Chapter 713: Seasoned Incense Connoisseur

Siwei Jiejie nodded, then turned to look at me before asking, "So, that means... if we could replicate a similar display screen, it would greatly reduce Yingxiong Didi's workload."

"Yes," Gu Yu Gege nodded. "Although the idea is good, I've visited many people in Dao Cheng, and no one knows how that display screen works. Moreover, in their memories, it seems the display screen has been standing there for a very long time."

"A display screen that can hear other people's Qingxiang..." Siwei Jiejie narrowed her eyes and thought carefully for a while before saying, "This sounds easy in theory... but it's really hard to implement. How does it capture sounds? And how does it display them? Is it powered by electricity?"

"Well..." Gu Yu Gege thought for a moment and said, "This doesn't seem like something caused by Qingxiang. Could it be some kind of technology?"

"Technology...?" Siwei Jiejie paused for a second. "Gu Yu, you mentioned earlier that there's a huge bronze bell hanging above the display screen, right?"

"Yes."

"How big is the display screen, and how big is the bell?"

"The display screen is about the size of one side of a huge shipping container, fixed in place by two pillars on either side, and above those pillars hangs a giant bell, which is about the size of one in a temple."

"What...?" Siwei Jiejie found it a bit hard to understand. "Gu Yu, based on what you're saying, this doesn't sound like it's built with technology... It's somewhat... somewhat..."

"Crude," Gu Yu Gege nodded. "Yes, it's very crude."

"Besides, if it really was made with technology, theoretically, they wouldn't use something as ancient as a bronze bell... Anyone who can make a display screen could probably make other sound devices too, right? No matter how you think about it, using a bronze bell to alert people isn't the best method..."

"That's why I'm so curious about how it works..."

Gu Yu Gege finished speaking and raised his hands, using one to mimic the display screen below and the other to mimic the giant bell above, holding them apart with no contact between them.

"Logically, a huge bronze bell like that couldn't be powered by electricity; it needs an external force to strike it. But why does it link up with the display screen?"

Only then did I realize that the real issue wasn't that the display screen could show Qingxiang, but that these two unrelated things were moving together.

"This is clearly not a normal phenomenon," Siwei Jiejie said. "Their power must come from Qingxiang. It's just that the person who thought of this method was very clever. Even if we could gather people with the right abilities, we wouldn't be able to replicate the same device, because we're missing his idea."

"You make a good point," Gu Yu Gege said seriously. "I should have stayed longer until I met their leader, Wen Qiaoyun. She could definitely tell me the principle behind that bell."

Siwei Jiejie nodded. "But we can still try our best. If we could really build something like that... Yingxiong Didi would be completely free. Even if we can't make something as specific as the display screen, just creating a bell that can warn people would be enough."

"Yes," Gu Yu Gege agreed. "Siwei, starting tomorrow, let's focus on checking the Qingxiang of everyone in the family and see if anyone can achieve a similar effect."

"Okay. The situation is getting more dangerous, and freeing Yingxiong sooner would be a good thing."

Watching the two of them exchange ideas, I still felt like I was just a child who couldn't do anything.

I really wanted to help them and the family, but what could I possibly do?

I sighed very quietly, but Siwei Jiejie noticed it anyway.

"Yingxiong," she called, "I just remembered I forgot to ask you—what ideas do you have for building this device?"

"Ah?" I looked up at her. "Me?"

"Yes, Gu Yu and I have shared a lot of ideas. Now it's your turn." She came over and squatted in front of me. "You're the pillar of our team. Do you have any good suggestions?"

I think that's why I like Siwei Jiejie so much—she never treats me like a kid who doesn't know anything.

"I..."

"It's okay, you can share any idea you have." Siwei Jiejie patted my shoulder. "Yingxiong, even though you're younger than us, you're an experienced Qingxiang user. Your suggestions might give us some unexpected insights."

I did have an idea, but I felt it might sound silly. Still, Siwei Jiejie always makes me feel at ease enough to tell her everything I'm thinking.

"Well... Siwei Jiejie, Gu Yu Gege, have you noticed... that when people die by accident, their bodies stay here?"

I was trying hard to express myself clearly, but I didn't have enough words.

"I get it roughly..." Siwei Jiejie said. "You're saying that if someone dies by accident, their body doesn't disappear, and in the next cycle, they come back."

"Yes, yes!" I nodded quickly. "That's exactly it! So it's like having two of me at the same time... I don't know if I'm explaining it well... One of me wouldn't die... and the other would come back..."

I felt like I was getting more and more confused, and my voice was getting quieter. Even though Siwei Jiejie has given me countless chances to speak my mind, I still feel so clumsy.

"Yingxiong Didi, don't worry—you can just say what you want to do."

"What if... I could turn into a bell?" I said.

"What...?" Siwei Jiejie and Gu Yu Gege both froze, and from their expressions, I could tell they had never thought in that direction.

"Even if I turned into a bell... I'd still come back in the next cycle." I said with a smile. "So I wouldn't die, and I could keep helping everyone. It's just a shame my Qingxiang is 'Ling Xiu,' not 'turning into a bell'... Otherwise..."

Seeing that Siwei Jiejie and Gu Yu Gege didn't say anything, I realized I might have shared another foolish idea, and my voice trailed off again.

"I'm sorry... Brother and Sister, you two go ahead and talk. I'll just listen."

"Not at all—worthy of an experienced Qingxiang user..." Siwei Jiejie said with wide eyes. "This might just be the answer..."