Excessive ferocity due to caution

The singing voice, like the chirping of a bird, is breathtakingly beautiful, clear and moving.

Just hearing one sentence dispelled my inner fear.

Looking from afar, the two saw a slender woman drawing water beside an ancient well in the annex.

Under the stars and moon, the warmth and comfort emanating from her dispelled some of the eeriness of the haunted house.

She raised her hand, her jade-like arm bathed in a layer of ethereal light, the starlight falling on her face, exuding the gentle grace of a woman from the Jiangnan water towns.

Such a gentle woman.

Her amber eyes, as beautiful as autumn water, could truly kill and set people's hearts on fire.

Carefully, they entered the courtyard. The woman noticed the two of them, and a look of surprise appeared on her beautiful face.

"Who are you...?"

Zhao scratched his head and said:

"You must be Madam Su Mei, the second wife of the Prince's Mansion?"

"We are from outside the Prince's Palace, and we had to come here for some special reasons."

Su Mei's eyes flickered slightly. She invited the two to sit down and went inside the house to bring them warm tea.

"So you're a guest from outside the manor... How rude of me."

"The manor has fallen on hard times, and we don't have much to offer you. Let me stir-fry some glutinous rice for you two."

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, her eyes filled with gentle tenderness.

Zhao Yi did not refuse, and Su Mei quickly served the two of them two bowls of hot and fragrant glutinous rice.

She then cooked some millet porridge for herself.

The Prince's Mansion used to have a rule that if guests came, they had to eat with them.

It's impolite for the guests to eat while you just stand by and watch.

"Why isn't Madam eating glutinous rice?"

Zhao Yi asked casually.

Su Mei said softly:

"I am old and have a weak stomach, so I cannot eat glutinous rice."

Zhao Yi glanced at Su Mei.

She is very young, and there are no signs of aging on her face.

Skin is firm and fair.

She looks exactly like a young woman in her early twenties.

But she was dressed very warmly.

The haunted house isn't cold.

The three of them ate their meal with their heads down, and the atmosphere was very harmonious.

After Zhao Yi finished eating the sticky rice, he asked:

"Second Madam, if I may ask, has the First Madam already celebrated many fortieth birthdays?"

Su Mei's pupils suddenly contracted.

She was quite surprised:

How did you know?

Zhao Yi took out Che Lin's memo and explained:

"That's what Chief Steward Che Lin told us."

Su Mei looked at the memo, the familiar handwriting bringing a touch of sadness to her eyes.

That kind face, that aged yet still robust figure...

That heart that was always so passionate about the mansion...

Now they've all become cold ink stains on paper.

"well……"

She let out a soft sigh.

"My sister... has indeed celebrated many fortieth birthdays."

Zhao Yi pressed further:

Why?

Su Mei nodded, biting her lip tightly, and closed her eyes as she said:

"I'm sorry... I can't say."

Luo Qili asked in a different way:

"So... was the First Madam good to you when she was alive?"

Su Mei nodded.

"My sister was very good to me when she was alive..."

She stopped abruptly halfway through her sentence.

I was tricked into revealing information!

Luo Qili's eyes lit up:

"So... the First Madam is now 'dead'?"

Su Mei smiled wryly:

"I'm sorry, I really can't say..."

"You should leave quickly. The haunted house is very unsafe, and... if you don't leave now, you might not be able to leave at all."

The paper doll nanny also said this.

Zhao Yi replied:

"Madam, we can't get out of here anymore, which is why we're trying to investigate the truth behind this haunted house and find a way to leave."

"Otherwise...we'll die here."

Su Mei's hand trembled slightly as she put the bowl away.

After standing there for a moment, she gritted her teeth and said:

"I'm sorry... I can't help you."

She was about to walk into the house when Luo Qili tried to follow her, but Zhao Yi stopped her.

Just as Su Mei was about to close the door, Zhao Yi spoke up:

"Does Madam love Master very much?"

Su Mei stopped, but did not turn around.

After a long silence, she let out a soft sigh.

"My lord rescued me from the brothel years ago and has always doted on me. I am grateful for your kindness and naturally harbor feelings for you..."

"Unfortunately, time was too short, and in the end, we were unable to leave the master with even a son or two..."

She stood inside the room, glanced at the two of them, her brows furrowed, as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.

But in the end, she gently closed the door.

Luo Qili whispered:

"Why didn't you let me go after them and ask?"

"This woman clearly knows something..."

"If all else fails, we can still treat her..."

Zhao Yi:

"If you dare threaten her... you'll die a horrible death."

"If you were facing a living person who could roam freely in a haunted house, what do you think your chances of winning would be?"

Luo Qili choked, her expression shifting, and when she looked at the room in the annex again, a look of solemnity and fear appeared in her eyes.

This woman was so gentle and harmless that she almost fell for her tricks!

Having dealt with ghosts for so long, she subconsciously regarded people as safe NPCs!

If Zhao Yi hadn't pulled her back just now...

"We can't get anything out of the Second Madam anymore. Shall we go to the First Madam's place?"

Zhao Yi said upon hearing this:

"Did you find anything useful when you went to the west side?"

When asked, Luo Qili suddenly remembered and hurriedly took out a cloth bag from her person.

"I found a peculiar book in a room on the west side where gods were worshipped. It contained a description of a strange puppetry technique."

"I didn't take it out in the lobby just now because there were too many people around."

She took out a cloth bag and placed a dusty book inside on the table. Zhao Yi opened it and quickly browsed through it.

One eye and ten lines.

Read, understand, digest.

A few minutes later, he finished reading a book that was nearly a thousand pages long.

"You...have you finished reading?"

Luo Qili hadn't dared to disturb Zhao Yi until now, when she finally spoke.

Although she didn't believe Zhao Yi could finish reading the book in such a short time.

A page has hundreds or thousands of words, and he just skims through it. How can he possibly remember anything?

Zhao Yi closed his eyes.

"Flesh Puppet... Page 761."

He spoke.

Luo Qili turned to page 761 of the book, and her pupils dilated in shock!

"Depend on!"

She couldn't help but swear.

On page 761 of this book, there is indeed a record of the casting method for flesh puppets!

"Are you fucking a ghost?"

Zhao Yi blinked and said:

"Flesh puppets are made from freshly dead but not yet decaying corpses. They can partially carry the memories, joys, sorrows, and anger of their owners during their lifetime, but their memories are limited and their emotions are very unstable, making them easily stimulated by external factors."

"Its memory will slowly fade over time, and it is prone to anger and jealousy."

"Generally speaking, its life should not be too different from that of the corpse before it died."

"Once the flesh puppet's memories are completely gone, it will retain the emotions it had before the memories disappeared, but it will no longer have the ability to think for itself..."

9NU�m|��-

P.S.: Thank you for reading.