Two smaller hills jutted out from the middle of the peak like curved horns, their slopes covered in terraces of buildings, workshops, plazas, and open fields. Hanging bridges connected the three parts, each suspended with thick iron chains, swaying gently in the wind.
Han Yu stopped for a mont and gulped.
It looked like a giant three horned monster rising from the landscape, frozen in stone.
But the strangest part was not the shape.
It was the movent.
Everywhere he looked, puppets walked, marched, crawled, rolled, or floated.
Hundreds of them. Thousands possibly. They varied wildly in appearance.
So were beautifully crafted humanoid puppets, dressed in robes and carrying scrolls. Others were grotesque creations ford from mismatched tal plates, with one arm larger than the other, or legs bent at odd angles.
There were wooden ones that creaked loudly, stone puppets that stomped heavily, and even strange assemblages of sticks held together by nails that clattered across the ground like skeleton spiders.
Jiangshi guards patrolled the paths in orderly groups, their stiff movents making them look like soldiers carved from rigid flesh.
anwhile, chanical puppets moved with jerky montum, sotis bumping into each other, sotis spinning in place before correcting themselves. So puppets worked independently, sweeping floors, carrying baskets, repairing walls, or transporting crates.
Han Yu blinked in surprise.
The atmosphere here was completely different from the suffocating brutality of the other peaks. There was no oppressive killing intent. No pure bloodlust lingering in the air. Instead, there was an eccentric energy, like a workshop filled with deranged inventors.
Even the disciples looked odd.
So were muttering to themselves while scribbling on papers. Others carried disassembled puppet limbs stacked dangerously high in their arms. One man was smashing a puppet head with a hamr and cursing loudly that it refused to properly rotate. Another stood in a corner mumbling that he still did not have enough funding for his third arm project.
Han Yu actually felt strangely at ho.
It reminded him of the alchemy division in the Twin Leaf Peak Sect. Alchemists often wandered muttering to themselves about pill integrity, cauldron temperatures, exploding mixtures, and missing ingredients.
A chaotic, eccentric environnt was exactly where Han Yu thrived.
He allowed himself a quiet breath of relief.
"This feels... nice."
This place was far less suffocating than the slave districts or the other main peaks.
Finally he reached the entry gate leading to the true base of the Puppet Peak. It was half a kiloter away from the mountain itself, ford like a broad stone arch with thick pillars etched in glowing red formation patterns.
Two Jiangshi guards stood at attention on both sides.
CLANG
They moved their spears in front of him in perfect synchrony and pointed to Han Yu's identity token.
Han Yu stepped forward and held it out.
A beam of red light shot out from the arch and scanned the token. A soft hum echoed, and the formation dimd.
Approval.
The guards lowered their spears and stood rigid once again, allowing him to pass.
Han Yu continued forward and entered the first major building he saw at the base.
A sign hung across the entrance: External Puppet Hall.
This was the equivalent of the External Alchemy Hall. A place where disciples could request puppets, purchase materials, learn minor puppet maintenance, and find basic manuals. But more importantly, this was also where disciples could apply to learn puppetry formally.
Han Yu already knew he needed to take a test to be accepted into the Puppet Peak.
That would give him access to restricted teachings and higher tier manuals. It would also allow him to study under puppet masters officially, which was the only legitimate way to start mastering puppetry here.
The hall was surprisingly organized inside.
Rows of shelves stocked components of all kinds, ranging from gears and tal plates to wood blocks, spirit thread spools, and puppet eyes made of crystal. Disciples wandered through the hall in chaotic patterns, but there was a strange rhythm to the madness.
Han Yu approached the counter at the front desk.
The man sitting there was middle aged and had an unkempt beard with ink scribbles on his cheeks.
He did not look up. Instead, he was preoccupied with a small wooden horse puppet hitched to a miniature chariot. The horse puppet was supposed to run forward, yet it stubbornly spun in circles. The man kept flicking its side, muttering to himself.
He repeated the sa phrase over and over.
'Why can it not go straight.''Why can it not go straight.''Why does it only spin like a drunken fool.''Why why why.'
The puppet circled again.
Han Yu cleared his throat.
The man ignored him.
Han Yu cleared his throat louder.
Still ignored.
"AHEM!" Finally Han Yu coughed loudly, adding a hint of sharpness to his voice.
The man jolted upright as if the puppet bit him and finally looked up.
He frowned in irritation, then squinted at Han Yu. When he noticed the identity token and the robes of the Slaughtered Moon Divine Blood Sect, he imdiately straightened.
Han Yu spoke calmly in his cold Ju Fan tone.
'I wish to learn puppetry. What are the requirents?'
The man blinked.
His fingers fiddled with the tiny horse toy again but he forced them still. He set the toy aside and leaned forward.
'You want to learn puppetry? Well, that depends. Do you want to learn basic puppet maintenance or do you want official mbership under the Puppet Peak?"
Han Yu answered imdiately.
"Official mbership."
The man raised a brow.
"Ambitious, are we? Well at least you do not look like the types who think puppetry is just slapping sticks together and hoping it moves."
Han Yu kept his expression neutral.
The clerk continued.
"If you want to join officially, you will need to take the Novice Puppet Examination. It is similar to the Alchemy or the Formations test and is handled by autonomous arrays. No human examiner. No interference. Just you, the room, and a lot of parts that may or may not explode if you assemble them incorrectly."
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