made Chunhua furious. She raised her hand, ready to attack Yin Zhen.

"Chunmiao has always remembered what you said to her!" Yin Zhen shouted, and the puppet’s hand stopped right in front of her.

"Chunmiao didn’t give up. She escaped this man-eating town, and she kept singing. She sang her way onto the biggest stages and became a nationally renowned opera master. She sang her operas for countless people to hear. She... only recently passed away from an illness in the south."

The Puppet Ghost’s body trembled violently.

"She was waiting for you, Chunhua. Waiting for you to watch her sing, waiting for you to see that she finally lived out the life you two secretly yearned for on that roof back then. She was also waiting to apologize to you in person. How much longer are you going to make her wait?" As Yin Zhen spoke, she snapped the red threads wrapped around her fingers one by one.

"Chunhua, I have felt all your resentment. Locked in the dark, sunless underground, trampled by thousands—the ugly faces of those people, those so-called ’rules’ and ’gods’ all deserve to die! Don’t worry, I won’t let off a single person who harmed you. I will avenge you. I will use your hands..."

Yin Zhen abruptly spread her ten fingers, completely snapping all the red threads binding them.

"...I will use your hands to tear apart all bindings and crush those hypocritical gods! Chunhua, just watch. For you and for myself, I will sing this opera until the very end!"

The moment her voice fell, the puppet’s body began to silently disintegrate, perhaps because her Strength had been taken by Yin Zhen, or perhaps because she believed Yin Zhen’s promise. Like paper ash blown by the wind, the remnants drifted down in a rustling shower. The suffocating, bone-chilling sensation within the old theater gradually faded. The black clouds looming over Sanmen Town slowly parted, allowing the bright moonlight to once again spill over the dilapidated theater. The Strength of the Puppet Master now belonged completely to Yin Zhen.

A new Extraordinary Ability appeared on her Character Card, containing the description for ’puppet’.

[Puppet]: A taboo power of the Autumn Tomb World. Using hatred as the guide, obsession as the thread, and opera as the rule, it breaks the boundary between human and puppet. It can be used to control living people, departed souls, corpses, and more through strings, depriving the target of their autonomy and forcibly dominating their body and actions. The upper limit of this puppeteering is determined by one’s personal Strength; if the controlled target is too powerful, the user will suffer a backlash.

[Friendly Reminder]: After the midnight hour, yang fades and yin is born. Puppeteering in the dead of night attracts ghosts and Wandering Souls. (It might only draw in a few weak Wandering Souls to watch the opera, or it might summon some powerful entity—it all depends on your luck.)

When Guan Lan realized she had lost, she harbored no more dark or petty thoughts. She held Xing’s hand and stood aside with dignity, waiting quietly. At the very least, this ability had been obtained by someone from their own world, rather than falling into the hands of someone from an opposing world.

Seeing Yin Zhen look over, Guan Lan generously reached out a hand toward Yin Zhen at the bottom of the pit. "Hello, I am Guan Lan."

"I know," Yin Zhen responded indifferently. She didn’t take Guan Lan’s hand, instead using the edge of the pit to pull herself up.

The atmosphere turned slightly awkward. Yin Zhen lowered her eyes and glanced at Xing. Xing immediately hid behind Guan Lan, revealing only half of her fierce little face.

"I have things to do. Suit yourself." Yin Zhen left after saying this. Guan Lan had no other reason to make her stay; it was clear that Yin Zhen didn’t want any further interaction with them.

"Mom, that lady is so scary," Xing whispered.

Guan Lan sighed. "Actually, she’s not really a bad person. If Mom isn’t around you one day and you encounter danger, you can try asking her for help. Talk sweetly and try your best to assist her, and she will definitely save you."

Xing furrowed her small brows. She didn’t quite understand, nor was she very willing, but she knew her mother was definitely right.

"Let’s leave as well. Everything here is over."

"Where are we going?"

"Back to Beiling City!"

Xing didn’t understand. Hadn’t they just escaped from there?

Yin Zhen had made Guan Lan realize something: she couldn’t keep Xing under her protection forever, nor could she make what she thought were the right decisions on Xing’s behalf. Her caution wasn’t necessarily a protection for Xing. She had to let Xing face danger head-on and make her own decisions, allowing Xing to grow into a true protagonist as quickly as possible. It was cruel, but they had no choice!

