Seeking Truth with a Sword-Chapter 460 - 411 Summer
The ice cream hit the ground and split in two.
Chai Chai’s palm still clutched the stick, her pupils trembling violently, and her eyes quickly welled with tears.
Seeing this, Li Ang quickly took a soundproof talisman from his sleeve and, with a flick, activated it. The next second, Chai Chai began to sob, her eyes red. "You don’t want me anymore."
Li Ang shook his head like a bobblehead. "That’s not it, how could it be?"
"It’s all written in novels: first, you stop sharing a bed with the maid. Second, you stop sharing a room with the maid. Third, you marry a noble daughter. Fourth, the lady of the house uses a small scheme to kick the pregnant maid out, forcing her to give birth to a baby in a ruined temple on a snowy night..."
"What kind of books do you usually read?"
Li Ang rubbed his temples, a headache forming. To cover his embarrassment, he took a sip of tea from his water jug. "Don’t overthink it. We’re not children anymore. It’s not really appropriate for us to keep sharing a room."
"Eh?"
Chai Chai stopped sobbing, sniffled, and asked uncertainly, "Li Ang, is there... some kind of unmentionable problem you have?"
"PFFT."
Li Ang almost spat out his tea, staring wide-eyed at Chai Chai. "What?"
"It’s just, the customs at the Academic Palace are already considered conservative compared to those of Chang’an’s nobles," Chai Chai rubbed her palms together awkwardly, "but there are still many students who get married and have children while they’re in school."
"I’m not like them." Li Ang curled his lip. He couldn’t accept becoming a dad before he was twenty.
After much persuasion, Chai Chai finally calmed down. As for sleeping in separate rooms...
In the end, they decided to hang a two-meter-long silk curtain in the middle of the bedroom.
Although it was virtually useless, like an ostrich burying its head in the sand, it could at least reduce some of the awkwardness when waking up in the morning.
Spring passed quietly. Thousands of miles away, the SS Sea Charm sailed back to land. Sikong Ji and Sikong Qiu returned to Zhou Kingdom. They brought an investigation report from the Yu Country Garrison and ice-sealed coffins containing the bodies of Xia Yuanjia and Chen Qiwei.
The Ink Silk Clone, who had impersonated An Xuehai, vanished soon after reaching land, erasing all traces of its existence.
With the SS Sea Charm incident completely resolved, Li Ang’s daily life returned to peace.
He attended classes at the Academic Palace and taught at the Imperial Medical Bureau. His weeks were a busy routine shuttling between the two, but he enjoyed it.
The Academic Palace curriculum wasn’t stressful. The students at the Imperial Medical Bureau were diligent and eager learners, especially Li Ang’s former apprentice, Ouyang Shi. She could now assist Li Ang in performing relatively complex surgical procedures on experimental animals. And this was while she also dedicated part of her energy to studying the Academic Palace textbooks in preparation for its exams.
It just goes to show that genius shines, no matter where.
In April, the Mountain Master finally returned to the Academic Palace. Li Ang went to his office to report the latest findings on the origins of Mo Si, which involved the Su family and the Supreme Mysterious Sect.
After listening, the Mountain Master pondered for a long time and said he would have the Supervision Department keep an eye on it. He also cautioned Li Ang that there was more to the disappearance of the Supreme Mysterious Sect; forces like the Demon Sect, among others, were secretly monitoring anyone tracking information about the sect.
Therefore, the task of gathering clues should be left to the Supervision Department, and Li Ang was advised not to expose himself.
Li Ang naturally trusted the Mountain Master, but he always had a nagging feeling that the Mountain Master’s trips were not solely for hunting down members of the Zhao Ming Organization.
"The tranquil summer, a sky speckled with stars..."
In the Capital City Mansion, Li Ang hummed a tune, using a talisman to light the charcoal. He placed the skewered beef onto the grill and sprinkled on spices.
