Seven Apertures Exquisite Heart (Please Bookmark and Recommend)

Seven Apertures Exquisite Heart (Please Bookmark and Recommend)

Fortunately, the tragedy of an Imperial Hero beating up reporters did not occur. The director of West Shanghai City First Hospital led a large group of attending physicians in by force, drove all the reporters away, harshly reprimanded the guards, and announced that the Imperial Hero had only just awakened and was physically weak, requiring quiet recuperation. He could meet people for no more than thirty minutes each day, strictly controlled by the hospital.

After a rigorous round of extensive healthcare, the director announced that, thanks to the First Hospital's full-scale rescue efforts, the Imperial Hero's body had basically recovered without any lingering aftereffects. After resting for a while, he could be discharged.

After a series of worldly, friendly exchanges with the doctors, Lin Wen, who had been lying there in utmost comfort, began to feel extremely unwell—nausea accompanied by dizziness, ringing ears, shortness of breath, chest tightness, cardiac arrest, and the strange urge to immediately reincarnate and cultivate immortality.

But Lin Wen did not make a fuss, and the sharp-eyed physicians failed to notice anything either. They left in great satisfaction, all praising Mayor Lin as a true talent who spoke so pleasantly.

No. If every conversation is going to be like this in the future, I'm afraid I'll be sick to death. I need to think of a way.

Forcing himself to be utterly unsociable would not do. He was no longer a shut-in; that would affect his efficiency in obtaining Good Karma in the future.

When he had been forcibly "awakened," Lin Wen had already figured it out. Life still had to go on. Avoiding reality without facing it was useless.

His first plan had indeed failed, but so what?

He could find another opportunity later. This year had passed, but floods would come again next year. Besides, there were landslides, earthquakes, tsunamis, tornadoes, volcanic eruptions, continental shelf fractures, asteroid impacts, and all kinds of other disasters. There were plenty of opportunities; he need not worry about failing to obtain Perfect Reincarnation.

During that time, he could accumulate more Good Karma and find more causes of death. It was actually a good thing.

It was only that the time would be long and the process difficult.

But what did that matter?

How could plum blossoms give off their fragrance without enduring bitter cold? If he wanted to become an immortal ancestor, how could he possibly avoid suffering and peril? How could there be such an easy path to becoming an Immortal King or Dao Patriarch?

This was only the first station of a journey fraught with countless hardships. The road to immortality was littered with bones—whose trials were not tens of millions of times worse than this?

If he could not even endure this, then he might as well stay in the physical world and drink milk. Why cultivate immortality?

So I absolutely need to think of a solution.

Mm. Unless it's a necessary occasion in the future, I'll just act cold and aloof. I'll only say the key words. If they aren't special people, I'll speak normally—treat them like my dorm mates. Discussing matters will be like asking them to queue for a game, and assigning tasks will be like telling them to gank.

But that only solves part of the problem. What if I encounter necessary occasions and special people?

For example, that meeting in East Grain Town had clearly been a "necessary occasion," and Commandery Governor Zhao had been a "special person."

If Lin Wen had not opened his mouth and started talking nonsense that day, he would not have secured that crucial job.

I'll first see whether there are any similar spells.

Lin Wen did not hold much hope for it. If he could not find one, he would just tough it out and treat it as another kind of trial.

Fortunately, not long after, Lin Wen really did find a spell that suited him perfectly.

[Seven Apertures Exquisite Heart]

See through the ways of the world; be versed in human affairs.

Consume 10% of Primordial Spirit to gain the effects of making friends in all directions and dancing gracefully with long sleeves. In this world's time, it lasts for 8 hours. The effect may be interrupted and preserved.

It looked extremely suitable for him, but he had to test its effects first.

Lin Wen pressed the nurse call button, and three young nurses immediately came over. Their faces were all still flushed crimson, making them look lovely, moving, and pitiable.

Lin Wen felt an immense amount of awkwardness. He coughed and used [Seven Apertures Exquisite Heart].

