Chapter 10. A lifetime of illustrious reputation ruined in an instant. ...
With heavy breaths, Ali carried the man to the long table in the dark room.
"As expected of a Grand Tutor, he does things to the extreme! Look, he didn't leave himself any breath, and he just passed out like that."
This was a compliment, not a joke; she understood the way the Yan people spoke. Frankly, she admired him. Testing one's limits isn't something everyone dares to do, especially after a devastating ordeal; a mishap could easily lead to death. Yet, he dared to gamble, displaying a reckless disregard for life. It was as if saving his own life was good enough, but losing it was fate; he simply wanted to try.
Ultimately, it was because he had a deep understanding of human nature and knew that the puppeteer wouldn't just stand by and watch him die. He had to be fully aware of everything to avoid making a rash decision in a moment of panic and being led by the nose.
Shimi looked down at the lifeless figure on the long table and felt a dull ache in his head.
Ali Dao peered behind the curtain, "Why hasn't the Puppeteer come out yet? It'll be troublesome if he gets cold."
Shi Mi said helplessly, "The Puppeteer is quite angry with him. Let him die a little longer so he'll learn his lesson."
However, just as Ali Dao said, it couldn't be left to cool off for too long. If it cooled off for too long, it would take a lot of effort to wake it up. Shi Mi gritted his teeth and told Ali Dao to go out first, not forgetting to urge Ran Dian to finish his work and eat.
Ali Dao left with his head down, and went to the kitchen to sigh with Ran Dian and Yan Dian: "When Xiao Wu was in a daze, he probably never imagined that such a ruthless person would live inside his body. I heard from Ami that the Grand Tutor is going back to Jiuzhang Mansion tomorrow, and Ami will go too! What should we do? Should we go with Ami, or stay and keep Yan Shi company?"
Ran Dian's spatula clattered as he stir-fried the food in the iron wok. "We were created by the Yanshi to keep Ami company, so naturally we'll go wherever Ami goes."
Ali Dao was bewildered. "Can I be a maid like you? After all, once you leave, I'll be all alone. Puppet masters rarely go out. If I collapse somewhere, I'm afraid no one will even notice."
Ran Dian and Yan Dian were deeply saddened by his words. After discussing it, they decided to try to persuade Shi Mi to plead with the Puppeteer to let Ali Dao be taken along as well.
Of course, the most important thing right now was to prepare a meal so that the puppeteer wouldn't go hungry. The three of them busied themselves carrying the food into the hall. Since the secret room deep within the hall was off-limits to anyone without permission, they waited outside and relayed the message through the heavy door that the puppeteer could eat now.
They had never seen the Puppeteer's true face, only knowing that he was an older man, somewhat thinner than Ali Dao. The Puppeteer created humans and held their lives in his hands, so they had a natural fear of him and never dared to offend him. Even when extremely curious, they would merely press their ears against the door to listen.
"What did you hear?" Ran Dian and Yan Dian asked Ali Dao.
Ali retreated, shaking his head in disappointment.
But after a short while, they could vaguely hear footsteps coming from inside, moving back and forth. It also seemed like there was a conversation between the Puppeteer and Ami, with the Puppeteer instructing Ami not to let the Grand Tutor act recklessly in the future.
The tightly closed door finally opened, and Ami stepped out. Seeing the three of them standing in the hall, she exclaimed, "What are you all doing here? Is the water tank full? Have you chopped enough firewood? I heard it's going to snow tomorrow. The weather in Chong'an City is really unpredictable. Aren't you going to make preparations?"
Ali Dao said, "Alright, let's get to work now." As he spoke, he called to Shang Ran Dian and Yan Dian.
The other two had no choice but to leave. Yan Dian said regretfully, "I wanted to see what the Grand Tutor would look like after his recovery, whether he would be in a daze or immediately become clear-headed."
Ali Dao shrugged. "Ami told us to leave. Are you still planning to stay there?"
