After passing through the Hung Hom Cross-Harbour Tunnel and the ring road.
The Volga tore down the bottomless Rollercoaster Boulevard, the glowing safety lights on either side streaking past like comets.
The terrain gradually leveled out, and the tunnel grew brighter.
The scenery outside the car window was both unfamiliar and familiar.
After passing three checkpoints and two main streets, Jiang Xueming once again returned to the entrance of Moon Lane.
The street was still as deserted as ever. Only a few passersby stood outside the shabby convenience store, smoking and speaking in unfamiliar languages about unfamiliar circumstances.
There were also many passengers who had come here for the first time. Each stood hesitantly at the entrance to their own alley of fate, their anxiety written all over their faces, tickets in hand, each carrying a mission.
The car drove all the way to the bridgehead of the plastic-steel Hanging Bridge.
This time, Jiang Xueming didn't have to take a long detour again. The three of them went straight back to the observatory on the twenty-sixth floor of the Council of Five Kings' main hall.
They didn't say a word the whole way—
At first, Jiang Xueming had been curious. Seventh Brother and A Xing were both naturally talkative and lively.
But as soon as they stepped onto the plastic-steel Hanging Bridge, the two of them seemed to zip their mouths shut and never speak again.
Looking down from the bridge, more than seventy meters above the ground, Jiang Xueming saw countless people trudging across the fountain plaza in the vast abyss below.
In the distant fog on either side, the surroundings blended into the same color as the starry sky overhead.
The scenery along the way gave Xue Ming a feeling of quiet peace.
When they entered the elevator, he finally broke the silence and asked Seventh Brother beside him, curious, "Why didn't you say anything just now?"
Xiao Qi nervously swallowed. "I'm afraid of heights."
"." Surprised by the answer, Xue Ming turned to A Xing. "What about you?"
A Xing was pale and covering his mouth. Seventh Brother's reckless driving had almost made him throw up. "I've got an image to maintain. I stayed quiet to act like a master."
"Perfect." Jiang Xueming was overjoyed. It was a good thing when his two companions quieted down. At least they seemed much more reliable. "You've both grown. I hope you can keep this up."
When the elevator reached the first floor, all three of them had to undergo a mental examination. They waited in line for twenty minutes at the Old Lingweng Church in the side hall.
Bu Liuxing was in great shape. All his readings had returned to where they had been half a month ago, and the Spirit Calamity concentration had fallen back to 31%.
Jiang Xueming's test results were the same as before. This time, however, the Polarized Sextant seemed to have completely given up and stopped working. It displayed no data for his mental strength, will to survive, or Inspiration—or even his combat skills. It simply assigned them all to the [Out of Spec] category.
9527 said goodbye to the two passengers at the Old Lingweng Church. She needed to go to the employee area for a physical examination, and the process was much more complicated. She probably wouldn't be back anytime soon.
Before Seventh Brother left, Jiang Xueming pulled out his notebook and wrote down a list of things for him to prepare.
"A thermal undershirt to wear close to the skin. Nothing flashy. Hiking boots that resist cuts and punctures. I wear a size 42. Leather pants with a tool pouch on the hip. One size fits all."
"A set of laboratory measuring instruments, and five short, ten-milliliter cylindrical, threaded needle syringes that are easy to carry."
"That's everything. Seventh Brother, bring them over for me later."
After writing it down, Jiang Xueming tore off the note and handed it to Xiao Qi.
Once that was done, the two newcomers back at the station, Xue Ming and Liuxing, still had three more procedures to complete according to station regulations.
Following the lobby manager's directions, they arrived at another glittering courtyard.
Xue Ming and Liuxing had to collect their safety insurance for official passengers here.
The name was written above the courtyard's entrance.
[Path of Glory]
In front of the courtyard's entrance stood many passengers with peculiar expressions, brimming with excitement.
They were like vendors lying in wait to make a sale. The moment they saw Xue Ming and Liuxing, they treated them like new customers and tried to come over and say something.
