Chapter 75: How About a Bet?

The Ice Quenching Pavilion disciple with a ponytail blinked. “Restart?”

The other disciple, who wore his hair in a topknot, nodded. “That makes sense. Let’s withdraw our spiritual energy from the talisman and then reinfuse it to see if that works.”

The ponytail talisman cultivator held a peach wood talisman inscribed with complex black-ink runes that shimmered faintly. A few strokes were missing in one section, clearly the part he had erased earlier.

He lightly tapped the talisman with his finger and the once radiant patterns immediately dimmed. Then, he closed his eyes.

The topknot talisman cultivator said, “Brother, how about we cast a divination before activating it this time?”

Divining to check if the talisman would function properly… Was he a talisman cultivator or a mystic?

The ponytail talisman cultivator scoffed, “Forget your nonsense divination, just run it and see.”

Their tone had the unmistakable energy of a chaotic college group project meeting.

The topknot talisman cultivator warned, “Be careful. If you burn the talisman, we’ll be completely lost and then we’re all screwed.”

As he spoke, the ponytail talisman cultivator had already tapped the talisman again, injecting it with spiritual energy. The dimmed talisman flickered back to life but the energy flow hit a blockage. The ink at that spot darkened as energy gathered, growing hotter and hotter, looking like it was about to burn through.

The topknot talisman cultivator exclaimed, “Damn, this is exactly like last time when the talisman burned up! It’s going to fail—!”

The ponytail talisman cultivator interrupted, “It worked!!”

Somehow, this time, the energy bypassed the blockage and flowed smoothly through the talisman’s circuits. Like scattered stardust, light gradually formed around the talisman, eventually shaping itself into a glowing thread that encircled them and pointed the way.

Though they had no idea why the talisman had burned last time but functioned perfectly now, both the Ice Quenching Pavilion disciples were overjoyed, practically ready to celebrate.

Only then did the topknot talisman cultivator ask, “Wait, who told us to restart the talisman just now?”

Both disciples turned around at the same time.

Deep in the forest, standing behind them were two figures.

Both appeared injured, yet their brilliance remained undiminished, their presence as striking as celestial beings or ancient deities.

The man in black stood in the front, exquisitely handsome, arms crossed, and his slightly tousled medium-length hair falling loosely around his face. He wore an unusual magical artifact over his eyes and his expression carried a casual, almost indifferent air. Behind him stood a man in white with a jade hairpiece neatly holding his hair in place and his sharp features softened by a warm and composed smile.

However, what stood out most was the tree floating behind the man in white. An Osmanthus Tree, roots and all, still carrying soil.

It looked like a Moon Palace’s Osmanthus Tree.

A Moon Palace’s Osmanthus Tree.

One of the eleven great ancient sacred trees!!

Why was it just… floating behind them?!

The Ice Quenching Pavilion disciples had never encountered anything so bizarre before and were momentarily struck speechless in shock.

The black-clad beauty remarked, “Now that the talisman is working, don’t shut it down again. Otherwise, it might not start next time.”

Schrödinger’s Program: A phenomenon in which a computational program, after being restarted by a graduate student, enters a state where the professor can no longer determine whether it is running successfully. It may indeed be functioning as claimed or it may only be ‘successfully running’ in the student’s weekly report. Only by checking the student’s research progress can the professor confirm if the simulation program is truly operational.

Anyone who has ever written code knows the pain of restarting a system and finding that a previously functioning script suddenly refuses to run.

The ponytail talisman cultivator snapped back to attention, quickly channeling more spiritual energy into the talisman in a fluster.

The black-clad beauty asked, “Where are you headed?”

Without thinking, the topknot talisman cultivator replied, “To the Compassionate Orphanage in the southern region of Liuyue Lake. Just over this mountain.”

The black-clad beauty mused, “Hmm, perfect. I’ll go with you.”

Then, as the two disciples stared at him in shock, he casually crossed his arms and tapped his fingers against them, turning to ask the white-clad man behind him, “Senior Brother, what about you?”

