Chapter 36 I kind of want to kiss you, may I?
Jiang Li explained, "I reshaped her brain with puppet strings, preserving its original form, but the most crucial control strings are still with me. She can still be herself, but whenever I need her, she will obey her master's commands without ever resisting. That is what a puppet is."
Jiang Zhishui asked in confusion, "What puppet thread?"
Jiang Li took out a black bracelet. She gently ran her finger across the surface of the bracelet, and Jiang Zhishui immediately felt a sharp pain in her head.
"Ugh...my head hurts so much!"
Jing Qianheng's expression changed, and he rushed forward with a sinister look in his eyes.
Jiang Li looked at him calmly, and the next moment, Jiang Zhishui stabbed Jing Qianheng in the left shoulder with her sword.
Jing Qianheng slowly turned his head. Jiang Zhishui drew her sword and, with a pained expression, stabbed at Jing Qianheng again. He just stood there, motionless, watching her thrust at him.
Jiang Zhishui continued working with her hands, but kept shouting, "Get out of the way!"
"Stop." Jiang Li said softly, and it was as if a string in Jiang Zhishui's mind, which had been taut, slowly relaxed.
The sword was hovering just inches from Jing Qianheng's throat, almost taking his life.
Jiang Zhishui gasped for breath, her hand trembled, and the sword fell to the ground. Her legs went weak, and she staggered back a few steps.
"What's wrong with you? Why are you just standing there like an idiot!" Jiang Zhishui, still shaken, unleashed a torrent of abuse at Jing Qianheng. "Your Highness, aren't you supposed to be so capable? How come you always mess things up at crucial moments!"
Jing Qianheng was slashed twice on the hand and stabbed in the shoulder. He was yelled at by her and only then did he belatedly feel the pain. He said in a low voice, "Should I apologize to you in this situation?"
Jiang Zhishui: "......."
"You're really strange," Jiang Li interjected. "You could have easily dodged the attack, but it seems like you're deliberately not trying to dodge it."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Zhishui frowned and looked up at Jing Qianheng.
Jing Qianheng's eyes trembled slightly, but his face remained expressionless.
Jiang Li looked back and forth between the two of them, smiled knowingly, and tossed the black bracelet to Jing Qianheng, saying, "You didn't do this on purpose, did you? Did you want her to feel guilty so you could get something out of her?"
Jing Qianheng caught the black bracelet, its surface engraved with gold dragon patterns. He didn't answer the question, but instead asked, "What is this? Why are you giving it to me?"
Jiang Li crossed her arms, still deep in thought, muttering to herself, "But aren't you two married? Newlyweds... Is this a case of sleeping in the same bed but dreaming different dreams? So you're having relationship problems? Are you testing each other?"
Jiang Zhishui was bewildered, but seeing the bracelet in Jing Qianheng's hand, she instinctively felt something was wrong. She stepped forward, glanced at the black bracelet in Jing Qianheng's hand, and then looked up at Jing Qianheng's expression; he was looking at Jiang Li.
She quietly reached out, one finger touching the bracelet, her voice barely audible: "Your Highness, I... I'll take this for you."
The bracelet was tugged, and Jing Qianheng immediately turned to look at her. Her hand trembled, her body stiffened, and she quickly smiled at him first.
Jing Qianheng watched her quietly, pulling the bracelet back. Jiang Zhishui's fingers slipped off the bracelet, her face showing the pain of almost succeeding.
"Consider that bracelet a gift from me to you..." Jiang Li coughed a few times, a metallic taste rising in her throat. "Your appearance at this time proves that we are destined to meet."
Jiang Li closed her eyes briefly, then swayed and leaned weakly against Jin'er, who supported her with a blank expression.
Jiang Zhishui knew that a puppet thread had been placed in her mind as well. When she was being controlled against her will, she was completely unable to resist, and that feeling was really bad.
Jing Qianheng stared at the bracelet in his hand. "A gift?"