The awkwardness immediately vanished. Bathed in the spring breeze, he chatted with the three young nurses for a while, thanking them for their meticulous care during his coma. He felt very well now, and it was all thanks to their nursing.

Within a few minutes, he had made the three young nurses giggle continuously, and every barrier between them disappeared.

Seeing that the conversation would soon progress to discussing marriage, Lin Wen hurriedly withdrew the spell and pretended to be dizzy. "My head feels a little dizzy. I'll rest for a while."

The three young nurses hurriedly tucked in his blanket and smoothed his sheets, terrified that even one wrinkle might obstruct the Imperial Hero's sleep. It took them a long time before they reluctantly left. As they departed, Lin Wen even heard a faint stomp of a foot.

"Ah, I really envy the bedsheet."

In the quiet ward, only the sound of a wildly pounding heart could be heard.

Of course, it was not because of the young nurses' affection. Though there was a tiny bit of that, it was not the main reason.

This spell fit him perfectly. Not only was the effect superb, but Lin Wen did not have to do anything himself. Sweet words simply floated out automatically, completely avoiding the possibility of his mind being contaminated by the worldly red dust.

The only possible issue was that the degree of interaction and direction of the conversation were uncontrollable.

But those were trivial matters. Once he used [Seven Apertures Exquisite Heart], it meant that all that remained was boring social interaction. What they talked about no longer mattered.

Most precious of all, he could interrupt this spell at any time, and the remaining duration would be preserved until its next use.

This could greatly conserve his Primordial Spirit power and was extremely useful for situations that required frequent spellcasting.

A few more days passed.

Thanks to [Seven Apertures Exquisite Heart], Lin Wen perfectly handled the reporters and officials from every faction who visited during this period, winning unanimous praise and acclaim from everyone.

But Zhao Anping, whom Lin Wen most wanted to see, had not come. He did not know what Zhao was doing.

Over the past few days, he had watched the news and learned that the floodwaters had receded. Everywhere in the Empire had entered post-disaster reconstruction, and among the nine hardest-hit regions, Long Mountain Commandery ranked first.

Aside from the Changpai Village Levee, every main embankment in Long Mountain Commandery had collapsed. The smaller dikes and earthen dams were too numerous to count. More than 60% of the region had suffered disaster, and as many as 300,000 people had been left homeless.

And if the Changpai Village Levee had not held, the people who had fled there after other levees collapsed would have suffered an even greater calamity. No one knew how many more would have died.

Thus, Lin Wen had received such honor not merely because of his bravery, but because he had truly saved many lives.

That was also why Lin Wen's Good Karma had now reached 809.

In less than three days of emergency flood relief, he had gained nearly 450 points of Good Karma.

This enormous income slightly soothed Lin Wen's wounds from the failure of his Perfect Reincarnation—as long as he did not think about the painful fact that if reincarnation had succeeded, this Good Karma would not have been much less.

Life had to continue, and so did cultivating immortality.

Perhaps, Lin Wen thought, Long Mountain Commandery's flood control work was too terrible, so Commandery Governor Zhao got dismissed and put under investigation?

That was possible.

What a pity. Lin Wen had wanted to ask him for post-disaster reconstruction work.

The key was that he could not get out yet.

Lin Wen had suggested being discharged, but everyone in the hospital politely yet firmly refused. Experts from all walks of life produced ten thousand reasons demanding that he rest for at least another week, and it had even alarmed the higher-level East Qin Provincial Governor's Office.

The Governor-General's Office had specifically sent him a notice telling him to rest peacefully and not worry about anything.

Thus, Lin Wen could only helplessly live off others in his hospital bed.

Speaking of food, eating was now what troubled Lin Wen most.

Every bite of food had to be blown on once by each of the three young nurses before it could enter his mouth. They enjoyed this boring little game immensely. And whenever Lin Wen activated Seven Apertures Exquisite Heart, he enjoyed it immensely as well.

He truly could not take it anymore.

After staying another two days, Lin Wen had completely had enough. He felt that if this continued, they would start feeding him mouth-to-mouth. His treatment in the hospital room had completely regressed to that of an infant. It was as if he needed someone to hold him up to pee and wipe his butt after using the toilet.

