IRM Chapter 82

Ji Chi had no idea that after he walked out, countless jaws had dropped in the hall. If he had known, he might have disdainfully called it making a fuss over nothing.

But this couldn’t really be blamed on their lack of worldliness.

Using an umbrella as a weapon wasn’t uncommon in various martial arts novels from the Flower-Planting Family, but in the distant medieval otherworld, their understanding of umbrellas was more about the lace parasols that court ladies half-leaned on their shoulders—typical examples of looking good but being useless.

(TL: “种花家” (literally “the flower-planting family”) is a humorous or affectionate way to refer to China or the Chinese people)

However, everything changed due to a small turning point.

In the not-too-distant future, this unconventional design would somehow open up new ideas for engineers. They would no longer be fixated on monotonous equipment like swords, shields, and armor. Many small items that people often overlooked would also enter people’s field of vision.

But that was all a story for later. Ji Chi walked through the streets of Yiste Town with a trace of weariness on his face.

Continuously taking exams for six or seven hours straight wasn’t something an ordinary person could endure. Even though his constitution had long since become as thick as a tank’s, his spirit had been tortured to the point of near death……

Exams truly were the natural enemy of all students——

Ji Chi rarely showed such a dazed expression as he shuffled toward the inn.

“Ji Chi?! How did you come out so fast!” A familiar youthful voice came from behind, carrying a note of disappointment at his failure to meet expectations.

Ji Chi turned around and looked at Linton with mental exhaustion, having no energy to deal with him.

Linton mistakenly thought he hadn’t performed well and said angrily, “So you still didn’t believe me yesterday, did you! If you had prepared in advance, how could you have ended up like this!”

Ji Chi waved his hand. “I prepared properly and completed it properly too.”

Linton: “Bullshit! Coming out this early, how could you have completed it properly?”

Ji Chi stared at him expressionlessly without speaking.

Linton realized, “Can I be the same? I’m a high-level engineer! And I already thought about my direction in advance, of course I was fast!”

Ji Chi turned and continued walking.

What’s so great about being a high-level engineer? I’m even the God of Forging, I’d scare you to death if I told you……hmph.

Though it seems rather useless……Ji Chi’s chest, which had just puffed up, deflated again as he helplessly added in his mind.

Linton scratched his head, making the gray braid at the back of his head unusually messy. He sighed. “Ah, forget it. Anyway, you live in the royal city, right? Next year when the examiners come out, remember to come find me at the Engineering Academy. Preparing a few months in advance should be enough to pass, right? This test is so simple!”

Ji Chi responded perfunctorily with a couple of “mm-hmm”s. “We’ll talk about it when you get into the Engineering Academy.”

Linton: “Wow, you don’t believe me again, do you? I came out early for a reason, of course……ah, I won’t talk to you about it. Time’s up, I need to go grab some food! See you later!”

With that, he dashed toward the royal aid station in a flash, making Ji Chi’s eyelids twitch.

This kid’s brain circuit is something else. Leaving the test venue early just to claim an aid dinner?

Ji Chi stood in place, staring at Linton’s back in disbelief. He glanced at the fire-red burning sunset on the horizon and also slowly walked toward the aid station.

He wanted to see what treasures the royal family was distributing.

There weren’t many days left for the remaining tests, and with most testers still struggling in the hall, far fewer people swarmed to the aid station this evening.

Ji Chi stood unhurriedly at the very end of the line, half-closing his eyes and waiting patiently.

The aid station’s shed was built with sturdy, solid wood, covered with a layer of red silk cloth on top to protect against rain and dust. The shed was quite large, with many people bustling about inside, creating a scene of lively activity.

Ji Chi looked once and disdainfully lowered his eyes. Putting on a show……If the royal family truly cared about commoners, they wouldn’t have set up just one aid shed in the entire town, deliberately creating a scene of crowded masses.

Not only was the shed unreasonably positioned, but the aid food was also——it wasn’t until he was only two or three meters from the shed that Ji Chi could smell the food.

The roasted grains gave off a soft, gentle fragrance mixed with a faint sour fermentation smell. While Ji Chi frowned slightly at the scent, for commoners who went through cycles of hunger and fullness, it was already a refreshing comfort.

The food on the counter was very simple. With a tester’s magic emblem, one could receive a piece of white bread the size of two palms, thick as a brick.

It looked like white bread, but just by looking at it with the naked eye, one could feel the rough texture of the light yellow bran on the bread.

Ji Chi handed his magic emblem to the people at the aid station, letting them mark it. Immediately after, a heavy, ice-cold piece of bread was thrust into his palm. The bread, without any packaging, was exposed outside the shed and quickly became covered with the pervasive dust unique to Yiste Town.

Ji Chi held the bread and withdrew from the increasingly crowded mass, looking down at the bread for a long time before gently breaking off a piece from the burnt-black edge and putting it in his mouth.

Rough, bland, slightly sour—various indescribable flavors collided in his mouth. Only by tasting extremely carefully could one feel the flavor of grain through the gaps between the one or two grains of sand mixed in.

