Annan generously returned the Spinning Machine to Aip.
After all, it was only a Spinning Machine that spun yarn by itself and still needed a translator to communicate. Converting another Spinning Machine to run on magic wouldn't cost much.
Luoxi looked utterly dejected as he followed Annan out of the Mansion.
"What's wrong?" Annan asked him.
"There's no Machine Spirit... Shouldn't we clear things up with the soldiers?"
"Why would we?" Annan asked.
"Because it isn't a Machine Spirit..."
"Who says it isn't?" Annan corrected him. "It looks like a Machine Spirit, does what a Machine Spirit does, and moves like a Machine Spirit. That makes it a Machine Spirit!"
A Machine Spirit was, by definition, the soul of an inanimate object. How did the Spinning Machine Soul not qualify?
And its having once been human didn't matter. A warrior's soul would be even better. Maybe it could put an end to this unhealthy habit of treating guns like wives.
"You're right!" Luoxi perked up again.
Annan accompanied Luoxi to the Camp. As soon as they reached the open ground, he saw a crowd of off-duty Cavalry sitting around with Magic Muskets in their arms.
"When I see you, I'm like a seagull seeing the sea..." One Cavalryman was pouring his heart out to his Magic Musket.
"I had some soup for breakfast, then went on duty. Two drunks got into a fight at the Tavern, and they kept throwing up on each other until I threw up too..." Another was confiding in his gun.
"Great god of Magic Muskets, please grant me your blessing..." Some were praying devoutly.
One Cavalryman was cleaning his musket with spit and his sleeve. Another was giving his Magic Musket a pep talk.
Annan was stunned. Had he walked into some sinister cult gathering!?