Calling my Little Puppet a dirty thing? Nonsense!

"Er, Mr. Shen, if you intend to sell the furniture in your residence, it would be best to be cautious..."

Gu Yulin desperately wanted to say, "These items are tainted with demonic energy; if an ordinary person keeps them at home and uses them long-term, even a single piece could lead to misfortune, so I suggest you don't sell them." However, he couldn't say this directly to a civilian, so he had to resort to vague hints. Shen Le smiled.

"That goes without saying, of course. They're all antiques; if I sell them, I'll put them up for auction—well, I probably won't sell them casually anyway, rest assured."

The two "Cultural Bureau staff members" hesitated, wanting to say more. They followed Shen Le through the sedan hall, across the main hall, and into the workshop in the third courtyard.

The moment they saw the Little Puppet lying on the workbench—freshly painted and strung, but not yet dressed—both men's eyes lit up. They rushed forward, one taking photos, the other measuring with a ruler, and one even pulled out a device Shen Le didn't recognize, aimed it at the puppet, and switched it on—

"Beep—"

A sharp, piercing alarm instantly shattered the silence of the workshop.

The two "Cultural Bureau staff members" stood up straight, their expressions grave.

"Mr. Shen. For your own safety, we suggest that you hand this puppet over to us for processing."

"What?!"

Shen Le stared at the two men, his eyes guarded. Since he was a child, he had always maintained a cautious, fearful, and distant attitude toward those holding special responsibilities.

His grandfather had warned him since he was small:

"Lele, you can't believe everything 'they' say, but you can't ignore it either. Back in the day, someone said 95% of people were good, and then someone else wanted to drag out that remaining 5%...

My father, your great-grandfather, was a principal at the time. Look at all the faculty and staff; everyone was 'good.' Your great-grandfather was a good man, a fool! He turned in his own name..."

"And then?" Little Shen Le didn't know what kind of past that was; he just listened quietly with bright eyes. His grandfather's voice suddenly turned shrill:

"Then he was overthrown! And after that, a perfectly good person... was just gone!"

Now, two inexplicable staff members show up and demand he hand over the Little Puppet?!

What a joke!

"Mr. Shen, I don't know if you have any understanding of certain... er, matters that fall outside the scope of normal human cognition. Simply put, this puppet of yours may have been tainted by something unpleasant..."

"Absolutely impossible!"

Shen Le's voice rose sharply. Hmph, slandering my Little Puppet?

"Mr. Shen, we are members of the Special Affairs Department, specifically tasked with handling anomalous events that ordinary people cannot understand or even perceive." Gu Yulin flipped his hand to reveal an ID card and pushed it flatly toward Shen Le. Ignoring the shocked and accusatory gaze of the young police officer, he continued in one breath:

"We have been investigating similar incidents, and we recently traced a connection between the child who jumped from the building and this puppet..."

"Child? What happened to the child?"

Shen Le turned his gaze toward the police officer. Shi Guangbing gave a bitter smile:

"The child woke up and has been crying ever since. We heard him say several times that he missed his 'big sister' and wanted to play with her... Based on our investigation, the 'big sister' he mentioned might be the puppet you brought home..."

"He's just a child; maybe he just misses his toy." Shen Le tried hard to argue. Gu Yulin stepped forward, the hem of his Tang suit fluttering, and held up the device Shen Le didn't recognize:

"Look, the readings on this instrument for normal objects are usually below 10. Your puppet is already over 1,000..."

Shen Le didn't even listen; he lunged forward two steps and snatched the Little Puppet into his arms. He turned, shoved it into a box, and locked it with a click:

"Impossible! Ever since I picked this puppet up, it has been here with me being repaired; it has never left my sight for a single step!"

He gripped the key in his hand, shoved it into his pocket, stepped forward, leaned in, and glared at them:

"Not a single part, not one!"

"We're just trying to rule out potential dangers," Gu Yulin said with a forced smile. Although they held official positions, they couldn't just seize someone else's property—unless there were special circumstances, such as "real, imminent danger." Otherwise, they could only collect evidence, return to follow procedure, and come back another time...