The lobby manager coldly scolded them away. "Wait until these two newcomers have received their stones before you come trying to recruit them!"
Bu Liuxing felt his stomach churning. He fought down his carsickness as the passengers on either side of the entrance stared at him, making his skin crawl.
Curious, Jiang Xueming asked, "What stones?"
"You don't know? Didn't you ask any other passengers about it?" The lobby manager seemed like a dependable middle-aged man, and he put on a more professional expression. "It's written in the passenger handbook—"
"New passengers who successfully complete their first journey, if all their physical readings are normal, after taking care of their personal affairs in the mundane world—" Jiang Xueming knew the procedure, so he finished for him. "—if they decide to leave behind the comfortable mundane world and return to the station to continue traveling, the station is obligated to provide them with three additional forms of safety insurance. The passenger guide stops there. Is the stone you mentioned one of those forms of safety insurance?"
The manager scratched his head. "I thought the other old passengers on the train would have talked to you about this."
Jiang Xueming said, "I scared them all off."
"Huh?" The manager hadn't quite caught on. He led the two returning newcomers into the Path of Glory, explaining as they walked. "You'll receive a very important life-saving talisman from Lingweng. In the underground world, stones are extremely important. Jewelry made from them will let you travel farther and meet more friends. Take good care of it."
Jiang Xueming followed up, "Are you talking about luminous stones?"
The lobby manager nodded. "That's right."
At that moment, Bu Liuxing couldn't hold it any longer. The sour-and-spicy beef soup in his stomach had risen to his throat. He anxiously whimpered and asked the lobby manager to take him to the restroom.
The manager courteously helped A Xing toward the washroom, then looked back and reminded Jiang Xueming, "Mr. Jiang, you can go ahead to the courtyard in the middle of the Path of Glory and meet Lingweng. The stone-bestowing ceremony may take quite a while, so don't worry. The whole process is private. One more thing: it's not really a big deal, but the rules say that if you receive a luminous stone, don't show it off right away. Different kinds of luminous stones are like braille cards; they count as personal information."
"Understood." Jiang Xueming still wanted to ask a few more questions.
The manager's smile held a hint of mystery, like a kind and friendly blessing. "I hope everything goes smoothly for you. I'll be off."
With that, the manager hurried away with Bu Liuxing.
The courtyard was filled with ornamental stones in all kinds of strange shapes and colors, each giving off a faint glow.
A cobblestone path stretched ahead, leading to a stone monument in the courtyard.
As Jiang Xueming walked, he carefully considered everything he had seen and heard along the way.
In the passenger travel log, luminous stones were a source of energy.
According to the lobby manager, they were also a form of safety procedure, apparently meant to protect new passengers.
Pure newcomers on their first trip could only be considered pilgrims visiting a temple to make a wish, hoping to obtain a Universal Elixir and more tickets.
Once their wishes came true, the BOSS wouldn't force them to stay at the station. But after that equal exchange was over, there was even less in the way of reliable after-sales service. The attendants would leave them and look for new passengers.
In the end, a few armed employees would be left behind to protect the newcomers. After a few months or perhaps a few years, these absolute novices would have to face the threat of the Armadillo Hunters alone.
Luminous stones were a precious resource in the underground world. The station only gave them to returning passengers willing to come back and continue their adventures.
Growing more and more curious, Jiang Xueming walked over to the monument.
Among the six stone archways stood a finely carved statue depicting an elderly man dressed in luxurious robes.
At the statue's feet lay a countless assortment of gold, silver, bronze, iron, jewelry, and jade ornaments. Each old piece had its own chips and scars.
Among the battered ornaments were bracelets, rings, pendants, and earrings, as well as arm guards, wrist cuffs, shackles, handcuffs, nose rings, thumb rings, thimbles, and collars.
The ornaments bore all sorts of damage: scorch marks from smoke and flames, cracks from the cold, dents from savage blows, and terrifying wounds from blades and axes.
Jiang Xueming wasn't entirely sure—
A few pieces looked freshly unearthed. Among the Iraqi-quality scrap metal, their surfaces gleamed with a metallic sheen, and some seemed to still have blood that hadn't been wiped clean.
