Luo He finally stopped laughing and pulled Jin Mulan into his arms properly. The playful argument gradually faded away between them as the two simply held each other in the dim quiet of the laboratory.
The rain outside had finally subsided while the lantern flames swayed gently from the movement of air within the room coming from the open windows.
Jin Mulan rested against his chest quietly now her earlier act already exposed yet still lingering faintly in her expression. Luo He lowered his head slightly until his forehead touched hers.
"Enough fighting," he murmured softly. "Come here. We are two sides of the same coin." The tension between them slowly melted away afterward. Old grievances and frustrations for a little while none of it mattered.
Then Luo He suddenly smiled again.
Though this time it was different. Excited.
Almost boyish. "I actually brought you here to show you something," he said.
Jin Mulan raised a brow slightly. "Oh?"
Luo He nodded proudly.
"I've been training a new skill lately." That alone immediately caught her attention.
Because Luo He rarely sounded genuinely excited about anything unless it was either extremely dangerous or extremely impressive. Usually both.
He released her slowly before turning toward the darker corner of the laboratory. Something large stood there beneath a heavy cream-colored cloth.
At first glance it resembled a covered weapon rack or perhaps some strange machine.
Then Luo He lifted one hand casually.
The object beneath the cloth suddenly trembled. The next instant it flew toward him. The cloth slid away midair before collapsing back onto the floor.
Jin Mulan's eyes widened slightly. The thing hovering before Luo He looked less like a board and more like a weapon crafted for kings.
The flying lamina had been carved from a single slab of ancient blackwood nearly five feet long and three feet wide at its broadest point. Yet despite being called a "board," its form resembled nothing crude or simple.
Its silhouette looked elegant and predatory at once like a ceremonial war blade fused with the body of an ancient imperial vessel. The front narrowed into a sharp spear-like prow capable of piercing armor if driven forward with enough force.
Its edges curved inward subtly before widening again toward the center giving the entire structure the appearance of a leaf forged for slaughter. Even floating motionless in the air It looked fast.
A deep hollow groove split through the forward center of the lamina like a wound carved directly through the wood itself. Empty. Precise. Deliberate.
That central channel reduced air resistance while helping stabilize the mental currents flowing throughout the artifact during flight. Its body was forged from polished blackwood so dark it seemed to consume surrounding light.
Beneath the lantern glow faint reflections moved across its surface like obsidian glass touched by moonlight. Yet the upper surface contrasted sharply against that smooth perfection.
On one side the wood had been intentionally roughened through countless intricate carvings. Raised ridges, shallow scars, wave-like grooves and uneven patterns spreading on it like frozen currents of wind.
They were not imperfections. They were intentional. At high speeds those carvings allowed the rider to remain anchored against violent acceleration and shifting air pressure.
Jin Mulan slowly approached it. Then stopped. Because she finally noticed the engravings. Golden imperial patterns spiraled across the lamina from nose to tail.
Ancient dragons twisted through cloud motifs while mountain sigils and archaic royal characters had been carved impossibly deep into the blackwood itself. Molten gold had been poured into every line.
Against the dark surface the engravings glowed like rivers of sunlight trapped beneath midnight. Even motionless the golden veins seemed alive. When the lamina shifted slightly in the air the carvings shimmered beneath the lanternlight like flowing fire beneath black water.
The underside was even more terrifying.
Unlike the elegant upper body the lower surface had been reinforced with overlapping plates of deep crimson copper polished until they resembled lacquered blood.
Hundreds of tiny rivets secured the plating seamlessly into the wood itself with such perfect craftsmanship they were nearly invisible. The copper was not decorative.
It strengthened the structure against violent impacts while channeling mental force throughout the vessel during high speed flights.
Despite being barely an inch thick the blackwood radiated immense density.
Strength. Lethality. The sharpened front edge alone looked capable of impaling a man if hurled like a spinning blade.
Luo He lifted his hand slightly. The lamina rotated smoothly around him soundlessly before stopping beside his shoulder.
"This is just a regular wooden board," Luo He explained proudly while resting one hand against its dark polished side. "There's nothing supernatural about the material itself.
