This Was Just a USB Drive

This Was Just a USB Drive.

"What? Why are you asking that?" Song Shuhang asked in confusion.

"Because yesterday at noon, I saw someone asking around school for information on 'Song Shuhang from Jiangnan University Town.' They had already dug up almost everything—your class, age, residence, and the people you were close to. It felt like something was off, so I made a note of it. Oh, right, I'm a member of the school's news department." Zhuge Yue smiled sweetly.

"Someone was investigating me?" Song Shuhang was stunned. He shouldn't have offended anyone recently, should he?

Medicine Master had mentioned that someone was following him. Perhaps someone had seen him together with Medicine Master and taken the opportunity to investigate him. But Medicine Master had only arrived this morning!

Besides, yesterday evening, he had beaten up a few thugs while saving a damsel in distress. But that had happened yesterday evening, and had nothing to do with yesterday noon!

Song Shuhang could not think of the slightest clue.

"Anyway, I think you should be more careful lately. Someone might not like the sight of you and be planning to ambush you. That's all I have to say. I have something to do, so I'll be leaving first. Have a good day." Zhuge Yue giggled, patted Song Shuhang on the shoulder, and then hummed as she left the dormitory.

"Thanks," Song Shuhang replied.

If someone was planning to ambush him, he was not afraid. However, the other party was not merely investigating him—they were also digging into the people around him, his friends and relatives.

That made him feel somewhat uneasy.

In any case... it was best to be careful lately.

When Medicine Master arrived later, he would ask whether there was any way to find the person investigating him from behind the scenes. Medicine Master seemed to be very experienced at avoiding pursuit.

With that in mind, Song Shuhang entered the bedroom.

Gao Moumou was still lying there motionless like a dead dog. Shuhang asked worriedly, "Gao Moumou, are you all right?"

"Shuhang, I've been defiled," Gao Moumou muttered.

"You're using 'defiled' completely wrong. You're not some untouched maiden from ancient times, so stop using such a disgusting description." Song Shuhang patted Gao Moumou, then took the opportunity to ask, "By the way, was that Zhuge Yue just now a man?"

Gao Moumou's face immediately went pale. After a long while, he shook his head bitterly. "No."

"Then she was a girl? Go die, will you! You got kissed by a girl, yet you're acting like you've been played to death! You're just showing off, do you know that?" Song Shuhang patted Gao Moumou hard. "Don't worry, I'm very tight-lipped. I absolutely won't let your girlfriend find out about what happened today. Just treat it as an unexpected stroke of romantic luck, won't that do?"

But Gao Moumou's expression became even uglier, and he shook his head with even greater difficulty.

"What do you mean by shaking your head? Could it be... Zhuge Yue wasn't a girl either? Then what was she? Don't tell me she's intersex or a shemale?" Song Shuhang asked in confusion.

"Neither... How should I put it? You people won't understand this sort of thing." Gao Moumou tilted his head, looking as though he had lost all hope in life.

This guy was beyond saving.

"All right, then keep playing dead." Song Shuhang patted Gao Moumou.

Then he hummed as he went to the balcony and stared at the sky.

What would a Flying Sword Message look like?

After Gao Moumou remained in his half-dead state for more than ten minutes, he numbly got up and washed his face. "Shuhang, Tubo said he wants to have a few drinks tonight and asked us to gather at Yangde's place. How about it? Are you free?"

Song Shuhang thought for a moment before replying, "No problem. But I have a friend coming over later to collect something, so I might be late. I'll probably get there around six."

"Then I'll go over first. Today... I'm going to drink myself senseless," Gao Moumou said with a mournful expression.

"Drowning your sorrows?" Song Shuhang chuckled.

Gao Moumou nodded and pushed open the dormitory door. "Then I'm off. Remember to come early."

"Sure thing, no problem."

＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊

Time passed second by second.

Song Shuhang felt that he must look just like a 'husband-waiting stone' right now, staring fixedly at the sky with his heart filled with anticipation.

About twenty minutes later, at 4:07 in the afternoon.

