True Solution of the Sword Dao
Chapter 271: Volume 4, - 259, Untitled 1

Chapter 271: Volume 4, Chapter 259, Untitled 1

January 7, 2006

Yan Capital University

At the end of the men’s dormitory corridor, the afternoon sunlight sprinkled on the white floor, reflecting strips of bright white marks that were even somewhat dazzling.

Lin Fei leaned against the railing at the end, holding a cell phone and listening to the voice inside.

"Feifei, how have you been lately? How’s everything going over there?"

The voice on the other end of the phone was his father Lin Jianguo’s.

"Pretty good, Dad. Your voice is really full of energy now, a successful man is indeed extraordinary," Lin Fei said with a laugh.

"You little rascal, your mom and I are still worried that you might not be used to living abroad, but now you still have the spirit to joke around, it seems you’re doing well. Do you want me to hand the phone to your mom so she can talk with you?"

"Sure."

Lin Fei turned around, resting his hands on the railing and looking down at the area next to the dorm building where an empty space lay. Two guys were practicing with badminton rackets down there, not caring about the strong wind today, as their high toss shuttlecocks were all lopsided.

Some male students who were leaving their dorm to grab some food also passed by, making the whole campus seem unusually calm.

"Hello, is that Feifei?"

"Yes."

"There’s something Mom wants to talk to you about. Your little sister Lin You said she wants to come to the Capital City to hang out, and your dad and I don’t have time, so..." Before Jiang Feng could finish, Lin Fei instantly knew what Lin You was planning.

"Lin You is not that young anymore, letting her come over by herself is fine, it’s just a one or two-hour flight," Lin Fei said with a smile.

"I don’t know what got into this girl, still so unruly even though she’s in high school. She said she’s joining some travel event with friends to go to the Capital City, sigh, you better talk to her directly. We’re so busy all the time now, and we really are somewhat neglecting her feelings," Jiang Feng sighed.

Lin Fei slightly furrowed his brows.

Soon after some noise on the phone,

it fell back into silence and quietness.

Lin Fei could hear a faint breathing sound from the other end.

"Lin You?"

A sweet familiar voice came through.

"Yes, just wait a moment."

Then there was a series of footsteps, and a slam that sounded like a door closing. Faintly, he could hear Jiang Feng laugh-scolding, "This child, still so shy at this age..."

"Okay, we can talk now," Lin You said, sounding relieved.

"I heard from mom and dad you want to come to the Capital City to play? Is it really just to play or is there something else?" Lin Fei now felt a mix of helplessness, speechlessness, and complexity towards Lin You.

"Don’t worry about it. I have my own things to handle! I definitely won’t trouble you, so don’t worry!" Lin You said decisively.

"Well, then, as you wish. I’ll cover for you with mom and dad," Lin Fei said indifferently.

"Okay, let’s leave it at that," Lin You responded.

Click, the call ended.

Lin Fei calmly put away his phone.

**************

Ping City Middle School, Lin You’s bedroom

Lin You lay on her small bed, her two fair legs swinging.

A black cat lay sprawled across the desk, resting.

"Tell me, Feil, what exactly are you up to?" Lin You asked the black cat curiously as she put away her phone.

"Yoga," the cat replied without lifting its head. "Mithril’s secret five-bodied posture from India."

Lin You’s mouth twitched a bit.

"So, you are a cat, right?"

"Really?" Feil flipped over, spread all four legs, and slapped two paws on the desk.

"By the way, Lin You, have you prepared everything? Although we are going on a big shopping spree, we must still be careful. It would be great if Merrill could join us," Feil added.

"She said she is cultivating a new type of seed and can’t leave during this crucial period," Lin You said idly as she played with her phone. "Feil, how much pocket money do you have left?"

"Just a little bit left," the black cat said helplessly, pulling out a bank card from somewhere and flipping it over with a paw.

Lin You leaned over to look at it. On the back of this card was a small number: €5400.

"What does this symbol mean?"

"That’s the Euro symbol. This card can display my account balance instantly."

"So we have just 5400 Euros left? Isn’t that a lot?" Lin You asked, puzzled.

"That’s only a bit more than forty thousand Hua Currency. Back in the day, that wasn’t even enough for one meal," Feil said with resignation.

"So what can we buy with that?" Lin You asked curiously.

"Nothing much. Well, maybe things like maps," Feil added. "That’s why we need to turn our loot into money to increase our funds for this trip, and also to show you the world. Otherwise, I’d be embarrassed to tell people you’re with me."

"....."

Lin You picked up the bank card.

It was a light blue card with a row of incomprehensible letters on it, apart from the amount displayed on the back.

"This is a savings card from the Mithril Bank. Stop looking, it’s just that little amount of money, it won’t get any larger by staring," Feil said lazily.

"Oh...." Lin You stared intently at the card in her hands.

******************

Three days later...

January 10, 2006

Early morning

"Lin Fei, are you coming for breakfast?"

In the dormitory, Shi Ran said sleepily while hugging his quilt.

"I’ve already eaten."

Lin Fei put down the white practice sword in his hand and used a towel to gently wipe off his sweat.

"It’s only six o’clock, right? Big brother, you woke up pretty early, huh?" Du Xiaosheng yawned as he sat up in bed.

"It’s okay," Lin Fei smiled. "I’m used to it. Hurry up and get up. We have exams soon. Better revise a little."

