It was getting chilly in late autumn. As the night breeze blew, Lou Cheng, with his jacket off, felt an unexplainable kind of dry heat instead of a shivering cold. It was the kind of feeling one got when they were faced with a college entrance examination that was beyond their abilities.
Getting close to the glittering and translucent "Jindan", he held his breath and bent down carefully. Taking precautions, he carefully wrapped his right hand with his jacket and carefully reached out to touch it. Upon touching it, it gave him the impression of being solid, and the chilly cold and scorching heat seen by his naked eye were merely an illusion instead of reality.
Lou Cheng pressed a little harder, and the Jindan gave in accordingly. It had looked light as a feather, as if it was nothing, but when he touched it, the feeling would be completely different.
Lou Cheng was panic-stricken at the difference. He stared at it with fixed attention and recognized that it was lying calmly in his palm wrapped with the jacket. The center started to spin, creating a swirl of ice crystals and flames, yet it showed no sign of the cruelty and horror that had previously burnt and frozen the black carp.
"It's magic," Lou Cheng welled up this thought in his heart and tried to search for a reason for that change. "Perhaps the cruelty and fierceness that had been in the Jindan had been dissipated and extracted by the black carp..."
With the danger gone for the moment, Lou Cheng started to think about how to handle the problem, as it was hard to confirm whether the thing before his eyes was a Jindan. Even if it was, he had no idea what effect it had. "Shall I just turn it over to the state and suffer no misfortunes, yet also reap no benefits? Or shall I conceal it, look for information, study it slowly, then use it to my advantage to change my ordinary life? It's a big risk to conceal it like that, but it's also a big risk to not achieve anything during your entire life.
"If I do take it with me to hide it, where should I put it? How could I keep it safe?"
With these thoughts going through his mind one after the other, Lou Cheng realized with his remaining lucidity that he should leave this place as soon as possible, no matter what his decision was, for fear that some incident or change might unexpectedly come.
Suddenly, he felt the Jindan in his palm was gently expanding and then shrinking, like a human being inhaling and exhaling. Furthermore, the frequency seemed to be constantly adjusting.
"It's adjusting?"
At a loss, Lou Cheng's mind went blank and he could only sense his breath, but he noticed the expansion and shrinkage of the Jindan were resonating with his breathing, in a harmonious rhythm.
"Resonance?"
As the thought formed in his mind, he saw that the Jindan had become more illusory as it turned to a flow of light that drilled into his palm, seemingly unstoppable even with the obstruction of the thin jacket.
"How could this be real? What is going on!?" Lou Cheng was terrified by what he had just seen. His heart was stricken with fear, and his mind was filled with the pitiful sight of the black carp.
He took a few steps back, unable to think carefully, then turned around and ran toward the school hospital located further ahead on the road, at the lakeside. Of course, he didn't stop to consider if the doctors would have the ability to treat the damage caused by the Jindan.
After running for a while, Lou Cheng slowly calmed down and realized that fear and panic made no difference to the matter, but only burned up his physical energy when the situation went out of hand.
After cooling down, he frowned after suddenly feeling that something was wrong. There was an uncomfortable feeling in his lower stomach. With each breath, a warm current welled up and rushed toward his feet and lungs, easing the aches and pains from the running. His previous panting became slow and steady. He felt he could run for another three thousand meters without a break, and there were no signs of the previous concerns about the scorching hot and chilling cold.
"This..." breathing in lightly, Lou Cheng slackened his speed, tried to calm down and looked down at his stomach.
As he bent down, he felt a buzz in his head and vaguely saw a fantastical scene: In the spot directly under his own navel, called the Dantian by those in the martial arts world, was the Jindan. Nestled there, it seemed as if it contained a boundless nebula, and it expanded and contracted with his breathing. Ice crystals and blazing flames swirled together brightly with each breath.
This vision seemingly disappeared in an instant, and Lou Cheng was left with only the sight of his own dark blue T-shirt. He lifted the bottom carefully, only to find his usual soft and full belly, as if he had just finished a big meal.
After gradually slowing down his footsteps, he finally stopped. With the rhythm of his breathing coming back to normal, the hot current in his lower stomach disappeared.
"Does the Jindan supplement my strength when I am tired?" Lou Cheng frowned and thought about the change, "This may be a blessing. It doesn't seem like it has any ill will, but after all, human beings and black carp are not the same..."
After waiting for a while, Lou Cheng gradually relaxed and his expression went back to normal. There was no sign of the previous raging fire and viscera-freezing cold.
"Let's try that again..." He decided and turned around to run along the previous path.
