Chapter 144: Farewell (Couldn't finish it, only 3K, will continue making up for it tomorrow)

"Professor Bai, your Three-Character Talisman Law is truly impressive!"

Two days later, when Zheng Fa went to the old man Bai's house again, he couldn't help but praise Bai Yuan Ying.

This old man had secretly pulled off something big behind his back.

"Just a little insight, just a little insight!"

Old man Bai waved his hand; his tone seemed humble, but his face was full of arrogance.

Seeing Old man Bai looking rather haughty, Zheng Fa suddenly took out that notebook from his backpack.

"Professor Bai, there are some questions about the Three-Character Talisman Law that I didn't understand in my notes—may I ask the creator himself for guidance?"

Zheng Fa asked with a face full of sincerity.

"Speak!" Old man Bai tilted his mouth, leaned back in his chair, showing off his dominance.

"In the Three-Character Talisman, apart from the Five Elements Character Talismans, how many are there in the other two categories respectively?"

"..." Old man Bai bared his teeth, remained silent for a long time, then said: "... Uncertain. More talisman diagrams are needed for research."

"Then are these Character Talismans limited?"

"... Also uncertain."

"And what about the functions of the other two categories of Character Talismans?"

"... Uncertain."

Zheng Fa slowly put down the notebook in his hand, his gaze deep, staring at Old man Bai.

Old man Bai slowly sat upright, and the delight on his face slowly turned into embarrassment.

"This... these are all results run by the calculation method." Old man Bai spoke very quietly, as if complaining and making excuses: "In such a short time, I haven't even come into contact with real spiritual energy or talismans. What could I possibly figure out?"

Zheng Fa flipped through the notebook and found that the tone Old man Bai used in the notes was mostly speculative.

Old man Bai hesitated for a while, then suddenly spoke again: "Actually, Lingwu had a hypothesis before, which I found quite interesting."

"Hmm?"

Zheng Fa looked at Tang Lingwu. Tang Lingwu's face was a bit red, seeming somewhat embarrassed, and she whispered: "I was just thinking nonsense."

"What hypothesis? Tell us."

Zheng Fa was quite curious; what kind of idea could make Old man Bai find it interesting?

"Lingwu studies computer science, so she thought—ultimately, a talisman is the process of humans communicating with heaven and earth, which has similarities to computer hardware interaction."

Zheng Fa suddenly realized; he seemed to understand what Tang Lingwu's hypothesis was.

"Code?"

Zheng Fa couldn't help but recall that when Sister Zhang discussed the essence of talisman scripts with him before, she had said—she believed talisman scripts were the flow trajectories of spiritual energy, but some people called talisman scripts Dao scripts.

"Right!" Old man Bai clapped his hands and said: "Lingwu, what did you say?"

Seeing Zheng Fa's somewhat curious gaze.

"I've always been thinking, what exactly makes a talisman work?" Tang Lingwu was no longer shy; she began to explain to Zheng Fa: "According to your description, in my opinion, the essence of a talisman is using the divine soul or spiritual power to control all things in the world."

"I was thinking, could the Yang Yuanfu be viewed as a function?"

"The three categories of Character Talismans are actually three types of statements with different functions. For example, could the Five Elements Character Talismans be viewed as call statements—telling heaven and earth which kind of spiritual energy I need?"

"The other two types of Character Talismans might have other functions, such as one responsible for logical calculation, and one serving as an output interface for interacting with all things in heaven and earth..."

Tang Lingwu's voice grew quieter and quieter, seeming rather unconfident; finally, she added: "I was just thinking nonsense."

Both Zheng Fa and Old man Bai laughed.

"Quite interesting. If it works out, this will be the Second Law of the Tang Talisman Dao!" Old man Bai said with a smile.

Zheng Fa also nodded, looking at Tang Lingwu with an encouraging gaze—this idea was certainly immature and still needed much refinement and verification.

But it was not entirely impossible.

Moreover, both Zheng Fa and Old man Bai knew that Tang Lingwu was always rather unconfident.

This lack of confidence made Tang Lingwu work very hard.

