Cold Reading Max

Chapter 22: Cold Reading Max

"Big brother! Thank you so much! You saved my life!" Lin Li said excitedly.

Huang Ji said calmly, "It's not that serious. This little predicament of yours is nothing."

"No, no, no, you don't understand. I almost went crazy!" Lin Li leaned against the wall and let out a long breath.

"Why didn't you call the police?" Huang Ji asked.

Lin Li's surrender had been extremely foolish. In truth, those people wouldn't have dared do much to him.

"I couldn't. If the police found out, the school would find out..." Lin Li said.

Huang Ji smiled. Of course he knew why Lin Li had chosen to swallow the loss.

This guy was too stubborn. He would rather swallow every grievance than let anyone at school know he had been scammed.

Huang Ji also understood exactly what kind of person he was.

He wasn't actually stupid. He was just stubborn to the bone.

Even if he suspected someone might be deceiving him, he would never be the first to confront them. Once, someone he regarded as a brother had deceived him terribly, but before the truth came out, he hadn't said a word and had given that person his complete trust.

Even when many others told him and warned him, he treated it like wind in his ears.

If I confront him now, what if I'm wrong? Wouldn't I be falsely accusing him? No. If he's deceiving me, I'll wait until he finishes deceiving me before saying anything. This kind of thought had crossed Lin Li's mind more than once in his life.

Someone like that practically deserved to be scammed.

But it also had to be said that people like him were exceedingly rare, even... precious.

"Anyway, thank you. My name's Lin Li. If you ever need help, just say the word!" Lin Li said.

Huang Ji turned around. "Come with me."

Lin Li hurried after him, still savoring the relief of having survived a disaster.

When he had offered to write an IOU, he had actually regretted it, but he could only grit his teeth and keep going. He was stuck riding a tiger.

If Huang Ji hadn't appeared, he would have been doomed with that debt. With his ability, he probably couldn't have paid it back in secret at all. In the end, it would still have reached the school and his family.

If it came to that, he might as well have called the police from the start.

"Big brother, what's your name?" Lin Li asked as they walked.

"My name is Huang Ji. But don't save my number under that name," Huang Ji said.

Lin Li nodded and prepared to save the number as "Double Pupils."

But the moment he typed the first letter, Huang Ji said, "Don't use Double Pupils either."

"Uh... then what should I save it as?" Lin Li asked.

"Hua Xu."

Huang Ji's Information True Name was Huang Xu. His mother's surname was Hua, and half the people in his hometown, Hua Zhuang Village, were surnamed Hua, so he had chosen Hua Xu as an alias.

Of course, this alias wasn't meant to guard against Lin Li. He understood Lin Li too well and knew he was now one of the people he could trust most.

Huang Ji was merely guarding against situations like this one, where Lin Li's phone was taken away again.

"Oh, right, big brother, how did you get my number?" Lin Li suddenly realized.

"When you helped me during the day, you called an ambulance. I asked the hospital and found out," Huang Ji said.

Lin Li understood, then asked, "Big brother, do you need my help with something? Where are we going?"

"You'll know when we get there," Huang Ji said.

Lin Li could only follow him. As he watched Huang Ji, the more he looked, the more extraordinary Huang Ji seemed. Every gesture carried a unique rhythm, yet Lin Li couldn't figure out what made it so.

He didn't know that although Huang Ji appeared to be walking like an ordinary person, his rhythm and the way he exerted force were completely different from normal!

Even his breathing was incomparably long and powerful.

What Huang Ji was using was a breathing technique he had pondered over and created himself, along with the Health-Preserving Posture.

For example, while walking, his abdomen rose and fell in time with his steps, driving his breathing as well. By exerting force at particular points, he could greatly harmonize the Five Viscera and Six Bowels. Long-term practice could extend one's life.

After Huang Ji persisted for one hour, he could very clearly sense that his body's lifespan had increased by five hours!

Of course, it wouldn't increase by that much every time. It depended on the action completion rate.

If there was any deviation in the internal force points or breathing rhythm, there would be no effect.

Huang Ji still couldn't walk like this anytime and anywhere. It required deliberate effort.

But solely in terms of extending one's life, this set of movements was already enough.

If he kept at it without interruption, excluding other factors such as viruses, severe injuries, and accidental death, he could gradually raise his body's lifespan to one hundred and twenty years.

One hundred and twenty was the basic upper limit for men. Women were a little higher and could live to one hundred and thirty.

Individuals with genetic mutations might possibly live to around one hundred and thirty-five.

However, after studying for a long time, Huang Ji still hadn't found a set of movements that could break the limits of human lifespan.

