After a few hours, we can see the outskirts of Monchon City. Something that had whipped past us when we first left in the sect’s carriages, away from the city.

Ramshackle buildings made of wood and stone stand clustered together. A place for those that are neither restricted from entering the city nor welcomed.

However, the buildings closest to the road appear to be far better than the others, focused on servicing travelers with places to stay and trading houses.

My eyes turn toward the horizon, with my scan looking beyond that. Letting me see that Jin Chin is causing immense amounts of havoc on all the nearby bandits. Occasionally, a plume of smoke rises from the forest into the morning sky.

I already let her know to be merciful and what general things to look out for when clearing the area.

As well as people that she should let go or save, even if she normally wouldn’t. Now whether or not she will is a different question.

One commitment I’ve made is to allow people to make their own decisions, while giving the best advice I can. For the bandits, there is a lot of grey area in who’s done horrible things and why. I just tried to suggest to her that maybe some of those lean more towards forgiveness.

I feel a sigh come out of me.

It would be so much easier to just tell her what to do. But that’s not the best way for people to grow. Especially if I’m trying to cultivate regular and consistent kindness in them.

A small clank behind me, draws my attention away from my thoughts, and to He Wen instead.

He jerks his head up from the large contraption he is working on and stands to apologize.

“I’m sorry, Mast-“

“It’s James, He Wen.”

I raise my hands with a smile.

“No need for formalities, remember? Also, don’t mind me, I was just thinking of something. You can get back to practicing.”

He calms down, giving me a small nod, and returns his eyes to his work. I give him one back, while turning away. Even as I do so, though, it seems like the best time to check his progress on the project I’ve given him while we travel to the city.

A go-cart.

An electric one, of course, so I don’t have to worry about too many explosions.

Considering that I’ve given him a jade slip to pass along as much engineering and mechanic knowledge as I could, and that I gave him a general idea on the idea on what I was looking for, meant that he was free to try things out.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

But he doesn’t have all the materials to build the full thing, just a concept and a few parts. Currently, he’s experimenting with electricity generation and how it can power different systems, as a test bed. Using materials, I’ve given him, that are the closest to what we would have in my world, of course.

The look of wonder on his face, as he continues to experiment with the unfamiliar concepts in the practice, is worth all the extra money and time spent to get them.

But I included in the jade slip and emphasized a big principle of engineering, important and especially so, in this world with the randomness of qi.

‘Things can and will go wrong. Make sure you understand why they will or how they have.’

...to understand for himself how this world really works.

Of course, using my scan, I’m able to have an idea how things will work out… but that doesn’t mean I can predict it without using the scan at this point. The nature of things is intricate and will require deep insights.

This world needs both a scientist and an engineer to help pin down these rules. And I’m hoping he’ll be the Da Vinci of this world, after I’m done with him.

Luckily for me, he has an intense wish to become something greater. Currently, that is in the form of wanting to become a qi treasure creator. Now what he will ultimately evolve into, will be something far above such a singular title.

But that will take time, study, and consistent effort.

Satisfied with the hard work from his side, a glance at everyone else shows they are working just as hard on their cultivation, techniques, and individual projects.

We’re approaching the city at a fast pace, though, so it’s about time for me to have us prepare for the bad feeling I’ve been getting.

“Hey guys? Gather up. I’d like to talk to you for a moment.”

Soon after saying this, everyone rushes overtop the carriages to come together. Moving straight into the topic at hand, I point towards the plumes of smoke from Jin Chin.

“As you might have noticed, there are quite a few bandits out and about. I have my suspicions about why this is occurring, but I want you all to be on guard while we are here.”

Yalei steps forward.

“There’s no need to worry, Master James. We will protect you from anyone looking to harm you.”

I scratch my neck awkwardly.

“Ah, actually, I meant that you all should watch yourselves instead.”

I can see looks of confusion from everyone, showing that I’ll need to explain.

“Considering everything that’s happened thus far, people might go after you all instead of me. And all of you know my personality enough to know that it would be an effective tactic.

“With that said, Yalei, could you protect everyone? And everyone else, I need you to practice keeping a close eye on each other and training together. I’ll typically be okay, as you all have seen.

"But if someone kidnaps one of you, that will cause us quite a bit of issues, since I WILL come to get you back."

As I was speaking, Lin was nodding her head, being the first to understand where I was going with this. Understandable, since she is one of the first people to get to know me in this world.

By the end, only He Wen still seems confused by my decision, since he doesn’t know me as well. Yalei seems to get it from having interacted with my ‘shadow’, as it was just me, but in her mind.

I continue with the explanation.

“From what I can gather, the changes in the situation have to be because something in the city is leading to large groups being pushed out. While normally I can figure out what’s going on… someone is hiding things and making it difficult to discover.”

The outskirts are only a few kilometers ahead, with some groups moving far slower near that area. An indication that I should wrap this conversation up.

“Just remember what I said and be safe out here. No matter what happens, I can take care of myself. I just want you guys to be safe, okay?”

Everyone gives hesitant nods.

I’ll have to take that as a yes.

As we all reorient to the individual carriages, I finally see a sight at the edge of the outskirts that brings immense amounts of joy to my heart.

A tiny spider.