Immortals Set in Their Ways

"Which Immortal Friend has graced us with a visit? Forgive Ban Shu for not coming out to greet you!" As the voice faded, a middle-aged man with a bushy Beard appeared before Shen Bing.

He had none of an immortal's ethereal bearing. He looked more like a workman hired to do odd jobs.

Weathered eyes, a face full of Beard, broad, rough hands...

This was Craftsman God Lu Ban. No doubt about it.

"I am the Mist-Ethereal Adept. A pleasure to meet you, Immortal Friend Ban Shu. I heard you've been troubled by a decree from the Jade Emperor, so I came to help you solve it."

"Oh?" The weathered man's face lit up. "Reverend, your timing couldn't be better! Tell me, how can I make an Immortal Carriage that moves on its own?"

"Uh..." Shen Bing remembered the Mechanism Beasts he had just seen, and most of his confidence vanished.

This man could build such enormous things. How could he be unable to build a self-moving Immortal Carriage? Or was there some obstacle Shen Bing hadn't thought of?

That could be a problem.

"Why don't you tell me what's giving you trouble first?"

Lu Ban suspected nothing. Looking miserable, he said, "Look at the Divine Puppets, Mechanism Beasts, and Mechanism Birds I've made. They can cover a thousand miles in an instant, and ordinary Heavenly Soldiers and Generals are no match for them. Making an Immortal Carriage pulled by Mechanism Beasts would be simple. I could even have it ride the clouds. But the Jade Emperor's requirement is strange: he says I can't use Mechanism Beasts to pull it. How is that possible? How could a carriage body and a few wheels move on their own? An Immortal Teleportation Array could move it directly, but that's nothing like moving along at a leisurely pace! There's no solution. None."

Shen Bing felt his forehead twitch. That's the problem?

A carriage can't move unless something pulls it? What kind of logic is that? Has he never seen a bicycle, a motorcycle, or a car?

Uh... this Craftsman God probably hasn't.

Shen Bing finally understood the problem. Lu Ban's thinking was rigid. Trapped by the old idea of horse-drawn carriages, he assumed a carriage had to be pulled.

Now that he knew the cause, Shen Bing could start talking him around.

Talking an immortal around was rather satisfying. When he had done it to the Plague God, he hadn't known the man was a real immortal, so he hadn't fully appreciated the feeling. Now he had another chance.

"Immortal Friend Ban Shu, you're mistaken. You say an Immortal Carriage moves because Mechanism Beasts, Immortal Beasts, or Immortal Birds pull it from the front. But what actually makes it move is the wheels turning. Think about it. If you could make the wheels turn on their own, wouldn't the carriage move on its own?"

"With no Immortal Beasts pulling it, how would the wheels turn?"

"How do the Mechanism Beasts you make move?"

"Mechanism Beasts imitate how Immortal Beasts move. Immortal Stones provide power, and Immortal Arrays form the pathways that control their limbs." Lu Ban explained it all with ease.

"Exactly," Shen Bing said. "Think of it as attaching a Mechanism Beast to the wheels and having it turn them. You don't need to make all its limbs. You only need one arm to deliver power and turn the wheels."

Put simply, he meant putting an engine inside.

As for how to build an engine in the Immortal Realm, that was Lu Ban's problem. Shen Bing didn't even know what Immortal Stones or Immortal Arrays were, so there was no way he could offer advice.

"But without Immortal Beasts in front, a carriage with only two wheels wouldn't be stable, would it?"

Shen Bing was speechless. Just how rigid is this man's thinking?

"Are you an idiot? Use four wheels!"

The moment he said it, Shen Bing regretted it. He had just insulted a god! If Lu Ban got angry, wouldn't he kill Shen Bing and send him back again?

He looked closely at Lu Ban's face. Far from angry, Lu Ban had fallen into thought. Then his eyes widened, and he exclaimed in delight, "Adept, your wisdom truly knows no bounds! To think you could devise such a brilliant design. I'm hardly worthy of the Craftsman God Position. It would suit you better."

He isn't planning to offer me the Craftsman God Position as a reward, is he?

Who wants your Craftsman God Position? It doesn't look like it carries much standing in the Immortal Realm.

Shen Bing refused to take the bait. "You jest, Immortal Friend Ban Shu. I'm just a wanderer. I'm not suited to the Craftsman God Position."

Come on, the problem's solved. Give me something for it! Do I have to ask for it myself?

Wouldn't that ruin my image as an immortal free of worldly desires?

Lu Ban, however, seemed to have no such thought. He said respectfully, "How foolish of me. With your abilities, Adept, the Craftsman God Position would indeed be beneath you. I'll make the Immortal Carriage according to your guidance. I hope you'll stay on the island for a while, so I can learn more from your teachings."

Stay, my ass. I'm here to complete a mission! What am I supposed to do stuck here?

But Shen Bing didn't dare say he was leaving. More importantly, he still hadn't received a system notification that the mission was complete.

What a rip-off!

Don't tell me the mission won't be complete until Lu Ban finishes the Immortal Carriage. That would be a nightmare.

And if this turns into some nonsense where one day in the Immortal Realm equals a year in the human world, I'm really screwed.

He would have to wait. Shen Bing had no other choice. Even if he wanted to leave, he didn't have a Teleportation Talisman.

After Shen Bing agreed, Lu Ban said excitedly, "Feel free to look around the island, Adept. I've already instructed the Divine Puppets and Mechanism Beasts here. They won't attack you."

With that, Lu Ban vanished on the spot.

An immortal's speed was something else.

Shen Bing stared at the place where Lu Ban had disappeared, then found himself bored.

What was there to look at on this island? A quick change of viewpoint would let him see the whole thing.

Then he remembered something he had never had a chance to test. Now was his chance.

He quit the game... and entered it again.

He was still on that damned Craftsman God Island. Relieved, Shen Bing moved on.

He guided his character to the edge of the island. It wasn't a Floating Island but one surrounded by a vast sea, with thick immortal mist drifting above it. The water in that sea must be Immortal Water, right?

Unfortunately, Shen Bing had no way to put it in his Storage Space. Otherwise, bringing some back to the real world would be incredible.

Shen Bing set his phone aside, leaving his character standing by the sea in a daze. Then he turned on his computer and started looking things up.

A day passed in a flash. Shen Bing charged his phone several times but kept the Gate to the Immortal Realm open the whole time, afraid Lu Ban might appear while he wasn't looking.

Yet after an entire day, he hadn't caught so much as a glimpse of Lu Ban.

The next morning, a phone call woke Shen Bing. He squinted at the time. It was nearly ten. He had stayed up too late the night before, checking the screen every so often because he was afraid he would miss Lu Ban giving him his mission reward.

The call was from Wei Changjia. Shen Bing answered.

"Boss, I've figured out a way!" Wei Changjia's voice boomed so loudly that Shen Bing pulled the phone away from his ear.

"A way to do what?" Still groggy, Shen Bing didn't understand at first.

"The Glass Curtain Wall! The exterior wall project for the Nancy Building." Wei Changjia sounded a little breathless.

Shen Bing sat bolt upright. "What's your plan?"

"I found out they need to build a public toilet on the street corner outside the Nancy Group headquarters," Wei Changjia said.