Chapter 53: SSR character Li Bing leaves you with...
He Fang is a tour guide in Dujiangyan. She is a native of the area and knows it very well. She is also warm-hearted and articulate. After graduation, she decided to stay in her hometown and work as a tour guide, which she does quite well.
A few days ago, she received an order online from a young woman who wanted to accompany her grandfather to visit Dujiangyan.
He Fang readily agreed. She preferred these private bookings; fewer people meant she could take her time and not have to put in so much effort. When she arrived at the agreed time and place, she was quite surprised to find that the elderly man was over eighty years old, looking frail and leaning on a cane.
The old woman and the young girl are, of course, Lu Xiaoqi and Li Bing.
Lu Xiaoqi noticed her worry and quickly said, "Don't worry, although my grandfather is over eighty, climbing stairs is no problem for him. Besides, visiting Dujiangyan is his lifelong wish."
Her voice lowered.
He Fang's heart softened immediately, and she became a little more attentive to this group of guests. Anyone would feel proud and honored to hear that someone had made a lifelong wish to visit their hometown.
"Let's go to Qin Yan Tower first. There are fewer people on this road, and it's easier to go down the mountain."
Li Bing was filled with excitement as soon as he woke up that morning. After getting off the bus, he looked around, trying to find places that matched his memory. To his disappointment, apart from a few nearby hills that still looked somewhat familiar, everything else had undergone tremendous changes.
But when he finally climbed the Qin Yan Tower and took in the entire Dujiangyan Irrigation System, he was able to see what those familiar engineering projects looked like today—Baopingkou, Fenshuiyuzui, even the suspension bridge, and the surging river... They have spanned two thousand years of time, and no matter how the regimes on this land changed or how the details changed, even after experiencing several earthquakes and floods, they still maintained their original layout.
He Fang dutifully pointed out the various places below to the two: "Look, that's the Fish Mouth of the Water Dividing River, a must-see when visiting Dujiangyan. We'll just cross it via the Anlan Suspension Bridge. And that's the Treasure Bottle Mouth..."
Li Bing stroked his cane and looked leisurely at the mouth of the treasure bottle.
This was probably the place he knew best. Back then, it took 100,000 laborers eight years to excavate the Baopingkou (Bottle Mouth).
In the past, during the rainy season, the rainfall in Sichuan would increase dramatically, and the Minjiang River would wreak havoc. The floodwaters would rush out of the mountain pass, but would be blocked by the Yulei Mountain, so they could no longer flow straight forward and would be forced to flow south, resulting in the eastern part of Chengdu County becoming a waterlogged land, while the western part was a barren wasteland.
The river waters first rippled, and the people of Shu almost became fish. ①
This was the horrific scene he witnessed almost every two or three years in the first few years after he took office as the governor of Shu.
The idea of excavating the Baopingkou was a brilliant one he came up with while he, along with his advisors, retainers, and several sons, were scouting the terrain in this area.
He Fang also mentioned this: "Baopingkou is truly amazing. It's like a flow regulator on the Minjiang River, limiting the flow. The Chinese Academy of Engineering conducted a simulation experiment before, saying that if the floodwaters in the Minjiang River reach a flow rate of 10,000 cubic meters per second, then only a maximum of 800 cubic meters per second will enter through Baopingkou. That's why Chengdu is never prone to disasters."②
Looking at the seemingly ordinary mountain pass in the distance, Lu Xiaoqi asked curiously, "Then what's the principle behind it?"
Before He Fang could answer, Li Bing spoke first: "To choke the flood is like making the bottle opening of your everyday beverage narrow so that the water won't flow out in a raging torrent."
He Fang praised him, saying, "The old gentleman's description is so vivid. Moreover, both sides of the mouth of the bottle are solid rock walls, so no matter how fast the flood is, it can't do anything about it."
Lu Xiaoqi was still a little confused. She felt that her intelligence in this regard was questionable: "But the Minjiang River is not a bottle after all. Its water volume is so large that even if it is temporarily restricted, it will still flow downhill."
We can't just block it from coming out, can we? That would turn it into a landslide dam, which would be even more unsafe.
And wouldn't the flow rate be faster if the passage suddenly narrowed?
He Fang smiled and pointed to the Feisha Weir and the Fish Mouth Dividing Water in another direction: "We have to thank Prefect Li Bing for his ingenious idea. He used the Fish Mouth Dividing Water to divide the Minjiang River downstream of Baopingkou into the Inner River and the Outer River."
