Shuzhou was tumultuous with people flooding in to find two individuals, but no one could locate them, not even a trace.
At the same time—
At Yuelai Inn, which was widespread throughout the great Zhou, only they could ensure food supplies and continue to operate at such a time.
An ordinary-looking person arrived at Dongfeng county town and was eating at this inn.
The dishes were decent, one meat and one vegetarian.
Soon after finishing the meal and settling the bill, the person continued on their way, seemingly no different from any ordinary person, but what they said was far from ordinary,
“This place has the Qi-Blood scent of the person I’m searching for…”
This person was none other than one of the two inheritors of Stargazing Valley, Yue.
Stargazing Valley Secret Technique, Disguise—it wasn’t dependent on makeup but rather Qi-Blood Power altering one’s facial appearance, something only Grandmasters could use.
Those who did not know this secret technique would be completely unable to detect the disguise.
Therefore, even though there were countless capable people in the world looking for them, they couldn’t be found for the time being.
The reason for Yue’s arrival here was simple, the guidance provided by the Stargazing Skill.
After parting with Xing, he had traveled all the way to Shuzhou.
However, he never expected that Xing would also be here—was it coincidence, or was it fate?
There was no guidance about this in the Stargazing Skill.
But what the reality was didn’t matter anymore; he had always been between belief and disbelief regarding the Stargazing Skill.
After all, the ancestor of the Stargazing Skill had said that the future was always changing, and the Stargazing Skill was merely a peek into one corner of countless possible futures.
This was also the most important reason for his falling out with Xing.
The two of them seemed amicable, but in reality, they had fundamentally different understandings of the Stargazing Skill.
Xing believed in destiny, thinking that since the Stargazing Skill provided guidance, it represented a predetermined fate, which he revered.
Yue was not surprised that Xing thought this way. It was related to Xing’s childhood, plus the numerous calculations by Stargazing Valley that had become reality, under such circumstances, Xing became a believer in fate.
While he considered so-called calculations as merely possibilities, knowing these possibilities gave a greater chance to make these events a reality.
Perhaps Xing was more devout in his inheritance of the Stargazing Skill than he was.
But he felt that Xing hadn’t truly grasped the essence of the Stargazing Skill.
“Xing, you still haven’t learned the word ’possibility’ ah!”
Yue shook his head; perhaps Xing thought the same about him.
Countless facts laid before them not to be believed, yet they trusted their judgments. In Xing’s eyes, he might also seem unreasonable.
Their parting was not only because of different choices but also different paths.
When paths diverge, they cannot plan together; even a single master had taught two students with completely different philosophies, which the Valley Master likely hadn’t anticipated.
“I must find the person I’m looking for quickly and then break through to become a Great Grandmaster. Otherwise, the Stargazing inheritance will all fall to Xing’s line!”
Whoever became a Great Grandmaster first would have the right to pass on the inheritance; this was no empty talk.
If Xing reached the realm of a Great Grandmaster first, he would take his lineage with him to the grave. If he did it first, Xing would do the same.
This was the struggle of the Dao within the Stargazing lineage!
Of course, compared to the realm of a Great Grandmaster, it was more important to follow the Valley Master’s instructions and find the person he was tasked to find first.
Having finished his meal, he began to calculate again, looking for the next clue.
“Is the next place an ironworks shop…”
Wang Sheng naturally knew nothing about the affairs of Xing and Yue, as such matters were only circulated among some high-level powers.
He was still working on a waterwheel in the village.
This job was not much for him, and with a bit of time spent each day, the waterwheel was completed within a few days.
Then came the installation.
Many from the village came to watch the excitement during the installation, as they had never seen such a novelty.
“What is this, Yun Sheng?”
“A waterwheel, and soon you’ll all see how it works.”
The installation of the waterwheel didn’t take very long, and soon it started to move surprisingly quickly.
Although the aqueduct system wasn’t yet in place, onlookers could see the water from the river being slowly lifted to a higher place by the waterwheel before returning to the river.
Some villagers were confused, but others, including the village mayor, saw its potential.
“Yun Sheng, is this not yet complete?”
“That’s right, mayor. If I set something at the top to catch this water and then use bamboo pipes to direct it to our homes, wouldn’t that be convenient?”
One of the main functions of the waterwheel was to lift water from a lower place to a higher one, saving human labor.
Hearing what Wang Sheng said, the mayor instantly understood the function of the waterwheel.
Such a device would be very useful for irrigating fields, and he could see its value.
Wang Sheng had guessed that the mayor would be interested in this device, so he took out the blueprints he had prepared.
“Mayor, here are the blueprints. Take them!”
Qingshan Village was actually quite close to the river. With or without the waterwheel, the difference was minimal, mostly a matter of a little more human labor. But if the mayor was willing, then he could experiment as he liked.
This would indeed change the living conditions in the village.
“Thank you, Yun Sheng!”
“It’s nothing. If it’s possible, I would like the mayor to help find some smooth stones to bring back, preferably neatly cut. Also, I might need help with something else…”
The waterwheel was part of the infrastructure he wanted to create for an artificial hot spring. With the waterwheel set up, he needed to renovate the pit next to his house to resemble a hot spring, of course, with the village’s help.
“Okay, I’ll bring the materials back soon. Also, for constructing a pool, you can tell us your requirements…”
Wang Sheng seldom made requests, but the mayor always promptly met each one.
So, a few days after he laid out his requirements, the pool was built.
The pool was lined with evenly cut smooth stones and specially designed with a place to lie down.
In a concealed area, inlets and outlets for the water were also arranged.
Above the pool was a beautiful canopy, which was mostly hidden from view.
Wang Sheng did not like hot springs that were affected by the weather.
All the basic facilities were completed.
Now the only things missing were the heating and temperature control devices.
These two devices were considered medium to high difficulty in Mechanical Technique, no less complex than Cloud Wings, perhaps even more challenging.
However, the problem of obtaining metal remained unsolved.
Currently, he could use his stock to create one of the devices, but these already processed metals wouldn’t last long in use.
For long-term operation, he still needed to find iron ore and then smelt it himself.
Of course, there was another option, using the remaining Mechanical Melting Iron, which was highly adaptable, but Wang Sheng did not want to use it lightly.
So he approached the mayor to ask.
Unfortunately, the mayor was, after all, the mayor of a small village and did not know everything.
In the end, he sought Zhang Ze, who did know of such news and wasn’t too far from Qingshan Village.