Qin Muye was taken aback by the price, too.
One standard spirit stone could be exchanged for thirty taels of silver. A thousand spirit stones came to thirty thousand taels—a bargain for someone with the combat strength of a quasi-grandmaster.
But this thing was a spirit-stone-guzzling machine.
Besides, a quasi-grandmaster was really just a particularly powerful fourth-rank expert.
There were only a handful of third-rank grandmasters in the world, but fourth-rank experts were hardly rare.
Wouldn't it be a better deal to hire a fourth-rank expert for thirty thousand taels of silver than to buy this thing?
It was nothing but a flashy collector's item.
And they'd set the cost of copying it so high.
Were they trying to piss me off on purpose?
Just then,
a commanding voice rang out from outside. "Two thousand spirit stones. I'll take the puppet. I hope the rest of you will let me have it."
Qin Muye gave Bai Yuji a sidelong glance. "See? An idiot's here!"
Bai Yuji thought it over, then nodded in agreement. "That does seem a little..."
With thirty thousand taels of silver, she could raise ten fourth-rank experts.
The wealthy people in the Capital City really did have something wrong with their heads.
At the offer of two thousand spirit stones, the entire auction fell silent.
Not a single person dared speak up.
The puppet was indeed suited to be a collector's item. A thousand spirit stones was an inflated price, but one you could swallow if you gritted your teeth.
But two thousand spirit stones, and she wanted them to let her have it? Who were they to let her have anything?
Everyone looked toward the voice and saw an ordinary-looking, plump, middle-aged woman.
Qin Muye straightened up. He had never seen this woman before, but he recognized the text above her head.
[Main Fate: Thousand-Faced Mute Lady]: Though she bore a thousand faces, she had no words to speak.
[Fate Rank]: Fifth rank (319/320)
[Annotation]: With a thousand faces gathered into one, she moved among the great powers, raised the Imperial Princess to adulthood, then met her death in silence beneath the Imperial Princess's blade.
[Tip]: When fate fluctuations exceed 500, gain the fate skill Thousand Faces.
Whoa!
Was this the former Empress's personal maid, the one who'd raised the Imperial Princess after the former Empress died?
Pu Mingzhu.
That seemed to be her name.
Why did it feel like there was a whole lot of story behind this woman?
So had Li Xingluo made that bid?
But rumors said the Imperial Princess was only one step away from becoming a grandmaster. Why would she spend so much on this lousy puppet?
Did she need one?
His thoughts stirred. If that was the case, maybe this was a chance to latch onto a powerful backer.
The auction hall remained quiet for a while.
The auctioneer finally came to his senses and said with a grin, "Will anyone offer more?"
No one answered.
Only then did he announce, "Two thousand spirit stones, going once. Two thousand spirit stones, going twice. Sold!"
"I want to test the puppet right now," Pu Mingzhu said calmly.
"Of course!"
The auctioneer hurriedly nodded. It wasn't because the woman had paid a lot. The puppet was a proud creation of the Gongshu Clan, and they'd even given him a red envelope and asked him to make a grand display of it.
He hadn't expected this unknown woman to make just one bid and end the auction on the spot.
He'd been worrying about how to show off the puppet, and now she wanted to test it right there. How could he refuse?
Pu Mingzhu stood up and ambled over to the puppet. Without hesitation, she bit her finger and pressed it to the crystal core in the puppet's brow.
After a series of rapid shudders, the puppet seemed to come alive.
It immediately drew its sword and performed a set of sword techniques. Sword Qi poured out in countless strikes, swirling around it to form a barrier. The onlookers cried out in shock.
They'd seen plenty of puppets, but never one that could control Sword Qi with such precision.
Just from that display, it really did seem worthy of the title "quasi-grandmaster."
Pu Mingzhu nodded slightly and had the puppet disperse the Sword Qi. Then she took off her hairpin and tossed it away. The puppet hurried to pick it up, stepped forward, and put it back in her hair.
It moved quickly.
But it was obviously nowhere near as smooth as its swordplay. It even seemed a little clumsy, and in the end, it put the hairpin in crooked.
Pu Mingzhu fell silent for a moment, then slapped the puppet.
Crash!
The puppet fell apart on the spot, its arms, legs, and head scattering across the floor.
"Hiss..."
"Hiss..."
"Hiss..."
The sudden scene left everyone stunned.
She'd just destroyed a puppet worth two thousand spirit stones! All because it had been clumsy putting in her hairpin?
And the puppet was at least as strong as a fourth-rank expert. She'd wrecked it with a single slap?
