Chapter 57

Watching the old man walk away with his noodle puppet stall, Lu Xiaodeng followed him, trailing behind all the way. She couldn’t understand why he wouldn’t sell her a noodle puppet. Was he going to be picky about his customers?

The old man turned around and, seeing that she was still following him, hurriedly quickened his pace, trying to shake her off. The children, holding their noodle puppets, also started to run, closely following the old man.

"This won’t do, it’s too conspicuous." Seeing so many children running after him, the old man realized it was drawing too much attention. He had to slow down and smiled at the children, saying, "Everyone, go back. No matter how nice my noodle puppets are, you can’t keep following me."

But none of the children spoke. They all smiled, holding their noodle puppets and continuing to follow him, not a single one wanting to leave. Lu Xiaodeng was even more noticeable than these children, with her strangely colored tripod so large that it was easy to bump into people, drawing countless curious glances.

Finally, the old man couldn’t bear it anymore and stopped, finding a corner to set up his stall. He looked at Lu Xiaodeng and asked, "Why have you been following me?"

"To buy a noodle puppet." Lu Xiaodeng said blankly. Wasn’t it obvious?

"I only accept gold. That bead is too precious, I can’t make change. You’re a cultivator, right? Noodle puppets are just for children to play with. Cultivators shouldn’t be following me." The old man glanced at her tripod several times, unsure of who this girl really was.

Lu Xiaodeng understood. He must be a wandering stall vendor who had seen many cultivators in other towns. Seeing her with a tripod, he assumed she was a cultivator. He must be scared. What a pitiful old man, scared like this.

She smiled kindly and said, "Old man, don’t be afraid. I’m not a cultivator. Although I carry a tripod, I don’t know any magic at all."

"Did you come alone?" The old man sighed in relief and asked casually.

"Yes." Lu Xiaodeng nodded and pointed at the dough, saying, "Can you make me a puppet now? Just as we agreed, I want two. You don’t need to give me change for the crystal bean. You can keep it as a family treasure." Saying this, she threw a crystal bean onto the box and smiled at him.

The old man was speechless. What a generous person, treating a crystal bean as a family treasure. He didn’t want to get involved with cultivators, but since this guy wouldn’t leave and was alone with no cultivation, he couldn’t be blamed for being impolite.

He took out the dough and, looking at Lu Xiaodeng, started to shape it. His hands were skilled and quick, and soon he had made a lifelike little figure, even including the tripod on its back.

"Here’s your noodle puppet. Take good care of it." He looked into Lu Xiaodeng’s eyes and handed her the puppet.

It was so lifelike. Lu Xiaodeng couldn’t wait to see what her senior sister would look like. She took the puppet and happily said, "It’s so lifelike. Hurry up and make one for my senior sister."

Suddenly, she felt a bit dizzy, but it quickly passed. Blinking her eyes and seeing nothing unusual, she urged him, "Don’t just stand there. Hurry up and make it. If you want, I can give you another family treasure."

The old man was stunned, seeing that nothing had happened to her. He quickly glanced at the children, who were still smiling and holding their puppets. If you looked closely, you could see that their eyes were a bit vacant, but their movements weren’t stiff.

"What’s wrong?" Lu Xiaodeng asked, concerned when he stopped.

"Nothing, I’m not feeling well today. Come back tomorrow for your senior sister’s puppet." The old man hadn’t expected to fail. This woman wasn’t simple, and his soul-extraction technique had failed. He couldn’t let her lose consciousness and follow him. Now he just wanted to get rid of Lu Xiaodeng and not let her notice anything strange about the children.

Lu Xiaodeng immediately said enthusiastically, "That’s perfect. I can cure diseases. Let me check what’s wrong with you. Just take my medicine, and I guarantee you’ll be cured and feel strong."

"Ah?" The old man panicked and said, "No need. I’ve never seen such a precious crystal bean before, so I got a bit excited. I just need to rest at home."

"Oh, I see." Lu Xiaodeng nodded in understanding. Indeed, in such a mundane place, crystal beans were rarely seen.

The old man wanted to find a rock to bash his head against. How could he say such a poor thing? He took a deep breath, trying to get this girl to leave quickly. "Sorry, I’m really tired today. I can’t make any more puppets. I’m sorry, I’m going home."

"Okay, be careful. Do you want me to walk you home?" Lu Xiaodeng started to do her daily good deed. After all, it was her crystal bean that made the old man so excited. If he died from excitement, that would be a bad deed.

