Shadow Weaver

Chapter 115: Dreaming of the Broken Swords (XII)
[Jinchen: But that person...ah.]
[Jinchen: ____, you'd better be careful when you deal with him next time, lest...]
Jinchen couldn't help but let out a long sigh after he finished speaking. After listening to his explanation - especially the word "lest" and the sentence he didn't finish - you couldn't help but feel more uneasy.

You feel that "collecting five-colored silk" is not as easy as you thought when you first came to Lan Ke Mountain, especially after you heard that there are many strange beasts in the back mountain that don't like to tell the truth, and a monster whose mental state is obviously not very stable and healthy - now you only feel the pressure on your head, which has grown to as heavy as a mountain.

Even... you haven't had the time to ask Jinchen in detail about the "again" in the mountain master's words.

——Has he brought many cultural relic restorers like you to this place before?
If this is true, then after all these years, why hasn't he found a suitable restorer to help him repair the original body?

Where did the restorers who had been to Lan Ke Xianshan in the past but failed to collect all the "five-color silk" go in the end? Why have you never heard of any Han brocade of national treasure level appearing in the world...

Also, was it right or wrong for you to follow Jinchen here?
A series of questions, like weeds growing in the wind, instantly cover your mind, and you feel that every wrinkle in your brain is filled with the roots of these questions.

As the fine and continuous pain comes over you, you feel like a ship that has lost its way in the ocean, or a traveler who has lost his way home in the mountains... Your mind is a mess.

With your thoughts in a mess, you subconsciously shifted your gaze to Han Jinchen's eyebrows. You looked at the worry and tension hidden between Jinchen's eyebrows... and finally made a decision in your heart.

[I just asked a question about the "Sacrificial Essay for My Nephew". My mind is in a mess. Seeing that Jinchen doesn't look too good, I thought that I was not very familiar with this old demon who has lived for more than 2,000 years... Forget it. I can always find time to ask him these strange and scattered questions later. (Select this option to jump down to branch line 1)]

[Asking Jinchen decisively about the question about "again", and continue to ask about the whereabouts of other restorers who may have existed before. (Select this option to jump down to branch line 2)]

*
Branch 1:

[You: (Hesitate, think) Or... just forget it.]
[You: (Continue to mutter secretly in your heart) I just asked a question about that "crazy guy"'s "Sacrificial Essay to My Nephew", and now I'm asking a new question. It makes me look like a fussy person who doesn't want to trust his character and the character of the owner of this fairy mountain... Besides, Master Jinchen doesn't look very happy, so I guess]
[You: It’s that senior who wrote the “Eulogy for My Nephew” that really gave him a headache. We are not old friends who have known each other for many years. We are not close friends. It seems impolite to ask so many questions rashly.]
[You: (trying to convince yourself) Besides... there's still a long way to go. I can always find time to ask him about these odd and eccentric little things.]
[You: (making up your mind) Yes, that’s it, forget it this time, and don’t ask any more questions.]
You made up your mind, so you stopped asking Jinchen any questions about Lan Ke Xian Mountain.

Knowing that "Eulogy for My Nephew" had recently fallen into an unstable state, Jin Chen was worried that you would not be able to successfully obtain enough five-colored silk this time. He lost interest in talking in the second half of the journey. He chatted with you absent-mindedly for a few unimportant gossips and then took you straight to the back mountain.

(Because you were thinking too much, you missed the best opportunity to ask Jinchen. Since then, you have not been able to learn about the possible existence of other cultural relics restorers from Han Jin's spirit, nor have you been able to get more key information. You are becoming more and more worried about the next journey. The mental stress value is +20, and you continue to return to the main plot.)
*
Branch 2:
[You: (gritting your teeth) No, I still have to ask. If I can’t ask this question, I will always feel uneasy!]
[You: (organizing your words) I probably don’t need to think about what you mean - I will keep your advice in mind.]
[You: (Tentatively speaking) But speaking of this, Master Jinchen, when we just visited the owner of the Immortal Mountain... I seemed to have heard the owner say that you "brought back the children from outside the mountain again."]
[You: (deliberate) It sounds like I am not the first “outsider” you have brought back to the mountain.]
[You: (becoming more cautious) You… have you tried to ask other senior cultural relic restorers to come here to help you restore the original body? Or, have you tried to ask all kinds of people to come here to help you collect the "five-colored silk"?]
As you thought so, you boldly asked the question.

Han Jin's spirit was stunned for a moment by your sudden question. After being stunned, he turned back and stared at your face for a long time, and finally slowly pursed his lips——

(Please carefully check and calculate the total value of the "Han Jinjing Soul Favorability" currently obtained by the restorers. If the restorer has a Jinchen Favorability of less than 60, please jump down to branch A; if the restorer has a Favorability of ≥60, please jump down to branch B.)
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#Branch Line A#
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[Jinchen: (with a slightly cold face) No, you misheard. What the mountain master wanted to say was not that I had brought back a friend from “outside the mountain” again—he just wanted to tease me that I had brought back another “friend” today.]
[Jinchen: ____, I think this is easy to understand, right? It has been at least a thousand years since I cultivated into a human form - and during this thousand years, I would not stay in Lanke Mountain day and night without going out.]
[Jinchen: (expressionless) In that case, I have a few friends outside the mountain whose roots and objects have become spirits. This isn’t a strange thing, is it?]
[Jinchen: In other words, you are not the first "outsider" that I have brought back to the mountain - my former friends of spirits and monsters are also outsiders to Lanke Mountain - but you are the first cultural relic restorer that I have brought back to the mountain.]
[Jinchen: I have never brought other restorers here before.]
Jinchen patiently explained a few words to you in a somewhat cold and forced manner, while emphasizing that you were the "first cultural relic restorer" he brought back here.

You listened to his words which were full of loopholes and felt uncomfortable all over.

But it's obvious that Jinchen doesn't want to discuss the question you want to ask with you. You're just a mortal, and it's not good to push this elderly ancestor too hard. You can only fake a smile and let Jinchen fool around with the question.

(Because you failed to get the answer you wanted to know, your already tense spirit became even more tense, and Jinchen also lost some trust in you because of your random question. Han Jin's favorability is -10, and the mental stress value is +10. Continue to return to the main plot.)
It’s so funny, my favorability will drop!