93 Puppet Jade
Meng Fei had someone bring in two large buckets. He opened the lids, and the tantalizing aroma of breakfast filled the air, making everyone’s mouths water.
But no one moved.
Meng Fei saw through their thoughts and quickly took a bowl and ate several spoonfuls. “Mmm, it’s delicious. This porridge is made with one kilogram of rice, three taels of black rice, and a few red dates. It’s all good stuff. Please feel free to eat.”
Only then did the others take their bowls and start eating.
Meng Fei said, “I won’t disturb you any longer. I’ll come back this afternoon. If you have made a decision by then, we can discuss the details.”
After Meng Fei left, Zhuang Yao said while eating, “This kid is lying.”
The following parts of the text will be scrambled to prevent theft from aggregators and unauthorized epub making. Please support our translators by reading on secondlifetranslations (dot) com. If you are currently on the site and and you are seeing this, please clear your cache.
Mbl svblap olald’v pwarakple. Tso nswze vblu clzklhl vbyv Yldt Wlk oswze pbyal pwnb yd kxrsavydv kvlx zkjl vbl Vwrrlv Kyel okvb pvaydtlap qsa ds alypsd? Eypd’v bl yqayke vblu oswze vyjl kv yzz qsa vblxplzhlp?
Nkw Wldtuw oyp elhswakdt bkp qsse, pyukdt, “Ebyv es vblpl rlsrzl oydv? Jwv vbkp rsaaketl kp ralvvu tsse. Rv lhld byp pwtya.” Tl byed’v bye yduvbkdt pollv qsa y zsdt vkxl.
Usdt Dky pyke, “R byhl plakswp eswcvp ycswv obyv bl pyke ycswv vbl Vwrrlv Kyel kd Dk’yd. Rq vblal alyzzu kp y qynvksd kd Dk’yd vbyv rspplpplp vbl Vwrrlv Kyel, oswze y olyjla taswr zkjl Yldt Wlk’p pvkzz cl yzkhl?”
“R vbkdj vbl pyxl. Fs, vbl alypsd bl oydvp vs wpl wp clnsxlp iwkvl kdvlalpvkdt,” Hbwydt Zys pyke okvb y nwddkdt pxkzl.
Ubldt Mkydck rwv esod bkp csoz yde pyke, “Yspv zkjlzu, bl oydvp vs wpl wp yp y vssz vs lzkxkdyvl y nlavykd qynvksd.”
“Ebyv pbswze ol es dlmv?”
“Ubldt Mkydck yde R okzz ts cynj vs Gk Kky’p rzynl yde vau vs tyvbla psxl kdqsaxyvksd qasx bla qyvbla. Ms yhske nywpkdt vblx vaswczl, ol osd’v cakdt Gcw yzsdt. Mydt Zydikw okzz yzps ts swv vs tyvbla psxl kdqsaxyvksd, lprlnkyzzu ycswv typszkdl. Usdt Dky yde Nkw Wldtuw okzz pvyu blal okvb Gcw. Rq vblal’p ydu eydtla, pbssv y pktdyz qzyal.”
“Gzaktbv.”
After the three of them left, Abu lay down at the entrance, keeping guard. Cong Xia and Liu Fengyu sat in the lobby, quietly cultivating.
Cong Xia once again entered the void of the ancient jade, continuing his research on how to materialize tools using energy.
This part was particularly fascinating. The reason he hadn’t implemented it earlier was that he had too little energy within him. In the past, he relied on absorbing energy from dead energy bodies, but he had never reached a state of complete energy saturation within his energy core. Even if he absorbed a lot of energy, it would quickly be depleted, either used for healing or to replenish the energy of others. Upon careful calculation, he had never had surplus energy before and had always been a “poor guy.” Now that he had the Puppet Jade, he finally had the heart to spend energy on researching materialization tools.
He decided to start experimenting with the most basic energy storage jade talisman. According to the ancient jade’s explanation, jade collects the essence of heaven and earth, is naturally warm and nourishing, possesses spiritual qualities, and can nourish the human body. It is the best medium for storing energy. The better the quality of the jade, the better the effect. Crystals with higher purity, such as quartz and diamonds, are the second-best for energy storage. Ordinary stones have the worst effect because their storage density is too small. The amount of energy that can be stored in a football field-sized stone is similar to that of a palm-sized ordinary jade.
Cong Xia couldn’t find a suitable jade at the moment, so he smashed a piece of agate jade Buddha decoration in the hotel lobby and used one of the fragments for the experiment.
