Li Zhenran left, but Li Zhenruo was still frozen in place and did not move for a long time.
The boy walked behind him and asked softly, “Are you okay?”
Li Zhenruo turned around in a trance and said, “Ah, I’m fine.”
The two looked at each other for a while, both a bit puzzled. Then the boy said, “I have to go to class.”
Li Zhenruo nodded, “Oh.”
The boy asked him, “Can you tell me your name?”
Li Zhenruo hesitated for a moment before saying, “Youp can call me Jason…”
The boy seemed to feel a little uncomfortable, but he didn’t pursue, and said, “My name is Shen Luming, can you leave a phone number?”
Only then did Li Zhenruo remember that he didn’t have a phone at all, and he didn’t know how to explain it to Shen Luming because just giving an English name made him feel very insincere, and saying he had no phone now sounds like an excuse.
However, Shen Luming didn’t seem to care. He took out a pen and sticky note, wrote down his name and mobile phone number and handed it to Li Zhenruo, “Contact me if you have time.”
Li Zhenruo took it and replied, “Okay.”
After speaking, Shen Luming left in a hurry.
Li Zhenruo looked down at the words written on the note, and when he looked up, he found himself circling around to the two-story building where Xia Hongshen and the others lived. He couldn’t help looking up at the window and found that Xia Hongshen was standing in front of the window looking at him as if he had seen all of those just now.
He took Erhuang back to the small building. He had just stepped on the wooden stairs to the second floor when he saw Xia Hongshen hooking his fingers at him at the door of the room, “Come here.”
Li Zhenruo hurriedly walked over. After he entered the room, he loosened Erhuang’s rope and let it play by itself, and then said, “Xia laoshi?”
Xia Hongshen sat in front of the desk with a pen in his hand and asked him, “Do you know the student just now?”
Li Zhenruo shook his head, “I was wondering and wanted to ask you. I’ve met that boy a few times, and every time I felt my heart throbbing violently as if something was pulling me.”
Xia Hongshen looked at him for a moment, “Do you want to know why?”
Li Zhenruo nodded.
Xia Hongshen didn’t speak immediately, but touched his forehead with a pen and said slowly, “I think that student is the owner of your current body.”
“Huh?” Li Zhenruo’s eyes suddenly widened.
Xia Hongshen leaned back on the swivel chair and seemed to be thinking, “But it’s strange. Something doesn’t seem right.”
Li Zhenruo couldn’t help but shudder. What he was most concerned about was not what was wrong, but he suddenly stepped forward and asked Xia Hongshen, “Will he take his body back?”
Xia Hongshen said, “There seems to be a reaction between you both, isn’t it?”
Li Zhenruo recalled several meetings between him and Shen Luming, and it was true that each time he felt stronger than each time, and when he looked at Shen Luming’s expression, it was obvious he also felt it.
The feeling of attraction might be the body’s response to the soul when he thought about it now. What Xia Hongshen said was probably true, otherwise, Li Zhenruo couldn’t explain the throbbing at all.
Li Zhenruo said nervously, “Is it possible?”
Xia Hong spread his hands deeply and said bluntly, “I don’t know.”
At this time, Li Zhenruo suddenly felt that the note in his hand that Shen Luming handed to him just now became a worry. He never seemed to have thought of such a possibility. He always considered whether he would only have a short life of more than ten years as a cat, but he didn’t think that the life of the cat was stolen by him and belonged to others. Now that the owner has appeared, if he wanted or has the ability to take back his body, there might not be more than ten years, and not even more than ten days would not be left for him.
He couldn’t do that, Li Zhenruo still had so many things to do. Even now he was still a headless idiot who didn’t even know who killed him.
Li Zhenruo originally planned to stay here for a while longer to pester Xia Hongshen, but now he suddenly changed his mind. He had no time.
“Xia laoshi,” Li Zhenruo said, “I plan to leave for a while, there is just one request I hope Xia laoshi can grant me.”
Xia Hongshen raised his head and gestured for him to speak.
Li Zhenruo glanced at Erhuang, “When I leave, please take care of Erhuang for me. No need to trouble yourself too much, just feed Erhuang some dog food every meal, and when I come back, I will find a way to make up for its living expenses to you.”
Xia Hongshen didn’t answer, just asked, “Where are you going?”
Li Zhenruo said, “I’m going to find out the cause of my death.”
Xia Hongshen sighed, “You are really persistent.”
Li Zhenruo lowered his head and said softly, “I’m still unwilling.”
