Chapter 47
What? During this time, the technical system went missing because it was tricked into digging coal?
No wonder the system was searching high and low; there hadn’t been any signal from the technical system.
The illegal coal mines were two to three hundred meters underground, and without electricity, they were lighting their way with oil lamps; it would be surprising if they found anything.
“Your colleague was successfully rescued; congratulations.” Although this technical system was unreliable, it was also quite pitiful. Seeing 179 so happy made Xia Yi feel glad for him.
“Thank you.”
“By the way, can your system still transform into a human form?” Xia Yi asked curiously.
“Of course, we can transform into normal humans, with the same physiological traits and structures.”
“Then why don’t you transform into a human and show me?” Xia Yi couldn’t help but ask. “Do you need some kind of permission, or do you currently lack the ability?”
“Neither.” 179 replied with a serious tone, “It’s just that I don’t want to.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m a homebody.”
After saying that, 179 added, “Host, I need to take an hour off to bring the technical system home.”
“Go ahead.” Xia Yi could understand 179’s urgent feelings at this moment.
179 didn’t respond, presumably having already left.
That was quick.
Xia Yi and Gu Wenzhu continued to hold hands as they walked back.
However, that strange patting sound followed them, appearing and disappearing as they moved. Whenever they stopped, it vanished, and looking back revealed nothing.
So when the sound occurred again, Gu Wenzhu and Xia Yi exchanged glances.
The two continued walking nonchalantly before suddenly turning swiftly.
“In the field beside us!” Xia Yi shouted, pointing at the right herb field.
In that instant when he turned, he saw a wooden stick partially sticking out from the ground, and he quickly bent down.
“There’s someone lying in the field with a weapon; catch him!”
Gu Wenzhu shot forward like lightning, grabbing the exposed part of the wooden stick while shouting angrily, “Come out!”
With a strong tug, the stick came up.
Yet the surroundings were empty, and the person they had expected to find hiding in the field was nowhere to be seen.
“Where are they?” Xia Yi rushed over, joining Gu Wenzhu in searching the field.
Nothing was found.
How strange; could it be an invisible person?
The two turned their gazes to the wooden stick in Gu Wenzhu’s hand, only to discover that it was connected to a black iron hoe blade beneath, revealing it was actually a hoe.
Who had been stealthily following them with this hoe just now? Did they have ulterior motives or were they trying to harm them in secret?
Gu Wenzhu pulled Xia Yi behind him and vigilantly looked around, calling out loudly, “Who has been following us? Please come forward and explain yourself.”
No one emerged, and all that was visible was the qilin in the distance, jumping around while chasing a rabbit.
“Let’s go.” Xia Yi tugged at Gu Wenzhu’s sleeve, “We should get back quickly; I have a feeling something is off here.”
Gu Wenzhu glanced around again and nodded, preparing to toss the hoe to the side of the path.
However, as he loosened his grip, the hoe didn’t fall; it remained firmly stuck in his palm.
Gu Wenzhu quickly flicked his wrist, but the hoe swayed vigorously without releasing its grip.
Xia Yi hurriedly gripped the hoe’s handle with both hands and pulled back, but it was as if the hoe had fused with Gu Wenzhu’s hand; no matter how hard he pulled, it wouldn’t budge.
“Brother Zhu, what should we do?” Xia Yi panicked and exerted all his strength, beads of sweat forming on his forehead, yet he couldn’t get it free.
“Who are you? What’s your purpose? Show yourself!” Xia Yi released his grip and began shouting into the air around them.
“Sticking a hoe to someone’s hand is nothing impressive; come out if you dare!”
The surroundings were silent.
Breathless, Xia Yi released his grip and, exasperated, said, “Let’s go back and find those elders; they have spells and will surely be able to remove this hoe.”
Gu Wenzhu suddenly felt a stir in his heart; he suddenly realized he could sense the feelings of the hoe. It seemed to know it was about to be discarded, and thus it was filled with fear and unease.
