Chapter 99: Repairs First

The new room price survived its second and third days without causing any real trouble.

By the fourth morning, Lin Yuan had stopped checking the ledger every time someone asked for a room. Most travelers noticed the board. A few asked when the price had changed, some complained briefly, and several simply paid without comment. Nobody who had questioned the new rate had decided to leave because of it.

That was enough for Lin Yuan to stop worrying about the decision.

It did not mean he had stopped thinking about money.

The improvement list beside the ledger made sure of that.

The warning formation remained near the top. One western node had been destroyed during the raid, while another had taken a saber strike. The second still looked intact, but Lin Yuan had no intention of trusting appearances when the formation’s entire purpose was to warn him before armed cultivators reached the tavern.

After the formation came the temporary tavern repairs and the damaged market stalls. Farther down the page were several ideas that were becoming increasingly difficult to dismiss as unnecessary.

More guest rooms.

Better storage.

Bathing facilities.

Lin Yuan stared at the last entry for a moment before covering it with the ledger. He had already made the mistake of letting Xiao Lan see it once. He did not need another discussion before breakfast.

"Owner Lin?"

A voice came from outside.

Lin Yuan looked up to find a young man standing near the entrance with a long wooden case strapped across his back. He recognized him immediately.

It was the apprentice from Clear Pattern Formation Shop, the same young man who had helped install Blackstone’s warning formation.

Lin Yuan came around the counter.

"You came faster than I expected."

The apprentice stepped inside and set down his case and travel bag.

"Your message said one node was completely broken and another had been struck by a cultivator’s weapon."

"It was."

"That tends to move a repair request higher on the list."

Lin Yuan appreciated that policy.

The apprentice glanced toward the price board beside the counter.

"Two stones now?"

Lin Yuan looked at him.

"You haven’t even asked for a room."

"I remember what it cost when we installed the formation."

"So does everyone else, apparently."

The apprentice smiled.

"I’ll complain after I finish working."

"You can complain for free."

"That’s generous."

Qiao Ren entered from outside just in time to hear the exchange. He noticed the wooden case immediately.

"Formation repair?"

The apprentice nodded.

"Good," Qiao Ren said. "I was getting tired of wondering whether that second post still worked."

"You could have stood beside it and tested it," Lin Yuan suggested.

"I prefer methods that don’t involve being the warning."

The apprentice opened his case, revealing several measuring tools, thin metal probes, small formation plates, brushes, and containers of inscription paste. A separate compartment ran along the length of the case.

"I’ll need to inspect both damaged nodes before I can give you a repair price."

Lin Yuan had expected that.

"Let’s go."

On their way toward the western boundary, Lin Yuan asked Qiao Ren to inform the watchmen and nearby merchants that Clear Pattern had arrived and would be testing the formation throughout the day.

After the recent raid, the last thing he wanted was people mistaking a repair test for another attack.

Qiao Ren agreed to pass along the warning before joining them at the damaged posts.

The broken post still leaned where the raiders had damaged it.

The formation inscription along one side had split with the wood, and a section near the base had been struck hard enough to expose the inner mounting.

The apprentice crouched beside it and examined the damage.

"This one is finished."

"I had guessed."

"You’d be surprised how often people ask whether a formation component still works after breaking it in half."

Qiao Ren, who had returned after warning the nearby merchants, looked at the post.

"Does it?"

The apprentice stared at him.

"No."

"Good. I wanted to be sure."

Lin Yuan decided the two of them deserved each other.

The apprentice removed a small circular plate from his case and held it near the damaged post. A faint line of light appeared along the plate’s edge before fading.

"The nearby nodes are still connected."

"That means?" Lin Yuan asked.

"The network didn’t collapse when this one broke. That’s good."

He inspected the base more carefully.

"The buried connection line also seems intact."

Lin Yuan glanced toward the tavern.

"So replacing the post is enough?"

"For this one, probably."

"Probably?"

"I’d like to finish inspecting everything before promising you a cheap repair."

Lin Yuan disliked the wording but respected the honesty.

They moved to the second damaged post.

At first glance, it appeared almost normal. The saber strike had left a deep mark across the wood, stopping just short of one of the carved inscription lines.

The apprentice examined it without touching anything, then took out a thin probe.

"Who hit this?"

"One of the attackers."

"With what?"

"The saber the Association took back to Green River."

"Qi behind the strike?"

"Yes."

The apprentice nodded.

"That matters more than the cut."

Lin Yuan frowned.

"The inscription wasn’t hit."

"The visible inscription wasn’t."

The apprentice opened a small container and brushed a thin layer of pale powder across the damaged wood. Several faint lines appeared beneath the surface.

