The Awakening of the Puppets

Peng Biao’s gaze was far too intense to ignore. The two puppets, whose eyes had been glued to the computer screen, finally turned their heads to look toward the door. The moment their eyes fell upon the two strange men, their expressions instantly turned hostile.

The puppet with the deepest resentment stared fixedly at the two uninvited guests standing side by side at the door, asking in a chilly, sharp voice, “Who are you?”

His voice sounded incredibly cold, and his gaze was filled with malevolence, as though if the person who had forcefully slammed the door open failed to give a satisfactory answer, he would be killed on the spot.

In reality, that was exactly the case.

Not only did the resentful puppet harbor this intention, but the other puppet standing by the computer thought so too.

Anyone who was intensely waiting for their sweetheart—who had run away from home in a fit of anger—to accept their friend request would feel anxious and apprehensive. They did not want anyone to disrupt the waiting process. Yet, these two uninvited, annoying fellows happened to barge in at this exact critical juncture.

If it weren’t for the need to save money to repair the furniture, and the fear that the beautiful Dollmaker would be even angrier if he returned to find the study destroyed as well, they wouldn’t have given these intruders a chance to explain themselves.

“The one who’s going to kill you.” Love rivals meeting was bound to stir up extreme hatred, let alone a rival who had swindled him out of his marriage savings. At the thought of this, Peng Biao shook all over with rage, rubbing his hands together in anticipation of his sweet revenge.

No matter how powerful this evil entity had been before, its strength had been significantly weakened after being cut into pieces. As long as he exercised caution during the fight, it wasn’t impossible to eliminate them all at once.

Once he dealt with these two, the matter of him being scammed would be buried forever in the coffin along with the puppet evil spirits, never to be known by anyone else.

When that time came, the beautiful youth would agree to his pursuit and be with him.

Peng Biao instinctively felt the paper talismans he had specially kept in his pocket, as well as the props needed to set up an array, his mind blazing with fierce battle intent.

In this state, the big dummy did not look like a lofty, otherworldly Heavenly Master at all; instead, he resembled a gladiator engaging in a life-and-death duel in an arena.

It wasn’t just the big dummy.

Standing firmly blocked behind the big dummy and his childhood friend, Ye Shengge also saw his childhood friend’s fingers continuously rotating that strand of red beads. The expression in his pitch-black eyes was complex and difficult to discern, completely different from the gentle and approachable neighbor brother from before.

For some unknown reason, from the very moment he stepped through the villa gates, an inexplicable sense of unease had risen in Ye Shengge’s heart.

This unease grew stronger and stronger as he approached the study.

Ye Shengge took several steps backward, moving close to the right side of the study door, instinctively wanting to avoid being seen by the two puppets inside.

He had a premonition that if the puppets saw him here, something terrifying would definitely happen.

However, some things were beyond his control.

Hearing the big dummy Heavenly Master’s words, the two puppets’ faces darkened completely. They exchanged a look and decided to cooperate temporarily to dispose of these two annoying intruders first.

To avoid causing trouble for the beautiful Dollmaker, the puppets only intended to throw the two annoying intruders out; they had no intention of taking lives for the time being.

As a Heavenly Master, Peng Biao harbored no such reservations. Every move he made was a lethal strike, and various paper talismans meant to suppress the resentment of evil entities were thrown rapidly into the black clouds as if they cost nothing.

Ye Shengge had sharp eyes and noticed that the big dummy was not only throwing talismans but also scattering glutinous rice and some unrecognizable, strange substances in a visual blind spot where the Puppet Bosses couldn’t see.

The talismans were highly effective. The moment they came into contact with the bizarre black mist that could swallow things up, they dispersed it entirely.

But the downside was equally obvious.

There was only one person throwing talismans, but there were two entities generating the black mist.

In terms of numbers, the big dummy Heavenly Master was at a disadvantage.

Even if the big dummy Heavenly Master had excellent physical stamina and didn’t need to worry about exhaustion, the talismans wouldn’t last forever; there would eventually come a time when they were depleted.

Thinking of this, Ye Shengge felt anxious and uneasy, yet he didn’t dare run over to cause trouble for the already occupied big dummy Heavenly Master.

