The Little Puppet Developed a New Ability?

Shen Le stood silently by the hospital bed, watching the child's father tug at the silk threads, struggling to perform for his son. His singing voice was hoarse; he could no longer reach the falsetto of a female role, and even the male melodies were completely out of tune.

Yet, amidst his clumsy, frantic movements, there was a distinct sense of focus:

"When one is alive, one must fulfill one's duties..."

My child, Daddy isn't a good father. Daddy didn't fulfill his responsibilities and pushed you to the point of jumping from a building.

But believe in Daddy, Daddy will work hard to be a good father from now on!

"How can an inch of land belong to another!"

Child, get better, you must get better.

Your legs, your lumbar vertebrae, your spine, your nerves—they must all recover, okay? We won't be paralyzed, okay?

"The vassal king is but a clown, what is there to discuss? With one sword, I can hold off a million troops—"

That bit of pain, those injuries, they don't count for anything!

Let's work hard, let's keep going, let's get better!

As he sang, he choked back sobs, tears spilling from his eyes and streaming down his face before he even realized it.

On the hospital bed, Zhang Zihan stared wide-eyed at his tear-streaked father, feeling a mix of surprise and panic:

"Daddy, Daddy, don't cry... I don't hurt, I don't hurt anymore..."

Shen Le stood quietly to the side, watching the man clumsily manipulate the puppet and sing off-key lyrics to coax his child into happiness.

In his eyes, the silk threads hanging from the puppet weren't even taut; the Little Puppet was moving itself, dancing for its own sake.

In the midst of the dance, a halo of light glowed faintly upon the Little Puppet's body, pulsing with every breath, expanding and contracting.

Wherever the halo reached, the gloomy, dark aura in the hospital room was drawn in, thread by thread, and silently ground into nothingness.

With every pulse, the child's expression brightened a little, and even the other patient in the room, as well as the patients and family members who had crowded in to watch, found their own expressions softening in turn...

Huh?

Xiao Ling has some real talent!

What kind of ability is this?

Shen Le glanced sideways. Before he could figure out the reason, a voice rang out from far down the hall:

"The child has feeling in his legs?!—Make way, make way!"

The crowd reluctantly dispersed, clearing a narrow path.

A doctor in a white coat followed the child's mother, pushing his way in with effort. The moment he turned around, he glared at the idlers filling half the room:

"Clear out, clear out! What are you all crowding in here for? You're not the patient's family? Neither are you?—Out, out! Get out!"

After shooing the onlookers out of the room, closing the door, and drawing the privacy curtain, he turned back around and immediately changed his demeanor. With a gentle, pleasant expression, he leaned over the bed:

"Little one, where does it hurt?"

"My legs hurt..."

"Mm, the doctor understands. Come, bear with it for a moment, let us check. Is this your left foot or your right foot that I'm touching now?"

"Left foot!"

"Can you move the toes on your left foot?—Mm, very good, very good! Now try this: can you curl all five toes on your left foot together? How about the right? Can you move your left sole? Your right sole?"

After a round of examinations, the doctor straightened his back and stated with great certainty:

"The patient has sensation in his lower limbs and is capable of movement. It appears that the previous lack of sensation was likely caused by a spinal hematoma and nerve compression. There is hope for a full recovery."

In an instant, the child's father and mother embraced, tears streaming down their faces.

Shen Le retracted the puppet and tiptoed out, leaving some space for the doctor and the family.

Walking out of the hospital and back onto the street, the sky had turned completely dark. Shen Le returned slowly to Nanhua Street. For some reason, his stomach suddenly began to growl, a gnawing, ravenous hunger taking hold.

He looked around; on the Old Street, only a third of the houses had their lights on, and those were mostly just residents.

Only at the end of the Old Street, across the water from Yuantong Zen Temple, was there a restaurant with a neon sign that read "Heavenly Fragrance Restaurant," its warm light spilling out from the dining hall.

Shen Le headed straight there without a second thought:

That restaurant was famous for its mutton. It was a bit pricey, and Shen Le usually couldn't bring himself to spend the money, but today, he wanted to reward himself!

He had repaired the Little Puppet!

The Copper Fragment had grown!

He had healed that child—at the very least, the boy wouldn't be paralyzed!

And, it seemed, perhaps, it even felt like the knot between the child and his father had begun to loosen?

Having done so many good deeds, he was absolutely worth a grand meal! It was just mutton, wasn't it? He would pay for it!

The mutton in Zhuxi Town was a local specialty. Every summer, from the beginning of the dog days, every household would eat mutton, boasting the reputation: "A bowl of dog-day mutton soup, no need for a doctor's prescription."

The mutton at Heavenly Fragrance Restaurant was even more famous; people often drove sixty kilometers from Binhai City just to eat there.

Even at one hundred and twenty yuan for a pound of plain-boiled mutton and one hundred and fifty for a pound of braised mutton, it couldn't stop the steady stream of diners.

Sales began at nine in the morning, and by noon, a long line had already formed down the street. By three or four in the afternoon, everything—meat and broth alike—would be completely sold out, leaving not even a drop to lick from the plates.

Fortunately, they hadn't sold out yet today. Shen Le dove into the restaurant and called out loudly:

"Boss, one bowl of braised lamb noodles! Add an extra portion of meat!"

"Huh?"

Several voices of surprise rang out simultaneously from the counter, the kitchen doorway, and the main dining hall.

Shen Le looked up and swept his gaze across the room. The three or five diners in the hall all turned to look at him in unison, as if they had seen something truly incredible:

"How did you get in?"

"I..." Shen Le looked around, bewildered. The hall was thick with the scent of food, a large pot of meat broth bubbled by the door, and the light from the lamps shone through the glass all the way to the curb. Everything he saw was perfectly normal...

"I just walked in, didn't I?"

"Young man, we're sold out for today. You should go!"

The Landlady emerged from the kitchen carrying a large tray, smiling cheerfully. Before her voice had even faded, a diner in the corner of the hall suddenly spoke up:

"Hey, it's fate that we've met. Landlady, since he managed to get in, why not just give him a bowl?"

Shen Le froze for a moment, looking from the Landlady to the diner who had spoken.

The diner was sitting in the most secluded corner of the restaurant, wearing a simple white undershirt, a pair of beach shorts, and plastic flip-flops—as casual as one could possibly be.

He looked to be about twenty-five or twenty-six, yet his attire wouldn't have looked out of place among the old men playing chess on the street corner.

Shen Le studied him carefully, but couldn't spot anything strange.

The only thing out of place was the beautiful young girl sitting opposite him. She had long, satin-like hair tied in a ponytail that draped down her back.

In front of the pair, five or six plates and bowls had already been wiped clean, and the girl was holding a colorful ice cream, eating it with a beaming smile.

The man didn't say anything else after that one sentence, his gaze returning to the girl across from him, watching her quietly with eyes full of joy.

Shen Le: ...I think I just got a mouthful of dog food...

Wait, why did he have to be the one to decide whether or not I get my lamb noodles?