In less than half an hour, Fu Tingyun had cleared out the trash and stuffed it into the Universe Bag hanging at the Puppet Human's waist, just in case the woman came back looking for it—except for that jar of sugar that anyone could eat, which he had thoroughly destroyed.
Although everything in the room was trash in his eyes, he still kept the things that seemed slightly more useful, only clearing out the trash among the trash.
As a result, the items in the room were reduced by seventy to eighty percent.
He sorted and organized what remained, hiding away all the odds and ends and broken pieces. Though it was still a far cry from what he considered a suitable dwelling, at least it was somewhat cleaner.
He tucked the Universe Bag into the drawer cabinet and went outside to meditate.
After two days, his Divine Soul's integration with the Puppet Human had made further progress.
The range his Divine Sense could cover was still limited, but it should be enough to encompass the entire territory of the Yunyu Sect.
Fu Tingyun closed his eyes and released a thread of Divine Sense, extending it outward until it reached the outer city walls of the Yunyu Sect.
As long as he wished, everything in the city was within his perception.
He knew the woman was also in the city at this moment, but since he was merely testing the precise range, there was no need to deliberately avoid her.
He soon discovered her in a clothing shop, along with a somewhat handsome male cultivator.
That must be the Xiahou person they had mentioned.
He didn't care what they were doing or saying, but since his Divine Sense was connected to his five senses, he inevitably caught fragments of their conversation as he swept past.
He heard the somewhat handsome male cultivator say: "So Junior Sister Xiaoyuan doesn't have someone she fancies yet?"
…
Xiahou Che stared unblinkingly at Su Xiaoyuan, his gaze soft yet resolute, as if he would entangle her to death with his syrupy eyes if he didn't get an answer.
Su Xiaoyuan's brain immediately stopped working again: "I…"
Then, suddenly, a flash of insight struck her—this Senior Brother Xiahou was starting to teach her lessons anywhere and everywhere again.
Indeed, she seemed to have grasped a bit of the essence of "Eye-to-Eye Affection."
"Senior Brother was teaching me just now, right?" she said, a little uncertainly.
Xiahou Che didn't deny it, smiling with a hint of helplessness and self-mockery: "Then does Junior Sister Xiaoyuan know how she should answer?"
"Uh… tell the truth?"
"And if you don't want to tell the truth, but also don't want to lie?"
Su Xiaoyuan was stumped. She tilted her head up and stared at him blankly, her eyes like two clear pools of water, with every pebble, little fish, and tiny shrimp at the bottom fully visible.
Xiahou Che: "When you encounter a difficult question to answer, you can ask a question back."
Su Xiaoyuan still wore an expression of eager learning.
Xiahou Che looked into her eyes, his gaze flowing like ripples on water: "For example, you could ask me, 'Why does Senior Brother suddenly ask me these things?'"
Su Xiaoyuan's eyes suddenly lit up: "So that's how it is, I've learned something new! Senior Brother is really amazing!"
Xiahou Che twitched the corner of his mouth helplessly: "Junior Sister flatters me."
"Please wait a moment, Senior Brother…" Su Xiaoyuan lowered her head and rummaged through her small shoulder bag, pulling out her handmade journal and a charcoal stick pen. "Let me take some notes. I'm afraid I'll forget when I get back…"
With that, she buried her head and began writing furiously.
Sometimes she would pause to think, unconsciously biting the wooden end of the pen, leaving tiny teeth marks on it.
Xiahou Che waited patiently for her to write: "No rush, take your time. Junior Sister Xiaoyuan is truly diligent and earnest in her studies."
Su Xiaoyuan smiled bitterly: "I'm earnest yet still learn so poorly. If I don't work even harder, I won't pass the Inner Sect Trial."
She had filled nearly half a page with dense writing before she hastily tucked the notebook away. "I'm sorry for taking up so much of Senior Brother Xiahou's time."
Xiahou Che deliberately put on a stern face and raised an eyebrow. "If Junior Sister Xiaoyuan wants to make it up to me, then help me pick out some clothes for the Wushan Festival."
