Cultivation: I Have Studied Abroad in the Modern World
Chapter 147 - 50 Farewell (Couldn’t finish, only 3K, will continue tomorrow)

Chapter 147: Chapter 50 Farewell (Couldn’t finish, only 3K, will continue tomorrow)

"Professor Bai, your Three Child Talismans law is really impressive!"

Two days later, when Zheng Fa visited Old Man Bai’s place again, he couldn’t help but praise Bai Yuanying.

This old fellow had been up to something big behind his back.

"A little something I’ve discovered, indeed!"

Old Man Bai waved his hand as if humbly, but his face was full of arrogance.

Zheng Fa looked at the somewhat overbearing Old Man Bai and suddenly pulled out that notebook from his backpack.

"Professor Bai, regarding the Three Child Talismans law, there are some questions I didn’t understand in the notes—could I seek guidance from the creator himself?"

Zheng Fa asked with a sincere face.

"Go ahead!" Old Man Bai skewed his mouth, reclining in his chair, exuding dominance.

"Among the Three Child Talismans, besides the Five Elements Child Talisman, how many are there for the other two types?"

"..." Old Man Bai’s mouth twitched, and after a long silence, he said: "...Not certain, still need more talismanic diagrams to research."

"Are these Child Talismans finite?"

"...Also not sure."

"What about the functions of the other two types of Child Talismans?"

"...Not certain."

Zheng Fa slowly set down the notebook in his hand, his gaze profound as he stared at Old Man Bai.

Old Man Bai slowly sat up straight, the smugness on his face gradually turning into embarrassment.

"This... these were results obtained from calculations." Old Man Bai spoke in a low voice, as if plaintively defending himself: "How could I have seen anything in such a short time, not having encountered true Spiritual Energy or Spirit Talismans?"

Zheng Fa flipped through the notebook and noticed that the tone Old Man Bai used in the notebook was mostly speculative.

Old Man Bai hesitated for a while, then suddenly spoke again: "Actually, Tang Lingwu previously had a hypothesis I find quite interesting."

"Hm?"

Zheng Fa looked at Tang Lingwu, who was slightly blushing, seemingly embarrassed, and she whispered: "That was just some wild thought."

"What hypothesis? Let’s hear it?"

Zheng Fa was quite curious, wondering what kind of idea would even intrigue Old Man Bai.

"Ling Wu is a computer science student, and she thought—after all, a Spirit Talisman is a process of communication between humans and the heavens and earth, which has similarities to the interaction with computer hardware."

Zheng Fa had an epiphany; he seemed to understand Tang Lingwu’s hypothesis.

"Code?"

Zheng Fa recalled a previous discussion with Sister Zhang about the nature of runes—she believed that runes were the trajectory of Spiritual Energy flow, but some called them Dao script.

"Exactly!" Old Man Bai clapped, "Ling Wu, how did you put it?"

Looking at Zheng Fa’s curious gaze.

"I’ve been wondering, what exactly allows a Spirit Talisman to take effect?" Tang Lingwu no longer felt shy, and she began to explain to Zheng Fa: "According to your description, the essence of a Spirit Talisman is using Divine Soul or Spiritual Power to manipulate all things in the world."

"I was thinking, perhaps the Primordial Talisman could be seen as a function."

"The three types of Child Talismans are actually three different kinds of statements; for example, the Five Elements Child Talisman can be seen as a call statement—telling the heavens and earth which kind of Spiritual Energy I need."

"The other two types of Child Talismans may have other functions, such as one being responsible for logical calculations, the other an output interface for interacting with everything under the heavens..."

Tang Lingwu’s voice grew quieter, as if lacking confidence, and she added in the end: "It’s just some wild thoughts."

Zheng Fa and Old Man Bai both laughed.

"Quite interesting. If it works out, this will become the Tang Family’s Second Law of Talismanic Dao!" Old Man Bai said with a laugh.

