darknovel #120 - Crystal Core Evolution
#120 - Crystal Core Evolution
"You didn't see it?"
Hearing Zhang Chen's words, she didn't even bother with Zhang Chen patting her head. The girl clung tightly to Zhang Chen's leg, a look of horror in her eyes, her voice even tinged with a sob.
Zhang Chen could see that she was terrified.
"Are you still confused from sleep? Haven't fully woken up yet? You must be seeing things! This is a Taoist temple, what evil could dare to run wild inside a Taoist temple?" Zhang Chen stroked the little girl's head, and seeing her tearful eyes, simply picked her up and patted her gently.
"Really? Did I really see things?" The little girl was now being swayed by Zhang Chen's words and began to feel a little unsure of herself, thinking she might have seen wrong: "That's right, if there really was evil, something would have happened long ago, there's no reason why I'd still be safe and sound."
Seeming to cheer herself up, the little girl instantly regained her confidence and then confirmed that she had seen wrong. That spirit that had been frightened away returned, and she glared at Zhang Chen, feeling Zhang Chen's coaxing pat, and said in annoyance: "Zhang Chen! Are you哄 (hǒng: coaxing) a child? I'm your senior sister! I'm your senior sister, do you know that?"
A hint of annoyance appeared in the little girl's eyes, and she struggled out of Zhang Chen's arms, while secretly feeling ashamed: "How could I be like this? Even if there's evil, I shouldn't钻 (zuān: drill, dive, enter) into my junior brother's arms! How embarrassing! This time, my dignity as a senior sister has been completely swept away."
Zhang Chen glanced at the little girl, smiled, and didn't respond. Instead, he went to the stove, turned up the flame, and continued to stew the large bones inside.
The aroma of the bones slowly spread in the room. The little girl then stepped forward, her eyes looking at the large bones Zhang Chen was stewing, a look of longing in her eyes, and she licked her lips: "Where did you get these big bones, kid?"
Zhang Chen smiled: "They fell from the sky."
"I believe you're a ghost. Did you steal them from the kitchen? I advise you to be honest, kid. Once you're caught by the people in the kitchen, they might break your筋断骨折 (jīn duàn gǔ zhé: tendons and bones), then don't blame me for not reminding you."
The little girl said solemnly.
Zhang Chen didn't say much, but secretly mobilized the water vapor in the air, attaching it to the walls of the house to form a film, locking in the meaty aroma in the entire house to avoid being caught.
Soon the big bones were stewed until they were soft and tender. The little girl then rubbed her hands, took out chopsticks, fished out a piece, and then ate with greasy lips,眯起眼睛 (mī qǐ yǎnjīng: squinting her eyes) in happiness: "Since the great drought, the animals in the mountains have migrated away, it's been a long time since I've had stewed meat."
The little girl's cheeks were bulging as she ate. Zhang Chen was also啃 (kěn: gnawing) on the big bones. The little girl hadn't seen meat for a long time, but when had he seen meat?
The two of them啃 (kěn: gnawing) the pot of big bones clean. They even added noodles to the bone broth, and then the two of them picked up their bowls and slurped them down.
"Speaking of which, we usually don't see any greasy food, how come the kitchen has big bones today? Is it to entertain some important guests?" The little girl was full of doubts.
Zhang Chen didn't answer, but his thoughts were racing. He now only wanted to understand the matter of Qi training and cultivation, as for the Taoist temple, he didn't plan to stay for long. After Elder Wu left, he would find a chance to leave secretly and then go and excavate the tomb of the帝女 (dì nǚ: princess).
"Speaking of which, if I want to learn to read, what should I do? Is there a place to learn to read in the Taoist temple?" Zhang Chen asked.
The little girl shook her head: "The Taoist temple only teaches martial arts, but not written knowledge."
Zhang Chen was stunned. The Taoist temple doesn't teach written knowledge, so what if he wants to chant scriptures?
So he asked the doubts in his heart.
"Of course, it's memorization. Follow the crowd in the morning class for ten years as if it were one day. Even if the黄庭经 (Huángtíng jīng: Yellow Court Scripture) has more than ten thousand words, you should memorize it." Cheng Yu said as a matter of course.
Zhang Chen was speechless. Why is it so difficult to learn to read?
Too difficult!
Too few people can read.
After the two of them finished eating the noodles, there was still an hour before五更 (wǔ gēng: the fifth watch of the night), so they could still rest for a while.
Cheng Yu wiped her mouth, directly brushed her teeth with 青盐炮附子粉 (qīng yán pào fùzǐ fěn: salt-cured aconite powder), and then鑽 (zuān: drill, dive, enter) into Zhang Chen's bed and fell asleep.
She's still a child! It's the time when she's growing, children need to develop, need sleep.
