Thriller Night Talk

Translator-Rhapsodite

Editor-PerpetualMreow, Proofreader-Spring Flower

Hearing that mother-in-law…… no that’s not right, the Master of Bei Quan was behind the door, Wei Fuyuan was so nervous that his palms were sweating.

He wished he could go do a quick hundred squats to relieve his tension.

“So…are we going in now?” Wei Fuyuan asked.

Bei Quan raised an eyebrow. “What else would we do?”

Wei Fuyuan replied, “Okay, let’s go.”

He instinctively straightened his clothes and smoothed down his messy hair before entering.

Bei Quan held Wei Fuyuan’s hand as they walked through the corridor and arrived at the door of the palace.

Bei Quan raised his hand and knocked on the door.

“Master, Bei Quan requests an audience,” he said loudly.

There was no response from inside, but the vermillion lacquered door silently slid open.

Wei Fuyuan nervously swallowed and felt Bei Quan’s grip on his hand tighten.

It was obvious that Bei Quan was also nervous, or at least, not as calm as he appeared to be.

Bei Quan and Wei Fuyuan walked side by side into the palace.

Before entering, Wei Fuyuan imagined the palace would be similar to the Forbidden City he had seen when visiting, such as the Hall of Supreme Harmony with a seven-story high platform in the middle of the hall, a golden screen behind it, six carved flower pillars on either side, and a magnificent high chair in the center where Bei Quan’s master was seated, waiting for his apprentice to come forward and pay his respects.

However, as soon as they walked into the palace, the real scene inside immediately slapped Wei Fuyuan in the face.

The huge hall was divided into several areas of varying sizes by many screens, like separate rooms, with a passage in the middle leading to the rear hall.

The screens were only about two meters high, while the top of the double-eaved palace structure was very high.

Through the space between the screens and the roof of the palace, one could see shelves of books and ancient scrolls, as well as some strange and indescribable things.

Wei Fuyuan remembered a noun: museum. ｂｅ𝚍ｎｏ𝚟𝚎ｌ.𝚌𝚘ｍ

Yes, rather than calling this place a palace, it was more like an exhibition hall of a museum.

Bei Quan skillfully led Wei Fuyuan through the screens and finally stopped in front of the last “exhibition hall.”

“Master.”

Bei Quan did not walk in directly, but bowed respectfully at the entrance separated by the screen.

Wei Fuyuan: “???”

He turned his head to look at Bei Quan, then at the space surrounded by the screen, completely confused.

Like all the rooms they passed by earlier, this room was also filled with staggered antique shelves, which were stacked with various strange and exotic collections regardless of ancient or modern, Chinese or foreign. The most eye-catching of them was a Baroque-style carved clock from England, and not far away was a bronze tripod that was as tall as a person.

Wei Fuyuan even saw a few specimen bottles in the corner, containing some deformed small animals floating in light yellow liquid.

But, there was no one in the room.

Apart from the antique shelves and collections, there was no one here.

However, in the next second, Wei Fuyuan heard two slight sounds: Kacha, Kacha.

That was obviously the sound of metal clashing together.

Then, under Wei Fuyuan’s shocked gaze, a wooden doll placed high on the antique shelf moved.

It was a weirdly crafted wooden doll, about one meter tall, with a face in the classic American horror movie aesthetic, with big eyes and mouth, realistic facial features, but exaggerated proportions. It looked like it could easily be used on the set of “The Shining”.

However, the doll with such Westernized facial features was wearing a peach-colored embroidered Tang costume.

The puppet’s limbs looked very awkward. It was wearing a traditional Tang costume with short sleeves and shorts, and the exposed elbow and knee joints were made of iron. The shrill sound he heard earlier was probably coming from the joints.

The wooden doll first stretched, then supported itself with both hands before jumping down.

Wei Fuyuan: “!!”

The wooden doll landed, took two steps forward, swaying, and it seemed like it wasn’t quite used to its overly long legs.

On the third step, its left foot tripped over its right foot, and it fell to the ground face first with a “smack.”

Bei Quan sighed and went forward to help the wooden doll up. “Master, how many times have I told you not to use this kind of puppet? It’s too easy to fall.”

[Mind your own business!]

Wei Fuyuan heard the voice of the puppet for the first time.

The voice was mechanical and dry, and it was impossible to tell the owner’s gender, age, or even emotions from it.

The words spoken, however, were very childish.

[I like this dress on me, it looks pretty!]

“Alright, alright, if you like it.”

Bei Quan knelt on one knee, looking straight into the puppet’s eyes, and said in a tone like he was coaxing a child.

“But the fingers of this puppet cannot bend, it would be inconvenient for you to use it, right?”

[You rebellious disciple, you’re finally back. Do I have to do everything myself?]

The puppet still refused to admit defeat.

[What about you? Where are your manners?]

It gestured towards Wei Fuyuan with its wooden hand.

