The sound of the hairdryer buzzed as Erin sat cross-legged on the coffee table, grabbing the edges to prevent herself from being blown away, waiting for Yu Sheng to help dry her hair.

When the nozzle turned to the front, she would suddenly lift her head into the wind, open her mouth, and go "Awwawawawawa—" having the time of her life.

Yu Sheng sometimes really wondered what on earth was in the head of this puppet.

"Stop playing around," he had to forcibly hold down her head the third time she "awawawa" at the hairdryer, sighing helplessly, "It's nearly dry... alright, that should do it, it's about there."

"Thank you~" Erin reached up to touch her hair, then watched as Yu Sheng put away the hairdryer and suddenly blurted out, "What's happened? You seem distracted?"

Yu Sheng paused, exhaling softly: "It's nothing much, I just dreamt of Little Red Riding Hood and had a chat with her."

"Dreamt of Little Red Riding Hood?" Erin was puzzled at first, but quickly caught on, "Ah! That strange dream of yours, right? The one where you encountered Hu Li last time... Little Red Riding Hood went in too?!"

"Right, and unlike the time with Hu Li, she went in conscious," Yu Sheng said casually, but didn't mention what he saw in Little Red Riding Hood's memory, "...I plan to head back to the Black Forest tonight."

Erin blinked but said nothing, just watching Yu Sheng.

"Little Red Riding Hood's condition has reached the 'late stage'; virtually every time she enters a dream, she falls into the Black Forest," Yu Sheng continued, "I should be able to help out, and if I'm lucky, maybe I'll catch that 'Wolf Grandmother' she's facing, or see that 'Hunter' again... Next month she comes of age; there's not much time left."

"Wow, you actually consider meeting the Wolf Grandmother as 'good luck'. That's so you," Erin finally sighed, "Fine, since you can now enter whenever you want... Are you bringing me and Hu Li? It's likely a fight once we're in."

"I'm taking Hu Li," Yu Sheng nodded, then hesitated, "As for you..."

Seeing his reaction, Erin immediately stood up from the coffee table: "What about me! How many times have I played a key role! You..."

"I'm just worried your physical abilities aren't enough to avoid being killed by wolves instantly," Yu Sheng sighed helplessly, pondering something in his breath, but in the end, he nodded, "But you're right. I need your support abilities. Your silk threads might be very useful against those invisible wolf packs."

Erin finally looked satisfied: "That's more like it."

The little puppet was always easy to coax.

Yu Sheng smiled and then casually pulled out his phone, typing a private message to Little Red Riding Hood on "Border Communication": "Send me a message before you go to bed tonight."

Erin peered at the phone screen from the side, and after Yu Sheng sent the message, she suddenly commented, "That message you sent is weird, no matter how I look at it, it seems like you're harassing the young lady..."

"Do you even know how to talk!" Yu Sheng immediately turned his head and glared at the puppet, "And why did you wait until after I sent the message to say that?"

Erin turned her face away: "I just realized it now..."

Yu Sheng didn't believe it, and just then, his phone suddenly vibrated, and a private message popped up:

Little Red Riding Hood: "...????"

Two seconds later, she sent another message: "Why?"

Yu Sheng thought for a moment, then raised his head to see Erin staring straight at him, so he swallowed the lengthy explanation he had in mind and typed a short three-word reply: "Black Forest."

This time, it took a while for a response from Little Red Riding Hood; she seemed to take a long time to organize her thoughts, but in the end, she only sent a few simple words: "Okay... and, thank you."

Yu Sheng put away his phone, leaned back on the couch, and heaved a long sigh.

Erin curiously watched him: "What's next? Do we just wait until tonight?"

Yu Sheng didn't speak, just looked pensive at the small puppet in front of him, making her feel increasingly uncomfortable, "Hey, why are you staring at me? I didn't say anything wrong..."

"I have to strengthen you," Yu Sheng suddenly said.

Erin: "...Huh?"

"The Black Forest is very dangerous; you haven't come into contact with the biggest 'Evil Wolf,' you don't know. Just in terms of frontal threat, that thing might be tougher than the original 'Hunger.' Your silk threads may be able to control it, but your body definitely won't hold up," Yu Sheng's face became serious, and for once, even Erin put on her serious face when he spoke with such gravity, "After all, Hu Li can fight, but she's only one. If you as the support fall... that Evil Wolf will become particularly difficult to deal with."

A thoughtful expression crossed Erin's face, while Yu Sheng lifted his gaze to the light outside the window.

