Chapter 11: 011: Lightning Speed, Dayun Motorcycle

Turning stones into gold and hiding a beautiful woman in a golden house were out of the question.

Though Shen Tang was disappointed, she dared not risk her own life.

As time ticked away, the ink-blue clouds were stained with a faint halo of reddish-orange, until the night ended and dawn broke.

When a mischievous ray of morning sunlight kissed his eyelids, Qi Shan stirred from his sleep.

He glanced at the sun, rubbed his right eye with a drowsy hand, and muttered softly.

"Why is it only the hour of Mao?"

Shen Tang said, "It’s not early at this point."

Qi Shan looked toward the sound and saw the young Master Shen sitting by the campfire, roasting something.

"You didn't sleep all night?"

The coarse hemp prisoner's uniform was dampened by dew, clinging limply to her skin, devoid of the creases that come from a deep sleep.

Shen Tang didn't even look up. "I didn't sleep. Too many things happened yesterday; I couldn't fall asleep at all. Would Master Qi like to taste my handiwork?"

As she spoke, she held out the branch in her hand toward Qi Shan.

Only then did Qi Shan see what Shen Tang was roasting.

Three flatbreads skewered on a branch.

The cakes were about the size of an adult's palm, roasted to a golden brown on both sides, silently emitting an alluring, charred aroma of food.

In the middle of the wilderness, where would she get flatbread?

He didn't need to guess.

He didn't stand on ceremony with Shen Tang. "Many thanks."

Qi Shan was a fastidious man. Before breakfast, he had his "preparatory activities"—he dampened a handkerchief with water from his waterskin to wipe away the lingering sleepiness from his face, then took a tooth-cleaning stick from his pack, sprinkled it with a bit of minty green powder, and rinsed his mouth with the remaining water.

Only after cleaning up did he pick up the charred, fragrant flatbread.

"Hmm? Why is it sweet?"

Although the sweetness wasn't strong and was mostly masked by the charred crispness, one could still taste it upon careful inspection.

Shen Tang revealed the secret: "‘The cauldron is as sweet as maltose’—it is hard to come by."

Upon hearing this, Qi Shan's expression immediately became indescribable; even the bread in his mouth no longer tasted good.

He said helplessly, "...'The cauldron is as sweet as maltose' originates from the *Song of Righteousness*, and it is a *Yanling* meant to boost morale. It has extremely high requirements for one's *Wenxin*..."

Is she intentionally trying to spite these *Yanling*?

Regardless of the effect, is everything in young Master Shen's hands just food?

How is he supposed to look at "The cauldron is as sweet as maltose" in the future?

"Whatever *Yanling* it is, in my opinion, only one that can fill my stomach is a useful *Yanling*." Shen Tang blew on the piping hot bread and took a cautious, small bite. As the fragrance of the food spread in her mouth, she felt a sudden, overwhelming sense of satisfaction. "The maltose on the bread didn't just come from 'The cauldron is as sweet as maltose.' I found that this *Yanling* consumed too much *Wenxin*, so I abandoned it..."

Qi Shan: "..."

So, she ruined other *Yanling* just for a piece of maltose?

"Then which one did you choose?"

Shen Tang calmly extended her right hand: "The plains of Zhou are fertile, and the sow thistle is as sweet as maltose."

A piece of maltose the size of a thumb appeared.

Qi Shan frowned suddenly: "This *Yanling*..."

Shen Tang tossed the maltose into her mouth and chewed, squinting in satisfaction: "What's wrong with this *Yanling*?"

"No one has ever used it."

Shen Tang: "...Huh?"

"The *Yanling* we use now all originate from those Imperial Seals, or rather, from that 'Thief Star.' The *Yanling* recorded upon them are as vast as smoke, countless in number. In the two hundred years since the Thief Star appeared, more and more *Yanling* have been used by talented people, but compared to those that cannot be used, it is still just the tip of the iceberg. This 'The plains of Zhou are fertile, and the sow thistle is as sweet as maltose' is just something I happened to transcribe..."

He had just found it interesting and written it down.

Shen Tang: "..."

Qi Shan asked her, "What is the effect of this *Yanling*?"

Just conjuring a piece of maltose?

