Chapter 691: Am I still not awake?

Two days later, at midnight.

The night was as dark as ink, and several people landed silently outside Chu Yuan's bedroom door.

Inside the room there were no candles, pitch black, not a glimmer of light.

They glanced at each other, hearts sinking: had the formation not succeeded?

Tuan Tuan poked her little head out from Xiao Er's shoulder: "Where's Master?"

Lu Qi carefully pried open the window latch, gently pushed open a crack, and peered out.

The bedroom was empty; the bedding was neatly folded, the tables and chairs had been moved aside, the table was spotless, and even the tea set had been put away.

On the floor lay a huge silk star map, taking up most of the room.

A faint footstep sounded from behind.

They turned to see Chu Yuan, dressed in a plain Daoist robe, walking slowly over.

"National Preceptor!" Xiao Ningyuan hurriedly clasped his fists.

"Master!" Tuan Tuan called out happily.

Chu Yuan gave a slight nod, then took Tuan Tuan from Xiao Er's back and held her.

He glanced at the others: "You all wait outside."

"Okay."

"Be good," Xiao Ningyuan stroked his sister's hair, "listen to the National Preceptor."

"I know!" Tuan Tuan exclaimed excitedly, "I want to beat up the bad guys together with Master!"

Xiao Er pushed open the door, and Chu Yuan, holding Tuan Tuan, walked inside.

Lu Qi closed the window, Xiao Er shut the door, and the few of them stood guard outside, their hearts pounding.

Only master and disciple remained in the room.

Moonlight streamed into the room, and the Big Dipper on the star map glowed with a cold, faint light.

The handle of the seven stars pointed straight at a round blank spot in the room.

Tuan Tuan stared at the Big Dipper on the star map: "Master! You placed a pearl on it!"

"That is a Night Pearl," Chu Yuan said softly.

"A Night Pearl?" Tuan Tuan blinked, "This one is too small; the one I brought back from the Western Regions is much bigger—too bad it's not here."

"When Father and the others arrive, I'll give you a big one—much bigger than this!"

"All right, then let me thank you first, Master."

Chu Yuan placed Tuan Tuan on that blank spot and had her sit cross-legged.

Tuan Tuan lifted her little face to look at him: "Master, what should I do?"

Chu Yuan took out the porcelain shard painted with the Big Dipper from his sleeve, placed it in Tuan Tuan's palm, folded her two small hands together, and gently held them.

"Close your eyes, don't open them."

Tuan Tuan obediently closed her eyes.

Chu Yuan sat cross-legged opposite her, formed hand seals, and a faint cyan light glimmered at his fingertips.

That cyan light grew brighter, gradually spreading across his whole palm, as if he held a mass of flowing starlight.

He raised his hand and lightly pressed it against Tuan Tuan's forehead.

"Tuan Tuan, listen carefully to what Master says."

"The land beneath your feet was once the capital of the previous dynasty."

Tuan Tuan pouted: "But Master, my feet aren't touching the ground! It's my butt that's on the ground, not my feet."

Chu Yuan: "…"

"All right, the land under your… butt is Jingcheng's land, and the porcelain shard in your hand is part of a secret passage."

"They were originally one whole; now you must reconnect them."

Tuan Tuan's eyelashes twitched.

Chu Yuan's voice grew lower and softer, as if coming from far away: "They have waited together for many years, always waiting for a person."

"That person is you."

Tuan Tuan tilted her little head, silently thinking, Master said to let you connect, hurry up and connect! Don't make Master wait.

Chu Yuan's fingertip lightly touched her brow, and a strand of cyan light slowly flowed in.

The porcelain shard in Tuan Tuan's hand warmed up: "Master, it's getting hot!"

Sweat beaded on Chu Yuan's forehead: "Good, good, hold it, don't move."

"Tell it what you want it to do, just like you do with your those broken trinkets."

"Oh." Tuan Tuan thought for a moment, then softly said, "Little porcelain shard, I am Tuan Tuan!"

"Two villains had the common folk dig deep trenches outside Jingcheng, leaving the ground full of pits, ugly as sin."

"Fill those pits, so everything returns to how it was, okay?"

"Just… just as if no one had ever dug them!"

The words fell.

Tuan Tuan's porcelain shard in her palm jerked violently.

Immediately, a moon-white light burst from her palm, swirling around her continuously, then moments later surged violently toward the star map on the floor.

The seven Night Pearls set into the Big Dipper suddenly blazed bright.

The light spread outward along the lines of the star map, circle after circle.

At the innermost circle's blank space, an outline of Jingcheng began to appear, every detail revealed, as if drawn stroke by stroke by an invisible brush.

Immediately, the middle ring also lit up.

Afterwards, the densely packed star points in the outermost ring lit up one after another.

Like the brightest Milky Way in the night sky, it was forcibly moved into this small room.

The entire star map began to slowly rotate.

Light slowly seeped through the gaps in the window lattice, bathing the whole room in a faint silver glow.

Outside the door, Xiao Ningyuan and the others had their hearts rise to their throats.

After a moment, the rotating star map stopped, and the light gradually withdrew.

"All right," Chu Yuan said softly, "Tuan Tuan, that's enough, open your eyes."

Tuan Tuan opened her eyes, lowered her head to look at her palm—empty, nothing there.

"Master," she raised her head, looking at Chu Yuan, "my little porcelain piece is gone."

"Don't worry," Chu Yuan held her close, his voice as gentle as possible, "it just went home."

Tuan Tuan tilted her head, resting it on Chu Yuan's shoulder, and closed her eyes again.

Chu Yuan held her tightly, rose, walked to the door, and pulled it open.

"National Preceptor!" Xiao Ningyuan was the first to rush over, at a glance seeing his voiceless sister, his heart suddenly tightened—"Tuan Tuan!"

Xiao Er and Lu Qi's faces turned pale: "Miss!"

Chu Yuan gently placed Tuan Tuan in his embrace: "It's fine, she's just tired; take good care of her when you go back."

"Come in."

The few followed Chu Yuan into the room, where they saw the faintly visible Jingcheng on the star map, complete inside and out, while the siege moat dug outside the city for four days had vanished without a trace.

Scattered tools were clearly visible, the ground intact as before, even the grass on the ground joined into a single patch.

It was as if that massive project had never existed.

Xiao Er sucked in a breath of cold air.

Lu Qi stood frozen in place, unmoving for a long while.

Xiao Ningyuan's throat rolled a few times, but he couldn't utter a word.

"The formation is complete," Chu Yuan said softly, "you may go back."

"I'll keep watch here; come again tomorrow night."

Xiao Ningyuan took a deep breath, nodded heavily: "Thank you, National Preceptor."

Chu Yuan watched as they silently disappeared into the night, smiling: "Xuanwei Taoist Priest, your formation can finally be used."

The next morning, the sky was just beginning to lighten.

The Ministry of Works clerk Meng Zhushi, accompanied by several subordinates, came as usual to the outskirts to await the people's arrival.

He rubbed his eyes.

He rubbed his eyes again.

Then he suddenly squatted down, his hands constantly feeling around on the ground.

What about the siege moat? The deep moat I personally measured yesterday?

Am I still not awake?