Following the instructions of the ancient jade, Cong Xia placed the fragment of agate in the palm of his hand and manipulated the energy to write jade talisman spells in the air above the jade. The spell appeared extremely complex, and Cong Xia had silently recited it hundreds of times in his mind before daring to put it into practice. As the spell was completed, the energy from Cong Xia’s body slowly flowed into the fragment under his control. The spell emitted a golden light in his “vision,” and as the energy storage was about to be completed, Cong Xia became a little anxious. He didn’t control the flow of energy properly, and as a result, the agate fragment burst in his palm with a snap. Several small shards even pierced his skin.
“Oops…” Cong Xia shook his hand, feeling a bit frustrated.
Liu Fengyu heard the sound and opened his eyes. “What’s the noise? What happened?”
“It’s nothing, it’s nothing.” Cong Xia silently pulled out the shards and stopped the bleeding in his palm. He planned to try again.
During the morning, he consumed more than half of his body’s energy, burst over ten pieces of agate, and finally succeeded in creating a jade talisman that could store attributeless energy. This small jade talisman contained enough energy to heal a non-lethal wound. Although he wanted to store more energy in it, controlling the energy input was too difficult. If it went out of control, the jade talisman would explode, and the energy inputted would return to nature, resulting in a waste.
Anyway, he finally succeeded in creating one piece. He would practice diligently every day and become more proficient. At the same time, he should find a way to obtain higher-quality jade to increase the storage capacity.
With this kind of energy storage jade talisman, he could solve the problem of his limited energy core storage. He could continuously absorb the energy from the Puppet Jade into his body and then transfer it to the energy storage jade talisman. Absorbing energy from the energy storage jade talisman was faster than absorbing from the Puppet Jade, and most importantly, it was much safer.
As he rested on the sofa, a sudden thought came to his mind.
Could the Puppet Jade be a large-scale energy storage jade talisman?
This thought suddenly awakened his tired brain.
The Puppet Jade met many characteristics of an energy storage jade talisman. Although he didn’t understand jade, he could tell that the Puppet Jade was of excellent quality. He had never seen a jade like the Puppet Jade before, with its dark, transparent, cool, and beautiful appearance. Even someone who had no knowledge of jade appreciation would be attracted to it. Moreover, the massive energy storage capacity of the Puppet Jade demonstrated its superior and perfect quality. Just based on its storage of a large amount of attributeless energy that he could absorb, it could be inferred that the Puppet Jade had some connection to the energy storage jade talisman.
When Cheng Tianbi returned, perhaps he should try transferring energy into the Puppet Jade. Additionally, he wondered if he could “see” the jade talisman on the Puppet Jade.
If the Puppet Jade really was an energy storage jade talisman, then who had created it? What role did the ancient jade play in all of this?
Thinking about these complex questions made Cong Xia even more tired. He wished he had the analytical mind of Zhuang Yao.
After Zhuang Yao returned, he planned to tell him about transforming himself into an energy storage jade talisman. Since the ancient jade could no longer be concealed, it was only a matter of time before the energy storage jade talisman would be revealed to Zhuang Yao. Instead of waiting for Zhuang Yao to ask, it would be better for Cong Xia to proactively share the information and let Zhuang Yao analyze the relationship between the Puppet Jade and the energy storage jade talisman.
By around one o’clock in the afternoon, Cheng Tianbi and Tang Yanqiu still hadn’t returned, and Cong Xia began to worry. He asked Liu Fengyu if they should go out and check on them.
Liu Fengyu disagreed, saying, “There’s no need. They will be fine. Let’s just wait here.”
The two of them had nothing to do in the room, so they continued their cultivation. At that moment, Abu, who was lying outside the door, suddenly lifted its head. As it raised its head, it blocked the entire window, casting a shadow over the lobby. Abu let out an urgent cry.
Alerted, the two of them jumped up from the sofa and walked towards the door.
Just as they reached the doorway, they heard a familiar voice exclaim, “Hey? Why is it this cat again?”
Curious, they moved past Abu and saw the amphibious atavistic youth they had encountered yesterday. He still had the same scruffy and unkempt appearance, and the clean clothes they had given him yesterday were now covered in mud and torn. He had something furry slung over his shoulder, and as he walked, a conspicuous trail of blood stained the snowy ground.
Cong Xia exclaimed, “It’s you…”
The youth recognized them. “So it’s you guys. What are you doing here? This is my home.”
