Gui Yin stared at Lin Cangyuan’s sleeping form for a very long time. He fiddled with his fan, opening and closing it quietly unlike his usually rambunctious movements. His gaze eventually lowered and he breathed a deep sigh.
“Hurry and wake up,” Gui Yin said. “There’s a lot I want to talk about, but there’s no one around me to listen.”
He had always treated Ye Liuxing and Jiu Jingyi as his younger siblings. Even when they were older now, Gui Yin still had a habit of being reluctant to discuss burdensome things with the two that were younger than him.
When Gui Yin and Lin Cangyuan were still teenagers, they would tell each other everything. Not only were their cultivation levels similar, but their ages were also similar. Even with how closed off Gui Yin was, he managed to find an inkling of respite in this man. They were close friends and good brothers. Even when they were on the verge of death, they ended up hanging onto that thread together.
Gui Yin laughed at his own analogy. He glanced at Lin Cangyuan. “But I made it back already. So, you have to quickly wake up too, alright?”
Lin Cangyuan obviously didn’t answer. His chest felt foggy. Too many thoughts continued to cloud his mind, but he had nowhere to release them.
It had been a long time since he had lived like this.
Back in the twenty-first century and in every other reincarnation he had, he had always been alone. He had never given himself the luxury of spending his punishment with another person. Therefore, each and every life, his family situation would be similar. The men around him would always be trash. On the off chance that he had married a woman, he would be hiding his guilt of being unable to love her for the rest of his life. There was absolutely no chance of being any closer.
He should be used to it, but he found that he wasn’t.
A few months with Langxia in the twenty-first century and a few years with his disciples and the others had caused any immunity he had to being alone to disappear.
“When you get better,” Gui Yin softly drawled, “Let’s go to Mingfang City again. Get some of their pear wine. I still need to keep my promise to you, right?”
He quietly left the room and closed the door, just missing the way Lin Cangyuan’s eyes rolled beneath his eyelids.
The first week or so, Gui Yin found it hard to settle into a routine.
Although he still had the memories of being an editor in the twenty-first century, he was now back in his original world. In this world, this body was used to intense activity every second of the day. In his sleep, he would snap awake from the slightest noise. His entire body would tense up, as if he were waiting for the signal that told him he had to hop back on the front lines. If he wasn’t fighting, he would also have far too much energy.
Gui Yin found that he couldn’t afford to just laze around, or he would have to live without sleeping for several days to tire himself out.
He stared blankly at the memorials sprawled on his desk and couldn’t help but scratch his head a bit.
He had to do something else or he really wouldn’t be able to sleep until he collapsed.
During the second week, Gui Yin came up with a brilliant idea and began to draw out a blueprint.
After examining Lin Cangyuan closely for several years, Ye Liuxing had said that it was very likely that Lin Cangyuan would never be able to walk again. Gui Yin had yet to ask Langxia about this, but if that really were an irreversible case, then Lin Cangyuan should at least have a functional, futuristic, and comfortable wheelchair to sit in.
Towards the end of the second week, Gui Yin brought the blueprints in front of Ye Liuxing and Jiu Jingyi.
They looked at it, at each other, and then finally back at Gui Yin.
“What’s this for?”
“It’s a wheelchair,” Gui Yin said. He frowned. “Isn’t it obvious?”
“I thought this was another one of your flying ships,” Jiu Jingyi said as she touched the closest blueprint with a hint of indescribable disgust. “Why does this one have oars?”
“They’re detachable. He can fly with this one,” Gui Yin said. He tapped the one that Ye Liuxing was looking at. “This one can go into the water.”
Ye Liuxing looked up at Gui Yin. “What if he fell off?”
“That’s why there are straps,” Gui Yin said with an incredulous expression.
Ye Liuxing laughed awkwardly. “Of course…that was a stupid question.”
Jiu Jingyi glanced at Ye Liuxing and picked up the third option. Her eyes widened in pleasant surprise as she looked over the blueprint. There were secret compartments for weapons. It was made from lighter material and it seemed to be easily movable even on the person’s own. Other than functionality, it had an elegant design that suited Lin Cangyuan’s temperament. Out of the three, this was clearly the best choice.
