Demonic Demoness Training Project

But he dared not go out immediately, because Zhu Yi and the others had not gone far. He had barely managed to get away with it, and if they saw him jumping over the courtyard wall in such a hurry, they would inevitably become suspicious again.

Therefore, Lu Li hurriedly took off his ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), while Old Duan kept nagging in his ear.

"My good disciple, you acted quite well. Oh my, my good disciple, you're becoming more and more like Lu Li. Tsk."

"No, no, that's not true, old woman, shut up."

"Hehehe, why take it off? You've already ruined their clothes anyway, so you might as well wear it and mend it."

"Don't make a sound."

Lu Li listened carefully. The footsteps of Zhu Yi and the others were fading into the distance, but the footsteps of another group were coming from the direction of the moon gate.

Oh no! Someone's coming.

Lu Li looked around for a while, and was greatly alarmed. He quickly climbed to a window with a decorative design, intending to climb over the wall and leave the courtyard as he had done before.

Unexpectedly, someone behind said:

"Senior Xinwu, is that you?"

"No seniors in mind?"

At that moment, Lu Li was standing on the roof tiles when he heard someone shouting behind him. Startled, he stumbled and almost fell off.

The newcomer was a beautiful young woman dressed in a pale yellow dress, who looked to be about the same age as him. She was pretty and, when she saw Lu Li looking at her, she clasped her hands in a respectful bow. Behind her were three or five servants carrying swords.

"I was unaware that Senior Xinwu had arrived; I have failed to greet you properly."

"Have you seen me before?"

"Senior Xinwu, have you forgotten again? I am Mo Shuhan. You came here half a year ago and even gave me personal guidance."

Lu Li's heart tightened, suspecting that there was a trap, a delaying tactic by the other side to lure him in so they could seize him.

Thinking of this, Lu Li disregarded everything else and, under Mo Shuhan's puzzled gaze, leaped down from the wall and disappeared from sight.

"Miss, this person's whereabouts are suspicious, and his aura is weak. He is probably not that lord. Should we go and chase after him to find out more details?"

"No, no need. I will never mistake that face. She is Senior Xinwu from Baiyue Palace. She is passing by here today with her aura concealed. She must have some profound meaning. She looked hurried just now. She must have important business to attend to. You must not disturb her."

Chapter 36 Hysteria

After leaving the villa, Lu Li ran a long way. Seeing that no one was chasing him, he was still worried, so he ran for the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, wandering around the city until he was almost exhausted.

He was panting heavily, his eyes glancing back every now and then.

"Did you shake them off?"

A cold wind blew in from the quiet alleyway, making Lu Li shiver and feel as if he had fallen into an ice cave. So he decided to continue running away.

"Stop running, they haven't caught up."

"Hoo hoo hoo... Don't lie to me."

"What good would it do you to lie to me? You'd better shut up for a bit."

Lu Li looked around suspiciously for a while. Throughout the day, he had a strange feeling that wherever he went, it was as if someone knew him.

First, the servants of the Puppet Master Association specifically asked him his name, then the pursuers from Qingyang Palace shouted that they wanted to capture him, and then that young lady named Mo Shuhan actually called him Senior Xinwu.

Lu Li even suspected that he might have been opened by the box.

In this world where puppetry is highly advanced, things like opening a box don't seem entirely impossible.

"Could there be a trap here?!"

"In my opinion, they are not trying to trick you at all. They probably do have a real connection with this person. They say he is a senior, and his cultivation and status are probably not low. They just happen to mistake you for him."

"Impossible, what a coincidence! You mean, there just happens to be a woman who looks a lot like me?"

Lu Li asked in return, but as soon as he said it, he suddenly froze.

A woman who looks similar to herself...

Could it be Lu Ling?

Impossible. There's no such thing as a coincidence in this world. Besides, according to the dream, Lu Ling's soul was extracted and refined long ago, and she was made into the spirit of the Golden Spirit Core. Later, because her soul advanced, she was transplanted into the Second-Rank Spirit Core.

If the other party uses this second-stage spirit core to refine a puppet, logically speaking, the puppet's appearance is unlikely to be the same as Lu Ling's.

"It might just be your sister."

"What nonsense are you talking about? How would you know these things?"

"Hehehe, I know far more than you do. Do you really think I'm deaf when you talk nonsense in your sleep?"

"hiss--"

Lu Li gasped, recalling the dreams of the past few days. He hoped he hadn't encountered anything embarrassing.