Before the Ghost Realm disappeared, the brief but frenzied mind control had already created countless tragedies among the townsfolk. Consequently, after the Ghost Realm dissipated, screams and wails erupted one after another from every corner of Sanmen Town.

Yin Zhen sent a message to Song Yingshu, telling her to fetch the wooden puppet to complete the team mission. She returned to the stage and scanned the empty audience seats.

"Come out."

From the audience area, a trembling figure crawled out from beneath a seat. It was the scriptwriter, Su Ke. Her glasses were crooked, and her face was covered in dust and tear stains as she looked at Yin Zhen in terror.

"Are they... are they all dead?"

"Yeah. You got lucky."

Yin Zhen jumped down from the stage and sat on a seat in the first row near the aisle. Although it had only been a little over an hour since she entered the theater, her frequent use of Extraordinary Abilities had pushed her Assimilation Degree to 53%. She needed a good rest.

Su Ke hurried to Yin Zhen’s side. "Are we not leaving here yet?"

"Everything is over. You can leave on your own whenever you want."

Su Ke thought for a moment but decided against leaving. She sat down next to Yin Zhen, waiting to leave together with her.

Before long, Song Yingshu and Jiang Xiyin came jogging over, each holding a wooden puppet. Song Yingshu could feel that the yin energy in the area had completely dissipated. The big shot must have eliminated the ghost that created the Ghost Realm! Her eyes practically sparkled as she looked at Yin Zhen.

Yin Zhen slightly raised her chin in acknowledgment. Song Yingshu immediately flashed an "OK" gesture, then pulled Jiang Xiyin along to start lighting red candles at the four corners of the stage. She thought, "With the big shot holding the fort down there, I feel so secure! I’ve never had such a satisfying mission!"

After preparing everything, the two stood in the center of the stage, each holding a puppet. Jiang Xiyin asked Song Yingshu in a whisper, "Uncle Ying, do you know how to sing this?"

"Nope," Song Yingshu replied. "Just fiddle with it and sing a couple lines. We’ll stop once the system prompts that the event is completed."

Bracing herself, Jiang Xiyin clumsily lifted the puppet and cleared her throat, preparing to hum a few random lines to wing it. But the moment they lifted the puppet control boards and opened their mouths, both of their bodies stiffened simultaneously. Their pupils instantly dilated, as if they were being controlled by an invisible force.

"The crescent moon shines on the west tower, a sisterly promise kept deep in the heart."

As soon as Jiang Xiyin opened her mouth, she sang in a standard operatic tone. Beside her, Song Yingshu’s movements in controlling the puppet were just as fluid. The puppet seemed infused with a soul in her hands; every lift of its arm and step of its foot carried the elegance and precision of a famous opera diva.

"Secretly learning the craft and practicing hard, hoping to take the stage and show our grace."

In the audience, Su Ke adjusted her glasses and sat up straight. "Isn’t that Ms. Chen Chunmiao’s voice?"

The performance the two were putting on stage was exactly the story of Chunhua and Chunmiao! In their hands, the two puppets seemingly transformed into the young girls from back then, reenacting that dust-covered past on the dilapidated stage amidst the flickering candlelight. One puppet was lively and stubborn, while the other was gentle and full of longing. Their cooperation was absolutely flawless.

Yin Zhen watched quietly. Those hands that belonged to Chunhua subconsciously tapped lightly against the armrest, keeping time with the operatic tune. Su Ke was completely mesmerized. In this simple yet deeply emotional performance, she saw the original prototype of the heavily altered Chen Chunmiao from her script, as well as the other girl buried behind the story.

Right at that moment, the theater doors were violently slammed open from the outside.

Chen Laogun had brought a large crowd of Sanmen Town residents—startled by the tragedies outside and drawn by the singing—to gather here. Seeing the two women performing on stage, Chen Laogun’s murky old eyes instantly went wide. He pointed at the stage and roared.

"Shut up! You wretched girls, who allowed you to touch the puppets? Who allowed you to sing on the stage? Are you trying to get everyone in town killed? Get down here!!"

The townsfolk below the stage also grew agitated, staring at the stage with hostile eyes.

Yin Zhen’s fingers, which had been tapping the armrest, paused. She thought, "Chunhua, today I will use the lives of the chief culprits from back then to pay tribute to you!"