He led Nuonuo out of the thatched cottage at an easy pace and began surveying the secret realm.
In the distance, a clear spring poured down a mountainside, gathering into a babbling stream that wound through emerald meadows.
Many strange flowers whose names he didn't know grew along the stream, giving off a delicate fragrance that soothed the mind and calmed the spirit.
Sunlight spilled softly through several natural fissures in the dome, casting shimmering golden light across the water. Now and then, a spirit bird with dazzling plumage swooped past, letting out a clear cry. Everything seemed peaceful and serene, as if it belonged to a different world from the killing intent lurking outside.
Chen Jin found a smooth boulder by the stream and sat down. He took out some oil, salt, sauces, and vinegar he'd brought along, extended his arm, and patiently fed Nuonuo. The little girl ate with relish.
Under the trees not far away, the Semi-Puppet called Eleven was clumsily trying to make small practice mechanisms, following his adoptive father's earlier instructions.
Wood shavings flew as his fingers repeatedly failed to keep up with his ideas.
He truly had no talent for this trade. He was clumsy and awkward, and his adoptive father often scolded him, so he took extraordinary care with every cut.
Without thinking, his gaze passed over the stream and fell on Chen Jin and Nuonuo.
That single glance left him unable to look away.
That little girl was plainly a man-eating monster...
The Semi-Puppet's fingers loosened unconsciously, and the carving knife fell into the grass.
He watched Chen Jin gently wipe the remnants of food from Nuonuo's mouth, and a sudden pang of bitterness welled up in his heart.
So as long as you were born with a pretty face, even a monster that harmed people could be held in someone's hands and treated tenderly?
Chen Jin keenly caught the Semi-Puppet's gaze.
He looked at the half-human, half-mechanical boy huddled in a corner, trying his best to make himself inconspicuous, and felt something stir deep within him.
A long-buried memory surfaced quietly: when he had first been brought back by Old Master Chen, he'd been surrounded by curious, pitying, and disgusted stares.
Their circumstances were different, but the alienation of being treated as an "other" felt much the same.
After a moment's silence, he beckoned to the figure trying to hide in the corner. "You, come here."
The Semi-Puppet's body stiffened visibly. He hesitated, then, several seconds later, inched forward step by step, never daring to look up.
Chen Jin held out his left hand and brought the fingers of his right hand together like a blade, slicing off most of his own hand.
The severed half-hand darted forward, fingers flying, and quickly climbed onto the Semi-Puppet's body.
The Semi-Puppet recoiled in horror and stumbled, falling onto the ground.
As soon as the half-hand touched the surface of the mechanism, it seemed to come alive. It quickly stretched out, changed shape, and wrapped itself around him.
It deftly covered the cold metal and wooden structures. Its color and texture shifted rapidly, and in just a few breaths, it perfectly mimicked human arm skin, muscles, and even pores.
What's more, the living flesh subtly adjusted the mechanism's inner structure, allowing it to move more smoothly and silently.
In the blink of an eye, the hideous mechanical arm looked no different from an ordinary boy's arm. Even its temperature felt normal to the touch.
The Semi-Puppet was completely stunned.
He stared blankly at his suddenly "normal" arm, then instinctively raised it, bent it, and opened and closed his fingers. The movements were smooth, without the slightest hitch...
Seeing him like this, Chen Jin felt a little wistful. He knew what it was like to want to fit in and not be treated as an outcast...
Hmm?
He knew what it was like?
Strange. Had he really suffered that kind of shit before?
Chen Jin frowned slightly and shook his head, but he couldn't remember where this inexplicable feeling had come from.
As he thought back over his childhood, he was horrified to realize he couldn't remember the name of a single classmate.
He couldn't even remember his university graduation ceremony... Had he attended it at all?
That was a rather serious problem...
Chen Jin didn't have the ability to read ten lines at a glance or remember everything he saw, but his memory wasn't so bad that he couldn't recall things from two or three years ago. If there wasn't something fishy going on, even a ghost wouldn't believe it.
Yet Chen Jin couldn't figure out what had gone wrong.
Forget it.
If he couldn't make sense of something, he didn't dwell on it. Things would work themselves out in the end—that had always been Chen Jin's way.
When he came back to himself, the Semi-Puppet was still overcome with gratitude, his eyes brimming with tears. Since he couldn't speak, Chen Jin had no idea what praise he was offering.
But helping others made him happy. Chen Jin was dealing with something now and wasn't in a good mood, so he decided to help the Semi-Puppet once more and cheer himself up.
His right hand swept past his left arm like a blade again, and several chunks of flesh peeled away.
The chunks covered the remaining mechanical parts of the boy's body—his right leg, half his cheek, and even the exposed bronze joint at the side of his neck.
Wherever the flesh spread, the cold material was replaced by warm, lifelike tissue. Its texture looked natural, and its color blended perfectly with his original skin.
Chen Jin pointed with two fingers, and flowing flesh enveloped the metal mask covering half the boy's face.
The contours of his bones were carefully adjusted. His nose was straight without being sharp, his lips were thin and soft, and his jawline was refined yet still youthful. It was a face crafted from the most captivating features of several young stars from Heaven-Jiazi-Nine.
In mere moments, the incomplete, timid mechanical boy was gone.
Beneath the moonlight stood a slender, handsome young man, his black hair half tied back and his robes fluttering lightly.
Only his left eye remained a deep blue spirit-stone crystal. Yet against such a face, it didn't seem uncanny at all. Instead, like the finishing touch in a painting, it lent him an air of mystery and otherworldliness.
Chen Jin somehow produced a bronze mirror and held it out to him. "Take a look for yourself."
Eleven took the mirror with trembling hands.
The reflection showed a flawless face he'd never imagined he could have.
He instinctively raised a hand to touch his cheek. It felt warm and soft.
He turned his hands over and over, seeing a pair of human hands with well-defined knuckles and no abnormalities.
The overwhelming shock left him speechless.
He suddenly dropped to his knees, his shoulders trembling violently.
His blue artificial eye couldn't shed tears, but his whole body expressed his gratitude and sobs.
He had lived in a corner of the academy for so many years that he'd long grown used to shadows, silence, and other people's sidelong glances, filled with pity or fear.
He'd never dared imagine that one day he might have a normal, even beautiful body.
Chen Jin bent down and gently helped Eleven to his feet.
"Your lungs and throat are mostly made up of intricate mechanisms."
He pointed toward Eleven's throat. "That's beyond the scope of fleshly transformation, and I can't easily reshape it. So... I can't give you the ability to speak just yet."
The blue light in Eleven's eyes dimmed for a moment, but he continued to gaze intently at Chen Jin and shook his head hard, showing that he was already more than content.
"But," Chen Jin continued, "I'll take you to see the Libationer later. If he agrees to let me study the Mohist School's Art of Puppetry, then perhaps I'll find a way to let you speak again."