[You brought a guest but didn’t even introduce him. How rude!]

Bei Quan stood up and pulled Wei Fuyuan to stand in front of the puppet.

“This is Wei Fuyuan.”

He smiled slightly and said, “He is my lover.”

Bei Quan emphasized the word “lover” very clearly, and Wei Fuyuan’s face turned red to his neck.

His heart was filled with sweetness, but also a little nervousness.

The puppet did not answer, only staring fixedly in their direction.

Its wooden face was completely expressionless, and Wei Fuyuan had no way of judging the master’s current mood. He could only hold Bei Quan’s hand tightly and say in a dry voice, “Hello, master.”

Yesterday, Wei Fuyuan spent several hours searching Zhihu for “what to do when meeting your mother-in-law for the first time,” and repeatedly read several highly praised comments many times, feeling that he had memorized the key points and was ready to face any test.

However, the great gods of Zhihu did not mention what to do if the “mother-in-law” was not human.

Wei Fuyuan was too surprised just now and was stunned, so he missed the opportunity to leave a good first impression on the other person.

Now he doesn’t know how to make up for it.

[……]

The puppet did not speak for at least half a minute. The silence was so long that Wei Fuyuan thought that he had imagined it moving and speaking just now.

Finally, the puppet’s mouth moved, but what it said was confusing:

[It’s him.]

Bei Quan frowned slightly, “What?”

[I said, it’s him.]

The puppet repeated loudly:

[I’ve calculated it for you before. I knew it would be him.]

At this point, the puppet’s voice suddenly lowered:

[But when I saw him, I still felt a little uncomfortable…]

Bei Quan knew that his master was harsh with words but soft-hearted. Although he would criticize and rarely say anything nice to him, he was very protective of Bei Quan.

What he cared about was not the criticism from his master, but the other person’s mention of “I knew it would be him.”

Bei Quan: “Do you know Xiao Wei?”

[Heh.]

The puppet turned its head:

[I not only know him in this lifetime, but I also knew him in his past life.]

Bei Quan and Wei Fuyuan were both stunned.

They looked at each other and saw the same doubt in each other’s eyes.

Bei Quan let go of Wei Fuyuan and approached his master:

“What kind of person was Xiao Wei in his past life?”

Bei Quan had also thought about this question.

In reality, the power of merit was not uncommon.

Any good person who did good deeds in their past life will be given a good fate by Yan Luo when they are reincarnated, allowing the power of merit to protect them and keep them safe throughout their life.

However, Wei Fuyuan’s situation was different.

His power of merit was so abundant that it not only protected him but could also be used in battle. He even once brought Bei Quan back to the present world from a lost fragment of space…

What did Wei Fuyuan do in his past life to have such an inexhaustible and endless great merit in this life?

[You rascal!]

The wooden puppet knocked hard on Bei Quan’s forehead with its unyielding wooden-carved hand.

[“Do I need to explain the trivial matter of who your man was in his past life? Go look at Changshen Pond and take a look yourself.”]

Its tone was as if it was as simple as letting Bei Quan search for the past on Baidu.

Without waiting for Bei Quan to ask any more questions, the puppet changed the topic without any explanation:

[I specially called you back for an important matter!]

Bei Quan pursed his lips and nodded.

Wei Fuyuan noticed that something seemed off about his lover’s appearance: his fingers hanging at his side were trembling slightly!

He worriedly held onto Bei Quan’s shoulder.

Bei Quan still pursed his lips and just shook his head slightly.

“Alright, come with me,” the puppet said while walking forward.

Its gait was very strange, lifting its knees high to its waist with each step before taking the next.

As he walked, he turned his head and ordered Bei Quan:

[Come by yourself!]

Bei Quan had to signal Wei Fuyuan to wait here, and followed his master by himself.

—————————–

The puppet led Bei Quan through the main hall and arrived at the side hall behind it. Along the way, Bei Quan had already adjusted his emotions and his tone of voice had returned to the usual calm.

“Master, what orders do you have for me this time?”

“I have so many things to order from you,” the puppet raised its hand and made a gesture of wanting a hug.

Bei Quan hugged the puppet and lifted it to his chest.

The puppet reached out and stuck its hand to the copper door ring of the side hall. The door slowly opened.

The puppet let Bei Quan carry it into the side hall.

Like the main hall, this place was also full of shelves, piled with various collections.

However, compared to the things outside, the collections here were more precious and dangerous.

Bei Quan put the puppet on the ground.

The puppet walked straight to the only empty space in the center of the room and sat down.

Bei Quan knew that this meant his master had something to talk about.

So Bei Quan obediently sat across from the puppet.

“Master.”

Bei Quan said before the puppet spoke, reporting some recent events.

“We recently discovered some activity traces of Ah Song’s while catching the Hui Gui.”

[Well, I know.]

The puppet made a big nodding motion.

[That’s why I called you back.]