As he approached the pile of ornaments, his body began to tremble involuntarily. His long-dormant Inspiration once again manifested as real nerve pain, warning him to put aside his thoughts of disrespect and stay away from the strange gold and silver.
Just as he began to think better of it—
A warm breeze swept through the courtyard.
The breeze gathered into a visible vortex, like thick fog condensing into human form. It transformed into an old man with a long beard and white eyebrows, dressed in a cloth robe—the very same as the statue on the monument.
The starlight from the plaza's domed ceiling shone directly through the courtyard arches, while beams of colored light from the strange stones pierced the old man's body.
In the blink of an eye, the gold ornaments on the ground began to bounce. As if pulled by some unseen force, they gathered around the old man's phantom body.
After a clatter of noise, the gold and silver jewelry coalesced into a roughly human shape.
Two pitch-black stones became the old man's eyes. Gold ornaments of all kinds formed his features and limbs, extending into an arm that grabbed Jiang Xueming's arm tightly and pulled him close, face-to-face.
At such close range—
Jiang Xueming could finally see what Lingweng looked like.
The old man's pitch-black eyes gave off a deep, ghostly blue light, reminding Jiang Xueming of the giant beast eye in the Polarized Sextant, formed from all kinds of surveying instruments.
Once again, it was as if some higher being were observing him. His Inspiration seemed to have received a summons, becoming quiet and docile.
A booming voice rang out, like wind blowing through an iron urn and silver jug.
"Don't move around. Let me get a good look at your quality, little guy!"
Jiang Xueming's words tangled up. He didn't know what to say. "A-are you Lingweng?"
"Who else would I be? You newcomers ask more ridiculous questions every time." Old Lingweng prattled on as if Jiang Xueming had struck a nerve. "Do you go to the toilet to eat? If you're here for the stone-bestowing ceremony, who else would you expect to see?"
"I just—I'd only ever seen your name in the passenger guide. I'd never seen what you really looked like," Jiang Xueming explained. "The mental examination room is called the Old Lingweng Church. You built it, didn't you?"
"That used to be my religious affairs office. As for whether I built it—why don't you suggest to that big black cat that they rename it Public Toilet? Then they could build a cafeteria, too." The gold on Old Lingweng's face twisted, conveying disgust. He still had a tight grip on Jiang Xueming's hand. "Then, during your mental examinations, you could go to the toilet and grab a meal?"
"Does the Council of Five Kings' name have anything to do with you?" Jiang Xueming wanted to ask more. He was very interested in the station's history.
"I'm no king." Old Lingweng lowered his head and stared wide-eyed at Jiang Xueming's arm. "I'm just a ghost from the living world, left behind at this station. A jeweler who makes things for you to carry and talismans to save your lives."
Jiang Xueming pondered—
This extraordinary spirit seemed to have accompanied the station through countless days and nights, forging jewelry for passengers to wear as life-saving talismans.
Then what exactly was the BOSS?
Why was this little black cat the owner of the station?
"What do you know about the BOSS?" Jiang Xueming had only just started—
Old Lingweng let go of him, freeing Xue Ming, then turned back and crouched in front of the battered gold and silver, rummaging through them.
Old Lingweng answered casually.
"Are you interested in that black cat?"
"I'm just curious."
"Then all I can say is, I'm curious, too."
"Sir, you don't know where the BOSS came from either?"
"Back when I had a human form and a few sexy babes around me, wearing grass skirts and playing in the mud, joining me for food, drink, and fun, the BOSS was already using rolling stones and logs to make tools and explore the underground world."
"How long ago was that?"
"So long ago I can't even remember the year. When I was old and gray, about to ascend, I thought it had died a long, long time ago." At this, Old Lingweng sighed. "If only it had really died. Then I wouldn't be stuck in this iron prison, making jewelry for you."
Jiang Xueming thanked him politely. "Sorry for the trouble. Thanks for all your effort, and thank you."