Lu Xiaoqi looked in the direction she pointed and indeed saw two waterways, one inside and one outside, with the water-dividing fish mouth resembling a long, narrow island lying in the river.
A smile spread across Li Bing's face; this fish-mouth-shaped water divider was indeed his masterpiece.
This fish-mouth-shaped waterway divides the Minjiang River into two channels: the Inner River and the Outer River. The Outer River is used for flood control, while the Inner River is used for irrigation. Later, the Inner River was further divided into four sections, and four canals were built: the Puyang River, the Baitiao River, the Zouma River, and the Jiang'an River. These canals intertwine to form a dense network of waterways on the plains of Chengdu County, irrigating the vast Chengdu Plain.
After the Minjiang River's floodwaters were forced to pass through the Baopingkou (Bottle-Neck Pass), they were then diverted by the Fenshuiyuzui (Fish Mouth) and introduced into different canals. After this series of ups and downs, the floodwaters had long lost their initial rage and ferocity, becoming much more docile and obediently following the paths guided by humans.
From then on, the Shu region transformed from a marshland into a land of abundance.
Lu Xiaoqi finally understood the whole setup and couldn't help but secretly give Li Bing a thumbs up: "As expected of you."
Li Bing sighed. He didn't think it was all his achievement alone: "The excavation of Yulei Mountain was far more difficult than we imagined. One hundred thousand laborers gathered here, working day and night, and only managed to carve out a tiny bit from the mountainside..."
Those laborers were soaked in the water all day long, and many of them had rotten flesh below the waist. Not to mention those who were swept away by the current, and in the end, not even their bodies could be found.
He Fang found his tone a little strange, as if he were recalling something, but she didn't think much of it and nodded, continuing his story: "Later, it's said that Li Bing came up with a method. He had people stuff firewood into the crevices of the rocks and burn it, and then poured snow water onto the mountainside..."
Lu Xiaoqi blurted out: "Thermal expansion and contraction!"
"Yes, it's based on the principle of thermal expansion and contraction," He Fang said with a smile. "Back then, it was called the 'fire-and-water-blasting' method. Once the rock cracked from the heat, it was much easier to carve. It took eight years to finally complete the project."
Li Bing's lips moved slightly after hearing this, but she ultimately did not speak.
Actually, this method was suggested by one of his experienced laborers. After testing and confirming its effectiveness, he ordered its full implementation. In fact, the Dujiangyan Irrigation System is such a massive project, bringing together countless intelligent people and craftsmen from all over the world. Everyone contributed ideas and strategies, making it difficult to say that it was solely the work of one person.
This is the wisdom and achievement of the group.
Li Bing felt deeply ashamed in the face of such praise from later generations.
He sighed inwardly, "My old friends, my old buddies, let's have a drink together after I come down."
Now, let me take you to see Dujiangyan two thousand years later!
When he came to his senses, he heard the female tour guide proudly saying, "...t...even now, the scale of the Dujiangyan irrigation area still ranks first in the country, covering an area of tens of millions of acres!"
Upon hearing this, Li Bing exclaimed in disbelief: "Tens of millions of acres?!"
His breathing quickened.
If there had been so much farmland back then, how many more people could have been fed!
He Fang nodded, a hint of pride in her voice: "There's a reason why this place is called the Land of Abundance; it's been a granary since ancient times. Of course, we really have to thank Prefect Li for building the Dujiangyan Irrigation System. Come on, let's go see the Erwang Temple now, where statues of Prefect Li and his second son are enshrined."
At the Erwang Temple, Li Bing saw his own statue for the first time, and his feelings were inevitably complicated.
The Erwang Temple contains the Li Bing Hall and the Erlang Hall. Lu Xiaoqi then learned that the legendary Erlang Shen was actually related to Li Bing. Legend has it that he slew an evil dragon at Dujiangyan and then used the dam to suppress it. Later, the Erlang Temple even surpassed the Li Bing Temple in popularity. During the Song Dynasty, Emperor Renzong personally claimed that Erlang Shen was Li Bing's second son and bestowed upon him the title of Marquis Linghui.
Li Bing's expression changed dramatically as He Fang introduced him, which was quite fascinating.
While He Fang wasn't looking, Lu Xiaoqi secretly asked him, "Prefect Li, is your son exceptionally skilled in martial arts?"
