Chapter 100 Viewing the Wind Hall
Aiden nervously lay down in the VR pod and put on the helmet.
He hadn't expected the VR experience in Qinghe Ancient Town to be like this; it was completely different from The Void, which he had experienced before. In the latter, he could move around, but now he was just lying down.
If that's the case, how will he experience it? How will he explore it?
Aiden felt somewhat confused.
But after experiencing the Nine Dragons Corridor, Aiden no longer thought that the VR experience in Qinghe Ancient Town was just a third-rate "rural scenic spot" experience... They seem really impressive.
Aiden even had a bad feeling that the "rural tourist attraction" meme would become a black mark on his otherwise brilliant and valiant past...
A prompt sounded from the helmet, asking him to select the segment he wanted to experience.
Aiden's Chinese is fine, but he hasn't studied much Chinese history. He recognizes characters like "Li Bing," "Huang Daopo," and "Yuwen Kai," but he can't identify these people at a glance. So, he has to choose blindly.
Yuwen Kai sounds like a nice name, like a name from a game, so let's go with him.
Yuwen Kai has three options: A. Luoyang, the capital city; B. Guanfeng Palace; C. The death of his elder brother.
Aiden thought the third option would be quite exciting, perhaps even a life-or-death adventure, so he chose C. A red X appeared before his eyes, and a notification sounded:
"Due to the presence of some bloody and violent scenes, this section is not open to minors under the age of 18."
Aiden sighed. "Okay, okay." Having returned from abroad, he was quite familiar with the rating system.
Let's choose "Guanfeng Xingdian" then!
After clicking the button, Aiden felt a thud, as if he had suddenly fallen off a chair to the ground. His face felt prickly, and his nose smelled of grass mixed with a slightly unpleasant odor.
This feeling is somewhat like being on a meadow in the Swiss Alps...
"Ah, yes, it smells like cow and horse manure!" He opened his eyes excitedly, and then exclaimed "Wow—!" feeling utterly shocked.
He actually appeared on the grassland!
"Mom!" Aiden almost called out to his mother.
Wasn't he still lying there? How did he suddenly appear on the grassland? Was this magic?
In just a few seconds, he understood why Li Mingxuan had been so excited about Qinghe Ancient Town's VR experience being the best!
Okay, he's admitted it now.
Aiden felt somewhat ashamed of his previous attitude, but he didn't have time to think about it now; a vast grassland awaited him to explore.
Unlike in The Viod, where he had to wear a vest and move around on his own, here he felt like an invisible ghost, suspended beneath the vast sky of the grasslands beyond the Great Wall. A strong wind, carrying the scents of grass, earth, and distant herds, realistically brushed against his "body," even causing him to squint.
He looked down, his feet on an endless green carpet that stretched to the distant horizon, meeting the clear blue sky.
This feels so cool!
Aiden tried doing a somersault in the air—wow, it really worked! He spun around like a little top several times, giggling with excitement.
But it's not just grasslands.
Soon, the sounds of horses neighing, people's voices, and the clanging of armor reached his ears. Aiden looked down and saw that he was in the middle of a long procession, with no beginning or end in sight, only banners unfurled in the air.
Looking ahead, there was a dense array of cavalry, both men and horses clad in armor that reflected a blinding, cold light in the sunlight. The lances in their hands were over ten feet long, their tips pointing diagonally towards the sky, forming a chilling forest of metallic thorns.
Aiden was startled by the sharpness reflected from the weapon. For a moment, he even thought the cavalryman looking up saw him, which made him take several steps back. Fortunately, he quickly realized that this was just a VR video.
"Is this Game of Thrones? Or Lord of the Rings?" Aiden, who knew nothing about Chinese history, could only excitedly and haphazardly try to make connections with the movies he had seen.
But what movie can compare to the realism and the sense of urgency of personal experience?
Further behind were light cavalry and infantry, guarding a massive, slowly moving machine. When Aiden saw it, his mouth gaped open; he could hardly believe what he was seeing.
It is incredibly magnificent, like a wooden mountain that was uprooted from the earth by the hand of a god.