"We have time; it's still early, we can make preparations for tonight's venture... We need to head out."

"Where to?" Erin asked subconsciously.

"To the valley. It's the right place," Yu Sheng said and then turned his head to the demon fox girl who had already walked over, "Hu Li, come upstairs with me first, we need to grab a few things."

"Okay!"

Moments later, a large door connected the living room of No. 66 Wutong Road with the valley, and Yu Sheng led Hu Li and Erin (the one who was fully clothed) through the door, arriving at a large platform in the center of the valley.

"This will do," Yu Sheng looked around and seemed to randomly choose a spot, then pointed to the open space next to him, "Hu Li, put the stuff here."

The demon fox girl nodded, then started digging in her own tail, pouring things onto the ground—ritual candles (just the ordinary ones you buy at the mini-market), rose oil that probably didn't contain rose elements, possibly brandless essence oils made from dye and fragrance, tea powder that might be expired, pots and jars of uncertain usefulness...

Finally, she pulled her tail off and shook it in midair. A distortion appeared in the air accompanied by a series of clanging and grating noises, pouring out several threaded steel rods...

Erin was dumbfounded by the side, staring at Yu Sheng in disbelief: "You're not really planning to mold a body for me out of threaded steel and cement, are you?!"

"Why not? I already said I was going to strengthen it," Yu Sheng replied matter-of-factly. But then he quickly added, "Threaded steel can be used, but let's skip the cement for now. Last time I tried it, cement is after all different from clay, and it needs a mold for proper shaping which is hard to control... That's why I chose this place. There's an ample supply of materials in this valley and, most importantly, they are easy for me to 'control'."

Erin listened to Yu Sheng's ramble and her mouth twitched slightly: "Is this really going to work?"

Yu Sheng nodded his head. "As long as the skeleton is sturdy, the strength is definitely going to be greatly improved—that's how I see it."

"That's not what I was talking about..." murmured Erin, but was left with nothing but a sigh, "Ah well, do whatever you want."

Without waiting for her to speak up, Yu Sheng was already getting down to business.

He didn't draw alchemy symbols and arrays on the table as laboriously as he did in the attic at home.

He simply stood on the empty ground, extending his hand towards that level surface.

Soft sounds of stone rubbing came from the ground, and lines started extending from beneath Yu Sheng's feet, spreading quickly, intersecting, and closing.

The "Array" needed to craft the Alchemy Puppet almost took shape within a few breaths.

Yu Sheng focused intently on controlling this process, a slight smile gradually appearing on his face.

Yes, that's how it should be used, it should have been used this way all along.

He looked down, meeting Erin's shocked gaze.

"This is quite handy!" exclaimed the little puppet, unable to hold back her admiration.

"That's right, I should have taken advantage of this place a long time ago," Yu Sheng chuckled, then began instructing Hu Li to help out, and the two of them quickly arranged the ritual candles. Then he raised a temporary wall around the open space to prevent the valley winds from blowing out the candles, and lifted Erin, who was attached to a picture frame, positioning her on a specific node of the array on the ground.

The preparation work was quickly completed, and Yu Sheng's gaze then fell on the threaded steel rods.

"Now, we have to form the skeleton of the puppet," he said softly.

Erin looked up at him: "Yeah, so get started."

Yu Sheng rubbed his chin, a serious look on his face: "...I forgot to buy a welding torch."

Erin was stunned for two seconds: "..."

Then the puppet immediately jumped up, trying to fly up to bite someone: "Then what was all this preparation for? You got the steel bars and not the welding torch!?"

While fending off the puppet's jumping attacks, Yu Sheng hurriedly explained, "I just overlooked it, who needs a welding torch when making a puppet at home..."

"Who the hell uses threaded steel to make an alchemy puppet at home!" Erin exclaimed furiously, "You could think of using threaded steel, but not the welding torch!?"

In the blink of an eye, the travel agency's top and second tiers were embroiled in a severe internal conflict, tussling like crazies, but just when Erin finally succeeded in biting Yu Sheng's hand, a flash of bright light next to them interrupted their scuffle.

Yu Sheng looked over in astonishment to see Hu Li had just used a dazzling and sharply focused Fox Fire to cut through a steel rod, then put two rods together and used the flame from the tip of her tail to "sizzle" them together.

Moments later, Hu Li was holding the welded steel in one hand, holding her tail in the other, and looked up at Yu Sheng expectantly: "Savior, is this okay?"

Yu Sheng: "...Well, that's a fox welding for you!"

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