GRMFBS CH65

Just having been treated to some delicious tea snacks, Zhan Yan really couldn’t bear to watch the old man get ripped off for several thousand yuan.
Following the item description, he read out all the problems with the thing, making the stall owner lose his temper:

“Get lost, get lost! If you’re not buying, stop showing off your ‘expert knowledge’ here!”

The old man was quite surprised.

“So you are a professional!”

Earlier at the teahouse, he had listened so seriously while Zhan Yan bragged—really knew how to make an old man happy!

“I just know a little about art,” Zhan Yan said modestly. “The way he painted that dragon-snake is wrong—there’s no such thing. You can tell at a glance it’s a modern person’s random mash-up.”

“Are you from an art academy?”

Zhan Yan gave an embarrassed smile.

“I studied veterinary medicine.”

Old man: ???

The old man asked him,

“Since you know art, have you ever seen a dragon biting its own tail?”

Zhan Yan shook his head.

“Ouroboros is pretty common. Are you sure it was a dragon?”

“Not a snake. It had claws,” the old man said.

Zhan Yan grew curious.

“Where did you see that kind of dragon?”

The old man waved a hand.

“Didn’t really see it anywhere—it was just in a dream I had.”

As they strolled along, the old man slowly began to describe his dream.

“These past years, I keep dreaming of the past. In the dream it’s still me, but things are wrong. There’s a terrible, terrible natural disaster. Half my body is pinned under rubble, and I can’t breathe.

“Some of my children ran away, some died, and some stayed beside me crying while trying to dig me out.

“I’m lying under the ruins, staring up at the sky. I see a mass of bright red light in the sky, and next to it, a coiled dragon.

“Its claws gripped the border between heaven and earth, its head biting its own tail. On its head, I could see only one eye…”

Zhan Yan suddenly froze.

A dragon biting its tail, with only one eye—wasn’t that just like the “Candle Dragon” he’d seen in his dream?

“What’s wrong?” the old man asked.

“Did that dragon also tie itself into a knot? And in the knot, was there a candle?”

The old man stopped too.

“You’ve seen it?”

“I dreamed it. I also dreamed of a lot of shooting stars, but I didn’t see myself in it,” Zhan Yan said.

The old man studied him.

“How old are you?”

“Nineteen,” Zhan Yan replied.

“So young…” the old man sighed. “Then it wasn’t you. My dream was over twenty years ago.”

“Twenty-six years ago?” Zhan Yan probed.

The old man was stunned, grabbing his arm.

“Come, come, I know a good teahouse—let’s have a proper chat!”

He’d had this dream for years and never told anyone about the knot!

Mainly because talking about a one-eyed, tail-biting dragon didn’t spoil the dream’s grandeur or solemnity—but if he also said the dragon tied itself into a knot, wouldn’t that make it sound ridiculous?

The more he looked at this young man, the more he liked him. After all these years, he’d finally met someone who “shared the same strange affliction”!

The old man was chasing his bizarre dream, Zhan Yan was chasing the lead on the Candle Dragon—so they hit it off and went to the teahouse together.

Before they even arrived, both of their phones rang at the same time.

“Hello? Dad…” —from the old man’s receiver.

“Hello? Dad…” —Zhan Yan into his phone.

“Dad, where have you run off to again? At your age you shouldn’t go out alone…”

“Yanyan, the weather in Bince City hasn’t been good lately. Don’t go to the seaside.”

Bad weather? The forecast didn’t say that—wasn’t it supposed to be sunny for days?

Zhan Yan suddenly thought of the very irritable Dragon King statue in the Dragon King Temple. Hmm… the weather forecast really couldn’t predict this one. Since his father was a demon king, he’d probably gotten some insider info!

Better not go to the seaside then.

“Boss Xia said she ran into you. If you need anything, ask her for help—don’t be shy,” his father continued.

Zhan Yan figured it was confirmed—Sister Xia must also be a demon. Otherwise, what kind of minor actress could get her big boss to fuss over her like that?

