Eyes But No Pearls!

"You mean Qiu Yan only spent half a day making this... Stove Bellows?"

Chen Jing stood in the inner room, looking at the object in front of him, which consisted of a leather bag and a few hanging rods, his face full of curiosity.

Two days ago, Chen Jing accompanied Zhen Zhizuo and others to Eastern Capital Yuanning Prefecture to pick up Qiu Yan and take him to the Eastern Capital. However, upon arrival, they learned that Qiu Yan had already set off for Rong Prefecture to congratulate his friend and had left a letter for Zhen Zhizuo.

Subsequently, Zhen Zhizuo sent Zhang Yu and others to investigate, and they quickly learned of Qiu Yan's itinerary. They then followed him all the way to Star Platform Town.

Upon arriving in town, they sensed an undercurrent amidst the bustling crowd. However, being mere passersby, they had no need to delve into the matter. Instead, they inquired about Qiu Yan's whereabouts. But with just a little inquiry, they learned of Qiu Yan's previous actions, and almost everyone in the town expressed their dissatisfaction, their emotions running high.

It took Chen Jing and the others a lot of effort to finally find Liu Family Blacksmith Shop and see the Stove Bellows that everyone had been talking about.

Zhen Zhizuo and Lin Jue stood next to Chen Jing, both looking at the equipment in the room.

"That's right, Qiu Yan left this picture before he left..." Liu Xin, with a fawning smile, said as he handed over a piece of paper.

The paper is somewhat damaged, but the writing is still fairly clear.

Chen Jing took it and glanced at it. His expression immediately changed, and he clicked his tongue in amazement. "Excellent calligraphy! Excellent calligraphy! No wonder even that kid Qi Jiulian admitted he's not as good as you." After a few words of admiration, his attention was drawn to the structural diagram on it. "This falls under the category of Mechanism Arts, right? But it doesn't look complicated. Is it using a fan to heat the furnace? Senior brother, come and take a look..."

Chen Jing handed over the paper in his hand.

Zhen Zhizuo took it and examined it closely for a few moments. Finally, he couldn't help but sigh, "This method is quite ingenious. I've heard that the Manufacturing Bureau on the outskirts of Eastern Capital spent ten million taels of silver to build a blast furnace, heating it with yellow stone and frying steel with Scarlet Gall Water. Compared to this Stove Bellows, it's quite inferior..."

Lin Jue also came over to watch, nodded, and indicated his agreement.

Chen Jing laughed and said, "That's not all. The blower can also heat the equipment. Someone mentioned this method before. Before I became an apprentice, I went to the Military Preparations Institute in Prosperity Capital with my father. They did have blowers there, but they used unorthodox methods."

Zhen Zhizuo knew what Chen Jing meant and shook his head, saying, "I've also seen the blast furnace at the Prosperity Capital Military Preparations Institute. It's more sophisticated and labor-saving than Qiu Yan's method, and suitable for large-scale weapon manufacturing."

Chen Jing didn't argue, but simply said, "Senior brother, the important thing about Qiu Yan's method is that ordinary people can use it without spending much money. It also doesn't require being controlled by supernatural forces. It can heat up and cast itself. It's a clever design. I wonder how Qiu Yan came up with it?"

Liu Xin, who was serving nearby, quickly replied, "This Stove Bellows was not created by Qiu Yan; he merely received it from a deity."

Lin Jue, who had been silent all along, frowned slightly and said in a deep voice, "Divine instruction? Qiu Yan told you?"

"No, no," Liu Xin felt a chill run down his spine upon hearing the seemingly emotionless question. He quickly waved his hand and explained, "That Qiu Sheng didn't say that. He left the Stove Bellows and left very soon after. As for the divine gift, it was just something I dreamt about!"

"Since it wasn't Qiu Yan who said it, but rather something you dreamed about yourself, how can you take it as accurate?" Zhen Zhizuo also shook his head, finding it utterly absurd.

Liu Xin then said, "This dream wasn't just mine; everyone else present that day also dreamed of the same thing. If it weren't for divine intervention, how could this have happened?"

Chen Jing said, "The gods consider themselves superior and try to control Human Path in everything. How could they possibly bestow such skills? Aren't they afraid of enlightening the people? Besides, those gods are all superstitious and believe in extraordinary power, solving everything with Divine Abilities. How could they possibly know about mechanisms?"

Upon hearing this, Zhen Zhizuo said in a deep voice, "Be careful with your words, and never forget the teachings of the Sage."

"I know, we shouldn't talk about strange phenomena, supernatural powers, or spirits. Even Sage are afraid that saying too much will leave them open to criticism. After all, what we're doing is competing with the Divine Path for our livelihood. We'll just do it and not talk about it," Chen Jing chuckled.

Seeing his appearance, Zhen Zhizuo could only shake his head helplessly, and then asked Liu Xin, "Qiu Yan made Stove Bellows for you, which can help people make fire. It is a beneficial thing for the way of metallurgy. Why are the people in the town so hostile to him?"

Liu Xin said with a bitter face, "Isn't it because we offended the gods? How can we mortals contend with the gods? After Qiu Sheng left, the Fire Sovereign punished us, causing the other families' fire temperatures to rise slowly and reducing the quality of the pig iron."

Hearing this, Chen Jing laughed again, "What a fool! By doing this, isn't he forcing the townspeople to use Stove Bellows? It's Human Path that such a blockhead is leading the way in the righteous Human Fire!"

Liu Xin immediately panicked. "Young master, you can't speak carelessly. There are gods watching over us. Who would dare use this Stove Bellows now? My family just hasn't had time to dismantle it yet." Although he was uneducated, he still had a sense of awe for the gods.