Li Bing couldn't help but laugh: "Young lady, I have three sons, all of whom have helped me manage the Minjiang River floods. Although my second son is diligent, his martial arts skills are indeed quite ordinary. I suppose this is just a far-fetched embellishment by later generations."
He looked at his son's statue, his voice softening slightly: "However, he would probably be very happy if he knew that he would be remembered in the eyes of posterity."
His sons are all good kids.
Li Bing also saw his own stone carving and looked up at it.
The stone statue is dressed in the robes bestowed upon it by the King of Qin, but such clothing is not what it usually wears; what it remembers most are coarse linen clothes stained with mud. Its features are also not similar, but as you look at it, you seem to find a few resemblances to your own youth in its frozen brows.
He looked down and saw that the base of the stone statue was covered with a dense array of names.
He Fang followed his gaze and said, "These are the names of the people who donated money back then. Before the founding of the People's Republic of China, this place underwent a major renovation, and the people in the surrounding area voluntarily donated money and goods to commemorate Prefect Li. Now we don't worship the water god here, but we worship Li Bing."
Li Bing lowered his head, opened his mouth, but seemed to be blocked by something, and did not say anything. In the end, it turned into a smile at the corner of his mouth.
What also moved him was the stone tablet standing in the very center of the Erwang Temple, inscribed with the six large characters "Deepen the riverbed, lower the weir." These were his words when he was managing the floods, originally meant to instruct the laborers to work strictly, but now they had become golden inscriptions in the temple.
“It’s not just domestically,” Lu Xiaoqi pointed to the English inscription next to her and looked at him with a smile, “Even foreign countries have to learn from this saying when it comes to flood control.”
“Of course!” He Fang raised her head. “Dujiangyan is a World Cultural Heritage site and the only remaining water conservancy project that does not use dams for water diversion.”
Li Bing chuckled wryly: "The world..."
He now knows that the world is far bigger than he imagined, and he can't help but feel a little proud that Dujiangyan has received such praise.
After leaving the Erwang Temple, they crossed the Anlan Suspension Bridge and headed towards the Fenshui Fish Mouth.
Walking on the Anlan Suspension Bridge, Lu Xiaoqi was a little worried about Li Bing, who was afraid of heights, and kept supporting him.
Li Bing, however, no longer displayed the fear of heights he had shown on the plane. Instead, he walked steadily, occasionally glancing down at the surging river below, his expression perfectly calm. He turned back, saw Lu Xiaoqi's tense expression, and smiled.
"It's alright, I've crossed this kind of bridge hundreds of times."
He always went to survey the terrain and water levels in person. He was indeed afraid at first, but there was no other way. This was the only way to go, and the mission would not be completed if he did not take it. So he could only overcome his fear and tremblingly step onto the path.
The first few times you need to hold the iron chain tightly, but later you can walk as fast as you can.
After walking around a lot, you won't be afraid anymore.
Lu Xiaoqi felt a little sad after hearing this.
So actually, I'm still afraid of heights, but I've gotten used to it out of necessity.
He suddenly remembered something and asked He Fang, "Are there any more workers who have fallen into the river while repairing the dam?"
He Fang hurriedly waved her hand and laughed: "How could that be? Nowadays, it's all mechanized operations, and even if manual labor is needed, safety ropes are required."
"That's good." A smile appeared on Li Bing's face, and she seemed a little more relaxed.
Many laborers have fallen into the river in the past. Countless people have died while building the suspension bridge.
After He Fang finished speaking, she became curious and couldn't help but ask, "Old sir, did you also work in water conservancy projects before?"
And judging from the age, it must have been a very, very long time ago.
Li Bing walked steadily forward with his cane. He squinted at the mouth of the fish that divides the water, and after a moment he nodded: "Yes, I also work in water conservancy. The conditions in the past were not as good as yours are now."
At the time, he used bamboo cages filled with stones to build the water-dividing fish mouth structure, piece by piece. In the beginning, even a slight flood would wash away part of it, so they continued building, repeating this process dozens of times until they finally built the foundation. Then, after a flood, most of it was washed away again, and all their previous efforts were wasted.
The flood washed away the bamboo cages and the laborers. Even after they were built, they needed to be reinforced every year.
The number of people who fell into the river was the highest in this area.
The material used here today is reinforced concrete, which Li Bing had seen in Qinghe Ancient Town. It can withstand the erosion of floods and will not be corroded for thousands of years.
