[The Slaughter Cape]

Xu Xiaoshou placed his arms across his chest and looked at the puppet child, who imitated his action. He then asked in a doubtful tone.

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"What do they call you?"

"Jie."

It answered in a shy voice. Finally, it was saying something else other than the word "Ma Ma".

Xu Xiaoshou looked delightfully surprised, noting that the child knew other words. While it was just a name, he was still making progress with the puppet child.

"Little Jie. I, Xu Xiaoshou, extend my invitation to you again. Do you want to come with Ma Ma?" said the young man, trying to figure out the thing.

After the Sky Tree took form, it stabilized the Tianxuan Gate.

However, Xu Xiaoshou dared not stay for a moment longer. He wanted to get back to the portal and leave as soon as possible.

But he needed to see to the matter of Jie, the puppet child, before leaving.

If the puppet child proved obedient and could be controlled, then it would be a formidable weapon. The benefits outweighed the risks.

However, he was not sure if the thing would behave. So if it proved unfeasible, he would not force it.

He already had a Raging Giant that he had trouble containing. If he were to put another time bomb by his side, it would only be a matter of time before things went south.

"Ma Ma."

Jie's voice sounded hesitant.

Xu Xiaoshou had repeatedly tested and could detect the child's emotional fluctuations through his Sense skill. It was the reason that he dared to attempt control of such a devastating weapon.

"There is not much time for you to think about it, as I am about to leave soon. If I were to stay any longer, I would probably end up trapped in here."

He looked up at the sky and said, "You see this world? While it is patching up, it is not different from the hole that trapped you. You have more space out there. That is all."

"The true world lies outside."

He halted as he suddenly recalled what Elder Sang had mentioned about the puzzling theory of the world.

He had thought that perhaps even the world outside was not the True World.

"Ma Ma." Jie looked at him and seemed moved.

Xu Xiaoshou did not mull over the matter any longer and flashed a beaming, relieved smile at Jie. "The point of living is to see a greater, wider world out there, right? What is the point of keeping oneself trapped in a dinghy place, eh?"

Jie walked up to him and was no longer crossing its arms. It put its arms on Xu Xiaoshou's shoulder and nodded.

"Ma Ma."

Xu Xiaoshou wore a strained expression as he felt as if his shoulder blades were about to crack, and he hurriedly said, "Alright, alright. I know what you mean. Just let go for now and do not act rashly."

Jie looked up with doubt in its red eyes.

"Let… let go! Release your arms and follow what I do. Cross your arms!"

The corner of his mouth twitched as Xu Xiaoshou was not feeling alright at the moment.

G*dd*mn*t! If he were to take the thing outside, it would still be fine if it just came to pinch him. But what if the thing were to play with other kids and got riled up?

He could imagine if some kid asked him to kick a ball.

Yippee!

And the kid's head flew instead.

Whew! It would kill the kid!

Or if someone asked for a hug.

It would crush the person!

Xu Xiaoshou felt his legs wobbling, not daring to imagine any further. If Jie could not control its strength, there would be great trouble once they got outside.

He rather regretted his decision to extend the invitation.

"If you are going out with me, then we would need to set up rules."

Xu Xiaoshou crossed his arms before his chest all the while. Jie finally regained composure and imitated what he did.

"First, you cannot go about attacking people."

Jie nodded.

"Second, unless I say otherwise, you need to stand with your arms crossed before your chest at all times. It is of utmost importance."

Jie nodded again.

"Finally..."

Xu Xiaoshou paused, wondering if the thing understood what he said.

He worried what would happen if the thing just nodded without actually comprehending what he had said.

"Can you shrink yourself?" he asked.

The puppet could probably shrink to hide. If it were to do so, taking it outside would be a piece of cake.

Jie nodded.

Xu Xiaoshou looked delighted and immediately gave the order. "Shrink!"

Jie continued to nod.

Nothing happened.

Xu Xiaoshou began to feel the onset of a massive headache. He feared that the puppet might indeed be a loose cannon.

Pop!

Suddenly, the puppet, the size of a child, shrunk itself into a metal ball about the size of a fist and hovered in midair.