Cong Xia furrowed his brow. “Your home? But this place is abandoned.”
“Yeah, I’ve been living here since it was abandoned,” the youth said as he dragged his belongings inside.
Abu let out a growl and stood in his way.
The energy fluctuation of this youth was much stronger than that of Liu Fengyu and Abu, so it was no wonder they were on edge.
The youth shrugged. “What’s the matter? Aren’t you letting me go home?”
Cong Xia knew that this amphibious atavistic individual was not someone to mess with. Even if the three of them teamed up, they might not be a match for him. He quickly said to Abu, “Abu, lie down.”
Abu hesitated for a moment but eventually lay down to the side.
Liu Fengyu remained on guard, watching the youth closely.
Once the youth entered, they noticed that he was dragging a large rat behind him.
As he stepped inside, he said, “What are you looking at? It’s my dinner.”
The two of them stepped aside to let him in. Cong Xia felt that this youth didn’t harbor any hostility towards them, which relieved him slightly.
The youth tossed the large rat onto the floor and clapped his hands. He looked at them and said, “Weren’t there several of you? A little kid, someone with a gun, and a bird person. Where did they all go?”
Cong Xia replied, “They went hunting.”
“It’s not easy to hunt after winter. It took me from yesterday until now to find this rat,” he said, kicking the dead rat. “Do you want to eat? I can give each of you a leg, but you have to help me skin it.”
“No, thanks,” Liu Fengyu said without hesitation.
The youth shrugged. “Suit yourselves.” He dragged out a pile of wood from a corner of the lobby, which seemed to have been prepared a long time ago. Then he took a small can of gasoline from a cabinet and poured it onto the wood.
Cong Xia was astonished. “Are you going to roast the rat inside the house?”
“It’s too cold outside. I can’t stand it.”
“Aren’t you afraid of suffocating?”
“It’s fine, just bear with it. You won’t suffocate.” With that, he struck a match.
“Wait!” Cong Xia couldn’t tolerate it any longer and stopped him. “We’re afraid. We finally found a place to stay, and if you light a fire in this closed-off room full of dust, it won’t be livable anymore.”
“You’re too sensitive. I’ve been living here for several days. Once I ate meat, it felt so warm that I fell asleep.”
Cong Xia thought to himself, is he not getting knocked out by the smoke? He quickly said, “Don’t roast it here. I’ll take it outside to cook, and once it’s done, I’ll bring it back for you, alright?”
The young man’s eyes lit up. “Really? Okay, I’ll give you all four legs. I have something good here…” He rummaged through the cabinet and excitedly pulled out a slightly dirty plastic bag. “I have pepper.”
Cong Xia reluctantly took the pepper from him.
The young man wrapped himself in his clothes and huddled in the corner of the sofa, shivering from the cold.
It seemed that his ability as an amphibious atavistic individual affected his body’s ability to regulate temperature. He appeared to be extremely sensitive to the cold. In his amphibious state, he couldn’t maintain a constant body temperature, and his body would initiate a protective mechanism, forcing him into a hibernation-like state to stay alive.
Every kind of mutant creature had its weaknesses. Even the formidable amphibious atavistic individuals who were impervious to blades and bullets could be frozen to death.
Cong Xia was already well-versed in cooking outdoors. With Liu Fengyu’s help, they moved the pile of firewood outside. Cong Xia lit the fire and placed a pot over it. While waiting for the water to boil, he skillfully removed the meat from the rat, including the bones, and cleaned off the coarse fur.
After twenty minutes, the aroma of the rat meat wafted into the hotel lobby.
The young man, trembling, stood up and followed the scent outside. He sat down by the fire and rubbed his hands together, saying with emotion, “It smells so good, so good.”
Cong Xia scooped a bowl of meat soup and handed it to him. “The meat isn’t fully cooked yet, but you can drink the soup. Give it a try.”
The young man held the bowl of soup and took a sip. He was so moved that tears nearly welled up in his eyes. He murmured, “Mom.”
Cong Xia was taken aback.
The young man sniffled. “If my mom were here, she would have made rat meat taste this delicious too.”
Cong Xia felt awkward. “Just eat more. There’s plenty…”
The young man rubbed his eyes and poured the steaming soup into his mouth, only to scald his throat. His face turned red from the heat, and he coughed while handing the bowl back, indicating that he wanted another serving.
