Feng Chengyuan was staring intently at Yu Nian in the mysterious mirror. He was amused by Yu Nian's miserly look and the corners of his mouth curled up.
At this moment, there was still quite a long time before the end of the competition. The three of them simply asked the staff for a few small stools, held their boxed lunches and sat at the village entrance waiting for the competition to end. It was really relaxing.
After about another two hours, Fu Sui walked out of Fushou Village with a pale face. It seemed that he was a bit injured.
He looked at the three people sitting neatly in a row, slightly stunned, and his expression quickly darkened.
Fu Sui never expected that a small semi - final would kick him out of the top three.
He witnessed Yu Nian's strength with his own eyes. He wasn't surprised that Yu Nian could come first.
But Zhong Yaya and Luo Zhi obviously got out relying on Yu Nian's strength. He was not convinced.
Fu Sui's hand hanging by his side gradually tightened. The reason he came to participate in this competition was to obtain the Tianyuan Pearl.
By then, maybe his great - grandfather would take a good look at him...
Fu Sui looked at Yu Nian deeply and said, "Congratulations, Yu Nian. But in the finals, I will definitely be the first."
There was no particular expression on Yu Nian's face. She just said calmly, "Then you should work hard."
After the semi - final, Yu Nian's name was on the hot search list for a full three days. Her personal popularity even far exceeded that of the program group itself.
Especially the videos of her breaking through the formations and checkpoints were widely forwarded and played on the Internet. In just one night, Yu Nian gained hundreds of thousands of fans!
The once somewhat desolate Qingxin Temple quickly became popular. Some people wanted to see the charm of the two - time champion with their own eyes, and some reporters came to conduct interviews to ride on the wave of popularity. Amidst the hustle and bustle, it was actually extremely difficult to get a fortune - telling at the Qingxin Temple!
Xue Yier was standing at the entrance of the Qingxin Temple at this moment. Looking at the spectacular scene of the huge crowd, she suddenly felt a bit sour.
Although she finally managed to get out of Fushou Village and enter the finals, she was also quite injured.
It was the same competition. She was exhausted while Yu Nian seemed to be just having a fun trip. Not only did she earn a large sum of money, but she also became famous overnight and gained a large number of fans.
Thinking of this, Xue Yier sighed softly, "Comparisons are odious."
Since the main entrance was blocked, Xue Yier took a deep breath and suddenly climbed over the wall into the backyard of the Qingxin Temple.
The sun was gentle, and Xue Yier sighed contentedly.
But before she could overlook the whole picture of the Qingxin Temple, she felt a sharp pain in her knee. A pebble hit her right on the mark.
Xue Yier let out a scream and fell uncontrollably, landing on her buttocks with a thud.
Xue Yier covered her buttocks and cursed, "Who the hell is so wicked?!"
She looked up and met Yu Nian's gaze.
Yu Nian was sitting leisurely in a rocking chair in the backyard at this moment, with a cup of green tea and an ancient book in hand. All the noise from the outside world seemed to have nothing to do with her.
"Why aren't you at home preparing for the semi - final? Why are you sneaking over the wall?"
Xue Yier knew she was in the wrong. She wrinkled her face and handed the visiting card in her hand to Yu Nian.
"This is from Mr. Fu. He said he invited you to catch up." She paused for a moment and was a bit puzzled. "Mr. Fu is such a respected person. Why would he take the initiative to invite a junior like you? What old times do you two have to reminisce about?"
Yu Nian took the visiting card. The handwriting on it was as smooth as flowing clouds and as powerful as a galloping horse.
It should be written by Fu Qingxuan for sure.
But strangely enough, there was a faint trace of demonic aura lingering on the visiting card.
Yu Nian frowned slightly and asked Xue Yier, "Did Mr. Fu give this visiting card to you in person?"
Xue Yier was a bit confused. "Mr. Fu gave this visiting card to the elder in my family personally. It didn't pass through anyone else's hands. Is there any problem?"
