"Have you all arrived by now?"
A hoarse voice came through, sounding both male and female. Listening to his voice gave one a strong sense of unease.
"We've arrived."
Deng Wen nodded.
His gaze swept over the two of them, then he couldn't help but ask, "Why didn't Xu Wei come?"
"Xu Wei wasn't feeling well, so he sent us to pick you up."
The man in black robes seemed to see Deng Wen's concerns. "Don't worry, since we've taken your money, we'll naturally take you there."
"Haha, how could we not be at ease?"
Deng Wen denied it with a smile.
But with two weirdos controlling the pace of things, it would be strange not to worry.
"Get in the car."
The man in black robes didn't waste any more words and led out a wooden cart.
The wooden cart was very simple, and the patina and scratches on it proved that it had been used for many years.
At the very front wasn't a magical beast, but a wooden horse. After everyone was on board, two men in black robes shot out numerous extremely fine silver threads. These threads pierced the wooden horse's limbs and skull, and under their manipulation, the horse began to move.
Puppetry!
The crowd, who had initially been somewhat skeptical, had their doubts largely dispelled upon witnessing the black-robed man's abilities.
They followed the two men out of the city.
The location got further and further away.
It is surrounded by towering mountains, with a rushing river flowing below. There is only one treacherous path leading into the mountains, winding and twisting among the towering peaks.
"arrive."
The hoarse voice from the other end woke up the people in the car.
This is a small village
Only seven or eight households lived in the village, all of them living in mud-walled, thatched-roof houses with scattered farm tools outside.
The villagers looked at each other in bewilderment.
They spent two thousand low-grade spirit stones, squeezed into a carriage for half a month, and traveled thousands of miles to Gengbo Kingdom, only to be shown this.
"Deng Wen, you've finally arrived!"
Just then, a young man ran out of the farmhouse; it was Xu Wei, the man Deng Wen had mentioned.
"Since we're here, why are you just standing there at the village entrance? Come in and sit down."
Xu Wei welcomed them in.
As we passed other farmhouses, the villagers greeted us with warm smiles, "Xu Wei, your friend has arrived!"
"Oh my, what a handsome group of young men!"
"Come in and have a seat. Our little village hasn't had any guests in a long time."
The group's enthusiasm made Deng Wen and the others feel embarrassed to complain about the village's simple environment. They followed Xu Wei into a thatched house, which was Xu Wei's home.
"Please sit down for now, I'll go get some water."
After Xu Wei left, the remaining people couldn't help but ask Deng Wen, "You know about this place because of Xu Wei? How did you two meet?"
“Xu Wei is a disciple of our academy. I met him at the puppetry exchange conference.”
In contrast to the doubts of others, Deng Wen was quite at ease with Xu Wei.
"Actually, Xu Wei is a descendant of the Puppet Clan. He even taught me puppetry. We were classmates in first grade. Don't worry, he's absolutely reliable."
While they were talking, Xu Wei returned.
He was carrying a kettle and several cups, and he poured tea for them.
"Our Kui Village has a unique locust flower tea."
He himself held a cup of tea and sat down next to Deng Wen, saying, "If you want to see puppetry, this is the place for you. Tomorrow I can take you to the Puppet Clan Ruins."
"You're a descendant of the Puppet Clan? Isn't it said that all the descendants of the Puppet Clan are dead?"
Wang Jia asked, holding his teacup.
Jia Xitong looked at the locust flower tea in Shang Yanting's hand.
The aroma wafted from the steaming vapor, tempting one to take a small sip. She took Shang Yanting's hand and offered him a small taste—
Ouch, it's so hot!
The raccoon couldn't help but stick out its tongue, while everyone was drawn to Xu Wei, who was telling a story.
"Actually, I'm not exactly a direct descendant of the Puppet Clan. The most orthodox lineage of the Puppet Clan is the Feng family."
Xu Wei slowly recounted the origins of his puppetry technique: "This technique was initially used for making a living. Puppets were manipulated using strings and other means to perform labor and entertainment. Later, through improvements made by successive generations, it also acquired a function for self-defense. As the use of puppetry became more and more sophisticated, the puppet clan split from one lineage into several sub-clans."
Our Xu family is a collateral branch, and also the last bloodline of the Puppet Clan.
Wang Jia continued, "If that's the case, why did the Puppet Clan suddenly disappear?"
"Let me tell you the story slowly."
Xu Wei took another sip of tea and then refilled the cup. "More than two hundred years ago, the Feng family produced a genius whose mastery of puppetry was unparalleled."
It was because of this genius that the Puppet Clan reached its zenith and became the most powerful force in the world.
However, no one expected that a century later, this genius would be bewitched by evil spirits and go mad, slaughtering his entire clan. He turned them all into puppets, which were indistinguishable from real people, making them undetectable to outsiders.
It wasn't until three months later, when a fire broke out at the Feng family's residence, that his evil deeds were exposed.
Unfortunately, all the main branches of the Feng family perished in the fire; not a single person survived.
What happened during that time?
Xu Wei's words piqued everyone's curiosity.
"No one knows exactly what happened at that time."
Xu Wei shook his head, then stood up again. "It's getting late, I'll go cook for everyone. Since everyone is so interested in the secrets of the Puppet Clan, I'll take you to see the Feng Family Ruins tomorrow."
Upon hearing that they were going to the ruins, everyone felt that the trip had been worthwhile.
night
The mountain winds were extremely cold.
The farmhouse didn't have any extra rooms for them to stay in, so the six of them continued to live together.
In the dead of night
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