Yunxi had not expected Zonghao to be so insistent. She smiled and said,
"Fine, I'll accept it. Don't be so serious."
As she spoke, she opened the box. Inside lay a puppet the length of an adult palm, carved from some kind of wood. Its face had no features, making it look rather strange.
Watching Yunxi toy with the Substitute Puppet, Zonghao explained,
"This Substitute Puppet is a one-use defensive spiritual treasure made by a puppet master. Only after you drip blood on it to claim it as your own will its face appear.
"Once its face appears, you must also extract a wisp of your divine soul and place it inside the puppet. Only then can the Substitute Puppet pass for the real thing and deceive your enemies."
Yunxi nodded. She used spiritual power to cut open her middle finger and dripped a drop of blood onto the Substitute Puppet. The blood was swiftly absorbed, and then the puppet's face gradually emerged. It was unmistakably a miniature Wei Yunxi, with the same brows, eyes, and dimples at the corners of her lips.
Yunxi also sensed the connection between herself and the puppet. She immediately raised a hand and drew out a strand of soul from between her brows. After severing it with spiritual power, she flicked it into the puppet's body.
The next instant, she found herself looking at herself and Zonghao through the puppet's eyes. The sensation was wonderfully strange.
The puppet sat up by itself, flexing its stiff arms and legs before turning to look at Yunxi.
With a sweep of her sleeve, Yunxi stored the puppet in her Storage Bracelet, ensuring that the Substitute Puppet could act at the first sign of an emergency.
Only after Yunxi had finished did a smile appear on Zonghao's face.