< Chapter 5: This Mechanism is Truly Ingenious >
The next day, Ning Zhuo arrived at the Flying Disk Workshop to formally visit the master of the workshop, Chen Cha. Ning Zhuo stated his purpose and was smoothly guided by the gatekeeper into Chen Cha's study.
Chen Cha was an old man dressed in a black robe, his face carrying a look of bitterness, his beard graying, and his eyes deeply set. He scrutinized Ning Zhuo, noticing his clean, white robe and calm, deep eyes, reminiscent of a serene pool. The jade pendant on his waist, engraved with the character 'Ning', caught his eye.
"Ning family?" Chen Cha thought to himself.
Huoshi Immortal City was dominated by four major powers, led by the City Lord's Mansion, whose current lord was a Nascent Soul period cultivator. The others included the Zhou family known for their formations, the Zheng family famous for weapons, and the Ning family, specialists in talismans.
"Junior pays his respects to Master Chen Cha, the Active Formation Expert," Ning Zhuo greeted.
The old man chuckled bitterly, "I'm hardly qualified for the title of 'Master'. As for 'Active Formation Expert', that's just flattery from others. Young man, if you wish, you can simply call me Old Chen."
Ning Zhuo continued, "My name is Ning Zhuo. I have heard that Old Chen can impart knowledge about formations. Therefore, I have brought some related questions to seek your advice."
Chen Cha replied, "Indeed, I do conduct this business. Based on the specific questions, I quote specific prices. Ning Zhuo, please ask your questions first, then I can set a price."
His finances were tight; as the head of the workshop, he had to personally craft mechanisms to pay off debts. Normally, he wouldn't engage in this consulting business, but desperate times called for measures to make money from various sources.
After signing the contract, Chen Cha invited Ning Zhuo to take a seat. The contract bound both parties to strictly maintain confidentiality regarding the issue and its solution.
Ning Zhuo then changed his tone and said, "Senior, my question relates to puppet mechanisms."
"Every year during the Huoshi Festival, there are casualties. I want to design a mechanical puppet that can harvest the fire persimmons."
"I've named it the Explosive Monkey. It's already designed, except for the final stage."
"Its body isn't resistant to high temperatures. If a fire persimmon causes an explosion during harvesting, the Explosive Monkey would be severely damaged."
"To solve this difficult issue, I think designing a moving formation to stabilize the body's form would help."
"Therefore, I seek your guidance, senior."
Chen Cha stroked his beard, "Hmm... Did you bring the mechanical monkey? Show it to me."
He was rather dismissive in his heart.
As a master of the puppet workshop, he was often consulted about puppetry issues.
He had seen many such cases and thus had a great deal of experience.
The monk before him was young and had independently designed a mechanical creation, but he suspected that this so-called mechanical monkey was hardly worth looking at.
"Young people, after all, have a shallow perspective and do not know the vastness of heaven and earth. They are also often arrogantly unaware of their limitations and reality without having gone through hardships and stern discipline."
"This young Ning, coming from a prominent family, is likely even more arrogant."
"Be mindful of your words later, and avoid any critical tone. After all, he's paying for advice, and there might even be further business opportunities," Chen Cha silently reminded himself.
After Ning Zhuo's initial introduction, he directly took the mechanical monkey out of his storage bag.
Thump.
The mechanical monkey was quite heavy, and it made a dull sound when placed on the desk.
Chen Cha's pupils dilated slightly!
At the first appearance of the mechanical monkey, his heart skipped a beat. With years of experience, he immediately judged that the mechanism in front of him was not simple.
"Be gentle," Chen Cha's tone was somewhat reproachful. He had a passion for mechanical arts and cherished mechanical creations, feeling that Ning Zhuo's way of placing the mechanical monkey was a bit rough.
Ning Zhuo mistakenly thought Chen Cha was concerned about his desk and awkwardly smiled in response.
At this moment, Chen Cha's gaze was firmly fixed on the Explosive Monkey, as if his soul had been hooked.
Chen Cha, being a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator, immediately released his spiritual sense to inspect it.
Soon, his eyebrows rose high, and his expression turned quite animated.
Chen Cha gently stroked the bright red, smooth fur of the fiery monkey, unable to resist praising on the spot: "This monkey fur is made from the fur of the Fire Cotton Rat. The craftsmanship is excellent, the sewing is seamless, as if it were one piece. The fur lining is inscribed with numerous talismans, enhancing the toughness of the fur. The production is neat, and the layout is meticulous, comparable to that of an experienced tailor."
Ning Zhuo listened and was slightly startled, quickly responding with modesty: "Not at all, not at all. You flatter me too much."
He remained unimpressed and continued, "This needlework is merely basic skill, done in the most traditional way, without any innovation. There's nothing worth boasting about."
Chen Cha's spiritual sense scanned the puppet monkey's skeleton: "The skeleton is made of Celestial Metal. Celestial Metal is both lightweight and tough, and it also possesses a certain spatial efficiency. Indeed, a storage formation has been designed on the skeleton, fully utilizing the material's properties."
