Chapter 60 Commuting

Sunlight streamed down through the patio, and sparrows and partridges hopped back and forth across the roof.

For the first time in many years, Shang Luo woke up in his own bed. Although the Brocade Guard had cleaned the room and made the bed, there was one thing they hadn't anticipated—the child's bed was simply too small.

"My feet..." He turned over, feeling a slight ache in his legs. It seemed that half of his feet had been hanging off the edge yesterday.

[Good morning!]

"Ah... Why are you always so full of energy? You're only energetic when the Brocade Guard aren't around."

[Because today is the first day in Yujing! I've wanted to come to Yujing for the longest time. To fight those shady fellows, I'm traveling the world to look for helpers. Ah! Finding you was definitely the right choice! If I ever have the honor of meeting the Dao Ancestor, I will definitely ask him to step in and deal with those bad guys.]

"Ah..." Shang Luo yawned. "Well, talk to him about it tomorrow, then. Hardly anyone else has ever seen the Dao Ancestor."

He slipped into his slippers. They felt a size too small, but it wasn't a major issue.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang.

"Is anyone home? Fuwei Express! You have a delivery!"

"So early? Did I order anything?" On his very first day back, Shang Luo didn't recall placing any orders over the phone.

[Luggage, of course. Your luggage.]

"Oh... Almost forgot." The preparations along the way had been so thorough that Shang Luo had forgotten he returned empty-handed and didn't have his belongings with him at all.

"Wait, they're this fast? It arrived overnight... Coming! Coming right down!"

He used the banister to make his way down from the second floor. The stairwell was right next to the front door; he unlatched the bolt and pulled the heavy door half open.

"Hello, are you Mr. Shang Luo?" A deliveryman wearing a small cap stood at the entrance, with a cardboard box placed beside him.

"Yes, yes, that's me. Do I need to stamp it? My seal is in the package, though."

"A signature is fine, or a thumbprint. Here's the pen. Right, perfect. That completes the delivery." After confirming, the deliveryman handed the cardboard box over to Shang Luo.

"And this as well." With that, the deliveryman tried to reach sideways to heave something else...

"Whoa! Why is this so heavy?" the deliveryman asked in surprise. "I don't remember it being nearly this heavy just now."

"Do I have other luggage? I thought these were all I had—clothes, a suitcase, and some books."

The deliveryman straightened his back and thumped a cylindrical object down by the doorway with a heavy thud: "Your name is written right on this. If you refuse delivery, I'll just send it back."

[It's that! The Spear of the Sun God! They shipped the Spear of the Sun God to you by courier!]

"Good grief, they can deliver *this* by mail?!"

Seeing Shang Luo freeze for a second, the deliveryman tentatively asked, "Should I just send it back, then?"

"No, no, it's fine. It really is mine." Shang Luo reached out and took the Spear of the Sun God—the moment he took hold of it, he noticed something abnormal. It had indeed become heavier, significantly heavier than before. Holding it with one hand was somewhat difficult because it was hard to maintain balance. Two hands were just about manageable, however.

He closed the door, leaned the Spear of the Sun God against it, and stood with his hands on his hips behind the door.

"Why does it feel heavier?"

[It absorbed phlogiston from the sun, so naturally it got heavier. But to reach peak capacity, it will probably need to bake in the sun for another dozen years. Just leaving it out in the light won't be enough.]

"So what should I do..."

[What do you mean, what should you do?]

"I'm going out in a bit! I need to fill out forms at Senior Chiliarch Lu's place, and he has things to brief me on. But isn't the Spear of the Sun God extremely important? How can I just leave it at home and feel at ease?"

[Then just take it with you. It's not like you can't bring it on the subway.]

...

"Turns out you really *can* bring it..." Shang Luo shouldered the Spear of the Sun God and walked into the subway station. There were police officers right by the entrance; he originally intended to walk past as casually as possible. But the officers merely glanced at him twice and paid him no further mind.

[I told you it was allowed. I checked the Yujing Railway riding guidelines—it's permitted. Because students often need to carry their weapons to practice drills, the tram allows bows, arrows, and long spears, as long as they are properly wrapped. Among traditional weapons, only handguns and cannons are banned, since gunpowder might cause a fire.]

"But this long spear is just way too long..."

*Bang!* The tip of the spear struck the lintel.

