Yan Jue sneaked back while covering himself with protective clothing.
After ordinary people draw qi into their bodies, the deposited impurities will be discharged from their bodies due to the spiritual energy, which is similar to what is described in the novel. After he succeeded, black dirt also appeared on his body surface, but there was no strange smell like a foul odor.
But even so, waking up to find himself covered in black mud and being stared at as if he had discovered a new world was a bit embarrassing. So he had no choice but to hold his protective suit tightly, then quickly escape with his face covered in black mud.
After returning to his room and taking a shower, Yan Jue stood in front of the mirror and observed himself.
Aside from his skin appearing smoother and whiter, nothing else had changed. Additional abilities like sharp hearing and vision were unlocked gradually through practice. He hadn't even reached the first level of Qi training yet, so it was premature to discuss those things.
But these are all external things. The biggest and most exciting difference for him is that he can finally feel the existence of spiritual energy!
Clearly and distinctly, without much effort, he could sense the aura in the air that comforted him. And as soon as he moved his mind, the surrounding aura obediently gathered around him, moving wherever he pointed, unlike before when he would shout for ages without getting a response.
Just thinking about the pain caused by the spiritual energy flowing into his acupoints and traveling through his meridians, Yan Jue couldn't help but reveal a melancholy expression.
Cultivating immortals is indeed good, but the process is too tiring. Just the spiritual energy entering the acupoints is enough. When he practices later and uses the spiritual energy to widen the meridians, won’t he have to bite a towel in his mouth to control himself?
Of course, he could just complain about this sweet pain himself. If he said it out loud, it would easily arouse public outrage among those who had not yet been successfully aroused.
After leaving the bathroom, Yan Jue took out his mobile phone and checked the "Classic of Mountains and Seas", and linked the monster he caught tonight with the description of "Huan" in it.
At first glance, his expression changed slightly. He had already experienced the sound it made, which could imitate the calls of a hundred kinds of animals. The rest of the description said that people could raise it to ward off evil spirits, and that eating its meat could cure jaundice...
This is very curious.
However, he believed that the officials would definitely not kill this lucky beast, which was currently the only one left, for meat. In the future, if there were more than just one, and more appeared in large numbers, their fate would depend on whether the Huan had the intelligence to be tamed.
This is a long-term observation and recording work, and it is too early to say anything now.
But then again, all the monsters that appear now have awakened with the revival of spiritual energy, and they are not cultivated from scratch.
If Zhuo Feng's previous statement about them being weak upon waking up applies to all awakened monsters, then wouldn't the monsters' goal after waking up be to return to peak strength? Would their strength when they first appeared also be similar to what it was like?
Yan Jue thought about it and decided that this was the more reliable option. Everyone had to start from the same starting line to ensure a fair competition. Although the monsters had spiritual energy at the beginning, they also had firearms, which was about the same.
Without giving it any more thought, Yan Jue struck while the iron was hot and guided the spiritual energy to flow through his meridians, replacing sleep with cultivation.
The next day, he went out in high spirits. After meeting Wen Xuyang, they walked towards the cafeteria. Along the way, they met many old people who were talking about the tiger's roar last night.
In the corridor on the first floor, Uncle Hu saw them and approached them enthusiastically, "I didn't expect there are tigers here. Are you not scared?"
There are no tigers here. There weren't any in the past few decades, but now there are. It's very likely that Huan made it up and it's not real. Yan Jue smiled awkwardly and was about to shake his head in response when someone behind him answered.
"Bullshit, there are no tigers here. Why don't you tell me that we have lions here?"
Looking back, he felt that he looked familiar, as if he was one of the people who played chess under the tree on the day he arrived.
"Then tell me, what was that roar yesterday?" Old Hu was unconvinced and pulled Yan Jue back, "I'm hard of hearing, so I'll go first. Ask Yan Jue if there was a tiger roar last night."
He then introduced: "This is Lao Li, a bad chess player with a strong chess addiction. If he asks you to play chess, you must refuse."
