Chapter 186 The Puppets Are Back (2/2)

Yan Yu would occasionally use the tip of his chopsticks to pick up a little bit of freshly prepared dumpling filling and bring it to her mouth so she could taste the saltiness.

"Brother, this is delicious, but a little saltier."

"This works too, but I think it would be even more fragrant if we added some mutated beast oil!"

Little White and Big Orange weren't idle either.

Taking advantage of its large size, Big Orange occupied the warmest spot in front of the stove, curling itself into a huge orange ball of fur with its paws tucked in. Its golden tiger eyes were half-closed, pretending to doze off, but in reality, its ears were perked up, and it made muffled, eager "gurgling" sounds from its throat from time to time.

Xiao Bai perched on Ruan Tang's shoulder, looking just like a real overseer.

It would stretch out its tiny mithril claws and squeak twice at the dough in the puppet grandmother's hands, complaining that she hadn't kneaded it well enough.

A moment later, it jumped onto the cutting board, sniffed the minced meat that Yan Yu had prepared with its precious little nose, and then nodded solemnly.

Hmm, this recipe is barely acceptable.

The whole house was filled with a down-to-earth and warm atmosphere.

As night fell, sporadic firecrackers could be heard outside.

After a sumptuous New Year's Eve dinner, the two began to stay up late to welcome the new year.

Yan Yu heated the kang (a heated brick bed), and the room became as warm as springtime.

Ruan Tang changed into a loose and soft cotton nightgown, snuggled into Yan Yu's arms, and held a book in her hands, flipping through it idly.

The room was peaceful and serene.

Just then, two faint shadows appeared out of thin air on the floor of the main room.

The light and shadow quickly coalesced, transforming into two human figures, each about the height of a person.

Just a few months ago, I was sent out to investigate the puppet Afu and the puppet scriptures of Mao'er Mountain.

They were covered in invisibility talismans, so even Yan Yu would have difficulty detecting them unless they revealed themselves.

"ah!"

Ruan Tang was startled and almost dropped the book in her hand.

She sat up straight from Yan Yu's arms, looking at the two travel-worn puppets with delight.

"You're back!"

The two puppets bowed to Ruan Tang with blank expressions.

The puppet Afu stepped forward, took out a scroll from his bosom, and presented it with both hands.

The scroll was made of a special kind of animal hide, which was slightly cool to the touch, tough in texture, and carried the dusty scent of wild mountains and forests.

Yan Yu put down the carving knife in his hand, stretched out his long arm, and pulled Ruan Tang back into his arms to protect her. Only then did he take the scroll and slowly unroll it on the kang table.

A map appeared before the two of them.

If An Sanchuan were here right now, he would be terrified.

This map, along with the two scrolls he obtained from the organization, is almost identical in its overall orientation of the mountain range!

However, the difference between the two is like heaven and earth.

An Sanchuan's map was only a rough outline.

But the painting before me is so exquisitely detailed that it sends chills down my spine.

The height of every mountain peak, the depth of every ravine, and even the direction of every stream are clearly marked.

More importantly, the map was covered with various markings drawn in different colors.

The red circles represent energy anomalies.

The blue triangles indicate the possible locations of array nodes.

The black crosses indicate places where traces of human activity have been found.

The entire map encompasses Mao'er Mountain and the surrounding area spanning hundreds of miles; it's practically a terrifyingly detailed mountain exploration map! (This chapter has been read. Please click to continue reading the next chapter!)