Qiao Ren leaned closer.

"I don’t remember those."

"You weren’t meant to see them."

The apprentice pointed toward the newly revealed lines.

"The surface inscription is only part of the node. Some channels continue beneath it."

One of the faint lines had darkened near the saber mark.

Lin Yuan’s expression changed.

"So it is damaged."

"Possibly weakened."

"That sounds like a more expensive version of damaged."

The apprentice laughed.

"Not necessarily."

He placed the circular testing plate against the post. This time, the glow around its edge flickered once, then again.

The apprentice waited before removing the plate.

"It still responds, but I’d replace this section rather than trust it."

Qiao Ren nodded immediately.

Lin Yuan did not.

"How much?"

"I haven’t finished inspecting the network."

"That usually means more."

"It means I haven’t finished."

The apprentice packed away the testing plate.

"We should check the other western nodes too. If someone struck this post hard enough to damage the internal channels, I want to make sure nothing else was affected during the raid."

Lin Yuan had no objection.

For the next hour, they walked the western boundary. Most of the formation remained intact.

The apprentice tested each primary node, checked the road entrance markers, and then inspected the receiving plate at the tavern. With the network responding to each test, the repeated chime became annoying long before he finished.

Xiao Lan appeared at the door after the fifth one.

"Is it supposed to keep doing that?"

"Yes," Lin Yuan replied.

She waited through another chime.

"It’s annoying."

"Yes."

Another chime sounded.

Xiao Lan went back inside.

The apprentice watched her leave.

"She works here?"

"Yes."

"She seems patient."

"You’ve known her for less than a minute."

"Fair."

Fortunately, the inspection found no other damaged nodes. When they returned to the second post, the apprentice finally gave Lin Yuan a clearer answer.

"The network itself is stable. We need to replace the destroyed post, replace the damaged internal section on this one, refresh the nearby inscriptions, and recalibrate the western side afterward."

Lin Yuan folded his arms.

"And the price?"

The apprentice calculated the parts and labor before quoting the total repair cost.

It was enough to make Lin Yuan think carefully, but nowhere near the expense of replacing the entire formation.

He checked the amount against what he had available in his physical spirit-stone reserve.

The expense was manageable.

"Do it."

The apprentice nodded.

"I can replace the broken post today. The second repair will take longer."

"How long?"

"Several hours if the internal channel is only damaged where I can see it. If I find anything worse, I’ll tell you before turning a small repair into an expensive one."

Lin Yuan appreciated that even more.

"Good."

The apprentice opened the long compartment beneath his tools and removed an unfinished replacement post.

He had brought it from Green River in case the destroyed node couldn’t be repaired.

Lin Yuan looked at it with some surprise.

"You carry spare posts around?"

"For modular formations? Yes."

The apprentice laid it beside the broken one.

"We don’t carve the final inscriptions until we know which position it’s replacing."

That explained how Clear Pattern could repair damaged installations without rebuilding everything from the beginning.

Lin Yuan watched as the apprentice measured the original post, copied several marks onto the replacement, and began carving the formation lines.

Qiao Ren stayed for nearly half an hour before deciding he had a shop to run.

Xiao Lan lasted longer.

She stood several paces away, staring at the carving process with open fascination. The apprentice eventually noticed her.

"Do you want to learn?"

"Yes."

"No," Lin Yuan said at the same time.

Xiao Lan looked at him.

"I only want to watch."

"You’re supposed to be helping Su Mei."

"I finished carrying the water."

From behind them, Su Mei called, "You finished carrying half the water."

Xiao Lan immediately disappeared.

The apprentice looked amused.

Lin Yuan pointed toward the post.

"Continue."

By midday, the replacement was ready.

The damaged post took longer.

The apprentice carefully cut away a narrow section of wood around the saber strike, exposing the internal channel beneath it.

A thin dark line ran through the carved path.

"There."

Lin Yuan crouched nearby.

"That little?"

"That little is enough."

The apprentice pointed at the damaged channel.

"Formation work doesn’t need to look broken to stop working properly. If the flow becomes unstable here, the node might trigger late, trigger weakly, or fail under heavier use."

That made Lin Yuan feel considerably better about sending the repair request.

A warning that arrived after the attackers was hardly worth thirty-eight spirit stones.

The damaged section was removed and replaced with a prepared insert. The apprentice sealed the wood, restored the surface inscription, and spent another hour checking the connection.

When he finally stood, the sun had already moved well past midday.

"Now we test it."

Lin Yuan looked toward the tavern.

"Xiao Lan is going to complain."

"She can complain for free."

