The moment she stepped onto West City Street, an indescribable sensation instantly welled up in Xu Wanqiu’s heart. The architectural style here was no different from the rest of the Ancient City she had toured earlier—if anything, it was even more dilapidated. Yet, strangely enough, her previously irritable mood had inexplicably eased.
"Strange..." she muttered softly.
Xu Wanqiu unconsciously slowed her pace, carefully observing every detail around her. Weeds grew wildly in the crevices of the flagstone path beneath her feet. The shops on both sides had their doors and windows shut tight, their vermilion pillars long faded to a dusty pink, and cobwebs clung to several spots near the roof beams. Logically, a faux-antique street radiating such desolation should have made people want to keep their distance. However, despite her usual timidity, Xu Wanqiu felt no unease. On the contrary, the further she walked in, the calmer she became.
Finally, she saw the bridge. She couldn’t make it out clearly from a distance, but now, as the structure revealed itself in its entirety, a long-lost spark lit up in Xu Wanqiu’s eyes—eyes that had been dull ever since her breakup.
She knew a little about ancient architecture, though not much. Yet, the moment she laid eyes on this bridge, a strong intuition struck her: this bridge was different.
The sun was setting, casting golden light across the bridge’s surface, and the reflected glare made her squint. Changing her vantage point, Xu Wanqiu only needed a few glances to confirm one thing. In both form and aura, this bridge was entirely distinct from the two she had passed by earlier.
Although the other two were also faux-antique single-arch stone bridges, they exhibited an obvious Ming and Qing Dynasties style; even the orientation of their stone-carved heads followed strict conventions. Most importantly, even a layman could instantly spot the traces of machine processing on them—everything was simply too smooth and uniform.
But the one before her showed none of that. Looking at its design, she couldn’t tell which dynasty it belonged to. From the piers to the deck, the stones used to build it varied in size. Their edges were rough, bearing clear marks of manual chiseling, much like the handiwork of folk artisans. Yet, this very roughness and irregularity inexplicably conveyed a profound sense of history, as if it had weathered the passage of time.
"Yong...tong... Bridge..." Noticing a weathered old stone tablet standing at the head of the bridge, Xu Wanqiu softly read the engraved characters aloud. Her curiosity deepened. This bridge actually had a name?
Driven by curiosity, she stepped onto the bridge. The bluestone slabs on the deck were polished to a shine, looking as though people had been walking over them for decades. On either side of the stone path ran a groove—not particularly deep, but resembling ruts worn down by countless horse-drawn carriages. The problem was, having just walked all the way down West City Street, there was no sign this place had ever seen heavy traffic. All in all... it was just very strange.
She didn’t even realize it herself, but ever since she entered West City Street—and especially after stepping onto Yongtong Bridge—the gloom that had haunted her for half a month had largely dissipated. Her attention was now entirely captivated by the structure. She paced back and forth across the modest stone bridge several times, the amazement in her eyes growing with every look.
She was no expert in ancient architecture, but that didn’t stop her from marveling at it. This bridge was so primitive and unadorned that it felt like a work of nature!
Unable to resist, she gently stroked the lotus stone carving on the balustrade. Just as she was about to take out her phone for a selfie with the bridge, she froze. An uncontrollable wave of emotion surged from the depths of her heart—sorrow, anxiety, and grievance. The feelings she had bottled up for half a month seemed to have found an outlet, pouring out all at once.
But soon, these intense emotions faded, leaving behind only a faint trace of sorrow. She suddenly remembered the autumn her grandmother passed away. She had stood at the door of their old house, watching the parasol tree leaves fall one by one in the courtyard. Back then, she hadn’t felt the urge to cry; she only felt that something had been blown away by the wind, never to return.
Standing quietly on Yongtong Bridge, Xu Wanqiu’s mind swirled with memories until, at last, a faint smile slowly touched the corners of her lips. It was a smile of relief.
Meanwhile, at the ticket office by the entrance of Ning’an Ancient City.
Chen Yan, who had only sold a single ticket all day, was sitting at the window. He rested his chin on one hand, chewing on a pencil that had been sharpened down to a stub, while his other hand absentmindedly tapped against a blank sheet of scratch paper.
He was pondering how to build new selling points for the Ancient City around the newly unlocked Yongtong Bridge. He had no doubt that anything produced by the system was of premium quality. However, figuring out exactly how to utilize those system-generated rewards required his own brainpower.
[DING—]
[Yongtong Bridge (Resonating State) has triggered emotional resonance for the first time.]
[Resonance Intensity: High.]
[Anchor Stability has slightly increased.]
Suddenly, with the DING echoing in his mind, Chen Yan—who had been half-dead with boredom just a second ago—sat bolt upright, as if he had just been electrocuted.
He thought, "First time triggering emotional resonance? Is it that female tourist?" Looking at the notification hovering at the edge of his vision, Chen Yan couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement.
Yongtong Bridge had been unlocked for two days, but he still hadn’t figured out what the "Resonating State" actually meant. Now, he finally had a clue.
As someone who had personally experienced the entire mission, he knew very well that Yongtong Bridge was not just a simple bridge. It bore the guardianship of three generations and had witnessed the fall of that city. Even his own emotions had been swayed when he first unlocked it. Now, that female tourist had directly triggered an emotional resonance, which was practically spelling it out for him. The so-called "Resonating State" was actually an emotion—the bridge’s emotion!
This made him finally realize what made the so-called "special architecture" so special.
Calming down, Chen Yan began to analyze the situation. He thought, "Tourists triggering emotional resonance can actually increase Anchor Stability... I basically understand what the ’Resonating State’ represents now, and I have a rough idea of what ’Energy Level’ means, but this ’Anchor Stability’..."
Glancing at the Anchor Stability—which was still stuck at 7% at the edge of his vision—he frowned, hitting another dead end. He knew, of course, that if the Anchor Stability dropped to zero, the Ancient City would collapse. But what about the reverse? If this Anchor Stability kept increasing, what impact would it have on the Ancient City? It couldn’t just be to make the Ancient City sturdier, could it?
In short, there were still too many unknowns about this system, requiring his continued effort to explore. Still, figuring out the meaning of the Resonating State was a good thing, even if the specific function of the Anchor Stability remained a mystery for now. But that didn’t matter.
As long as there was a steady stream of tourists stepping onto Yongtong Bridge, the Anchor Stability would keep rising. As for when it would rise enough to trigger a qualitative change, that would depend on how big of a sensation he could create around Yongtong Bridge next.
Clenching his fist in secret, an unprecedented light flashed in Chen Yan’s eyes. It was a hopeful anticipation for the Ancient City’s miraculous revival, mixed with a trace of ambition that even he hadn’t noticed yet!