A Will Eternal

Bai Xiaochun had been waiting for a long time to say those words. Although he could have uttered them in the past, he hadn’t dared to. Knowing how petty the spirit automaton was, he knew that provoking him could be very dangerous.

But now he didn’t care at all. He had become the owner of the fan, and had absolute control. Now, he could revel in his role as the master any time he wished.

It felt wonderful to yell in such a fashion. It was like being able to drink a big cup of cold water on a hot, sweaty day.

Swishing his sleeve, he raised his voice even further and shouted, “Hurry up! What are you stalling for? Lord Bai wants to talk!”

As his voice echoed back and forth through the damaged fan, the spirit automaton was crouching on a distant fan rib, cradling his head in his hands, tugging at his hair, his face a mask of bitterness. Unfortunately, it didn’t matter whether he wanted to or not, he had to listen to Bai Xiaochun. Invisible forces made it so. Sighing, he turned and flew over toward him.

As he did, he changed his appearance, transforming into a charming boy, the type who anyone would like right off the bat.

Bai Xiaochun was not very pleased with the dilly-dallying, and snorted coldly when he finally caught sight of the spirit automaton approaching.

The spirit automaton shivered, and tried to put on the most fawning expression possible, mixed in with a bit of nervousness. Coming to a stop in front of Bai Xiaochun, he clasped hands and bowed his head.

“Greetings… master….”

“I’m <em>not</em> pleased with this look of yours!” Bai Xiaochun said primly. Before, he had always dealt with the spirit automaton in divine sense form. But now, he was here in physical form, making it the first time Bai Xiaochun had actually seen him in person.

He looked fair and delicate, even more so than Bai Xiaochun himself.

In response to Bai Xiaochun’s words, tears began to stream down the spirit automaton’s face as he did his best to look humiliated, but not willing to talk back. The truth was that he really was scared. After all, he had definitely offended Bai Xiaochun on a very deep level….

“Master… I….” The spirit automaton was about to launch into some flattering words, but before he could, Bai Xiaochun cleared his throat loudly.

Eyes glittering, he looked the spirit automaton up and down and then said, “The time has come to tell your new master what your name is. Go ahead.”

Bai Xiaochun couldn’t keep from chuckling darkly. He had the feeling that he was going to be very pleased with where this conversation was going.

The spirit automaton’s face blanched as surely as if he had choked on some food. After a long moment passed, he managed to gurgle, “My name… well… it’s Xiao Chi.”

Bai Xiaochun couldn’t help but laugh uproariously in response. Clasping his hands behind his back, he stuck his chin up and grandly went on to say, “I mean your surname too. Speak up. What’s your <em>full</em> name?!”

“My surname <em>is</em> Xiao….” the spirit automaton replied in a low voice, looking completely crushed.

Chuckling, Bai Xiaochun said, “From now on, your surname is Bai. Come come. Say your new name <em>really</em> loud!”

The spirit automaton hesitated at first, but considering how Bai Xiaochun was just standing there laughing, he started to get mad and said, “You… Fudge! Fine, who cares if my surname is Bai now? Just call me Bai Xiaochi!!”

At this point, Bai Xiaochun’s resentment toward the spirit automaton began to fade. Snorting coldly, he began to stroll toward the fan ribs.

“Very well, Bai Xiaochi. Please give your new master a little tour of this damaged fan.” Overall, Bai Xiaochun seemed very pleased with the spirit automaton’s new name.

“Hmph,” he thought. “Who forced you to offend me so much before?!”

Bai Xiaochun was feeling wonderful, but Bai Xiaochi was crestfallen and on the verge of tears. This was exactly what he had hoped so dearly to avoid. Ever since he had sworn that oath, he had feared what would happen if Bai Xiaochun succeeded, and then forced him to change his surname. Although, it could have been worse….

Now the calamity had come and gone, and he could only sigh in despair, then lead Bai Xiaochun around and introduce the damaged fan to him. Of course, he immediately began to do the worst job possible. Sadly for him, he had once again underestimated Bai Xiaochun, who could tell exactly what he was doing.

“Listen here, Bai Xiaochi,” he said. “Do a good job, make me happy, and I might give you your old surname back.”

Bai Xiaochi’s eyes went wide, and he began to pant. Back when he had been fighting against Bai Xiaochun, the automaton had seemed like a clever individual. But the truth was that, now that Bai Xiaochun had become his master, there was nothing he could do to fight back against him.

And although he didn’t quite trust Bai Xiaochun’s character very much, there was no way to tell if he would follow through, and eventually change his surname back.

Suddenly finding a new reason for hope and passion, he began to enthusiastically introduce everything about the fan.

“Master, this legacy fan has a total of 108 fan ribs, each of which are filled with various rewards. If you want them, they’ll appear in front of you instantly.

“Of course, the rewards are like that, but not the entities which exist within the levels. Those are shared between all the levels…. For example, there are only a limited number of souls….

“Oh, right. Now that you’re the owner of the fan, you are free to seek enlightenment of the exalted sovereign’s Dao Essence of Life and Death. Generally speaking, once your cultivation base is high enough, you’ll be able to use all of the fan’s shocking powers and abilities!

“This fan surpasses what people call a <em>world treasure</em>. It’s a <em>starry sky treasure</em>. When it flies through the starry sky, it can shake heaven and earth to the point where ghosts and gods weep!

“The most powerful divine ability of the fan is housed in the fan face itself….”

Bai Xiaochun felt quite smug and complacent as he listened to the introduction. He couldn’t have been prouder of how swimmingly he had handled the fan’s automaton. It had taken minimal effort.

“Punish firmly, but offer a reward in the end,” he thought, reveling in the circumstances. “That’s my motto!”

As for Bai Xiaochi, he paid close attention to Bai Xiaochun’s reactions, and would quickly add more information whenever it seemed appropriate. Even more outrageous, he actually floated up and began to massage Bai Xiaochun’s neck and shoulders….

When Bai Xiaochun realized how obedient he was acting, and saw the fawning expression on his face, he sighed even more deeply.

When the image on the fan face was brought up, Bai Xiaochun looked over at it. Before, he had only been able to observe it from a distance, but now, when he stood on the fan rib and looked at it, it was almost as if he were drawn into the picture itself.

The river, the mountain, and everything else, seemed to resonate with each other. There was also the boat in the river, upon which two men sat playing Go. There was also the palace in the river, and… the sovereign arm floating in the sky.

Bai Xiaochun couldn’t have been in higher spirits.

“Master, once your cultivation base is high enough, you will be able to create projections of the items in the fan face. For example, that boat is actually a world treasure. And the two men sitting there playing Go are actually archaean slaves!

“See that mountain? It was created by the Dao Essence of the exalted sovereign!

“And that river is no ordinary river. One drop from it can transform into another mighty river wherever it is placed.

“And there’s more. Master, remember how much I wanted to use the power of that sovereign’s arm before? Master, if you just send your mind into the damaged fan, you’ll be able to see what you can do with it now.” Curious, Bai Xiaochun closed his eyes and sent his mind into the fan. Almost immediately, he began to pant.

To his shock, he could sense that, somewhere else in the void, there was another damaged fan, heading in his direction!

“The other half of the damaged fan!” he exclaimed, opening his eyes.

“Exactly!” Bai Xiaochi replied excitedly. “Considering how fast it’s going, it won’t be long before the two meet each other. When they combine, then the fan will be whole again!”

“If only one half of the fan is this powerful,” Bai Xiaochun thought, “then… no one would ever dare to provoke me if I had the entire thing!” Such thoughts immediately had him feeling more daring and heroic than ever.

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