Medicine Master finally sent word. He called and said, "Little Friend Shuhang, Master Profound Principle's Flying Sword Message is about to arrive. I'm heading over to your place now. There's no one else there, right?"

"No problem. My roommates are going out drinking tonight, so I'm the only one in the dormitory right now." Song Shuhang answered quickly.

"Wait for me. I'll be there soon." Medicine Master hung up.

Two minutes later.

Medicine Master arrived beside Song Shuhang.

"I'm here!" he said with a hearty laugh.

"What do we need to do?" Song Shuhang asked. "Or do we just need to sit here and wait?"

"Watch me." Medicine Master returned to the balcony, then pointed at the sky once more. The two fingers of his hand turned crimson, flickering brightly.

Song Shuhang stared at the sky. In the distance, he saw a light flashing in the heavens, rapidly flying toward Medicine Master.

The light drew closer and closer at tremendous speed. One could vaguely make out the shape of a sword.

"For such an obvious Flying Sword Message, shouldn't you use some kind of concealment?" A sudden realization arose in Song Shuhang's heart. Could the UFOs and other strange flying objects people had often photographed in recent years actually be cultivators sending Flying Sword Messages—or perhaps simply using Sword Flight?

It was dangerous for the cultivators to act like this. Technology was becoming more and more advanced these days, and every country had anti-aircraft guns, aerial interception cannons, and the like. What if it were shot down by an anti-aircraft cannon?

While Song Shuhang's mind wandered beyond the heavens, the flying sword had already landed beside Medicine Master.

It was a sharp black-iron swordlet, quietly floating above Medicine Master's reddened fingers. It was suspended without relying on any external force whatsoever, completely violating the laws of physics governing the world.

Song Shuhang remained remarkably calm. Ever since the day his worldview had completely collapsed, most of the physics he had studied over the past eighteen years had already been cast aside. If the laws of physics were not still valid in the mortal world, he would have thrown the other half away to feed the dogs as well.

"Huh? Where are the secret manuals?" Song Shuhang suddenly asked. In his imagination, the flying sword should have had a huge bundle hanging from it, containing many thread-bound books or scrolls made of beast hide.

Yet the black-iron swordlet before him had nothing attached to it. It was completely bare.

"Could they have fallen off during the flight?" Song Shuhang wondered.

"The secret manuals are here." Medicine Master reached out, and the black-iron swordlet landed steadily in his hand. Then he removed a thumb-sized jade cylinder from the swordlet's hilt. It looked somewhat like a jade thumb ring.

A tubular object made of jade? The moment he saw it, the name of an item immediately surfaced in Song Shuhang's mind. He blurted out, "A Transmission Jade Slip?"

It was also called an Inheritance Jade Slip or a Dharma Transmission Jade Slip.

This was one of the things the protagonists of cultivation novels had to obtain. All they needed to do was press it against their heads, and techniques, cultivation methods, and the like would be engraved directly into their minds! Even an idiot could remember an entire cultivation method perfectly!

"You're overthinking it..." Medicine Master shrugged. "A Transmission Jade Slip is unbelievably precious. It's priceless in its own right and would only be used to record peerless techniques that 'could not be recorded in writing.' Would an ordinary Foundation Establishment technique like this really be worth recording with a Transmission Jade Slip?"

Only peerless techniques containing the laws of heaven and earth and the ultimate principles of the Great Dao could not be recorded in writing. Even if one forcibly wrote them down, the power of the Great Dao between heaven and earth would erase them. That was why precious treasures such as Transmission Jade Slips were needed to preserve them.

"Then what is this?" Song Shuhang asked.

"This is just an ordinary USB drive. To be honest, human technology keeps advancing, and many of the things they invent are quite convenient for us cultivators to use as well. A tiny USB drive can hold the contents of what used to be an entire scripture repository, and it can even include videos. It's incredibly convenient." Medicine Master calmly shattered Song Shuhang's fantasies once more.

It hurts. Mom, my liver hurts so much!