Incompatible
Driver Old Wang took Feng Xiuye down the mountain and back onto the highway to return to the city. He then drove him to an upscale residential area, parked the car, and the two went into a building.
Next to a yoga studio, there's a consulting firm with a bunch of certificates and awards hanging on the glass wall outside, along with photos of them with some well-known local entrepreneurs and celebrities. It certainly looks high-end.
Feng Xiuye even recognized several familiar faces in those group photos, including the real estate businessman, Mr. Gao, who had introduced Taoist Niu to him.
"Hello, how can I help you?" A young, handsome man, dressed in a well-tailored and stylishly designed Daoist robe, approached and asked.
Driver Old Wang said, "Our boss has something he'd like to consult with the 'Daoist Master' about."
A moment later, in the elegantly decorated "quiet room," Feng Xiuye, having taken off his shoes, sat cross-legged in front of the "Daoist Master," who had white hair and eyebrows and looked like a sage.
That's right, this guy over here also claims to be a "Daoist priest".
Feng Xiuye also displayed a wooden carving and then recounted in detail the dream he had at noon.
After listening, the "Daoist priest" slowly nodded, staring solemnly at the wooden carving, and said in a strong and infectious voice, "Indeed, I also sensed an evil aura; this wooden carving is not right."
"Master, what exactly is wrong?" Feng Xiuye quickly pressed for details. After spending time with Taoist Niu a few times, asking for details when encountering problems had become a habit.
The seemingly otherworldly "Daoist priest" shook his head and said, "We'll only know after the ritual has been performed."
The young man serving in the quiet room immediately said gently, "Mr. Feng, we offer three different levels of rituals, namely..., the fees are... If you recharge over 100,000 and become a VIP, we will directly give you a basic ritual package. Based on your situation, the problem is likely not just with this wood carving; the room you were resting in may also require a corresponding exorcism ritual..."
"Uh, no need for VIP, no need for the house, there's never been a problem before, it's just at noon... it must be this wood carving, you can just perform a ritual on the wood carving, and then tell me where the root of the problem lies."
After agreeing on the ritual to be performed and confirming that Feng Xiuye would not stay to observe, the young man led him outside. "Mr. Feng, although you don't intend to observe, we will still film the entire exorcism process and send it to you to ensure the ritual is carried out. Also, there's a contract you need to sign to prove that this is a cultural custom activity. The total fee is 6999, but since this is your first time, we'll give you a discount, so the actual cost is 6666. Would you like to pay by card, bank transfer, WeChat, or Alipay?"
After paying and leaving, Feng Xiuye felt particularly uneasy.
Even though the other party seemed very professional, had a good service attitude, and was very considerate, Feng Xiuye still felt unreliable. So he picked up his phone and called General Manager Gao, whom he had just seen in a photo with at the consulting firm.
"Old Gao, it's me, Feng Xiuye. I went to a consulting firm in Prosperity Building today to ask about something, and I saw your photo. Yes, you're that 'Daoist priest.' How's his skill? Is he reliable?"
"That's just a money-grubber! Didn't I introduce you to Taoist Niu? Why did you go to see that old swindler?" The hot-tempered General Manager Gao clearly looked down on the ethereal "Daoist master."
Feng Xiuye was taken aback for a moment, then said, "Taoist Niu can't handle my matter, uh, no, that's not right, Taoist Niu won't do it for me, he told me to see a doctor..."
"Then you're sick! Go see a doctor right now! If you listen to that old swindler, losing money is a small matter, but if you delay treatment, you'll have nowhere to cry! I don't want to attend your memorial service next year!" Boss Gao retorted venomously.
After ending the call with General Manager Gao, Feng Xiuye stared blankly at his phone, feeling uncertain about his own judgment once again.
So, is there a problem with that wood carving?
At 8 a. m. on October 30, Xiang Kun had slept for 25 hours, sat up in bed.
As usual, he checked his physical condition, measured and tallied some data, cleaned the rabbit cage and bird cage, changed the food and water, and then began to sense each of the various items that he had established a connection with.
The eight-armed, eight-eyed wooden sculpture still has a sense of presence, but it is merely a simple presence without any other related emotions or visual perceptions.
Of the three calligraphy pieces I wrote when I returned to Citong City, the two I left for my father and Xia Libing resonated with me, but the remaining one did not.
However, this was within his expectations, as the other two pieces took him a considerable amount of time to write. He spent over four hours writing the "Memorial to the Throne" and nearly two hours writing the lyrics to "Someone Like Me." The third piece featured a line from the movie "Swordsman II," taken from a modern seven-character poem by James Wong: "Heroes rise and fall with the times, once you enter the world of martial arts, years fly by. Imperial ambitions are discussed in jest, nothing beats a life of drunken revelry."
Because Xiang Kun only wrote these two sentences, it didn't take long, only a dozen minutes. While writing, he recalled the heroic spirit and boundless passion he felt when watching various martial arts movies, trying to infuse them into the words, but he clearly failed.
While writing, I was actually quite emotional and felt a lot of emotion, but the difference between this piece and the previous two is that it lacked that cathartic feeling. That feeling should be a sign of establishing a special connection, like the white light that flashes in your eyes when you establish a "Super-Sensory Link" with an object.
