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Chapter 91: The Gift
🕑 Added 2025-05-13 04:00:04 +0000 UTCChen Xiao took the small box into his hands and examined it carefully. It wasn’t just his imagination; the more he looked at it, the more it resembled the one from Tong Nuonuo’s mechanism box. He was both surprised and delighted, almost unable to believe that this more compact, portable storage artifact was exactly like the one from Tong Nuonuo. He looked up and asked, “Big Brother, what is this?”
Xi Yunqing replied, “This is a storage box specifically for refiners. It can carry materials. A specialized storage box is much more advanced than the common storage bags used by cultivators. It can preserve materials, keeping them fresh no matter how long they’re stored.”
Chen Xiao hadn’t thought about using it for food, which would have saved him the trouble of worrying about meals when traveling for cultivation. Instead, his first thought was of the beast's blood. The blood from wild birds that he had requested from the City Lord’s mansion today still lingered in his mind. He had slaughtered the creatures and collected their blood, but he had been thinking about how inconvenient it was to slaughter them fresh each time. Now, Xi Yunqing had given him a storage box.
Though Chen Xiao was thrilled with the gift, he furrowed his brow and said, “Isn’t this too valuable?”
Xi Yunqing had already planned to give Chen Xiao something. After seeing him use Tong Nuonuo’s mechanism box, he had thought about giving him a dedicated storage box. However, due to the unrest in Hanshan City, it had been difficult to find one. He only managed to get one recently, after a long search.
Because of its properties, the storage box could hold a wider range of items than a storage bag, making it quite valuable. Even a true refiner wouldn’t necessarily be able to afford one. However, Xi Yunqing was wealthy, and after acquiring a number of promising apprentices, the administration of the sect had given him a reward. This reward was generous enough for him to comfortably give Chen Xiao the storage box.
Xi Yunqing casually said, “How could it be too valuable? It’s just an inanimate object. No matter how precious it is, it’s not as valuable as a person.” Naturally, the person he was referring to was Chen Xiao. His talents were well-known by the sect’s administrators, and with Xi Yunqing’s strong recommendation, he was highly regarded. Chief Steward Yin, who had a close relationship with Xi Yunqing, might have had the intention of strengthening their friendship by encouraging such exchanges.
But this statement was rather vague, making Chen Xiao think that Xi Yunqing was referring to the other higher-level apprentices from Changjia Village. If anything was valuable, Chen Xiao immediately thought of Ah Shou’s rare and outstanding single spiritual root. Thankfully, Xi Yunqing didn’t know what was going through Chen Xiao’s mind, or he would have been frustrated trying to express praise to the person in question.
Chen Xiao, now thinking about Ah Shou’s valuable spiritual root, felt he could accept such a gift. He smiled at Xi Yunqing and said, “Then I thank you, Big Brother. This storage box came at just the right time. I was just worrying about how to deal with these papers.”
Xi Yunqing showed Chen Xiao how to use the artifact. He took the box, lightly tapped it with his hand, and the lid popped open. The interior of the box wasn’t what Chen Xiao expected. Instead of the usual design with an upper and lower compartment, it was simply a dark opening. Chen Xiao’s eyes widened in surprise.
Xi Yunqing explained, “Before you can use it, you need to activate the storage box by leaving a mental imprint on it. This way, no one else will be able to open it.” He believed that while Chen Xiao had some difficulty, since he was able to trigger testing artifacts, he should be able to leave a mental imprint on this one as well. “Once the imprint is left, you can use it without any further effort.”
Chen Xiao, reassured, extended his hand cautiously and tried to feel the inside of the opening, but couldn’t touch the bottom. He marveled, “How large is the space inside this storage box?” Xi Yunqing told him the size, and Chen Xiao was shocked to learn that such a small box could hold four to five thousand cubic units of space. How many items would it take to fill that? He then furrowed his brow and said, “But if I put things in here, won’t it be a hassle to search for them later?”
Xi Yunqing smiled and replied, “Not at all. With the mental imprint, you can easily control the artifact. You just need to think about the item you want to retrieve or store.”
Chen Xiao’s face lit up. “That’s far more convenient than Tong Nuonuo’s mechanism box!” Then, he asked curiously, “But why does Tong Nuonuo always seem to rummage around when taking things out?”
Xi Yunqing paused for a moment before answering, “This storage box was made by a refiner. Though Tong Xian师’s mechanism box uses similar materials, the inscriptions were done by a talisman master, so the box and the inscriptions aren’t a seamless whole. That’s why, although the functions are similar, the method of use is a bit lacking.”
It wasn’t hard to see why mechanism artisans and refiners didn’t get along. For instance, the storage box in Chen Xiao’s hand and the mechanism box that Tong Nuonuo carried would be viewed quite differently by both parties. A refiner would consider the mechanism artisan’s use of materials wasteful, as a large chunk of material could be turned into a storage box with more convenient usage and portability. The mechanism artisan, on the other hand, might see the refiner’s approach as missing the point, since to make the item more user-friendly, the refiner sacrificed some of the spatial capacity of the material. Despite the smaller space, the mechanism box could hold as much as the City Lord’s mansion storage room.