Huge, intricately crafted wooden wheels creaked and groaned as they rolled over the grass. The eaves and brackets, the carved beams and painted rafters, gleamed with a tung oil-soaked sheen under the bright, glaring sunlight of the frontier. Most astonishingly, a massive crimson banner embroidered with golden dragons fluttered atop the palace, its fluttering light a testament to supreme imperial power.
Countless artisans and soldiers dressed in uniform grey tunics swarmed around the base of the palace and around its wheels like ants, chanting in unison and with great power, propelling this incredible miracle forward.
What's this?
Is it a palace that can be walked on?
It was "Guanfeng Xingdian"! He recalled the title he had chosen.
He thought it was a bit like a motorhome, but in terms of both size and appearance, it was much more impressive than a motorhome!
At that moment, Aiden's perspective was pulled towards the palace by an invisible force, and he was being pulled down from the sky at an extremely fast speed. The wind howled in his ears, and the scenery on the ground magnified rapidly, startling him into screaming "Ahhhhh—!" but then he felt incredibly excited!
Once he regained his balance, he easily spotted a middle-aged man galloping on horseback and realized that this must be the person he was following from the main perspective—Yuwen Kai!
After getting used to the speed, Aiden playfully followed Yuwen Kai's horse, then relaxed his whole body, letting himself be carried in the air like a kite, feeling the lightning speed.
"WOW—!"
"That's so cool!"
Aiden screamed with excitement; he was completely subdued. He planned to apologize to Li Mingxuan once they were outside. This immersive, free-roaming sensory experience was incomparable to The Void's experience of moving around in a confined space while wearing a bulky vest!
Yuwen Kai spurred his horse to the base of the massive palace, dismounted swiftly, and found a group of artisans dressed in grey tunics, their faces smeared with oil and sweat, already kneeling on the ground in fear, not daring to raise their heads. The atmosphere was as oppressive as the calm before a storm.
"What's going on?!" Yuwen Kai's voice wasn't loud, but it carried an icy chill, instantly drowning out the heavy creaking of the axles and the suppressed breathing of the craftsmen.
Aiden didn't dare to scream anymore, even though he knew these people couldn't actually hear him.
An old craftsman who looked like a foreman crawled two steps on his knees, raised his head, and his face was full of fear and despair: "Reporting...reporting to Lord Yuwen! It's...it's the massive load-bearing timber of the left rear main axle! A crack has been found in the mortise...and it's spreading! I'm afraid it won't last much longer!"
His voice was trembling.
Yuwen Kai flicked his sleeve: "Take me to see it immediately!"
Aiden followed them and floated to the problematic giant log, curiously peering closer. Sure enough, at a complex mortise and tenon joint, a thin but menacing crack, like an ugly centipede, was quietly extending along the wood grain.
He could almost hear the guttural, teeth-grinding groans of the wood fibers under immense pressure. He reached out to poke the crack, of course, to no avail, but the sight made him tense as well.
"Wow, it's really going to break! Uncle, fix it quickly!"
Yuwen Kai's face instantly turned ashen.
The Turkic Khan Qimin is about to come to pay homage to Your Majesty. If Your Majesty loses face in front of the Turks at this time, they will all die!
He rushed to the problematic giant log, completely ignoring the dirt on the ground, knelt on one knee, and used his long, strong fingers like the most precise probes to quickly press and tap on the mortise and tenon structure around the crack, listening intently for feedback.
His gaze was sharp as a knife, sweeping over every detail.
"When was it discovered? Why wasn't it reported sooner?!" Yuwen Kai's voice was as cold as ice.
"Yes...it was during the shift change inspection just now, the younger ones wanted to try reinforcing it first..." The foreman's voice was choked with sobs.
Everyone knows that something absolutely cannot go wrong at this critical juncture.
"Damn it!" Yuwen Kai suddenly looked up, his eyes blazing with fury. "This is the main load-bearing axle! If it breaks, the axle will overturn, the palace will tilt, and the consequences will be unimaginable! The Emperor's carriage is inside the palace! Moreover, the Turks are coming soon!"