Yan Dian muttered, "You can walk a little slower. You're too obedient. You're not a dog."
Ali Dao, who was determined to become a concubine's attendant, believed that now was the perfect time to make a good impression. Seeing that Yan Dian and Ran Dian were both glaring at him, he deliberately challenged them, saying, "I like this feeling of being a servant."
This time they had nothing to say. Usually, when there were no specific tasks, the role of the Yanren was to carry water, chop wood, and guard the courtyard. The Yanren, who had gained some intelligence, were more capable and did more work, unlike the head of the family, Lu Kongshan, who lay in the box, learned a few words, came out to make a show of things, and was then put away after being used.
Deep within the hall, Shimi stood before the long table, holding a teacup and observing. Seeing that Lu Min had a reaction, he raised the teacup and took a sip.
"Awake?" She cleared her throat and let out a long breath. "The feeling of being disoriented must be unpleasant, right?"
The person lying on the long table slowly sat up, his mind was foggy and his hands and feet were not under his control, but he still tried his best to reach out his hand to her.
Seeing this, Shimi had no choice but to lean over and let him use his strength, saying incessantly, "You must not act recklessly in the future. You don't know how much effort it takes to mend a broken fence after the sheep are lost. Yanshi almost lost half his old life."
But he just kept holding her forearm, neither putting his hand down nor showing any intention of pulling it back.
She looked at him with astonishment. His eyes and expression were no longer cold and hard, but revealed boundless confusion and tenderness. She understood that even though he had now completely become Lu Min, he still retained the habits of a Yanren in his most vulnerable moments. If Lu Min was full of wariness and fear towards everything here, then the newly awakened Lu Min was the other extreme: admiration, attachment, and unwavering loyalty—his nature trumped all other emotions.
But this face... is so out of place with his current demeanor. Shi Mi scratched his forehead with his other hand, "I told you not to mess around, now your reputation is ruined."
Whether or not he ruined her was not something he needed to consider right now. He only knew to follow his heart and openly express his attachment to her.
"I just had a dream. I was surrounded by a bottomless abyss, and I couldn't escape or wake up."
The astute man comforted him, saying, "Dreams are always the opposite of reality. You're alive again. As long as you put on your shoes, you'll find yourself firmly on the ground. There's no abyss to be found."
But when he realized she was trying to break free from him, a look of sorrow welled up inside him. "Are you going to leave me?"
Shimi said no, "I've been busy for a long time following the instructions of the Puppeteer, and now I just want to eat."
He was skeptical, his grip loosened slightly, but he quickly tightened it again. "Did my stubbornness make you very angry?"
Normally, Shimi treats newly awakened puppets with great patience. They are like newborn children, clean and pure, coming into this world. Whether they are old men or burly men, it is expected that they will develop an attachment to her. But this person in front of her is different, because the original owner's background is well-documented. The current situation is too strange.
Fortunately, she had already trained quite a few puppeteers, and their manners were still quite good. She quickly digested her unease and said kindly, "It doesn't matter whether I'm angry or not. What matters is that you've burdened the puppeteer. He has to spend even more effort to treat you, and yet you didn't even offer an apology after you woke up."
Upon hearing this, he cupped his hands in greeting to the man in blue standing to the side, saying, "I was rash; please forgive me, Master Yan."
This was the first time Yan Shi had stood before him. His wide robes flowed down his back, and a heavy mask covered his face. He warned him in a deep voice, "This is a one-time exception. Don't do it again."
He said okay, but his gaze never left Shimi. After bowing, he quickly grabbed her wrist again.
Shi Mi could only manage a bitter smile. "I'm not leaving, you don't need to hold me back. You should rest for a while and clear your head. Once you're fully awake, you'll regret it. I'll have Ali Dao bring a shovel, then you can dig a hole and crawl into it."
But he couldn't hear a word she said, muttering her name repeatedly: "Ami... Ami..."