"There is no danger!" Shen Le said with a dark face. My Little Puppet was carried by its owner, risking its life to promote anti-Japanese resistance and singing the praises of anti-Japanese heroes in the occupied territories. Such a puppet could never be an "unclean" thing, and it could never harm the child of its former owner!

Seeing Shen Le's firm attitude, the two novice Maoshan Taoists exchanged a look, their faces troubled. The baby-faced youth, Zhang Bingxin, tried to push the issue:

"We are employees of the Special Affairs Department. For your safety..."

"I am very safe!" Shen Le shouted:

"The Little Puppet is also very safe! You don't need to worry about it!"

What a joke! My Copper Fragment, my puppet that can provide memory feedback—which of these can be shown to others? If they snatched them away, the loss would be catastrophic!

"Mr. Shen, please try to understand..."

"I don't understand, and I won't cooperate. The puppet was abandoned by its owner—thrown from a height, no less—and I picked it up. It is my private property. I don't want to give it to you. If you want to take it, have the court come here." Shen Le spread his arms and pushed them hard toward the door.

The two novice Maoshan Taoists tried to push back. However, Shen Le's strength was unexpectedly great; they were caught off guard and actually pushed back two steps. They quickly braced themselves to move forward again, but Shen Le roared:

"Get out!"

At that sharp shout, the strange device in Gu Yulin's hand and the phone Zhang Bingxin was holding emitted a simultaneous screech. The two Maoshan Taoists turned pale, their breathing hitching:

That shout didn't sound like a human voice to their ears; it was deep, grand, and resonated like a great temple bell. In that instant, the spiritual pressure that washed over them made them feel as if they were facing an ancient, primordial demon!

The baby-faced youth, Zhang Bingxin, stumbled back two steps and had to brace himself against the doorframe to keep from falling. Gu Yulin, being older and more experienced in cultivation, managed to glance at the data on the device in the midst of the chaos:

In that split second, the measured spiritual pressure had spiked to an incredibly high peak, nearly flattening the previous wave lines into a straight line against the floor!

Run!

Run quickly!

To be able to restrain one's spiritual pressure so perfectly, only to have it erupt to such a peak in an instant—if this person isn't a Great Demon, they must be an expert! Better run before they fly into a rage and beat the two of us to a pulp!

However, with an expert like that around, a mere Little Puppet shouldn't be able to stir up any trouble... One can only hope so...

The two retreated in a panic. Shi Guangbing offered Shen Le an apologetic smile before following him out:

"I'm sorry, I really didn't know those two..."

"It's fine, we're all just working stiffs," Shen Le comforted him. He paused, then couldn't help but ask:

"By the way, how is that child?"

"...Not good." The young policeman fell silent for a moment: "I heard he might be paralyzed."

Shen Le fell silent as well. A child—a child who had only just started elementary school—regardless of the reason, jumping from a building, potentially paralyzed, potentially losing his entire life... Just hearing about it made one feel uneasy.

With things as they were, it was best to eat first. After filling his stomach, Shen Le returned to the house and continued working on the puppet. He selected the wood, sawed the boards, drilled holes at the pre-designed points on the wood, and threaded the strings. He lifted it up, observed, adjusted, and recorded. He switched to a new board, drilled more holes, and threaded more strings...

After repeated adjustments and trials, he finally crafted a suitable control board. Full of enthusiasm, Shen Le sanded, polished, and lacquered it, then attached the strings...

"Ah, the clothes have arrived too! Little Puppet, once you put these on, you'll be a marionette ready for the stage!"

The brocade robes were magnificent, the colors vibrant and exquisite. Shen Le held the control board flat in his left hand, swaying it gently, while his right hand tugged at the strings. The Little Puppet moved perfectly in response, performing actions like moving forward, retreating, raising its arms, and stepping. Shen Le couldn't help but smile, then lowered his head to pull out the Copper Fragment, examining it closely:

Oh!

The change in the Copper Fragment this time was quite obvious!