The mist in the Serenitea Pot hung thick as waterlogged cotton, weighing heavily upon the aqueduct. Dark brown grime clung to the channel walls like festering scars crawling across the stone. The gears of the wind-powered pump emitted a harsh, grating screech like the dying breaths of a sick beast.
Limeng propped open his bloodshot eyes, his grease-stained fingers pressing desperately against the roll of *Core Area Water Supply System Maintenance Plans* clutched to his chest. The mudstains at his cuffs had long since dried and hardened, dragging along the edges of the paper with his hurried steps and leaving behind a ragged trail of reddish-brown smudges. To verify the adhesion of the "rock stratum powder coating" last night, he had spent the entire night in the workshop grinding and testing gears, and now every step felt as though he were treading on cotton.
As he passed the experimental plots, old farmer Li Bo was bent double inspecting the water intake. "Master Limeng!" the old man shouted, waving a rusted hoe. "The water valve in East Sector Three is clogged again! The mud is thick enough to farm in!" Limeng did not break his stride, merely lifting the roll of plans in his hand. The morning light pierced the mist, illuminating the black sludge accumulated at the bottom of the channel—a malignant tumor mixed with humus and alchemical waste that was slowly suffocating the veins of the Serenitea Pot.
Chapter 103