The old things I repaired have become fine

Chapter 616 Shen Le: I Saw Chang'an Once Again
He wore an iron helmet that had once been pierced by a large hole, and that hole was still visible on his head.

He wore armor that was once one of the best armors of the Tang Dynasty's Anxi Army, which had been repaired after many hardships.

He wore a gold belt around his waist, representing the majesty and recognition of the Tang Dynasty. Some of the gold belt buckles were slowly retrieved from the desert, while the rest were personally engraved and repaired by him.

The lion heads on his shoulders are raised high, his eyes gleam with blue light, and he holds a long sword that was once fierce and powerful on the battlefield, capable of severing men and horses with a single swing, but has been reforged with modern technology and steel...

With feet treading on the wind, facing the strange beasts head-on.

Shen Le took a deep breath. The cold, thin air, imbued with the spirit of ice and snow, filled his lungs, making him feel invigorated, and his entire armor emitted a clear, ringing sound.

The power is unified and flows rapidly throughout the body, ultimately condensing into a sharp line of light on the blade:
"kill!!!"

A bright white line swept diagonally downwards.

This white light was exceptionally thin, mixed in with the slanting sunlight, and would have been almost indistinguishable had it not been for its direction being different from that of the sunlight.

With a single swing, it extended continuously along the blade, forward relentlessly. Yet it didn't widen or thicken; it remained a thin line, swiftly slicing through the snow-capped beast.

"Aww...woo?"

The beast's voice changed. It was gathering momentum to leap, its front legs already off the ground, and its two hind legs halfway out, almost in mid-air.

Slashed by a beam of white light, its entire body froze in place. Looking down at itself, then sniffing the motionless white light, it uttered a questioning sound:
"Woo?"

In an instant, the enormous body began to rapidly disintegrate. First, the clouds that made up the hair fluctuated and dispersed, transforming from the curled or fluttering hair shape into large clumps of clouds;

Then the snow that makes up the skin and muscles fell down in a rustling sound, quickly piling up a large area of ​​snow on the hillside, which quickly triggered another avalanche;
Then, large chunks of ice that formed the core of the body fell downwards. Each chunk crashed down with a tremendous roar, the ice bridge shattered, the ice walls collapsed, and the ice cascaded down...

"Was he...killed?"

Shen Le was still shaken. At the foot of the mountain, in the drone command center, both places monitoring Shen Le were completely silent:
Is Shen Le's combat power really that strong?
Without relying on the weapon spirit or any other enhancements, he was able to kill such a powerful beast simply by swinging his sword.
"It seems we need to redo his evaluation again, and his importance will have to be increased once more..."

"Fortunately, old habits die hard. After all, they are top students from a top university, cultivated by the country's best education system..." another Special Affairs Bureau official sighed.

"Judging from his consistent behavior, as long as you don't provoke him, he should... at least not provoke anyone..."

"It's hard to say. Holding a weapon can easily breed murderous intent. Just because he didn't like fighting before doesn't mean he won't like using violence to solve problems in the future... He even avoids public transportation when traveling now, resorting to magic instead!"

"That's what you forced us to do!" the person who spoke first suddenly roared in anger.
"You treat him like a dangerous person from the start, and you always assume malicious intent in his behavior. You've driven a perfectly good person to the opposite side!"

"I never said I really wanted to do that! Can't we just do a little more preparation and have a backup plan?!"

The two men glared at each other. A moment later, in the center of the command center, a middle-aged man of exceptionally high age and rank interrupted:

"Alright. Now is not the time to argue—look, the battle has taken another turn!"

The two, who had been glaring at each other, turned to look at the screen. On the large screen, the camera zoomed in and out, showing a drone circling in the distance, keeping a close eye on the battle between Shen Le and the alien beast.

With a slash, the beast collapsed, shattering into ice and snow. Shen Lesong breathed a sigh of relief and was about to try to land when the snow mist that had been splashed up was suddenly blown high by the mountain wind and began to condense into the shape of a mirror.

Even though the mirror had not yet fully solidified, and even though its surface was still somewhat blurry, it had already displayed incredible power:
As Shen Le gazed into the distance, his heart stirred, as if he were being reflected in a mirror, or as if he were being transported at lightning speed, instantly seeing the magnificent and orderly city of Chang'an through the mirror's surface...

"Oops!"

Is this an illusion?

Is it soul-stealing?
Or... something else?!

