The Puppet Master’s Hidden Hand

Shi Ji’s voice hovered over the living room, and the entire space fell into a deathly silence.

Behind his lenses, his eyes blinked rapidly a few times in secret.

He took the opportunity to wipe the cold sweat from his palms against the side of his trousers.

He had only taken such an action to maintain the original owner’s persona.

However, since this was his first time actually striking someone, the sensation left him feeling somewhat awkward.

Fortunately, the others did not seem to notice anything amiss.

Only the unfortunate servant who had been chosen was rolling on the ground clutching his legs.

The cries of pain occasionally pierced the eardrums of everyone present.

Shi Ji lowered his eyelashes, spared him a glance, and tossed away the half-broken wooden club.

He had put a significant amount of strength into that strike.

The remaining servants and Butler Wang kept their heads low, not daring to look up.

Some were even beginning to tremble, their breathing becoming miniscule for fear of being the next one Shi Ji targeted.

“Speak,” Shi Ji said in a cold voice.

“I asked who gave you permission to lay a hand on him.”

His tone was even heavier than before.

Coincidentally, a few gusts of chilly wind blew through the vast villa living room.

This caused everyone on the scene to break out in goosebumps.

“Young… Young Master…”

Butler Wang patted away a servant who was tugging at his hem and took a small step forward.

He bowed respectfully toward Shi Ji.

“You… you told us to take good care of Young Master Li.”

“We… we were also just acting according to your instructions.”

He spoke with a guilty conscience, the last few words falling weakly from his lips.

“Oh? So you mean I have blamed you wrongly?”

Shi Ji squinted at him, then tilted his chin up.

His glasses reflected two sharp glints of light.

“You acted without my permission.”

“If you can beat Li Chen today, then tomorrow, will I have to give up my seat to you, Butler Wang?!”

The original Shi Ji possessed a naturally overbearing aura.

Even as a Beta, he was famous for being unscrupulous.

At eighteen, he had overthrown a crowd of people who looked down on him and trampled them underfoot.

Even if there were those who remained unconvinced, no one dared to move against him lightly.

Everyone knew Shi Ji was a madman who killed without blinking.

If the original Li Chen hadn’t had a golden finger system and the lead attackers, he truly might not have beaten the original Shi Ji.

As soon as these words left Shi Ji’s mouth, Butler Wang was so terrified he prostrated himself on the ground.

He kowtowed incessantly to Shi Ji, his entire body shaking violently.

“No, no… I am just a butler, how could I dare covet your position…”

“You don’t dare?”

Shi Ji found it amusing and arched an eyebrow.

“But from where I’m standing, it looks like you’re about to step on my head.”

Butler Wang was horrified; his eyes widened, and he immediately raised his hand to slap himself.

He muttered words of confession while repeatedly striking his own face.

The loud “smack, smack, smack” echoed through the room.

Shi Ji pursed his thin lips and said nothing.

He flicked his gaze upward, scanning the servants huddled together like quails.

Then, he pointed a finger toward Li Chen, who was collapsed on the floor.

The boy had already passed out, his exquisite face now deathly pale.

He looked like a white rose on the verge of withering.

“Carry him back,” Shi Ji commanded.

The servants did not dare to delay; they ran over and carefully lifted Li Chen.

However, their movements were not gentle or meticulous.

The moment they moved, Li Chen’s wounds tore open again, spilling bright red blood.

Li Chen knit his brows tightly, dark circles visible under his eyes.

Shi Ji watched him, his brow slightly furrowed.

Li Chen’s injuries were too severe; if a doctor didn’t treat him, Shi Ji feared he wouldn’t survive the night.

But Li Chen was so vigilant; he certainly wouldn’t let anyone Shi Ji sent get near him.

And as for Shi Ji himself, the boy would be even less willing.

After the other servants carried Li Chen away, Shi Ji turned around.

He spoke to Butler Wang, who was still kneeling and slapping himself.

“Go and call Aunt Lin.”

Butler Wang stopped his hand, his cheeks red and swollen.

He couldn’t quite react to the sudden change.

“Do you not have ears?” Shi Ji narrowed his eyes.

Butler Wang swallowed hard, trembling as he repeatedly agreed.

He scrambled up from the ground and sprinted outside.

“Wait,” Shi Ji said suddenly.

Butler Wang, who had already reached the door, slipped and nearly fell.

“Don’t call Aunt Lin here. Tell her to go directly to Li Chen’s room.”

Shi Ji paused for a second before adding another sentence.

“And don’t tell Aunt Lin that I arranged it.”

Li Chen opened his eyes and found himself lying in his own room, feeling somewhat surprised.

Shi Ji actually hadn’t taken the opportunity to throw him out of the Shi family home.

This was outside of Li Chen’s expectations.

His brain, clouded by the high fever, was still groggy.

The bedding beneath him and the quilt over him were dry.

In fact, they were much softer and warmer than before.

He lay prone on the bed; opening his eyes, he could see the pitch-black night through the window.

Li Chen couldn’t quite tell what time it was.

Only a single bedside lamp was lit for illumination.

The dim yellow light spilled across the grey-black floor.

The cold night wind blew past the window, making a piercing “creak, creak” sound.

This room had originally belonged to a gardener who worked for the Shi family long ago.

It had been abandoned after he was dismissed.

No one had lived here for years until Li Chen was driven here by Shi Ji.

He had lived in this drafty, leaky little wooden shack for eleven years.

Thinking of this, Li Chen couldn’t help but let out a cold laugh.

Even the quilt covering him felt like a tool Shi Ji was using to mock him.

The wounds on his back began to throb again.

The pain felt like fire scorching his flesh.

Cold sweat broke out on Li Chen’s temples.

He gritted his teeth, wanting to roll over, but his strength had been drained away.