Xu Xiaoshou's eyes gleamed when he discovered the puppet could do so.

Good Lord, the puppet child knew how to please him. Who the hell would find out if he were to hide the piece of rock on his person, eh?

He grabbed hold of the ball and asked, "Can you talk?"

"Ma Ma."

There were two red dots at the top of the ball, about where the eyes were supposed to be.

"Nice. Unless told otherwise, you shall remain in this form at all times."

The metal ball popped before he finished, and Jie reappeared in child form again.

Okay, it looks like I may have a problem there. It was not listening to me.

The puppet child stunned Xu Xiaoshou. The thing was going to be quite a handful, after all. Xu Xiaoshou was most wary of things that had erratic behaviors, as it meant that they could go haywire at critical moments.

At that moment, he heard a shout not far away.

"Xu Xiaoshou, come out and meet your doom!"

It was the unmistakable voice of Zhou Tianshen.

Alright, so the puppet child changed its form again because someone was there. But before Xu Xiaoshou knew it, he suddenly opened his eyes wide, as Jie was nowhere to be found.

There was no need to speculate where the puppet child had ended up.

"Stop! He is not an enemy! Do not attack!" Xu Xiaoshou shouted at the top of his lungs. He locked his Sense on Zhou Tianshen's position as he took to the air.

"Remember the rules!"

Zhou Tianshen sensed movement behind his neck and turned around to find a puppet child clenching its fist.

"Huh? There are survivors in this world?"

He was pleased. But when he heard Xu Xiaoshou's voice, he became furious and asked, "So, you are with Xu Xiaoshou, then?"

"You align yourself with evil to wreck the world. Now die! Well, this is a child. Damn it, how do I go about this?"

The tall man cradled his blade and hesitated. He was not one to kill a puppet child.

When Xu Xiaoshou got there, Zhou Tianshen's eyes flashed with anger again. He thought to himself that he would get rid of the one responsible and spare the puppet child then.

"Xu Xiaoshou, you shall die on this very day!"

The intensity of his killing urge was every bit on par with the metal puppet child when Xu Xiaoshou had initially come face-to-face with it. He noticed the change in Jie's eyes and stopped the puppet child right away. "Do not do anything rash!"

"Huh, rash?"

"I, Zhou Tianshen, am not doing anything rash because I am about to kill you!"

Xu Xiaoshou felt like he was about to give up. The man before him was still immersed in his fantasy world.

It is not the time for jokes, man!

"Quit yapping. This is the Tianxuan Gate, and I am sorry that I lied to you about taking 10,000 years and all..."

"By the way, you recovered so quickly and even released yourself already?"

Xu Xiaoshou noticed his Amber Juice was indeed doing wonders.

"Hmph, you think that a black wall can hold me down for long?" the tall man snorted dismissively. Suddenly, he realized that something was amiss and asked, "Lied? You were trying to dupe me?"

Doubted, Passive Points +1.

Xu Xiaoshou was exasperated. The man believed everything he should doubt and doubted things when he should believe.

Zhou Tianshen drew his blade. He had no intention of saying any more to the man who wrecked the world.

It was such a pity, having accepted the man before his eyes as his guide 10,000 years ago. He never knew that the man had such ulterior motives.

"Come, it is time for us to duel to the death!"

WHOOSH!

The puppet child appeared before Xu Xiaoshou, standing between the two men.

Zhou Tianshen was furious and bellowed, "Do not think for a second that I would not kill you just because you are a child. Get out of my way!"

The tall man's actions made Xu Xiaoshou's heart race with anxiety. Damn, this undoubtedly is your moment of truth, Zhou Tianshen, Xu Xiaoshou thought. Even he would not dare to talk to the puppet child that way.

BOOM!

As expected, Jie grabbed Zhou Tianshen's blade and flung both the man and his blade so high into the sky that they looked like tiny stars.

WHOOSH!

The man disappeared before they could hear his shrieks.

A passage coincidentally appeared, and the tall man fell right into its path.

Xu Xiaoshou was speechless.