He could now sense the presence of the two calligraphy pieces, just like the wood carvings, but for the time being, he had no other sensory awareness. After observing them for a few more days, he believed he could obtain more information and then basically determine the function and nature of this connection.
Besides the two calligraphy pieces, before drinking blood, Xiang Kun established a "Super-Sensory Link" with six newly purchased pieces of boxwood of varying sizes. Because he had already established "Super-Sensory Link" with the boxwood many times, the speed was getting faster and faster.
However, another thing caught his attention: the "A4 Paper 1" he gave to the Little Chubby Girl Liu Shiling had weakened in its sensing intensity. Although the change was not significant, the sensation was still quite noticeable.
It's worth noting that the "Tissue 2," which established the earliest "Super-Sensory Link," is already on its way to Europe, and the sensory connection is still very clear!
What's going on? Does Liu Shiling have the ability to absorb the matter or energy I've established a connection with? Or does that kind of matter decrease if it's handled too much? Does the Little Chubby Girl fold that paper every day? However, it's also possible that the A4 paper is already torn; after all, paper isn't like Coin, it's much easier to damage.
Looks like I'll have to make another trip to Star City when I have time.
Xiang Kun first called his mother, and after saying hello, they chatted for a while. He didn't know exactly when he established the special connection with the "Memorial to the Throne" during his 25-hour sleep. However, if the connection had been established before nightfall last night, then even though he was still asleep and unable to actively sense the calligraphy, his father or mother were very likely to be affected by the calligraphy in their dreams.
Based on the two previous examples of the Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Wooden Carving, if the parents were to dream, they would likely see the old man who lived next door and taught them calligraphy when they first arrived in Tongshi Town, and the main emotion in the dream would be "nostalgia".
Because of the old man's semi-teacher relationship with Xiang Kun, given my mother's usual personality, if she really had a dream about him, she would bring it up herself without Xiang Kun asking.
However, after chatting for more than ten minutes, Mom didn't mention anything about the dream or Dad's situation, so it seems she didn't dream about it.
After hanging up the phone, Xiang Kun chatted with Lao Xia on WeChat for a bit, asking her if she had properly "studied" his calligraphy when she got back.
Xia Libing only replied with a screenshot of a chat, in which she sent a photo of Xiang Kun's calligraphy to someone to ask for their opinion, and the other person's opinion was "not very good".
Xiang Kun was taken aback by the sarcasm and was speechless...
Xiang Kun spent an hour at home doing high-difficulty HIIT exercises that he choreographed himself, incorporating challenging gymnastic moves like the Russian back extension and bodyweight exercises.
Although his training and guidance of mutations are now mainly focused on the brain and senses, he will not completely abandon physical training. He has not forgotten how he fought against the Giant Owl and how he instantly killed Guo Tianxiang.
After finishing his practice, Xiang Kun calmed down and began to pick up a piece of boxwood to rough out and carve.
This time, his emotions were "excitement" and "joy," because the sculpted image was of the Lich King Arthas, and what he recalled was the scene in college when he and Zicheng and the entire guild made thorough preparations, fought continuously, and finally achieved the server's first kill.
He worked from 10:30 a. m. until 4 p. m. Because he had established a "Super-Sensory Link" with the carving tools and materials, and had already carved several works, he had some experience in making boxwood carvings. Therefore, his carving speed was much faster than that of Artoria and the Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Wooden Carving. Moreover, he made the greatsword Frostmourne into a plug-in version, which reduced the difficulty considerably and made it less prone to damage.
But after finishing, Xiang Kun frowned as he looked at Arthas, the Lich King, who was wearing armor and holding a greatsword.
It wasn't that the wood carving was poorly made or flawed; given his skill level, the finished product was quite good. However, he didn't experience the same cathartic feeling he had after completing the Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Wooden Carving, or writing the lyrics for "The Memorial to the Throne" and "Someone Like Me."
Unable to establish that special connection?
That shouldn't be happening!
Based on the time and attention he invested, and his emotional control during the process, he should definitely succeed in making the connection this time!
Is it because the wood has already established a "Super-Sensory Link," making it impossible to imbue the carving process with another special connection?
And it's even a format incompatibility issue?!
Xiang Kun was somewhat skeptical, so he took another piece of boxwood and continued carving. This time, he was carving his family's canary, "Gold Glitter."
Because he had observed "Gold Glitter" for an extremely long time, Xiang Kun knew every single feather of it very well. He didn't need to compare it with anything; he could carve out all the details from memory.
The emotions he imbued in the carving process were "joy" and "freedom." He imagined the exhilarating days he spent running and hunting freely in the wild when he went to explore the habitat of Giant Owl, and he imagined the feeling of soaring in the air and looking down at the earth in the memories of the Giant Owl he obtained.
However, after spending nearly five hours carving, Xiang Kun stared blankly at the lifelike "Gold Glitter" wood carving—he really couldn't establish that special connection.
Although it hasn't been verified after the next blood-drinking session, the lack of that exhilarating feeling suggests that, based on previous experience, the connection wasn't established.
"Super-Sensory Link" and this new, special connection really can't coexist!