Dinner was eaten in the cafeteria of the sanatorium.
Yan Jue and the other two stood out and seemed out of place among the old people. After the meal, the gazes of the people around them were almost enough to prick them like sea urchins.
Wen Xuyang stood still, Zhang Zizhen was still able to greet him with a smile, but Yan Jue was the only one who was sitting on pins and needles. He ate his meal as fast as if he had pressed fast forward, and finally slipped away before an old man came over with a tray of food to try to get close to him.
It’s not that he was afraid of being seen. He had experienced this situation countless times when he first joined the Special Management Bureau. Instead, he was afraid that someone would talk to him.
You have to know that they are all big guys, and none of them are ignorant. It is definitely not an easy thing to communicate with these cunning people. There may be a trap hidden in some common words, and you may be fooled if you are not careful. So the best thing to do is to run away and hide if you can.
Let Zhang Zizhen and Wen Xuyang satisfy their curiosity first.
Yan Jue returned to his room and logged into the game to take a look. There was still no news from Zhuo Feng. The other two cubs were lying by the swimming pool, discussing a book. He zoomed in and recognized the "Classic of Mountains and Seas" from the pattern on the side of the cover.
Not wanting to disturb him, nor wanting to watch a movie or read a novel, Yan Jue simply sat cross-legged on his bed, cultivating. His posture was beautiful, his mind was tranquil, and he kept trying, trying… His head suddenly sank, startling him out of his doze. Yawning, Yan Jue rubbed his eyes, noticing that it was already pitch black outside. He glanced at the time and was surprised to find it was already ten o'clock in the evening.
Cultivation is truly a difficult task that has nothing to do with time.
It took him twenty minutes to straighten his legs which were numb and stiff from being pressed down. After getting out of bed, Yan Jue drew the curtains, washed up, and practiced diligently until twelve o'clock before falling asleep.
The next morning, when he opened the door, he was first startled by Zhang Zizheng squatting at the door, and then he was startled a second time by his appearance.
"Were you stealing last night? Although the animals in the mountains were making more noise, it didn't bother you that much, did it?"
Zhang Zizhen not only had dark circles under his eyes, but his entire figure resembled a frost-bitten eggplant, so thin it could easily disguise itself as a mushroom if it just squatted on the ground. As he welcomed her in, he cautiously speculated, "Did you suffer a breakup?"
"Why can't I draw the Qi into my body?"
Zhang Zizhen squatted down with his hands on his head. "I was able to draw in Qi when I was practicing Taoism, so why can't I do that now that I've switched to a different system? Was all the spiritual energy I felt before fake? Then why was I able to activate the talismans before? And what was that thing I was drawing in before?"
As a very talented Taoist priest, Zhang Zizheng has always been proud of himself, just as he has shown.
When he got the copy of the real cultivation system of Qi Induction, he was full of confidence. He thought that since he had already practiced Qi Induction to cultivate Taoism, practicing this would definitely be a piece of cake. However, so far, the cruel reality has dealt him a head-on blow.
"I've already tried several different places. I can clearly feel spiritual energy in my dantian when practicing Taoism, but why can't I practice what's on that piece of paper? Could it be that I have no talent for cultivation and am really just a blockhead like my grandfather said?"
Zhang Zizhen looked up with tears in his eyes. "Brother Yan, is Boss Zhuofeng really not here? Nor would be fine too. Can they give me some pointers?"
There is no need to ask Zhuo Feng about this question. I have already asked Yan Jue from 91 using Zhang Zizhen as an example, and he actually knows something about it.
"Have you ever considered that what you draw upon when practicing Daoist techniques isn't actually spiritual energy? I remember you said you call it true energy, right?"
Zhang Zizhen slowly opened his mouth: "Huh?"
Yan Jue explained, "The new energy of the world doesn't actually have a fixed name. Reiki is just a term used in our country. If you were in another country, would witches or something call the energy they cultivate Reiki?"
"Someone told me that the true qi you Taoists practice is actually a type of energy obtained by transforming spiritual energy."
Zhang Zizhen couldn't close his mouth: "What?"
"If spiritual energy is pure energy, then the true qi you transform is simply a fragment of spiritual energy that you crushed and combined with your family's techniques to create a transformation. True cultivation techniques, on the other hand, directly utilize pure spiritual energy for cultivation. The difficulty level is vastly different from the little spiritual energy you transform."
"So there's some connection between the two, but there's actually no real connection. It's normal for you to be slow in your cultivation, so don't underestimate yourself."
Yan Jue kindly helped Zhang Zizhen close his jaw. "Everyone's progress in cultivation is about the same. You're still the same genius you always were. Don't cry. How about I contact your parents to take you home and stay for a few days?"
This matter had little to do with cultivation and was of little help, so he didn't specifically mention it to Zhang Zizhen, and Director Pan and the others didn't mention it to the Zhang family. Anyway, as long as you work hard, you will definitely succeed; there are no shortcuts.