Either such a set of movements was exceedingly complex, or it simply didn't exist.

In only half a day, Huang Ji had created three sets of cultivation methods like this. The first could be practiced while walking normally. He had already gained a preliminary grasp of it; it extended one's life.

The second coordinated all the body's functions and could remove impurities and toxins.

The third enhanced sensitivity to bioelectricity.

The reason humans could control their bodies was because subjective consciousness instinctively sent bioelectricity through the brain, transmitting it through the nerves to every part of the body.

The reason one could feel pain was also because, after the body was stimulated, it sent bioelectricity to the brain. The brain then adjusted neurotransmitters according to the situation, increasing the concentration of certain hormones, which in turn fed back various sensations the conscious mind could understand.

People with low bioelectric sensitivity suffered from nervous exhaustion, numbness, sluggishness, and could even black out easily.

Conversely, their neural responses would be quick and their senses sharp.

By practicing these three sets of movements over the long term, without needing to do much each day, once the total time exceeded eight thousand hours, one could consciously mobilize the body's bioelectricity.

The longer one practiced, the stronger the mobilization would become.

And the energy efficiency would be as high as 100%.

This was an unfinished cultivation method called the "Inner Canon." Each set included meditation, breathing, and movements.

Huang Ji felt there was still room for improvement. In the future, he could add a fourth set, a fifth set...

If energy efficiency was already one hundred percent, why improve it further? Simple—the time needed to cultivate to the point of controlling bioelectricity was far too long.

With a total of eight thousand hours, even practicing without sleep or rest would take nearly a year.

The next improvements should shorten that time and add more functions, perhaps even enhance energy efficiency and break through the upper limit of one hundred percent.

Put simply, the cultivation method Huang Ji had created temporarily had only its first three levels. In truth, none of the levels was superior or inferior. Each had its own purpose and complemented the others.

They could also be practiced separately, with no required order. It didn't matter if one practiced the third level before the first, and even practicing all three levels simultaneously was possible.

Of course, that was only in theory. In order to achieve one hundred percent energy efficiency, the cultivation method Huang Ji had developed was far too difficult.

Even as its creator, he himself couldn't master it...

With his Information Sense, he could continuously adjust his movements. For instance, he could first assume a posture, then sense that its completion rate was only thirteen percent, while also knowing exactly what was wrong and how to fine-tune it.

It was equivalent to having a "cultivation assistance script," yet even with that, he couldn't become proficient in these three sets of movements in a short time.

It required long-term practice. At present, he could only barely manage to "walk" while operating the first level.

Under outside interference, he simply couldn't perform the second and third levels at all...

"We're here." Huang Ji led Lin Li to a late-night stall selling clam congee.

At one of the small tables outside, an old man was drinking congee. Seeing someone standing beside the table, he looked up at Huang Ji, then at Lin Li.

Then he continued drinking as though nothing had happened.

Lin Li stared at him. The more he looked, the more familiar the old man seemed.

Huang Ji said, "Give the gold back to him."

Hearing this, Lin Li suddenly recognized him. This was the old man who had scammed him, except he had changed clothes, his beard was gone, and there were fewer wrinkles on his face.

"You scammer!" Lin Li cursed.

The old man calmly raised his head. "Hm? Young man, are you talking to me?"

"Stop pretending! I'd recognize you even if you turned to ashes! You ruined me!" Lin Li snapped.

The old man frowned and dragged out a sound. "Ah?"

Seeing him play dumb, Lin Li grabbed the old man's arm.

"I have heart disease. Don't you get handsy with me!" The old man didn't resist, merely putting on an innocent expression.

Lin Li was furious. He pulled out his phone and started pressing buttons. "I'm calling the police!"

The old man smiled. "Young man, you don't need to press the emergency number for that long."

Lin Li's face stiffened. He truly didn't want to call the police. He would rather get the money back from the old man and leave it at that.

And the old man had clearly seen right through him.

Huang Ji said to the old man, "You think you can get away with it by playing dumb?"

The old man studied Huang Ji. "You want to stand up for him? You're a spirited young fellow. Hiss, you were actually born with double pupils?"

He stared at Huang Ji in amazement, pinched his fingers as if calculating, then stood up. "Oh my! The Zi Wei Star has descended to earth!"

Huang Ji smiled calmly. "Fortune-tellers said that when I was a child too."

Lin Li said from the side, "Don't believe him, big brother. He scammed me terribly."

Back then, Lin Li had been hooked by the old man's fortune-telling before gradually falling into his trap.

