Three minutes later.

The enormous shears in Ge Qingming’s hand fell to the ground.

He was seized by a group of puppet children, who then lifted him and placed him on the iron bed.

Feng Yuhuai stood in front of him, curled her index finger, and a scalpel was pressed against Ge Qingming’s chest.

"You can’t do this to me, I’m the gardener, I’m the gardener..."

Ge Qingming’s voice was like a jammed tape recorder, playing the same sentence over and over:

"Feng Yuhuai, I gave you new life, it was me ah ah ah ah—"

Feng Yuhuai’s lips curled into a sweet arc, and the scalpel elegantly sliced through the aged skin, like cutting open an old sheepskin scroll.

Dozens of pale hands immediately pried open the wound, frantically pulling at the subcutaneous tissue, revealing the writhing organs inside.

"Shh..."

Feng Yuhuai leaned down close, her hair falling on Ge Qingming’s contorted face,

"You just taught me, as a seed you have to break through the soil alone, but have you ever considered, what is the destiny of a gardener?"

Feng Yuhuai paused, then added with utmost seriousness:

"Previously, everyone I liked was devoured by me, but Doctor Ge, you are different, you gave me new life, so I don’t want to devour you.

I also want to grant you new life, so you can become my family, accompanying me all the way to the end."

Ge Qingming’s scalp tingled, he dared not look at Feng Yuhuai’s sweet gaze again.

He had seen many lunatics before, even considered himself one, but a sweet yet mad one like Feng Yuhuai, he was encountering for the first time.

Ge Qingming closed his eyes in despair, thinking to himself:

"No wonder, every gardener who presents seeds to the Puppet Mother disappears after a while, I thought they had been blessed by the Puppet Mother and retired after accomplishments."

"In hindsight, perhaps they were all consumed by the seeds they planted..."

Ge Qingming suddenly understood, mumbling to himself:

"Maybe becoming fertilizer to nourish the seeds is the destiny of every gardener, and if this is what the Puppet Mother wishes to see, then I..."

While Ge Qingming was pondering life’s philosophies, Feng Yuhuai whispered affectionately in his ear:

"But I, I’ve only ever known how to devour, never how to create family, so, could you tell me the correct procedure?"

Ge Qingming suddenly opened his eyes, looking again at Feng Yuhuai’s earnest seeking gaze.

His expression fluctuated wildly, lips trembling for a long while, then suddenly erupted into manic laughter:

"Creating puppets is a skill every gardener must master, but maybe you’re right, the Puppet Mother wants the gardeners to pass this ability to the seeds."

Feng Yuhuai’s eyes lit up, nodding heavily.

Ge Qingming clutched the edge of the iron bed tightly:

"The incisions must follow a sequence, remove the liver first, then the spleen, then scoop out the kidneys..."

"During this process, you must bleed and infuse Solid Puppet Liquid to seal the puppet’s pre-life activity, preserving the puppet’s abilities..."

"The method to make Solid Puppet Liquid is on a sheepskin scroll on the third shelf of the cabinet..."

"Throughout the surgery, anesthesia must not be used, to preserve the puppet’s consciousness to the greatest extent..."

Feng Yuhuai listened intently, she was the type with great comprehension, only hearing once, she grasped the key points of knowledge.

Her eyes grew brighter and brighter, the blade in her hand accurately moved with each incision, perfectly replicating Ge Qingming’s instructions.

Blood spattered on her porcelain-white face, then was swept away by her excited tongue tip.

"Ah——!!"

Ge Qingming’s screams suddenly rose in pitch, but bizarrely morphed into laughter,

"Yes...just like that, you’re doing great, you have the talent to become the final seed, at that time, I will not only be your family, but also the Puppet Mother’s house ah ah ah——"

The light in the basement flickered, casting the shadow of this "teacher and student" pair on the wall — one teaching amidst excruciating pain, the other focused on the pool of blood learning.

The puppets quietly formed a circle, resembling medical students in training.

When Feng Yuhuai began stitching the final wound with a red thread, she suddenly wept.

These weren’t tears of sorrow, but a kind of connection beyond blood ties — because she clearly felt that the entity transforming on the iron bed had established a closer bond with her than that of father and daughter.

"I understand now..."

She caressed Ge Qingming’s gradually cooling face,

"This is... true family..."

With tears in her eyes, Feng Yuhuai kept vigil beside the iron bed, waiting for Ge Qingming to wake from his slumber, just as Ge Qingming had kept vigil by her bed that night.

Time passed uncertainly, the aging body on the iron bed suddenly twitched.

Ge Qingming’s eyelids slowly lifted, revealing the pale eyeballs beneath, devoid of any vitality.

Feng Yuhuai flicked her fingertip, and a wisp of red thread burrowed into Ge Qingming’s chest, his pupils instantly turning into red rings, his whole being coming back to life.

She could feel that, unlike other puppets, there was still some special connection within Ge Qingming’s body — resonating with the Puppet Mother’s imprint.

Compared to other puppets, she manipulated Ge Qingming much more effortlessly.

She curled her little finger, and Ge Qingming sat up straight, his neck turning stiffly, the corners of his withered mouth slowly stretching into a paternal smile.

The arc of that smile, the folds at the corners of his eyes, even the slightly drooping brows, bore a striking resemblance to Feng Ju.

Feng Yuhuai lightly flicked her little finger.

Ge Qingming’s arms slowly opened, joints emitting subtle creaking sounds, his movements were stiff yet precise, the arc of his opened arms just right.

Feng Yuhuai leaped forward. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Her cheek pressed against Ge Qingming’s cold chest, where there was no heartbeat, only the subtle sensation of red thread wriggling beneath the skin.

She lifted her head, eyes brimming with tears, her voice soft as if murmuring in a dream:

"Today I lost my original family, but I’ve created a brand-new one, so you will accompany me forever, forever proud of me, until the end of the world?"

The red threads intertwined between them, secretly binding their destinies like blood vessels.

Ge Qingming’s arms slowly tightened, the broad palms gently caressing the back of her head.

This motion so familiar, as if it had been repeated a thousand times.

Dozens of puppets suddenly knelt simultaneously, red threads between them weaving into a blood-colored spider web.

One by one, these "siblings" reached out pale arms, layer upon layer embracing the "father and daughter" at the center of the iron bed.

Ge Qingming gently turned his neck, mouth splitting wide, smiling exaggeratedly, producing a hoarse voice intermittently:

"Yuhuai... you are the pride and hope of our entire family... We will forever... forever accompany you to the end of the world....."

Feng Yuhuai closed her eyes, burying her face in his chest.

At this moment, she once again possessed a good family that would never leave, forever proud of her.

Bzzz, bzzz, bzzz——

The phone vibrated untimely, breaking the warmth and tranquility of this moment...