"Really, that Xiaobei still likes to be disobedient."
Lifting the curtain that looked like a tent, Duan Qing, who poked his head around, walked into the area of the windmill where the old man was. The old man in thick fur clothes with his hands behind his back was also there at this time.
Walking deep in the narrow room filled with the atmosphere of antiquity and decay, he kept mumbling in a language that Duan Qing could not understand: "I told you that this windmill cannot be repaired by ordinary people, but they just didn't listen... Sit down.
"
Even from a long distance away, his gesture of extending his finger forward seemed to remind Duan Qing: "You look different from the Hulun tribe. You just came here."
Traveler?"
"That's right." Not knowing how to treat the old man, Duan Qing tentatively replied in a normal tone: "We are adventurers who have just arrived here, so we are not familiar with the situation here.
Not very familiar."
"You're not familiar with the situation? No wonder you dare to come to my place." He resumed his stooped posture with his hands behind his back. The old man wrapped in thick fur clothes looked at Duan Qing's face again: "It doesn't matter. Since you are here, sit down for a while.
It doesn’t matter if you just sit there, anyway——”
"When you can't do anything, you will naturally leave."
Without any intention to continue talking, the old man then turned around and walked behind the corner in the dark depths of the tent. Duan Qing, who was a little confused, had to put back his intention to continue talking. At the same time,
I began to look at the inside of this windmill - the structure of wood and gold and iron that were mortised together, ancient parts and structures that seemed to have no signs of being intact at all, and the internal windmill machinery with completely unknown meanings was then presented in this way.
He stood in front of Duan Qing, occupying the space inside this small tent: "Uh, that... old gentleman?"
"Just call me Elder Aird." I don't know when he emerged from the darkness behind, and the old man's stooped body returned to Duan Qing at an extremely slow speed: "Or you can call me Elder Ai.
, the name actually doesn’t matter.”
"Ai, Elder Ai?" Duan Qing repeated the name subconsciously, and Duan Qing's eyes gradually opened in shock: "You - are you also one of the elders of this Hulun tribe?"
"No, I'm not." Rolling his eyes, the old man who called himself Elder Ai replied angrily: "Perhaps this statement is not accurate: I am an elder of another tribe, who lived here for various reasons, and then was
The people here have taken them in, and that’s it.”
"Ah, I'm sorry." He instantly understood why this old man who looked like a superior would stay in such a place in such a way. Duan Qing hurriedly took back his voice: "I didn't mean to offend, but suddenly
I heard the name just now, so..."
"No need to apologize. After you know everything, you will be no different from them." He waved his hand impatiently, and the wrinkled old man pointed his finger at Duan Qing's chest: "You
Why don't you sit down?"
"Well, I'm here to help repair the windmill." Duan Qing, who was holding his hands and didn't know where to put them, looked around but couldn't find a suitable seat, then put on a forced smile: "Can you please not disturb me?"
I'd better try not to disturb you during your rest, so...where is the fault in your windmill?"
"This is not my windmill. I'm just here to guard the door for them." Elder Ai turned around again angrily: "As for what's broken - how do I know? It's still useful if I know it.
Do I get you?"
"This..." Having a deeper understanding of the eccentric character of the old man in front of him, Duan Qing smiled and scratched his head: "Then can you take me to see the situation of this windmill? Just give it to me.
Just take a little time to check it out.”
"Do you really have the heart to want to cultivate?" The old man looked at Duan Qing's face with hanging eyes and squinted sideways for a while before shaking his head: "Well, since you are an outside adventurer, then I
I won’t stop you anymore.”
"Before more misunderstandings are caused, if you want to see it, go and see it yourself."
He gestured sideways to the other side, revealing the other corner of the heavy and ancient mechanical device. Duan Qing, who walked forward in the direction indicated by the other party, then also set his sights on the tangled machinery.
On the device, the originally awkward and helpless gaze gradually disappeared with the feeling of heaviness and strangeness that came to my face: "This, this windmill -"
"Are you sure it's a windmill?"
After saying this nonsense, he asked in surprise to the old man beside him. The latter looked at Duan Qing with a look like "you are a fool", and finally looked towards the back where the series of large ancient machines were.
Pointed: "Above."
"I didn't mean to be suspicious, but -"
Duan Qing subconsciously took two steps forward, and then his eyes retracted from the two-story staircase connected behind the device: "This thing is more complicated than I imagined."
"So I have long said that those who only look at the superficial appearance do not understand the meaning of this existence." After blowing on his beard, the old man's wrinkled face also appeared at this time.
There was a sense of resentment: "Only those who lack awe dare to say such words casually... Humph, you want to fix it? Does this mean that it can be fixed by just fixing it?"
"It can be repaired." To his surprise, Duan Qing's deep thoughts appeared in the old man's ears as he pinched his chin: "The transmission part, the guidance part, and the control part
...Hmm, it seems to be really connected to the top, it’s really scary—what’s wrong?”
"Nothing!" After staring at Duan Qing for a long time, the old man who called himself Elder replied unhappily while blowing his beard: "Another arrogant boy! You can do it yourself!"
"At least let me take a look at the situation." He scratched the back of his head again in embarrassment, and Duan Qing's slightly embarrassed smile was replaced by curiosity: "Let me see, what is the linking device?
Going up from this place... Well, if you can't open it, then you have to fumble your way there."
