Tao Chengxin developed a shadow over the puppet, unconsciously stepping back as she said, "You dare to let it out again, what if it starts slashing around with a knife?"
As if responding to her words, the puppet’s body shuddered, blades sprouting from its limbs as its head rotated one hundred and eighty degrees to face her.
Seeing that it really intended to attack everyone indiscriminately, Xu Huo simply kicked it forward. The puppet tumbled several meters before reassembling itself and then spotted the humanoid rootstock within striking distance. It pulled out two long blade pieces from its body and, brandishing them, gave chase.
Tang Yuan, who was running ahead, casually smashed a potion on the ground, which emitted billows of smoke. Both the humanoid rootstock and the puppet that charged into the smoke were stuck to the ground!
However, the puppet’s body could disassemble, and once it realized it couldn’t move, it abandoned its feet and leaped forward, thumping as it chopped off the roots flung by the humanoid rootstock!
The puppet, not being human, did not need to react to the direction of the attack and just needed to chop away at everything in front, which was never wrong. The humanoid rootstock, not very bright either, managed to knock off some parts of the puppet with its roots but exhibited a lack of excitement in combat once it realized there were no blood vessels to burrow into, unlike when it fought Tang Yuan.
The movement of the humanoid rootstock gradually slowed down, and the puppet also began to shrink in height. Eventually, only a head, half a shoulder, and a partial arm remained. The puppet held a round rootstock under its head to serve as its body and hopped toward Xu Huo, following the trail of its scattered parts.
Once held by the puppet, the humanoid rootstock entered a dormant state. Xu Huo was about to go and free the rest of the puppet’s body when Tang Yuan suddenly emerged from the dense smoke, his eyes bloodshot as he stared at him, "Your puppet is mine now!"
As soon as the Crimson Sword was in his hands, Xu Huo’s vision blurred and he found himself back in the small cabin with the flower room.
He was standing by the dining table, the puppet lying at his feet. Tao Chengxin and Sun Jirou were on the other side of the table, while Tang Yuan was several meters away, having lost his target and collapsed on the ground.
A thick scent of blood wafted from behind. Turning around, Xu Huo saw Granny Bai sitting where they had dined, wiping the fresh blood from the corner of her mouth. Her clothes were soaked with blood, but it was unclear whether it was someone else’s or her own.
For a moment, no one in the room dared to move or make a sound. Granny Bai placed the handkerchief on the table and looked up at Tang Yuan.
That glance made Tang Yuan’s scalp explode. He had no intention of fighting her, turned, and fled out of the cabin. However, after only a few steps and just as he reached the door, the upper half of his body suddenly vanished into the night.
"Creak..." As the wooden door swung shut, his legs took a step forward and then fell on the flower-lined path.
"Thud!" The door closed.
Tao Chengxin and Sun Jirou had witnessed this scene as well and turned back, warily watching Granny Bai.
"Are you hurt?" Xu Huo asked, "Have you dealt with the people outside?"
Granny Bai’s face was full of wrinkles, making it impossible to discern her complexion. She opened her eyes, which were mere slits, and lamented, "The government has played this trick more than once. Out of a hundred times, there will always be two or three times when we are deceived."
As she spoke, she stood up and walked over to Xu Huo, slapping the puppet, which was attempting to attack, to pieces. She then picked up the rootstock and gave it a couple of smacks on the rear, "Wake up."
The rootstock’s limbs began to move again, stretching as if yawning before opening its mouth wide to Granny Bai.
Granny Bai reached into its mouth, ignoring the roots sucking her blood, and fumbled around before slowly pulling out a white square about the size of half a palm.
After removing the square, she yanked out the roots that were embedded in her arm and bunched the humanoid rootstock into a container beside her, then turned to Xu Huo with a smile, "All these years, you are the only one who has brought back a real ’Tooth’."
"Although there was a trick involved, you have nonetheless completed the third task," she continued.
As his words fell, Xu Huo heard the game’s notification sound:
"Congratulations to player Passerby A for successfully clearing the ’Storytelling Woman’ instance. You have completed the three tasks of this instance ahead of schedule and have earned the recognition of the Storytelling Woman. In addition to the instance rewards, you will also receive the Storytelling Woman’s extra reward."
"Below is the completion rating of the player’s tasks for this instance:
"Player Passerby A: Rank-A"
"Player Gracefully Aging: Rank-C"
"Player Handsome Frog Fisher: Rank-C"
Only three players survived this instance, and it was clear who was who.
Both Sun Jirou and Tao Chengxin looked at Xu Huo with a mixture of disbelief and admiration. They never expected the object Tang Yuan was searching for to be a "Tooth", and that the Tooth, having been captured by the puppet and returned to Granny Bai, would not only earn a Rank-A evaluation but also an extra reward.
"Thank you," Xu Huo said calmly, expressing his gratitude to Granny Bai. If she had not approved, he would have had no way to receive a Rank-A evaluation.
Granny Bai handed him the white cube in her hand, "Consider it repayment for that Golden Purple Flower."
Sun Jirou and Tao Chengxin’s expressions shifted slightly, but they were then ushered out of the greenhouse cabin by a wave of Granny Bai’s hand.
"Isn’t this item something essential for protecting Fairy Tale City?" Xu Huo asked in surprise, "Is it really okay to just give it to me?"
Granny Bai signaled for him to sit down and poured him a fresh cup of tea, "I no longer have any feelings for Fairy Tale City. When I die, I don’t care what becomes of this place."
Xu Huo fell silent for a moment, then listened as she said, "There are actually sixteen Angel’s Teeth, and each represents an independent small space. These spaces are distributed under the same Wormhole Point. If you leave E27 and go to other Wormhole Points, new independent spaces will be generated."
"However, the owner of the item doesn’t know where these sixteen places are, and can only travel back and forth between these sixteen spaces."
Xu Huo paused, "Aren’t these sixteen places all in Fairy Tale City right now?"
"The use of the item is limited by the player’s level. For low-level players, the item can only affect the range of a city or a small village, but high-level players can expand this range to a Wormhole Point."
"I only left six Teeth in Fairy Tale City; the rest are still in other areas of E27."
Clutching the cube in his hand, Xu Huo asked, "How can one enter other Wormhole Points?"
But Granny Bai just smiled, "These things are too far off for you; keep the Tooth, it will come in handy later."
"You said you come from Zone 014," she changed the topic, speaking with profound implications, "Young man, be careful in your dealings. You’ve caught someone’s attention."
Not far from the station where Xu Huo started his journey, a browless man stared at a colorful lizard sniffing around inside the station; confirming the direction, he revealed black teeth in a smile, "Looks like it’s headed for Building Block Fairy Tale City Station."