But he really didn't expect that Zhang Zizhen's confidence would almost collapse because of his slow cultivation. The latter sentence was not a joke, but a sincere suggestion.
He was not good at comforting people. If Zhang Zizhen could not adjust his mentality, he would be further and further away from successfully drawing Qi into his body. It would also be easy for him to develop inner demons if he practiced. So he really wanted Zhang Zizhen's parents to understand his thoughts and then give him a good beating.
If he can't handle the harshness of society, can he handle the harshness of his parents? This kid must have had it so easy before, which is why he's so fragile.
If the problem had been discovered and corrected early, Zhang Zizhen could still have been saved.
Zhang Zizhen's face flushed red. "Who's crying? Who needs to go home to seek comfort from their parents? I'm an adult and have a job. I'm not a child who needs to go home to feed..."
Yan Jue hesitated to speak. He really wanted to say that he wanted him to go home and be beaten, not to seek comfort.
"I just, just..." Zhang Zizhen kept mumbling for a long time but couldn't finish the rest of the sentence. He fell silent, lowered his head and apologized: "I'm sorry, Brother Yan, I'm too eager for quick success. I'm sorry to bother you so early in the morning and let you listen to me complain."
He was wrong. Even if he was really feeling sorry for himself, anxious and aggrieved, he shouldn't have used others as a trash can to vent his emotions.
"It's okay. I'm a consultant for the Special Management Bureau. Cultivation barely falls within my responsibilities, so it doesn't count as a nuisance." Yan Jue thought for a moment and said sincerely, "But I really think you should go home and talk to your family about your state of mind this time. Talk and relieve the depression in your heart, otherwise it will become a demon in your heart, and you will be in danger."
"Inner demon?" Zhang Zizhen was terrified. "I just complained a little bit, how could I develop an inner demon?"
Yan Jue sighed and made his words clearer: "Just because you're slow at drawing Qi into your body, you're doubting your life and yourself. When people with weaker spiritual roots than you, or those who weren't as powerful as you before, draw Qi into your body, won't you be on your knees?"
"How is that possible?" Zhang Zizhen retorted subconsciously, "I'm not the kind of person who likes to be jealous of others. Really, I've never been jealous since I was a child."
"Okay, you're not, but it's true that your mentality has changed because of practicing slowness, right?"
Zhang Zizhen lowered his head in shame. "This is just a normal psychological reaction during adolescence. After listening to what you said, Brother Yan, I feel more confident."
Yan Jue was speechless at this shameless man and kicked his shoes. "Who said they were adults just now?"
"Let's go eat. Brother Wen will be anxious if he doesn't see us."
Zhang Zizheng got up from the ground and followed Yan Jue out obediently. When he saw the figure at the door, his whole body froze instantly.
"Brother Wen?"
Yan Jue's eyes lit up. Before Wen Xuyang could say anything, he pulled him into the room and told him everything that Zhang Zizhen had just done. Finally, he reminded him, "You should have a way to contact his family, right? Can you help tell them about this?" He was afraid that Zhang Zizhen would be too embarrassed to keep it a secret.
Wen Xuyang glanced at Zhang Zizhen and nodded cautiously in agreement.
Zhang Zi really wanted to find a hole to crawl into. Who would openly ask someone to contact his parents in front of him? But seeing how seriously Yan Jue took his morning complaint, he couldn't say a word of protest.
He had no choice but to stand there with his head lowered and endure the worried and critical looks from his two brothers, as if he was seriously ill and almost dying and had not told his relatives and friends.
Yan Jue thought of more. This incident was a wake-up call for him. He had always assumed that those who diligently practiced Taoism and Buddhism before the spiritual energy revival and achieved results after the revival were hardworking and determined people. He had forgotten that there were people like Zhang Zizhen.
When we clean up the metaphysical world in the future, what if there is someone like Zhang Zizheng who has good talent but a bad mentality?
Therefore, he would have to discuss the difference between true qi and spiritual energy with Pan Wencheng to see if it could be made public. Saving every one he could was a good thing; they were all talented people whose development was aided by the country, and he couldn't just watch them go to waste.
When they arrived at the cafeteria, no one knew how Wen Xuyang and the other person socialized yesterday. As soon as Yan Jue entered the door, he saw an old man waving at them and inviting them to sit at a table.
"This is Uncle Hu." Zhang Zizhen quietly introduced him to Yan Jue, then turned around and replied enthusiastically, "Yes, this is my friend, he's with us."
Wen Xuyang ate silently without saying a word. Yan Jue understood that it seemed that it was all Zhang Ziren's credit.
"This young man is really handsome." Uncle Hu looked at Yan Jue with a smile and praised him, "You can tell he has a good physique and is healthy."