Jiang Li was barely breathing, and she said with difficulty, "Cherish your puppet. With this bracelet, you can get everything you want from her. Help me decide, is the puppet better, or those humans who are full of falsehoods..."
"...This puppet string isn't very stable...it might fail in a few days, or it might fail in a few years. Make the most of the time you have..." Jiang Li looked at Jiang Zhishui, "As for you, you'll have to work harder and make it up to your husband. After all, you've stabbed him so many times, you have to give him something in return, right?"
"No, take out the puppet strings." Jiang Zhishui stepped forward anxiously and said, "Jiang Li, wake up, what happened to you? Where are you hurt?"
Jiang Li closed her eyes, and Jiang Zhishui grabbed her shoulders and shook her a few times: "What deep grudge do you have against me? Why are you doing this to me? Hey! Wake up, don't die."
Jiang Li slowly opened her eyes, her vision blurred and blurry. Her voice was hoarse: "I'm sorry, this body has been drained dry. All these years of making those inhuman and ghostly things, there's always a price to pay. Only when I die will those evil spirits that kill everywhere disappear, and only then will the puppets of Mu Ziyuan stop. Actually... you're wrong. My skills are lacking, and the things I make are all grotesque and harmful to many people. I should have atoned with my death long ago."
Jiang Zhishui lowered her hands helplessly and said, "Even in this state, you still want to hold back a trick to harm others."
Jiang Li pointed to Jin'er beside her and weakly protested, "Look at her, she's not missing a piece of flesh, how did I harm anyone..."
As soon as she finished speaking, her hand suddenly dropped, Jiang Li closed her eyes, and stopped breathing.
The moonlight, veiled in a layer of gray, gradually began to shine through, and Jin'er regained consciousness an hour later.
Jiang Li was not lying. The puppet thread implanted in their brains was made by Jiang Li with all her heart and soul. The puppet thread was not stable and could fail at any time.
After Jin'er was implanted with the puppet thread, the thread gradually lost its function over the past six months, which is why Jin'er's consciousness was sometimes clear and sometimes she fell into a deep sleep, resulting in very contradictory behavior.
Jiang Li left Jin'er with many wood carving blueprints and a letter in which she gave her all the puppets she had left behind.
Jin'er, under Qin Niang's instigation, poisoned Jiang Li. She was jealous of Jiang Li's talent and resented Jiang Li's inaction, who only stayed in the workshop and worked hard, with nothing on her mind except those puppets.
Jiang Li clearly had the opportunity to rise to prominence, but she chose to give up what was within her grasp and remain an unknown.
Jin'er couldn't understand why she hadn't made any progress despite working so hard. She spent days and nights making a puppet, only to have it rejected by Boss Wu with a single sentence, while Jiang Li's casually made little gadget was regarded as a treasure by everyone.
There are really big differences between people. Jiang Li is all alone and can ignore everything, while Jin'er has to face her gambling father, sickly mother, and young younger siblings every day. That day, she was provoked by Qin Niang, drank alcohol, and with a grudge in her heart, she poisoned Jiang Li's tea.
Jin'er didn't really mean to kill Jiang Li. She ran back and knocked the cup of tea out of Jiang Li's hand.
Jiang Li was quite startled: "What are you doing? I'm thirsty, can't I even have a glass of water?"
Jiang Li reached for another teacup, but Jin'er, annoyed, picked up the teapot and smashed it on the ground, shouting, "This tea is poisoned! Poisoned! I poisoned it!"
The air was still, and broken porcelain shards were scattered all over the ground.
"But...but I've already had a drink." Jiang Li slowly stood up, her face pale, one hand supporting her on the table, her legs weak. "What should I do? I'm poisoned."
The master and apprentice hurriedly went to find a doctor to save their lives. The doctor took their pulses, said that the dosage was not large and it would not be a problem, prescribed a few doses of medicine and sent them away.