Lin Yuan stared at him.

The apprentice smiled.

"I learned from the owner."

The western warning sounded six times during the final testing.

The first signal came from the replacement post. The second tested the repaired one, while the remaining tests checked whether both nodes were communicating correctly with the rest of the formation.

Each warning reached the receiving plate at the tavern.

The nearby watchmen and merchants had already been informed, so nobody mistook the chimes for an actual attack. By the final test, Su Mei had stopped coming outside to check the results.

Xiao Lan opened the door only far enough to call, "Is that the last one?"

The apprentice called back, "Probably!"

The door closed.

Lin Yuan looked at him.

"Probably?"

"That one was a joke."

"Don’t teach her anything."

"I wasn’t planning to."

After one final inspection, the apprentice packed away his tools.

"The western section is stable again."

Lin Yuan looked toward the repaired posts.

"You’re sure?"

"As sure as I was when we first installed it."

That was enough.

Lin Yuan paid the agreed repair fee from his physical spirit-stone reserve. He felt every stone leave his hand, but the expense was necessary.

The higher room price suddenly seemed even more sensible.

The apprentice stored the payment and handed him a short written note recording the work completed and the amount paid.

"Keep this with your installation record."

Lin Yuan accepted it.

"If the same post gets hit again?"

"Send another message."

"And if someone cuts it in half?"

"Send a faster message."

Lin Yuan nodded. He could hardly argue with that.

The apprentice closed his case and looked toward the tavern.

"Do you actually have a room tonight?"

Lin Yuan almost laughed.

"I’ll check."

There were two available.

When they returned, the apprentice read the new price board again. Then he placed two low-grade spirit stones on the counter.

"You’re not going to complain?"

"I spent all day repairing the thing that warns you when dangerous people arrive."

"That doesn’t answer the question."

"I’d rather sleep in a bed."

Lin Yuan recorded the booking and handed him a key.

Clear Pattern had just received part of its repair payment back.

He decided not to mention that.

Later that afternoon, another traveler arrived from the east.

This one carried no tools.

He asked for Lin Yuan by name and handed over a folded message bearing Master Han’s mark.

Lin Yuan opened it behind the counter.

The contractor had received his request.

Master Han could come to Blackstone, but not immediately. He was finishing another job outside Green River and would need several more days before making the trip.

Lin Yuan read the message twice.

There was a second note beneath the first.

Master Han wanted him to prepare a list of everything that needed inspecting.

Not only the damaged tavern entrance, but anything Lin Yuan was considering building or expanding while the contractor was already making the journey.

Lin Yuan slowly looked toward the improvement list.

Qiao Ren happened to enter at that moment and immediately noticed his expression.

"What happened?"

"Master Han replied."

"When is he coming?"

"In several days."

Qiao Ren nodded.

"Good."

Lin Yuan continued reading.

"He wants a list of everything I want him to inspect while he’s here."

Qiao Ren’s eyes shifted toward the paper beside the ledger.

Lin Yuan covered it immediately.

"Don’t."

"I haven’t said anything."

"You’re going to."

"The bathhouse."

"There it is."

Qiao Ren pulled out a chair.

"If he’s already coming, you might as well ask."

Lin Yuan hated that the argument made sense.

He looked at the repair list again.

The tavern entrance needed proper work, and several market stalls still required inspection. Storage was becoming tighter as business increased, while the possibility of additional guest rooms no longer seemed as distant as it once had.

Then there was the bathhouse idea, which had somehow moved from a joke to something customers might genuinely pay for.

Lin Yuan picked up his brush.

He did not write Build a bathhouse.

Instead, beneath the repair items, he added:

Ask Master Han what a proper bathing building would require.

That was safely noncommittal.

Qiao Ren leaned across the counter.

"You should ask about adding rooms too."

Lin Yuan looked at him.

Qiao Ren sat back.

"I’ll let you write it yourself."

Lin Yuan considered the upstairs rooms. Eight had once felt like more than enough, but now they had filled several nights in the same week.

He added another line.

Possible future guest-room expansion.

Then one more.

Market stalls and storage.

Before putting the list aside, he opened the ledger and recorded the formation repair payment alongside the written receipt. The original installation, the new repairs, and the remaining expenses were all becoming an increasingly uncomfortable collection of entries.

At least the western warning formation was working again.

That was one problem he could finally cross off the list.

Unfortunately, Master Han’s upcoming visit threatened to replace it with several new ones.

Lin Yuan set down his brush and looked at the growing list of things he wanted inspected.

Master Han had not even arrived yet, and somehow Lin Yuan was already preparing to ask how much several new problems would cost.