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Qi Chao remembered why he had come and stopped wasting time. He headed straight for the library on the third floor.

The books in the old residence had been passed down through generations of the Qi Family. To find one, all he had to do was enter keywords into the light screen by the door. To Qi Chao's delight, the moment he entered the keywords, a whole list of titles popped up.

As expected, the library contained books on making puppets. However, those books had been placed on the highest shelves, and he had to climb three flights of steps to reach them.

Qi Chao climbed up and down and retrieved nearly ten books. Joy shone in his dark brown eyes as he stacked them high, thought for a moment, then sat directly on the carpet and began flipping through them.

He had originally wanted to return early to avoid his family. Since he had already run into them, he might as well stay in the library a little longer.

He skimmed through the ten books and selected the two most representative ones. Those two were enough to give Qi Chao a grasp of the basic methods of puppet-making. Aside from differences in carving techniques, the remaining books were largely the same in terms of the basics.

Yet when Qi Chao opened those two books and read them carefully, his brows only furrowed tighter.

It was not that the knowledge was too obscure. As an experienced puppet maker, Qi Chao could easily understand the contents of the books. It was precisely because he understood the methods that he felt helpless.

According to the books, puppet makers used their own Mental Power to forge meridians and polish skin for their puppets. Each puppet maker's Mental Power was different, so the condition of the puppets' skin and the strength of their bones and tendons naturally varied as well.

Taken further, that meant that when repairing a puppet's cracks, it was best to find the original puppet maker. Otherwise, a clash of Mental Power could very likely rupture the puppet's fragile meridians directly.

So I still need to find the puppet maker who made Lan Luo.

Qi Chao could not help sighing. He ran a hand through his somewhat messy hair, conflict visible in his eyes.

He had always thought that once he learned how to make puppets, he would personally repair Lan Luo's cracks. He had even used his lack of money as an excuse to convince himself not to seek out Lan Luo's original maker.

They were all excuses.

Qi Chao knew that perfectly well.

He did not want the puppet maker to know that the child he had personally created had been beaten countless times.

When Qi Chao had first met the little puppet, he had deeply sympathized with what the well-behaved Little One had suffered. Putting himself in that person's shoes, the puppet maker who had personally made Lan Luo would surely be devastated upon seeing those cracks.

Qi Chao's heart sank slightly. He was not an indecisive person. On the contrary, once he decided to do something, he acted immediately.

Since the cracks needed to be repaired by the original puppet maker, there was no use overthinking it. He could only look ahead.

Qi Chao searched through the original owner's memories. When Lan Luo had been auctioned off, the auction house had mentioned that puppet maker's name. However, the original owner had not paid attention at the time, so that memory was rather vague.

The quickest way to find that puppet maker was to contact the person in charge of the auction house. Though the original owner did not know the person in charge, he had been in contact with that person's younger brother.

Qi Chao knew this person as well. He was Li Yuqin, the Li family's youngest son—the V-necked man from the private room.

The original owner had previously given Li Yuqin quite a few benefits in order to obtain the regulator. Even after Qi Chao destroyed the regulator, Li Yuqin had still gained plenty from the arrangement. Overall, their transaction had been quite pleasant.

After thinking it over, Qi Chao took out his Light Brain and sent him a message. The reply came quickly, with Li Yuqin readily saying he would take care of it.

A little while later, the other side sent over a string of numbers.

"Young Master Qi, this is that puppet maker's contact information. He goes by Doctor in the black market and is quite well-known. You've probably heard of him too. My brother informed him beforehand, so you can add him directly."

Qi Chao had not expected Li Yuqin to move so quickly. His fingertips paused over the Light Brain before he typed out two words—thank you. He then exited the chat and sent the puppet maker a friend request.

After that, the Light Brain remained silent.

A puppet maker's work was tedious, and it was easy to lose track of time when busy. In his previous life, Qi Chao had sometimes left his workshop at three in the morning. If that puppet maker was currently working, it would probably take a long time before he approved the request.

Qi Chao did not wait any longer. He put the books into his space button, rose to leave the library, and had just reached the living room when he saw the butler blocking the two brothers, whose faces were full of irritation.

"You two trying to go out?" Qi Chao laughed at the sight.

When Qi Feng and Qi Ye heard their eldest brother's voice, they had originally intended to force their way out. Their movements stiffened, and the two awkwardly called out, "Big Brother."

The Maple Leaf Brothers had grown up listening to stories of their eldest brother's excellence. The person they admired most was their eldest brother. They did not know that behind their backs, the original owner had looked down on them tremendously and had even secretly made things difficult for them more than once.

In their eyes, their eldest brother treated them especially well. Even during their rebellious phase, the two still listened to Qi Chao.

Qi Chao felt that the two had somewhat warped values, but compared to the original owner, they were much more likable. He had already wanted to have a proper talk with them, and now the opportunity had come.

"Where are you two planning to go?" Qi Chao sat down on the sofa and patted the seat beside him, signaling for them to sit.

Qi Feng and Qi Ye exchanged a glance before reluctantly shuffling over and sitting down.

Qi Chao rarely had heart-to-heart talks with others, but he could still rein in two runaway wild horses. He looked at the injuries on their faces and asked, "Have you put medicine on them?"

"No." Qi Feng, with his red-dyed hair, sucked in a breath as he answered.

"You haven't put on any medicine, and you're going out like this? Aren't you afraid of embarrassing yourselves?" Qi Chao said as he stood and took the medicine from the butler. "Look in the mirror later. If you go out looking like this, people will definitely stare at you like you're monkeys."

Qi Feng and Qi Ye looked at each other. They knew their eldest brother was right, but they were still simmering with anger and did not want to stay at home.

"Where are you planning to go? To see your girlfriends?" Thinking of the brothers' romantic situations, Qi Chao paused, feeling that young people these days were truly impossible to understand.

The two brothers said nothing, apparently tacitly admitting it.

"Then as your brother, I'd advise you not to go. With your faces looking like that, your girlfriends will break up with you the moment they see you." Qi Chao held traditional views, but he also knew that the more someone tried to stop this sort of thing, the more determined they became.