“Why did you draw the other two?” Jiu Jingyi asked.
Gui Yin shrugged. “Too much free time. But I think this flying one has a chance of being made. He can’t fly on swords anymore, right? If I incorporate this into the design of this one, then I think—”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“P atlcx sbe’ii ulnf tlw j ofjg bo tflutar,” Ale Alcusl qbilafis lcafggeqafv.
“Qtja’r atlr rmglyyifv yla ja atf ybaabw?” Tf Olezlcu jrxfv.
“Yt,” Xel Tlc uijcmfv bnfg. “P kjr agslcu ab oluegf bea tbk ab obiv atf ktffimtjlg jcv wjxf la rwjiifg.”
Lf rmgjamtfv atf yjmx bo tlr tfjv klat j ogbkc. “Pa’r fjrs ab tlvf rwjii bypfmar, yea rbwfatlcu ilxf atf ktffimtjlg lr j yla olclmxlfg.”
Ye Liuxing and Jiu Jingyi stared at Gui Yin with the same question in their eyes: was it actually??
Gui Yin ignored them and shuffled through the blueprints. “So, you two think this one’s the best right?”
Jiu Jingyi and Ye Liuxing were too lazy to deal with him. He had clearly put the most effort into this blueprint, even going as far as to design the actual appearance of the wheelchair, yet he was pretending that he was considering the other two options.
Gui Yin glanced at the flying wheelchair again. “Do you two really think this one won’t—”
“It won’t,” Jiu Jingyi said.
“Just let it go.”
Gui Yin sighed. What a shame. He really did think it would be interesting.
Maybe he’ll build a separate prototype for that one then.
“Alright, I’ll go with this one,” Gui Yin said. He stood and smiled sweetly at the two martial siblings. “Which one of you two is willing to let me borrow a disciple?”
“I only have one disciple,” Jiu Jingyi said.
“Mine are disposable,” Ye Liuxing said with a short nod.
Gui Yin happily produced a sheet of paper with the name and address of the blacksmith who created intricate gears. He handed it to Ye Liuxing and told him to find one of his disciples to commission the blacksmith to make a series of gears.
“I don’t know if he’s still alive,” Gui Yin said with a small sigh. “But one can hope.”
“Alright, I’ll get someone on that,” Ye Liuxing said with a nod.
Gui Yin’s happiness didn’t last long.
After procuring the other parts for the wheelchair and even building it halfway, he suddenly realized that he couldn’t move on without the parts he had ordered. Although the parts were small, it would probably be difficult to make. Gui Yin would most likely have to wait a few months for the parts to come in.
He remained crouched in front of the wheelchair with his cheek pressed against his knuckles as he stared up at his wooden masterpiece. He lifted a hand and rolled it back and forth.
At least, as a regular wheelchair, it worked well.
Gui Yin stood up and sat down. He placed his feet onto the foot plates and reached down to take a hold of the wheels. He rolled forward and frowned slightly at the bumpiness. He tilted back and spun on the back of the wheels for a while before he rolled forward slightly and settled back down.
It really wasn’t bad. But if he had to sit on this chair for so long while enduring a long, bumpy journey, he felt like his butt would fall off.
Functionality was checked off. Lethality would have to be implemented later.
Right now, he had to focus on comfort.
Gui Yin stood and pushed the wheelchair to his study and began to look for any type of ruins and sigils that might help prevent the user from experiencing turbulence or bumps on the road.
With the advancement of carriage technology, such a thing was not difficult to find. However, most of it pertained to large mobile objects or things that would be pulled along. These would work on the wheelchair, but Gui Yin felt that it wouldn’t be comfortable enough. After a bit of debating, he decided to head into the city.
Gui Yin made his rounds to the fabric stores as well as talisman stores.
Everywhere he showed up, the people would act as if they had seen a ghost before bursting out in tears. It was a bit incomprehensible to Gui Yin. After all, he knew that he was alive during these five years he had been missing. He was a bit unable to react for a while, but he eventually remembered to comfort these people.