These two were acting strangely. As soon as they entered the clinic, they couldn't even speak clearly. One said he had poisoned the patient and was filled with remorse, while the other cursed angrily and cried, begging the doctor to save his life.
The doctor was woken up in the middle of the night and smelled the alcohol on Jin'er. He thought they were drunk and acting crazy. He took their pulse and knew that there was nothing seriously wrong, so he quickly sent them away. He really didn't want to deal with them.
Jin'er was drunk and unsteady on her feet. She spilled a little bit of the medicine packet she was carrying, then a little bit more, until it was all gone. When she poured the medicine into the teapot, there wasn't even a drop the size of a fingernail.
Qin Niang didn't give her any deadly poison; she just wanted to make Jiang Li so sick that she couldn't move, and then take her away to torture her. Letting Jiang Li die easily was not her style.
Qin Niang originally intended to lock her up, sever Jiang Li's tendons in her feet and hands, so that she could no longer be a puppet and could only crawl on the ground, barely surviving.
Since then, a rift has developed between master and disciple. Jiang Li went into seclusion and refused to see anyone, focusing all her efforts on researching the puppet thread making method.
Jin'er had always thought Jiang Li was a very strange person. They were about the same age, but Jin'er found it hard to understand her.
Jin'er chatted with Jiang Zhishui about some past events, and then she planned to go back to Muzi Garden to clean up those murderous puppets, and also go to the government office with the workers of Muzi Garden to explain the situation.
After a brief farewell to Jin'er, Jiang Zhishui watched her leave.
——
Jiang Zhishui sat alone on the mountain steps, the starry sky above her head vast and the dilapidated mountain temple radiating a soft glow under the cool moonlight. At this moment, the surroundings were especially quiet.
Jing Qianheng walked out of the temple, wearing the black bracelet on his wrist. He stood a step above Gao Jiangzhishui and asked, "What's wrong with you?"
She remained silent. He assumed Jiang Zhishui was worried he would use the bracelet to control her, so he whispered, "Do you want this bracelet?"
“Your Highness, life and death are uncertain. There’s something I’m hesitant to say.” Jiang Zhishui stood up, dusted herself off, and suddenly leaned closer to Jing Qianheng, smiling as she said, “…Life and death are predestined. I think we should cherish the present moment.”
Jing Qianheng leaned back slightly, frowning as he looked at her.
Jiang Zhishui moved a little closer, her clear eyes reflecting only Jing Qianheng's figure. She lowered her gaze, staring at Jing Qianheng's lips, and said, "Your Highness, I want to kiss you. May I?"
Jing Qianheng stared at the person opposite him, knowing that the shackles were stirring again.
Half of the shackles were with him, and he could control them, but the other half was still inside Jiang Zhishui's body. The shackles couldn't be separated for too long. The active half was with Jiang Zhishui, and if it wasn't transferred back to his body as soon as possible, the desires would be even more tormenting than when they were combined.
Seeing his cold expression, Jiang Zhishui felt anxious. She grabbed his hand and, without thinking twice, said urgently, "Your Highness, let's get married, okay? After we're married, we'll be together every day, always together, and never apart. We can do whatever we want, and that will definitely be very happy. I promise you, I will treat you very, very well."
Jiang Zhishui's breathing became rapid. Her fingers caressed Jing Qianheng's palm as she softly said, "Your Highness, I like you. I really, really like you. Please say yes, I beg you."
"You...you should know what you're saying now, right?" Jing Qianheng had also been controlled by the Gu. Although he was not in control of his own body, he could sense everything that was being done. He looked at Jiang Zhishui's extremely expectant eyes and asked, "After you wake up, will you try to turn the tables on me again?"
Jiang Zhishui was only focused on achieving her goal. Without hesitation, she shook her head frantically and promised that she would never go back on her word. She even raised her hand and swore, "As long as you promise me, if His Highness makes a mistake in the future, it will also be my mistake. The mistake will always be mine, never His Highness's. I will not go back on my word. Really, if I break this oath, may I be struck by lightning."
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