In fact, whether it was Zheng Fa or Old man Bai—they both felt this girl had already helped a lot.

But Tang Lingwu seemed to have little awareness of the power of money.

Seeing the smiling gazes of Zheng Fa and Old man Bai, Tang Lingwu lowered her eyes, yet her expression was lively and spirited.

The Second Law of the Tang Talisman Dao of course still existed only as a hypothesis.

However, the First Law of the Bai Talisman Dao has now been revised into the Three-Character Talisman Law (Incomplete Version)—to be honest, this thing was somewhat of an unexpected joy, but on the other hand, it brought even more mysteries.

But after Old man Bai's explanation, Zheng Fa was no longer anxious.

At least they were gradually uncovering the essence of the Talisman Dao.

"By the way, Professor Bai, how is that person you said was dying and needed to be visited in Jingcheng?"

At that time, Old man Bai went alone—after all, Zheng Fa didn't know the person, and a seriously ill person might not want to be disturbed, so they shouldn't intrude rashly.

"Didn't see her." Old man Bai's tone was a bit strange: "I even missed the funeral she held for herself."

"... A funeral she held for herself?"

Zheng Fa felt as if he didn't understand Chinese characters anymore.

"Yes, that guy said while she was still alive, she held a funeral for herself. I heard the crying at the scene was terribly tragic..."

"..."

"What about now?"

Old man Bai took out his phone, opened the following list in the short video software, and selected one of the video bloggers.

"Here."

Zheng Fa and Tang Lingwu leaned their heads together and saw on the screen an old woman wearing a military green jacket, wearing sunglasses, with flying hair and a wild smile, riding a black motorcycle, roaring across the wilderness.

"This is..."

"Just traveling the world, I suppose."

Only then did Zheng Fa understand why Old Bai said he hadn't seen this person.

"Professor Bai, what does this person do?"

Tang Lingwu looked at the old woman in the camera lens with bright eyes, seeming a bit envious—this girl probably imagined herself looking just like that.

"Didn't Zheng Fa say earlier he needed an agricultural expert?" Old Bai explained: "This person has devoted a lifetime to agricultural research, never married, has no children, and just tended to those fields."

"... This temperament doesn't seem to match?"

Zheng Fa looked at the screen again, feeling a bit suspicious.

"She said she's been earthy all her life, and since she's dying soon, she might as well be a bit fashionable." Old Bai sighed: "She's a real old rebel."

"..."

"Professor Bai, what is your relationship with her?"

Thinking of their ages and then looking at the valiant appearance of the old woman in the lens, Zheng Fa couldn't help but have some ambiguous associations.

"Previously, when we were in Jingcheng, I joined a matchmaking group for educated seniors." Old Bai was still a bit embarrassed: "I met her there."

"Do you like her?"

"... A little."

"Did she reject you?" Zheng Fa asked again.

"..." Old Bai sighed and said: "She wasn't there for matchmaking! She said she didn't want to get married; her mother forced her to come—saying that when she's old and dies, no one will take care of her."

"How old was she then?"

"Fifty-eight."

Zheng Fa fell silent; being pressured to marry even at fifty-eight, no wonder she rebelled in her old age.

"She also said, 'Well, now that I'll die young, my mother won't have to worry.'" Old Bai said with a sigh, seeming to still have lingering feelings for the old woman.

"You two..."

"If we can't be life partners, can't we be old friends? I've been contacting her these past two days, but she's on the road and replies slowly." Old Bai opened the chat list on the app again: "Huh? She replied?"

He looked at the message, raised his head, and said to Zheng Fa: "She's coming to the provincial capital next month."

He didn't say the rest, but Zheng Fa understood the plea in his eyes.

He looked at the notebook in his hand and said: "If I can help, I'll try."

In the Xuanwei Realm, today was the day Shijie Zhang left the sect.

She didn't leave alone.

This time going to Taiyang Commandery, she would bring a batch of her disciples with her.

If Shijie Zhang traveled alone, naturally she would go as fast as possible.