It was simply a fact that running made one tired, just like the fact that every man would eventually die. After a while, Lou Cheng started to feel exhausted, and this was the very moment the warm feeling in his lower stomach's Dantian appeared again and created a hot current to relieve his body.
"It is cool! I can even participate in the distance race of the school if I continue practicing this way..." Lou Cheng gradually felt more joy than worry and stopped in front of the dead black carp.
After thinking for a while, he bent over to pick up the black carp, stuffed it with stones from the shore, and threw it back into the Weishui Lake.
After all of this, he turned again and walked along the lakeside path back to the boy's dormitory.
Along the way, on the one hand, Lou Cheng was quite pleased with the fact he'd found his own genuine treasure. He hoped that he might become one of the well-regarded backbones of the martial arts club one day and gain the favor of Yan Zheke as well as the admiration of fans. On the other hand, he became worried about the risk of the Jindan and was afraid to follow the fate of the black carp and die at a young age. As a result, his steps were brisk one moment and heavy another.
"I'll just check it out first. If there's any problem, I'll immediately hand it over to the state." Standing at the door of room 302 of the dormitory, Lou Cheng took a deep breath, made up his mind, fished out the key and opened the door.
...
From a secluded trail at the side of Weishui Lake, a figure wearing an old T-shirt walked from afar and stopped near the place where the black carp had previously been. He looked about seventy or eighty years old, with his hair all white, yet there were very few wrinkles on his face.
"There seems to be a strange fluctuation here?" The old man looked around.
After a moment, he shook his head, and took out a silver-white flask with a practiced hand. He took a deep gulp of wine, then walked away while humming a babbling song.
...
Back in the dormitory, Lou Cheng was worried whether Cai Zongming had come back or not. Lou Cheng let himself into the bedroom, turned on the light, and the darkness within the room was immediately dispelled. He shut the door behind him and sat in front of the computer blankly, neither moving the mouse nor looking at the screen.
He once again wondered how to reassure himself, searching for all manner of explanations. In all his short and inexperienced life he'd never encountered something of this magnitude. He was unable to completely keep a cool head in the face of such a potential danger.
You only live once, but the world is so beautiful.
No matter how many benefits and prospects one had, it was hard to let go of the concerns deep in their mind.
Depression was overtaking him, heavy as a mountain. Lou Cheng gritted his teeth, instinctively picked up his phone, and dialed a familiar number.
"Hello, son?" A slightly husky female voice came from the other end.
"Mom, it's me." Hearing this familiar voice, Lou Cheng got a little choked up, and the fear inside his heart dampened.
Whenever he was having a tough time, Lou Cheng would think of his family and recall how much pain and hardships they went through.
"Son, has something bad happened? Why does your voice sound strange?" Lou Cheng's mother asked sensitively.
Tears welled up in his eyes, but Lou Cheng forced a smile and said, "No, of course not, just a little homesick."
"Homesick? Didn't I ask you before if you wanted to come back before the holiday? Who said that a man has to be on their own?" Lou Cheng's mother laughed and said in a motherly tone, "Tell me the truth, do you need any money?"
Lou Cheng's mood sank even lower as he slowly explained. "It's true, I miss you and Dad, and the braized pork with eggplant, the quick-fried eel and tomato and egg soup that you cooked, and I even miss the garlic that I planted on the balcony..."
If he was to die just like that black carp, how pitiful it would be.
Lou Cheng's mother was silent for a moment. With her voice trembling slightly, she said, "So do your father and I. Bah, why do you have to be such a naughty boy and make your mother cry?"
Lou Cheng could not help but laugh, and he calmed down gradually. "Who would dare do such a thing? Oh, right! Where is Dad?"
Back during third grade, the company in which Lou Cheng's father worked had been in trouble. Even though his father was an incredibly valuable asset to the company, he could only get a base salary. The family mainly relied on his mother selling goods on the market stall and managed to get through with blood sweat and tears. When Lou Cheng went to middle school, his father finally decided to go out and get another part-time job. Nevertheless, he could never get along with his bosses due to his pride and could never stay in a single location for a long period. As a result, he was always hopping from one job to the next. Lou Cheng's mother supported the whole family and her hard work always left a strong impression on Lou Cheng.
The family situation did not take the turn for the better until Lou Cheng went to high school, when his father settled down and returned home to take a position as technical director in a local enterprise. However, his mother couldn't stay idle, and wormed herself into the community to work as a temporary worker and got along with a group of older women.
"Don't you know your dad? Hasn't he been playing chess for an hour every day after having his meal?" Lou Cheng's mother answered grumpily. It was clear that she cared more about the latest news of Lou Cheng. She took the opportunity to inquire about Lou Cheng's studies and how he was living.