Old Li said, "Pooh!" "You can say I'm bad at math, but you can't say I'm bad at chess. How about we go out and compete? If I don't beat you, I won't be called Li today!"
"Hello, Grandpa Li."
Seeing that a quarrel was about to break out, Yan Jue quickly pulled Wen Xuyang aside and greeted him weakly, interrupting the quarrel in time.
"All good, all good." Old Li snorted and stopped talking about chess, continuing to deliver his point. "Old Hu, you're not only hard of hearing, I think you're almost suffering from Alzheimer's. Think about the history of Beijing. Can you honestly tell me when, besides the zoo, a wild tiger has appeared here?"
Uncle Hu, who was actually not hard of hearing, glared back: "Then tell me, what was that noise yesterday?"
That sound was definitely the roar of a wild beast.
Yan Jue, standing by, whispered to Wen Xuyang, "Do you think anyone would believe us if we made up a story about a man lost in the mountains who played the sound of a tiger roaring to boost his courage?"
Wen Xuyang nodded seriously: "That's a good reason."
Whether you believe it or not is secondary. The most important thing is to have a plausible reason. This is obviously much more reliable than a wild tiger or a lost tiger in a zoo.
As Hu pressed on, the confident Li suddenly faltered, "It's not a tiger, nor a ferocious beast, believe it or not."
"I think you're the one with Alzheimer's!" Old Hu was furious. "You don't even have a reasonable guess yourself, yet you come here and deny me? Didn't you just refute me with quotations from classics? Tell me, what animal here can make such a loud roar?"
"It's not a tiger, anyway. There are no other ferocious beasts in the mountains except wild boars." Old Li felt guilty but remained silent. "Who said I didn't know? I know it very well, I just can't say it."
Old Hu squinted at him, "What's there to be said? Could it be that there's a confidentiality issue involved?"
Hearing this, Yan Jue's heart skipped a beat and he thought to himself that he was in trouble.
Because the windows of the sanatorium all face the mountains, most of the residents live on the second floor, where the view is better and they are not restricted by the walls of the first floor. However, some live on the first floor, where they can see the small vegetable patch between the building and the wall up close, allowing them to observe the fruits of their labor.
It was the tiger's roar that scared Huan away last night. Who knows? Someone quick enough might have lifted the curtains and spotted Huan. Those three long, gleaming tails are hard to hide. Uncle Li was sure he knew the reason, but he couldn't tell anyone. Could it be that Huan had been seen and thought it was a demon?
After exchanging a glance with Wen Xuyang and seeing the inquiry in his eyes, he nodded. Yan Jue, who had been silently watching the two quarreling, spoke up: "Grandpa Hu, I've never heard of wild tigers in Jing City. And if one escaped from the zoo, there would definitely be news to remind citizens to be vigilant. There's no news online right now, so it's probably not the zoo's fault."
"Didn't someone from the relevant department come to see us last night? If we want to know the truth, we can go ask them, right?"
He smiled kindly: "Stop arguing. We haven't even had breakfast yet. Let's go over there quickly."
Old Hu glared at Old Li and said, "Xiao Yan is right."
He pulled Yan Jue towards the cafeteria. "Let's ignore Old Li's pretentiousness. He must have checked with yesterday's staff to make sure they didn't find any traces, so he's trying to scare us. He just knew it in advance, so why not tell them? I can also contact them..."
"By the way, where is the little Taoist priest who was with you? Why can't I see him?"
Wen Xuyang fell beside Lao Li, seemingly walking forward without looking around, but in fact he was always paying attention to the expression on the other person's face with the corner of his eyes.
After hearing what Old Hu said, Old Li was stunned for a moment, then curled his lips, clearly scoffing at what Old Hu said. When he heard the words "little Taoist priest," some worry flashed across his face, but then quickly faded.
"Is it related to Zhang Zizhen's identity?"
After dinner, Wen Xuyang took his computer to Yan Jue and told him about his findings. Yan Jue analyzed, "Why is he worried about the Taoist priest? Could it be that he has something that the Taoist priest can threaten him?"