But with these disciples, for safety, she chose the sect's flying shuttle—a type of ship commonly used by cultivators, shuttle-shaped, five or six times faster than the reception ship, but capable of carrying far fewer people.

A group stood on the dock, with Shijie Zhang standing at the very front of the crowd.

The departure time had already passed.

Yet Shijie Zhang did not move, merely frowning slightly, as if waiting for something.

Some disciples felt a bit strange but dared not speak, only using their gaze to ask the companion beside them:

"Who is Shijie Zhang waiting for?"

You see, Shijie Zhang is the type who is decisive and leaves the moment she decides to go.

Who could, no, who would dare make her wait?

At this moment, she had been standing on this dock for a long time, seemingly willing to wait a few more hours.

The disciple's gaze shifted, and he jerked his chin toward the distance.

Dust rose, and Zheng Fa's figure came rushing from afar.

With a Horse-Running Talisman stuck to his leg, he was as fast as a galloping horse; arriving at the dock and seeing Shijie Zhang and her group, he finally felt relieved: "Shijie!"

He shouted toward Shijie Zhang.

Behind Zheng Fa followed the Seventh Young Master and his sister; they were also acquaintances of Shijie Zhang, and hearing Zheng Fa say she was going to Taiyang Commandery, they had rushed over to see her off.

Shijie Zhang looked at his disheveled appearance as he approached and couldn't help but smile with pursed lips.

The disciples behind exchanged glances, their eyes full of understanding.

"I'm late..."

Zheng Fa said somewhat embarrassedly, opening his mouth to explain something.

Shijie Zhang waved her hand, cutting him off directly: "I know you."

Zheng Fa was stunned, then suddenly smiled, handing a book in his hand to Shijie Zhang.

"'The Three Sons Talisman Law'? For me?"

Shijie Zhang looked down at the book's title, then raised her head to look at Zheng Fa.

"Yes, although it's not yet perfect, it might be of some help to you, Shijie." Zheng Fa said: "It was just copying this book that nearly made me miss seeing you off, Shijie."

Behind them, the Seventh Young Master and his sister watched the two speak but dared not approach.

Shijie Zhang and the Zhao family had old ties, but ultimately it was a relationship from the previous generation—Shijie Zhang herself was not closely connected to the Zhao family.

The two of them saw with their own eyes Shijie Zhang's brows relax slightly, the brilliance in her eyes making them almost feel as if this wasn't the Shijie Zhang they knew.

"Are you also going to Taiyang Commandery?"

Shijie Zhang suddenly asked Zhao Jinglan.

"... Yes!"

"Do you live at Zheng Fa's house now?"

"…Yes!"

"You should board the ship too." Zhang Shijie nodded at Zhao Jinglan. Zhao Jinglan seemed not to understand, standing frozen in place before finally saying:

"Is… this convenient?"

"We are old friends; there is nothing inconvenient about it."

Zhang Shijie glanced lightly at Zheng Fa and spoke with grave sincerity.

"…Yes!"

Zhao Jinglan turned to look at Zheng Fa, his gaze filled with deep thought.

Following Zhang Shijie was certainly better; after all, it offered a certain guarantee of safety, and he could also wear a tiger's skin as a shield.

Watching the flying shuttle gradually drift away, the Seventh Young Master stroked his chin, looking at Zheng Fa with suspicion: "Just now, did Zhang Shijie take my sister away truly because of the relationship between our two families?"

"…Zhang Shijie is simply a warm-hearted person!" Zheng Fa said with a stern face.

"…I just saw it! When you handed her that book, she was smiling so happily!" The Seventh Young Master pouted: "What's inside the book? Love poems?"

"…"

Zheng Fa realized the Seventh Young Master thought that book was a love letter.

But…

The primary author of that thing, Bai Lao, struggled even to pursue a rebellious old lady.

It hardly seemed a match.

The secondary author, well, was Tang Lingwu…

…

On a small boat in Dahe beside the dock stood a young man. Dressed in a scholar's long robe, he also watched the departing flying shuttle and spoke softly to the two beside him: "Zhang Wuyi has left; let us probe the background of that Zheng Fa."