As he spoke, he swept his gaze across the small shop, quickly selected several outfits, had the shopkeeper take them down, and then tried them on one by one.
After each one, he asked Su Xiaoyuan for her opinion.
Xiahou Che was handsome and well-built, a natural clotheshorse, so of course he looked good in everything.
His taste was clearly excellent as well—the seemingly casually matched outfits were harmonious in tone and eye-catching.
Xiahou Che's styling gave her plenty of new inspiration. Every time he put on a set, Su Xiaoyuan couldn't help but imagine what her puppet would look like wearing it.
She had originally thought Fu Tingyun suited black, white, gray, and cool-toned colors best—the ascetic, restrained look. But now she thought that boldly colored, flamboyantly patterned clothes might have a striking effect on him.
And if she were to dress him in women's clothing…
Su Xiaoyuan's head spun at the thought, her blood racing. She couldn't help but pull out her notebook and start sketching.
Seeing her so absorbed in drawing, Xiahou Che didn't rush her and patiently waited for her to finish sketching the outfits.
…
Fu Tingyun withdrew his Divine Sense and opened his eyes.
But the residual images from what his Divine Sense had witnessed still lingered before him.
Su Xiaoyuan watching that passably handsome male cultivator change clothes, her cheeks flushed and eyes gleaming—the image was vivid in his mind.
If she couldn't have him as her plaything, she would simply find herself a new one.
Last night she had been agonizing over him; today she was laughing and chatting with that male cultivator.
The fickleness of the human heart was plain to see.
Just then, a faint itch came from the little finger of his left hand.
He lowered his gaze. That wisp of red thread formed from her blood droplet had wound around him again.
Ever since he had first indulged it by letting it draw near, it came to pester him every time he sat in meditation and looked inward.
Was his wavering state of mind due to the influence of the Puppet Body, or had she tampered with the Blood Contract?
He immediately dismissed that speculation.
Today he had just observed her in her gu arts class and her talisman and formation arts class, witnessing her floundering and fumbling through simple minor techniques.
There was no way she could have cast any gu arts or curses on him.
Fu Tingyun stared coldly at the wisp of brilliant red, as thin as a spider's silk, so fragile that a single move of his finger would snap it.
With just a gentle tug, their inexplicable bond and her life would end together.
Everything would return to normal.
Just as he hesitated, the thin thread grew bolder and wound around him a few more times.
Why was he hesitating at all?
He opened his eyes, stood up, and walked expressionlessly back into the room, sitting cross-legged on his cushion.
Soon the setting sun slanted westward, then was devoured by the mountains. The last wisp of pink-purple at the horizon faded into deep violet-blue.
The moon rose, slowly climbing above the treetops.
She still hadn't returned.
Fu Tingyun stood up, walked to the cabinet, pulled open the drawer, and took out the Universe Bag.
Spiritual fire ignited in his palm—a flame as cold as ice—and in an instant engulfed the Universe Bag.
To melt these miscellaneous items with their faint spiritual power, there was no need for the Melting Abyss; a palmful of fire was more than enough.
In that instant, the Universe Bag and everything inside it were incinerated completely, not even a trace of ash remaining.
In any case, her trip into the city had been quite fruitful. No doubt a new batch of junk would soon take residence, so these old items might as well make way early.
…
After trying on the few outfits he had picked out, Xiahou Che asked her, "Junior Sister Xiaoyuan, which one do you think looks best?"
Su Xiaoyuan replied, "They all look good. Senior Brother Xiahou has such good taste—whatever you pick is bound to be better than anything I'd choose."
Xiahou Che's eyes curved into a smile. "Just pick whichever you like."
Su Xiaoyuan said bluntly, "What I like doesn't matter. In the end, you have to like the clothes you wear yourself."
Xiahou Che couldn't help but laugh, reaching out to pat her on the head. "Junior Sister Xiaoyuan, what I meant just now was that these clothes are meant to be worn for you to see."
"Huh?" It took Su Xiaoyuan a moment to understand. "Oh!"
She lowered her head in embarrassment. "I'm sorry, I'm really slow on the uptake."
