Mysteries of Immortal Puppet Master

This diary primarily recorded some outstanding orphans from the Ciyu Orphanage.

Li Leifeng was very good at discovering the strengths of these children, then judging whether they were excellent cultivation seeds.

Li Leifeng even created a detailed form. In the form, he recorded everything in detail according to names and times.

Upon closely examining the form, Zhu Xuanji discovered that Li Leifeng not only took care of the orphans in the Ciyu Orphanage, but sometimes he would also help some impoverished children outside the orphanage.

Although the Ciyu Orphanage received support from various parties, its resources were still limited overall.

From this form, one could see Li Leifeng's management philosophy for the Ciyu Orphanage.

He did not spread the resources equally like cooking a big pot of rice. Instead, he allocated more to the more gifted orphans, focusing on investing in those with greater potential.

On one hand, he hoped that he could have successors. Therefore, he had been actively training successors.

On the other hand, he hoped that these resources could be used in more valuable places to get as much positive feedback as possible.

He very much hoped to cultivate some successful cultivators. After these cultivators became powerful, they would be able to provide more resources back to the Ciyu Orphanage, thus forming a positive cycle.

Zhu Xuanji sighed: "As expected of Li Leifeng, his benevolence and compassion spread out from this jade slip."

He felt the weight of the old jade slip in his hand.

Li Leifeng managed the Ciyu Orphanage with great care; this dedication, in Zhu Xuanji's feeling, was more valuable than a magical treasure!

Zhu Hou saw the change in Zhu Xuanji's expression and smiled: "Feeling better now?"

He continued to comfort Zhu Xuanji: "Little Xuanji, you are under too much pressure."

"You need to know that you are not the only one working hard; everyone is moving forward together."

"Don't be too hard on yourself, don't hold yourself to overly strict standards."

"You are already doing a great job."

"Perhaps sometimes you will make mistakes, but who can be without faults?"

"As long as someone is a cultivator, they are human; as long as they are human, they will make mistakes."

"Nowadays, our royal family lacks talent, and we're left with you as the only cultivation seed."

"Don't burden yourself too much, and do not think that you are always fighting alone."

"People like me, even though my cultivation level is low and my qualifications are poor, I can also contribute to the royal family. When accumulated little by little, this power is also not to be underestimated."

Zhu Xuanji solemnly said: "Thank you, Uncle Zhu, for your concern."

After Zhu Hou's comfort, he indeed felt much better.

However, just as Zhu Xuanji was about to return the jade slip to Zhu Hou, his face suddenly changed drastically.

Because his divine sense had scanned the end of the form and found a familiar name.

Ning Zhuo!!!

"Why is he on this form?!"

Zhu Xuanji hurriedly examined it carefully.

Li Leifeng, in the jade slip, made a detailed record concerning Ning Zhuo in this column.

More than a decade ago, Li Leifeng was performing a puppet show in the Ciyou Garden when he unexpectedly discovered a child hiding in the corner, sneakily watching.

The child not only watched secretly, but also took some leftover cakes to eat when the guests dispersed.

Afterward, Li Leifeng saw him two more times.

On the third time, he pitied the child and took him backstage, gave him some fresh cakes, and invited him to eat.

As a result, the child came more frequently.

The child often nestled in the corner watching the puppet show, every time engrossed in it.

This was very different from other children.

Generally speaking, children's minds were unsettled, their attention easily distracted. The first few times they saw a new, unfamiliar puppet show, they could focus for more than half the show.

Seeing old, familiar puppet shows, they often wandered around the audience seat, unable to sit still for long.

But Li Leifeng found that this child was focused every time.

This piqued Li Leifeng's interest.

He secretly observed and was surprised to find that the child was mimicking his techniques for manipulating puppets!

Others watched the show simply as a show, but this child was constantly learning, imitating Li Leifeng's puppet manipulation techniques midway through the performance, practicing while watching.

The child crouched in the shadows, secretly learning, his small hands constantly waving inside his sleeves.

After secretly observing for a while, Li Leifeng was astounded.

He found that for some simple manipulation techniques, the child could mimic them quite well after watching just two or three times.

Discovering this, Li Leifeng was greatly amused. Every time the child came to watch, he would add some performances with rather complicated and difficult manipulations.

As a result, these puppet shows at most troubled the child for two or three shows, at most four or five shows. Afterward, he could almost master them.

Finally, when it came to the "Fang Qing Vindicating Justice" show, because the scenes involved many characters and the manipulations were extremely complicated, it troubled the child for more than ten performances.

But after a dozen shows, the child had mastered about seventy to eighty percent.

"He has a very strong talent for mechanisms!" Li Leifeng had the thought of taking him as a disciple. After investigating, he found out that his surname was Ning, named Zhuo, and he was a branch disciple of the Ning Family.
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Before Ning Zhuo was born, his father had already passed away. When he was two years old, his mother also lost her life.

Although he had a biological uncle, for some reason he still lived alone and had an extremely difficult life.

Discovering this, Li Leifeng purposely left more cakes, inviting Ning Zhuo to eat whenever he came to watch the show.

Ning Zhuo was quite gluttonous but very polite. Every time, he was very respectful to Li Leifeng and was quite well-mannered.

Every time he saw the little figure bowing respectfully to him, Li Leifeng couldn't help but reach out and pat his head.

Li Leifeng wrote in his diary: "This child Ning Zhuo, has a big head, indicating a lot of spiritual energy."

He also commented on the Ning Family: "The Ning Family is a major cultivation clan, but it is no more than this. Seeing from Ning Zhuo alone, it is clear there is much hardship among branch disciples."

After inviting Ning Zhuo to eat many times, Li Leifeng felt the time was ripe.

Once, when no one else was around, Li Leifeng specifically asked Ning Zhuo if he wanted to recognize him as a master. He would specially teach him more puppet manipulation secrets.

The answer surprised Li Leifeng.

He said he didn't understand any manipulation techniques at all, he just liked watching puppet shows.

Li Leifeng knew this was a lie. He had observed too many people. From Ning Zhuo's eyes every time he watched the puppet show, he was sure that the latter was extremely fond of puppets!

Li Leifeng thought, haste makes waste, let's take it slowly and invite him again later.

However, after the first failed invitation, Ning Zhuo seldom came to the Ciyou Garden to watch shows.

Occasionally, when he did come, Li Leifeng would specially add a performance of "Fang Qing Vindicating Justice," the most complex puppet show to manipulate. Even Li Leifeng would feel physically and mentally exhausted after each performance.

Li Leifeng knew that only such puppet shows could entice Ning Zhuo to watch and come more frequently.

By the time Ning Zhuo was four years old, he could watch the "Fang Qing Vindicating Justice" show while practicing finger movements, having mastered about half of Li Leifeng's techniques.

Such talent led Li Lifeng to conclude that this child would surely achieve great things in the future!

"A cone hidden in a bag, even if covered up, is only temporary. After the age of six, he will definitely stand out!" This was Li Leifeng's judgment in the diary.

Upon reading this, Zhu Xuanji was greatly shocked and sprang up from his seat.

He widened his eyes, staring intently at the jade slip in his hand!

He continued to read further.

He found that Li Leifeng's subsequent records were very few.

This was because Ning Zhuo's visits to the Ciyou Garden had sharply decreased! By the time he was five, he came only two or three times a year. By six, he had stopped coming altogether.

"Ning Zhuo, Ning Zhuo!" Zhu Xuanji murmured softly, his eyes gleaming golden, his expression truly terrifying.

He hadn't expected to gain such a key clue from Li Leifeng's relics.

This gave him an understanding of Ning Zhuo's true self!