He remained paralyzed.

He simply stayed prone, letting the pain drive away the heavy drowsiness in his head.

Li Chen blinked, staring blankly at the night sky outside the window.

The sound of Shi Ji’s voice from before he fainted began to echo in his ears.

Li Chen recalled that it seemed Shi Ji had stopped the servants from beating him.

He had even had someone send him back.

Why?

Li Chen was bewildered.

Wasn’t all of this arranged by him?

Then why play the hypocrite and save him, even saying that only he alone could bully him?

Had he somehow developed feelings through bullying?

Li Chen found the thought ridiculous.

Or perhaps Shi Ji was simply that selfish.

Since Li Chen was his venting tool, others weren’t allowed to touch or use him?

As he thought, Li Chen realized he understood Shi Ji less and less.

Suddenly, the door of the dilapidated wooden shack was tapped gently.

Hearing the faint knocking, Li Chen immediately became vigilant.

He twisted his head, his eyes staring fixedly at the door.

The wooden door opened with a “creak.”

First to appear was a slightly aged hand.

Then, a middle-aged woman in her fifties pushed the door open and walked in.

She carried a small porcelain bowl.

After seeing her face, Li Chen let out a sigh of relief.

His tense back relaxed slightly.

It was Aunt Lin—the only person in the Shi family he trusted.

She was the one who had helped him when he was first fostered here after the accident at his home.

When Shi Ji had locked him in this shack to starve for two days and nights, she was the only one who reached out to him.

Aunt Lin’s steps were small and quick.

She stopped by Li Chen’s bedside, her eyes turning red with heartache at the sight of the bandages covering his back.

She set down the bowl and knelt to rub Li Chen’s head.

“My poor child, how did you get hurt like this?”

Li Chen rarely dropped his guard, showing the temperament of a teenage boy.

He rubbed his head against Aunt Lin’s warm palm.

“Aunt Lin, how did you get here?”

“I heard from the servants that you were injured, so I rushed over.”

“I never imagined it would be this serious.”

As Aunt Lin spoke, tears began to well in her eyes.

“Tell Aunt Lin, who did this?”

Who else could it be?

Li Chen said nothing.

Seeing his silence, Aunt Lin didn’t push him.

She wiped the remaining tears from the corners of her eyes.

She picked up the bowl, revealing the brownish liquid inside.

Even without inhaling deeply, one could smell the unpleasant bitterness.

“If you won’t say, then don’t,” she said.

“Drink your medicine first. Be good.”

Li Chen didn’t take it.

He lowered his eyelids, staring at the reflection on the surface of the brown liquid.

His lips moved. “Aunt Lin, who gave you this medicine?”

“Who… who gave it?”

Aunt Lin blinked blankly, then replied.

“This is my own medicine, of course.”

Hearing this, Li Chen shook his head.

He reached out and gently pushed the porcelain bowl away.

“I won’t drink it.”

Aunt Lin grew anxious. “How can you not drink it!”

“If you don’t drink it, how will your wounds heal?”

Li Chen remained stubborn, turning his head away, unwilling to spare even a glance at the bowl.

Seeing the usually obedient little Omega acting so headstrong, Aunt Lin softened her tone.

“Xiao Li, be good. It won’t hurt after we drink it.”

When he was bullied by Shi Ji as a child, Aunt Lin always coaxed him to drink medicine this way.

Li Chen couldn’t bear it and let out a sigh.

“Aunt Lin, you told me just yesterday that your medicine was all gone.”

Her words made Aunt Lin freeze in place.

The woman’s expression turned awkward, and she didn’t know what to say.

These medicines indeed weren’t hers.

They were given to her by a doctor before she arrived.

The doctor said it would be good for Li Chen’s wounds, so she had accepted it without a second thought.

Aunt Lin’s expression revealed everything.

“Shi Ji gave it to you, didn’t he?” Li Chen spoke again.

“He’s not even afraid of poisoning me.”

Li Chen muttered in a low voice, his tone laced with a hint of resentment.

“Young… Young Master Shi?”

Aunt Lin truly hadn’t thought that far.

Hearing Li Chen’s mutterings, she turned pale and hurriedly explained.

“How could that be? The Young Master wouldn’t do such a thing.”

Just as she finished, Li Chen suddenly snatched the bowl from her hand.

He tilted his head back and drank the steaming medicine in one gulp.

The bitter liquid slid down his throat, making him almost want to gag.

He wiped the residue from the corner of his mouth and handed the empty bowl back.

“Since Aunt Lin brought it, I would drink it even if it were poison.”

Aunt Lin looked at the empty bowl and sighed in relief.

“Stop talking nonsense.”

She carefully tucked the corners of the quilt around Li Chen.

“Actually, the Young Master is quite a good person,” she babbled.

Li Chen didn’t want to hear it.

Shi Ji had bullied him for over a decade; it wasn’t as if Aunt Lin hadn’t seen it.

And yet, she was still saying good things about him.

But lately, Shi Ji had indeed become a bit strange.

He was doing the same things as before, yet helping him in secret.

Injecting him with the suppressant was one thing, and saving him from the servants was another.

The wounds on his back throbbed dully.

It was as if he were being pushed from a vague dream into a surreal reality.

Since he made no movement for a long time, Aunt Lin assumed he had fallen asleep.

Her soft fingertips brushed the hair stuck to his forehead by sweat.

Then she quietly turned to leave.

Before she reached the door, a few muffled claps of thunder suddenly rang out outside.

Thin droplets of rain began to fall.

“It’s thundering. It looks like the Young Master will have insomnia again.”

Opening the shack’s rickety door, Aunt Lin muttered to the dark sky.

Then the door shut, locking the violent wind outside.

Li Chen pulled the quilt up, rolled over, and covered his head.