He took a deep breath, suppressing his anger; getting angry now wouldn't help. He quickly pulled a small stick from his pocket.
Aiden looked at the small wooden sticks curiously: "What are these?"
He watched as Yuwen Kai rapidly performed calculations on the oil-stained ground, muttering to himself. Aiden leaned over to listen and was pleasantly surprised to find that he was doing math.
He squatted down as well, watching the small wooden sticks being arranged and combined so quickly, finding it all very novel.
"So that's how arithmetic was done in ancient times. Uncle, are you playing a math game? I know a little bit of this too." He couldn't help but doodle on the virtual counting rods with his finger, which of course had no effect.
Time seems to be flying by.
In the distance, the dust rising on the horizon, representing the vanguard of the Turkic cavalry, could already be faintly seen; Qimin Khan's army was slowly approaching.
"There's no time to replace the giant log!" Yuwen Kai abruptly put away his abacus, his eyes resolute. "Get a jack! Use it to brace the axle and reduce the pressure on the log! Quickly fetch the iron ore and the dragon tendon rope! Also, tung oil and hemp fiber!"
At the command, the craftsmen sprang into action like wound-up springs. The heavy jack was quickly pushed under the axle, creaking and groaning as it lifted, temporarily relieving some of the pressure. Several burly craftsmen rushed over, carrying heavy iron wedges and thick ropes.
Yuwen Kai personally directed the operation, pointing to a crucial stress point above the crack in the giant tree: "Drill a shallow groove here! Quickly!"
The craftsman immediately swung his hammer and chisel.
Aiden sensed the busyness and inexplicably felt tense as well.
"Foreman Li, embed the iron core into the groove and hammer it in firmly!" Yuwen Kai's voice left no room for argument.
The old foreman gritted his teeth and precisely embedded a specially made iron wedge, larger than a fist, into the shallow groove he had just chiseled, while two craftsmen beside him swung their sledgehammers.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
With each heavy hammer blow, Aiden felt the ground tremble.
"Not enough!" Yuwen Kai's eyes blazed, and he pointed to both sides of the direction the crack was extending. "Use the 'dragon tendons,' thread them through the beams and pillars, bind them in a figure-eight pattern, and tighten them with the winch! Use all your strength!"
Aiden clenched his fists, holding his breath as he watched the craftsmen deal with the problem at hand.
Ropes as thick as a child's arm were wrapped around nearby beams and pillars by craftsmen like giant pythons, passing through specially made iron rings. Several craftsmen shouted in unison as they vigorously turned the huge winch! The ropes made a heart-pounding taut sound as they dug deep into the wood, forcibly squeezing and fixing the massive logs on both sides of the crack towards the middle!
"Tung oil! Hemp fiber!" Yuwen Kai shouted.
Immediately, someone mixed scalding tung oil with pounded hemp fibers and quickly applied it to the cracks and the key joints of the newly embedded iron wedges and binding ropes. The scalding oil seeped into the cracks and rope gaps, quickly cooled and solidified, forming a tough, sealing, and reinforcing layer.
Under Yuwen Kai's precise and ruthless command, the entire repair process was like a sophisticated war machine at work.
The craftsmen were drenched in sweat, their arm muscles bulging, giving their all with every strike and every tightening. The air was thick with the pungent smell of tung oil, the salty tang of sweat, and the sparks of metal rubbing together.
Aiden hovered anxiously, sometimes peering closer to check if the crack was widening, sometimes looking at the approaching dust and smoke in the distance, his little face full of worry: "Hurry! Hurry! The Turks are coming!"
Just as the figures of the Turkic vanguard cavalry were clearly visible, and their whistles could even be heard!
"Stop!" Yuwen Kai shouted.
All movements stopped instantly.
Yuwen Kai knelt down on one knee again, pressing his ear tightly against the giant log, holding his breath and listening intently. Time seemed to freeze. Aiden also nervously held his breath and leaned closer to listen.
I didn't hear anything.