Zheng Fa also nodded, his gaze towards Tang Lingwu was encouraging—of course, the idea was naive, and it required much more refinement and verification.

But it wasn’t entirely impossible.

Moreover, both Zheng Fa and Old Man Bai knew that Tang Lingwu had always lacked confidence.

This lack of confidence had always pushed Tang Lingwu to work hard.

In fact, both Zheng Fa and Old Man Bai—felt that this girl had already been of great help.

But Tang Lingwu seemed unaware of the power of money.

Seeing the smiling eyes of Zheng Fa and Old Man Bai, Tang Lingwu’s eyes were downcast, yet her expression was sprightly and lively.

The Second Law of the Tang Family’s Talismanic Dao, of course, only existed in conjecture.

But the Bai Family’s First Law of Talismanic Dao had now been modified into the Three Child Talismans Law (Incomplete Version)—to be honest, this was a bit of an unexpected delight, but on the other hand, it brought even more mysteries.

However, after Old Man Bai’s explanation, Zheng Fa was also no longer in a hurry.

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

"By the way, Professor Bai, what about the person you said you were visiting in Beijing, the one with not much time left?"

It was a trip Old Man Bai had made on his own—after all, Zheng Fa didn’t know the person, and with someone seriously ill, they didn’t want to disturb her by showing up uninvited.

"Didn’t see her." Old Man Bai’s tone was a bit odd: "I even missed the funeral she arranged for herself."

"...Her own funeral?"

Zheng Fa had the feeling he couldn’t understand his own language.

"Yes, that lady decided to have a funeral while she was still alive, they say the scene was quite tragically tearful..."

"..."

"How is she now?"

Old Man Bai took out his phone, opened the short video app’s following list, and selected one of the vloggers.

"Here."

Zheng Fa and Tang Lingwu leaned their heads in and saw on the screen an old lady in an army green jacket, wearing sunglasses, with wind-blown hair and a reckless smile, roaring along the wilderness on a black motorcycle.

"This is..."

"Traveling around the world."

Only then did Zheng Fa realize why Old Man Bai mentioned not having met her.

"Professor Bai, what does she do?"

Tang Lingwu’s eyes shone as she looked at the old lady on the screen, somewhat envious—the woman probably represented what she imagined herself to be.

"Didn’t Zheng Fa mention needing an agricultural expert?" Old Man Bai explained: "This person has been involved in agricultural research all her life, never married, no children, just caring for those lands."

"...This demeanor doesn’t seem to fit, does it?"

Zheng Fa took another look at the screen, still somewhat skeptical.

"People say that, after a lifetime of being down-to-earth, nearing death, they should at least be a bit fashionable," Old Man Bai sighed: "A late-life rebel."

"..."

"Professor Bai, what’s your relationship with her?"

Considering the age of the two, and looking at the spirited appearance of the old lady in the photo, Zheng Fa couldn’t help but have some flirtatious thoughts.

"We met in Beijing before, at a dating group for older intellectuals." Old Man Bai was a bit embarrassed: "I’ve encountered her there."

"Like her?"

"...A bit."

"She rejected you?" asked Zheng Fa.

"..." Old Man Bai sighed and said, "She wasn’t there for dating! She said she didn’t want to get married, that her mom forced her to join - going on about being alone and having no one to take care of her when she’s old."

"How old was she at the time?"

"Fifty-eight."

Zheng Fa fell silent, no wonder she was rebellious in her old age, still being pressured to marry at fifty-eight.

"She also said, now that’s great, dying early, so her mom won’t have to worry anymore." Old Man Bai sighed as he spoke, still seemingly harboring some residual feelings for the old lady.

"This between you two..."

"If we cannot become partners in old age, can’t we at least be old friends? I’ve been in contact with her these past couple of days, but she’s on the road and slow to reply." Old Man Bai opened up the chat list in the app: "Huh? She replied?"

He glanced at the message and looked up at Zheng Fa: "She’s coming to the provincial city next month."