The battle inside the study was raging.

Initially, Peng Biao was able to fight one against two, keeping the battle in a stalemate. However, when the two puppets saw a talisman accidentally thrown by Peng Biao fly across and strike the desk, causing the entire desk arranged in the study to be swallowed up, they seemed to go entirely out of their minds for some reason. Their eyes instantly turned blood-red, and they became incredibly crazed, as if their own father had been murdered.

Disregarding the surrounding furnishings, the two puppets fought with Peng Biao until their eyes were red, presenting an air of fighting to the bitter end.

They watched with their own eyes as that large, long office desk was swallowed up before them, along with the books and decorations arranged on it.

One doesn’t know the cost of living until one manages the household.

Ever since racking their brains to save enough money online to repair and purchase furniture, the two puppets had treated every single item inside the villa with extreme care. They were terrified that breaking something would make the beautiful Dollmaker even angrier, and that even if he returned, he would be driven away again in a rage.

This was also the primary reason why the puppets had gotten along quite well and hadn’t fought while the beautiful Dollmaker wasn’t home.

It was truly because they were too poor. If they broke even one item belonging to the beautiful Dollmaker, they wouldn’t have the money to repair or replace it.

It happened every single time.

But now, they were forced to think otherwise.

They must get serious with this suddenly intruding, sturdily built Heavenly Master. Otherwise, even if the furniture was preserved, their dignity would be lost.

Moreover, that swallowed desk and the things on it were largely the fault of this annoying Heavenly Master.

Pay up!

After defeating the Heavenly Master, they must make this reckless, idiot Heavenly Master pay up!

With the motivation of plundering the furniture replacement money from the Heavenly Master, the two puppets fought even more fiercely, and their cooperation grew better and better.

Peng Biao, who was dividing his attention, found the fight increasingly difficult. In the end, he simply threw out a barrier talisman to create some distance between himself and the two puppets. Then, he swiftly retreated to Wen Jinshi’s side, shoving the items in his hand directly into Wen Jinshi’s grasp and speaking at a rapid pace: “Take this. Find an opportunity in a moment to scatter the contents into the four corners of the study.”

Wen Jinshi lowered his eyes, his gaze landing on the cloth bag that had been shoved into his hand.

“You should know how to execute the specific placement order.” After saying this, Peng Biao disregarded their status as love rivals and their past grievances, specifically adding another sentence: “Whether we can kill these two troublesome things today depends on whether you can scatter the items in time.”

Originally, he hadn’t planned to strike at these two puppet evil spirits today, nor had he intended to ask for Wen Jinshi’s help. But the event was sudden; upon learning that these two puppet evil spirits were the “Authoritative Relationship Expert” on his friend list, he couldn’t control the urge to strike.

Once the bow was drawn, there was no turning back.

There was only one opportunity.

Now that they had already alerted the enemy, if they failed to seize this chance, the situation next time might be incredibly complicated. It was better to resolve the two most difficult puppet evil spirits as quickly as possible before the other entities awakened.

And the most suitable candidate present to scatter the materials needed to set up the array was none other than Wen Jinshi, who had nearly entered the path of a Heavenly Master.

Just as Peng Biao finished speaking, the barrier talisman was swallowed by the black mist, which flew straight toward him as he retreated to the door.

Peng Biao slapped another talisman down with a backhand strike and plunged right back into the fray with the two puppet evil spirits.

Seeing this, Ye Shengge didn’t dare disturb them further. He didn’t even dare poke his head in to look into the study, terrified of being discovered by the Puppet Bosses, and even more afraid of being captured as a hostage if they found him.

All he could do was silently pray—pray that his childhood friend would face no obstacles while scattering the items, and pray that the big dummy Heavenly Master could hold on a bit longer until his childhood friend finished scattering the contents of the bag to wipe out the Puppet Bosses in one fell swoop.

However, the increasing commotion inside the study made it impossible for Ye Shengge to feel at ease. Ultimately, he couldn’t resist quietly poking his head out to steal a glance inside.

He originally believed that as long as his movements were small, no further problems would arise. But just as he poked his head out, before he could even see the situation inside the study clearly, he locked eyes with two pairs of eyes filled with pleasant surprise.