Shi Mi felt a chill run down her spine. "Don't call me that. We're not that close yet." Since she couldn't leave anyway, she simply dragged over a round-backed chair and sat down, staring at him expectantly.
They stared at each other in silence for what seemed like an eternity. Then, as if the effects of a drunken stupor had worn off, Lu Min's eyes suddenly cleared. She was overjoyed. "Thank God, you've been brought back to life!"
He immediately pulled his hand back from her wrist, his expression a mixture of confusion and shock. He asked in astonishment, "What happened to me?"
Shimi said it was nothing, "It was just a genuine expression of feeling, I don't care, and you shouldn't take it to heart either."
But how could he not take it to heart? He simply couldn't understand his own actions. He hadn't been unconscious during that time; from the moment he opened his eyes, he had been fully conscious. He had developed a strange feeling towards the woman—a strong attachment and possessiveness that came swiftly and fiercely. But this feeling didn't last long; after about two incense sticks' worth of time, it gradually faded and disappeared without a trace.
Completely baffled, he took two steps back, his face full of confusion. Shimi continued to explain, "This is a habit, not a problem. Once you can fully control yourself, similar situations won't happen so easily."
His hands clenched into fists beneath his sleeves. He dared not look her in the eye, yet he refused to run away. He bowed to her and said, “I lost my composure. It was all unintentional. Please forgive me, young lady. But I don’t understand why this happened… I have never had any disrespectful thoughts toward you, young lady.”
Shimi didn't mind. "The reason I told you not to try it casually is for this very reason. Once your intelligence stops, it takes time to recover, and everyone here is in the same boat."
"So, am I only like this with women, or with everyone else as well?"
See, people who are good at thinking are different; they ask such tricky questions.
The astute man said with absolute certainty, "It must only be like this with me. You agreed to marry me, didn't you? So when you're vulnerable, you want to rely on me. It's such a simple truth, what's there to not understand?"
Anyway, she made up a bunch of nonsense and barely managed to get away with it. Even if there was still doubt in his eyes, she pretended not to see it, and told the puppeteer that he needed to rest, and led him out of the inner room.
There's no need to dwell on what just happened. Shimi asked Ran Dian to bring him a bowl of chicken soup and pushed it in front of him. "You've lost your energy, so you need to replenish it quickly. Get some sleep tonight, and you'll feel better tomorrow morning."
The window was slightly ajar, and the candle on the table flickered in the draft. He tried to stretch his limbs under the lamp, but after a long struggle, he had to admit that everything seemed to have returned to square one, and his limbs were once again out of his control.
He was discouraged and struggled to steady his breathing as he asked her, "How exactly does the life-extending technique work? Last time I heard him say that every step requires nourishing the body with blood. Does that mean he's feeding me blood?"
Shi Mi gave an "Oh," and said, "You're curious about this? It is indeed blood, but not for drinking. He doesn't have that much blood to feed you." As she spoke, her gaze moved down and stopped on his chest. "Have you examined this body? Especially the area around your heart, that's your vital point. Have you felt it carefully?"
He nodded slowly. "There's a thin, long scar there, and it feels rough to the touch."
Shimi said, "That scar can never fade; it will always be there. So, to distinguish between a real person and a fake one, just check if there is a red line between your ribs. The puppeteer extends your life through that red line, just like the umbilical cord connecting a child and its mother—it's the channel for survival."
He finally figured out the way to sustain life with blood, but then began to have doubts about her. Her existence was too unusual; did the puppeteer really rely on her so much?
"Is the woman also a fake?" He stared at her, his eyes as deep as the abyss. "Does this passage also remain between her and the puppeteer?"
Knowing that this person was meticulous, Shi Mi simply took off his clothes and said, "Come, come, since the Grand Tutor wants to verify, I'm not a stingy person, so I'll let you take a look. Anyway, we're all on the same side."
A note from the author:
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