青盐炮附子粉 (qīng yán pào fùzǐ fěn: salt-cured aconite powder) is very clean for brushing teeth, and it also helps to consolidate the roots of the teeth, not inferior to toothpaste.
Cheng Yu霸占 (bàzhàn: occupy) Zhang Chen's bed. Zhang Chen couldn't continue to communicate with the fox spirit, and didn't want to continue cultivating. After cleaning up all the traces and disposing of the bones, he simply鑽 (zuān: drill, dive, enter) into the quilt, embraced Cheng Yu like a daughter, and fell into a deep sleep.
The two of them slept late. When they woke up again, they heard a sound of kicking at the door. Before the two of them in the room could open their sleepy eyes, they saw an old man in a black robe leading four disciples into the room.
The old man's robe was embroidered with three ears of wheat, indicating that he was an elder.
The Taoist robes of Huangli Temple are judged according to the ears of wheat. One ear of wheat is an ordinary disciple, two ears of wheat are嫡传 (díchuán: direct lineage), three ears of wheat are elders responsible for order and law enforcement, four ears of wheat are the powerful figures in the various halls of the Taoist temple, and five ears of wheat are the abbot.
A group of people kicked the door open and came in, immediately startling the two people on the bed. The elder looked at the two with his eyes, but he didn't suspect anything, after all, Cheng Yu's age was too young.
However, Zhang Chen and Cheng Yu glanced at the bright sky outside, and couldn't help but secretly say "bad", they had overslept and missed the time for the morning class.
"Cheng Yu, Zhang Chen, you two were absent from the morning class today, according to the law, you will be punished with ten棍 (gùn: stick) and an increase of ten days of errands. However, considering that Cheng Yu is young, and you, as an elder, are so irresponsible, Cheng Yu's punishment will be borne by you as well." As the elder's words fell, four disciples stepped forward and dragged Zhang Chen down from the bed. Before Zhang Chen could react, the sticks were already砸 (zá: smash) down.
"Stop! It's my fault, why should my junior brother bear it for me? As a senior sister, I didn't take good care of my junior brother, even if I bear the responsibility, it should be borne by me." Cheng Yu stood on the bed and wanted to stop it, but the disciples of the Law Enforcement Hall moved too fast, and the sticks划过 (huá guò: flash) through the air, and the beating was already over.
"You want to bear it?" The Law Enforcement Elder looked at Zhang Chen after the beating, then looked at Cheng Yu, who was full of righteousness, and摸着下巴 (mō zhe xiàba: touching his chin) and said: "Come on, hit her twenty棍 (gùn: stick).".
"Wait! This time it's already over, so let it be. Next time it's not too late for me to bear it." Cheng Yu quickly waved her hand.
She's not a fool, why would she take a beating for nothing?
"After you clean the main hall, don't be lazy, you will be punished to make incense for seven days!" After the Law Enforcement Elder finished speaking, he turned and left.
Watching the Law Enforcement Elder leave, Cheng Yu jumped down from the bed and landed beside Zhang Chen,扶 (fú: support) him up: "Are you okay?"
Zhang Chen was, of course, fine. He had mastered blood control, and this beating was just a superficial injury. With his ability to promote blood circulation and remove blood stasis, he could recover in the time it takes to breathe.
“I’m fine, but this elder is too unreasonable. We both made mistakes, so why should all the punishment fall on me?” Zhang Chen said indignantly.
“You’re still talking! It’s all your fault for sleeping so soundly that you didn’t even hear the morning bell,” Xiao Douding said unhappily. “It’s all your fault for tormenting me last night, making me sleep so late. Otherwise, why wouldn’t I be able to get up in the morning? Besides, I’m just a child. Isn’t it normal to oversleep? On the contrary, you’re already an adult, and you still overslept.”
Xiao Douding was indignant, her voice full of dissatisfaction.
“You’re my senior sister. You said you’d look after me in the future.” Zhang Chen didn’t argue, but said faintly, his voice full of sorrow, causing the indignation on Cheng Yu’s face to collapse. Then, she showed a smiling face and apologized to Zhang Chen:
“Junior brother, don’t blame me. This time it’s my fault as senior sister, making you get beaten for nothing. Don’t worry, we’ll go make incense, and all the work will be left to me. You just watch from the side.”
Then, she hurriedly patted her small chest and promised, “Don’t worry, next time there’s a punishment, I’ll definitely take it for you.”
Because they were punished, the two were not qualified to eat breakfast. Fortunately, they had eaten meat last night, so they weren’t hungry. At this time, the two came to the main hall, and Xiao Douding took the initiative to come to Zhang Chen’s hall, with a flattering expression on her face: “Junior brother, you’ve been beaten, so your body must be uncomfortable. I’ll take care of cleaning the main hall.”