The man in white responded warmly, “Hmm, my junior brother makes a good point. If we reach the main road, we may find a path to the Lian family as well.”

“I mean,” the black-clad beauty said, “You should be asking for my permission to follow me.”

The two Ice Quenching Pavilion disciples: ?

Faced with what should have been a provocative statement, spoken in such an eerily emotionless tone, the white-clad man simply smiled. His voice remained gentle and composed as he said, “I’m grateful to my junior brother for guiding me forward.”

So the black-clad beauty also smiled. “Senior Brother, I was just joking.”

The two Ice Quenching Pavilion disciples: ??

“…So, in this conversation which was originally about following ‘us,’ there’s no place for us?”

***

Their group had now grown to four people and a floating sacred tree. The two Ice Quenching Pavilion disciples were on edge but the two newcomers seemed perfectly at ease.

Oh, and so did the tree.

The two disciples exchanged glances. Finally, the ponytail talisman cultivator spoke. “May I ask which sect this esteemed immortal, who is so proficient in talisman arts, hails from? And how did you know that restarting the talisman would allow it to function again?”

Such a profound and secretive technique was highly classified even within the Ice Quenching Pavilion, how did this person know about it?

The black-clad beauty said, “Your talisman is quite interesting. Did you create it yourselves or did you copy it from an Ice Quenching Pavilion manual?”

Before the ponytail talisman cultivator could ask further, the topknot talisman cultivator answered, “Half and half, actually.”

The black-clad beauty said, “So, the design and theory came from the Ice Quenching Pavilion’s manuals but the actual drawing and execution were done by you?”

The ponytail talisman cultivator’s pride was evident. “Exactly.”

It seemed he was the one who drew the talisman.

The black-clad beauty mused, “I see. So each talisman is drawn individually by the talisman cultivator? The Ice Quenching Pavilion doesn’t have a factory for mass-producing them?”

Telling a talisman cultivator that their talismans are mass-produced is like telling a sword cultivator that their sword is just a wholesale product. Break one, grab another.

The black-clad beauty continued, “Or do you have any talismans that can be mass-produced? Talismans that don’t require a talisman cultivator to inject spiritual energy, ones that can automatically navigate, arrive at the mission location, execute their task, and then self-destruct?”

If the previous question was merely an insult to talisman techniques, this one was an insult to the very existence of talisman cultivators.

If talismans could function independently, then what was the point of talisman cultivators?

Even though those two figures were clearly powerful, the ponytail talisman cultivator was furious. “Every talisman we use is hand-drawn by us! Do you even understand the depth of talisman arts? Only talismans drawn by a cultivator’s own hand carry spiritual energy. Every stroke and every line, we imbue them with our own spiritual power. For example, this talisman we’re using now was crafted by my junior brother and me after countless nights of study and practice!”

Despite his anger, the black-clad beauty remained utterly composed. He asked, “So this talisman was drawn by you and your junior brother?”

The ponytail talisman cultivator snapped, “Of course!”

The black-clad beauty continued, “Meaning you fully understand every technical detail of this talisman?”

Though he didn’t fully grasp the term ‘technical details,’ the ponytail talisman cultivator still lifted his chin proudly. “Of course!”

The black-clad beauty asked, “Then according to your talisman, how far are we from the Compassionate Orphanage?”

The topknot talisman cultivator glanced at the talisman and said, “Let me calculate that.”

The ponytail talisman cultivator, still glaring at the black-clad beauty, suddenly seemed to realize something. “Wait, you’re…”

The black-clad beauty interjected, “You still need to calculate? Can your talisman even determine distance? Is the calculated distance accurate? Is it linear distance or path distance? Does it account for elevation changes? Have you considered detours in extreme cases?”

The ponytail talisman cultivator: …

Now, even the ponytail talisman cultivator joined the topknot talisman cultivator in hurriedly calculating.

The system commented, [Why is it that these two Ice Quenching Pavilion disciples were just trying to figure out your identity but now they’re completely caught up in your pace?]