Fortunately, this awkward situation did not last long. On the third day, the Governor-General's Office sent another notice, asking him to attend a meeting in Pale Sun Capital.

Pale Sun Capital was the provincial capital of East Qin Province and the location of the East Qin Provincial Governor's Office.

East Qin Province lay in the middle of the Empire. It was an enormous province with a large population, though it was not especially wealthy. The Governor-General was the highest-ranking official in the province, overseeing all affairs. It was said that East Qin Province's Governor-General was a highly legendary figure.

Long Mountain Commandery lay at the westernmost edge of East Qin Province. It was the most desolate, godforsaken place where birds did not even shit. Yet it still had more than 1.3 million people and covered over 50,000 square kilometers—enough to fit nine Lower Sea Cities. But judging from the sorry state of Changle Town, even if one sold the entire town, one might not be able to buy a toilet in Jing'an District.

Although Lin Wen had never cared about such matters, he had learned quite a bit just from watching the news these past few days.

Therefore, he could also guess that calling him to a meeting at this time most likely meant that the disaster had passed, leaving only steady and orderly wrap-up work. They were going to discuss the distribution of benefits and reward merit.

Since the Governor-General's Office had sent a special car to pick him up, Lin Wen only needed to change clothes before setting off. After waving goodbye to the hospital's doctors and leaders, as well as the three young nurses who were crying rivers of tears, Lin Wen got into the special car, which looked like a black coffin, and left West Shanghai City First Hospital.

Pale Sun Capital was not far from West Hu City. They arrived in less than half an hour.

Only after entering Pale Sun Capital did Lin Wen truly feel, for the first time, that he had returned to modern society.

Towering buildings, neon lights, streams of traffic and people.

The architecture lining both sides of the roads was a chaotic mixture: modern American-style structures, Japanese simplicity and quiet elegance, and Chinese classical splendor. Yet once they left the bustling commercial districts, they could often see Italian flair, German severity, French romance, and Russian solemnity and rich intensity in quieter areas. In certain corners, they could even glimpse history settled by time.

Seeing Lin Wen staring wide-eyed, the special car's driver smiled. "First time in the city, kid? Pale Sun Capital is very prosperous."

Lin Wen nodded. "Yeah. It's like the second-tier city I used to live in... Uh, I mean, I originally thought it was a second-tier city. I didn't expect it to be this prosperous. It should be super first-tier, right?"

The driver laughed. "How could that be? There are only three super first-tier cities: Divine Capital, the imperial capital; Dragon Capital, the Demon Capital; and Martial Capital, the Heavenly Capital. Nothing else counts."

Lin Wen sighed. "Something this prosperous still isn't super first-tier. It's simply unimaginable..."

Lin Wen did not pay attention to what came afterward. He had already activated Seven Apertures Exquisite Heart. He would not care about anything anyone said, focusing only on the view outside the window. He felt that this world's technological development was rather bizarre. They clearly already had internet cafes, yet people on the streets were still using brick-like combat phones.

And in miserable Changle Town, there had not been a single mobile phone in the entire town. Later, he discovered that there were none in all of Long Mountain Commandery.

The only technological products in all of Changle Town were a landline telephone in the mayor's office, a fax machine, and an antique-level computer that used a telephone line to dial into the internet.

This half-baked technological era was truly awful.

The special car passed through the bustling streets and soon arrived at the highest center of authority in East Qin Province—the Governor-General's Office.

It was an extremely vast, enormous, and luxurious compound.

The buildings were predominantly white, with fountains, lawns, and large numbers of guards. It looked like a palace from legend that had been burned by fire and then painted white.

After getting out of the special car, Lin Wen, accompanied by the driver, passed countless inspections, crossed countless checkpoints and guards, climbed thirty-three white jade steps, and entered the Governor-General's Office, which resembled an imperial palace.

Then he was told that the Governor-General's Office's closed-door meeting had not yet ended and that he should wait outside.

Lin Wen could only turn off Seven Apertures Exquisite Heart and sit in the waiting room drinking tea.