Standing on the viewing platform at the Fish Mouth of the Dividing Water, looking at the silently standing project, he suddenly felt a sense of peace and tranquility.
We can rest assured now. These younger generations have done a much better job than we have. They have also maintained Dujiangyan very well, and generation after generation has been doing their best to protect this place.
So he turned around and said to Lu Xiaoqi, "Let's go back. We've seen enough."
He Fang was taken aback. Seeing his tired face, she thought the old man was having trouble holding on, so she also looked at Lu Xiaoqi, only to find that the girl's eyes were full of sadness.
Lu Xiaoqi sniffed: "Won't we look around a bit more? Dujiangyan is beautiful at night too, the water is so blue, it's gorgeous. Tomorrow we'll go check out the farmland near Chengdu and see how the crops are growing. We can also visit the newly built dams nearby, and oh yeah, we can go see the Three Gorges..."
Li Bing smiled and shook his head: "There are so many things to see here, I'm afraid I could never see them all in my entire life. I am already satisfied with what I have achieved today."
Lu Xiaoqi was a little downcast: "Okay then."
She could tell that Li Bing had made up his mind.
She secretly asked the system, "Is there really no other way?"
System: "Player, everything should be based on the character's own will."
It was puzzled: "Since he himself feels that his wish has been fulfilled, his obsession has been resolved, and he has no regrets in life, then why is the player still so persistent?"
Lu Xiaoqi was about to retort, "You're just an AI, how could you understand human emotions?" But the words were already on the tip of her tongue when she suddenly realized that it was actually right. Her sadness stemmed from her unwillingness to witness separation.
She breathed a sigh of relief: "...You're right, I was being too attached to appearances."
Since the guests said they didn't want to watch anymore, He Fang naturally wouldn't insist. She just felt that the old man and the child she had served today were a little strange.
On the evening of her departure from Dujiangyan, Lu Xiaoqi quickly received a system notification:
"Congratulations, player. The wish of SSR character Li Bing to visit Dujiangyan has been fulfilled. His life form will be solidified, and he will also gain the ability 'Eternal Elimination of Floods' granted by the system."
"Congratulations, player! You have achieved a new accomplishment: Future Era Wish Machine +1. You are now entitled to one chance to draw from the system's treasure box."
"Congratulations, player! You have become the first player to have your wish fulfilled and gain an SSR character with new abilities. You have obtained 1/3 of the Ancient Town Architecture Heart Fragment."
The system asked her, "Player, would you like to draw now?"
Lu Xiaoqi twitched the corner of her mouth: "Later, no rush. System, how many days does Prefect Li have left to live?"
System: "...one day."
Lu Xiaoqi leaned back and sighed, "Fine, I got it."
The next day, Li Bing appeared before her, looking refreshed: "Xiao Lu, come for a walk with me."
Lu Xiaoqi asked with concern, "Are you feeling alright?"
She observed for a moment and saw that Li Bing didn't seem to have changed much from yesterday. She wondered what Zhang Zhongjing's pulse would be like if he were to take it now.
"Don't worry, I can still climb a few steps," Li Bing said with a smile, then sighed leisurely, "Young friend Lu, I'm leaving now. Please consider this my final farewell to this old man."
Lu Xiaoqi's heart skipped a beat, but she finally agreed in a low voice.
He still went to Dujiangyan and asked Lu Xiaoqi to accompany him to climb Yulei Mountain, where he could clearly see Baopingkou on the opposite side.
As they walked up the steps, several other tourists who were also climbing the mountain gave them a thumbs-up, expressing their surprise and admiration: "Wow, old man, your legs are really strong!"
Li Bing smiled and said, "It's not like it used to be. Back then, I could climb Yulei Mountain with ease, but now I have to slowly make my way up step by step with a cane."
The tourists exclaimed, "Where? You're still going strong! Look at us young folks, we're all out of breath!"
After chatting for a few more minutes, they parted ways. The young people walked briskly forward, while Lu Xiaoqi accompanied Li Bing as they slowly climbed the mountain. At the pavilion at the summit, there were only a few people, providing a peaceful view of Baopingkou.
This is also the closest point to the mouth of the bottle.
Li Bing stared at Baopingkou, watching the river water crash against the mountainside with a thunderous roar. He remained silent for a long time. As he gazed, he seemed to hear in his ears the shouts of the laborers encouraging themselves and their comrades.