But after a few breaths, Yuwen Kai's tense body finally relaxed. He stood up, wiped the sweat from his forehead, his fingers covered in oil and sawdust. He looked towards the direction of the billowing smoke in the distance, then at the giant tree firmly locked in place by iron wedges, ropes, and tung oil and hemp fibers, and let out a long, silent sigh.
"It's stable for now." His voice carried a hint of weariness, but more so a relieved composure. "Maintain the jack's support and keep a close watch on this area! No one is allowed to leave! Once the audience is over, replace this piece of wood completely!"
"Yes!" the craftsmen responded in unison, their voices filled with the relief of surviving a calamity and a deep respect for Yuwen Kai.
Just then, Yuwen Kai mounted his horse, and Aiden's perspective seemed to be free again; he could continue to float in the air as before.
He saw that the Guanfeng Palace, which had just undergone a life-or-death race against time to repair, was still moving slowly toward the open space in front of the golden-roofed tent, amidst the shouts of laborers. On the horizon, the main force of the Turkic cavalry, led by Qimin Khan, surged forward like a tidal wave, kicking up clouds of dust!
The crisis was forcibly suppressed at the crucial moment when the emperor's majesty was displayed before the foreign race.
Aiden looked down at Yuwen Kai's straight back, then at the giant tree bound hand and foot, and then at the Turkic army approaching menacingly in the distance. His heart pounded.
"Phew, that scared me to death." Aiden patted his non-existent chest. "Uncle, you're amazing!"
The Turkic cavalry, like a dark cloud, halted at the head of the column, displaying their power in a dense, imposing mass.
As the horns sounded, Aiden's Sui army slowly came to a halt, and all the soldiers spread out like a tide, revealing the mobile palace that was protected in the center.
Aiden sensed the heavy atmosphere in the air.
Is war about to break out? he wondered.
That's how it's portrayed in movies.
Everyone stopped, except for the Guanfeng Xingdian, which, amidst the shouts of countless craftsmen and soldiers and guarded by cavalry, continued to move slowly but unstoppably towards the open space ahead.
Aiden held his breath, watching the behemoth roll across the grassland and finally come to a steady stop a hundred paces in front of the Turkic cavalry.
Then, that familiar, rumbling sound of machinery, like the earth's sinews twisting and turning, rang out again!
Under the watchful eyes of the Sui Dynasty emperor and his ministers, Turkic nobles, and Aiden, the Guanfengxing Hall, with the assistance of countless craftsmen, began its miraculous transformation and reconstruction!
Giant trees moved, pavilions rose, and eaves unfolded... In a short time, its size doubled compared to what Aiden had seen before. A magnificent, golden, and resplendent palace, like the abode of a god, stood majestically on the once empty grassland!
Sunlight shines on the glazed tile roof and the carved beams and painted rafters, reflecting a light that is too dazzling to look at directly.
The palace gates swung open with a roar, and palace servants laid out carpets. Elite imperial guards, carrying ceremonial weapons, filed out with resounding steps, quickly forming a majestic procession on both sides of the steps, their long halberds like a forest, their armor gleaming in the sunlight.
A figure stepped out.
Is he the emperor?
Aiden looked over curiously.
Emperor Yang of Sui, Yang Guang, appeared before the Turks wearing a black robe embroidered with golden sun, moon, stars, dragons, and pheasants, and a twelve-tassel crown.
Seeing that the Turks were intimidated by his Guanfeng Palace, he stood with his hands behind his back on the high steps, looking down at the prostrate grassland royal court below.
Aiden was indeed intimidated.
Wow, this Chinese emperor's entrance was truly magnificent. Even more magnificent than in the movies he'd seen.
Qimin Khan Rangan, the mighty ruler of the grasslands, had already led a vast horde of Turkic nobles, tribal chiefs, and their elite guards, all prostrating themselves on the ground.
Ran Gan pressed his forehead tightly to the cold grass. His luxurious sable coat was covered in dust, and the jewels on his golden crown glittered in the sunlight, yet they could not conceal his deep awe and submission. To him, the Sui Dynasty, capable of creating such exquisite and magnificent works, was nothing short of a heavenly kingdom, worthy of such a grand gesture.