It was the Dragon Boat Festival again. Having watched the dragon boat races in Chang’an for two years in a row, Li Ang was frankly a bit tired of the same old spectacle. This year, he decided to simply stay at home for the festival. He also skipped the honey zongzi popular in Chang’an City (he still couldn’t quite get used to them).
Chai Chai sat beside him, adeptly using Telekinesis to help skewer the meat—lamb skewers, enoki mushrooms, pork belly, gluten, and so forth, sampling each one as it was cooked, under the pretense of "checking if they’re done."
Li Leqing was there too. Normally, the Royal family would enjoy the dragon boat races in Furong Garden, sharing the joy with the people. But Empress Xue was newly pregnant and thus resting in the Great Ming Palace. The deeply affectionate Emperor also stayed in the Imperial Palace to accompany his wife, leaving only the Crown Prince, Crown Princess Consort, and a host of Ministers to go to Furong Garden.
Li Leqing asked her brother and sister-in-law for permission, then quite simply skipped the evening’s dragon boat ceremony to swim in Li Ang’s pool, eat barbecue, and drink carbonated beverages—
Li Ang had figured out a way to make a carbonation machine using the Academic Palace’s workshop mechanics, able to pressurize food-grade carbon dioxide into water. Paired with different flavored juices, it turned into sparkling water.
"BURP—"
Wearing a swimsuit, lying in a floating ring, with a glass of White Peach sparkling juice in hand, Li Leqing couldn’t help but let out a burp that wavered in pitch.
Qiu Feng and Ji Linglang, who were also soaking in the pool, heard it and giggled softly, then burped themselves.
Ouyang Shi, who couldn’t swim, sat on the edge of the pool, paddling her feet in the water, her face wearing an awkward yet polite smile.
"Sparkling water has quite a kick." Li Ang, hearing the sound, spoke without turning his head. "Drink less. You should learn from Fanshuang..."
"BURP—"
At the other side of the pool, He Fanshuang burped indifferently as she tinkered with an odd-looking machine set up on a tripod.
First, she connected the cables from Li Ang’s household Spiritual Energy Machine to the device and activated it. Immediately, colorful lights projected from an opening at the front of the machine, illuminating the mansion wall.
He Fanshuang used Telekinesis to lift a thick, wide white cloth into mid-air. Gorgeous ink painting-style patterns were immediately projected onto it, constantly changing.
Animated movies?
Li Ang’s eyes widened in astonishment, nearly burning the skewers. Luckily, Chai Chai, at his side, was quick to snatch them away.
The ink animation on the white cloth was coherent, with a plot. It told a tale about a cowherd helping officials eliminate bandits and lasted about five minutes. Since there was no sound, subtitles were even added below.
Li Leqing and the others, who had never seen this art form before, exclaimed in awe. Li Ang wiped his hands on his apron, approached He Fanshuang, and asked softly, "Is this the latest talismanic tool? It’s already finished?"
"Yep. The machine is divided into two talisman boards: one emits light, and the other moves a crankshaft, turning paper images—each moment’s image is composed of twenty continuous ink paintings." He Fanshuang nodded, the fresh aroma of green plum sparkling water on her breath as she spoke. "As for all the ink paintings, I commissioned Dr. Du Qinyin, who teaches us painting at the Academic Palace, and her students to create them. With the aid of Telekinesis, their painting speed is tens to hundreds of times faster than ordinary painters."
"That’s really... impressive."
Li Ang was filled with emotion. Ever since He Fanshuang had invented the talisman lamp, a great number of Talisman Masters and members of the Philosophy Society had poured into the promising development of talismanic tools.
There was no electricity, yet they had all sorts of ’electrical appliances.’ There were no film or video cameras, yet they had already invented a movie projector.
The technology tree of this world was getting harder and harder to comprehend.
Just as he was engrossed in watching the "movie projector," the Communication Copper Plate at his waist began to vibrate.
