"Knock, knock, knock!"
With half a month left before the scheduled refining of the Foundation Establishment Pills, another visitor came calling.
"Brother Lin..."
The abode's door opened, revealing a familiar young woman standing outside, looking desolate, faint tear tracks still visible on her face.
"Miss Yan?"
Lin Changheng was slightly surprised. The visitor was none other than Yan Mingyi. Something was clearly wrong with her; it seemed something serious had happened. The instant she saw him, her legs gave way, as though she could no longer hold herself up.
With Lin Changheng's reflexes, he immediately caught her around the waist before she could fall, then flashed inside the abode with her.
A wave of force slammed the door shut with a boom.
"What happened?"
Lin Changheng settled Yan Mingyi into a seat and took her delicate wrist to check her pulse. Once he determined that she had merely exhausted her magical power, he relaxed and fed her a superior-grade Rejuvenation Pill.
Yan Mingyi soon recovered somewhat. Tears trickled down her face as she rasped, "Grandfather... passed away last night."
"What?"
Lin Changheng was startled too. He had certainly not expected this.
Hadn't Puppet Master Yan's condition improved considerably? Half a year ago, Yan Mingyi had even come to request more pills, saying they were effective. How had he died so suddenly?
Deeply puzzled, Lin Changheng asked, "What caused it?"
Wiping her tears, Yan Mingyi recalled what had happened. Her grandfather had not gone out at all lately, spending all his time crafting puppets while she bought the materials.
Last night, while cultivating in her room, she had suddenly heard her grandfather laugh with delight, but had thought nothing of it.
She knew that he often studied the art of puppetry late into the night and would react like that whenever