Chapter 123: The prolonged pain, we all understand!
「 The group first found an apprentice named A-Wei and asked about the situation inside.
"There's been some kind of botanical disaster — it was like an ornamental tree somewhere suddenly started to grow. The branches are as thick as two people embracing! It's running high and low all over the Commission, almost tearing the place apart."
From A-Wei's description, it seemed he was completely unaware of the Ambrosial Arbor's growth.
His master, Master Gongshu, was the most senior craftsman in the Artisanship Commission's Molten Metal Workshop. After the incident, he stayed inside to rescue the furnace, and his fate was now unknown. Although A-Wei and the others were anxious, they didn't want to abandon their master, so they had to wait outside for Cloud Knight reinforcements.
A-Wei handed a jade talisman to the Trailblazers: "If you find Master, please bring him out safely! If anything happens to him—"
Welt couldn't help but feel a pang in his heart: "Don't worry, young sir. Your master's safety is our—"
However, before he could finish, A-Wei clutched his forehead and let out a pained sound: "—None of us in this group will graduate this year, we won't become masters…"
Welt: "…"
March 7th looked indifferent: "Let's go, I think this conversation's run its course..." 」
「 .....」
〜Genshin Impact World〜
"I can only say, I completely understand this brother's troubles."
Outside Sumeru's Akademiya, several students in uniform were gathered at a café, chattering and discussing.
"You wouldn't believe it, my research topic back then was 'Geological Structure and Spatial Stability Analysis of Sumeru's Withering Zones,' and guess what? My advisor and I finally found a Withering Zone outside Gandharva Ville, studied it for three months, and my thesis was almost done, but then… some blonde Traveler cleared out all the Withering Zones in Sumeru! My entire research topic was gone!"
"PLEASE! AT LEAST WAIT UNTIL I GRADUATE BEFORE CLEARING WITHERING ZONES!!"
A student from the Spantamad, one of the Six Darshans, let out a wail identical to A-Wei's.
"Tch, what's that compared to mine?"
Another student from the Haravatat School scoffed.
"Our topic back then was to go to the desert to study the ancient texts left by King Deshret, led personally by a teacher from the Akademiya. We finally found a stone tablet covered in ancient texts in a ruin, but my senior brother touched something, and our teacher was directly trapped in the ruin!"
"Oh my Lesser Lord Kusanali! We were deep in the desert at the time, with not much food or water. If we hadn't met a merchant on his way to Aaru Village who led the way, even I might have already—"
"By the time we returned to the Akademiya and Senior Faruzan successfully deciphered the ruin, three months had passed, and that poor teacher had already become a…"
The circle of students around the table gasped.
"In short, because of that accident, all the students in our group that year had their graduation delayed… So, I really can understand A-Wei!"
—
「 Entering the gate of the Artisanship Commission, they indeed saw a large number of tree roots and branches, and these things were still growing wildly and continuously.
Without further ado, everyone immediately found a path and walked inside.
Before long, they encountered a middle-aged man leading several automatons.
"Upon Commission grounds your feet do tread! Leave from whence you came or soon be dead! Deaaaad!" Master Gongshu spoke with a theatrical cadence.
"Hey, hey! At least listen to our explanation! We're not bad—"
"What's there to explain! It's nothing more than 'passing by,' 'accidentally,' 'the door was open' — such flimsy excuses! The Commission suddenly suffered a disaster today, and I, the old man, reckon someone's behind it! As expected~!"
After rudely interrupting March 7th's explanation, Master Gongshu gave an order, and the automatons beside him menacingly surrounded them one by one.
Seeing that explaining was futile, Stelle didn't bother with further words, and with two swings of her bat, she smashed his proud automatons into scattered parts.
"Golden Cloud Toad! Illumination Dragonfish! ...Are you alright? Wake up! I raised and nurtured you as if you were my own flesh and blood…" Master Gongshu looked at the pile of parts on the ground, his face full of sorrow.
"Did you really have to destroy my little friends? I want compensation!" Master Gongshu let out a battle cry.
March 7th muttered a little aggrievedly: "You didn't want to listen to us! We were here to rescue you, and you started a fight for no reason..."
Without his automatons, Master Gongshu was willing to listen to explanations. It was then that he learned that the group was reinforcements sent by the General.
Upon hearing the words "General," Master Gongshu's expression immediately changed 180°, turning from cloudy to clear, and he chuckled:
"You are people sent by the General? A misunderstanding, a misunderstanding! Never mind, those little gadgets, if they're broken, they're broken!" 」
「 .....」
〜The Outcast World〜
"This Master Gongshu… haha, he's quite interesting."
Zhang Chulan smoked a cigarette, lying on the sofa watching the light screen, looking utterly relaxed.
"Daoist Wang, don't tell me, this Master Gongshu's craftsmanship is quite similar to my grand-nephew's."
"Divine Machine's Hundred Refinements… the flavor is right, but in terms of effectiveness, it's completely inferior to Ma Xianhong."
Wang Ye recalled the battle in Biyou Village, where Ma Xianhong had shown them various miraculous gadgets. That rural tech geek might have been stubborn, but his strength was undeniable.
"Moreover, I'm quite curious about that furnace he's desperately trying to protect."
Mentioning the furnace, mentioning Ma Xianhong, Zhang Chulan couldn't help but feel his hands itching.
—
「 Welt hoped Master Gongshu could lead the way, as they were unfamiliar with the Artisanship Commission.
Master Gongshu sighed endlessly. The Artisanship Commission was now occupied by aanevil tree demon, and even the Commission's greatest treasure, the "Creation Furnace," had been stolen by it. He couldn't leave now because the furnace sealed…
He stopped mid-sentence, but Stelle had already understood Master Gongshu's unspoken meaning—didn't he just want people to help? And incidentally, help him get the furnace back.
"We're short on time. Where are we going? Who are we fighting?" Stelle got straight to the point.
"Haha, since General Jing Yuan invited you all here, he must have a profound intention, ten out of ten it's to resolve the crisis of the Artisanship Commission." Master Gongshu laughed heartily.
"Means I know of may yet serve your fight, pray you in repayment aid my plight. Come! Come on, through here~."
Following Master Gongshu, the group passed through painted screens, smashing various monsters along the way, finally arriving at their destination.
"Look, the roots of the Ambrosial Arbor…" March 7th gasped, covering her mouth.
Countless sprawling roots tightly coiled around a massive furnace, each root thick enough for dozens of people.
"They've encircled the Artisanship Commission's most precious invention: The Creation Furnace! Help me, dear young friends! Let's hack them away together! We can't let the roots punch through the furnace!" 」
「 .....」