Xia Hongshen took a step back, “Sometimes being persistent is a good thing, and being too persistent is sometimes a bad thing.”
Li Zhenruo also felt that, but he was silent and did not speak.
Xia Hongshen sighed and said to him, “Kneel down.”
“Huh?” This time, Li Zhenruo was slightly taken aback, and he looked at Xia Hongshen unsurely.
Xia Hongshen just folded his arms around his chest and sat on the swivel chair casually. After he said those words, there was no further explanation. Li Zhenruo didn’t move, and Xia Hongshen also didn’t respond.
Li Zhenruo’s mind was stuck and he was trying to clear his mind for a while, and suddenly an incandescent light bulb was lit. He immediately knelt down, and periodically called out, “M-Master1note that he was calling him 师父(master in martial arts) different from what he called Zhenran 主人(master as in owner)?”
Xia Hongshen said, “I have lived in the world for thousands of years, from being alone to being accompanied by Chunjun, but I have never accepted any apprentices. Perhaps passing an inheritance is another experience. You, what is your name?”
Li Zhenruo was speechless for a moment, and finally reminded him honestly, “Li Zhenruo.”
“Really weak?” Xia Hongshen said, “This name is really not very good, but feel free, I am not your father, do you really want to worship under my discipline?”
Li Zhenruo had a straight back and nodded solemnly, “Yes, Master.”
Xia Hongshen said, “Okay, I will accept your apprenticeship today.”
Li Zhenruo was overjoyed for a while. He was unable to restrain the smile on his face and looked at Xia Hongshen.
Erhuang saw him kneeling on the ground, not knowing why, he walked over and rubbed his head against him.
Li Zhenruo hurriedly reached out and pushed Erhuang’s big head away, hesitated a little, put his hands on the ground and kowtowed to Xia Hongshen, and said, “This disciple pays respects to his Master.”
Xia Hongshen nodded and said, “You said that you want to have the power to become a stronger demon. Let me tell you, a demon is originally a beast, it absorbs the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and the creatures were enlightened. Now you only need to absorb the spiritual energy and continue practising, and you will naturally gain power.”
Li Zhenruo listened confusedly as if he was watching a historical drama movie.
Xia Hongshen went on to say, “Everything in the world has a spirit. You try to push the spiritual power in your body to break the skin barrier and feel the aura in the air.”
After he heard this, Li Zhenruo closed his eyes and tried to activate his spiritual power for the first time instead of transforming himself. He followed Xia Hongshen’s words and applied the spiritual power to his skin, and suddenly felt as if his body opened the channel with the outside world. The spiritual energy contained in the heaven and earth that Xia Hongshen mentioned was no longer an ethereal existence at this moment but something that could be clearly felt.
Xia Hongshen said, “The more spiritual energy in the air, the more spiritual energy you can absorb. This is also the reason why there are many demons in places with abundant spiritual energy. The spiritual energy in the city is thin, and so the amount of spiritual energy you can absorb is limited.”
Li Zhenruo quietly felt the slight aura in the air slowly entering his body.
Xia Hongshen raised his leg and tapped several large points on Li Zhenruo’s chest one after another, and finally stopped at his lower abdomen, and said “The spiritual energy enters the body, moves with the breathing, and is used for personal use, and is stored in the Dantian2point two inches below the navel where one’s qi resides or the main core, which is also where the demon core is located. “
Li Zhenruo tried hard to feel the spiritual power in the Dantian.
Xia Hongshen said, “Cultivation is boring, day after day, year after year, year after year. How far it can be achieved depends on your own destiny.”
Li Zhenruo replied solemnly, “Thank you, Master.”
Xia Hongshen suddenly got up and patted his forehead with a single hand. Li Zhenruo only saw a black mark placed on his body, and heard Xia Hongshen say, “My apprentice, I’m giving you a seal.”
Li Zhenruo thought that he was not pork.
However, his mouth was still nicely said, “Thank you, Master, and when this apprentice makes money, I will please Master with the best cat food.”
Xia Hongshen looked at him when he heard the words, “What cat food are you eating now?”
He looked up at the sky, Li Zhenruo recalled the packaging of the cat food he ate, but he couldn’t remember the brand. He hesitated a little and said, “It should be imported cat food. I can’t remember the brand, but I can recognize it when I see it.”
Xia Hongshen asked him, “Where is it sold? I have only eaten cat food sold in supermarkets.”