"Hey! You student over there!" an officer standing by the entrance shouted. "I let it slide when you walked in carrying an over-limit item, but don't go damaging public property!"

"Sorry, sorry!" Clutching the long spear, Shang Luo stepped onto the escalator and vanished from the officer's sight.

The height of the escalator wasn't really suitable for holding a spear nearly three meters long; the dimensions definitely exceeded the limit.

People in front and behind him cleared a space of four or five steps, terrified that he might turn around and accidentally sweep the spear horizontally.

...

[By the way, where is Senior Chiliarch Lu's place again?]

"No. 16-2, Wuyi Alley. Didn't you hear?"

[I need to sleep too, you know. I can't be on standby 24 hours a day; I'm not your handmaiden... Anyway, where is Wuyi Alley?]

"At the Confucius Temple. It's a four-stop subway ride from here."

[Ah! The Confucius Temple—is that the very famous tourist attraction?]

"Locals don't go to tourist spots, you know. Things are expensive and not even good; they sell roast duck there without any savory broth, completely lacking soul. But the Confucius Temple houses the Temple of Confucius and the Imperial Academy, packed entirely with tourists and tribute students. It's usually as noisy as a temple fair, and during actual temple fairs, your feet don't even touch the ground. I figure Senior Chiliarch Lu isn't fond of noise, but living there couldn't be helped since the Brocade Guard's district office is right there. Sigh, today's a workday, so hopefully it won't be too crowded, though that's probably wishful thinking."

...

"Figures." Emerging from the subway station, the scene before him was just as he had imagined—still utterly packed with people. The Confucius Temple was a renowned attraction in Nanjing because the imperial examinations were still ongoing. Anyone hoping to place high would come here to pay their respects to Confucius, though one has to wonder which petitioner Confucius actually grants blessings to when everyone asks.

This area was also on the outer perimeter of the Imperial Academy. As the nominal highest institution of learning, even in an era when various public and private universities had risen successively, the Imperial Academy still retained its position above all other institutions of higher education by virtue of its unique political status. Furthermore, the Imperial Academy still shouldered numerous imperial ritual functions, such as the "Rite of Lin Yong," which was held right there. The academy itself was also a scenic spot; aside from its four inner dormitories, teaching zones, and the main hall, the rest was open to visitors.

"Ah, so crowded... Excuse me, pardon me." To avoid letting his long spear bump into anyone, Shang Luo had to voice his warnings aloud.

The nearly three-meter-long spear stood out in the crowd like a flagpole. Passing tourists saw him carrying such a massive object and stepped aside to clear a path.

"Hey, please wait a moment!" Suddenly, someone tapped him on the shoulder from behind.

Shang Luo raised the spear vertically before turning around—the person behind him wore a blue silk robe draped diagonally across one shoulder. Underneath was a long cotton garment, patterned with mosaic-like family crests. The man had black hair and black eyes, with regular, refined features somewhat resembling a Chinese person.

[Tch, a Roman.]

"Are you Roman?"

"Oh, yes, yes, friend of Zhuxia. I am truly, truly overjoyed to visit the capital of our ally, to visit another civilized nation in this world. My vocabulary is rather limited, please forgive me." He grabbed Shang Luo's hand and shook it vigorously.

"Hey, hey, hey, Mr. Roman! Don't shake me, this thing is very heavy! It's going to fall!"

"Oh! Sorry. But I have a tiny request, just to take five seconds of your time. Look over there—that's my photography slave. This Londoner is a bit ugly, isn't he? Sorry, sorry, I didn't want to bring him to Zhuxia either, but I just love taking pictures too much. I only brought four slaves with me this time, and he happens to be one of them."

"So what on earth do you want?"

"Take a picture. Just a picture. Ah, the supreme craftsmanship of Zhuxia, the martial vigor of the martial arts tournament—this is what civilized people ought to do. I want to take your picture and then feature you in my travelogue. Five seconds! Five seconds is all."

"Go ahead." Shang Luo hoisted the spear, turned halfway, and stood side by side with the Roman.

The Roman waved and spoke in Latin, signaling his slave to press the shutter.

The shutter flashed, releasing a puff of blue smoke.

"Done?"

"Thank you! Thank you! You Zhuxia people are truly far too kind. Please enjoy this cup of iced grape juice; my beverage slave carried the insulated box all the way here, so it should still be icy cold. Thank you so much!"