"Is the course schedule tight?
"Do the teachers give good lessons?
"Are the courses difficult?
"Is it easy to get along with your roommates?
"Is there anything you're not used to?
"Is anybody bullying you?"
In the past, Lou Cheng had always been impatient about these questions and would reply frivolously. Today, however, he was in a good mood and, fondly recalling memories of his past, he calmly and thoroughly answered each and every question. Lou Cheng's mother went on to gossip about family trifles, from Grandpa's household to Aunt's household, then to an unreliable relative of Lou Cheng's father and the discord of various households in the community. Lou Cheng listened quietly with a smile on his mouth, tossing in a quick word every once in a while.
At the end of their conversation, Lou Cheng's mother showed her generosity and decided that this month she would give him 800 more yuan, to facilitate his adaptation to college life.
"Who would have thought that calling home would have helped out so much with that extra bonus..." Lou Cheng didn't know whether to laugh or cry. The previous pressure and unease had all disappeared. "Up until now, it seems the Jindan poses no real danger. As long as I'm careful and report anything bad that comes up to the state, it should be fine..."
With joy overwhelming his worries, Lou Cheng touched his belly and couldn't help but let his imagination run wild for a moment.
"With the Jindan, at the very least I can have at least enough strength to practice martial arts and achieve an Amateur Fifth Pin or Amateur Sixth Pin earlier, to impress Yan Zheke. Maybe I can even reach Professional Ninth Pin before graduating, and I will have more choices when it comes to getting a job.
"Of course, if the Jindan is more magical than I can imagine, then... could I possibly enter into the martial arts world as I dreamed as a child, and even compete with the Mighty Ones and obtain one of the five greatest titles revered across the whole country?
"Oh, if little Ming sees me touching my belly like this, he'll ask me if I am pregnant."
Tossing and turning these thoughts in his mind, Lou Cheng seemed to have more confidence to deal with life. At this moment, the door handle turned and several loud voices entered the room.
Lou Cheng could tell that the three "brainiacs" had come back from studying.
The one who came in first was Qiu Zhigao, Old Qiu. At 1.75 meters, he was about the same height as Lou Cheng, but was sturdy with hard muscles, and was enthusiastic about showing off his body and strength in the dorm. He was also as a member of the Martial Arts Club. He had never received any standard martial arts training, and thus he simply relied on his excellent physical condition to reach Amateur Sixth Pin, being just a little below Cai Zongming.
He was not a rude or uncivilized person, being straightforward and amiable instead. He had no serious flaws, except for his craving for dirty movies. What's more, he was sensible enough to realize that it was impossible for him to have a bright future only through martial arts as he was still in the rank of Amateur Sixth Pin after his entrance to the university. Therefore, he devoted himself to study and was even absent from the Welcome Party of the Martial Arts Club.
"Cheng, what did they say at the orientation? What time are the weekly drills? When can we use the strength training gymnasium?" At the sight of Lou Cheng, Qiu Zhigao rattled off questions one after the other, asking about what issues had been covered at the afternoon's orientation.
Taken back, Lou Cheng answered, "I left a little early and didn't hear it. We can ask someone else later."
Since he'd run into that major event earlier, Lou Cheng had forgotten his previous plan and didn't chat with Yan Zheke!
"It would be better for you to stay put." This was said by the second person to come in, Zhao Qiang, who was the dorm leader, a "leading example" and a studying maniac who had a medium height and muscular stature, bushy eyebrows and large eyes. His hard work and self-discipline toward his studies had left a deep impression on Lou Cheng.
"Indeed. Who knew that the orientation for the Martial Arts Club would be so boring." Lou Cheng didn't dare mention the greatest reward he received for attending the orientation: Yan Zheke's QQ number. He changed the subject intentionally, "Qiang, what were you guys talking about a second ago?"
Zhao Qiang answered thoughtfully, "Old Qiu and Model Worker found a phone number on the desk of the self-study room saying that the girl's dorm was looking for a social meetup. I told them to ignore it and focus on studying."
Model Worker was the last member of the dorm, Zhang Jingye, who came from the northwest and had a calm disposition. Despite his good looks when he'd been younger, there were bumps and hollows on his face due to constant exposure to fierce winds and sandstorms, and he thus turned out less handsome than before.
Following behind Zhao Qiang, Zhang Jingye said with a smile, "Was it because our dorm doesn't have any suitable social meetup partners?"
"Sigh, youth is the time of raging hormones. The honest ones, like Model Worker and Old Qiu, can't always control themselves," said Zhao Qiang, while shaking his head and sighing. Then, he dropped his school bag and started sorting out the books.
