Chapter 450: A fairytale fib
“Pinocchio? Can’t say I have,” Zhen Shi answered honestly.
“Understandable, it is a story from a very distant land…but one that pertains to the truth of why we look the way we do,” Razorstella(Rachel) explained.
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“How so?”
“Well…”
This line of questioning and answering was well within Razorstella’s expectations, more specifically Zhen Liu’s, so she could smoothly deliver the lie that was prepared beforehand.
Granted, the bladed ballerina kaijin still had some major doubts about this particular yarn she was going to spin.
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[Pinocchio? The fairytale? Really? You don’t think that’s a little too on the nose?,] Razorstella asked in disbelief, [also, why am I the one talking to him this time? Ain’t Hurricroak the one with the silver tongue?]
[She has a point, maestro,] Hurricroak added.
‘I would be inclined to agree since I’m currently running on half of my brain power, but I do have three solid reasons for this,’ Zhen Liu answered.
[Okay, what are they?]
‘First, if I send in Hurricroak again, there is a risk of grandpa recognizing that she was lying or is lying.’
[What?]
‘Its significantly easier to lie to someone who is essentially a stranger. Familiarity breeds the ability to notice tells.’
[Ah…okay,] Razorstella conceded with hesitation.
‘Second, the best lies in the universe have a small kernel of truth to them. You and Spring Brawler are technically real life versions of Pinocchio, granted you guys are slightly more murderous than the original story….I think.’
Zhen Liu’s mind wandered, trying to remember the earliest version of the Pinocchio story that he read, only to get interrupted by Hurricroak wanting him to give the third reason.
[What about the third reason, maestro? Also, wouldn’t it be easier to just tell him the truth?]
‘Honestly? I can’t come up with anything better right now due to my brain not being at max capacity.’
[Ah.]
[There it is.]
‘Also, I don’t want to tell them the truth because, how’d you feel if your grandson wasn’t actually your grandson anymore and was now some schmuck who can bring it to life reality defying monsters. That ain’t something you drop on someone, you drip feed that shit. My grandfather is about to go through a significantly awkward family reunion, rather not stress him out more than necessary.’
[Uh huh…]
Hurricroak and Razorstella shared a look with one another, transmitting their feelings of doubt to their lord. Unfortunately, his brain was too toasted to notice.
‘Besides, hardly anybody on Valresta know of the stories from Earth, so we might as well abuse that fact and use them as believable backstories for lying…that or publish these books under my name and rake in the cash from the inevitable sales.’
[You seriously think people in a world where they can cultivate the ability to fly will care about a fairytale book?]
‘Mundane people are still a thing and they probably will if I mix up the details enough and sprinkle some subtle cultivation techniques.’
[Fair enough.]
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|The following is the tale Razorstella used to lie to Zhen Shi, enjoy.|
To make a very, very long story short, once upon a time, in a very far away land, there was this master aether puppet maker.
This puppet maker could make everything from simple servant puppets made of mundane wood, to the most the gorgeous battle puppets crafted from the most volatile materials.
Sects and champions from all across the land sought out his services, believing that his works were blessings from the heavens and that just having one was enough to ensure prosperity for centuries.
For all intents and purposes, the puppet maker was the epitome of success and was want for nothing…at least, he should have felt that way.
Despite all of his riches, despite all of his prestige, there was something that still bothered him: his own puppet making skills.
When he first started his career, he would usually feel immense satisfaction whenever he finished creating a puppet and delivered it to his clients.
But over time, he became less and less pleased with his work despite the quality of it going up and up.
For a very long time, the puppet maker couldn’t figure out what it was that bothered him about his own craft, his own creations.
Was it their aesthetics?
Their power?
Their function?
It wasn’t until he had created his thousandth puppet that he realized what was bothering him, and all it took was single comment from his client to get to this realization.
“Isn’t it amazing how life-like this aether puppet is?”
Life-like?
Life-like?!
Life-LIKE?!
That single world was enough for him to realize that none of his puppets had any life to them…and that was the problem.
For reasons beyond his or even the world’s understanding, the puppet maker soon became obsessed with the idea of bringing his creations to life.
Not in the sense that aether could be used to make them move and act a certain way, no, he wanted to give them true life.
A heart.
A soul.
The ability to make and keep memories.
Even make it so we could cultivate…to an extent.
And so, for years and years, the puppet maker used all of his resources to try and make this obsession into reality, until finally…he did it.
