"Oh, so Xiao Xiao is playing it safe," He Qi finally realized, "But how did they break the chains?"
After all, up until now, they hadn't found any clues about the chains. Even when Xie Mingchi brought it up, it was just a guess.
And yet, they had already taken on the task.
Wan Wuqiu explained cautiously, "A puppeteer who has gone through several puppet realms and obtained a soul thread can choose to bind the gatekeeper ghost puppet to their will. They might have ghost puppets with that ability in their hands."
Xie Mingchi thought for a moment before asking, "So if I get Mr. Du's soul thread, can I make him work for me?"
"You can," Wan Wuqiu replied, "But do you want to?"
"No," Xie Mingchi shook his head, "This ghost puppet operates without conscience. Just using it as an example."
In fact, among the three groups that had been split, only Xiao Xiao and Chu You's task was the safest. They had the tool to directly cut the chains, so it was essentially just a formality for them.
The other two groups were facing far greater risks.
If Xie Mingchi picked the wrong soul thread, he'd die.
If He Qi couldn't hold Mr. Du back and instead angered him, he'd die.
And poor Lao Tie...
Xie Mingchi thought for a long time before speaking cautiously, "Wan Wuqiu, what if I guess the wrong soul thread?"
"You won't," Wan Wuqiu said, looking very confident, "Do what you need to do. I'll be right here covering you."
Xie Mingchi: "Your loyalty as an ally is really something."
Although he said that, Xie Mingchi could guess what Wan Wuqiu was thinking.
Maybe Wan Wuqiu had two possible guesses, and if Xie Mingchi's guess was wrong, he would immediately know which one was correct.
In the end, it was all about using him.
Of course, maybe it was just Xie Mingchi's overthinking—after all, in the unpredictable world of puppets, he couldn't see any reason for Wan Wuqiu to stick by him.
He could only pray that his guess was correct.
Xie Mingchi took a deep breath. If he got it wrong, at least Wan Wuqiu could take He Qi out. It was better to save one than none.
...
Time passed quickly, and when it was time for Mr. Du's ritual, the four of them stepped out of the room.
Another room on the fourth floor opened, and after exchanging nods with Xiao Xiao and Chu You, the three groups split and walked toward their assigned locations.
He Qi was the first to arrive. The third-floor restaurant was very close, just one floor down.
The scent of sandalwood drifted up from the restaurant, and He Qi nervously swallowed, giving Shen Fnian a push. He stood behind him, only sticking out his head.
"Fnian, you go ahead. I'm scared."
Shen Fnian naturally stepped away, moving behind him, poking his shoulder with his finger to push him forward. "No, I'm scared too."
He Qi almost cried, "Brother, you don't look scared."
But Shen Fnian was strong, and He Qi couldn't stop himself from being pushed forward, his feet dragging.
Oh, so this is the strength of a ghost puppet? How enviable.
If only he were a ghost puppet too... no, that's nonsense.
He was still young, and he didn't want to die young and end up as a ghost puppet.
In his mind, a thousand thoughts raced in a second, and by the time he processed everything, he was already pushed right in front of Mr. Du.
Mr. Du, holding a burning incense, turned and stared at him, his face dark.
He Qi: "...6."
Maybe he should just die first.
Mr. Du stared at him coldly for a long while before placing the incense in the incense burner and walking toward him, even reaching out his hand.
He Qi's mind raced, and he shouted, "Wait, wait! Mr. Du, I have something to say!"
Mr. Du revealed a dark smile and snorted.
He Qi immediately said, "Actually, I'm younger than my brother! My brother, the one with the red eyes sitting next to you during dinner, do you remember him?"
Upon hearing this, Mr. Du stopped and stood still, his gaze filled with confusion.
It worked...
He Qi sighed in relief and continued to lie, "Actually, both my brother and I grew up in an orphanage. When we were kids, my brother found me and took me in. But then he got really sick and his mind got messed up. He started thinking he was only eight years old, so he says he's younger than me."
"In reality, I'm the youngest."
Mr. Du squinted, seemingly deep in thought. After a moment, he revealed a gentler smile. "Oh, I see. So you're actually younger than him?"
He Qi: "Yes."
Not wanting Mr. Du to lose interest, He Qi added, "Among the fourteen of us visiting, I'm the second youngest."
Mr. Du quickly laughed, "Good, good, that's great! Kid, you'll love my game. It's tailor-made for young children like you."
He Qi thought to himself: stop with the twisting and turning.
But he kept a stiff smile on his face. "Mm-hmm, I love games. Thank you, Mr. Du."
The mechanisms on the wall hadn't closed yet, and the Buddha statue was still visible.
He Qi glanced over, and his blood ran cold.
The vengeful Buddha had somehow opened its eyes and was staring directly at him, its mouth curled into a strange, eerie smile.
...
With He Qi and Shen Fnian keeping Mr. Du occupied, Xie Mingchi and Wan Wuqiu entered Mr. Du's office without hesitation.
The office appeared unchanged, except…
The obsidian box was gone.
