Rebirth of the Innkeeper's Wife: She's Not to Be Messed With

Chapter 67 The Scavenger

His lips trembled slightly, as if each word required immense effort to be squeezed out of his throat. "Actually... that puppet... it was a gift from my son to my wife."

After saying this, Grandpa Zhang let out a soft sigh of relief, but his eyes still revealed a complex emotion that was hard to describe.

Huan Yuechu was startled, never expecting that the puppet had such a background.

I approached Grandpa Zhang and asked softly, "Where is your son now?"

A pang of sorrow flashed in Grandpa Zhang's eyes as he slowly said, "He's been missing for a long time, leaving only this puppet for my wife. But ever since we got this puppet, strange things have been happening one after another. I'm worried that it might be related to my son's disappearance."

Huan Yuechu paused, then carefully examined the wood shavings of the doll.

The puppets were exquisitely crafted, but they exuded a strange, eerie atmosphere.

"Grandpa Zhang, could you tell me more about what strange thing happened?" Huan Yuechu asked.

Grandpa Zhang recalled with a furrowed brow, "Every night, the puppet seemed to emit a faint light, and sometimes it would change position. Once, I even heard it make a sound like a child crying."

Huan Yuechu took the puppet and examined it carefully. Suddenly, she noticed a string of strange symbols engraved on the bottom of the puppet.

A thought struck me: these symbols seemed like some kind of ancient incantation.

Just then, the puppet began to emit a faint chill.

Huan Yuechu quickly used her magic to seal away this aura.

Then he explained to Grandpa Zhang, “Grandpa, this puppet has probably been tampered with. Your son’s disappearance may also be related to this. I need to take it with me, but don’t worry, I will investigate further.”

Grandpa Zhang nodded, his face showing gratitude. He choked up in his slightly hoarse but sincere voice, "Boss lady, thank you so much! If it weren't for you... I don't know what I would have done."

I quickly waved my hand and replied, "Grandpa, you don't need to thank me. It's fate that we met. By the way, could you tell me about the places your son frequents most often? Maybe we can find him by following the clues."

Grandpa Zhang frowned slightly and fell into deep thought.

After a long while, he seemed to have finally remembered some important clue and slowly said an address.

After obtaining this crucial information, I quickly said goodbye to Grandpa Zhang, then picked up the mysterious puppet and hurriedly left.

I know that the secret hidden behind this is probably extremely dangerous, but she has already been drawn into it and has no choice but to find out the truth.

I decided to try my luck at the address Grandpa Zhang provided, hoping to find some new clues.

After I arrived at the location, I looked around but couldn't find it, and I was about to go back.

Suddenly, a scavenger passed by me. He was carrying a bulging bag on his back, his eyes darting around, and his steps were hurried.

My gut feeling told me this person was suspicious, so I quietly followed him.

He turned and twisted his way into a secluded alley. I followed him to the alley entrance and looked inside. I saw him stop in front of a wall, and suddenly a hidden door appeared in the wall. He slipped inside in a flash.

I waited a moment, and after confirming that no one was around, I concealed myself and entered the secret door.

The room was dimly lit and filled with a putrid smell.

I saw all sorts of strange things hanging on the walls, and the scavenger was standing in front of a table with many bottles and jars and a tattered book on it.

He picked up the puppet, muttered incantations, and the puppet began to flicker with an eerie light.

Just then, I appeared and stopped him, "Who exactly are you? What's going on with this puppet?"

He turned to look at me in terror, then sneered, "Since you've delivered yourself to my doorstep, you're not leaving!" With that, he pulled out a gleaming dagger and lunged at me.

The opponent attacked like a whirlwind, their fierce offensive seemingly about to tear me apart.

In the blink of an eye, I dodged the fatal blow by sidestepping.

At the same time, I swiftly raised my right hand, like lightning streaking across the night sky, and executed a beautiful backflip, striking the opponent's wrist precisely.

With a sharp "snap," the other person winced in pain, nearly dropping their weapon.

He hadn't expected me to have some skills, and a look of surprise flashed across his face.

Taking advantage of his momentary daze, I kicked the dagger out of his hand.

"Tell me quickly, what secret is this puppet hiding?" I shouted angrily.

He snorted coldly, then suddenly formed a hand seal and began chanting a strange incantation.

In an instant, the strange things hanging on the walls of the room seemed to be summoned and flew towards me.

I couldn't dodge in time and was hit on the shoulder by something that looked like a skull, and a sharp pain shot through me.

I gritted my teeth, concentrated, and unleashed my unique ability—freezing and stilling.

Everything was frozen in place instantly, except for me.

I quickly walked up to him, snatched the glowing puppet from his hand, and opened the tattered book on the table.

The book was filled with all sorts of strange symbols and patterns, and I tried my best to find clues related to puppets.

Just then, the frozen time was about to expire, so I made a quick decision and tied the scavenger up with a rope.

He had just been tied up when he was released from the icy stillness. He then saw that he was bound and struggled, but found that he could not move. He could only glare at me fiercely.

"Speak! I don't need to torture you..." Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly burst into laughter, the sound echoing in the silent room, sending chills down everyone's spine.

"You think you can find out the truth just by getting the puppet? You're too naive." His eyes revealed a kind of madness.

I gripped the puppet tightly, a sense of unease rising within me. "What do you mean?" I asked.

He looked at the puppet, then at me, and slowly said, "This puppet is the key to another world, but it's missing the most important link, and that link is with me." As he spoke, he opened his mouth and spat out a bead that shimmered with an eerie light.

My eyes widened; I never expected the key to be here.

Just as I was about to grab the bead, the ground beneath my feet suddenly shook violently, and a huge crack appeared in the room, with things around me falling into it.

I didn't have time to snatch the beads; I quickly jumped to a safer spot to the side.

The cracks were widening and were about to spread to the bound scavenger.

A thought struck me: if he died, the bead would also disappear, and I would never know the truth.

So I rushed over, trying to untie the ropes binding him and pull him over.

However, he shouted, "It's none of your business, stop pretending."

"If you weren't still useful, do you think I would have saved you?"

In the time it took to say a word, the tremors beneath my feet intensified. Without a second thought, I rushed toward him and quickly untied the ropes.

Just then, a huge rock fell and hit him. I pushed him away, and the rock grazed my arm, making me break out in a cold sweat from the pain.

The scavenger looked at me in shock, then picked up the bead and shoved it into my hand, saying, "Now let's escape together."

We searched around for an exit and found a door in the wall that emitted a faint light.

There was no time to think about why the door appeared; we ran towards it and finally escaped the danger before the room completely collapsed.