The Bridge

[Bridge Princess] had run into a bit of trouble.

Her father, Gongshu Feiliang, had remained at [Mystic] 5 for many years, unable to figure out a suitable Ascension Ritual.

In theory, even if they were father and daughter, Mystics had to walk their own paths. Gongshu Feiliang being stuck on his ritual should have had nothing to do with Gongshu Key.

In reality, however, the Gongshu family was a hereditary one. Like the [Nan Jun Society] in Sixiang City, even their codenames were passed down through the generations.

Gongshu Feiliang’s codename was [Bridge Duke], while Gongshu Key’s was [Bridge Princess]. The difference between “Duke” and “Princess” was merely one of gender; in reality, they were the same codename.

On the mystical path, Gongshu Key could simply copy the work of her ancestors.

The Gongshu family had a long history. The highest rank any of their ancestors had reached was [Mystic] 6, but too much time had passed, and no one knew how that forebear had broken through.

So if Gongshu Feiliang couldn’t find a method, that meant Gongshu Key couldn’t find one either.

She wasn’t just worrying about her father. She was also worrying about herself, now that she had reached [Mystic] 5.

At the Gongshu family home.

“Father, are you sure this plan is reliable?”

Gongshu Feiliang raised an eyebrow. “We have to give it a try. Our Gongshu family makes a living building bridges, but this city doesn’t need that many bridges. If I can build one out in the wilderness, it’ll surely go down in history.”

Gongshu Key wasn’t nearly so optimistic. “Yes. As a joke that will stink up the history books for generations.”

She wasn’t deliberately being contrary.

In the World of a Hundred Cities, all seven major races currently lived within the Hundred Cities. Building a bridge outside the cities? Who would it be for? Was he planning to build one for the anomalies?

Never mind that it would be useless. Simply carrying out construction in the wilderness was an extremely dangerous undertaking. A bridge couldn’t be built in a single day. Having a large group of workers hammering away in the wilderness for several months would be tantamount to throwing their lives away.

“Ah, I know it’ll be difficult. But every bridge in the city was built by our family, and no one has broken through after all these years. I think the problem lies in the bridge’s location and scale.

“To be frank, your father isn’t obsessed with reaching the pinnacle. I’m already satisfied with being [Mystic] 5. But if I don’t give it a try, are you really going to stop at [Mystic] 5 forever just because there’s no path forward, despite your exceptional talent?”

Gongshu Key was rendered speechless. She wanted to say that she would find a way herself in the future, but she knew it wouldn’t matter. Someone in the Gongshu family had to solve this problem.

Gongshu Feiliang continued, “Don’t worry. I value my life very much. I’ll act according to my limits and won’t take any unnecessary risks.”

“I’ll believe that when I see it. Now tell me what you’ve discovered. And don’t leave anything out.”

“A caravan traveling between cities brought back some news. They accidentally discovered a bridge near the ocean, east of the city.

“It’s a bridge that has been rained on year-round. Whether the sky is clear or raining, the bridge is always shrouded in a fine drizzle.

“No one knows where the rain comes from. There’s nothing overhead to block the sky, yet the rain just keeps falling.

“I want to go study it.”

Gongshu Key immediately knew something was wrong. “Did anyone from the caravan set foot on the bridge? Were there any casualties?”

“The caravan only saw the phenomenon from a distance. They didn’t dare approach.”

“You’re not allowed to go!” Gongshu Key ordered.

Her tone was severe, but she knew very well that once a Mystic became curious, sooner or later they would go anyway.

Afterward, she combed through every record she could find and questioned everyone in the society, but ultimately found no information about the bridge.

She lay in bed, somewhat restless, staring blankly at the balloon floating above her headboard.

“Wait. Why didn’t I think of that? I can ask Chen Miemie. He even knows a [Dream Seller]. His connections are insanely broad.”

Once the thought occurred to her, she acted on it. She didn’t care that it was already one in the morning.

Halfway through composing the message, Gongshu Key had already realized it was probably pointless. She had no expectations. The mystical world was simply too vast. If even the Library City’s database had no information on it, how could Chen Miemie possibly identify it from a description alone?

More than anything, she was messaging him as a small act of revenge for the late-night harassment he had subjected her to before.

As expected, Chen Miemie was a night owl and replied instantly.

The moment Gongshu Key opened the message, she jolted upright and leaped out of bed.

She hurriedly pulled on her clothes, rushed out of the bedroom, and began putting on her shoes.

The commotion was so loud that it roused Gongshu Feiliang. He came out of his room. “It’s so late. Where are you going?”

“Dad, Chen Miemie says he knows where the bridge is. I’m going to find him.”

“That kid knows?”

