Chapter 21: My Puppet Won't Get Hurt

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Theoretically, as an 18-year-old adult, Yan Yu had the right to choose which university to attend on his own.

In reality, of course, he still had to do the proper communication with his parents.

Having signed his name on the enrollment agreement in front of the principal, the head teacher, and the recruiting officer, Yan Yu had actually shed his identity as a "senior three student" and had contributed to the school's college enrollment rate.

Therefore, instead of returning to the classroom to continue cramming with his classmates, he went to get his cell phone back from his homeroom teacher and then strutted home.

The homeroom teacher even considerately allowed him to backdate a month's leave, to prevent any adverse effects on his normal graduation.

As he walked home, Yan Yu took a moment to gather his thoughts before dialing his father's number.

Aside from himself, there were three other people in the family. His father, named Yan Nantian, was a regular employee at a state-owned enterprise. It seemed that his grandfather hadn't read Gu Long's "The Legendary Siblings" when he named his father.

When he was a child living in the company's staff dormitory, every time Yan Nantian returned home from work, there would always be neighborhood kids shouting "Silken Bond Technique" around him, and Yan Yu would often be caught by his playmates to "pass on the technique in turn".

Given these memories that Yan Yu preferred to forget, hereinafter, "Yan Nantian" will be referred to as "Father Yan".

His mother, Zhang Yalan, was a primary school Chinese language teacher at a local school, also referred to as "Mother Yan".

Then there was his younger sister, Yan Jing, who was currently attending a local middle school.

After Yan Yu called, he roughly explained the situation at school to his dad: direct military sponsorship, enlistment upon graduation, initial military rank, and a monthly salary of 40,000 yuan.

Father Yan just responded with a series of noncommittal grunts, without asking, "Is that school for real, or is it fake?"

"Aren't you going to ask about the school?" Yan Yu felt that something was off.

"No," Father Yan said.

"Aren't you worried it might be fake?" Yan Yu was even more puzzled.

"The leader just talked to me," Father Yan answered calmly, "saying that your kid has been noticed by the military, that you must let him attend Zhendong National Defense Academy, also mentioning that a state enterprise is different from a private one, the staff should have enough political awareness... You get it, what else could I say?"

Yan Yu: .........

So it turns out that your recruitment strategy was to work on both the student and the parents at the same time!

"Alright then." He was about to hang up when his sister Yan Jing's voice came through the phone, "Big bro! You have a salary of 40,000 yuan, can you buy me a bag?"

"What does a girl your age need a bag for!" Mother Yan interjected, "Yan Yu, don't mind her."

"Jing Jing, school isn't out yet, right?" Yan Yu asked with narrowed eyes, "How come you're at home?"

"It's my period and it hurts too much today, so I asked the teacher for half a day off," Yan Jing said excitedly. "Big bro, you don't have a girlfriend, and you can't spend 40,000 yuan a month, so why not buy a bag for your sister? Chasing a goddess will only get you treated like a lapdog, but buying something for your sister, that's true sibling love!"

"Alright, alright." Yan Yu immediately agreed, "I'll buy you a new backpack right away, filled with middle school exam review questions, you just wait!"

"You're doing every evil thing..." The sister's pitiful howl came from the phone, along with Mother Yan's relentless suppression, and Yan Yu, having successfully played his trick, hung up and walked leisurely home.

Yeah, he was going to become a cultivator.

However, there was no real sense of joy, strangely enough.

Because what he truly longed for was not so much to become a cultivator, but to make amends for the profound regret of the past life, the "almost made it" feeling.

And that tiny gap might just be the difference between a "cultivator" and a "non-cultivator".

That wretched woman, Chen Lingyun, in the past life always liked to say, "Ah, what a pity you're not a cultivator", aside from deliberately teasing and enjoying his awkwardness, perhaps there actually was a bit of real regret there as well?

As for the exact proportion, maybe ten percent, couldn't be any more.

Upon arriving home, Yan Yu saw two "mannequins" standing in the living room, who were the spitting image of Zhao Yuanzhen.