Cong Xia had no choice but to pour him another bowl. “Take it easy. There’s a big pot of soup. I guarantee you won’t finish it.” He then served a bowl of soup for Liu Fengyu and himself. On such a cold winter day, being able to drink a steaming bowl of soup was truly a luxury.
Cong Xia asked, “What’s your name?”
“Deng Xiao.” He blew on the soup as hard as he could.
“How old are you? You seem quite young.”
Deng Xiao thought for a moment. “I’m eighteen. During the earthquake, I was seventeen and a half. I don’t remember how long it’s been, maybe a year?”
“Eight months and twenty-four days.”
“Wow, you remember it so clearly.”
Cong Xia said, “We have a calendar.” Although keeping track of time seemed to have lost much meaning, and most people probably couldn’t remember the year or month anymore, their calendar was updated daily. For them, remembering the passage of time meant remembering the memories of the civilized era.
“I’ve long lost track. What’s the use of remembering the year and month? Each day is the same, without any changes.” Deng Xiao drank his soup sip by sip, his gaze somewhat dim.
Cong Xia asked, “Are you from this area? You’re quite young, you were probably still in school back then.”
“Yeah, I was in my last year of high school. The earthquake happened shortly after the college entrance examination. Hah, if I had known, there was no need to study so hard. Oh, I’m not from here, I’m from Hunan.”
“So how did you end up in Xi’an?”
Deng Xiao looked at them confusedly. “Xi’an? Is this Xi’an?”
Cong Xia furrowed his brow. “You don’t know where this is?”
Deng Xiao shook his head. “I don’t know.”
“Then why did you come here?”
“I go wherever I go. Besides, I won’t starve to death.” He urged, “Can we eat the meat now?”
Cong Xia gave him a puzzled look and picked up a large piece of meat, placing it in his bowl. “So you just wander aimlessly like this? You might as well find a place to hibernate properly. Cold-blooded creatures shouldn’t be wandering around in winter.”
Deng Xiao shook his head. “No, I can’t stop. Maybe I can find my mom.”
Cong Xia paused for a moment and sighed. “You’re looking for your mom? Just wandering around like this?”
Deng Xiao took a big bite of meat and chewed it rather ungracefully. He muttered, “Yeah, my parents were arguing at the time. My mom flew away somewhere, and my dad died. I can only go find her. She’s such a fierce woman, she must still be alive. Maybe I’ll run into her somewhere.” As he spoke, his tone was calm, but the slightly moist eyes betrayed his emotions.
Cong Xia felt a pang of discomfort. After all, Deng Xiao was just an eighteen-year-old child, walking alone in this vast land, suffering from hunger and cold, without direction or purpose, clinging to a faint hope of finding his loved one.
How many people like Deng Xiao were there in the world?
Deng Xiao smiled again at this moment. “I haven’t had something this delicious in a long time. You guys even have salt. It’s a heavenly delicacy.” He happily tore into a large piece of meat.
Cong Xia and Liu Fengyu had just eaten and weren’t hungry at all. But seeing him like this, they were infected by his joy and each grabbed a rat leg to gnaw on. Abu was also eating the rat bones that Cong Xia had removed.
Suddenly, a familiar figure appeared in the sky in the distance. Cong Xia squinted his eyes and took a look. “Is it Xiao Tang?”
“Seems like it.”
The figure approached, and indeed, it was Tang Yanqiu. He shouted from afar, “Zhuang Yao and Tianni are in trouble. Come with me!”
The two immediately jumped up from the ground, skillfully grabbed Abu’s tail, and jumped onto its back. Abu leaped up and jumped out of the hotel.
Deng Xiao looked at them in astonishment. “Hey, what are you guys doing? There’s still so much meat left. Such a waste…”
Unfortunately, no one paid attention to him. Tang Yanqiu flew in front of Abu, leading the way. The group ran towards the distance.
“Xiao Tang, what’s going on?” Cong Xia was worried, but he remained calm. After all, he had great confidence in the abilities of Cheng Tianbi and Zhuang Yao.
Tang Yanqiu said, “I think they were being followed after leaving Ai Jia’s place. When I rushed back, I found them being cornered in a square. There hadn’t been a conflict yet when I left. Let’s hurry over.”
The group rushed southwards, led by Tang Yanqiu, with Abu picking up the pace. After more than ten minutes, they indeed saw a square ahead, with the majestic Big Wild Goose Pagoda towering in the distance. The surrounding area was a world covered in ice and snow, and the figures on the square stood out like black dots.