If the old man only knew through his sleep talking, Lu Li wouldn't be so afraid. But if the old man could actually read his mind, he would really be unable to eat or sleep.

For an old monster whose cultivation level far surpasses his, if he harbors any evil intentions, soul searching or something similar should not be difficult for him. She had better pretend not to know than to feign ignorance when she knows the truth.

"Your sister is most likely still alive; to be precise, her soul should still be alive."

How did you determine that?

“That girl from the Mo family said she saw you a year ago. The golden spirit core inside you was used by your sister. Its production date was three years ago. If you think about it, it’s about the same time.”

Lu Li remained noncommittal.

He had originally planned to go to the White Moon Palace to at least find his sister's whereabouts, but now his goal seemed clearer, perhaps related to the senior Xinwu mentioned by that person.

Senior, huh...

What kind of person can be called a senior? Without a doubt, in the cultivation world, enemies with lower cultivation are called rats and friends are called little friends. Enemies with the same cultivation are called scoundrels and friends are called fellow Daoists. Those with higher cultivation, regardless of whether they are good or bad, must all be called seniors.

But no matter what, Lu Li couldn't connect the sickly younger sister in his memory, the little girl who kept saying "Big brother has always been the big brother I admire the most," with the so-called senior.

Three years is enough to change a lot.

During those three years, he experienced all kinds of hardships, learned from others outside the academy, wasted his youth in the stamping workshop, and sold his energy and labor at low prices.

As for Lu Ling, Lu Li had no idea what she had gone through in those three years.

These past few days, he's had countless dreams, these dreams come and go, repeating endlessly. Without exception, the content of these dreams only goes up to the moment Lu Ling's soul was extracted and refined; he has no idea what happens after that.

"Also, I'd like to mention that your constant dreaming isn't a good thing. In our cultivator's terms, it's actually a kind of hysteria. Well, although cultivators with high levels of mechanical modification often have some symptoms of this, yours is far too severe."

"Don't worry about it!"

"If you don't listen to the elders, you'll become irritable, suspicious, have many dreams, delusions, and your temperament will change drastically... These are all symptoms of hysteria. Many cultivators have become estranged from their families because of this, to the point of betraying their masters and ancestors, being abandoned by everyone, and ultimately falling into the demonic path."

"You, you, you're talking nonsense! How has my character changed? I have always been staying true to myself."

"Look, you're in such a hurry again. When I first found you, you weren't like this. Think about it carefully, can you really say that you haven't changed at all?"

Duan Lao's voice was tinged with mockery, and Lu Li's chest heaved violently. He pondered the past and compared it with his current actions, and seemed to have really noticed something unusual.

No, he shouldn't be thinking about these things now. His immediate priority is to prepare for the upcoming assessment, such as by working through some past exam questions.

So, Lu Li asked around for directions and headed towards the city center.

……

It was already the hour of Xu (7-9 PM), and the night in Fengxiang City was just beginning.

The streetlights illuminated the street as bright as day, and flocks of crows flew back and forth, chattering incessantly touting various services to passersby. People seemed to have long been accustomed to this, chatting with friends about the day's interesting events as if they didn't notice.

Even though the basic necessities of life for ordinary people in this world are not much different from those in ancient times, the saying "work at sunrise and rest at sunset" doesn't seem quite right here.

Just as the workshop's production line never stops at night, the hustle and bustle on the bluestone streets will continue until the wee hours of the morning. No mortal can stay awake forever, but there will always be someone awake.

As Lu Li went in and out of the bookstores, two or three wooden crows surrounded him and bombarded his head with their barrage of arrows.

"Great news! Great news! The winner of this Double Seal assessment will have the opportunity to be directly selected into the White Moon Palace."

"All welding diagrams from previous assessments have been included, and the guide to avoiding pitfalls is shared without reservation!"

"No apprenticeship fees will be charged until the third rank is achieved; we will not rest until the master of Yanshi is accomplished! For the dual seal examination, choose Fengxiang Academy."

"So annoying."

If Lu Li hadn't known he'd have to pay for the damage, he would have really wanted to activate the Qi-Harmony Cauldron and shoot down all those wooden crows in the sky.

He merely picked up a few jade slips containing past exam questions and glanced at them. This action was noticed by Mu Ya, and those guys then sent him advertisements for a private school.

But if he ignores the wooden crow, it will follow him relentlessly until he is scolded a couple of times before it leaves. The immortal who designed this thing is truly a genius.

Just as Lu Li was about to open the jade slip to see its contents, a sharp bird cry suddenly rang out.

"You still dare to take the exam without any preparation? That's incredibly stupid!"