Having a demon king dad was great!

After hanging up, Zhan Yan and the old man entered the teahouse—one pot of tea, two plates of pastries, three dishes of fruit—and whiled away the whole afternoon.

They talked about dreams the entire time. The results weren’t huge—what the old man could offer was only his dream. In the following years, he had gone everywhere searching for the dragon he’d seen—through ancient books, local legends, antiques, collectibles…

The old man, happy from chatting, asked:

“Are you here traveling? I can tell you all the fun spots—Bince City has enough interesting places to keep you busy for half a month.”

“No, I came for someone’s birthday banquet. I’ll be going back in a couple of days,” Zhan Yan said regretfully.

“Oh…” The old man nodded mysteriously.

As night fell, the old man’s son came to pick him up, and Zhan Yan returned to his hotel.

Not long after, the weather report issued an urgent strong wind warning. A little later, a torrential rain warning followed.

Zhan Yan opened the Chaofan Forum and the gossip system to see what insider news his dad had gotten.

[Little black dragon Yuan Jing, disguised as an ordinary person, was traveling in Bince City. Out of money, he took his friend to the Dragon King Temple to steal his dad’s incense money. His ordinary human friend, afraid of offending the Dragon King, didn’t dare steal it. Yuan Jing said: “It’s fine, I asked the Dragon King and he agreed. See? He even gave me a thumbs-up.”]

[The Dragon King is currently beating his son. Storms are raging along Bince City’s coast.]

Zhan Yan: … pfft!

Hahaha!

Turns out bratty kids come in all species and all ages.

Logging into the forum, Zhan Yan saw that in the spam section, some people were still going crazy over the “Great Ritual Dancer” and “Little Monster” he had mentioned earlier—and now, a certain well-known fanfic author had quietly popped up, diligently writing CP fanfiction about the Great Ritual Dancer and the Little Monster.

“Gotta ship them!” —That username style… looked oddly familiar.

Aside from that, an old thread had been bumped back to the top:

{When has refining ever not driven someone mad?! When has refining ever not driven someone mad?!}

Clicking in, he saw the thread was posted by “The Craftsman”.

Original Post (LZ):

You tell me—why won’t this refining work?
Why won’t it fuse? Huh?! Where’s the connection failing? Huh?! Why aren’t the runes taking effect? Huh?!

(Turns into a monkey) (Smashes the refining table) (Screams loudly) (Steals your bananas) (Runs into the forest)

…

This was Zhan Yan’s first time seeing the post.

He checked the poster’s account, then backed out to open the points leaderboard, just to confirm the account at the very top of the rankings.

He double-checked several times—yep, it really was The Craftsman, not an imitation.

Zhan Yan was shocked.

This mental state of the great craftsman… was rather worrying.

He scrolled down to read more.

The post had been made many years ago, and every now and then it would get bumped—usually by The Craftsman himself. Every time he replied, it was just more madness.

Mixed in with The Craftsman’s replies were other users’ comments:

124th Floor:

Every time I see this thread bumped, I know The Craftsman has hit another refining problem.

143rd Floor:

Hahahahaha! Refining never doesn’t drive you mad! I’m going crazy right along with The Craftsman!
Aaaah why won’t it work!!!

218th Floor:

If even the great The Craftman can get stuck on a refinement, why shouldn’t I? Getting stuck is normal! Mistakes are normal! Runes not working is normal! Smashing the refining table is normal!!!

…

Was refining such a terrifying discipline?

Zhan Yan couldn’t help searching for more info.

[X year X month X day: The Craftsman failed for the 16th time while developing the Seven-Treasure Gourd, and began losing his mind.]

[X year X month X day: The Craftsman failed for the 32nd time while developing a stealth flying motorcycle equipped with a mini electromagnetic cannon, and angrily smashed the refining table.]

[X year X month X day: The Craftsman failed for the 43rd time while developing a Transformer, and began losing his mind.]

[X year X month X day: The Craftsman failed for the 51st time while developing Iron Man armor, and angrily smashed the refining table.]

