Chapter 92
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Chapter 92: Puppet Master
When it came to arguments, ten Chu Lingluos couldn’t match Yan Yunyu.
Defeated in the verbal battle, Chu Lingluo instinctively turned to Mu Lin for support.
But Mu Lin—chose silence.
He assumed Yan Yunyu’s actions followed Chu Lingluo’s mother’s instructions, so he saw no reason to object.
His silence stung Chu Lingluo, yet she clenched her teeth and bore the hurt.
Mu Lin soon found unexpected benefits from Yan Yunyu’s arrival.
Her presence shifted Chu Lingluo’s focus elsewhere.
The girls’ constant bickering granted him more cultivation time.
Better still, he no longer needed excuses to avoid Chu Lingluo.
During their disputes, Mu Lin deliberately favored Yan Yunyu slightly.
This calculated partiality would surely drive Chu Lingluo away—exactly his intention.
"Your family opposes this. Pursuing you could get me killed. I might die someday, but never for mere romance!"
Truth was, Mu Lin valued his own life more than Chu Lingluo’s affections.
Thus their duo became trio, though the group now simmered with tension.
Resentment hung thick—from both Chu Lingluo and… surprisingly, Yan Yunyu.
Though joining the team, she couldn’t manipulate Mu Lin.
Worse still, he remained stubbornly indifferent to her provocations and flattery, refusing to challenge the Tower of Illusions again.
Without his participation, her efforts became meaningless.
"I need to make him challenge that tower!"
This realization gave Yan Yunyu a headache.
Her previous schemes had burned bridges with Mu Lin, making persuasion nearly impossible.
……
Mu Lin vaguely sensed Yan Yunyu’s plotting but ignored it, determined not to dance to her tune.
Meanwhile, he groaned at his shifting reputation in the Taoist Palace.
The latest gossip cut both ways.
When he’d joked about building a harem, everyone called him delusional.
Now with Chu Lingluo staying and Yan Yunyu joining, his "harem" seemed alarmingly plausible—leaving onlookers gaping.
They had mocked him before, but now the joke was on them.
Envy colored their amazement, some nearly green-eyed.
His friend Zong Xiu actually dropped to his knees before him.
"Teach me, brother! How did you tame two noble ladies at once?"
Mu Lin rolled his eyes at the comment.
Subduing noble ladies, two at that—he wished to learn such methods too.
Yet he knew Chu Lingluo would ultimately leave him.
As for Yan Yunyu, Mu Lin believed she acted under coercion from Chu Lingluo’s mother. Her current enthusiasm surely stemmed from the same desire as his own—to finish the task swiftly and escape this ordeal.
‘Two? I can’t even manage one.’
Weighed down by melancholy, Mu Lin refused to elaborate. When Zong Xiu pressed for advice, he pointed at his face. "See this?"
"??? What?"
"My face! You asked how I attract noble ladies? Here’s the answer—this handsome mug lets me do as I please."
Zong Xiu gaped before muttering, "Now I see you truly rely on your face—not for its looks, but for its thickness!"
……
Chu Lingluo’s plaintive stare eventually pierced Mu Lin’s defenses. Guilt gnawed at him for reducing the kind-hearted girl to such circumstances, darkening his mood.
Ironically, this gloom resonated perfectly with his Mind Image · City of Heaven’s Funeral. Each meditation session now drew greater amounts of Heaven’s Funeral power—precisely what Mu Lin didn’t need.
Controlled power served him; raw, unrefined surges only endangered him.
Salvation came when news arrived—the Puppet Master had returned to Anping City. Mu Lin could finally begin his apprenticeship.
"Freedom at last," he sighed.
Outside the Taoist Palace, Mu Lin observed the antique-clad crowds with newfound curiosity. The tension melted from his shoulders, replaced by relief.
Teacher Dongfang Ya sniffed disdainfully at his eased demeanor. "You reap what you sow."
Mu Lin spread his hands helplessly. "I never sought their attention. They forced my hand."
"Force? More like bribery. I know about your deal… Though you chose wisely. Cultivation matters most now."
Their conversation continued as they approached the Puppet Master’s dwelling. Upon reaching a secluded small courtyard, Mu Lin noted luxury carriages clustered at the gates.
Inside, dozens of youths—some his age, others older—filled the space.
"Fellow apprentices?" he wondered.
Following Dongfang Ya, Mu Lin confronted the establishment’s mistress—a voluptuous woman lounging with a jade pipe, Swallowing Clouds and Puffing Fog. Attendant beauties fussed about her.
This scene suggested not a master artisan, but a dissipated aristocrat.
However, Mu Lin did not rush to decide. Being acknowledged by Dongfang Ya meant this woman’s capabilities were undoubtedly exceptional. He glanced up at the woman before lowering his gaze, standing quietly aside.
Dongfang Ya waved her hand irritably, sweeping the smoke to one corner of the room. "Meng Rui, must you be so careless? There are children present."
"Relax," Meng Rui drawled, smoke curling from her pipe. "This Dream Fragrance strengthens young minds."
"And addicts them!"
A humorless chuckle escaped the puppet master. "If they succumb to mere wisps of fantasy, such weaklings deserve whatever fate befalls them."
Dongfang Ya planted her hands on her hips. "You haven’t changed – still utterly insufferable."
"Look who’s talking. Need I remind you who’s petitioning whom here?"
"Petitioning sounds so… formal. I’m presenting you with an outstanding disciple! Mu Lin’s talents-"
"Enough." Meng Rui’s gaze shifted to the silent boy. "So this is the little one who’s caught both your eye and the Chu family’s favor. Remember this, boy – connections mean nothing here. Disappoint me, and you’ll find yourself tossed out regardless of patrons."
Mu Lin bowed deeply. "I’ll strive to meet your standards, master."
The puppet master dismissed him with a flick of her wrist. "Wait outside with the others. Assessments begin shortly."
As Mu Lin exited, he noted the crowd of well-dressed applicants – proof of Meng Rui’s renown. Yet his attention snagged on a disheveled youth radiating bitterness, whose bloodshot eyes burned with undisguised loathing. The boy clearly harbored dark history, but Mu Lin wisely averted his gaze.
Soon the courtyard emptied of guardians, leaving only aspirants. A maid ushered them into Meng Rui’s smoke-filled chamber where the master reclined like a languid panther. None dared stare directly at her revealing silks.
"Now then," her honeyed voice coiled through the haze, "Why pursue puppetry? What defines a perfect puppet? How would you handle awakened consciousness in your creations?"
Mu Lin felt the questions seep into his mind, tempting confession. But as he opened his mouth, a strange vibration rippled through his sea of consciousness – his perception suddenly lifting as if observing himself from above.