He shouted in heavily trembling, yet with crystal-clear Mandarin:
"May the Holy Khan of the Great Sui Dynasty be well! Your humble servant, Qimin Khan Rangan of the Eastern Turkic Khaganate, along with the leaders of all tribes and your people, respectfully welcome the Holy Khan's arrival! May the Holy Khan live as long as the heavens, and may the Great Sui Dynasty be forever secure!"
Emperor Yang of Sui laughed heartily, full of self-satisfaction: "Rise!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Aiden's vision went black.
The VR experience has ended.
The vast grasslands, the magnificent palaces, the prostrate Turks, the majestic emperors... all the breathtaking scenes vanished in an instant, leaving only the soft glow of the VR headset's inner wall and a profound silence.
“NO! Wait! Not yet!” Aiden blurted out in English without thinking.
He reached out, as if trying to grasp the vanishing magnificent sight. He hadn't seen enough of those details yet! And he had just been eager to climb up to the Guanfeng Hall to take a look, and even wanted to touch the beads hanging from the emperor's forehead.
That's going to be really fun!
A soft system notification came from inside the helmet: "Experience complete. Thank you for using Qinghe Ancient Town VR Time Travel."
"Ahhh! Too fast!" Aiden slapped off his helmet in frustration, squinting as the blinding light made him squint.
He was panting heavily, his heart still pounding in his chest, as if he had just experienced a real adventure. The scent of fresh grass from the grasslands, the faint fragrance of tung oil, the burnt smell of wood fibers breaking, and the invisible pressure from the emperor's majesty still seemed to linger at the tip of his nose.
This is so amazing! So incredible! This feeling... this feeling is like truly traveling through time and witnessing a myth firsthand!
He frantically unbuckled the VR pod's seatbelt and practically tumbled out, his face flushed with excitement, a few strands of his golden curly hair damp with sweat and clinging to his forehead. He desperately needed to find someone to share this explosive experience with.
Just as he rushed out of the experience area, the door to another VR pod next to him opened. A chubby boy, equally excited with a flushed face and eyes as bright as light bulbs, shot out like a cannonball.
It was Li Mingxuan.
The two looked at each other and were both stunned for a moment.
"Aiden, what did you choose? Is it the Wind Watch Hall?" Li Mingxuan shouted in surprise, his voice rising with excitement.
Aiden laughed: "Yes, you are too?"
The two locked eyes, confirmed their connection, and immediately huddled together excitedly. As they walked out of the venue under the guidance of the staff, they chatted enthusiastically, even forgetting their teacher's instructions, their voices booming.
However, it's okay, everyone is excited and talking loudly.
Aiden was so excited he was almost incoherent, grabbing Li Mingxuan's arm and shaking it vigorously: "That moving palace! My God! It's so magnificent, and that Yuwen Kai! He's so cool, did you see him?"
"The axle was about to break! That piece of wood had such a huge crack! Wow! He directed those people to fix it, smashing iron lumps in, the rope was so tight! And that oil! It must have been scalding hot! Ahhhhh....... And, I even grabbed the horse and rode around for a bit, it was a million times more thrilling than a roller coaster!"
Li Mingxuan was so excited he was practically dancing with joy: "Yes, yes, yes! I saw it! It scared me to death! I thought it was really going to collapse! Yuwen Kai is amazing! Those mortise and tenon joints, that wood! Such a big thing can actually move and even deform! And when the emperor came out at the end, wow! That outfit blinded me!"
"Yes, yes, yes! His entrance was so cool!" Aiden nodded vigorously, then a look of extreme frustration appeared on his face. "Ugh! I'm so angry! I was just about to get a closer look at the Khan's precious sword, which was covered in jewels, and then it was over! I was so close!"
Li Mingxuan burst into laughter at his words: "Haha, are you trying to pry open the gemstone?"
To be honest, he had thought about it too.
He even tried to touch the cavalry's weapons, but unfortunately, he couldn't.
Aiden chuckled, but as he laughed, the excitement on his face gradually subsided, and his gaze turned serious as he looked at the chubby boy who had just been arguing with him until his face turned red.