[X year X month X day: The Craftsman failed for the 568th time while developing a doll butler, sighed, and quietly packed away the parts.]

[X year X month X day: The Craftsman failed for the 21st time while debugging the Anomaly Tracker, and began losing his mind.]

The things this guy developed were… a bit out there.
Transformers and Iron Man armor—seriously?

But Zhan Yan caught the key point—the latest entry, and the reason for the Craftsman’s current meltdown: the Craftsman had failed for the 21st time while debugging the Anomaly Tracker.

The Anomaly Affairs Bureau was working with the Craftsman.
Had something gone wrong while they were using Code Anomaly No. 2 for tracking?

Before Zhan Yan could even ask, he received a private message from the Tianshi.

Tianshi:

If this isn’t an Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau mission, but something personal I need your help with—would you take it?

Zhan Yan: !!!

Why would the great Tianshi even need to ask!

Approaching Science:

If you need something, I’ll definitely do it—even without points.
I take the Bureau’s missions normally too.
Last time was only because it involved a traitor from the Wan Yao Alliance.

The Tianshi treated him so well—answering questions, patiently guiding him, even giving him thunder talismans for free!

It wasn’t like the Tianshi was bound to the Abnormal Affairs Mangement Bureau… Hmm… wonder if Dad and the Tianshi have any beef. Hope they don’t get along too badly…

The Tianshi and the Chongming Demon King…

Suddenly, the phrase “Domineering Tianshi and His Gorgeous Demon King” popped into Zhan Yan’s mind.

Zhan Yan: … The dead memories suddenly started attacking me!

Ever since finding out the Chongming Demon King was actually his dad, he couldn’t look that fanfic author in the eye again.

Good thing it’s blocked!!!

His dad and mom were the couple! Chongming Demon King with Tianshi—what kind of nonsense ship was that?! Dad and Mom were made for each other!!!

No wonder Dad had shown up back then to stop that person from posting the fanfic.

Dad really loves Mom!

Ji Yueming, seeing Approaching Science’s reply, smiled. She knew this kid was good—he wouldn’t run off to the Wan Yao Alliance just because the Great Ritual Dancer had teased him a bit.

For cultivators at her level, there was always some degree of intuition, though it wasn’t as mystical as the inspiration-based cultivation of Kusong Ravine.

Approaching Science had always given her a sense of trust and ease. That was why she was willing to approach him, not just because of his talent and abilities.

Tianshi:

Let’s call it a personal mission.
If someone comes to you wanting to buy information on other Infinite Shards, I hope you won’t sell.

Zhan Yan was about to agree when it struck him—at the start, the Tianshi had said this was something personal, maybe because she was afraid he wouldn’t take a Bureau mission anymore, so she’d approached it indirectly. But after he’d said he was willing, she’d again stressed it was a personal mission.

Was she deliberately separating this mission from the Anomaly Affairs Bureau?

Approaching Science:

In the “someone” you mentioned—does that include other people inside the Bureau?

Ji Yueming couldn’t help but smile with a sigh.

“So perceptive.”

Tianshi:

It includes everyone.

After replying, she paused, waiting for Approaching Science’s reaction.

The Bureau’s top squad captain had no intention of taking on every single task from the Bureau.

Zhan Yan’s palms began to sweat.

Ah… that little problem he had, where he got excited whenever he sniffed out a big secret…

He immediately connected this to The Craftman’s gossip post—until now, he’d been following the Bureau’s progress with Code Anomaly No. 2 closely. They’d been using The Craftman’s device to track it, and things had gone smoothly.

So why was it suddenly stuck?

Zhan Yan switched to a different set of search keywords:

Grabled Anomaly No. 2 had been created to find Infinite Shards. Someone in the Bureau wanted to use this ability to locate all the other Infinite Shards in the world.

And The Craftsman’s debugging task… was exactly that.

[Doll Butler Xiaoran asked The Craftsman: “How many more times are you going to pretend to fail?”]

Hmm?

The Craftsman was faking it?