Chapter 158: Chapter 158 Mu Kui
 

“`

Outside the house, large flakes of snow were swirling in the air.

Inside the house, a copper furnace burned with coal, warm as spring.

Wang Chen sat in front of the desk, counting the income from his stall from the past two days.

Because he was overly engrossed in sword practice, he didn’t go to Cloud Mountain City until three days after the Heaven Cloud Immortal Gathering had begun.

He set up a stall and sold a batch of Magical Talismans he had crafted himself.

Although he only sold commonplace Magical Talismans such as Evil-Repelling Talisman, Amulet, and Meteor Fire Talisman, due to their excellent quality and reasonable prices, Wang Chen’s business was quite good.

All the Talismans available for sale were sold out.

He had raked back a sum of Spirit Stones.

Wang Chen had just counted them up, and the total income, including both full and Fragmented Spirit Stones, amounted to seven hundred and twenty-six Low Spirit.

But this wasn’t pure profit.

After deducting the cost of the Talisman Paper and ink, the actual earnings weren’t that much.

The real big profits were reaped by the business owners who controlled the materials for Talisman Crafting!

Wang Chen silently cursed those unscrupulous businessmen, then put the Spirit Stones back into his Storage Bag.

“Ying ying.”

Right at that moment, Yuanyuan, squatting to the side, called out to him twice.

The little guy’s eyes were sparkling brightly.

Wang Chen reached out to pet him.

Ever since receiving the Vermilion Fruit gifted by the Mysterious Turtle, Yuanyuan’s “growth” had been quite pleasing; in just a few months, it was no longer the tiny creature it used to be.

The tactile sensation had improved as well.

Moreover, the little guy’s intelligence had clearly increased along with his growth, becoming even more lively and active than before.

It never disturbed Wang Chen during his cultivation.

Except for meal times and sleeping hours.

Rarely could Wang Chen see its figure.

Wang Chen suspected that Yuanyuan had already dug a maze underneath their house!

But he had no proof.

Yuanyuan pressed its little head tightly against Wang Chen’s palm and closed its eyes, looking utterly content.

But the next moment, it suddenly opened its eyes, showing a vigilant expression!

“Junior Brother Wang, are you home?”

At the same time, a familiar voice came from the courtyard: “It’s me, Pang Zitong!”

“Brother Pang?”

Wang Chen quickly went out to Open Gate, welcoming the visitor inside: “With such heavy snow, you could have just sent a Crane Message.”

Pang Zitong shook off the snowflakes stuck on his robe and chuckled: “The distance is short, so save where you can.”

Wang Chen gave a wry smile, taking the other’s words as a joke.

Though Pang Zitong was a lesser son of a lesser branch, he definitely wasn’t short of Spirit Stones.

Poor Cultivators couldn’t afford to play with Puppet Mechanisms!

He invited the other to take a seat in the front hall and prepared a steaming pot of Spiritual Tea.

“Thank you.”

Pang Zitong held the tea cup and took a sip, his eyes lighting up as he looked at Yuanyuan squatting on the table: “What a cute Spirit Mouse.”

His praise was heartfelt, but it didn’t win over Yuanyuan at all.

The little guy jumped onto Wang Chen and quickly burrowed into the Spirit Beast Pouch.

Pang Zitong awkwardly touched his nose, then put down his tea cup and opened his own Storage Bag.

A wooden puppet as tall as a human instantly appeared in front of Wang Chen!

“Junior Brother Wang, mission accomplished!”

Only then did Wang Chen realize that Pang Zitong had come to deliver a Spiritual Plant Puppet!

This Wooden Puppet was about as tall as him with stout arms and legs; its body and head were square and solid, presenting a deep dark brown color.

On closer inspection, one could see that the surface was all wood grain.

And in the center of the Wooden Puppet’s head, there were two white crystals embedded, resembling human eyes.

As for ears, nose, and mouth, it had none!

Wang Chen asked curiously, “How do you use this?”

“Very simple.”

Pang Zitong reached out and opened the chest armor of the Wooden Puppet, revealing nine square slots inside.

He inserted nine Spirit Stones into these slots respectively.

“`

Then he closed the armor.

The crystal eyes of the Wooden Puppet immediately emitted a faint glow.

Controlling the Wooden Puppet was really simple.

After activation, as long as direct commands were given, it could execute them accurately.

It was almost like the intelligent robots from Wang Chen’s previous life.

The Wooden Puppet came with a built-in storage compartment, equipped with various tools for spiritual plant cultivation.

Since it was a reduced version, its functions were limited to tilling, weeding, fertilizing, watering, and pest control.

Beyond that, it couldn’t perform other tasks.

It was like having built-in fixed programs that required keywords to trigger.

But achieving free control was also possible.

For that, one would need to use Divided Spirit Implanting Thought and then control the puppet’s every move with the power of the Divine Soul.

It felt similar to having an external avatar.

And it was quite fun.

Although the Wooden Puppet had no spirit intelligence,

Wang Chen still thought the technology behind it was very advanced; a thousand Spirit Stones were indeed a bargain.

He immediately took out seven hundred Spirit Stones and an amount of Spirit Rice equivalent to three hundred Spirit Stones.

He paid Pang Zitong.

Even though Pang Zitong had said before that the payment could be made in installments, even without interest,

how could Wang Chen possibly take advantage of him?

After all, owing a debt of gratitude was the hardest to repay!

And regarding Wang Chen’s action of paying in full at once,

Although Pang Zitong was a bit surprised, he happily accepted it.

Gurgle~

Just as he stood up to take his leave, a thunderous rumble sounded from his stomach!

Wang Chen said with a smile, “Brother Pang, if you don’t mind, why don’t you have lunch at my place?”

Pang Zitong replied with embarrassment, “Then it would trouble you, Junior Brother.”

Wang Chen shook his head, “No trouble at all.”

Since he hadn’t prepared in advance, he took out two copper pots and set them on the charcoal stoves.

After this winter’s onset, Wang Chen had ordered several hotpots in Cloud Mountain City and also bought the accompanying items.

Now, they were coming in handy.

He added his own mix of ingredients to the pot, then put sliced meat, tofu, fresh vegetables, wild mushrooms, stream fish, and other ingredients on plates and shared a hotpot meal with Pang Zitong!

The method of eating hotpot had been around in this world for a long time and was not something novel.

But Pang Zitong couldn’t stop praising the broth Wang Chen had prepared, eagerly wanting to learn the recipe.

Wang Chen didn’t hold back, telling him all about it.

It wasn’t some kind of secret cultivation manual, after all.

As the two ate and chatted, Wang Chen also brought out the Spirit Rice wine he brewed to share with his companion.

In this freezing cold season, it was indeed a rare treat.

After the meal and drinks, Pang Zitong left contentedly.

Wang Chen cleaned up the dishes and then took the Wooden Puppet out again.

“Ying ying.”

Yuanyuan stuck its head out of the Storage Bag, curiously sizing up the big guy in front of it.

Wang Chen smiled slightly, took it out, and gently placed it on top of the Wooden Puppet’s head.

“Ying ying!”

The little creature was initially scared but soon developed a strong interest in the wooden figure.

It climbed all over the puppet, having a great time.

Suddenly, the puppet twisted its head, and Yuanyuan jumped three feet high with fright, leaping back onto Wang Chen’s shoulder.

It then hid in the Spirit Beast Pouch once more and didn’t come out again.

Wang Chen chuckled, patted the square head of the Wooden Puppet, and said, “From now on, you’ll be called Mu Kui.”

He had a feeling this fellow would become a great helper in the future.

———-

The third installment is delivered.