No matter what, we can't afford to waste time with it! I'm in the open, the other is in the shadows; I'm suspended in mid-air, while the other has the spiritual energy of an entire snow-capped mountain to sustain them—

At this rate, it'll wear me down! The second stage is an illusion, but who knows what the third stage will be?!
Shen Le abruptly closed his eyes. Holding the longsword firmly in both hands, he stood frozen in mid-air, focusing all his attention on the resonance of the armor:
Find me that half of the bronze mirror! We need to get it all at once!
The armor plates jingled. Every single armor plate on Shen Le's armor was ringing, even though he had strung them together with leather cords and tied them carefully. At this moment, they seemed to be rapidly opening and closing like dragon scales.
The two lions on the shoulder turned their heads at the same time, their eyes shining brightly ahead, and four turquoise stones shot out four beams of green light, piercing straight through the clouds.

The half-bronze mirror that Shen Le was carrying in his chest radiated a burning heat, pulsating vigorously, like a heart determined to persevere to the very last moment for the Tang Dynasty:

Front!

just in front!

I sensed it, and it sensed me—forward! Forward!

Shen Le suddenly threw his head back and let out a long roar. He raised his broadsword high with both hands, but instead of swinging it, he gripped the hilt tightly and thrust it forward.

A ray of light flew from the tip of the blade, pointing towards the ice mirror ahead. Instantly, the ice mirror trembled violently, and Shen Le, with a thought, unleashed a gust of icy wind around him, carrying him straight forward, crashing headlong into the ice mirror!
With each step closer, the illusions around us became clearer, as if we were traveling from the 21st century through a time tunnel and being thrown directly into Chang'an in the 8th century.

Leyouyuan, Qujiang Pool, towering pavilions, abandoned ponds and tall trees. Shen Le kept telling herself, "It's fake, don't look, or you'll fall to your death," but she still couldn't resist peeking inside again and again:

This is Chang'an!

It was Chang'an City, which he had only glimpsed in the memories of the armored vehicle last time, but hadn't had a chance to look at closely. He really wanted to take a closer look at it!

I want to walk its streets, to examine the straight Zhuque Avenue closely, to look closely at every neighborhood and every pavilion, to see the Daming Palace again, and to take one last look at the Hanyuan Hall…

Just as he was about to crash into the ice mirror, the milky white ice mist billowed out, almost enveloping him.

Each icicle was as smooth as a mirror, and each tiny icicle reflected a house or street, mirroring Shen Le's figure standing in Chang'an City...

Shen Le's attention was immediately drawn to the scene. The surroundings trembled violently, the vortex supporting him began to dissipate, and he plummeted straight down—

"Beware!"

Watch out!!!

Even though they knew Shen Le couldn't hear them, several of the two special affairs bureau guys at the foot of the mountain and the technicians in the command center facing the screen couldn't help but shout out.

The drone operator clenched his fists tightly to stop himself from swerving the drone to fly over quickly, lift Shen Le up, and carry him away from the snow-capped mountain.
Hold back!

You must hold back! At such close range, the slightest mistake could send the high-speed plane crashing directly into Shen Le!
This is far more powerful than a car crash at full force; people will die! People will definitely die!!!
Trust Shen Le, trust his resourcefulness, and at the very least, trust the spirits around him—

How many spirits did he bring with him this time?

Will they have enough time to warn him and protect him?
"Watch out!!!"

A bolt of lightning suddenly leaped out and struck Shen Le on the forehead. The blue-white electric light meandered and traveled along the iron armor, which did not form a closed loop and therefore could not function as a Faraday cage, shocking Shen Le's entire body.
A sharp, piercing pain instantly jolted Shen Le awake. At the same time, two halos of light around him expanded outwards in succession:

A ring of pale blue, almost transparent, flashed by in an instant. It transformed into a gentle vortex, quietly supporting Shen Le and allowing him to float in mid-air;
Another ring of vibrant colors, exceptionally beautiful. To outsiders it was just a rainbow, but to Shen Le, it was a whole world brimming with the warmth and vitality of everyday life:

There's Zhuxi Town, Nanhua Street, and Tianxianglou Restaurant. There's an auntie who sets up a small stove to make egg pancakes, busy from 5:30 in the morning until she closes her stall at 10:00.
There were students who carried heavy schoolbags and insisted on taking a long detour to Tianxianglou to buy two mutton buns for breakfast.

There were shop owners who sat at their shop entrances, whittling bamboo strips, covering them with oiled paper, and painting oiled paper umbrellas, hanging them up like tiny clouds at the shop entrance...

All of this serves as a reminder to Shen Le:

Wake up!

Wake up!
It is now the new China, more than a thousand years have passed, and it is no longer the Tang Dynasty!
Don't get caught up in it, don't bury yourself in illusions and refuse to look up!