Chen Xiao was grateful that he hadn’t exhausted the remaining Qi in the compass. Otherwise, he would have only been able to stare at the storage box helplessly. With some effort, he drew out a small amount of Qi, activated the storage box, and solemnly left his mental imprint. Sure enough, when he reached for the box again, he could see the interior space projected in his mind.
The four to five thousand cubic units was a lot of space. Discovering that the storage box could be divided based on the user’s needs, Chen Xiao immediately divided it into several different sections. The smallest was half a foot wide and one foot long, while the largest was the size of a room. In the future, Chen Xiao could organize the materials for making talismans according to their categories in the smaller compartments and use the larger ones when needed.
With the storage box, Chen Xiao planned to cut all the paper in the study into talisman paper for easier use. When Xi Yunqing learned of his plan, he immediately offered to help. As a sword cultivator, Xi Yunqing had mastered the essential skill of projecting sword qi, a technique that Golden Core cultivators must possess. This allowed him to cut the paper quickly and precisely.
The two of them worked together, with Chen Xiao in charge of marking the size and laying out the paper, while Xi Yunqing used his sword qi to cut it. Xi Yunqing’s movements were incredibly fast, and often, Chen Xiao could not keep up with the pace. In no time, a thick stack of talisman paper had piled up on the desk. Chen Xiao had to set the papers aside to make room for more.
Neither of them spoke as they worked, and although the silence might have been heavy in other situations, it instead felt calm and peaceful. After a while, they had only managed to finish half of the study. Chen Xiao felt his arms growing sore and heavy from all the movement. He said, “Big Brother, let’s take a break. We won’t finish this today. If possible, could you help me with the rest tomorrow?”
Xi Yunqing naturally agreed, and they decided to continue the next day.
Having worked so hard, Chen Xiao certainly couldn't just let Xi Yunqing leave. He told him to wait and ran to the kitchen, where the meals were prepared, to fetch some water and snacks. In the guest room, there was some fine tea. Chen Xiao brewed the tea himself and brought it to Xi Yunqing.
Xi Yunqing took the tea with a steady hand but did not set it down on the table. Instead, he gently lifted the lid and waited for it to cool slightly before taking a sip. The tea, although good and carrying a faint aura, was still not as fine as the spiritual tea he was accustomed to. But for him, the key wasn’t the tea’s energy or fragrance, it was the person sitting beside him, drinking tea with him.
After sipping half the cup, Xi Yunqing set it down. He knew better than to finish it all at once; that would imply he was ready to leave, and he wasn’t in a rush. Chen Xiao, on the other hand, had no intention of rushing him. He was more than happy to have him stay as long as he wanted.
Chen Xiao, feeling quite thirsty himself, slowly drank two more cups to ease his dry throat. Meanwhile, Xi Yunqing remained silent, sitting still with perfect posture, hands resting on his knees. Today, he was wearing a dark-colored outfit, though it was a shade of blue that Chen Xiao hadn’t seen before. Chen Xiao noticed that the lighter and more lustrous the color of Xi Yunqing's clothing, the more it seemed to accentuate his handsome features, making it hard to look away.
The longer he knew him, the more Chen Xiao realized just how striking Xi Yunqing's appearance was. Even in a world filled with immortal cultivators, few could match his level of beauty. While most people were at least decent-looking, Xi Yunqing stood apart, his appearance marking him as extraordinary.
Lost in these thoughts, Chen Xiao set his teacup down. The soft clink of the porcelain caught Xi Yunqing’s attention, and he looked up. Chen Xiao asked, “I’ve been meaning to ask, has the situation with the training grounds been settled?”
Xi Yunqing nodded. “Chief Steward Han immediately agreed. He’s assigned the closest one for us to use. The order was given today, so starting tomorrow, no one will be allowed there.”
Chen Xiao smiled. “That’s good to hear.” Xi Yunqing didn’t speak further, and the conversation naturally came to an end. Chen Xiao chose a new topic. “I’ve been curious about something for a while now. Chief Steward Han and his wife went to another Heavenly Realm to seek a child. Is it difficult for cultivators to have children?”
This was something Chen Xiao had wanted to know for a while. Feng Shui could help with having children, but it depended on the specific situation. If the person was incapable, adoption might be the only option, or the man could be cuckolded. If it was simply bad luck, Feng Shui could enhance their fortune and bring about a child sooner. Chen Xiao was partly interested in taking on the job, but also had other thoughts.
However, he had only been a guest at the city lord’s residence and didn’t feel it was appropriate to ask others directly. So he had waited until today, when the atmosphere was more relaxed, to bring it up with Xi Yunqing.
