GRMFBS CH114

99: “Hello, everyone.”
“[Waving Cat Emoji]”
“Let me change the group name first. I wasn’t paying attention when I registered just now and typed something random.”

After a moment, Happy Guessing Game stiffly piped up: “Ahaha, welcome to the newcomer.”

The others in the group awkwardly followed the welcome-newcomer procedure while mentally cursing Secretary Ao.

Pulling the subject of the gossip into the chat while we’re in the middle of it? Are you insane?!

Zhan Yan contentedly left with his prize pool points. Now he had another channel to upgrade his gossip system. How awesome!

After all that fuss, it was time for bed. Zhan Yan received Gu Jiancheng’s routine goodnight-kiss phone call.

Previously, the great master Shen Ying had forcefully shown off his ability by devouring the Black Nest. Although he had mentally recovered, the consumption of his power required time to recuperate.

During his recuperation, he had continued to search for the Monster Doctor. That dead pervert had left him a provocative message in the Black Nest before running off without a trace. Knowing that Shen Ying would surely find his weakness from the Black Nest, he had decisively fled and hidden himself, cleaning up all his tracks. Gu Jiancheng had followed various clues, only to find a group of pawns who had been sacrificed to save the king.

Finding the Monster Doctor was not easy. Gu Jiancheng decided to stop looking for now and focus on recuperating.

If the Monster Doctor had the guts, he could hide forever. But as long as he wanted to cause trouble, he would definitely leave a trace. Gu Jiancheng went to see the Broker again and asked him to keep an eye on the black market.

All things considered, that was about all he could do. When it came to finding the Monster Doctor, Wan Shitong’s network-type abilities were useless. The Magician needed a catalyst to find a path. Approaching Science was the person he knew with the strongest information ability, but he had asked him last time, and unfortunately, what he could find out about the Monster Doctor was also limited. He couldn’t count on him.

As for the remaining information-types, it was even more hopeless. Asking them to investigate Shen Ying, they should have at least found something, right? But none of them could do it. So useless!

The winter break was almost over, and school was about to start. He would be able to see Yan Yan once school started! But he wanted to meet even earlier.

Zhan Yan: “You’re saying you want to come to Yunjin City and take the train back to school with me?”

Gu Jiancheng: “Uh-huh, what do you think?”

He thought this was a brilliant idea! They could meet several hours earlier!

On the high-speed train, the two of them could sit right next to each other. As the scenery outside flew by, they could share a pair of headphones and watch a TV show on the small tray table. If Yan Yan got tired, he could sleep on his shoulder.

And… if Yan Yan agreed, he could totally arrive in Yunjin City a few days early!

Meeting the parents aside, he could be with Yan Yan earlier.

Zhan Yan was at a loss whether to laugh or cry. “You’d take a train to Yunjin City first, and then take another train to school? Aren’t you tired? Don’t waste the ticket money. It’s just a matter of a few hours.”

“…Oh.” Gu Jiancheng was very disappointed.

He had been thinking about this all vacation!

“Besides, I’m not at home right now. You won’t see me even if you come,” Zhan Yan said.

Gu Jiancheng whined and wheedled, securing a promise to do their internship together after school started.

After hanging up, Gu Jiancheng suddenly realized something. He had only mentioned coming to Yunjin City to go to school with Yan Yan; he hadn’t mentioned his little scheme of arriving a few days early.

But Zhan Yan had said he wouldn’t be home these few days…

Oops, he had been seen through.

Gu Jiancheng propped up his face and started to smile, his earlobes gradually turning red.

Yan Yan had seen through him but hadn’t said anything.

He felt like he was being indulged and coaxed.

It wasn’t something he had gotten just by being clingy.

…

Zhan Yan was asleep, but the new group he had joined today was not.

After he went offline, the group fell silent for a while before someone slowly popped up.

Happy Guessing Game: “Why do I feel so reluctant giving away this prize pool?”

The message stayed for over a minute before it was [Retracted].

Happy Guessing Game: “This was clearly the prize pool we were using to break through the information gray fog!”
[Retracted]

Pure White Puzzle: “@Secretary Ao Bro, I really don’t understand.”
[Retracted]

Pure White Puzzle: “That move of yours was divine. Couldn’t you have waited even one more day to pull him in?”
[Retracted]
[Retracted]
[Retracted]

…

Secretary Ao: “Stop retracting. You think he won’t be able to guess what happened when he sees a pile of retracted messages tomorrow?”

The group fell into a dead silence again.

After a while, Chewing Big Melon slowly surfaced: “Our group… it’s not going to be disbanded over this, is it?”

It wouldn’t come to that. The information-type big shots were all skilled at gossiping, and they also had rich experience in the socially awkward situation of accidentally running into the subject of their gossip. The awkwardness would pass after a while, and they would be back to joking around as if nothing had happened.

The next morning at 6:30, Zhan Yan got up to wash up and prepare for his morning exercise. The sky always lit up late in winter. Although the sun was out at this time, the sky was still dim.

Zhan Yan had originally thought he was up early enough, but when he came out of his room, he was greeted by an impressive sight. The open space near the hotel was already full of people doing their morning exercises, all of whom were seniors who had come to attend the cultivator’s gathering.

Old Master Weng Yan had just finished a set of fist forms. Seeing Zhan Yan come out wrapped in thick clothes, he said, “Just getting up for morning exercise now? The sun is already up at this hour!”

Granny Zhuo Shu rolled her eyes at him. “Are you addicted to lecturing people?”

She then looked at Zhan Yan with a smile. “Young people nowadays rarely get up for morning exercises. It’s already great that Xiao Yan can get up.”

Old Master Weng Yan’s social circle gathered around.