“Yes. He shouldn’t make something like this up. Go back to sleep. I’ll tell you everything tomorrow.”

Half an hour later.

Fairy-Tale Road, Number 11. A barbecue stall.

Chen Miemie had a ridiculous number of demands.

“Old Guan, the potatoes need to be powdery, the meat skewers tender, the chicken feet cooked until they’re falling apart, and make half of them regular spicy and half of them insanely spicy.”

“Coming right up!”

Old Guan stood before the grill, bringing all his skills to bear. He was determined to take good care of this VIP customer.

Gongshu Key parked her car at top speed and jogged over.

Before she had even taken her seat, she asked impatiently, “You really know where that bridge is?”

Chen Miemie was beginning to worry about the [Skin-Shedding Clinic]. How could their next president be so reckless?

“What’s the rush? I’m not going anywhere. Sit down and eat something first.”

Gongshu Key took her seat but didn’t reach for a skewer. She simply stared at Chen Miemie.

Seeing this, Chen Miemie decided to get straight to the point.

“That’s the anomaly [Soft-Hard Rain Bridge].

“The raindrops falling on the bridge come in two types: soft and hard. The smaller droplets are soft rain, while the larger ones are hard rain.

“When soft rain lands on someone, it feels as gentle as cotton, and any part of the body it touches becomes soft.

“When hard rain strikes someone, it hits like tiny stones, and any part of the body it touches becomes tougher.

“The problem is that soft rain makes people ‘too soft,’ melting their bones into a puddle of mush. Hard rain makes people ‘too hard,’ stiffening their joints until they can no longer bend them. Either one can be fatal.”

Hearing such detailed information, Gongshu Key’s eyes lit up. She thought to herself that he really was reliable.

“What’s its danger level?”

Chen Miemie hesitated slightly. “It’s strange. There are three recorded instances. Four hundred years ago, it was Danger Level 5. Two hundred and eighty years ago, it was Danger Level 6. One hundred and ten years ago, it was Danger Level 4. We still don’t know why its strength fluctuates.”

The smile vanished from Gongshu Key’s face.

Based on these records, they would have to prepare for [Soft-Hard Rain Bridge] at its strongest. No one from the entire [Skin-Shedding Clinic] would dare confront a Danger Level 6 anomaly head-on.

Without thinking, she shoved a skewer into her mouth.

“Ah! It’s so spicy! So spicy!”

Chen Miemie was delighted that his scheme had succeeded.

In an even better mood now, he was willing to lend a hand. “Why are you looking for [Soft-Hard Rain Bridge]? I can ask someone to pass along a message for you.”

At these words, Gongshu Key didn’t even have time to care about the chili burning her mouth.

“You can do that too? You can get anomalies to do things for you? You’re not secretly a member of the Mist Church, are you? Making deals with anomalies behind everyone’s backs?”

Not far away, Old Guan’s hands paused.

He complained inwardly: [Bridge Princess], you probably don’t know that Chen Miemie isn’t from the Mist Church. He’s the one who absorbed us into his organization. The new bishop was made to disappear on his very first day in the city.

Chen Miemie refused to accept such a baseless accusation. “Careful, or I’ll sue you for defamation. This is called having connections.”

“Connections in the anomaly community?”

“Hmph, what are you talking about? You think I don’t have connections in the witch and human circles? I’m a six-sided warrior—I get along with everyone.”

After their many interactions, the two had become good friends. After laughing and joking around for a while, Chen Miemie agreed to help.

“You mean your father wants to study that bridge—even build a replica of it out in the wilderness?”

“That’s roughly it. He’s actually searching for a breakthrough ritual and needs to keep experimenting.”

“No problem. Leave it to me.”

“What are you planning to do?”

“Don’t worry about that. Just give me the location of the [Soft-and-Hard Rain Bridge], then wait for my news.”

“Will you be in danger?” Gongshu Key looked seriously into Chen Miemie’s eyes.

“No.”

“All right, then. I’ll have to trouble you with this.”

Gongshu Key was very proper about it. She stood up and took the initiative to pay the bill.

Boss Guan secretly glanced at Chen Miemie. Seeing that he showed no reaction, he hesitated for a moment before smiling and saying, “Thank you for your patronage. In accordance with local custom, everything in the shop is half price today.”

Gongshu Key froze. She hadn’t expected that even a late-night barbecue joint would be participating in the citywide discount event.

What she didn’t know was that only their table had received the discount. The fifty-percent reduction was because Boss Guan hadn’t charged Chen Miemie for his share.

With a smile on her face, Gongshu Key left.

Chen Miemie returned to the shop, a smile he had kept hidden for a long time finally appearing on his face as well.

“Our base will soon have another bridge.”