"You think you can master clamping and welding skills by just figuring it out blindly? Wishful thinking!"

"If you think you can pass by cramming at the last minute and studying for two or three days, that would be truly outrageous!"

"There's no time left, it's already this late, why are you still studying on your own?"

The crow chattered on and on. Lu Li knew it was deliberately making him anxious, but after hearing its words, his little fists still hardened.

Chapter 37 Excellent Customers

If it weren't for this mess of hiding from debt, Lu Li would probably still be preparing for the exam at this time. In fact, Lu Li was already quite confident, as he had already memorized the questions for the character pliers exam.

As for the assessment of the three ranks of welders, Heaven, Earth, and Man, because he had the knowledge from his previous life, he was able to apply it to other situations during his practice of array formations, so passing the test was not difficult.

What troubled Lu Li the most was the Earth-grade and Heaven-grade master craftsman assessments, because these two involved the lower and middle volumes of the Stamping Technique.

Back in the stamping workshop, Lu Li had studied these two books, but because he didn't have many opportunities to touch the stamping mechanism and lacked practical experience, much of the knowledge remained on paper, even though he knew it by heart.

Therefore, Lu Li had to be very careful in selecting materials.

But the problem was, those wooden crows around him were so noisy that he couldn't concentrate at all. They were creating anxiety the whole time, spouting nothing but auspicious phrases:

"Stop pushing yourself! There are only three days left until the assessment! Have you mastered the stamping technique of the Earth-grade Clamping Technique? Have you practiced the Spiritual Pivot Calibration of the Heaven-grade? If you can't pass, you might as well go back and get a good night's sleep, and become cannon fodder again next month!"

"I've decided, I want to enroll in your academy."

As soon as he finished speaking, the wooden crow's attitude changed instantly, and a glint of light flashed in its eyes.

"Quack—Sir, you have excellent taste! You've chosen the right path. Register now and enjoy a 10% discount, plus a chance to win a spot in a live lecture by a renowned master! Discuss stamping and welding patterns up close with a master, and passing the three levels will be a piece of cake! Sir, are you applying to become a fitter or a welder? Are you aiming for the Earthly Rank or the Human Rank?"

"I'm not planning to apply anymore."

As soon as he finished speaking, the wooden crow's face fell, its attitude changed again, and its voice became even sharper than its beak.

"Quack, you're finished. Your life is over. You're hopeless. You'll never pass the exam. Do you really think being a fitter is as easy as picking cabbage on the roadside?"

"Think about your family! Think about your parents! They work tirelessly from dawn till dusk, hoping you can make something of yourself and embark on the immortal path of the Puppet Master! And what have you done? You've wasted all your energy on pointless speculation! By the time your parents are old, you'll still be doing odd jobs at the furnace! How can you face them?"

"Father and Mother... Ah."

Lu Li rolled his eyes. He had figured out the pattern: as long as he said he didn't want to enroll, this guy would create anxiety and play the emotional card; as long as he said he was willing to enroll in their private school, this wooden crow would fawn over him and become very obedient.

"I'm planning to register. You go over there and wait for me. I'll buy two sets of materials and come right away."

"Quack, hello sir, may you have good fortune."

The crow switched back to its fawning mode and stopped bothering them. It dusted itself off and flew away, but its bird eyes remained fixed on them, as if afraid that Lu Li would run away.

"call--"

Having dismissed the wooden crows, Lu Li finally breathed a sigh of relief. He knew very well that behind every wooden crow was a living soul; perhaps this was the ultimate fate of a salesman.

Having discarded their physical bodies and memories, all that remains in their minds is working, and their sales pitches are all perfectly crafted.

As soon as Mu Ya left, Old Duan spoke again:

“My disciple, it says you can’t pass the test, so you’re determined to prove it wrong.”

"Shut up, you're annoying!"

Afterwards, Lu Li browsed through the bookstore and finally bought four jade slips for two taels of silver.

Immediately afterward, taking advantage of the wooden crow's inattention, he turned and ran away, easily leaving the crow and the noise of the night market behind, and escaped back to the inn.

Lu Li spent two hours reviewing the materials, gaining a general understanding of the assessment content, before going to bed.

In my dream, he was a quiet, pretty, and sickly girl whose life seemed to fly by.

The next morning, Lu Li got up early to review the materials and practice with some materials. The assessments for Earth and Heaven grades required both theoretical and practical skills. Earth grade assessments used special mechanisms, which were particularly durable and had extremely low costs, but their functions were limited.