Like a god that had returned after they thought they had been forsaken, the people foolishly gave Gui Yin everything he asked for without asking for money in return.
When Gui Yin tried to refuse, an elderly man kindly pushed the items back into his hands.
“Lord Ninglan, without you, who knows what would have happened to the Lower Realms, not to mention the Upper Realm. These small gifts are the least we can do.”
Gui Yin glanced at the people around him and sheepishly accepted. If he had known his appearance would make these people have less business today, he would have sent out a disciple or a servant to buy the things he needed.
Gui Yin was scratching his head as he began his trip back to the sect.
He was just about to leave the city when he heard a loud scream from the streets behind him. Gui Yin frowned.
He turned and immediately rushed to the sound of the scream.
The previously peaceful streets had been thrown into a ruckus with the appearance of a demonic monster. The monster ran amuck, attacking indiscriminately and leaving corpses in its wake.
It flickered wildly in the wind, as if it had no control of where it was going. It shifted direction from a young child to a woman, then to an elderly man. None of them had been harmed, but the chaos in the streets was enough to cause a stampede. Stalls were broken down. Children were separated from their parents.
People tried to take in as many people as they could before they started to close their shops. Others were frantically sounding the signal to call Yunjing Pavilion for help. Fireworks exploded into the sky, making the monster falter before falling into a greater frenzy.
Most of the people had evacuated the streets by now, but there were still a few scattered children and elderly people. An elderly woman quickly herded the children to the nearest store that was still open. The monster thrashed wildly in the air and dove straight for the elderly woman.
The elderly woman gasped loudly and pulled the children under her. She shut her eyes tightly and waited for the fatal blow.
A loud twang interrupted the chaos.
The elderly woman slowly opened her eyes as a beautiful haunting song rang through the empty streets. She trembled slightly at the sight of the monster so close to her back, but she found the strength in her legs and quickly pulled the children into the store.
The low, magnetic sound pulsed through the air.
A few notes followed, like small droplets, trickling from the edge of the branch into a large pond, creating a beautiful yet haunting piece. An air of suppression followed each note, making even humans wary when they heard the song. Fingers skipped the strings, yet there was a heaviness and purpose behind each sound. The moment the song interrupted this chaotic scene, the monster could no longer move.
This was a song that Gui Yin had composed himself when Kui Wanming was alive, aptly named “Suppression”.
Gui Yin landed lightly on the ground. His fingers remained on the guqin, quieting the vibration of the strings.
When the song stopped, the monster immediately began to move again. Gui Yin swiftly transformed Fenghua into a sword and charged towards it head first.
He could feel the adrenaline rush to his head as spiritual energy coalesced around the hand that hovered over the vibrating strings and the other nimbly wielded his sword. This was the rush he had been looking for the past few weeks. His love for crafting and inventing was sidelined. His obsession with fighting had been itching since he returned from the twenty-first century.
A manic confidence filled Gui Yin’s eyes as he countered the monster’s every move. The sword in his hand transformed back into a fan. The guqin followed him as he spun into the air, leaving the city far below. The monster, enraged that its prey was trying to run away, quickly followed after Gui Yin.
Shui Meng remained hovering at Gui Yin’s side as Gui Yin pulled out a talisman. He held Fenghua behind his back and murmured an invocation for the talisman in his mind as the monster raced for his throat. The talisman was thrown out and shot directly through the monster. The monster let out a blood curdling screech and collapsed to the ground.
Gui Yin followed after it and quickly sealed it away.
He glanced at the cage in his hand and frowned.
How come monsters like that could get into Xinggang City now?
Once it was clear that Gui Yin had taken care of the creature, the citizens came spilling from the streets. Each and every one tried to prostrate and thank Gui Yin, but they were promptly refused.
“I was just doing my job. Everyone, get up, get up,” Gui Yin quickly said. He turned to the nearest person with a frown. “What happened? How come there are monsters like these in the Upper Realm now?”
The person might be from the Upper Realm, but they were not a cultivator and was unfamiliar with what “these” type meant. He could only sigh and shake his head.