This feeling was strange, and he couldn’t articulate it, but he just knew what the hoe was feeling, as if their minds were connected.
“Brother Zhu, what’s wrong?” Xiao Yi noticed Gu Wenzhu standing there motionless, with a peculiar expression on his face, and couldn’t help but ask with concern.
Gu Wenzhu furrowed his brows and thought for a moment before uncertainly saying to Xiao Yi, “Xiao Yi, I feel like there’s no one else.”
“What do you mean there’s no one else?”
“It’s as if this hoe wants to follow me; it seems happy to see me.”
It wants to follow you? Xiao Yi was momentarily taken aback; he couldn’t quite grasp what that meant.
“I feel like I can understand what it means; this is its own thought, without anyone else involved,” Gu Wenzhu explained with difficulty.
Its own thought? No one else? Xiao Yi felt his head was muddled, struggling to comprehend.
“Do you mean this is a hoe spirit?”
“Maybe.” Gu Wenzhu’s expression mirrored his confusion, “At first, when I used it to dig a plot of land, I didn’t feel anything unusual.”
With a sense of shock, Xiao Yi leaned closer to examine the hoe carefully. It looked quite ordinary: a normal wooden handle and a black iron blade, still covered in the dirt from earlier.
“Hey, are you a hoe spirit?” Xiao Yi asked, “If so, move a little to show me.”
The hoe remained motionless, still firmly stuck in Gu Wenzhu’s palm.
“Hoe spirit, hoe spirit…” This didn’t seem like a spirit at all; it looked more like a magical tool, Xiao Yi muttered.
Suddenly, an idea struck him, and he turned to Gu Wenzhu, “Brother Zhu, could you tell me how you first discovered this hoe?”
“I found it by the edge of that plot of land when I arrived, and I thought it might have been left behind by the owner, so I decided to use it.”
“Did anything unusual happen in between? Think again.”
Gu Wenzhu frowned in thought for a moment, then hesitantly asked, “I cut my hand and a bit of blood got on the handle; does that count as unusual?”
It counts, definitely counts! Don’t you need the owner’s blood to refine a magical tool? That’s how the tool connects with its owner’s will.
Gu Wenzhu pondered for a moment, “Then your senior brother arrived and started gesticulating in front of me. A few times when he tried to touch me, I used the hoe to block him.”
“Right, there’s something strange; when I exerted force, I felt warm all over, as if a warm current was flowing through my body and then onto the hoe.”
Xiao Yi’s own half-finished winter melon magical tool was crafted using secret potions, so he wasn’t familiar with the refining methods for magical tools. However, he believed that while he might not know the method, the results could be tested.
Xiao Yi began teaching Gu Wenzhu the methods that the system had taught him before.
After listening to Xiao Yi’s explanation, Gu Wenzhu concentrated for a moment, and suddenly the hoe in his hand shrank down, transforming into a small hoe the size of a brooch, lying steadily in his palm.
It really was a magical tool! Xiao Yi was both surprised and delighted, almost jumping up in excitement.
In the next moment, Gu Wenzhu reached into the air, and the hoe returned to its original size in his hand.
The difference was that the handle now shimmered with a silver light, exuding a cold, metallic glow. The blade had also transformed into a sharp spike, glimmering as if it had electric currents running through it, with runes seemingly hidden within.
This hoe had shed its dull appearance, revealing its sharpness, as if it were a long spear that had been concealing its brilliance for a long time and had finally come into the light.
Connected to the magical tool with his mind, Gu Wenzhu felt a surge of warmth coursing through his limbs and began to dance the tool effortlessly. He thrust it upward at an angle, and a beam of silver light shot forth like an arrow.
In an instant, a strong wind whipped up around them, roaring like waves crashing against the shore, swirling up countless leaves. The sky glowed red, and auspicious colors spiraled in the air.