As for the real Demonic Sect Enchantress, Zhao Yuanzhen, she was sitting at the desk, focused on operating something.

Seeing that she was probably at a critical point in creating the core components of a puppet, Yan Yu didn't dare to disturb her, but quietly closed the door and decided to go out for a walk.

Hm?

There was a package on the floor, sent from Jianghai Prefecture.

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When opened, inside was indeed the enrollment agreement for "Zhao Jiuzhen" and a handwritten note from Chen Lingyun.

"Fill it out and send it back to me as soon as possible."

At the end, she even drew a cartoon of a little dog in simple strokes.

It's all sorted out now... Yan Yu couldn't help but sigh.

This woman, Chen Lingyun, is really useless when she isn't serious, but incredibly efficient when she is.

"It's all sorted out!" Zhao Yuanzhen's excited voice rang out from inside the room, "Hahaha! I am indeed a genius, Yan Yu, you little thief, what do you have to say now..."

Yan Yu quickly pushed the door open and asked coldly,

"Is it done?"

Zhao Yuanzhen subconsciously felt guilty, as if she were caught talking behind someone's back, but quickly regained her composure and declared with pride,

"The puppet's core is ready!"

Whether intentionally or not, the enchantress made a conspicuous, surging motion, but luckily, Yan Yu possessed immense strategic composure and was not swayed by her beauty, simply saying,

"Let me see it!"

After examining the puppet for a long time, Yan Yu finally frowned and said,

"Why does this puppet look so much like you?"

"Because my appearance and figure are perfect," Zhao Yuanzhen confidently said with one hand on her chest, "Even though it's a battle puppet for cultivation, if it's possible to pursue the ultimate in looks, there's no need to make it ugly, right?"

"Your point makes sense, but it still feels weird," Yan Yu expressed that he couldn't understand, wondering who in their right mind would create a life-sized puppet that resembled themselves!

And the proportions of this figure are highly unseemly... you're asking to get slapped by your mother, right?

Oh, it seems you don't have a mother, so never mind.

"Don't touch it yet, I need to install the core," Zhao Yuanzhen opened the chests of the two puppets and carefully placed the silver-white cores, made of celestial steel needles, inside.

Then she closed the chest plates.

"All done!" Zhao Yuanzhen clapped her hands and said, "You wanna try?"

Yan Yu calmly stood still and began to operate the String-Pulling Technique.

An elusive and profound connection formed between his mind and the puppet in front of him.

The beautiful puppet that looked exactly like Zhao Yuanzhen suddenly opened her bright yet emotionless eyes.

Then, like lightning, she reached out and grabbed Zhao Yuanzhen by the throat.

The latter, annoyed, swatted the puppet's arm away, "What are you doing!"

"Just seeing if it could make you pass away," Yan Yu replied calmly.

"Huh?" Zhao Yuanzhen didn't understand, but as a fickle Demonic Sect Enchantress, she quickly cast aside her excess emotions and excitedly said, "These two puppets are so much better than the ones I used before! As long as they're provided with a constant supply of True Yuan, they can exert immense strength continuously, analogous to a permanent Wood Bending Charm!"

"Mhm, mhm, mhm," Yan Yu responded absently, while his mind instantly flashed with several impressive battle tactics that could be implemented with the help of the puppets.

"My puppet shall be named 'Ami'," continued Zhao Yuanzhen, "What will you name yours?"

"Uh," Yan Yu said nonchalantly, "How about 'Tuofo'?"

"Why would you choose a Buddhist Sect name?" Zhao Yuanzhen asked angrily. "Even if it's to match with my puppet, wouldn't 'Ah Zhen' be much better?"

"The name is not the point," Yan Yu said seriously, "The point is, we can only use our puppets as a trump card at critical moments, do you understand?"

"Why?" Zhao Yuanzhen asked, displeased.

"Because we can't expose the Silken Bond Technique," Yan Yu said, gazing into her eyes, "After enrollment, we must avoid revealing your identity as much as possible, even the slightest suspicion."

"This is the order from our master."