Puppet Master!

"Alright then, Xiao Hei," Su Xiaobai said, reclining against a nearby tree, arms crossed behind his head. "You've got a name now, so let's make it clear—you're sticking around as my... assistant. You can fight, and apparently, you're stronger than me, so that makes you the perfect little bodyguard. You're not freeloading for free, got it?"

Xiao Hei paused, her red eyes glancing at him once more before giving the faintest of nods.

Su Xiaobai smirked, closing his eyes. "Good. And if anyone tries to come after us, you take them out. Especially that annoying brat Wei Jun. I'll leave that one entirely to you."

For the first time, Su Xiaobai felt like the situation was 'slightly' under control—at least until her next mood swing.

With a satisfied sigh, he settled in, feeling more confident with Xiao Hei by his side.

As the fire crackled softly and the night settled deeper around them, Su Xiaobai's eyes remained fixed on the demon girl, Xiao Hei, as she nibbled away at the roasted rabbit.

Her small figure, framed by the flickering flames, seemed so out of place in this wild, chaotic world.

Everything about her—from the porcelain skin to the quiet, emotionless gaze—felt like something carved from a dream.

Something that didn't belong here.

Su Xiaobai leaned back against the tree, a soft sigh slipping from his lips. He let his head rest against the bark, gazing up at the darkened sky.

The stars above were faint, twinkling like distant memories, barely visible through the forest canopy.

The loneliness that had followed him through these months, that constant companion he'd never quite shaken, seemed to creep in around the edges again.

'It's been a long time since anyone's stuck around...' He thought to himself, his hand absently rubbing at his chin.

For so long, it had just been him, wandering from one place to another, always chasing something—treasures, power, or just the thrill of survival.

There had been people along the way, faces that blurred with time.

But none of them stayed.

None of them could.

"Maybe having you around won't be so bad," he muttered, his voice quiet, as if he wasn't sure whether he was talking to Xiao Hei or to the empty air.

The demon girl glanced up at him with those wide red eyes, saying nothing, her face an unreadable mask.

But her presence was steady, almost comforting in its silence.

Su Xiaobai chuckled softly to himself, the sound carrying a hint of something bittersweet. "An innocent demon in disguise, and the most 'righteous' Brother Su, conquering the heavens..." He shook his head, the corner of his mouth twitching into a small smile.

The irony of it all wasn't lost on him, and somehow, it felt a little funny.

Funny in the way that life sometimes played out—like a story written by some careless hand.

He tapped his chin thoughtfully, trying to shake off the odd feeling settling in his chest. "But I can't exactly walk into a sect with a demon girl on my shoulder, can I?" He spoke louder now, his voice carrying a more familiar tone, the melancholy slipping away just a bit.

Xiao Hei blinked at him, still silent.

"Nope. That won't work," Su Xiaobai continued, almost to himself. "So here's the plan. You'll act like a puppet, alright? Still, quiet. If anyone's around, you pretend to be nothing but some fancy artifact. They won't question it, and I can slip into the sect without drawing any attention."

He waited for a reaction, but Xiao Hei's crimson eyes remained steady, unblinking.

Her silence stretched between them, but Su Xiaobai didn't mind it.

Somehow, it felt... normal.

Almost comforting.

He chuckled again, leaning back against the tree. "Good. That'll be our little secret." His smirk softened as he gazed at the firelight flickering across her face. "With you around, I'll have a bit of company. Maybe that's not such a bad thing after all."

The night continued to deepen, the stars above faint and distant, as Su Xiaobai closed his eyes. "Just don't crush my jewels again, alright?" he muttered with a faint smile.

And for a moment, in the quiet that followed, Su Xiaobai couldn't help but feel a strange, almost forgotten warmth settle in his chest—like he wasn't so alone after all.

Even if it was just for now.

____

Su Xiaobai introduced Xiao Hei to Grandpa Wei as nothing more than a puppet—a finely crafted artifact, completely under his control.

"I'm practicing a rare Puppet Refining Technique," Su Xiaobai explained with a straight face.

His confidence was unwavering, knowing that any slip-up might lead to uncomfortable questions.

Xiao Hei, for her part, was utterly convincing.

She stood completely still, her crimson eyes blank, her small frame as lifeless as an actual puppet.

Grandpa Wei, ever the cautious old man, scrutinized Xiao Hei with narrowed eyes, even trying to probe her with his spiritual sense.

He found nothing.

To him, she was hollow—just a shell with no trace of life.

If it fooled someone as sharp as Grandpa Wei, Su Xiaobai was confident that it could fool the idiots at the Xiantian Sect as well.

Wei Jun glanced over at Su Xiaobai, clearly curious and suspicious, but when Su Xiaobai gave no further explanation, he simply shrugged, not entirely understanding the genius—or insanity—of Su Xiaobai's plan.

Su Xiaobai smirked inwardly. Perfect, he thought.

Since Xiao Hei had already formed a 'core', he could participate in the disciple recruitment of the Xiantian Sect as a puppet master.

Puppet masters were rare, and a powerful puppet like Xiao Hei, with a core no less, would give him an edge over the competition.

In truth, Xiao Hei wasn't just any puppet—she was the Immortal Fetus.

Seeing through her, even for skilled cultivators, would be impossible.

But Su Xiaobai couldn't help but sigh as his mind wandered.

Xiao Hei needed an 'Immortal' cultivation technique to unlock her full potential.

And all the Immortal-level techniques had been stolen by the Evil Empress, leaving him empty-handed.

"No matter how much of a genius I am," he muttered to himself, "I'm still just a mortal. The gap between us and Immortals... it's as wide as heaven and earth."

Xiao Hei, on the other hand, wasn't constrained by those limits.

She could glance at any mystic technique and instantly grasp its essence, like a divine being casually snacking on knowledge.

Even with Su Xiaobai's exceptional talent, hailed as one of the best among mortals, he couldn't hope to match Xiao Hei's speed of cultivation.

Her Immortal Physique made his progress look slow in comparison.

She was a monster in every sense of the word.

Without even trying, she had already broken through the peak of Core Emergence, just by existing.

That night, while Su Xiaobai slept at the top of a tall tree, cradling Xiao Hei in his arms like a precious treasure, something shifted.

He had chosen to sleep away from Grandpa Wei and Wei Jun, wanting some peace. Xiao Hei, as always, lay perfectly still, like a silent guardian.

But the moment Su Xiaobai's breathing deepened, signaling he was truly asleep, Xiao Hei moved.

With delicate precision, she tapped lightly on his forehead, ensuring his sleep grew deeper.

Then, she carefully slipped out of his grasp, her small body wriggling free from his arms.

Once free, she leapt gracefully from the tree, landing softly on the ground below.

It was as if gravity didn't affect her at all—her movements were smooth, ethereal.

Without a second glance at Su Xiaobai, she took to the air, flying silently toward the waterfall they had visited earlier.

The night wind whipped through her raven-black hair, but she paid it no mind. Her head was lowered, as if weighed down by something heavier than the night sky.

Tip... tip...

Droplets of water from the misty waterfall mixed with the tears falling from her eyes, tracing soft lines down her cheeks.

Tip... tip...

The faint sound of her quiet tears echoed through the night, unseen and unnoticed by anyone but the moonlit sky and the quiet waterfall below.

Xiao Hei's red eyes, usually so empty and distant, shimmered with something... something lost as the tears fell, sparkling like dew in the night air.

She flew on, the weight of emotions she couldn't express around her.