Hearing Feng Xingyun's offhand comment, the tension that had gripped Chang Sheng instantly dissolved, leaving his lips twitching.
Trash?
Calling the puppet he crafted “trash”?
Even in his master's eyes, his craftsmanship was considered exceptional.
He had been a genius since childhood!
But there was nothing he could do about it now. This was a specter dungeon, and he couldn't control the puppet right in front of an NPC.
Taking a deep breath, he forced down his annoyance.
Still, he breathed a sigh of relief.
At the very least, the NPC clearly hadn't realized how special the puppet actually was.
“It seems I'll have to keep my puppets further away from NPCs in the future.”
Besides, there was an even more important point.
Although the wood he used to craft the puppets was just ordinary timber, it should still be incredibly difficult for a normal human to crush a solid piece of wood with their bare hands.
Not to mention, it had been reinforced by his Puppet Vitalization Art. Yet, he had watched the NPC casually squeeze it.
With just that single squeeze, his hand-crafted puppet had been destroyed!
It was as if the man had crushed a piece of rotten, worm-eaten wood.
“This man... is no ordinary person.”
Chang Sheng pondered deeply.
He had scanned the entire courtyard earlier and found nothing unusual. With that mysterious NPC present, he temporarily abandoned the idea of sending more puppets there.
After all, puppets possessed physical bodies. No matter how small they were, their movements would inevitably make some noise.
He decided to send his puppets to search other areas first. Once the NPC left, he would find another opportunity to station a puppet nearby.
Soon, the time reached ten past six.
Feng Xingyun was still sweeping the courtyard, scanning his surroundings from time to time, but he didn't find a second puppet.
Just then, he suddenly sensed a gaze on him.
Instead of looking directly, Feng Xingyun subtly adjusted his posture and casually glanced in that direction.
He caught a fleeting glimpse of a figure, one that looked very familiar.
He recognized him—it was Liu Da.
The man had appeared nearby and was even quietly observing him. Only after seeing him sweeping did Liu Da turn and leave. It seemed he had come to confirm Feng Xingyun's location.
What was the meaning of this?
A moment later, a message from Zuo Lin'an arrived.
【Zuo Lin'an: Liu Da is heading toward my room. Go catch him red-handed in a moment.】
【Zuo Lin'an: You can improvise the rest. Stall for as long as possible. It's best if you don't let them catch wind of the actual plot, and make sure they don't discover where the specter items are.】
【Feng Xingyun: Understood.】
Zuo Lin'an hadn't actually gone down the mountain. He had merely taken a few casual steps down the stairs before veering off into the withered woods beside them.
In the dim forest, he strolled over the thick carpet of dry leaves on the ground. After walking for a bit, he found a random spot to stand.
The puppet trailing far behind kept its eyes glued to him.
However, Chang Sheng was also highly cautious. To ensure his puppet wouldn't be discovered, he didn't let it get too close. As long as he could see Zuo Lin'an from a distance and confirm his location, that was enough.
Naturally, his puppet couldn't see what messages Zuo Lin'an was sending on his phone.
After messaging Feng Xingyun, Zuo Lin'an casually pocketed his phone and resumed walking, leisurely wandering around to pass the time.
Once the time was right, he could enjoy the show from his God's-eye view.
He wondered how Feng Xingyun's improvisation would turn out.
If it went well, maybe he could award him a prize in the future.
Like a Best Actor award or something.
After receiving Zuo Lin'an's message, Feng Xingyun didn't act immediately.
Instead, he pretended not to notice Liu Da's observation. Even after the man left, Feng Xingyun remained in the courtyard until he had swept it completely clean.
Then, he put away the cleaning supplies.
He left the doors and windows of the “brother's” room open to keep airing it out, and then walked away.
Sometimes, acting completely in the open was the best way to avoid suspicion.
If he tried to hide things, the chances of the specter item being discovered would actually increase.
Only after tidying everything up did Feng Xingyun head toward Zuo Lin'an's room.
As the steward, it was only natural for him to clean the young master's room, right?
By this time, Liu Da had already slipped into the courtyard of Zuo Lin'an's quarters, meeting up with several puppets stationed there.
Chang Sheng's voice echoed from one of the puppets.
“This courtyard belongs to the young master we saw earlier.”
Liu Da felt a surge of excitement and rubbed his hands together.
“Then let's go inside and take a look. If we find anything, finders keepers. What do you think?”
He was certain there would be good stuff inside.
Naturally, Chang Sheng had no objections.
“Let's do as you say.”
He had plenty of puppets at his disposal. If they found anything useful...
Wait!
Chang Sheng froze!
He suddenly realized a crucial issue.
A specter item would only trigger a dungeon notification if he touched it in person!
Simply using a puppet to find it wouldn't register anything.
Unless the specter item already belonged to him, and he handed it over to his puppet, the puppet wouldn't even be able to use it.
Realizing this, Chang Sheng couldn't help but knock his own forehead.
“What is wrong with me?”
“How could I forget something so important?”
If a specter item fell into Liu Da's hands, there was absolutely a hundred percent chance he wouldn't be able to get it back.
After careful consideration, Chang Sheng, who was still crafting puppets in the guest courtyard, stood up. He decided to head over there in person.
Even if an NPC caught him, he could just claim he couldn't sleep and was taking a stroll.
Since he was unfamiliar with the layout of the old residence, he could say he had wandered into that courtyard by mistake.
After all, the house had been abandoned for a long time and was completely desolate, with nothing of value. This excuse shouldn't provoke any hostility from the NPCs.
As he walked out, he instinctively connected to all his puppets to check the situation across the old residence.
At that moment, he suddenly noticed a figure appearing in the line of sight of one of his puppets.
“This is...”
Chang Sheng stopped in his tracks, focusing his entire consciousness onto that puppet, immediately getting a clear view of the scene.
The figure was Feng Xingyun!
He froze for a moment, only then realizing that the man was heading toward Yao Wenli's quarters.
Since his puppet had been crushed earlier, he hadn't sent another one to keep watch, which was why he hadn't immediately noticed when Feng Xingyun left that courtyard.
“What should I do?”
Feng Xingyun was definitely heading toward Yao Wenli's room right now.
Although he didn't seem to be walking fast, his long legs gave him a wide stride. At this rate, it would only take him about five seconds!
In just five seconds, he would step into that courtyard.
Chang Sheng took a deep breath. There was no more time to waste.
He immediately took control of the puppet searching inside Zuo Lin'an's room and whispered a warning.
“Run!”
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