"The color of you little guy is strange. Very strange. What kind of jewelry should I make for you? What stone should I put in it?" Old Lingweng ignored Jiang Xueming and kept searching through the scrap. "Oh! Take this!"
A square stone suddenly flew toward him.
Jiang Xueming caught it easily—
He saw that it was a Rubik's Cube.
A six-sided, six-color Rubik's Cube, with three squares on each side.
"I can't make out your quality. You're like a hard, ancient fossil." Old Lingweng frowned as if faced with a difficult problem. He blew out his beard and glared, then continued, "I don't have any professional tools on hand, no stone-cutting knife. I'll have to use this thing to figure out your colors. Listen carefully, and do as I say."
Jiang Xueming held the Rubik's Cube. "All right."
Old Lingweng's body of gold and iron twisted into a ball, as if he were sitting cross-legged, looking completely relaxed.
"Close your eyes. Think of the thing that made you angriest in your life, and let all your brave fury burst out."
"The thing that made me angriest?" Jiang Xueming closed his eyes and thought carefully. More than ten seconds passed, and he was still trying to summon the feeling.
"All right! That's enough. You're not cut out for it!" Old Lingweng explained. "Stubborn Fire Stone doesn't like you at all, and Rose Stone can barely tolerate you. They're disgusted with you. Getting angry is as hard as climbing to heaven for you. No good, no good!"
Jiang Xueming was a little disappointed. It seemed some kinds of luminous stones had already given up on him.
The red side of the Rubik's Cube was still glowing faintly, as if responding to his emotions.
"Put your brain to work. Time to think, little guy." Lingweng continued to prompt him. "Think about the cleverest, darkest, and cruelest moments of your life, when you racked your brain to come up with a brilliant bad idea, when you and your friends played pranks and practical jokes!"
Jiang Xueming thought back—
The blue sections of the Rubik's Cube began to glow.
Another ten or so seconds passed.
"No, no, no! This won't do at all! Silicate Stone and Iron Stone don't want to talk to you either, and Lapis Lazuli has practically shut itself in. These little darlings think you're so boring!" Old Lingweng listened closely to the stones' replies. "Try again. Change your mood. Think about the happiest, most joyful moment of your life, something uplifting and full of energy. Let's see if the golden and orange stones take an interest in you."
Jiang Xueming did as he was told—
But it still didn't work.
"Could you be an empty person?" Old Lingweng stared at the six-colored Rubik's Cube, incredulous. "Think carefully. Now think about the most desperate and terrifying moment of your life."
The Rubik's Cube in Jiang Xueming's hands responded.
The pitch-black side lit up with a tiny glimmer of starlight, then immediately went dark again.
"Hmm." Old Lingweng fell into thought. "There's only one method left. You choose them."
Jiang Xueming asked, "What should I do?"
Old Lingweng pointed at the Rubik's Cube. "Turn it and communicate with it directly. It might not listen to you, and it'll become stiff and hard to turn—but you can use any method you like. You can curse it, sweet-talk it, coax it like a girl, flirt with it and appeal to its feelings, or just solve the problem with brute force. Whichever side faces you in the end will show the color of your heart."
Jiang Xueming felt nervous. He remembered that stones were very important to passengers.
The stones Old Lingweng spoke of were life-saving talismans for passengers.
At that moment, he put every distracting thought aside.
He steadied his emotions, and his eyes grew cold again.
Gripping the Rubik's Cube in both hands, he began to turn it.
A soft click sounded.
Something incredible happened.
The Rubik's Cube in his hands suddenly burst apart, splitting into twenty-seven smaller stone cubes.
The pieces scattered. Each little cube was like a house with a sprite inside, floating in midair, shifting quickly and erratically, mixing and reassembling before separating again, forming different colors in endlessly changing combinations.
Jiang Xueming stared at the scene, baffled, and asked Old Lingweng, "Sir, what's happening? Did the stone respond to me?"
"Hmm, you could say it did." Old Lingweng wore a peculiar expression. "It's just that your situation is a little different, little guy."