With a serenity beyond his years, Lou Cheng digested all of the emotions brought on by the Jindan and said, "A girls dormitory phone number carved inside the study room? Could this be a prank, or some kind of revenge? How can it be possible that the girls dorm would ask for a social meetup like this? Aren't you all afraid of getting chewed out?"
There was a landline in every dorm room of Songcheng University, but they had slowly started to die out with the popularization of cell phones.
"I discussed it with Model Worker. That phone number is the same length as the one we have in our dorm. It definitely belongs to the girls' dormitory over there. Couldn't we just change the last few digits to call another girl's dorm? No need to worry about pranks or revenge or any of that stuff," Qiu Zhigao said excitedly.
Zhang Jingye nodded his head and said, "Furthermore, girls will probably prefer this kind of random call asking for a social meetup. It's got a feeling of being brought together by destiny, despite this great distance that separates us, you know?
Lou Cheng thought carefully for a moment, then said, "Not bad, you've thought this through. How about you give it a shot?"
These two had brains!
Zhang Jingye and Qiu Zhigao stared at each other for a while. They were itching to have a try and were both excited and agitated at the thought of making a phone call and meeting new girls.
It was all so impulsive and impossible to know what the result would be. How exciting!
"Old Qiu, you do it," Zhang Jingye pouted his lips and said.
Old Qiu took a step forward, then paused in sudden fear, "Model Worker, it's better if you do it."
"Um, um..." Zhang Jingye was also afraid.
At this moment, as an onlooker, Zhao Qiang said while shaking his head, "You guys..."
Lou Cheng and the others thought he would say that learning was more important and that such youthful temptations were unacceptable, but he dropped his school bag and looked around, then walked toward Lou Cheng's desk and picked up the landline next to the door, saying to himself, "As our dorm number is 302, let’s take the chance to fetch numbers from it as our lucky numbers and just take 32 to be the tail numbers."
Lou Cheng, Qiu Zhigao and Zhang Jingye could only stand there in astonishment as Zhao Qiang shot a sharp glance at them, as if to say, "Bunch of amateurs!"
After getting through, Zhao Qiang was all smiles, and his manner became slightly obsequious.
"Hello, this is from the boys dorm. We just casually dialed a phone number of the girl's dorm, and were wondering if there was any chance a social meetup could be arranged. Are you girls interested?"
"Ummm, our dorms are the Computer Software College."
"We're in Dorm 302, Unit 2 of the 7th Building, and we happened to dial 32 for the last numbers."
"Aren't you girls from the Department of Chinese Language and Literature?"
"Um, um, ok ok, you can ask..."
"Um, um, um."
"Okay, okay..."
Girls' laughter passed from the other side of the phone into Lou Cheng and the others' ears. Several minutes had passed before Zhao Qiang reluctantly dropped the phone and turned his head with a smile.
"It's settled! They've agreed. The girls from the Department of Chinese Language and Literature are going to meet us this Friday and have dinner together. If we get along with each other, we can all go out for a social meetup next time.
"What do you think, not bad eh?"
After he finished, Zhao Qiang noticed that everyone's eyes were fixed on him, but not saying a word. He touched his face and said in wonder, "Is there something on my face?"
Lou Cheng's impression on Zhao Qiang had been completely overturned. Now he had to give him a hard time. He recalled his favorite comedy sketch and pretended to sigh with disapproval while shaking his head.
"I'd have never thought that you, Qiang, could have been a dashing wolf under naive sheeps clothing this entire time!"
Hearing this, everyone including Zhao Qiang himself broke out into laughter. Shaking his index finger, Zhao Qiang said in a singsong voice, "Even a wolf needs love! Even a wolf needs love! Even a wolf needs love!"
Everyone roared in hoots of laughter, but then they quickly switched their subject to the meeting on Friday. Even though it was still Monday, this didn't stop Zhao Qiang, Zhang Jingye and Qiu Zhigao's imaginations from starting and coming up with all kinds of hypothetical scenarios.
Lou Cheng listened for a moment, but then Yan Zheke's image suddenly crossed his mind. His mood returned from its playfulness back to a serene calmness.
Having a crush on a girl, yet still trying to get to know other girls and going out for social meetups... was that the right thing to do?
"I don't care what other people think. I just don't want to take it for granted..." After thinking for a while, he said, "Qiang, I've got something going on Friday. I've got to go downtown, so I can't joint the social meetup this time."
"What thing?" Zhao Qiang asked in surprise.
"Some things are going on in my family." Lou Cheng lied, although he frankly wasn't sure if anyone would buy it.