It isn't some ancient relic or heavenly artifact." The floating lamina rotated slowly beside him while golden reflections shifted faintly across its carved surface. "It flies because I force it to fly."
Jin Mulan narrowed her eyes slightly while watching the board hover motionlessly above the laboratory floor.
Luo He tapped the side of his head lightly. "Pure mental force."
His expression sharpened slightly afterward slipping into the calm confidence he always carried whenever discussing something he genuinely understood.
"Physical energy moves the body. Mental energy moves intent itself." He gestured toward the floating lamina again. "I'm constantly applying spiritual pressure across the entire structure. Levitation. Stability. Forward momentum. Directional control."
As he spoke the lamina slowly drifted sideways before turning smoothly in the air without a single visible mechanism driving it. "Thought controls movement." Luo He continued calmly. "Intent controls direction."
Jin Mulan watched carefully. "So it truly flies." Luo He smirked slightly. Instead of answering directly he released another pulse of mental force. Instantly the golden engravings illuminated brighter.
Thin streams of light flowed through the carved dragons and royal patterns like liquid sunlight beneath black wood while the crimson copper underside emitted a dim reddish glow.
The laboratory itself seemed darker beside it now. The lamina slowly rose higher into the air. Effortlessly. Silently.
Like a black blade suspended by invisible will alone.
Strands of Jin Mulan's crimson hair shifted softly from the pressure currents radiating outward from the craft while the reflected gold shimmered faintly within her eyes.
"A novice could barely lift themselves a few feet off the ground," Luo He explained calmly. "Most people lack the concentration and endurance." Then his eyes sharpened slightly.
"But someone with enough mental strength can." The lamina suddenly shot across the room. Fast enough to blur.
It crossed the laboratory almost instantly before stopping dead beside the far wall without touching it.
No collision. No wobble. Perfect control.
"Could cross mountains faster than cavalry." Even Jin Mulan looked openly impressed now. Luo He guided the floating board back toward himself casually with nothing more than a slight shift in thought.
"Normally it's designed for one rider standing near the center groove," he explained. "Two passengers become manageable if the user's control is refined enough."
Then his grin widened proudly. "Three becomes unstable unless the rider is a complete monster." Jin Mulan folded her arms immediately. "So naturally I assumed you are qualified." She said.
"I do qualify." I can teach you too someday. "That confidence will kill you one day." Luo He laughed softly before stepping onto the floating lamina with one foot.
The board remained perfectly stable beneath him. Not because of the board itself. But because his mental force stabilized every inch of it continuously.
"The board itself isn't doing the work," he clarified while lightly tapping the wood beneath his foot. "I am." Then he suddenly paused. His smile shifted.
More amused now.
"Actually," he said calmly while stepping back off the lamina. "I didn't bring you here just to show you this." Jin Mulan raised a brow slightly.
Luo He lifted his hand lazily toward the worktables scattered throughout the laboratory. The next instant several objects rose into the air. Scrolls.
Metal tools. Inkstones. A bronze measuring sphere.
Even the heavy wooden chair near the corner trembled before slowly lifting several inches from the floor. Jin Mulan's expression changed immediately.
Because unlike the lamina. These objects had no connection to one another. No crafted design. No prepared channels. He was lifting them directly.
Purely through mental force.
The objects slowly rotated around him in orbit while papers fluttered violently from the pressure waves spreading through the room. The lantern flames bent sideways.
Glass containers rattled softly against the shelves. Then Luo He casually flicked two fingers. One of the metal instruments shot across the room like an arrow before stopping instantly inches away from the wall. Perfect precision.
Perfect control.
Jin Mulan stared at him quietly now.
Even she had not realized his mental force had developed this far. Luo He noticed her expression instantly and naturally chose arrogance.
He smirked proudly. "Next time you come trying to punch me," he said casually. "I can probably kill you from several meters away before you even reach me."
Then he pointed at her lazily. "So don't bully your husband too much dear." He laughed afterward as though he fully meant it.
But Jin Mulan only rolled her eyes softly.
Because she knew the truth. This terrifying man who could probably crush armor without touching it would never truly harm her.
And somehow that made the overwhelming display of power feel strangely intimate instead of frightening.