Shen Le took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. When she opened her eyes again, they were clear.
"Thank you. Green lamp, blue makeup, thank you... I'm awake! I understand! I—will not be deceived!"

Charge one more time, give it your all, and go straight for the heart of the matter to seize that half of the bronze mirror!
He focused his mind and activated the armor's resonance once more. This time, the feedback from the armor was exceptionally clear:
Just ahead!

Right down there!

As long as you rush over and reach out your hands, you can touch it and hold it!

Shen Le took a long breath. The icy wind and frost once again surrounded him, gathering into a thick sphere around him;

Then, the sphere began to deform and elongate. Its head became heavy, while its tail became loose, spewing out large amounts of snow mist.

The entire sphere crashed into the ice mirror in a comet-like manner.

As it spun and crashed, the ice mirror collapsed with a crash, projecting vast expanses of neighborhoods, markets, taverns, and palaces, but nothing could stop the comet's advance:

The comet, with a resolute and impatient momentum, crashed headlong into the depths of the ice mirror. It sank, sank, sank—

The mountains shook and the earth trembled.

The entire snow-capped mountain, which had been silent for thousands of years and frozen for thousands of years, began to collapse, with layers of ice falling and freezing again. The ice, which had not moved when the strange beasts collapsed, began to crumble.

They crackled and popped with terrifying noises, breaking into huge chunks—the size of houses, bridge planks, even half a mountain peak—rolling, crashing, and roaring like a horrifying ice dragon.

Rush!
Charge downwards!
It swept up all the accumulated snow, cut off all the cold winds, and blew away the thick layer of ice on the hillside!

Keep going until you reach the mountainside, then the foot of the mountain, until you can't go any further!

Even with magical protection, Shen Le dared not directly confront the power of nature. He quickly pulled himself up, freeing himself from the collapsed ice, and hung in the air, looking down with lingering fear.

The billowing icy mist almost reached his feet, and all around him was deathly silent.
All the little ones, no matter how strong or audacious they were, were terrified at this moment, and not one of them could utter a word in the face of such a sight...

After a long, long time, until the world had calmed down, Shen Le slowly descended, her feet landing on the ice. Sensing her surroundings, she immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

"Alright, found it! Everyone get ready, we're going down!"

The ice beneath his feet melted silently. Shen Le closed his eyes, sensing the surrounding ice and snow subtly shifting their positions, gradually bringing them under his control.

Sensing the gentle vibration of the half-bronze mirror in his arms, the inexplicable fluctuations pointed precisely diagonally downwards;

Sensing the fluctuations emanating from the other half of the bronze mirror, it approached with a mixture of bewilderment, joy, and even a touch of impatience...

"found it!"

Shen Le's spirits lifted. He stretched out his hands, pointing to the opposite side. The ice and snow opened up a path beneath his feet, transforming into a smooth, sturdy slide that led straight to the half-bronze mirror.

A smile spread across Shen Le's face. With a light jump, she slid down the ladder.
I!
Come!
La!!
This final leg of the journey went unusually smoothly. Shen Le lay half-reclined on the ice wall, gliding faster and faster, feeling as if she were speeding through the air the entire time—

The experience is so exhilarating and exciting that it even surpasses the famous giant slide at Harbin Ice and Snow World.

The wind whistled past my ears, and my back felt even a little hot from the friction. The smooth slide led straight to my destination without any bumps.

"Yo-ho—ah!!!"

Reaching the end of the slide, he suddenly felt weightless beneath him, and was thrown high into the air, slammed against the ice wall. Shen Le frantically tried to catch him, but at the last moment, he summoned a whirlwind to lift him into the air and gently set him down.

"Phew... I miscalculated. The slide design was flawed; I almost crashed and killed myself..."

He slowly squatted down. The small oil lamp sprang out on its own, illuminating the ice cave around him with a silvery light.

At my feet, directly in front of me, half a bronze mirror lay quietly, gleaming as if it had just been polished.

Shen Le's heart pounded violently. After overcoming countless difficulties, he had finally touched the last piece of the puzzle, but for a moment he dared not step forward, dared not reach out and touch the mirror.

After a long while, he slowly bent his knees and knelt down, stretching out his hands to hold the bronze mirror to his chest:
The light shines.

The iron armor on his body, the longsword on his knee, and the bronze mirror in his hand all vibrated and resonated together, pulling Shen Le into an illusion.

In that instant, Shen Le truly saw it once again—

Changan.

(End of this chapter)