Those two pairs of eyes were exceptionally clear and beautiful, not looking like those of a real person.

In fact, they were indeed not real humans.

They were the Puppet Bosses!

They had discovered his presence.

Ye Shengge’s pupils dilated instantly. He froze on the spot, his heart beating violently and uncontrollably, unable to move even a single step.

It was during this lapse of attention spanning less than a second that the two Puppet Bosses failed to completely avoid the talismans thrown out by the big dummy Heavenly Master.

To evil spirits and ghosts, talismans were things they would rather die than touch. Once touched, light contact would bring a sensation of burning fire, while heavy contact would result in being reduced to ashes.

Strangely enough, however, the two puppets whose arms were touched by the talismans did not utter a single sound. Furthermore, they summoned a massive amount of black mist all at once, trapping that annoying Heavenly Master.

Having done all this, they looked almost yearningly at the beautiful Dollmaker, who had poked out a fluffy head and revealed two glistening, rippling eyes.

Although it had only been a day since they last saw the beautiful Dollmaker, the sense of longing surrounded them constantly like a tide. They had no way to escape it, nor did they want to.

It was only when they saw the beautiful Dollmaker appear outside the door that they finally found salvation, and their hearts settled instantly.

“The furniture has already been repaired, and the swallowed pieces have also been replaced according to the previous styles. Can you come home now?” the puppet most favored by the Dollmaker asked with extreme caution, bearing absolutely no resemblance to a horror boss. After asking, he didn’t forget to supplement in a low voice: “We won’t fight anymore either. Please come back, okay?”

They did not ask why the beautiful Dollmaker was here, nor did they dare think about why the beautiful Dollmaker happened to appear in this place so coincidentally.

To them, it was enough as long as the beautiful Dollmaker returned.

Even for the sake of the beautiful Dollmaker, they could accept the fact that the other puppets were parts of their own body. They could suppress the jealousy and killing intent in their hearts to accept the existence of the other versions of themselves, staying by the fickle, beautiful Dollmaker’s side together in a split-soul state.

If the beautiful Dollmaker grew tired of playing with them, they could continuously split into new puppets to accompany him without the Dollmaker having to lift a hand.

As long as he did not leave the villa and did not abandon them again.

Yet, Heaven seemed not to have heard the puppets’ nearly humble expectations.

When that loathsome Heavenly Master heard them speak and noticed the beautiful Dollmaker poking his head in to look, he actually uttered words that enraged them.

“Just leave this place to me. Shengge, leave the villa quickly.” Peng Biao originally hadn’t wanted to speak to stimulate these two puppet evil spirits, but seeing the person standing motionless, he couldn’t help but frown, reminding him at a rapid pace to leave quickly.

Hearing this sentence, Ye Shengge was like a dodder plant that had found a support, reflexively running outward in accordance with the big dummy Heavenly Master’s words.

But no matter how fast he was, he couldn’t be fast enough, because right next to the study was the staircase leading to the first floor.

Terrified of falling down, Ye Shengge could only grip the handrail tightly and run down at his fastest speed, terrified that if he ran slowly, he would be caught by the Puppet Bosses behind him who wore expressions of disbelief.

But to the surprise of both Ye Shengge and Peng Biao, although the two Puppet Bosses in the study wore expressions of disbelief, their feet remained firmly in place, with no intention of running out to chase him.

Confirming that no one was chasing him from behind, Ye Shengge turned his head in some confusion to look at the two Puppet Bosses standing in place, wondering if there was any necessity to continue running down in this situation.

However, the Puppet Bosses’ nearly sighing words made him run forward without looking back, as if pursued by a ghost.

——”If you don’t run now, you won’t be able to escape.”

For some reason, although Ye Shengge’s escape was going smoothly and no one was chasing him from behind, the moment he heard the Puppet Boss finish that sentence, the panic in his heart instantly reached its peak, leaving him with a constant feeling that something terrible was about to happen.

His premonition was not wrong, because when he was halfway down, the puppets placed inside every single guest room of the entire villa opened their tightly closed eyes at the exact same time.

Wielding their rigid, uncontrolled limbs that had just broken through the restraints, the puppets produced a cracking sound that was utterly hair-raising to hear.