Chapter 11: Another Good Find, A Mysterious Puppet

Even after acquiring a decent treasure, the effects of the Mystic Universal Talisman did not immediately fade.

In Shen Xian’s vision, various bright and dim lights continued to flicker, interweaving into a bizarre spectacle. He did not linger, choosing instead to continue strolling through the area in search of other quality items.

The trading plaza was vast, filled with numerous stalls and a dazzling array of goods.

However… no pillar of light as obvious as the one near the necklace appeared again. Instead, Shen Xian noticed a faint, hazy crimson glow flickering in the northeast corner. If one wasn’t paying close attention, it would be easy to miss.

His interest piqued, he immediately headed straight for that spot.

Pushing through the crowd, he spotted the small stall. The owner was a dark-skinned man with a cultivation base at the Qi Refining Realm. Spread out before him was a pile of small dolls in various styles.

To be precise… they were puppets.

In the cultivation world, puppets were crucial auxiliary tools for cultivators. They were remarkably effective in combat, protection, survival, treasure hunting, and various other domains.

Puppets were generally divided into four grades: Mortal, Spirit, Earth, and Heaven.

Most puppets crafted by puppet masters fell within the Mortal and Spirit Grades. Only upon reaching the Earth Grade would a puppet begin to possess rudimentary intelligence, allowing it to exert strength comparable to human cultivators.

However, all the puppets at this stall were Mortal Grade, and low-tier Mortal Grade at that. They were crafted from ordinary metals, wood, beast bones, and similar materials. They possessed no intelligence and could only execute simple commands.

These days, even a great clan like the Shen Family only possessed Spirit Grade puppets at best. One had to travel to the Northern Region to even have a chance of encountering Earth Grade puppets.

“Esteemed Daoist Friend, did anything catch your eye? Old Zhang’s puppets are famous far and wide—absolutely high quality and affordable!” The puppet master, Old Zhang, let out a hearty laugh as he saw Shen Xian approach, immediately standing up to introduce his wares.

“If you don’t like the small ones, I also have large ones here.” As he spoke, he raised a hand. Spiritual light flashed, and a puppet roughly the size of a human appeared beside him.

Just as he was about to launch into his sales pitch, Shen Xian cut in, “I’m just browsing.”

Squatting down, his gaze swept over the pile of small dolls one by one before finally settling on a grayish cloth doll that had been carelessly tossed in the corner. It was missing its left arm, and its surface was covered in dust.

“Daoist Friend, those are all for children to play with,” Old Zhang said with a smile.

These small puppets were essentially toys. For actual tasks like moving goods or labor, one needed humanoid puppets like the one standing beside him.

“I am indeed looking to buy something for children,” Shen Xian lied smoothly, his tone practiced and natural.

A flicker of disappointment passed through Old Zhang’s eyes, but he quickly resumed his enthusiastic introduction. “I wonder if Daoist Friend has boys or girls at home? If it’s boys, take a look at this one. It’s our best seller…”

Shen Xian wasn’t in a hurry. He picked up the recommended puppet and deliberately fiddled with it a few times. “The craftsmanship… isn’t this a bit too rough? A child would probably break it after playing for a couple of days.”

Old Zhang gave an awkward laugh and explained, “These are Mortal Grade puppets… I just craft them casually in my spare time. The price reflects that—three spirit stones each. If you want something better, I can do custom work, but the price then…”

Shen Xian shook his head but didn’t put down the wooden doll. Instead, his gaze fell on the gray cloth doll again as he asked curiously, “You even sell broken dolls?”

“Daoist Friend, you don’t understand,” Old Zhang said tentatively. “This puppet was something I obtained by chance from an ancient ruin. With your discerning eye, I’m sure you can see its extraordinary nature.”

Although Shen Xian lived a reclusive life now, his past experiences had made him intimately familiar with these kinds of sales tricks.

His tone changed slightly, feigning dissatisfaction. “Oh, come on. It’s a thing without a shred of spiritual power; it can’t even serve as a decoration. You should be giving it to me for free rather than trying to take me for a sucker.”

“And here I was thinking of buying several puppets for my kids to play with… I’d better go look elsewhere.”

With that, he turned as if to leave.

Upon hearing the first part of Shen Xian’s statement, Old Zhang’s eyes lit up instantly. But when the second part followed, panic immediately washed over his face. He hurriedly took two steps forward with an apologetic smile. “Daoist Friend! Wait! You’re right; this doll really isn’t worth much. However…”

He deliberately lowered his voice and leaned in closer. “I can see you’re someone who knows quality. How about this: if you buy four puppets from me, I’ll throw in this cloth doll for free. To be honest with you, even though this doll looks old and worn out, it really did come from an ancient ruin. Who knows? It might have some special properties.”

As he spoke, he deftly picked up four puppets with the best craftsmanship among his stock. “These four are my prized stock from the bottom of my chest! The original price was twenty spirit stones; I’ll give them to you for fifteen and throw in this cloth doll too. What do you say?”

Seeing Shen Xian still hesitating, Old Zhang added further persuasion: “Daoist Friend, if you don’t believe me about the cloth doll’s material, feel free to touch it yourself. What ordinary fabric is this sturdy? I, Old Zhang, have always run an honest business, fair to young and old alike. If this doll really is some treasure, then that would be your good fortune, wouldn’t it?”

He rubbed his hands together, smiling. “How about this? If you take them right now, I’ll also give you a little mechanical bird, guaranteed to delight children!”

Only then did Shen Xian reluctantly nod in agreement.

After Shen Xian paid, took his purchases, and left, Old Zhang swiftly pocketed the spirit stones before placing another four ‘prized stock’ puppets on display. Watching Shen Xian’s retreating back, he smiled smugly. “If it were truly something good, would I, Old Zhang, not know?”

He had studied that doll from the ancient ruins for many years, even consulting his master about it. The consensus was that it was just a broken puppet with nothing special about it.

His original plan had been to use its ‘ancient ruin’ provenance to fetch a high price. But since he’d managed to make a profit off the other puppets today, he hadn’t lost out.

After obtaining that grayish doll, Shen Xian felt the effects of the Mystic Universal Talisman completely fade, so he chose to leave.

On the way back, Shen Xian walked with a spring in his step, his heart light and brimming with satisfaction. Although he didn’t know the specific origins of the necklace or the puppet, overall, today’s trip had been a huge win.

Returning to the residence.

Just as he entered the courtyard, Shen Xian discovered a little girl sitting on his lounge chair.

The girl wore a pink cloud brocade ruqun dress, the collar embroidered with glowing star patterns. Her hair was tied in two perky buns, and her right hand held a half-eaten candied hawthorn stick. Wrapped around her wrist was a color-changing ice-silk ribbon.

“Young Master!”

Seeing Shen Xian, Xiang’er, who was sitting respectfully beside the girl, immediately stood and bowed.

“You’re Shen Xian?” Immediately, the girl’s large eyes lit up. She sprang from the lounge chair, her voice full of anticipation.

Shen Xian realized this little girl was the one Xiang’er had mentioned the previous night.

He gave a slight nod. “Indeed, I am.”

“Perfect.” The girl quickly approached, pulling him towards the lounge chair. “You continue telling the story of Zhu Yingtai.”

She looked up, her little face expectant.

This girl had loved listening to stories since childhood, especially romance tales. She had long been very interested in Shen Xian, hence her direct visit today.

Now that she was finally meeting the person himself, she was extremely happy.

Feeling in quite a good mood himself, Shen Xian smiled slightly. “I can do that, but first, I need to know who you are?”