"Probably...it leads to here."
Duan Qing, who walked around the back of the crowded devices and spiraled up the stairs, poked his head out of the top of the tent: "It's really a windmill."
With the distance getting closer, Duan Qing could feel the hugeness of the wind blades in front of him. The thick wood pieces that were supported by a stone pillar and were supposed to be rotating were now standing quietly in the air, also full of carvings.
The wind-marked surface is quietly intertwined with the oncoming airflow: "The simple series circuit, although without any protective measures, is still well preserved. It should be because of the use of high-quality materials to protect it.
It works."
"Do I still need to climb up? I feel that there will be no problem with the physical part." After observing the sun for a long time, with his hands on the top of the tent, he also focused his gaze from the center point where the wind leaves gathered together.
Retracted: "Unless the magic circuit is destroyed... But if a place like this is destroyed, then the first problem should be Fengye. Even nature will probably not do such a thing at the expense of others."
"So the problem can only be internal."
Duan Qing, who loosened his hands and restrained his body, jumped off the roof of the tent and returned to the narrow and crowded space along the stairs. The creaking sound also continued with his steps on the stairs.
Extending downward, it finally stopped at the bottom of the mechanical devices: "With such a compact structure, it is almost impossible to completely inspect it... Phew, I don't know how the ancient magicians dealt with such a
Are they so confident in the quality of their products?"
"No, since it is a device made using magic, it should naturally be inspected using magic." As if he had figured out a certain key point, the gray-robed magician looked solemn, and the one attached to the surface of the ancient device
His hands hesitated for a moment, and then moved towards the old man huddled in the corner behind him: "Old... Elder Ai, does this device allow the use of magic to detect it?"
"Magic?" As if blinking his puzzled eyes, Elder Ai then waved his hand as if impatient: "Do whatever you want, you will give up soon anyway."
"Okay, let me give it a try." Duan Qing, who took out a bottle of magic potion and smiled bitterly, turned around and took a breath: "First of all, I need to replenish the magic power that I have exhausted, and then -
"
"Magic enhancement." He poured the potion down and then placed his hands on the surface of the wooden device again: "Advanced magic enhancement - elemental perception."
"...Hey, I have to remind you not to damage this thing. The wood on the grassland is very precious."
"Don't worry, sensory magic won't hurt the body."
Replying to the warning from the old man behind him with his eyes closed, Duan Qing's lips also turned up slightly: "But I didn't expect that the combination of enhanced magic effect and elemental perception would actually have such an effect...
…Here."
"There must be something missing." His footsteps moved gently following some anomaly that he had just detected with magic, and finally came to the right side of this narrow space covered with ancient wood chips and metal parts.
The other side of the device: "There was supposed to be something behind this, but it's gone now, so the element feedback hasn't kept up."
"What do you want to say?" The old man's angry voice came from behind him: "I didn't touch this thing even a little bit. What part disappeared? It's not my doing."
"Of course I dare not say such a thing." Duan Qing, who slowly put away the magic light in his hand, stood up straight with a smile: "And I can't be sure whether this thing doesn't exist in the first place.
, or whether the failure of this windmill is related to the lack of this part, but-"
"I can try to solve this problem." He took two steps back, and then raised his hands again; "As long as we can replace the function that the parts are supposed to play, we may be able to verify my idea.
Alright."
A crystal radiance then appeared in front of Duan Qing, and a short stone pillar covered with khaki light flashed in front of the old man. Elder Elder, who was just about to exclaim, also subconsciously
He closed his mouth and watched helplessly as Duan Qing manipulated the stone rod and put his magic into the invisible windmill device: "This, this is -"
"The skills I learned from a certain existence in the underground ruins are particularly effective when using side methods to deal with this kind of problem." There were fine beads of sweat on his face, and Duan Qing's voice sounded like he was working hard to operate something.
Slowly and hard: "...Okay."
"Let's give it a try." Duan Qing, who stared at the area where he had just been submerged in the carving magic, took a breath and then smiled behind him: "Where is the activated magic stone?"
Buzz.
Before the old man could give his answer, a heavy magical buzz came from the gap between the ancient wooden board and the metal in front of Duan Qing. The sound of gears biting and laborious creaking was then accompanied by the heavy whistling sound from above.
From the beginning, it filled the narrow and dark space: "Succeeded? Is this considered to be running?"
"You actually repaired it?" Unlike Duan Qing's surprise at this time, Elder Aird's eyes looking at Duan Qing were filled with seriousness and curiosity: "How did you do it?"
"It's all nonsense." Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Duan Qing showed a sincere smile on his face: "Okay, I just used my previous repair experience to repair the broken parts."
The opened magic circuit is just reconnected through a bypass method. Although it may cause many side effects and other undesirable effects, it seems to be very practical now."
"I see, you filled in the missing parts in this way." Still staring at Duan Qing's face, the old man pointed at the device very slowly: "But I didn't remember that the windmill was so laborious to operate. You
Listen, the sound of grinding cowhide is not as loud as the sound they make now."
"Perhaps this is just to completely restore the function of this windmill." Duan Qing, who was looking above his head and building a pergola with his hands, curled his lips and replied in a low voice: "After the inspection just now and the reaction after it is now operational,
, What I can guarantee is that there is no problem with the operation of this windmill now, but-"
"To realize its original function, it may not be as simple as 'fixing' it."
This chapter has been completed!