Yu Nian shook her head, composed herself and said to Xue Yier, "Let's go. I'll go with you."
...
Mr. Fu's house was very big. From the outside, it was an old - fashioned three - story mansion.
The unified wooden tone made the old mansion low - key yet noble, but not flamboyant or luxurious.
Getting closer, one could see a winding river surrounding the mansion. The river and the building were intertwined affectionately, presenting a feng shui pattern of "jade belt encircling the waist" that could gather good luck. The people living here would either be noble or rich, with successful careers and prosperous fortunes.
It was Xue Yier's first time coming to the Fu family. Her eyes sparkled as she looked around and sighed, "No wonder he is a big shot in the Taoist Alliance. The furnishings in this mansion are really exquisite. They are all top - notch feng shui layouts!"
An old butler with half - white hair was standing outside the main hall. When he saw the two of them, a kind and amiable smile appeared on his face.
He took a deep look at Yu Nian and said respectfully, "The master has been waiting for you inside for a long time. Please follow me."
Xue Yier was startled by his humble tone and quickly waved her hand. "You're too kind. I can't bear it."
Although Xue Yier was a bit arrogant usually, this was the territory of a person who had been a legend in the Taoist Alliance for decades. She really couldn't afford the respectful words "waiting" and "you".
The old butler didn't say anything and led the way one step ahead of them.
Xue Yier looked around and was a bit surprised. Although Mr. Fu's house was very big, it was extremely quiet. Since they entered the door, they seemed to have only seen the old butler.
Because of this, all the subtle sounds were infinitely amplified in the empty room.
Xue Yier noticed that when the old butler was going up the stairs, there seemed to be a strange "creaking" sound coming from his joints, just like the sound made when two rusty metal screws were rubbing against each other.
Xue Yier felt a chill down her spine and couldn't help but whisper to Yu Nian, "Did you hear any strange sound?"
Yu Nian looked up at the old butler and said calmly, "The screws might be loose."
" Oh... What??"
Xue Yier's steps suddenly stopped. She almost thought she had misheard. "How could there be screws in a person's body??"
Seeing the old butler smiling without saying a word, Xue Yier suddenly realized something and her shocked expression couldn't be hidden.
"Are you not a human but... a puppet?"
She had read in an ancient book that a powerful Taoist master could divide a part of his supernatural power and attach it to an inanimate object. Then the inanimate object would gain spiritual energy and become a living being with thoughts. This kind of thing was called a puppet.
The old butler slowly nodded. "That's right."
Xue Yier was so surprised that she couldn't close her mouth. Puppets were actually a type of shikigami. The flexibility and lifespan of a puppet completely depended on the supernatural power of its creator.
For those with ordinary supernatural power, the puppets they created were weak and would turn back into inanimate objects in at most a few hours.
For those with a slightly higher level of supernatural power, the puppets they created would have a bit of human aura, but their survival time still wouldn't exceed a few months.
In short, the more powerful the creator, the longer the puppet would exist.
Xue Yier couldn't help but observe the old butler closely. She was surprised to find that the old butler not only had warm breath, but even the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes were clearly visible.
If Yu Nian hadn't said so, she would have only thought that the old butler was a real person! She wondered which senior master could create such a high - level puppet as the old butler!
"May I ask, are you a puppet created by Mr. Fu?"
Hearing this, the butler gave Xue Yier a kind smile. "I wasn't created by the master. I'm a grandmaster from the Taoist sect. I've been taking care of the master's life since he was a child. It's almost been a hundred years by now."
"A hundred years?!"
Xue Yier was even more shocked. "That grandmaster is really amazing... I must kowtow to him a few more times before taking the puppet - making exam in the future!"
After she said that, the room fell silent for a moment.
I don't know if it was Xue Yier's illusion, but Yu Nian's expression when looking at her was a bit subtle.