"You really are quite slow," Xiahou Che nodded.
So it was true after all. Su Xiaoyuan sighed inwardly.
"But that's also what makes Junior Sister Xiaoyuan the most endearing," Xiahou Che said, changing his tone.
"Thank you for the consolation, Senior Brother Xiahou," Su Xiaoyuan said wistfully. "If I were really as good as you say, I wouldn't have failed the entrance examination."
"Being merely likable isn't enough to pass the entrance exam—that's also a form of protection for the disciples," Xiahou Che said. "A girl as innocent as Junior Sister Xiaoyuan needs to learn how to protect herself even more, because you're far too appealing to bad people."
He blinked, half-joking. "Like me, for instance."
"But Senior Brother Xiahou is a very good person."
Xiahou Che laughed.
Before he could say anything else, Ruan Mianmian's voice rang out from outside the shop: "Little Yuanzi, where are you?"
Su Xiaoyuan said, "Sorry, excuse me for a moment," and hurried outside, waving both arms. "We're over here—"
Because communication devices in the cultivation world were exorbitantly priced, and neither she nor Ruan Mianmian could afford them, they had to rely on shouting whenever they needed to find each other out and about.
Before long, Ruan Mianmian wove through the bustling crowd and ran up to her.
"How did it go?" Su Xiaoyuan leaned in and whispered. "Did you find Song Jinshu?"
Ruan Mianmian shook her head indignantly, grinding her teeth. "I almost caught up with him, but then his scent drifted into Perfume Alley, and I couldn't pick it out anymore! Achoo!"
She sneezed several times in a row before finally recovering. "But I'm pretty sure I didn't misidentify it—that was definitely his scent!"
"But why would he come here?" Su Xiaoyuan was utterly baffled.
Ruan Mianmian had no clue either. "No idea. After he sent that letter of annulment to my family on his own initiative, his mother kicked him out of the house. I don't know if he ever went back."
She herself had run away from home too, and still had to dodge her family while searching.
"Forget it, let's not worry about him! Thinking about it gives me a headache!"
Ruan Mianmian pounded her head, producing a sound as resonant as a temple bell, startling a young couple on the roadside so badly their faces went pale.
She laughed carelessly, then patted her stomach. "I'm hungry! After we buy what we need, I'll treat you and Senior Brother to a nice meal!"
In the end, Xiahou Che insisted on treating them to a lavish feast at Jiangzhen Tower, the finest restaurant in the city.
In the clothing shop, Su Xiaoyuan ultimately couldn't resist the temptation and bought Fu Tingyun a more understated outfit—a white robe with cloud patterns and silver piping—to match his new hair ribbon.
This outfit, along with the hair ribbon, cost a full two hundred High-Grade Spirit Stones. It was only thanks to Ruan Mianmian's bargaining skills and Senior Brother Xiahou's VVIP status that they managed it.
She had eaten delicious golden milk pastries and hundred-flower honey-brewed small round cakes at Jiangzhen Tower, so she quietly ordered a portion of each for herself. When she returned, she gave half to Ruan Mianmian for breakfast and brought the other half to Fu Tingyun to eat.
Leaving him, a puppet, alone at home until so late and even making him do chores—she felt inexplicably a little guilty.
By the time she returned to the sect, the full moon had already risen to the middle of the sky.
Su Xiaoyuan had drunk two small cups of fruit wine with dinner and was slightly tipsy.
Carrying the spoils of her shopping trip that day, humming a song she had liked back in high school, she pushed open the door.
"Fu Tingyun, I'm back from the hunt…"
Before the words left her mouth, she suddenly felt something was off about her surroundings.
Though it was pitch-black and she couldn't see clearly, there was an inexplicable sense of emptiness.
She felt around for the lamp, tossed a Spirit Stone into it, and the light gradually brightened.
The small room was still dim, but it was enough for her to make out her surroundings.
Su Xiaoyuan opened her mouth but made no sound.
A wave of dizziness washed over her, her body swayed, and the bundle of clothes in her hands fell to the ground with a thud.
Her home had been robbed.