Ning Mingmei replied, [It’s simple. They’ve fallen into a cycle of self-verification.]

The system: ?

[The best way to defeat a question isn’t by answering it.] Ning Mingmei adjusted his glasses. [But by posing another question. That way, they become too busy proving themselves to continue questioning me.]

[Here’s a simple example. When a graduate student timidly asks if travel expenses can be reimbursed, you first ask them about their project progress. How does it compare to their peers? How’s their thesis coming along? I recently saw on the school’s official account that they participated in a street dance club performance. How’s the street dance club? Did it take up a lot of time rehearsing?]

The system: ?

There seemed to be an unusually sinister aura, the kind that made one’s legs tremble, not out of fear, but from an unwillingness to ask for money.

In the end, the system said, […Wait, did I miss something again?]

Ning Mingmei: [Hm?]

The system: [Like your evil scheme? Or the reason you can’t reveal your Supreme Clarity Sect identity in front of them? The Supreme Clarity Sect is a righteous sect and so is the Ice Quenching Pavilion. There’s nothing you can’t talk about, right?]

Ning Mingmei: [No, not really. I just saw two newcomers and decided to play around a little. In our lab, we really like students with programming experience.]

The system: …

What kind of ‘liking’ is this?

Is it like an evil tabby cat saying, ‘I just love mice’?

The two disciples became so absorbed in their calculations that they quickly lost track of time, even stopping on a rock. Ning Mingmei sensed a faint movement of spiritual energy behind him. He turned around and saw Sect Master Qi.

Qi Miancheng followed behind him, his fingers subtly moving.

Ning Mingmei asked, “Senior Brother, what are you doing?”

Qi Miancheng replied, “Junior Brother, plants need their roots to absorb soil and water to grow.”

Ning Mingmei: “…”

Qi Miancheng continued, “What I mean is, after walking for so long, all the soil around the sacred tree’s roots has fallen off. So, I’m planting it back in the ground. Once the two disciples finish their calculations and we resume our journey, I’ll pull it out again. This way, both the traveling cultivators and the sacred tree can get proper rest.”

Beside Qi Miancheng, the sacred tree was shakily rooting itself into a freshly dug hole.

Ning Mingmei: “………………”

Qi Miancheng said, “Junior Brother, why are you looking at me like that? Are you tired? Do you need some spiritual energy? If you’re too exhausted to walk, I can use wind energy to support you, so you and the tree can both float forward effortlessly.”

…

So, was he suggesting that as they traveled, on his left would be a floating tree and on his right, a floating Ning Mingmei?

Ning Mingmei crossed his arms and said coolly, “No need. Senior Brother, you are truly a kind person.”

Qi Miancheng smiled warmly and gently stroked the branches of the Osmanthus Tree. “The Ice Quenching Pavilion is one of the top three sects in the world, though it suffered a severe blow years ago due to the Fiend Lord’s massacre. The current pavilion master is Ying Jiu, whose real name is Ying Wuya. He has a solitary nature and prefers to live in seclusion. Though immensely talented, he is often regarded as ‘difficult to get along with.’

“If Junior Brother is interested in talisman techniques, you can visit the Ice Quenching Pavilion when we return to the Supreme Clarity Sect and see if you can meet Ying Jiu. However, he’s not easily swayed. If you don’t have something that interests him, he won’t see you.”

Ning Mingmei nodded. “I just so happen to have a pair of black-framed glasses and there’s some plaid fabric in the storeroom. I’m sure Pavilion Master Ying would like them.”

Would a bionic programmer ever refuse an electronic plaid shirt? Of course not.

Qi Miancheng: ?

When Ning Mingmei turned back around, the two Ice Quenching Pavilion disciples had just finished their calculations.

The ponytail talisman cultivator said, “There are still thirty miles left. It should take about a day. If the Immortal Master doesn’t believe me, how about a bet? Let’s see if we can reach the Compassionate Orphanage in a day.”

He looked at Ning Mingmei with confidence, as if challenging the heavens themselves.

Ning Mingmei said, “Sure. What are we betting?”