“This surely can’t compare to the white bread the sir eats, right?” Linton had somehow sidled up next to him, looking at Ji Chi with a mischievous smile and saying shamelessly, “If you can’t eat it, give it to me. Just don’t throw it away. This is much better than the feeling of starving.”

He reached out to take the bread from Ji Chi’s hand. “You’ve definitely never experienced that feeling, right? It’s like fire burning in your stomach, your body trembling weakly, everything blurry before your eyes……When you come to your senses, you no longer know what you’ve given up just to fill your belly.”

Linton spoke very casually, but the hardship within was difficult for Ji Chi, who lived in prosperous times, to imagine.

Ji Chi turned aside, dodging his grasp, and directly took a big bite, saying indistinctly, “Who said I wasn’t going to eat it? I’m very hungry too.”

Linton stared dumbfounded at his bulging cheeks, pounced to fight for the bread that was now missing a large chunk, and shouted in distress. “Ahhh! How can you be like this? If you can’t eat it, why not give it to me? Why are you competing with me!”

Ji Chi tried to break free. “What’s wrong with wanting to eat this? If you’re really that hungry, why don’t you find me a bakery and I’ll buy out the whole thing for you?”

Linton was shamefully tempted, his eyes flickering wildly, but in the end he released Ji Chi and pursed his lips. “Forget it, I can hold out for a while longer anyway……”

Ji Chi didn’t hear clearly and was about to take this opportunity to get away when he was interrupted by a slightly familiar voice.

“Ji Chi, what are you doing here?”

Ji Chi had heard this question countless times these past few days and turned back irritably. When he saw who it was, his mood became even worse. “First Prince, may I ask what you need?”

William was surrounded by several student-looking youths, wearing a uniform woven with gold thread, standing in the sunset radiating noble golden light.

Among those students, one happened to be a senior from the Magic Academy. He looked at Ji Chi with a complex expression and leaned close to William’s ear to whisper a few words.

“Engineer test? You actually……” William laughed in surprise, clearly thinking Ji Chi was just there to fool around. He glanced at the hard bread in Ji Chi’s hand, “How did you also go claim aid? Although you’re also a commoner, as long as you come find me, I definitely won’t mistreat you. After all, I haven’t personally apologized to you yet.”

These were clearly conciliatory words, but Ji Chi felt inexplicably uncomfortable hearing them. He turned coldly and walked away, saying, “No need. If I’m falsely accused again, it won’t be easy to resolve here.”

William’s smile froze at the corners of his mouth, his gaze dark as he watched Ji Chi’s retreating back. It wasn’t until someone beside him cautiously called out to him that William came back to his senses. “Let’s go. He’s just a short-sighted commoner. I don’t believe he can turn the world upside down.”

On the other side, Linton followed silently beside Ji Chi the whole way, so quiet that Ji Chi couldn’t help but glance at him sideways.

“What are you scheming now?”

Linton muttered. “Right, how did I forget? Aid can only be claimed by commoners……So, you’re a commoner?!”

Linton stared at Ji Chi with his entire worldview shattered.

Ji Chi didn’t understand why he cared about these things and shrugged. “I never said I was a noble. Wait, is there any difference?”

“Of course there is!” Linton was completely thrown off, “How can nobles and commoners be lumped together? Aren’t you afraid of what might happen if you pretend to be a noble! Good thing only I know, otherwise if others found out, this would be very serious!”

Ji Chi stopped walking and looked at him in confusion. “I still don’t understand. What’s your standard for distinguishing between nobles and commoners? Money? Power? Or strength? Aside from power being somewhat difficult, I dare not say the rest are easily obtainable, but the opportunities to obtain them aren’t nonexistent.”

Linton was dizzy from his logic and held his head while thinking.

Ji Chi pinched his chin and thought, trying to use analogy to make him understand. “Then tell me, would there be a group that distinguishes superiority and inferiority by the amount of hair they have?”

The mental image came to Linton, and he quickly waved his hands to interrupt. “Stop, stop, stop! What are you talking about?! Where would there be such a ridiculous method of distinction!”

Ji Chi glanced at him flatly. “You also think it’s ridiculous, so why don’t you feel that way when it applies to yourself? Clearly everyone has the same structure, the same thoughts—can a pile of metal really distinguish high from low, noble from base? Admittedly, I can’t refute that people with more resources have more advantages, but people who temporarily lack these resources don’t need to see themselves as nothing because of it.”

Linton’s sharp tongue that appeared when asking for money had disappeared somewhere. He sighed deeply and muttered, “Easy to say. You don’t know at all what we’re facing. How could we possibly……”

He spoke quieter and quieter. Ji Chi didn’t bother to press him and nodded, apologizing quite readily. “I’m sorry. Perhaps I was looking at the problem too much from my own perspective, taking it for granted.”

“But now, I know what you lack.” Ji Chi turned toward him and grinned, his back against the setting sun, his entire person enveloped in a layer of soft light. “Then let me become that possibility. You need to watch carefully with wide-open eyes.”

“Watch how I become a ray of light that pierces through this dark night.”