"Good, good. The array is also very appropriately laid out. It is evident that the creator was very careful and cautious when setting up the array, trying to compress the space of the formation as much as possible. Being able to compress the formation to this extent demonstrates powerful array-setting skills. Also, the creator tried their best in the early stages of designing the puppet creation, leaving space for future designs. This is foresight and a great perspective."
Ning Zhuo blinked and responded, "Senior, you really give me too much credit. These are all just basic skills. As for the choice of Celestial Metal, I followed the standard teachings. As for the storage formation, I indeed made some minor adjustments. These adjustments are all based on the work of predecessors, and there's nothing worth mentioning."
Chen Cha, however, did not look at him, his entire being immersed in the puppet monkey before him.
He continued to evaluate, "This musculature, is it made from soot clay, further enhanced for fire resistance? No, it doesn't seem quite right… It should be primarily soot clay, but transformed into a new material using alchemical methods. The muscle modeling is really well done. Beautiful, truly beautiful!"
"Just this foundation in material modeling alone qualifies the creator to serve as the second hammer in a tool-refining workshop. Even for crafting delicate magical tools, taking on the role of chief hammer would not be amiss."
"And the skill of creating new materials primarily from soot clay is also quite impressive. As far as I know, this must be an original creation! The creator independently explored and developed this new material, very good, very good. Such a foundation and expertise in the path of alchemy might well make one a great alchemist in the future."
Ning Zhuo felt somewhat embarrassed by the praise and quickly responded, "Senior Chen, you flatter me too much."
"My attempts are very rudimentary, and these innovations are without any systematic method. They're just occasional sparks of inspiration, and there are many flaws and deficiencies."
"This time I sought your guidance, Senior, because the material of the body is unstable and struggles to withstand high temperatures. With such drawbacks, it really shouldn't deserve such high praise from you."
Chen Cha finally looked up at Ning Zhuo, a hint of surprise in his heart: How could such a young man, who crafted such mechanisms, be so humble?
He continued his inspection.
This time, Chen Cha carefully spread open the monkey's palm, and his eyes lit up with brilliance, astonished by the intricate array design within the palm.
"Wonderful, truly exquisite!"
"These miniature arrays are nested within each other, allowing the monkey's palm to perform sensitive and lively movements, capable of executing quite complex finger actions."
"The key is, the way these arrays are combined is quite innovative, not a common setup, showing the creator's talent in array setting and designing arrays."
Ning Zhuo coughed twice, feeling his smile stiffen a bit: "Senior, you praise me too highly, far too highly."
"These designs really aren't anything special, just a bit of integration of some existing knowledge."
"The design of these arrays is just some minor experimentation; I am still exploring. They are far from what could be called innovative or talented, and there are many deficiencies and areas that need improvement."
Chen Cha looked up again at Ning Zhuo, murmuring to himself, "Why is this young man overly modest? Perhaps this is the family style of the Ning family? The so-called demeanor of a great house?"
Suddenly, Chen Cha's eyes widened, a look of astonishment appearing on his face.
He had delved into the puppet monkey's head and discovered that the magical implements arranged within the brain were actually three Curving Bullets!
"Curving Bullets are originally a type of attack that can be remotely controlled to change their flight direction. But they have been transformed, swirling within the monkey's brain, acting as receptors for spiritual sense. This is the first time I have seen this, its unheard of!"
"Oh, and there are many talismans etched inside the monkey's brain working in harmony."
"This is another original creation."
Chen Cha quickly surmised that this arrangement would succeed.
"Clever, truly clever!" His eyes sparkled with admiration as he spoke continuously in praise.
Ning Zhuo was sixteen years old and had always been modest about his skills; he had never before experienced such direct and lavish praise. The compliments made his scalp tingle somewhat. "Senior's praise is too kind, I am truly flattered, overly flattered."
"As for this arrangement, I'm merely experimenting, trying it out. I cannot yet guarantee its practicality and stability."
"In fact, transforming the curving bullet into a spiritual sense receiver was a measure of necessity. Because selling this mechanical Explosive monkey is meant to make money. If it were equipped with an array disk, the cost would be much higher. Hence, this design solution was adopted."
"I always feel this isn't the best solution; there are still unexplored risks and unstable factors."
Finally, Chen Cha had scrutinized the mechanical monkey thoroughly. He looked up at Ning Zhuo, his eyebrows slightly furrowed with skepticism, filled with doubt about the young man before him: "Such an excellent mechanical creation, really made by this young man?"
Ning Zhuo's modesty only deepened Chen Cha's skepticism. In Chen Cha's view, the mechanical monkey was an outstanding piece. If he was the creator, he should hold his head high and proudly proclaim it everywhere—this was a testament to his skills, not something an ordinary person could achieve!
But Ning Zhuo's excessive humility, in Chen Cha's eyes, seemed overly done.
It was as if he lacked confidence, falsely claiming another's work as his own.