After saying that, he turned to Zhang Zizhen, "Xiao Zhang, did you not sleep well last night? Everything is good here, except that there are a lot of small animals in the woods at night, barking non-stop like they're having a meeting."
Zhang Zizhen felt guilty when he heard about last night, so he lowered his head and said vaguely: "I stayed up late playing games."
Uncle Hu showed a look of disapproval. Seeing Zhang Zizhen's expression that said "I'm lying" written all over his body, Yan Jue called out to draw attention to himself and said something to make conversation: "Uncle Hu, I heard cats and dogs barking last night. Were they pets of the villagers down the mountain and ran up here?"
Yesterday, when he was half asleep, he heard the overlapping cries of cats and dogs outside. Even if he didn't see it with his own eyes, he could imagine a big battle.
"Maybe. Country people mostly keep pets to guard the house, and they don't care about sterilization. Some people just throw them outside to fend for themselves when they have too many. Some may just run away to the mountains."
"Maybe?" Wen Xuyang suddenly added, "I heard the cats and dogs coming very close to the nursing home last night. What if they got in from somewhere and bit someone? Hasn't anyone gone out to catch them?"
Uncle Hu said with a chuckle, "Of course not. Those animals are very clever. When we first heard about it, we sent people out to check, but people are no match for the animals, so we didn't see anything. With such a high wall, nothing can happen, and there are surveillance cameras, so don't worry."
Wen Xuyang nodded: "That's good, safety first."
The topic did not continue here. Yan Jue and the other two ate quickly. After saying goodbye to Uncle Hu and leaving, most of the people in the cafeteria gathered around Uncle Hu, talking in low voices and asking questions.
"No, except for the tall one surnamed Wen who was a soldier, we could tell nothing from the other two."
"Xiao Zhang said he was a Taoist priest, Yan Jue? I don't know, he's very defensive."
"Just talking about the cats and dogs barking at night..."
"Really? No, it was my first day here, so I didn't dare ask. If you can, go ahead."
“…”
The three people who left naturally had no idea what happened in the cafeteria.
Seeing that it was still early and not too hot, Yan Jue told Wen Xuyang that he wanted to go to the village at the foot of the mountain for a walk. The purpose was to brush up on the points. No matter how small the mosquito leg is, it is still meat. The headquarters is strong without brushing.
It takes more than 20 minutes to walk from the sanatorium to the foot of the mountain, but they didn't drive and walked all the way down.
Outside the village, Yan Jue was curiously exploring. There was already a village at the foot of the mountain where Zhang Zizhen's Taoist temple stood, but he had long since lost interest in it. He simply followed Yan Jue, occasionally playing with his phone out of boredom. Wen Xuyang easily minimized his presence by remaining silent, and he habitually followed them, silently and vigilantly following their surroundings.
"These cicadas are so dedicated! Not only do they chirp non-stop during the day, they don't even rest at night." Zhang Zizhen rubbed his ears irritably. "I know their lifespan is short, but there's no need to work so hard."
Yan Jue casually asked, "Do cicadas still chirp at night? Why didn't I hear any when I was in the city? Could they be a different species?"
He slept very soundly yesterday, and hearing the barking of cats and dogs was already unfortunate. It was nothing compared to what Zhang Zizheng heard after not sleeping all night.
"Who knows? I haven't heard much of it at home. Not only cicadas, but Brother Yan, have you ever heard bird calls that sound like alien spaceships?"
This Yan Jue knew: "Common nighthawk, I looked it up out of curiosity."
Zhang Zizhen was impressed: "You're really thoughtful... What about this?" He imitated it a little: "Do you know what bird calls this? It's so loud and unpleasant. I heard it several times last night and wanted to go out and block its mouth."
Yan Jue shook his head: "A little familiar, I don't know."
He then sighed, "The ecology in Bali Mountain is quite good, with lots of birds."
At this time, Wen Xuyang, who had been following behind silently, hesitantly interrupted: "If Zhang Zizhen's imitation is accurate, this call should be that of a peacock."
Yan Jue and Zhang Zizhen turned around at the same time: "Peacock?"
Zhang Zizhen took out his phone and searched for the sound of a peacock, nodding repeatedly: "Yes, that's it. There are people in the village who raise peacocks?"
"The village is so far away from the sanatorium, it's impossible for you to hear it so clearly." Yan Jue's expression froze. "Could it be that a peacock from the farm got lost?"
Zhang Zizhen's eyes lit up: "Come on, let's go ask."
He was bored, and looking for peacocks was a serious job of serving the people, so he liked it.
Wen Xuyang swallowed what he wanted to say, sighed rarely, and followed the footsteps of the two excited people.
Although he had never been to Balishan, he had never heard of any farms operating there. But what if it was new? He could just assume it was just a guess, but he still asked.
The author has something to say:
Acting cute(*^▽^*)
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