Zhao Qiang didn't hesitate but nodded his head and said, "Fine. How about you help me to ask whether Casanova is available. After all, we have to scrape four people together, otherwise, it's not terribly polite."
Um, Lou Cheng was taken aback by Zhao Qiang's frankness. It was as if he'd wanted it to be this way all along... Lou Cheng asked hesitantly, "Why do you want to ask Casanova?"
Casting a glance at Zhang Jingye and Qiu Zhigao, Zhao Qiang said with a smile,
"You know that we are all too naive and clumsy when it comes to talking. In a social meetup, you need to have someone who's good at finding subjects to talk about. I was thinking about asking Casanova earlier, but it seemed like five people going together was a bit disrespectful. Now it just so happens you don't want to go, so..."
"Naive and clumsy... when it comes to talking..." Lou Cheng recalled the way Zhao Qiang was chatting up with the girls and stared at him in the face.
"What's wrong?" Zhao Qiang puzzledly asked.
Lou Cheng said seriously, "Qiang, you've become a wolf again!"
Then he stood up and went out to the next dorm to see whether Cai Zongming had returned. The door was left unlocked, and there was only one person in Cai Zongming's dorm, Tang Wen, who was the youngest one in the dorm and had skipped a grade in high school. However, after his senior year of high school, he'd become addicted to the internet and always stayed in his room to play games, skipping classes with teachers who were not stern or who did not give roll call frequently.
"Tang Wen, hasn't Casanova come back yet?" Lou Cheng asked.
Without even turning his head, Tang Wen replied, "No, no one has come back."
Among the two other guys in Cai Zongming's dorm, the first one was Mou Yuanxing. Mou was admitted into Songcheng University together with his girlfriend from high school and thus aroused the envy of all the single guys. What's more, he was always absent until the lights were out in the dorm. The other guy was Qin Mo, who came from a wealthy local family and always sneaked out of the campus to fool around with a different social circle, though he was nice and got along with everyone.
Lou Cheng sighed, took out his cell phone, and walked out to the courtyard of the 7th building. Squatting near the flower bed, Lou Cheng dialed Cai Zongming's number and lit a cigarette.
Some things weren't convenient to talk about in the dorm, so he didn't use the landline.
"Casanova, I have something to tell you." Lou Cheng got right to the point once the phone was connected.
There was noise coming from the other end, but soon after Cai Zongming seemed to have changed to a secluded place outside. He chuckled, "What's that? Why are you in such a hurry? We're still eating hotpot."
"Qiang and the other guys made a random call and found a dorm from the Department of Chinese Language and Literature for a social meetup. They want you to come as you are the Casanova and have your gift of the gab, which is perfect for that situation," Lou Cheng said with a laugh.
"Are you complimenting me? Or insulting me?" Cai Zongming grumbled, "That sounds interesting. I'll have a look, but isn't five people going together a bit disrespectful to the girls?"
Lou Cheng paused and said, "I'm not going."
"Oh, why aren't you going?" Cai Zongming asked in surprise.
Lou Cheng did not keep Cai Zongming in the dark, "It doesn't seem like a good idea for me to go out for a social meetup with other girls when I have feelings for another girl."
"What?" Cai Zongming faltered for a moment and said, "Cheng, a social meetup isn't a date. Everyone's just going out to get to know each other, eat and drink, just broaden their social circle. No one's going to put a gun to your head and force you to date someone. Even me, maintaining my chastity, don't care that much. Moreover, you and Yan Zheke barely even know each other and you've got a long way to go before you can even think about becoming her boyfriend, so what's with all this fussing about?"
"Forget it, I just feel a little guilty. I'm not going." Lou Cheng made his decision.
Cai Zongming asked, "Cheng, are you a living antique or what? I think you could set up your own Chastity Memorial Archway!"
"Whatever you say." Lou Cheng hung up the phone and didn't get up, continuing to squat. He kept smoking his cigarette, the spark of which flickered now and then, lending a great tranquility to the darkness.
With a smile on the corner of his mouth, Lou Cheng empathized with his roommates' horndog behavior, and felt he had also been affected by them. The whole thing was quite interesting; he would like to join them, were it not for his feelings for Yan Zheke.
This was the real college life, hustling and bustling about, yet with enough beauty to make a youthful heart soar skywards. On the other hand, the Jindan was from another world, imaginary and not real, yet brimming with hope.
"After today, how is my own life going to change? Will I impress Yan Zheke with martial arts?"
Lou Cheng sat on the edge of the flower bed and put out the cigarette. He took out his cell phone, logged into QQ and clicked on Yan Zheke's profile.
The courtyard was full of students returning to their dorms in a continuous stream, while the corner was quiet and peaceful as if they were two disparate worlds.
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