Chapter 16: The Master Embroiderer and the Puppeteer’s Grand Performance

Though half-skeptical, Gu Qianqian still extended the needlework and fabric from her hand.

She was eager to witness what other tricks this popular, excellent student, renowned for her beauty and academic prowess, might possess.

What unfolded left her utterly spellbound.

Gu Qing’s movements were incredibly skilled.

He threaded the needle, drew the line, and pulled it taut.

His actions flowed with effortless grace.

The crooked, old stitches were swiftly unpicked, replaced by a flawless array of straight, even new ones.

In mere minutes, a skirt hem on the verge of ruin was impeccably restored, appearing even more exquisite than the original sample on the blueprint.

Gu Qianqian was utterly dumbfounded.

‘What kind of divine hand speed is this?’

Before she could fully recover from her astonishment, she watched as Gu Qing (TL Note: The original text mistakenly identifies Bai Shiyu here, but contextually, it is Gu Qing who is performing the embroidery and whose actions trigger Gu Qianqian’s memories of her father.) picked up a yellow thread, swiftly beginning to embroider a design onto the skirt’s chest.

Under his nimble fingertips, a radiant golden sun began to take shape.

It was none other than the emblem of the Magical Girl Blazing Sun Star!

“You… how do you know how to embroider this?”

Gu Qianqian’s voice trembled as she seized Gu Qing’s arm with astonishing force.

She remembered it with absolute clarity.

As a child, her father had often embroidered this very emblem onto her clothes, with both the style and intricate details bearing a striking resemblance.

Gu Qing was startled.

‘Oh no, I overplayed my hand.’

‘I got too engrossed, the embroidery flowed so naturally that I unconsciously added my daughter’s favorite pattern.’

Suppressing his inner unease, he managed to conjure a smile.

“I’m a devoted admirer of Blazing Sun Star; I worship her, so I’m quite familiar with the design.”

“Is that so…” Gu Qianqian’s voice softened, “That’s truly impressive.”

The atmosphere instantly shifted, becoming subtly charged.

Then, in an unprecedented move, Gu Qianqian spoke, her tone laced with a hesitant plea, “Could you… could you teach me?”

Though she adored the emblem, she had never once asked her father to teach her.

“Sure.”

Gu Qing inwardly released a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.

Under his patient and meticulous guidance, Gu Qianqian finally grasped the fundamental technique; though her movements remained clumsy, she at least no longer pricked her fingers.

As Gu Qing observed his daughter’s earnest profile beside him, a long-forgotten warmth bloomed within his heart.

‘Perhaps, these days aren’t so bad after all.’

****

Night.

In the apartment arranged by Qin Lan.

Gu Qing sat alone on the sofa, idly turning the Abyss Seed over in his hands.

The obsidian bead felt chilling to the touch, and upon listening intently, he could perceive faint wails emanating from within.

Activating his combat instincts, Gu Qing began to meticulously analyze the Abyss Seed.

The results of his analysis proved somewhat unexpected.

This entity was far from being a mere source of corruption.

Rather, it functioned as a converter, a mechanism capable of forcibly contaminating Star Power and transmuting it into Abyssal energy.

A sudden thought pierced Gu Qing’s mind.

‘If it can convert in one direction, could it not also operate in reverse?’

‘Is it truly possible to transform Abyssal energy back into Star Power?’

The moment this audacious idea surfaced, even Gu Qing himself found it utterly preposterous.

Yet, the information gleaned from his combat instincts suggested its feasibility, albeit with an exceedingly high degree of risk.

A single misstep could lead to him being consumed by the artifact, irrevocably transforming him into a mindless monster.

Nevertheless, if he truly succeeded, countless individuals corrupted by the Abyss could be saved, and even the reversal of witches into magical girls might become an attainable feat.

Such a perilous endeavor was undeniably worth the gamble.

Moreover, he vaguely perceived a subtle resonance between this Abyss Seed and his formidable Sun Face form.

‘Hence, this might well be an unforeseen opportunity.’

