Chapter Twenty-Two: So That's How It Is

Tang Yi scanned the valley with his Thousand-Mile Eye and spotted a peculiar object near the mouth of the gorge. It seemed to be wood, yet not quite, dark and mysterious, with writing etched upon it—simplified characters! Tang Yi was baffled. With a leap, he landed at the entrance, picked it up, and examined it closely. "Eh? What is this? Moon... Light... Treasure... Box... Damn... Isn't this the thing I created last time?" To his astonishment, Tang Yi recognized the Moonlight Treasure Box as the very artifact he had crafted out of boredom before. Its shape matched the one from the film, and he recalled it had accidentally flown off by itself. How had it ended up here?

"Tang, what’s that? Hey! Isn’t that the box you lost last time?" Hua Shaojie hurried to Tang Yi’s side and exclaimed when he saw what Tang Yi was holding.

"This is called the Moonlight Treasure Box. It’s used for traversing through time and space. I didn’t finish refining it properly last time, so it malfunctioned and crossed over on its own. I never thought it would wind up here—how strange. But it doesn’t matter; I installed a recording function on it. It can record the time, people, and place of every time-space crossing. We can review it back on the ship. For now, let’s settle this business with Lei Zhenzi first!" Tang Yi finished speaking and stowed the Moonlight Treasure Box, returning to the valley.

"Well, Lei Zhenzi, have you made your choice yet?" Tang Yi asked Lei Zhenzi, whose face had transformed into a drooling grin.

"Uh, Tang, I find these people are all so handsome, so stylish, and full of character. I’m dazzled—I haven’t chosen yet!" Lei Zhenzi drooled again, though not literally.

"Enough nonsense, hurry up and finish! Then we head back to the ship; there’s important business!" Tang Yi shouted at him.

"Alright, got it!" Lei Zhenzi replied.

…

In the screening room of the ship’s entertainment hall, Tang Yi and his companions watched the large screen. The footage being played was from the Moonlight Treasure Box’s recordings.

The scene showed Tang Yi’s laboratory. "Boro-boro-mi, this one’s good, let’s make it the incantation for time travel. Hmph-hmph-ha-xi, this will be the spell for spatial traversal. One-two-three-four, that’ll be for traveling through time. Heh, done. Oh, it’s recording too? Never mind. Time to eat, I’ll return to experiment later. Heh, boro-boro-mi…" Tang Yi stepped out of frame. As he recited "boro-boro-mi," a blue light flashed across the screen. The scene shifted to a vast grassland. Suddenly, a herd of horses thundered across the field.

"Father, how many are there in this herd?" a child’s voice asked. "You can count them yourself, can’t you? Didn’t I teach you to count?" "Alright, one, two, three, four…" The blue light of the Moonlight Treasure Box flashed again, and the scene changed. The location remained, but the horses vanished, replaced by a group of cultivators locked in fierce combat. Blades and swords clashed, each strike echoing with a grunt. A cultivator wielding a great blade swung with force; his opponent parried with a sword, grunting in response. Elsewhere, a cultivator bathed in golden light spread his fingers and pushed forward, sending his adversaries flying with a blast of golden energy. Another cultivator witnessed this and chuckled. At that moment, a gust toppled the Moonlight Treasure Box, its blue light enveloping the battlefield. In a flash, everyone vanished, leaving only the wind howling across the empty field.

The scene shifted again, this time to a frozen wasteland—the very valley beneath Tang Yi’s ship, but tens of thousands of years ago. Everyone in the recording froze mid-action as the wind whipped through, turning them instantly into ice sculptures. The footage continued for ten minutes or so, then faded to black.

"Is that all?" Hua Shaojie blurted out.

"Yes, what more did you expect?" Bai Dongfang replied.

"What more? I just haven’t had enough! Right, Tang?" Hua Shaojie turned to Tang Yi.

"Enough, no more chatter. We’ve watched it all. Time to eat. Ruoxue, let’s go." Tang Yi packed away the Moonlight Treasure Box, took Hua Ruoxue by the hand, and left.

…

In the ship’s dining hall, Tang Yi and his companions were eating.

"Hey, Tang, are there any new recipes? It’s always egg fried rice or salted radish, day in and day out. I’m sick of it." Hua Shaojie grumbled over his bowl of egg fried rice.

"No, these are the dishes I know. When we get to Changbai Mountain, find yourself a chef. Eat and keep quiet!" Tang Yi replied.

"Oh, but I don’t know the formula for the food generator, do I?" Hua Shaojie asked again.

"Why are you so dense? Just let Jet handle it for you. Idiot!" Bai Dongfang scolded Hua Shaojie.

"Good point. Hey, Bai Dongfang, stop taking every chance to insult me. Let’s let it go this time, but don’t let it happen again or you’ll regret it!" Hua Shaojie, annoyed, ate his egg fried rice with extra ferocity.

"Heh, Fellow Daoist Tang, I saw earlier that the Moonlight Treasure Box you refined is quite extraordinary. I’d like to borrow it for a closer look, if you don’t mind?" Zhang Sanfeng, holding a bowl of rice, suddenly appeared beside Tang Yi and Hua Ruoxue, startling them so much they nearly dropped their bowls.

"Brother Sanfeng, could you stop appearing out of nowhere? You’ll scare people to death," Tang Yi patted his startled heart.

"Yes, yes, it’ll scare people to death, but not to life. May I, then?" Zhang Sanfeng’s face was wreathed in smiles.

"In a word—no!" Tang Yi was adamant.

"Ah, well!" Zhang Sanfeng walked away, resigned. No sooner had he left than Li Zhan approached.

"Uh, Tang—" Li Zhan began, but Tang Yi cut him off.

"Stop. If you’re here about the Moonlight Treasure Box—two words: not happening. That’s it!" Li Zhan could only leave in defeat, and the others, seeing this, dared not approach Tang Yi about the Moonlight Treasure Box.

Hua Ruoxue, unable to eat, whispered to Tang Yi, "Tang, why are you so protective of the Moonlight Treasure Box? Is it really that important?"

"It is, but the key isn’t the Moonlight Treasure Box itself. The consequences of using it are incalculable, uncontrollable, and unpredictable. You know already—the butterfly effect from traversing time and space is truly terrifying. You saw those cultivators in the valley on this planet? Oh, right, Lei Zhenzi should have finished choosing by now. I forgot to pick him up. Quick, Jet…"