Li Zhenruo didn’t know where it was bought. After thinking about it, he said, “Maybe it’s from an imported food supermarket.”
“Oh—” Xia Hongshen looked thoughtful, “Is it delicious?”
Li Zhenruo said, “Actually, it’s okay.”
Xia Hongshen nodded, “Remember to be filial to your Master.”
Li Zhenruo replied, “This apprentice knows.”
As he stood up, Li Zhenruo said, “Master, about Erhuang…”
Xia Hongshen said, “Keep it and let Long Xing take care of it.”
Li Zhenruo quickly thanked him, and then said, “Master, can you lend me some money, and I will definitely give it back to you in the future.”
Unexpectedly, Xia Hongshen said, “Your master also does not have money, so go and borrow it from xiao Feng, he is the richest in the family.”
Li Zhenruo thought to himself that Feng Junyuan, a surgeon, had been living such a miserable life. He could see how miserable these people are, but he still replied, “Okay, thank you, Master.”
In the end, Li Zhenruo borrowed 500 yuan from Feng Junyuan. Recalling how Feng Junyuan rummaged through his pockets and found 500 yuan, Li Zhenruo felt the hardships of life for them.
After getting the money from Feng Junyuan, Li Zhenruo hurried to the inter-city bus station. Aunt Wu’s hometown was in a relatively remote county in the province, and it took about 4 hours by bus. He thought about getting on the bus in the form of a cat, but he felt that it would be difficult to get on this kind of intercity bus, and there was no guarantee that the driver would not throw him halfway. The most critical thing if he went in as a cat was that he would have no clothes to wear when he reached his destination.
At this time, the necessity of following Xia Hongshen’s practice was fully revealed.
Not long after the bus drove out, a child sitting in the front row vomited from motion sickness in the car, and the air-conditioned car could not open the windows. The smell spread all at once, and Li Zhenruo covered his nose in pain. The middle-aged man sitting next to him was already asleep, snoring loudly with his head up, and tilting his head to his side from time to time. When Li Zhenruo saw that the man was about to lean on his shoulder, the man woke up suddenly and sat back.
Not to mention his past life3not referring to his life as Zhenruo but more in the past life, if the current life as a cat was regarded as his life. With Li Zhenruo’s two lifetimes combined, he was afraid that it was such a painful thing to have no money like today.
He quieted down, closed his eyes and let himself start practising.
As the bus left the city and entered the suburbs, he found that the surrounding spiritual energy became more and more abundant, which made his slow cultivation speed a little faster.
When he got off the bus at the destination, Li Zhenruo not only did not feel the fatigue of the journey but felt energetic, as if he had woken up from a comfortable sleep and his whole body had become lighter.
This situation made him feel that the day when he could change into a suit when he transforms was just around the corner.
Aunt Wu’s address was overheard by Li Zhenruo before Aunt Wu left Li’s house. At that time, Aunt Wu was chatting with fellows from her village, and Li Zhenruo heard Aunt Wu talk about which county and township she lived in and her home was in the countryside.
However, he only remembered the name of the village where Aunt Wu was located. When he arrived at the county seat, Li Zhenruo asked someone all the way, and then took another bus. The driver left him on the side of the road halfway and told him that he had arrived at his destination.
Li Zhenruo was a little dazed. After getting out of the car, he found that there was endless farmland on both sides of the road. He could see a few two-story buildings in the distance, but there were no pedestrians around.
In his imagination, he walked to the entrance of the village and asked someone at random. It seemed that it was too simple!
He could only walk inward along a fairly wide and flat path in the field. After walking for more than 20 minutes, Li Zhenruo saw a tea shop beside the road. Many people sat in the tea shop drinking tea and playing mahjong.
Li Zhenruo walked over to an old man who was sitting at the mahjong table watching people play cards, and asked softly, “Hello, old man, can I ask you about someone?”
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone at the table who had been concentrating on playing cards looked at him.
Li Zhenruo coughed uncomfortably and asked again, “Is there a big sister named Wu Jiamei in this village?”
A table of people looked at him, but no one answered for a while.
Li Zhenruo couldn’t help but wonder if he had said something wrong or violated any taboo.
Almost when he was considering whether he should leave, a man pointed his finger in front of him, “Go straight ahead, turn right in front of you and walk another 200 meters. There is a house with a pear tree in front of the yard.”
Li Zhenruo said, “Thank you…” When he turned to leave, he heard someone say “Be careful.”