Through means unknown to this world, via methods known only to a select few, this puppet maker would gain access to a type of energy called [Chaos] and with its power, create something extraordinary.
Us.
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“That puppet maker would go on to name the very first puppet he brought to life, Pinocchio. I’m not sure if there was an original meaning to it, but it’s name is puppets hold rather dearly. Now, you should probably know that our master, our creator, isn’t the same puppet maker as this story,” Rachel explained further, “rather, he is an inheritor of that man’s abilities. Understand?”
“Uh…yes?”
“Good.”
Zhen Shi was shocked, to say the least, because it’s not often one gets informed that there was a whole hidden cultivation path that involved bringing aether puppets to life.
Then again, the world was vast and the chances of such things occuring was more than zero, it just never occured to him that it could happen to someone who was in his family.
‘Wait a minute…that actually explains some things…’
As Zhen Shi thought back on the times he had seen his grandson in action with his puppets and in practice, some of the quirkier behaviors he did suddenly made a lot more sense.
It would make sense that one would want to talk to their puppets if they could talk back someday.
It would make sense for an aether puppet to be able to use aether arts if they could actually cultivate.
It also explained why when Zhen Liu’s puppets were on standby that they looked surprisingly more lifelike than most other aether puppets, because they were alive…maybe.
This revelation put a whole new spin on how to view his grandson’s puppetry shenanigans and he needed more answers.
Unfortunately for him, the only sources for them was about to bail.
“In that case, I’ll be going and-”
“Wait!,” Zhen Shi interjected, “I know I said I only had two questions, but can I ask two more?”
“Mmm.”
Rachel looked visibly annoyed by the old man’s pleading, but rolled her eyes and relented.
“Fine. You get two more, but be quick about it.”
“Yes, of course!,” Zhen Shi nodded before rolling into his questions.
“Your master said earlier that Grand Fisher, Marlancer, was your sect’s problem. Does that mean he was also an aether…”
“A puppet?”
“Yes.”
“Yes, he was,” Rachel answered “honestly”.
“However, unlike us, his master died some time ago and he went rogue as a result, well, mad would be a better term. Without our respective creators, we have a tendency to fall apart at the seams.”
“Oh,” Zhen Shi went as a realization about how precarious his grandson’s abilities actually were in this moment, not that it concerned Rachel since she was in a hurry.
“Now, your second question?”
“Right,okay,so,” Zhen Shi said in rapid succession as he tried to get his thoughts together, “my grandson from the sounds of it, he is also an inheritor of this puppet maker’s abilities, does that mean his puppets are also…alive?”
“Ah…kind of.”
“Kind of?”
“The puppet maker didn’t create Pinocchio until he was at the pinnacle of the Aether King rank, and it wasn’t until then that he created the cultivation formula that would allow others to follow in his footsteps. Your grandson should be at the Aether Master rank, yes? His puppets at this point aren’t exactly alive yet, but they’re not inanimate anymore either. They’re… somewhere in-between.”
“That…makes sense…”
“Now then, I believe that’s everything. So I shall now make my return to my master’s side.”
Rachel began to fly away after delivering this revelation to Zhen Shi, but didn’t leave the area until telling him one last thing.
“Before I leave, you’re a smart man so I think this should go without saying but I’ll do so anyways, do not tell anyone about what I have just informed you. Not even your sons, understand?”
Zhen Shi was about to ask why, until he connected the dots himself.
If word got out that his grandson could bring to life aether puppets, essentially creating powerful warriors at will, all of whom could even grow further beyond…one didn’t need a great imagination to imagine the consequences.
“I understand.”
“Good.”
With the conversation now officially over, Rachel turned into a streak of light and disappeared into the horizon, leaving behind a thoughtful old man with a strange harpoon in his hands.
Zhen Shi kept staring into that horizon before letting out a sigh and examining the harpoon in his hands.
“I haven’t used a spear, let alone harpoon, in a very long time,” Zhen Shi said to himself.
“Wait… shouldn’t I have asked about what a kaijin is? What a kaijin lord was? Ack, forget it. There are more immediate concerns to address.”
As Zhen Shi left to go check on the status of his clansmen, one particular clansman was doing his absolute best to sneak back into his room and go to sleep…mostly.
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[Still think you need to tell them the truth eventually, maestro.]
‘I will eventually, but for now, while I’m trying to sleep off this energy drain, Razorstella, Hurricroak, Spring Brawler, who wants to volunteer and pretend to be me?’