****

Meanwhile.

Deep within a shadowy basement.

A man clad in a tailored suit meticulously wiped the eye of a doll with a pristine handkerchief.

He was one of the esteemed cadres of the Successors of Dawn, known by his ominous codename, ‘Puppeteer.’

“My dearest darlings…” he murmured softly, addressing the room filled with dolls of myriad forms, “A grand performance is on the cusp of beginning.”

The Saint Sakura Academy festival served as his chosen stage.

To this end, he had painstakingly developed microscopic Abyssal spores, ingeniously designed to be soluble in liquid.

Colorless and odorless, these spores, once introduced into the human body, would lie dormant, patiently awaiting the precise moment of their activation.

He had already suborned personnel within the school, ensuring these ‘seeds of art’ would be covertly mixed into the most popular food stalls at the academy festival.

When the crowd reached its zenith, he would merely need to snap his fingers with a gentle flourish.

Hundreds of students would instantaneously transform into puppets, utterly subservient to his command.

The mere contemplation of such a spectacle sent tremors of ecstasy through the Puppeteer’s body, almost causing him to lose control of his bladder.

Naturally, this was merely the prelude.

He harbored an even more paramount objective.

The Puppeteer opened his phone, and the screen illuminated with the photograph of a young woman: none other than Xia Xingyan.

According to the intelligence retrieved by his deceased colleague, ‘Gardener,’ this individual was a magnificent raw gem.

Ordinarily, such a lucrative assignment would never have fallen to him, but that imbecile Gardener had been eliminated by the GSA merely days prior, failing even to transmit his final intelligence via Abyssal secret message.

As he gazed upon the beautiful young woman on the screen, the Puppeteer’s eyes slowly glazed over with obsessive infatuation.

During this grand performance, he intended to utilize ‘Abyssal Grafting’ on Xia Xingyan, transforming her into a formidable Abyssal Beast, thereby personally orchestrating the destruction of the entire campus.

He would wield this, his most perfect creation, to proclaim the triumphant return of the Successors of Dawn to the entire world!

“My dear Miss Xia, are you prepared to embrace your rebirth?”

****

The following day, the academy festival buzzed with an extraordinary vibrancy.

The Maid Cafe of Class 1-3, in particular, was inundated with patrons from the moment it opened, a lengthy queue snaking from its entrance.

The reason for this overwhelming popularity was singularly clear.

The two most renowned beauties in the entire school, Bai Shiyu and Gu Qianqian, stood at the entrance, both adorned in classic black and white maid uniforms, serving as captivating signboard girls.

One, with golden hair and striking blue eyes, possessed a delicate beauty akin to a porcelain doll, her face graced by an impeccably sweet smile.

The other, with raven hair and dark eyes, exuded an impatient air, resembling a small wildcat perpetually poised to unsheathe its claws.

These two starkly contrasting styles offered a twofold delight to those who had come specifically to witness them.

“Welcome, Master.”

Gu Qianqian intoned the six words with an utterly expressionless face.

Even so, the male patrons found it immensely gratifying.

However, when they turned their expectant gazes towards the other signboard girl, they were met with nothing but a silent smile.

Standing there, Gu Qing felt his life had never before plunged into such profound bleakness.

He felt as though countless ants were swarming over his skin, driving him to the brink of madness.

‘Make me utter “Welcome, Master”?’

‘Dream on!’

‘This wasn’t merely disgusting; it was a blatant trampling upon the last vestiges of his male dignity.’

‘A matter of fundamental principle, absolutely no compromise!’

Consequently, he could only maintain a fixed, artificial smile, his facial muscles stiffening with the effort.

“Hey, why am I the only one doing the welcoming? Have you gone mute?” Gu Qianqian jabbed him with her elbow.

“I cannot bring myself to say it.”

“What’s so unspeakable about it?” Gu Qianqian retorted, her dissatisfaction evident. “It’s just a simple phrase, isn’t it? Why are you putting on such airs? The entire class is putting in effort, and you’re just standing here acting like a decorative vase?”