The shouts grew louder and louder, echoing through the valley:
Cut the bamboo! Continue the bamboo!
Hey ho!
The blockage has been cleared, allowing the river to flow freely!
Hehe!
Mountains are the whetstone! Water is the ribbon!
Hey ho!
Chisel through the jade ramparts to separate the impure from the pure!
Hehe!
......
The shouts, carrying the raw courage to split mountains and cleave rocks, pierced through thousands of mountains and rivers, blending into the howling river winds, blowing here from two thousand years ago, settling in the waves that constantly crash against the mountain walls below. Li Bing seemed to see countless dark, sturdy spines rising and falling under the scorching sun; those were his comrades, whose countless manpower ultimately converged into a mighty force, splitting the Jade Fortress, binding the Min River, and forcibly carving out the lifeline of the "Land of Abundance."
Li Bing closed his eyes, feeling the same river breeze.
He turned around, his eyes warm:
"Young friend Lu, thank you very much. After my wish was fulfilled yesterday, I received the ability to 'permanently eliminate floods' from the immortals. I have already used it in Qinghe Ancient Town, and the immortals said it can last for fifty years. I'm sorry, there's nothing else I can do to help you."
Lu Xiaoqi asked in a daze, "Are you... leaving already?"
Li Bing stood by the pavilion, the wind blowing his robe sleeves.
He said calmly, "There's no need to be sad. Life is a journey to death, and death is the beginning of life. I've simply returned to where I belong."
The fire, once lit, is extinguished; riding the wind, it returns to the vast emptiness.
Thank you for showing me Dujiangyan two thousand years later.
Lu Xiaoqi heard a soft whisper in her ear. She saw Li Bing gradually turn into starlight, rise with the wind, and disappear into the surrounding mountains and forests and the waves of the river at the foot of the mountain, just like smoke and mist blown away by the wind.
She raised her hand, her fingertips still seemingly warm from when she helped the old man, but all she saw was emptiness.
at the same time.
In the scenic area's monitoring room, the security personnel watching the monitor screen suddenly felt as if a moment had passed, less than a second.
He rubbed his eyes.
My colleague turned around and asked, "What's wrong?"
"It's nothing, my eyes are probably just a little blurry from looking at them for so long," he said with a nonchalant smile. Looking back at the small screens, everything seemed normal, without any change. It must just be his eyes playing tricks on him.
He yawned and relaxed.
......
"Won't anyone notice that someone is suddenly missing?" Lu Xiaoqi asked the system as she descended the mountain.
The system proudly stated: "Of course not. If it's just a short stay, all information related to the summoned character will be deleted after he leaves. Apart from you and the NPC you summoned, no one else will have his memory."
Lu Xiaoqi was relieved: "That's good."
Otherwise, she would have a hard time explaining why two people came and one person left.
Just then, she happened to run into the same tourists she had met earlier on her way up the mountain.
One of the young men greeted her warmly: "Are you planning to go back already? Where's that old man?"
Before Lu Xiaoqi could even reply, she realized something was wrong. Her eyes showed a hint of confusion as she scratched her head and said, "Ah, I remembered wrong. Sorry."
The others laughed and said, "Let's see what kind of memory you have."
"This girl came alone, where did this old man come from?"
Lu Xiaoqi laughed awkwardly a few times, quickly said goodbye to them, and disappeared at the end of the mountain road.
She said fiercely to the system, "If something unexpected happens one day and you leave, you are not allowed to delete my memories!"
This feeling is absolutely terrifying.
System: "Don't worry, I don't have the authority to change players' memories. Besides, if too much of a player's memory is altered, they'll become an idiot."
Therefore, if a summoned character stays in this world for too long, or if their life form solidifies, their existence cannot be erased.
Now that Li Bing had achieved her wish and left, Lu Xiaoqi had no intention of staying any longer and bought a return ticket for the next day. However, there was one thing she couldn't wait to do when she got back. After returning to her hotel room, Lu Xiaoqi quickly entered her system space.
Sure enough, several small red dots appeared in the system notification bar.
[Player, you have a treasure box waiting to be drawn. Would you like to draw it now?]
Just as she was about to select "yes," she was drawn to another new notification:
[Player, SSR character Li Bing has left you with three memories. Would you like to import them into the holographic virtual experience hall?]
Lu Xiaoqi's pupils widened: Li Bing's memories?!
!!
Then she can see the First Dragon?
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