Xiao Yi stood there, mouth agape, in a daze. Watching Gu Wenzhu wielding that hoe—no, the spear—he appeared like a formidable god of war descending.
His figure was as straight as a towering pine, and his presence was as grand as the blazing sun. His gaze was sharp, filled with an overwhelming sense of pressure, his lips pressed tightly into a cold arc.
Xiao Yi suddenly felt that the Gu Wenzhu before him was both familiar and strange.
It was as if he recognized someone he once knew, yet when he thought back, he couldn’t recall a single detail about that person.
In a flash, certain images suddenly appeared before his eyes.
It was a man’s silhouette, dressed in a long black robe, holding a long spear dripping with blood, standing in a grand hall.
The ground was littered with bodies in disarray, and the man’s robe danced wildly in the wind, reminiscent of a god of slaughter reappearing.
The scene suddenly shifted, and he found himself at a tranquil pond, with deep water glimmering in the light. He swayed rhythmically with the rippling water, and someone was softly whispering in his ear: Xiao Lan, Xiao Lan…
The voice was gentle and lingering.
Stop it! Stop it! Xiao Yi quickly snapped back to reality.
How could he be thinking of another man at this moment? What kind of drama scene was this?
As he continued to watch Gu Wenzhu raise the spear, an inexplicable sense of fear rose within him.
He couldn’t analyze what exactly he was afraid of, and he couldn’t help but softly call out, “Brother Zhu.”
The voice reached Gu Wenzhu’s ears; he glanced at Xiao Yi and suddenly retracted the spear.
In an instant, the wind ceased, and the leaves fell silent.
As the spear was withdrawn, its dazzling brilliance faded, reverting to that ordinary, dark hoe.
And Gu Wenzhu also lost that overwhelming presence and sharpness, returning to his usual gentle demeanor.
“What’s wrong, Xiao Yi?” he asked softly.
“Brother Zhu, just now, I almost didn’t recognize you.” Xiao Yi remained in a daze, his feelings complicated and hard to decipher.
“Look at what silly things you’re saying.” Gu Wenzhu smiled gently, his eyes full of indulgence.
Xia Yi recalled the earlier scene and became excited again, “Brother Zhu, you were so impressive just now. You should try to control the magic weapon and fly up to the sky, come on!”
His own half-finished winter melon magic weapon was useless, so it seemed he would have to ride in the passenger seat of this hoe from now on. “Okay, let’s try.” Gu Wenzhu replied.
The hoe in his hand suddenly burst into radiant light, transforming into a silvery long spear, floating gracefully at a low altitude, with intricate patterns faintly appearing on the spear body, as if it was swirling and flowing.
Gu Wenzhu lightly jumped and steadily stepped onto the spear shaft. Backlit, he leaned down and extended a hand toward Xia Yi, “Come.”
Without hesitation, Xia Yi grabbed that broad, sturdy palm, and was gently pulled into Gu Wenzhu’s warm embrace.
The long spear took off steadily, making a slight whooshing sound as it angled up toward the red clouds above.
As they flew over the ground, the rosy light fell onto the calm water, scattering into red hues.
The mist and clouds enveloping the verdant fairy mountain intertwined, appearing as though dusted with fine powder, vague and drifting.
In no time, the long spear rose higher and penetrated the clouds. Just a few seconds later, it burst out again, carrying Gu Wenzhu and Xia Yi.
Xia Yi leaned against Gu Wenzhu’s chest, safely enveloped by his arm. Though his feet rested only on the spear shaft, he felt completely secure.
Qilin flew in circles around them.
From time to time, it would dash ahead, diving into the thick clouds, only its head peeking out to watch the two, tongue out and grinning, obviously delighted.
The sun was setting, the sunset slowly flowing across the clouds, layers of light and color clashing and dancing.
The two snuggled closely in silence, appreciating the incredibly beautiful scenery before them.