Who was this woman?
Was there really someone this powerful in the Capital City?
The auctioneer was dumbfounded. He instinctively raised his head and looked toward the private rooms on the second floor.
In one of the rooms, a middle-aged man suppressed his anger. "You destroyed the puppet I made for no reason. Do you have a grudge against the Gongshu Clan?"
"I've already bought this puppet," Pu Mingzhu replied coolly. "It belongs to me. What does it matter to you if I destroy my own property?"
The middle-aged man fell silent. At last, he gave a cold snort and said nothing more.
But his snort was full of anger. This matter was unlikely to end there.
Pu Mingzhu, however, seemed to be provoking him. She looked around and announced loudly, "Ten days from now, my mistress will hold a Puppet Assembly. She'll pay two thousand spirit stones for the puppet she likes best. All of you who are skilled at making puppets, don't miss it."
With that,
she jumped straight off the stage without even glancing at the scattered remains, as if she were tossing out trash.
Everyone looked at one another and began whispering.
This mysterious middle-aged woman—
was she really at odds with the Gongshu Clan?
She'd smashed such a powerful puppet without a second thought.
And now she was offering two thousand spirit stones at a Puppet Assembly, the same price to buy someone else's puppet. How was that any different from slapping the Gongshu Clan in the face?
The most terrifying part was that she'd smashed a puppet made by the Gongshu Clan's leader with one slap, then offered the same high price for another one she liked.
What did that mean?
It meant that, in a way, the winner would be stepping on the Gongshu Clan.
Puppet-makers across the land were going to go crazy!
Perhaps she'd destroyed a puppet worth a fortune just to use the Gongshu Clan's name to draw every top puppet-maker under heaven to the event. That was one ruthless move!
The Capital City would be buzzing in ten days.
In the private room,
Li Xingluo looked puzzled. "Auntie, this puppet is the finest craftsmanship in the world today, and you're still not satisfied? You're even offering another two thousand spirit stones. What sort of puppet do you want?"
Li Runyue smiled lazily. "It's not your money, little girl. Why are you asking so many questions? Anyway, help your auntie out one more time, and I'll give you that thing."
As she spoke, her body gradually turned to mist, then disappeared completely.
Li Xingluo stared at the spot where she'd been lying, her face full of confusion.
Just then,
Pu Mingzhu came through the door. Seeing that the couch was already empty, she couldn't help laughing. "The Grand Princess really is lonely!"
Li Xingluo's beautiful eyes flew open. "Huh?"
Back at the Southern Pacification Mansion, the two put on another display of tender affection in front of Qin Yanying, then each went back to her own room.
Bang!
Qin Muye shut the door and thought, Bai Yuji really was a little minx with a clear goal. As soon as she got the money, she stopped paying attention to him.
She'd seemed ready to chat with him about the gossip from earlier while they were in the carriage, but she'd been completely lost in thought the whole time. She was probably figuring out how to spend all that money.
She'd probably go deliver money to the Nanzhao Remnants under cover of night.
Damn!
The princess of a fallen nation kept her people alive by selling her charms.
Would it be too much to call her the most moving person in Nanzhao?
Qin Muye shook his head and snapped his fingers. A comical-looking paper puppet crawled out from beneath the bed, carrying a bundle of materials. It set them on the desk, then immediately bent over and got to work.
It was making... another puppet.
Qin Muye sat down and took a leisurely sip of tea. He couldn't help marveling at how absurd the Thread-Crafter was. Because of his cultivation foundation, he couldn't yet make a combat puppet like the Gongshu Clan's.
But the Thread-Crafter's control over puppets was peerless. It was like directly implanting a copy of his own mind. Its thinking speed naturally couldn't match his real self, but it could still crush every puppet known to date. And no matter who he sold a puppet to or who controlled it, he alone held the administrator privileges.
As long as he wanted, he could read a puppet's senses and memories at any time, and even use its eyes to check a target's fate.
You could say it was a humanoid surveillance device. At a critical moment, it could even turn on its owner.
Of course, he'd better not do that.
This thing was like an exploding pager. It would be disastrous for sales and reputation.
He needed to find a way to market his puppets.
His first target, naturally, was Li Xingluo, who had "cut off her own path to becoming an emperor." He needed to get on her good side as soon as possible.
His puppets might not pack much of a punch, but judging by Pu Mingzhu's attitude toward the puppet today, Li Xingluo probably wasn't looking for one that could fight.
If he won, wouldn't he get to see Li Xingluo's long legs every day?
Perfect!
Before you continue