He turned his head and saw that those people lowered their heads and started to concentrate on playing cards again. So be careful what? Why did he need to be careful? Li Zhenruo was simply confused and baffled.
When he turned in the direction that the person told him just now, Li Zhenruo suddenly realized a problem after walking for a while, that was, he didn’t know the pear tree. He stood blankly on the side of the road for a while, but luckily he met a middle-aged woman who passed by. He hurriedly asked her, and this time he got the exact address.
The gate of the courtyard was not sealed, Li Zhenruo stood outside the courtyard and looked at the two-story building that was somewhat dilapidated. He hesitated and shouted loudly, “Aunt Wu!”
He thought that he didn’t need to beat around the bush at this time. Aunt Wu was frightened before, and she must not be able to bear the second fright. He might as well lie and coax her to tell the truth. Even if she refused to say it, Li Zhenruo naturally had a way to make her say it.
However, he shouted several times, but there was no movement inside, then he went to knock on the door. However, no one came to open the door for him.
Li Zhenruo thought to himself that there might be no one at home at this time. He hesitated whether to sit down in the yard and wait for a while, but he was afraid that he would not get the result by just waiting, so he turned and walked in the direction he came from just now.
He walked to the front of the tea shop and asked those who were playing cards just now, and said, “Is there anyone in Wu Jiamei’s house?”
The old man who was watching people playing cards looked up at him and said, “Yes, her son has been at home.”
Li Zhenruo asked, “Then why do I knock on the door now and no one answers?”
The old man turned his head back to the card table, “Then come at another time.”
After that, no one paid attention to him. Li Zhenruo felt a little embarrassed standing on the side and looked in that direction from a distance. Unfortunately, the two-story building of Aunt Wu’s house could not be seen from here.
He hesitated a little, seeing that it was already late, and he might not be able to find a place to spend the night in this village. He had no other choice but to go back to the county town to find a small hotel to stay overnight, and to put off the discussion until tomorrow morning.
The small hotel in the county town costs 80 yuan for a night. The sheets were sticky and he also didn’t know if they have been washed. There was a musty smell in the room, but even so, Li Zhenruo still thinks it was expensive.
There were no toiletries in the bathroom. Li Zhenruo felt that his hair was covered with dust after sitting in the car for a day and wanted to wash his hair. He wandered around the barbershop downstairs of the hotel and wanted to ask for a price, but when he walked in, he saw where a row of women was sitting, all looking up at him in unison, with no barber tools on the table in front of the mirror.
Li Zhenruo had never seen this kind of situation, but intuitively he felt that he should not go in, and quickly backed out.
He just didn’t care about anything, ate some dinner at random, went back to the hotel room and lay down on the bed to watch TV, thinking that a human’s life was not as easy as a cat, if he could have the next life, it was better to be a cat. You could eat, sleep and act like a spoiled child every day.
He curled up and tried to expel all the memories that broke into his head. The best way not to be sad was to not think about it.
He fell asleep in a daze, and after an unknown amount of time, Li Zhenruo was woken up by the sound of a knock on the door. He raised his head blankly and found that the TV in the room was not yet turned off, and it was past 12 am.
Who could it be at this hour?
He didn’t take off his clothes when he slept. At this time, he got up from the bed and opened the door. Li Zhenruo saw a woman standing outside the door, so he opened the door and asked, “What can I do for you?”
The woman, speaking in a local accent, asked him, “Need a service?”
Li Zhenruo hadn’t woken up yet, and asked in a daze, “What service?”
The woman smiled and reached out and touched Li Zhenruo’s face.
Li Zhenruo suddenly got goosebumps from head to toe, and he got back his senses. He then said, “No need.” and closed the door.
He felt weird, of course, he certainly could not find a prostitute in such a place, and in fact, she was not ugly. It should be fine if she touched his face, but his body’s reaction was very honest, and that suggestive touch made him very uncomfortable.
Li Zhenruo leaned behind the door and thought that these strange reactions showed a problem, that was, the owner of this body was a gay cat. Or there was another possibility, that he has been completely bent by Li Zhenran.
Oh dear… Li Zhenruo sighed and squatted helplessly on the ground.
He went back to the bed and lay down, but this time, less than half an hour later, someone came knocking on the door again.
Li Zhenruo got angry, walked over to open the door, and said unhappily, “What is it?”
The author has something to say:
I won’t suddenly go to the xiuxian4cultivation immortality story, but I’m still struggling with the undressing matter…
Notes:
please don’t go cultivation or I die coz I don’t know the terms :’)
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