"Alright, alright, don't worry. It's me who's criticizing the gods, why are you so concerned?" Chen Jing tossed out a piece of silver. "Here's the agreed-upon silver, take it."

Liu Xin quickly accepted the silver and thanked him repeatedly.

Zhen Zhizuo handed back the slightly creased piece of paper, gesturing for Liu Xin to keep it safe.

Unexpectedly, Liu Xin said, "If you gentlemen need it, please take this map. It's useless to keep it. Almost everyone in town has seen it, and the Stove Bellows isn't complicated at all. This thing has no value whatsoever."

"What did you say?" Chen Jing's eyes widened as he looked Liu Xin up and down, then burst into laughter. Pointing at Liu Xin, he said, "You grovel for a few taels of silver, yet you disdain calligraphy worth tens of taels. You don't value the meaningful Stove Bellows, but instead value the gods. You are truly blind, possessing a mountain of treasure without realizing it."

"You... what did you say?" Liu Xin, who had been feeling awkward under her gaze, widened his eyes, swallowed hard, and stared intently at the calligraphy. "Several tens of taels?"

"If it weren't for the creases, the price would be even higher," Chen Jing shook his head and pointed. "Of course, if Qiu Yan were to suddenly die now, this calligraphy would be even more valuable. In a few years, it might be worth a hundred gold pieces. So, do you want it or not? If you don't, we'll take it!"

"Give it back to me!"

Upon hearing that the calligraphy was so valuable, Liu Xin could no longer remain calm and tried to snatch it back. He still owed a lot of gambling debts, and if the calligraphy was really that valuable, wouldn't he be able to settle his debts immediately and even make a fortune?

It's better to believe it exists than to believe it doesn't!

Unexpectedly, a strong gust of wind suddenly came from the side, and Chen Jing struck out with his palm. True Qi surged in his hand, Qi and Blood and qi surged, unleashing a power that shook the entire blacksmith shop!

Boom!

This powerful palm strike landed on Liu Xin, instantly causing him to feel his heart pound with fear and sweat pour down his face. However, it did not harm him; only a gust of wind swept through his body and disappeared beneath his feet.

"Uh..." Despite this, Liu Xin was so overwhelmed by the power that he could hardly control himself.

"Chen Jing!" Zhen Zhizuo exclaimed upon seeing this. "Have you forgotten your teacher's teachings again? Don't forget to be respectful!"

"Senior brother, Human Desires the Essentials be displayed to be remembered." Chen Jing took the paper from Zhen Zhizuo's hand, waved it in front of Liu Xin, and said to the latter, "It's truly pathetic that someone like you has Qiu Yan's handwriting."

As he spoke, he handed the paper over.

Liu Xin instinctively caught it, not daring to say another word.

At this moment, Lin Jue suddenly asked, "Besides us, have you shown this calligraphy painting to other outsiders?"

Liu Xin, still shaken, instinctively replied to the question, "Yes, the village head sent someone to make a copy. Several scholars also came yesterday to make a copy."

After saying this, it took him a while to recover from the shock. When he looked again, Zhen Zhizuo and the others had already left, but Liu Xin had long since stopped caring about anything else. Looking at the calligraphy and painting in his hand, he grinned and planned to go to the prefectural city the next day to find a pawnshop to exchange it for real gold and silver.

Sudden!

Shaking!

The entire shop began to shake violently. With a series of cracking sounds, the ground split open, the walls collapsed, and dust billowed up. Liu Xin let out a strange cry, grabbed the paper in his hand, and hurriedly ran out. He stumbled and fell to the ground. He turned around with all his might and saw his own shop collapsing.

"If you don't rein in your temper, you'll be kicked out of the classroom by the teacher sooner or later."

On the way, Zhen Zhizuo earnestly warned Chen Jing, but the latter just laughed it off, seemingly not taking it to heart.

In the following days, they traveled north, the Essentials Qiu Yan. Wherever they arrived, Qiu Yan would always leave before them.

That's not enough. Along the way, in every town and village that Qiu Yan passed through, he left behind some things and events, more or less.

"This Qiu Yan is no ordinary person. As he traveled north, he left something behind in every place he passed through, and he could even help people solve cases."

Inside the carriage, Chen Jing sighed from time to time, holding several small items in his hand, all collected along the way and related to Qiu Yan.

Beside him, Lin Jue nodded, then lowered his voice and said, "However, that Kitchen God seems to be quite extraordinary, and he has some connection with Qiu Yan. Wherever Qiu Yan goes, this god appears, though the god's name is very unfamiliar. This god deliberately entered my dream and left his name, seemingly to increase his popularity, which appears to contradict the Heavenly Court's Dharma Form."

Zhen Zhizuo shook his head and took out a slip of paper from his pocket. "You've misunderstood. The matter of the Kitchen God isn't limited to this one path. Qiu Yan just happened to be there and was taken advantage of by this deity."

Chen Jing raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that, Senior Brother?"

Zhen Zhizuo unfolded the note in his hand. "This is a message sent by carrier pigeon this morning. Take a look for yourselves."

Chen Jing and Lin Jue looked as instructed, and their expressions changed immediately.

"Hmm? In the past few days, the Kitchen God has actually left traces and manifested his power in so many prefectures, cities, villages, and towns? Could it be...?"

Chen Jing and Lin Jue exchanged a glance and simultaneously uttered the same word—

"Domain Derivation?"

ps:

My train leaves at 11 PM, so I have to leave soon. I've set the timer for tomorrow's two tickets, but I won't be able to finish the Postnatal Realm's until I get there.

Since there might be no internet access, the monthly pass and reward lists cannot be compiled, and the lists of featured posts and bounties will be added after things are settled. This is just to let you know in advance.