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

He looked at the notebook in his hand and spoke: "If I can be of help, I’ll try."

...

In the Xuanwei Realm, today is the day Zhang is leaving the sect.

She is not leaving alone.

This trip to Taiyang County, she was taking a group of her disciples with her.

If Zhang were traveling alone, she would simply go as fast as possible.

But with these disciples, for safety reasons, she chose the sect’s flying shuttle - a common vessel used by cultivators, shuttle-shaped and five or six times faster than the Guiding Ship, but with much less capacity for passengers.

The group stood on the dock, Zhang at the very front.

The time of departure had passed.

But Zhang hadn’t made a move, just furrowing her brows lightly, seemingly waiting for something.

Some disciples felt it strange but didn’t dare to speak up, only inquiring with their eyes at their colleagues:

"Who is Zhang waiting for?"

It was known that Zhang had a decisive and swift nature; she was always ready to go at a moment’s notice.

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

Yet here she was, standing on the dock for quite a while, seemingly willing to wait for several more hours.

That disciple glanced around, gesturing with a tilt of the head toward the distance.

Dust rose into the air as Zheng Fa hurried from afar.

He had an Armored Horse Talisman on his leg, moving as swiftly as a galloping horse, and he only relaxed upon reaching the dock and seeing Zhang’s group: "Sister!"

He called out to Zhang.

Behind Zheng Fa, Seventh Young Master and his sister followed; they were also acquainted with Zhang. Hearing that Zhang was heading to Taiyang County, they too came to see her off.

Zhang looked at Zheng Fa’s disheveled appearance and couldn’t help but purse her lips with a smile.

The disciples behind exchanged glances, all understanding without words.

"I’m late..."

Zheng Fa said embarrassingly and wanted to offer an explanation.

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

Zheng Fa paused and then laughed, handing her a book.

"The Laws of the Three Child Talismans? For me?"

Zhang looked down at the name of the book, then back up at Zheng Fa.

"Mhm, it’s not perfect yet, but it might be of some help to Sister," Zheng Fa said, "It was transcribing this book that almost made me late to see Sister off."

Behind him, Seventh Young Master and his sister watched the two talk, not daring to approach.

Zhang had old ties to the Zhao Family, but after all, it was a relationship with the previous generation - Zhang herself wasn’t particularly close to the Zhao Family.

The two of them saw with their own eyes Zhang’s eyebrows relax, and the shining light in her eyes made them feel as if this was not the Zhang they knew.

"Are you also going to Taiyang County?" Zhang suddenly turned to ask Zhao Jinglan.

"...Yes!"

"Do you live at Zheng Fa’s place now?"

"...Yes!"

"Then you should come aboard as well." Zhang nodded to Zhao Jinglan, who, as if not understanding, just stood there stunned for a moment before saying:

"Is... is that alright?"

"We’re old friends, there’s nothing inconvenient about it."

Zhang glanced briefly at Zheng Fa and spoke earnestly.

"...Yes!"

Zhao Jinglan looked back at Zheng Fa, his eyes deep in thought.

Of course, it was better to go with Zhang - after all, there was some guarantee of safety, plus a chance to parade under someone else’s banner.

Watching the flying shuttle fly into the distance, Seventh Young Master stroked his chin, looking at Zheng Fa suspiciously: "When Zhang Sister took my sister with her, was it really because of our family’s relationship?"

"...Zhang is a warm-hearted person!" Zheng Fa said with a straight face.

"...I just saw it, when you gave her that book, she was really happy!" Seventh Young Master pursed his lips: "What’s in the book? Love poems?"

"..."

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

But...

The first author, Old Man Bai, struggled hard enough chasing down a rebellious old lady.

It didn’t seem like a good match.

The second author, well, that would be Tang Lingwu...

...

On a boat beside the dock, a young man in scholar attire stood watching the flying shuttle leave, and whispered to the two beside him: "Zhang Wuyi is gone, let’s dig into this Zheng Fa’s background."