Lao Li and Zhang Zizheng didn't know each other, so the only thing he could worry about was the impact of his identity as a Taoist priest.
"When will Zhang Zizhen come back?"
After catching Huan last night, his help was needed in the subsequent series of untying and moving the cage, so he followed the helicopter directly last night and has not returned yet.
"I'll be back at noon."
Wen Xuyang opened a document on his computer and scanned it. Without showing it to Yan Jue, he simply said, "Li Huaiqing, he worked in scientific research before retiring. Many of his family members are also engaged in related professions. He has no problems with his status and no unusual circumstances have occurred around him. He has been in the sanatorium for three years."
They checked everyone in the nursing home before coming.
Scientific research and being a Taoist priest are two completely unrelated identities and social circles. Yan Jue was curious about Li Huaiqing's behavior today, but he was also worried that he would be disrespectful to him if he presumptuously investigated. Faced with this dilemma, Wen Xuyang said, "Don't worry."
"First, we need to confirm whether he saw Huan yesterday, or if he's encountered him before. Second, we need to thoroughly investigate any unusual behavior around you. When Zhang Zizhen returns, I'll have him contact Elder Li first to gauge his reaction. If he's acting strangely because he's noticed something supernatural, we'll reveal some of the truth."
It's better to open it up than to block it. The resurgence of spiritual energy is already a global trend, and one day it will be exposed to the public. No matter what excuses they make, it's better to be clear and honest. After all, those who can perceive those things at this stage are already very talented or have special visions.
Having made up his mind, Yan Jue stopped dwelling on it and spoke out the idea that had just occurred to him the previous night: "Brother Wen, can I try to gather spiritual energy around your acupoints and see if that increases the chances of attracting it?"
"I will be very careful. This is just a test. I won't rashly introduce spiritual energy into your body."
Wen Xuyang was slightly surprised, but agreed after a little thought.
After seeing Wen Xuyang sitting cross-legged, Yan Jue gathered a small ball of spiritual energy and slowly sent it to Wen Xuyang's acupoint. After observing carefully for a while and finding that Wen Xuyang did not feel any discomfort, he carefully pulled out a thread of spiritual energy and tried to drill it inside.
Strangely, the spiritual energy he could clearly feel disappeared as soon as it touched Wen Xuyang when he sent it into his acupoints. He tried again, and the same thing happened.
"Brother Wen, it's over." Yan Jue paused and described his actions, then asked, "Did you feel anything just now?"
Wen Xuyang shook his head: "I don't feel anything."
This also includes the scene where Yan Jue mentioned that he could see spiritual light spots before drawing in the energy.
"It seems that there is no shortcut." Yan Jue scratched his cheek: "I saw something in the novel about helping people to sort out their spiritual energy, so I thought I could give it a try, but it seems that I failed."
"Being spiritual is a rare opportunity." Wen Xuyang was not disappointed. Instead, he said firmly, "Drawing Qi into the body should be a threshold that you can only cross on your own. If it were too easy to achieve, there would be no magic in cultivation."
Yan Jue responded, "Yes. But I think that when I practice in the future, you can gather around me. It should be easier to stay in a place with more spiritual energy."
His practice would condense a large amount of spiritual energy, which would be much better when he was next to a ball of spiritual energy than sensing the spiritual energy that was scattered in the air in his own room.
Wen Xuyang asked curiously, "You can feel the spiritual energy. Is it true that there is more spiritual energy in places where there are no people?"
"From what I felt last night in the mountains and at the sanatorium, the concentrations were about the same."
They didn't go deep into the mountains last night, but just wandered around an area at the foot of the mountain. The location was similar, so there was naturally nothing to use as a reference.
Wen Xuyang nodded to indicate that he understood: "Remember to tell Director Pan about the results of the experiment just now."
"Okay." Yan Jue asked again, "Brother Wen, can I go ask the people at the nursing home about Mr. Li? Don't ask too many questions, just chat about family matters and see if the elderly people who spend time with him day and night in the nursing home can find out anything."