Jiang Xueming asked, "What do you mean?"
"There have been passengers like you before. The stones really didn't like them. They were all eccentric." Old Lingweng mimed turning the cube, looking exaggeratedly strained. "They had to slowly twist the Rubik's Cube, one turn at a time, struggling the whole way until it couldn't turn anymore. The stones could only reluctantly send out a few unlucky ones to humor them."
"What's happening now, then?" Jiang Xueming asked, watching the fragments dance and leap in the air.
"The good news is they haven't rejected you." Old Lingweng reached out and murmured soothingly, as if comforting frightened children. "The bad news is they're scared. All right, all right, don't cry, my darlings."
Jiang Xueming was at a loss. "Can I still get my stone? The thing you said I could wear to protect myself? You were going to make me a piece of jewelry. How am I supposed to travel without one?"
"Don't worry, little guy."
Old Lingweng reached out and plucked the most stable core from among the twenty-seven cubes. The other fragments circled around this transparent, colorless stone.
"Very few people can see this stone. There have been reckless, arrogant fools who cracked the Rubik's Cube open right away, and hot-tempered women whose babies wouldn't obey them, so they smashed the cube and got this transparent corundum."
Old Lingweng clapped his hands.
Another click sounded—
--The six-colored Rubik's Cube returned to its place.
Old Lingweng tossed it back into the pile of jewelry, then rummaged through the body made of gold and iron and took out two battered old objects: a pair of rings, each set with a colorless, transparent corundum. One was cracked, while the other was covered in scars.
"Whose were these originally? I can't quite remember anymore. I believe they belonged to a famous warrior and his ever-faithful attendant. These were their matching rings."
Old Lingweng cupped the rings in his hands and breathed out a blazing fire. White flames thousands of degrees hot turned the rings gold. They kept changing shape and size, as if being reforged under the blows of a dozen invisible hammers.
Murmuring, Old Lingweng began the ceremony of bestowing the stones.
"Gold is bestowed upon the concubines!"
Under the moonlight, it was as if the gathered essence of the moon converged upon the matching rings. The cooled rings gleamed with a chilly silver sheen.
"Silver is bestowed upon the jesters!"
Once more, Old Lingweng's fingers changed shape, becoming sharp and artful chisels, awls, and pincers. He removed the two battered corundums.
The radiance of the stone clusters converged into a rose-bronze hue. Where it gathered, the corundum that had been covered in scars became smooth and pristine once more.
"Copper is a cheap trick to fool merchants!"
While the rings were still warm—
—Old Lingweng set the two stones back into them.
He recited the final line of the ceremony's prayer.
"Only steel, cold, unfeeling steel, is the king of metals."
Everything fell silent.
Old Lingweng held the pair of thick, heavy rings in both hands.
"Little one, these are your means of protection, your talismans against death."
Xue Ming bent forward and accepted the rings with respect.
The ceremony of bestowing the stones complete—
—Old Lingweng's body collapsed with a clatter, revealing the soul within.
"One thousand seven hundred and seventy-seven grenns of steel: that is your cold, unyielding soul.
Three hundred and twenty-nine grenns of silver: that is your noble, unstained spirit.
One hundred and seventy-seven grenns of transparent corundum: that is your will, clear as water.
Three hundred and seventeen grenns of earth, fired into pure carbon: that is the spirit and flesh you must ultimately return to the land."
Old Lingweng's body broke apart, as if his soul had drifted back to where it had come from.
"Two thousand six hundred grenns of weight in all, and one hundred and sixty-eight grams of fate. As rings, don't complain that they're heavy—for it takes two people to bear them for a lifetime. Give one of the matching rings to your attendant, and use these two stones together."
Beneath the monument's statue, only Jiang Xueming's solitary figure remained.
The battered jewelry had been moved aside by Lingweng's manifestation, leaving an empty space that revealed the monument's inscription, a message for all passengers.
[I am the emissary of iron and flame, the artisan who shares your joys and hardships. May you become new legends.]
[—φαιστο]
Before you continue