The last time they'd barged into Mr. Du's office and found the Buddha altar, he'd been furious and had screamed at them not to touch his things.
Wan Wuqiu looked around. "The box is gone."
Good news: It seemed the contents of the box were indeed very important to him.
Bad news: The box had been moved.
Xie Mingchi tugged at his hair, desperate. "Quick, let's search the office thoroughly! If we don't find it here, we'll have to check somewhere else."
Wan Wuqiu didn't speak, but the two of them started searching the office at once.
But the office was small enough that everything was visible at a glance. Xie Mingchi wasn't giving up, so he opened all the filing cabinets and checked, but still no sign of the box.
Wan Wuqiu quickly said, "Let's check the other rooms on the second floor."
Both of them were skilled at lockpicking. They left the office and began to search one room at a time.
Xie Mingchi entered Room 201 first.
Sure enough, there was an operating table inside, surrounded by various medical instruments.
The operating table was chained, clearly used to restrain captured individuals, and there were brown stains on the railings—likely blood, though it had dried and couldn't be cleaned off.
The room also contained some bottles and jars, each filled with human organ specimens.
Xie Mingchi had no time to think about whose organs they were, and he quickly began searching the room.
Nothing... no box.
He swiftly moved on to Room 202...
Not in Room 202.
Not in Room 203.
Room 204...
Still nothing.
After finishing searching all four rooms, Xie Mingchi met up with Wan Wuqiu, who had also searched his side. Before Xie Mingchi could speak, Wan Wuqiu shook his head.
Xie Mingchi's heart sank, panic taking over. "There's still the third floor! We have to check the third floor!"
Wan Wuqiu didn't respond, just followed him silently as they headed to the third floor.
As soon as they arrived, Xie Mingchi looked toward the restaurant. He Qi was still desperately chatting with Mr. Du, trying to keep his full attention. One of his hands was nervously clutching his clothes behind his back.
Xie Mingchi knew He Qi was on the verge of breaking down.
Not daring to waste any more time, he immediately slipped into a corner out of Mr. Du's sight with Wan Wuqiu and entered a room.
The rooms on the third floor were just as Xiao Xiao had described—simple reception rooms with an elevator, a display case as tall as a person, sofas, coffee tables, and a few sheets of paper…
Aside from that, the room was empty, with nothing but the essentials Mr. Du needed.
No box here either.
Xie Mingchi immediately opened the door and was about to rush into the next room when Wan Wuqiu stepped out to stop him. "Wait, this method isn't going to work."
Xie Mingchi grew anxious. "But we have to keep searching!
We can't afford to anger Mr. Du by failing to find the soul thread!"
"No, I mean we have to find the right soul thread," Wan Wuqiu said gently, "But we can't just blindly search. We've checked the entire second floor, and we didn't find anything. We've checked one room on the third floor. Do you really think the other rooms are going to be different?"
Xie Mingchi fell silent.
Right, why would they be different?
The rooms on the third floor, like those on the second, had only two purposes for Mr. Du—conducting transactions and imprisoning the little ghosts.
Since they had already checked one reception room, the other rooms would be identical.
These rooms didn't hold any special significance for Mr. Du.
The remaining rooms where the little ghosts were imprisoned didn't make sense either. Mr. Du wouldn't go near them, let alone put something as important as a soul thread in one of them.
The soul thread wasn't on the second or third floors.
Xie Mingchi furrowed his brow, forcing himself to calm down and think.
In all fairness, the second and third floors were obviously more important to Mr. Du. The first floor was just for memorial purposes, and the fourth floor was irrelevant—he wouldn't be foolish enough to keep his life's secret in the same place as the puppeteer.
So where would he hide the box?
Xie Mingchi took a deep breath.
He knew!
...
Xiao Xiao and Chu You reached the first floor, and as planned, they gave Xie Mingchi and the others fifteen minutes to find the soul thread.
Chu You looked at the clock on the wall. "Time's up."
Xiao Xiao nodded, and without hesitation, pulled a soul thread from somewhere and wrapped it around her wrist.
Slowly, black mist began to swirl out of the soul thread, gradually forming a humanoid shape in front of her. The face was indistinct, but the sickle in its hand was very prominent.
Xiao Xiao and Chu You exchanged glances and took down the picture frames from the wall, unveiling one after another.
The temperature in the room suddenly dropped, and more and more little ghosts gathered in front of them, expressionless, their gazes fixed on them.
The black mist raised the sickle and swung it down fiercely.
"Whoosh—"
The chains snapped.
Then the sickle rose again, hacking at the chains tirelessly.
When all the chains had been severed, the little ghosts stood there, somewhat dazed.
They had been controlled for so long that they hadn't felt freedom in ages.
Chu You spoke, his voice hypnotic: "You're free now."
The little ghosts seemed moved.
Chu You continued, "Do you remember who killed you?"
The little ghosts' eyes began to clear.
Chu You: "Then now, go kill him."
In the next instant, thick black mist engulfed the little ghosts. They howled and screamed as they charged toward the third floor.