“Who knows! Ever since the war ended, these pests have been popping up more and more often.”
“That’s right! When we asked about it, those people in the Beidou Alliance kept saying that resources were being divided up and they didn’t have enough people to protect the borders anymore!” another protested.
“At least in Xinggang City, we have Yunjing Pavilion, but I’ve heard from family and relatives that this type of thing has been happening everywhere!”
“Everywhere?” Gui Yin echoed. He frowned. A bad premonition was rising in his chest.
After chatting with the civilians a bit longer, Gui Yin finally traveled back to Yunjing Pavilion.
The first thing he did was to find Jiu Jingyi.
When confronted, Jiu Jingyi could only sigh.
“I’ve tried going to the Beidou Alliance about this problem too, but they’ve given me the same answer as they’ve given the civilians,” Jiu Jingyi said. She glared at the sealed monster in Gui Yin’s hand. “What funds? If they really were allocating funds to help people rebuild their sects, where is our portion?”
“That’s not the main point,” Gui Yin quickly said. “Have our people checked the borders between the Upper and Lower Realms?”
“We did,” Jiu Jingyi nodded. “They’re fine. There are less people patrolling, but that doesn’t mean they’re any less vigilant. And during monster season, they work hard to thin out the hoards. Aside from the occasional beast or creature getting in, there’s nothing else.”
Gui Yin frowned.
Jiu Jingyi observed him carefully. “…Do you think something’s wrong with the alliance?”
“No,” Gui Yin said. “If the alliance is still doing their job, then it’s another issue.”
It meant that the monsters were coming in another way. But aside from the obvious entrances between the Upper and Lower Realms, there was only Kunlun left. And Gui Yin doubted that there would be anyone in Kunlun who would dare harbor demonic creatures.
“Forget it,” Gui Yin muttered. He tossed the monster onto Jiu Jingyi’s table. “Burn it or what have you. I’m going to work on Lin-shixiong’s wheelchair.”
Jiu Jingyi let out a hum of understanding and watched Gui Yin leave. She let out a soft sigh and called for Meng Meng to dispose of the creature.
Although Gui Yin said that he would return to work on the wheelchair, he spent a great majority of the day spacing out. He sat on the ground and watched the maple leaves float to the ground. It wasn’t until something white drifted into his vision that Gui Yin suddenly snapped awake.
He reached up and snatched the note from the air.
“Where’s Wu Feng?”
Gui Yin stood and looked around. After thinking about it for a moment he frowned. There was no way Langxia would be around right now. He had probably used some type of power to spy on him and sent notes through a dimensional rift.
Gui Yin frowned and sighed. “I told him to watch Shan Yu and Siyi.”
He folded the note and pulled out a wooden box to place the note into. A second later, another note fluttered down in front of Gui Yin.
“I’ll send over Su Wen.”
“No need,” Gui Yin said. “I’m perfectly fine on my own. Stop wasting energy sending these stupid notes and focus on getting better.”
Having said that, Gui Yin neatly placed the second note into the wooden box as well.
A moment later, another note floated down.
“I wanted to warn you. I’m going to be undergoing an operation tomorrow. You’ll feel pain. Be sure not to leave the sect.”
Gui Yin reread the note a few times before frowning. He placed the note away. “Alright, I understand.”
The last note took a little longer to arrive.
“I’ll be fine after. Need some more time to recover.”
“Alright, alright, I get it,” Gui Yin said. He put the note away and glared around. “Stop sending notes. I’m warning you. Save your energy for tomorrow.”
When no other notes came, Gui Yin had thought Langxia had given up. But just as he had set the last talisman into the wheelchair, he found a note beside his foot. He reached over and unfolded it.
“If you’re bored, just come back to Huigu Palace. I’ll entertain you.”
Gui Yin pursed his lips together. His lips were disobedient and still attempted to smile. The warm feeling in his chest was irritating. And Gui Yin didn’t want to bother answering such a frivolous note.
ooo the wheelchair designs sound so cool!!!! gods i hope Lin Cangyuan wakes soon….
;v; he’ll wake up….hopefully– THANKS FOR READING