After a semester of living together, Ouyang Dong seemed to have moved out and never came back. He wasn’t seen in class either, and it was said he had switched departments. No new roommate would move into this dorm until next academic year. Consequently, his desk naturally accumulated other people’s odds and ends, serving as a temporary communal space.

"This semester passed so quickly," Shi Ran climbed out of bed. "Old Du, pass me your electromagnetics homework to copy. It’s just this subject I’m missing."

"Here!" Du Xiaosheng tossed a notebook from his bedside. "I just finished copying it last night. It’s the original, from Cheng Nianwei, our class leader. Make sure to make some changes."

"Thank you, thank you!" Shi Ran happily caught the notebook.

"By the way, this month’s living allowance has been transferred. I’ll treat everyone this afternoon!" Shi Ran declared generously. "Lion King Building!"

"Damn, big spender!" Du Xiaosheng suddenly perked up. "I’m telling you, Shi Ran, how much exactly do you get for living expenses a month! That’s awesome!"

"At least three thousand, I guess. It’s not that much," Shi Ran said nonchalantly.

"Damn!" Du Xiaosheng was almost unable to calm down. "I only get six hundred, man, I worship you!"

Lin Fei stood on the side, smiling as he watched the two of them.

Suddenly, the pleasant sound of a spring emerged. It was Lin Fei’s phone ringtone. He had changed the old ringtone to this. Thinking about the previous ringtone brought a slight smile to Lin Fei’s lips.

"I’m going to take a call." He walked out of the dormitory and found a quiet corner before pressing the call button.

"Hello, Feifei? Lin You has already boarded the train. It’s the Capital City station. You know the train number, right?" The voice on the phone was Jiang Feng’s.

"She told me. I’ll keep track of the time to pick her up. Don’t worry," Lin Fei assured.

*****************

On the train

Lin You, holding Feil, nestled tiredly in her seat.

"If it weren’t for pets not being allowed on planes, we would have arrived already," Lin You yawned.

"Upon arrival, we’ll go directly to the Pacific Exchange." Feil communicated telepathically. "Tell your brother not to come pick us up. It’ll just be troublesome."

"Okay." Lin You took out her phone and started texting.

*****************

In the classroom

The lecturer loudly talked about linear algebra from the podium.

Sitting among over two hundred students, Lin Fei put down his pen, pulled out his phone to glance at a text message, frowned slightly, and then put his phone away again.

*****************

Pacific Exchange

Inside a vast marketplace filled with cheap items.

Among the throngs of people browsing and walking by the various stalls, a person wrapped entirely in a grayish-white turtleneck trench coat slowly moved with the crowd.

The person wore a large hat, donned big sunglasses, and a white mask covered their mouth. The high collar almost completely concealed their chin. The figure was entirely shrouded as if cloaked within a wrapping of wrappings.

Even more bizarre, something roundish occasionally moved near the person’s abdomen. Yet, walking around the market in such attire didn’t seem to stand out at all.

"My god! Is that even a person?" Lin You shrank into her clothes, watching various oddly dressed and bizarrely appearing people pass by. Among them, a woman crawling with black insects all over her body particularly gave her goosebumps.

"Forget it for now, look at the stall ahead on the left. Buying things is more important," Feil’s voice came through.

"Oh." This was Lin You’s first time seeing so many fellow psychics or people from the Inner World. She suddenly felt a sense of belonging, as if she found her kind and community.

Yet, she chose to follow Feil’s advice and walked to a stall on the left up ahead.

The stall owner was an old man wrapped in a gray cloak, sitting cross-legged on the ground. His stall was basically unattended, and the sign next to it marked his items as inexpensive.

Seeing finally someone stopping by, the stall owner’s eyes lit up.

"Feil, I think I just saw the stall owner’s eyes light up," Lin You said blankly.

"Really? I didn’t see that. These items here are such a bargain! Coming here was completely worth it," Feil said as he popped out from a slit in Lin You’s trench coat. He jumped down directly onto the stall.

"My goods are excellent value for money, all unearthed from relics in the Inner World! Look at these seeds! Top-quality winged flower seeds, providing thirty seconds of flight time, just two thousand Euros. And this violent bee hive, its honey costs only two thousand five hundred per pound..." The stall owner began rattling on endlessly about his products, some of which were even covered with a layer of fine dust.

At the stall, Lin You, following Feil’s instructions, bought a Barrier Sphere, a metal chain, and a so-called sand grass.

Sand grass was said to be able to instantly burst a large cloud of sand and pungent aroma, useful for covering one’s tracks while escaping.

Feil stretched out his paw and patted a small spherical object on the stall. It was a sort of Black Crystal sphere, egg-sized, and cut into a very intricate polyhedron, appearing like many tiny scales were on its surface.

"What’s this?" Lin You asked, picking up the polyhedron sphere under Feil’s guidance. Her voice was altered through a small voice changer provided by Merrill, making it sound like a rough man’s voice.

"That? It’s a purported spinal dragon egg fossil. If you want it, I’ll throw it in for free," the stall owner said indifferently. "Honestly, if I weren’t in a rush, I wouldn’t be selling these things so cheaply to you. Let’s make the trade quickly; I’ve got urgent matters!" (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote on Qidian.com with a recommendation ticket or a monthly ticket. Your support is my greatest motivation.)