"Okay." Wen Xuyang paused. "I still need to report the matter of Huan to my superiors. I may have to hold a meeting. You can go there by yourself later. But if you want to leave the sanatorium, you must tell me."
Yan Jue did not go directly to Li Huaiqing, but went to find Uncle Hu.
"Grandpa Hu, did you plant this?" Seeing Grandpa Hu watering the vegetables in the back from the window, he ran down and pretended to stroll in casually to say hello.
In order to investigate, he has to take the initiative to create a chance encounter.
"Xiao Yan." The old man turned his head and glanced at Yan Jue, his hands moving without stopping: "Yes, I planted this row of cucumbers with my own hands. I even built the racks myself."
There was obvious pride in Lao Hu's tone. He put down the watering can and plucked a cucumber, stuffing it into Yan Jue's hand. "The tap is over there. Just wash it and you can eat it."
Yan Jue washed it but didn't eat it. He held it in his hand and glanced at the land where everything was grown. He asked, "Are all the vegetables here grown by the people in the yard? I see they also grow flowers."
He originally thought that the plants were planted by people in the nursing home. But when he saw Mr. Hu watering the plants, he realized that they were planted by the elderly people in the nursing home.
"Yes, originally there was a row of flower beds here, but someone thought it was boring and knocked the flower beds into the concrete floor to create this vegetable patch."
"I think this is prettier than flowers. And you see, our windows all face here, so I can look after the vegetable garden, scare away birds, water the plants, and so on, all right from here, without having to go too far. Grandma Fang on the second floor has poor eyesight, so she even bought a telescope just to stare at her tomatoes. If she catches someone stealing them, she can scare them into apologizing with just her eyes without saying a word."
Old Hu exposed his old friends' shortcomings without reservation: "Xiao Yan, apart from the vegetables on the last piece of land and the flowers, you can pick the rest if you want to eat them without anyone saying anything. But you must be careful about what Fang Po and Lao Li have."
He winked at Yan Jue, who was listening with great interest, and asked, "Guess why Grandma Fang doesn't let people pick them?"
Yan Jue was listening intently when he heard the question. He was stunned and didn't react for a moment. He answered blankly: "Because I planted it with my own hands, I can't bear to give it away?"
"Hahaha, you're half right."
Old Hu looked around and said quickly, lowering his voice, "Grandma Fang is a plant killer. Others have no talent for growing vegetables, and whatever they plant dies. But she's the only one in our yard who refuses to give up. After looking through a book and asking people about it, she managed to pull that tomato patch up."
"This is her first time growing something alive. Do you think she can help but keep a close eye on it? Let me tell you, she..."
"Mr. Hu, are you secretly saying bad things about me?"
Before Old Hu could finish his words, a powerful female voice interrupted from above. Yan Jue looked up and saw an old lady with curly hair and glasses leaning against the window frame, angrily saying, "How dare you say you've never planted anything that died? Do you think it's worth it to publicize me every time you see one?"
"Just wait, I'll tell Ah Shu to call and scold you!"
The window slammed shut. When Old Hu saw Granny Fang, his sullen expression instantly disappeared, and was replaced by a smile with a hint of evil humor.
"Hey, never mind her. I'm not afraid of Shu scolding me. By the way, Shu is my daughter."
Yan Jue: “…”
It seems that you have a lot of experience, and you are also suspected to be working part-time as a loudspeaker in the nursing home.
Zhang Zizhen was really lucky to have found such a person on his first try. Hmm... that doesn't seem right? If Uncle Hu wasn't like this, he wouldn't have hooked up with Zhang Zizhen. So, who was actually spying on whom?
The author has something to say:
(づ￣3￣)づ
① From the encyclopedia: On Yiwang Mountain, there lives a wild beast that resembles a common wild cat, but has only one eye and three tails. It is called Huan, and the sound it makes seems to surpass the calls of a hundred animals. Raising it can ward off evil spirits, and eating its meat can cure jaundice. (The text changed it to say it can imitate the calls of a hundred animals.)
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