Shen Tang answered with a question: "Didn't Master Qi see it?"

Her gaze was too open and clear, like a spring where one could see the bottom at a glance. Qi Shan couldn't be sure if she was hiding anything, but he knew she wasn't as simple as she appeared. They stopped talking and ate their breakfast in silence, finishing all the roasted bread. Once full, they dealt with the campfire.

They packed up and prepared to hit the road.

Because the coarse hemp prisoner's uniform on Shen Tang was too eye-catching, Qi Shan contributed a clean, old garment. While the young Master Shen was changing, he accidentally stepped on a patch of relatively soft soil.

"Eh?"

He crouched down to push aside the wild grass to investigate.

He pinched a bit of the loose, moist soil to feel it carefully and discovered it was completely different from the barren, dusty sand three steps away.

Not knowing what he was thinking, he drew the sword at his waist with a *swish* and thrust it fiercely into the soil. The blade entered the earth; at first, it was soft and easy to penetrate without resistance, but after six inches, it became difficult to move, the tip caught by some sticky, viscous soil.

He *pulled* the long sword out of the ground.

The mud on the blade reflected the situation accurately.

Qi Shan pinched the mud on the sword tip, muttering thoughtfully: "The plains of Zhou are fertile, and the sow thistle is as sweet as maltose..."

The general meaning of this *Yanling* is—the land of the Zhou plains is fertile, and even the bitter sow thistle can be as sweet as maltose.

This *Yanling* of young Master Shen...

Is the focus on the "maltose"?

Or is it on the "fertile" part of "The plains of Zhou are fertile"?

Qi Shan lowered his eyelids, wiped the sword clean, returned it to its scabbard, and stood up as if nothing had happened. He used his wooden clogs to scuff the soil, covering the sword marks. A short while later, Shen Tang emerged from the dense forest.

The adult man's clothes were too large for an eleven or twelve-year-old boy. She had to use long strips of cloth to gather the sleeves at her wrists, turning wide sleeves into narrow ones, then pulled up the overly long hem to be level with her ankles, and used a waist cord to wrap around her waist to secure the garment.

Paired with that handsome face, which leaned toward feminine but carried a touch of wildness, she had the air of a dashing young man.

Qi Shan called out: "Young Master Shen, let's go, keep up."

Shen Tang trotted a few steps: "Master, coming right away."

As the sun rose higher, the heat became increasingly scorching. Shen Tang wiped her sweat with her sleeve: "Master Qi, don't you have a *Yanling* that can conjure a tall horse? That third-rank *Zannia* last night had blades, spears, swords, and halberds, as well as a tall horse; how convenient for travel."

Qi Shan asked her indifferently: "Does young Master Shen have a *Wudan*?"

Shen Tang shook her head: "This... I don't..."

"Because you have no *Wudan*, you have no horse."

A single indifferent sentence passed a "death sentence" on Shen Tang.

Shen Tang almost spat out her soul: "Why? Aren't *Wenxin* and *Wudan* equal? Can't this kind of *Yanling* be shared?"

She felt her *Wenxin* was being looked down upon!

She looked down at her own legs, which were like thin bamboo poles, and was speechless. Although the wounds on her feet had been simply treated and she was wearing the soft-soled straw sandals borrowed from Qi Shan, the road was rugged. Relying on these two legs to reach the nearest village or town, who knew how long it would take...

Qi Shan glanced at the soul-departed young Master Shen from the corner of his eye and chuckled silently.

"There's no need for this kind of *Yanling* to be shared."

"How could there be no need?"

What is a tall horse equivalent to in ancient times?

It's equivalent to a luxury sports car!

"Generally speaking, scholars with *Wenxin* have carriages and horses accompanying them when they travel; why would they need to be self-reliant like those brutes?"

Shen Tang: "..."

After walking for another stretch, Qi Shan vaguely heard the young Master Shen behind him muttering weakly.

"Swift as the wind and lightning—"

He was about to be surprised that young Master Shen had such superb comprehension that she even knew such high-level *Yanling* for increasing the marching speed of an army.

Who knew her next sentence would be—

"Great Transport Motorcycle!"

Qi Shan: "???"