Chapter 323 The Uncle Who Made the Wooden Man Is a Little Weird
Half an hour later, the three men changed into inconspicuous casual clothes and quietly left through the side door of the palace.
Xiao Yu was dressed in an indigo-colored long gown, which had suppressed all his usual sharpness. He looked like a rich young man with a cool temperament.
Ajiu changed into a goose yellow skirt, and her hair was simply combed into two buns. She was holding a freshly baked sugar painting in her hand, licking it happily with her little mouth, just like a little sister who was taken out to play by her brother.
Chu Xuanyi was still dressed in flashy white clothes, waving the same jade fan in his hand, with a cynical smile on his face, playing the role of a dandy boy.
Walking on the busy street, Jiu's curiosity was completely aroused.
"Brother Xiong Xiong, I want to eat that candied haws."
"Okay," Xiao Yu said concisely, took out his wallet and bought a string.
"Brother Xiong Xiong, that dough figurine looks really fun."
"Yeah." Xiao Yu nodded and bought another dough figurine of Sun Wukong and stuffed it into her other hand.
Chu Xuanyi followed behind and felt a headache when he saw Ajiu with his hands full of snacks.
"I say, we're here to do business," he leaned over and lowered his voice, "not to hang out."
Ah Jiu, holding a hawthorn in his mouth, retorted vaguely, "Even if you want to do serious work, you need to eat a full meal to have the strength."
Xiao Yu held Ajiu's hand and glanced at Chu Xuanyi lightly.
"If you don't want to eat, you don't have to."
Chu Xuanyi: "..."
Okay, he's talking too much.
The three of them walked and ate as they went, and finally arrived at the door of the craftsmanship office.
The Craftsmen's Office is located in the south of the capital, covering a vast area. The sounds of clanging hammers and sawing wood can be heard from afar.
There was no heavily guarded guard at the door, only an old man dozing off.
When the three of them walked in, the scene inside was even more lively.
Dozens of craftsmen were shirtless and busy in their respective areas.
Some were pulling huge saws to cut wood, some were waving hammers to forge tools in front of the fire, and some were sitting quietly in a corner, concentrating on carving the little gadgets in their hands.
Chu Xuanyi waved his fan and looked around pretentiously.
"There are quite a few people here," he said to Xiao Yu in a low voice, "They all look normal, and they're all good at manual labor. How can we find the one who's wrong?"
Xiao Yu did not answer, but turned his head to look at Ajiu beside him.
"Ajiu."
"Yeah." Ajiu responded with a candied haws in his mouth.
"Look at the people here. Are they any different?"
This was discussed before they came.
Chu Xuanyi's Xuanmen magic will be blocked by a mysterious force, and no matter how high Xiao Yu's martial arts skills are, he cannot see through people's hearts, but Ajiu is different.
Her eyes can see the flow of the most fundamental energy of all things in the world.
No matter how the descendants of the Shen Ji Pavilion disguise themselves, the way the energy in his body circulates, which is the same as that of the mechanical puppetry, is absolutely unchangeable.
After hearing what Xiao Yu said, Jiu reluctantly swallowed the last hawthorn.
She blinked and began to look carefully at everyone in the workshop.
Her eyes swept over them one by one from left to right.
In her vision, these sweaty craftsmen all had warm currents flowing through their bodies, some strong and some weak. That was the most direct manifestation of life and blood. Although their forms varied, they were essentially the same.
Chu Xuanyi watched her sweeping around as if she was watching a show, feeling a little uneasy.
"I say, can you do this?" he muttered softly.
At this moment, Ajiu's gaze suddenly stopped.
She stopped in an inconspicuous corner.
There was a middle-aged man sitting on a low stool, with his head down, carefully polishing an unfinished wooden object in his hand with a piece of sandpaper.
The man looked ordinary, about forty years old, wearing a coarse cloth shorts, his hands were covered with calluses and scars, no different from other craftsmen.
But in Ajiu's eyes, this man is the most dazzling person in the entire workshop.
The energy in other people's bodies is like a slowly flowing stream, while the energy in him is like countless precise gears meshing with each other, running in a cycle.
"Brother Xiongxiong," Ajiu pulled Xiao Yu's sleeve and whispered, "That man, that uncle... his body looks different from others."
Xiao Yu walked over calmly holding Ajiu's hand, and Chu Xuanyi followed behind, fanning himself.
"Master," Xiao Yu said in a gentle voice, "Excuse me, what is this wooden artifact used for?"
The middle-aged craftsman raised his head, revealing an ordinary face.
His eyes were a little cloudy and he seemed a little dull.
"In reply to your question, sir," he replied hoarsely, "this is a little toy I made for my child. It's not worth much."
"Good craftsmanship." Xiao Yu praised.
He looked at the object in the craftsman's hand seemingly casually, then took out an object from his sleeve and placed it on the wooden block next to him.
It was an ancient token only half the size of a palm, engraved with exquisite gear and flying bird patterns.
"I have an old item here," Xiao Yu's tone remained calm. "The pattern on it is a little worn out. I wonder if the master can help repair it a little."
This token was the spoils of war seized from the core members of the Shenji Pavilion during the Great Zhou Dynasty's siege of the Shenji Pavilion. The emblem on it was only worn by direct descendants of the Shenji Pavilion.
The moment the token appeared in sight.
The middle-aged craftsman, who originally had cloudy eyes and a dull expression, suddenly stiffened.
He stared at the token intently, his eyes filled with extremely complicated emotions.
The middle-aged craftsman slowly put down the wood tools and sandpaper in his hands and wiped the sawdust off his trouser legs.
"Come with me."
After saying that, he turned around without saying a word and walked towards the inner room deeper in the workshop.
Xiao Yu held Ajiu's hand and followed behind with a calm expression.
Chu Xuanyi fell half a step behind, waving the fan in his hand intermittently.
From the bustling workshop outside to the dark and narrow corridor inside, the original smell of sawdust and sweat in the air gradually faded, replaced by a cold smell of engine oil and rusty metal.
"I say," Chu Xuanyi lowered his voice, "Why is this place so gloomy? Is he trying to lead us into a trap?"
Xiao Yu looked straight ahead, "He wouldn't dare."
Chu Xuanyi curled his lips.
Well, His Royal Highness the Regent is a martial arts master, he really doesn’t dare.
Ah Jiu held Xiao Yu's hand tighter and whispered, "Brother Xiong Xiong, there are so many things hidden in here that won't move. They all seem to be sleeping."
Her description was strange, but Xiao Yu understood it.
It's a mechanism, a puppet.
After walking for about a cup of tea, the middle-aged craftsman stopped in front of an inconspicuous black iron door.
He reached out and knocked on the door a few times in seemingly random places.
There was only a slight "click" sound from inside the door, and the heavy iron door slid inward.
The scene behind the door made the knowledgeable Chu Xuanyi gasp.
There is a different world here.
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