Cong Xia was anxious, using enhanced vision to look into the distance. In the center of the crowd, he spotted Cheng Tianbi with an indifferent expression, but Zhuang Yao, being short in stature, was blocked by people.
“Abu, faster!”
The people on the square also noticed their presence and turned to look at them.
They saw a gigantic cat, seven to eight meters tall, sprinting across the snowy ground. Each leap it made was higher than a building, and each landing caused violent tremors on the ground. Some people’s faces revealed expressions of fear.
Someone shouted, “Spread out!”
The crowd surrounding Cheng Tianbi and Zhuang Yao dispersed to the sides, leaving a wide passage for Abu.
After seeing that Cheng Tianbi and Zhuang Yao were safe, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Abu’s speed also slowed down, step by step, it approached the square and stopped in front of the two.
Abu lowered its head, and Zhuang Yao gently touched its face, whispering, “I’m fine.”
The group slid down from Abu, and Cong Xia walked over to Cheng Tianbi’s side. He surveyed the surroundings, seeing unfamiliar faces. He whispered, “What’s going on?”
“This is all of you?” a man with a strong presence scrutinized each of the five of them, even giving Abu a careful look. “It’s you guys who killed Zhang Qian and Liu Laoda?” His tone carried a hint of disbelief.
Zhuang Yao sneered, “That’s right. Does it differ from what you imagined? Strength can’t be discerned at first glance. Only by trying will you know. Do you dare to try against us?”
The man squinted his eyes as he looked at them. “Let me guess, which one of you is the Natural Force Evolver?” He scanned the group and finally focused his gaze on Cheng Tianbi. “It’s you, right? The one with the strongest energy fluctuations. You’ve become quite famous.”
Cong Xia whispered, “Who are they and what do they want?”
Cheng Tianbi raised his hand to stop him. “We’ll talk later.”
“In that case, which one of you is the legendary person who can heal injuries?” The man continued, “Honestly, I’m skeptical about whether such ability truly exists, but the person from the Eagle corps was so confident… So, I’m more curious about the nature of this healing ability. Everyone has heard of Cerebral Domain Evolvers and Natural Force Evolvers, but individuals with the ability to heal others’ injuries are truly rare. The value of such a person far surpasses yours. So, who is it?”
The man’s gaze swept over Zhuang Yao and Liu Fengyu, completely ignoring Cong Xia.
Cong Xia’s inability to be sensed by anyone with his attributeless energy indeed spared him from a lot of trouble.
The man’s dark gaze and peculiar attitude made everyone uncomfortable. The powerful energy fluctuations emanating from him also added to the unease. Each of them knew that he was a formidable opponent, but what was their goal?
The man said, “I know it’s not polite to block your way like this, but I believe it’s much more courteous than the scum who harassed you at your residence. Let me guess, what did he tell you? Did he say he knows where the Puppet Jade is and that you can obtain it if you join forces?” The man burst into loud laughter. “No one would believe such foolishness. Honestly, there is indeed Puppet Jade in Xi’an, that much is true, but no one can obtain it. The Puppet Jade is right there.” The man pointed backward, in the direction of the Big Wild Goose Pagoda.
He continued, “Beijing has sent three groups of people to try and retrieve the Puppet Jade from the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. They even sent a water-based Natural Force Evolver during the last attempt. But, guess what? Except for that Natural Force Evolver, none of the others made it out.”
Zhuang Yao raised an eyebrow, seemingly unconvinced. “Oh, what’s inside?”
The man replied, “I don’t know. Only the heavily injured Natural Force Evolver knows. If he’s still alive, the military in Beijing should know too. But two months have passed, and they haven’t made any moves. What exactly is residing inside, would you dare to go in and take a look?”
Zhuang Yao sneered, “Regardless of whether what you’re saying is true or not, we have no intention of going in. Tell us, what is your purpose in revealing all this?”
“My focus isn’t on the Puppet Jade. I just wanted to remind you that Ménfēi is untrustworthy.”
“And are you trustworthy?”
“I never said you should believe me. I just want to make a deal with you. Anyone with common sense knows what you need. Driving such a large vehicle must consume a lot of fuel, right?”
Zhuang Yao coldly asked, “What kind of deal do you want to make?”
***************
Other Novels:
Managing a Divine Beast Kindergarten in the Immortal Realm
Second Life Translations' Comment Policy
1. Be kind and respectful. Comments with curses will be put under moderation.
2. No links to other websites or asking for links.
3. No spoilers!