Gou Zai Yao Wu Simulated Immortal

Li Qian remained expressionless, glancing at the angry faces around him, and asked with his hands clasped, "So you have something to ask him?"

"But judging from what you're saying, it sounds like you've come to cause him trouble."

Before the leading man could answer, the homosexual behind him gritted his teeth and spoke first.

His voice was filled with resentment: "That bastard, he lent us one of his demon corpses to look at a few days ago!"

"They said it wouldn't cause any damage, and it would be returned in half a day at most."

He grew angrier as he spoke, and his eyes became bloodshot.

"That was the carcass of the blue-backed alligator that we risked our lives to drag back from the foot of Black Stone Ridge."

"It was originally intended to be sent to someone for inspection in exchange for a reward, but after he examined it for half a day, when it was brought back, the outside looked fairly intact, but the demon's gall bladder inside was gone!"

The leader of the group also cursed, adding viciously, "What's most hateful is that the bastard won't admit it!"

"It's just that the demon corpse's internal organs were already affected by the corpse demon, and its demon gall was already rotten inside. What does that have to do with him?"

"That's utter bullshit!"

"I checked it myself, how come it's gone after it passed through his hands?"

Another tall, thin cultivator behind him spoke up with a gloomy face: "If he's just missing a demon's courage, we might not necessarily be so fixated on him."

"But when the buyer inspected the goods, he insisted that we had dismantled the demon corpse without permission and broken the rules. He not only lowered the price but also almost turned on us physically."

"Not only did we lose a lot of spirit stones for nothing, but we also got ourselves into a lot of trouble."

The man with the cut sleeve raised his empty sleeve, his eyes filled with anger.

"This arm of mine was severed by the dying blue-backed alligator when it swept it off with its tail while I was hunting it!"

"In the end, he risked his life, gained nothing, and was instead tricked by that Wen fellow."

"Tell me, should I come looking for him?"

No wonder Wen Qianji wanted to hide; it's no wonder he's covered in mud.

If that were the only reason, this madman could have left the neighborhood for a few days.

Why would they go to such lengths to borrow the puppets in the courtyard to lure themselves and these people to the Dry Bone Hall on Black Canal Street?

Li Qian watched as those people vented their resentment.

The man cursed with spittle flying everywhere, and the more he cursed, the more unbearable the anger in his chest became.

He simply raised his foot and kicked a wooden table in the hall.

A muffled thud.

The wooden table was askew, and several wooden trays containing fragments of bone armor fell to the ground with a clatter.

The man behind him, his eyes red, picked up his stick and smashed it at the welcoming puppet standing against the wall.

"Doesn't the man surnamed Wen treasure these things?"

"I'll tear it all down today!"

Seeing this, the others seemed to find an outlet for their pent-up anger and began to act.

In an instant, wood chips flew everywhere and copper pieces scattered all over the room. The internal mechanism of the metal puppet was exposed, and it creaked and trembled a few times before going completely silent.

After the group went on a rampage, smashing the hall to pieces, the leader, having vented some of his anger, spat out a curse.

"Let's go! Back to Baixifang!"

"I'll let everyone in the neighborhood know what kind of bastard this is! I'll make sure he can't get a single customer from now on!"

The homosexual man gritted his teeth and said, "That's right! He likes to hide, doesn't he?! Then let him hide for the rest of his life!"

The group, cursing and swearing, stormed out, leaving behind a mess.

About the time it takes to drink a cup of tea has passed.

Under the old wall next to the Dry Bone Studio, a few small insects suddenly crawled out.

These insects were entirely grayish-black, with a very faint copper sheen on their backs.

They filed out and quickly gathered along the base of the wall.

Before long, a small doll about a foot tall was pieced together at the doorway.

The head is made of worms, the arms are made of worms, and even the joints of the torso are made of tiny worms biting each other together.

The little humanoid puppet steadied itself, patted its chest, and then looked up to peer out into the street.

The movements are quite anthropomorphic.

Once it was confirmed that the group had gone far away, its shoulders slumped down noticeably, and it breathed a sigh of relief.

But it only managed to breathe a sigh of relief halfway through.

A hand reached down from above and steadily lifted it up.

The insectoid puppet froze.

The tiny worms that make up its limbs and head seem to scatter on the spot, transforming into insects and escaping.

However, they were completely entangled by a subtle, yin-like force and could not move.

"Why are you running?"

The little puppet suddenly looked up.

In the dim light, Li Qian was looking down at it.

He can now control his Yang Sha form at will, and he is even more adept at using the Snake Sha form. Concealing his breath and hiding his form is no problem at all, not to mention that he has also used a Breath Concealing Talisman.

Manipulating such tiny insect puppets is not a problem.

Seeing that it couldn't break free, the little humanoid had no choice but to obediently lower its two insect arms, chuckle twice, and bow to Li Qian in a seemingly respectable manner.

"Fellow Daoist Li...it's been a long time."

Li Qian raised an eyebrow slightly upon hearing this tone.

"Are you Wen Qianji?"

The little puppet nodded, and a faint, muffled sound came from the insect's abdomen:

"That's right, that's right."

"I hastily made a mess of this with these few insects; it's rather shabby, but please bear with it, fellow Daoist."

Li Qian did not let go, but held it in mid-air and squinted at it for a moment.

"What exactly caused this incident today?"

Wen Qianji's insect body swayed slightly, as if he were sighing.

"It's a long story."

"The entrance to the Dry Bone Hall is not the place to talk. Please, Fellow Daoist Li, move to the courtyard next door for a chat."

Li Qian turned his gaze to the small courtyard that was separated from the shop by only an old wall.

The courtyard gate was half-closed, and the lintel was dusty and gray, looking even more inconspicuous than this Dry Bones Abode.

"next door?"

"Exactly."

The insect puppet grinned, managing a forced smile.

"Actually, this courtyard is the real Dry Bones Abode."

"That sign outside is just a decoy. People who know the area well know that; only newcomers go that way."

Upon hearing this, Li Qian's heart stirred.

No wonder, this Dry Bone Abode was probably set up for these people to vent their resentment; they're quite cunning...

Li Qian loosened his grip slightly, placing the insect puppet back on the ground.

The little thing had barely touched the ground when it hurriedly straightened its crooked insect arm and head.

It turned around, took very short, quick steps, and ran towards the gate of the neighboring courtyard.

"Fellow Daoist Li, this way please, this way please."

The gate to the courtyard looked dilapidated, with grayish wood, and was quite unremarkable.

The insect puppet climbed onto the stone table and skillfully tugged at the small copper wire next to the handle of the pot.

With a few soft clicks, another palm-sized wooden puppet beside the stone table began to move on its own.

He shakily picked up the teacup and poured water from the teapot.

Wen Qianji, in his insect form, stood on the edge of the table and cupped his hands in greeting: "My humble abode is simple, and I can only offer these little trinkets to entertain you, fellow Daoist."

Li Qian didn't stand on ceremony and sat down with a flick of his sleeve.

"You didn't call me here just to show me how you evade your debts, did you?"

Wen Qianji chuckled and said, "Fellow Daoist Li has discerning eyes."

"I do have a small favor to ask Fellow Daoist Li."

Li Qian put down his teacup and tapped the table lightly with his fingertips.

"It's normal for people to help each other and give and take. Go ahead and say it."

Wen Qianji lowered his voice slightly: "Fellow Daoist Li is a master of talismans. I would like to ask you to design a few talismans for me."