As she spoke, Cheng Yu trotted over with a rag and began to work in the main hall. Although she was short, she was a master of Transformation Strength. Holding a pole in her hand, she wrapped the rag around it, and the pole danced back and forth in the air, sweeping away all the dust from the beams of the house wherever it went.
Zhang Chen looked at Cheng Yu’s movements and was about to say something when suddenly a sharp pain came from his body. The familiar stinging pain was like the first transformation of his body under the modification of the crystal nucleus.
Pain!
Unparalleled pain!
The pain had penetrated into his soul, as if animals were tearing at every inch of his blood vessels and meridians.
“Is it starting to transform again?” Zhang Chen felt the pain in his body, and his face turned pale. He felt that this pain was a thousand times greater than the last time, and it even directly caused him to fall to the ground, his breathing about to stop.
“Junior brother, what’s wrong with you?” Xiao Douding noticed the sound of falling and turned to look at Zhang Chen. Seeing him fall to the ground, she panicked and hurried forward to check.
She saw that Zhang Chen’s skin was blood red, and the blood vessels around his body were bulging and exposed under his skin, constantly wriggling like earthworms. Especially the temperature of his palms and forehead was frighteningly hot.
“Zhang Chen, what’s wrong? Don’t scare me!” Xiao Douding said with a crying voice: “Could it be that you were injured before and left hidden wounds? Are you going to be beaten to death?”
Zhang Chen looked at Xiao Douding, whose eyes were full of tears, and forced himself to open his eyes, revealing a smile and saying, “Don’t panic, I’m fine.”
“Do you look like you’re okay? I’m going to call Master and ask a doctor for you. You must not have anything happen.” Xiao Douding was about to run out for help, but Zhang Chen grabbed her:
“Senior sister, don’t worry, I’m really fine! Don’t call a doctor, what if he’s an incompetent doctor and thinks I’ve contracted some ‘contagious disease’ and drives me out? Then I’ll be homeless and won’t even be able to eat. Wouldn’t I really starve to death then?”
“Contagious disease?” Xiao Douding was shocked when she heard this, and a look of fear appeared on her face. Then, she gritted her teeth and said, “We slept together last night. If you have a contagious disease, I must have been infected too. At worst, we’ll leave this place together.”
Seeing Xiao Douding’s sincere feelings, her pure eyes full of anxiety, Zhang Chen’s eyes turned and he had an excuse: “Senior sister, this is a hereditary disease, it’s okay! It’ll be fine as long as it lasts for three to five days! You must not reveal it, otherwise Master will drive me out of the Taoist temple, and I’ll have to wander again.”
Zhang Chen couldn’t help but give himself a thumbs up. This excuse was perfect.
He was busy with cultivating immortality and practicing Qi, so of course he couldn’t leave the Taoist temple.
Hearing Zhang Chen’s words, Xiao Douding was so anxious that tears flowed down: “But I’m afraid you’ll die.”
“I won’t die, it’s okay.” Zhang Chen said with a smile.
As he spoke, he tried his best to mobilize the crystal nucleus to suppress the swollen blood vessels on his body.
In the time it takes to breathe, Zhang Chen’s body surface had returned to normal. Except for his skin being slightly flushed, there was nothing unusual about him. However, Zhang Chen noticed the difference between using blood control now and at normal times.
Although he could still use blood control, the crystal nucleus was constantly releasing a force to oppose him, as if it was constantly conflicting with him.
Zhang Chen had an understanding in his heart, that the change in his body at this time was an evolution. And his use of blood control to suppress it was to suppress and resist this evolution, and he couldn’t hold on for too long.
Fortunately, he had fooled Xiao Douding, so as not to have this child run to call Master. If the people in the Taoist temple noticed the abnormality, it would probably cause trouble.
“Eh, your blood vessels have disappeared, but why is your body still so hot?” Xiao Douding saw that the blood vessels on Zhang Chen’s body had disappeared, and she immediately stopped crying, with a look of joy on her face.
Zhang Chen smiled when he heard this, touched Xiao Douding’s head, and coaxed her like a child: “I told you that my symptoms are intermittent, and I told you that I’m fine, but you still don’t believe me. Hurry up and finish cleaning the main hall, and we’ll go make incense later. I don’t want to get beaten again.”
Xiao Douding wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and slapped away Zhang Chen’s hand that was stroking her head: “You’re really annoying, treating people like children.”
Then, Xiao Douding picked up the pole and said to Zhang Chen, “All the work next will be left to me. You just rest well.”
Xiao Douding worked hard. Seeing this, Zhang Chen took a breath, sat on the ground, and sensed the changes in the Qi and blood in his body. As the Qi and blood in his body constantly impacted his flesh and blood, Zhang Chen noticed the unusualness of his own Qi and blood. In his perception, there seemed to be streaks of silver-white light in his Qi and blood. The light turned into silver-white runes, colliding in the blood vessels like fish!
This collision was the source of the pain.