“How does Xiao Yan usually do his morning exercises?”

“Just a morning run? That’s not good enough! What can a morning run even train?”

“Come, come, Granny will teach you a set of the Five-Animal Frolics.”

“What’s the point of him learning the Five-Animal Frolics at his age? He should be practicing the Muscle/Tendon Change Classic.”

“It’s better to learn Tai Chi with me. It nurtures health, strengthens the body, and uses softness to overcome hardness.”

…

Old Master Weng Yan’s social circle started fighting over which exercise method to teach Zhan Yan.

Weng Yan took the opportunity to pull Zhan Yan away and taught him a set of the Eight Brocades.

Zhan Yan learned very quickly. Weng Yan was very satisfied, stroking his beard and saying, “Not bad, not bad. Looking at you, you have a foundation in practicing movements.”

Zhan Yan: “Yes, I used to do square dancing with the uncles and aunties in my neighborhood.”

Weng Yan: …

“What square dancing! That thing is just a common activity. Don’t do it anymore. Practice this set of Eight Brocades properly. It will be good for you if you practice it well!” Weng Yan glared at him. “Also, you have to get up for your morning exercise before the sun rises in the future. That first breath at sunrise is especially important. Remember to practice as I taught you. But don’t mess around on your own. Don’t recklessly guide your qi. It’s easy to run into problems without supervision! Just breathe naturally.”

Zhan Yan humbly learned. “Can I teach it to others?”

“Sure,” Weng Yan agreed easily. The things they could directly teach others were not their secret family inheritances. They were simple and guaranteed not to cause problems, but they were definitely better than the various messy fitness methods popular outside.

After Zhan Yan finished learning, it was about time for breakfast. The group of old seniors went to the hotel’s restaurant together.

Weng Yan proudly showed off to the others, “Xiao Yan learns so fast! He understands as soon as he hears it, and learns as soon as he’s taught! He learned it all in one morning!”

Granny Zhuo Shu smiled and scooped a bowl of porridge. “That’s great. It’s perfect for him to learn the Five-Animal Frolics with me tomorrow morning.”

Weng Yan: …Did I snatch him away for nothing?

“Go, go! The kid is starting school soon, he can’t stay that long!”

His social circle decided to believe in Zhan Yan’s ability and quickly drew up a schedule.

“Xiao Yan, how about this? You wake up even earlier tomorrow morning. Sunrise is around 6 a.m. now. You come down at 5:40, and you can learn two sets a day.”

Zhan Yan: …The seniors are too enthusiastic! It’s completely impossible to refuse!

Zhan Yan, in a state of painful joy, set his alarm for 5:30. If he washed up quickly, he could get it done in ten minutes!

“Just look around at the venue. Don’t spend money recklessly. The conference is very open. There are real masters and seniors inside, but also many people just trying to fish in troubled waters.” After Weng Yan reminded him, he entered the venue and disappeared again.

Bao Qingshan had nothing much to do today and wandered around with Zhan Yan.

After yesterday’s chaos, everyone was much more cautious today. The ghost cultivators were no longer floating around, and the demon cultivators had also retracted their demon forms. However, the strange costumes had not changed. After all, they had already been certified as erciyuan.

Besides the scholarly and martial exchanges, there were also stalls at the conference.

Some were selling skills, like Granny Zhuo Shu’s specialty in treating difficult and complicated diseases. Some were selling physical objects. Zhan Yan saw a group of people discussing artifact refining plans, and as they talked, they took out various artifacts and items as aids. As they were aiding their discussion, someone else took a liking to them, and the discussion turned into a trading session.

Zhan Yan and Bao Qingshan listened from the side. They saw a senior take out a Luopan with an abacus embedded in it from his sleeve.

“Times are developing, the world is progressing. We can’t stick to the old ways. We must learn to create new ideas and open new paths. If others have it, we go and learn it. Once we learn it, we combine it with our own techniques. This is the future direction of development!”

What he said was very reasonable, though it would have been more convincing if he weren’t wearing a Daoist robe mixed with a studded leather belt.

So the Luopan with an abacus that was left at the venue yesterday was yours!

“Look closely! This is the craftsmanship of the Craftsman.” The mixed-style senior pushed the Luopan to the center of the round table. “You all know the Craftsman, right? Although his path is different from our traditional artifact refining, it has a lot of merit.”

The Craftsman’s? This piqued Zhan Yan’s interest!

The Craftsman hadn’t replied to the invitation he sent for a custom order yet. Although he had always heard of the Craftsman’s fame, Zhan Yan had never seen something truly made by his hands.

The Craftsman’s fame was widespread. This group of refiners was very curious, and they all crowded around.

“Let me tell you, this abacus can assist the Luopan’s calculations! Have you ever encountered a situation so complex that you couldn’t figure it out with mental arithmetic alone? That’s when you can use the abacus.”

“Although the combination looks strange at first glance, upon careful thought, it does make sense.”

“In the past, the terrain was mostly natural. Even if you built a road or dug a river, it wasn’t too troublesome to calculate. But how fast is modern infrastructure development now? Look at those skyscrapers being built, and those winding highways. The environment is many times more complex than before!”

“In the past, you only needed to know the four basic operations and quadratic equations to calculate a Luopan. Now you even have to find square roots!”

“Having an abacus is much more convenient. And this abacus is not an ordinary one. First, look at its material…”

“Isn’t this just the equivalent of a modern multi-functional item?”

“It is indeed a new idea that stands out from the crowd.”

…

Zhan Yan squeezed in from the heated discussion. “I have a question.”

The seniors turned to look at this newcomer together.

Zhan Yan: “Then why not just add a calculator to the compass?”

Bao Qingshan: “Pfft.”