"Mm, young man, you're from the north, right? You're in good shape. You did farm work from childhood. How many mu of land does your family have?" the old man said.

Lin Li immediately looked at Huang Ji. After all, he hadn't been scammed merely by a few flattering words.

The old man had accurately told him many things back then too.

Huang Ji smiled. "There aren't many people in my family. Just twenty mu."

"That must have been tiring. Your parents died when you were young too, didn't they? It must not have been easy," the old man said, shaking his head.

Huang Ji nodded. "Yes. I miss them very much. Though they left early, I've always remembered what they looked like."

Lin Li's mouth fell open. He hadn't expected the old man to describe Huang Ji so accurately too.

If it had been Lin Li before, perhaps the old man had investigated him in advance. But with Huang Ji, the old man hadn't had any time to investigate him at all.

This old man really had some skill. At their first meeting, he could accurately tell certain things.

"You love your family deeply, but you have your own difficulties and had no choice but to leave your remaining relatives," the old man continued.

Huang Ji smiled. "For my studies."

"That's right. People have to toil for their future. You were born with double pupils, so you're destined for a vast future. Your studies will go smoothly. Though you may be lacking in academic matters, your physical gifts can make up for it! Keep training, and you'll leave everyone in the dust!" the old man said.

Huang Ji nodded and smiled.

Lin Li pursed his lips. "Then tell us what big brother does!"

The old man smiled. "He's just a student, involved in sports. He'll make a living with those legs in the future!"

Huang Ji sighed. "You think I'm a track athlete at a sports school? That I came to Magic City to study through athletic talent?"

The old man froze. That was indeed what he had thought.

He just hadn't been certain, so he had deliberately phrased it vaguely.

"Unfortunately, I dropped out long ago and have never trained in track and field. You think I'm a student, but I'm already twenty-six," Huang Ji said.

"And you're fifty-two. Do you plan to drift around like this for the rest of your life?"

The old man swallowed and said nothing.

Huang Ji continued, "And you were once a police officer. Is this what you use all your skills for now—scamming people out of money?"

The old man narrowed his eyes. "Huh? I was a police officer too? How come I don't know that?"

Huang Ji smiled. "You don't even dare admit it. What are you afraid of? Afraid people will learn your identity, right?"

"Things weren't easy overseas, were they? Why did you return to the country? Couldn't survive anymore, right? Is someone trying to kill you?"

"Did you steal something from someone?"

The old man started sweating. He realized he had run into an expert!

Huang Ji continued, "You changed your name and concealed your identity. You're desperately short of money, yet you don't dare scam anyone with even a little influence. Just how formidable are the people hunting you down?"

"Scamming hooligans and thugs is one thing, but is bullying students really so impressive? Your son isn't much older than him, is he?"

The old man was shocked. "How do you know I have a son?"

"I learned it from you—Cold Reading," Huang Ji said.

Lin Li was confused. "Huh? What Cold Reading?"

"Young people these days really are impressive," the old man said with a faint smile, regaining his composure.

What he had used to guess some things about Huang Ji was precisely Cold Reading. Through facial expressions, body language, speech, and other aspects, he cold-read a person's psychological state and experiences.

Then he used verbal techniques to follow their psychology, probe, and interpret.

In short, Cold Reading was a technique that made people believe, "This person knows things about me."

The old man considered himself highly proficient in this art, yet he had never expected Huang Ji to be even better!

Not only had Huang Ji successfully misled his judgment, he had also seen through so many things about him in return.

No matter how he tried to mislead Huang Ji with subtle movements, Huang Ji remained completely unaffected.

How could he know that Huang Ji had only just learned the old man's Cold Reading techniques as a cover? With his abilities, using Cold Reading was simply the ultimate level.

"Good boy. Looks like we'll have to settle this with a fight today," the old man said.

Lin Li curled his lip, thinking, You want to fight? Why would two young men be afraid of one old man?

The old man smiled calmly and shouted, "Lao Ma!"

"I'm here!" the late-night stall owner answered, walking out of the building.

"Get him together!" the old man roared.

Lin Li was startled and hurriedly looked at the owner, only to see the man staring back in confusion.

Then Lin Li's hand slipped, and the old man actually took the chance to break free from his grip!

When Lin Li turned back, the old man was already running off like smoke.

He even laughed loudly. "Haha! No money, but I've got one life!"

Lin Li cursed in frustration, "Damn it!"

He was about to chase after him, but the owner pounced on him and grabbed him tightly. "Don't leave! He hasn't paid yet!"

P.S. Sorry. The 2 key on my keypad got stuck, and pressing 0 also typed 2. I somehow didn't notice yesterday.