"No, I can still walk. Cultivator, hurry up and go about your business." The old man really wanted to kick her in the face. How could she be so thick-skinned? Just go away.

Lu Xiaodeng confirmed that he was fine and could go home on his own, then told him to be careful and turned to leave with the puppet.

The old man quickly picked up his box and tried to leave, wanting to get away from this strange girl. After a few steps, he heard a roar behind him, "Stop, you bad guys!"

This shout was like a bolt of lightning. He almost fled, but when he turned around, he wanted to curse. Lu Xiaodeng had come back, holding a little boy and scolding him fiercely, "Can’t you see the old man is feeling unwell and wants to go home? You’re still following him. You have no manners at all."

She snatched the puppet from the little boy’s hand and threw it to the ground, pushing the boy down as well.

"Don’t!" The old man shouted, but it was too late. The little boy sat up, looking around in confusion. After a moment, he suddenly burst into tears, shouting for his mother and running away.

Lu Xiaodeng crossed her arms and huffed, "You’re all at the age where you need to be disciplined. If you keep following the old man, I’ll beat you up."

The old man was on the verge of tears. Seeing her about to chase the other seven children, he quickly blocked her, "No, you can’t hit children."

"But they keep following you. They’ll follow you all the way home. I’m just worried about you." Lu Xiaodeng pointed at the children, thinking they were too shameless to still be smiling at a time like this.

"Alright, can you walk me home?" The old man decided that even if it brought cultivators to her, he had to take her away. Otherwise, the other children would also be driven away, and he would be scolded to death by his senior brother for failing his first mission.

Hearing this, Lu Xiaodeng pouted and said, "Didn’t you just say you didn’t need my help and could go home on your own?"

He had been so enthusiastic about her concern just now, but now she was saying this. The old man, suppressing the urge to beat her, clutched his chest and pretended to be weak, "I suddenly don’t feel well. Can you walk me home and help me diagnose what’s wrong?"

"Alright, since you’re begging me, I’ll reluctantly agree. I’ll chase away those children first; they’re really annoying." Lu Xiaodeng’s face was filled with a smile that was hard to understand. It was unclear whether she was happy about beating children or helping the old man home. What could make her so happy?

"No, I’ll feel guilty if you do that. Children often come to my house to play. They’re used to it. You’ll understand why they love to come when you visit." If he chased away a few more children, he would really explode. This was his last warning.

Lu Xiaodeng, surprised by such a kind old man, said, "You’ll live a long life. After I take you home, I’ll give you some good pills. After taking them, even though your hair and beard are white, you can still have several big, healthy boys and handle ten young brides."

The old man’s mouth twitched, and he said speechlessly, "I can’t afford it."

"Let them go out and make noodle puppets. Such beautiful puppets will definitely sell well." Lu Xiaodeng said, thinking that what she liked, others would like too.

The poor old man, carrying his box and clutching his chest, pretended to be unwell, with seven children following behind. Lu Xiaodeng, who said she would walk him home, walked beside him, showing no intention of helping him carry anything. Instead, she was enthusiastically planning his future life.

"Next year, you can have another big, healthy boy. Maybe two. When they grow up a bit, they can make noodle puppets. You can have a dozen or twenty more, and you’ll have many sons to sell puppets. When they earn money, they can grow up, get married, have grandchildren, and sell more puppets." She paused, then exclaimed enviously, "Old man, you’re going to be rich."

The old man looked at her deeply, having cursed her hundreds of times in his heart. What kind of sect or family could produce such a fool? He would find out where she came from and, when the opportunity arose, destroy her entire family. He couldn’t stand her anymore.

Unconsciously, they had left the small town. They had been following the main road, but the old man led them through a few turns onto a small path. Lu Xiaodeng, not feeling tired at all, was impressed by the children’s perseverance. They had been walking for so long without getting tired.

"Here we are." Just as she was admiring the children’s perseverance, the old man suddenly stopped and threw his box to the ground.

Lu Xiaodeng looked around. This was a flat area surrounded by two small hills, covered with green grass, with no huts in sight. She frowned and said, "There’s no house. You’re going to sleep under the sky and the earth. Your home is really poor."

As soon as she said this, the old man, holding three skewers of noodle puppets, lunged at her, shouting angrily, "Die! I’ve had enough of you!"

"Ah?"