He took a deep breath, scratched his blond curly hair, and said a little embarrassedly, "Hey, Li Mingxuan..."
"Hmm?" Li Mingxuan was still excitedly savoring the transformation of the palace he had just witnessed.
“Um…” Aiden’s voice lowered, sounding a little awkward, but mostly sincere, “Before, I said that the VR technology here is from the countryside and can’t compare to The Void… I was wrong.”
He paused, then looked up into Li Mingxuan's eyes. His eyes were devoid of their previous arrogance, filled only with pure shock and a hint of apology. "I apologize. Li Mingxuan, you're right! The VR experience in Qinghe Ancient Town is the best I've ever seen, bar none!"
Just like his mother said, regardless of whether someone is the most capable or not, when someone is so excited to share their experience with him, he shouldn't immediately refute them and pour cold water on their enthusiasm. That's not friendly behavior.
Li Mingxuan was stunned. He hadn't expected Aiden, who had always been as proud as a little rooster, to apologize so readily and sincerely.
Seeing Aiden's cheeks slightly flushed with excitement and embarrassment, the little knot in his heart caused by the previous argument instantly disappeared.
He grinned, revealing two small tiger teeth, and patted Aiden's shoulder hard, almost making Aiden stumble: "Haha! You've got good taste, kid! Now you know how powerful it is, right? I told you long ago that Qinghe Ancient Town is the best in the world!"
"Number one in the world! Absolutely number one in the world!" Aiden echoed loudly without hesitation this time, a relieved and happy smile on his face.
The two continued their chatter, completely burying the hatchet.
"That palace that can change shape, my God! How did they do that?"
Did Yuwen Kai really exist in history?
A top student from the same class walked over and gave the two of them a disdainful look: "Of course we did! Have you guys even studied history properly? Yuwen Kai was a master architect of the Sui Dynasty, and that emperor was Emperor Yang of Sui!"
Aiden immediately asked, "Did the Wind Watch Hall really exist in history?"
The young girl was very meticulous. She pushed up her glasses and said, "I don't know, but we can check it on our phones."
At this moment, a kind and gentle old man beside me smiled and said, “Yes, there was indeed a Guanfeng Xingdian in history. It is said that it could carry hundreds of people. Emperor Yang of Sui liked to ride it on his northern tours and even held grand banquets on it. The Hu people thought it was a miracle, and they would kneel down and kowtow if they saw it from ten miles away. No one dared to ride a horse within its line of sight.”①
The children exclaimed and gasped in surprise.
Aiden's eyes lit up, and he asked, "Grandpa, do you know why he can shapeshift?"
"It's nothing more than some kind of ingenious mechanism," said the old man, Professor Yang. He sighed, "Unfortunately, the actual object was destroyed in the war, and even the blueprints were not left behind. Only some written records remain for future generations to imagine."
It's heartbreaking to think about.
Li Mingxuan was somewhat disappointed: "Is the VR experience fake?"
Aiden, being more rational, pointed out: "VR is fake."
Professor Yang chuckled but didn't reply. After chatting with the elementary school students for a few more minutes, he hurriedly left.
The Guanfeng Palace!
There's also a completely recreated Luoyang, the capital of China!
He was incredibly excited. He chuckled to himself, "Looks like I'll have to call my old friends again!" He just wondered if Miss Lu's boss had any actual blueprints or other documents regarding the Guanfeng Palace.
If only we had Yuwen Kai's lost works...
The teachers gathered all the students together and asked them where they would like to go next.
Most of the students who had just experienced VR raised their hands immediately: "Teacher, we want to stay here, there are still several segments we haven't seen yet."
The teacher chuckled and shook his head: "Alright, then let's queue up a few more times. Come on, everyone come here to get your Fastpass cards."
Their school has a generous budget for the spring outing, and the Fastpass card isn't linked to an individual; it's only charged per use. Just in case, they bought several cards well in advance.
The children excitedly ran off to line up again.
Aiden asked Li Mingxuan, "Which one would you like to experience next?"
Without hesitation, Li Mingxuan replied: "Luoyang, the capital!"
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