Stillheart Way

Chen Shu: Come over on Sunday.

Qingqing: Saturday.

Chen Shu: Hm? Do you have class on Sunday?

Qingqing: My roommate asked me to go to Royal Plaza with her. I said yes.

Chen Shu: You actually said yes?

Qingqing: Mm.

Chen Shu: Remember to buy her a milk tea.

Qingqing: Mm.

Chen Shu: No one-word answers.

Qingqing: Okay.

On Saturday morning,

Chen Shu bought Qingqing a small slice of avocado cake with lemon juice in it. It was slightly tart. Watching her eat as they walked, he said, "After this week, I'll start going out to earn some money."

"Good timing." Ning Qing ate another bite of cake. "I'm about to start practicing the Stillheart Way."

"What's the Stillheart Way?"

"Something like the Buddhist practice of Silence Meditation."

"You can't talk?"

"No."

"Can you write?"

"No."

Ning Qing put the spoon in her mouth and pressed her lips together. When she pulled it out, the pale green cream left streaks on it. "No talking, no writing, and no obvious communication with the outside world through gestures or looks. It's best to stand a little farther away, too, and keep your distance from the world."

"That's strange. What's the point?"

"To become an observer. To step outside your surroundings and watch the world with calm eyes, then use a keen mind to think and perceive all things, including yourself."

"It's that amazing?" Chen Shu thought for a moment. "A month without talking or communicating with anyone—won't you get lonely?"

"Loneliness is part of the practice."

"That sounds miserable."

"Then sing me a song."

"What a bother." Chen Shu sighed. "Our Spiritual Cultivation path is so much simpler."

"It's simple too."

"When exactly will you start?"

"I'll pick a time, but it'll be after I find a place."

"When will you find one?"

"Next week, I think." Ning Qing savored the sweetness on her lips. "I'll send you the address. By the time you get the message, I'll have started."

"You'll still stay in the dorm during it?"

"Yes."

"How can you practice this thing, then?"

"The point is to observe. If there's no one around, how would it be any different from going into seclusion?"

"Oh, I see. So you're planning to watch your roommates like monkeys? I thought you'd made a friend and couldn't bear to leave her." Chen Shu nodded. "Once you start practicing the Stillheart Way and can't talk, does that mean we can't meet?"

"We still should." Ning Qing paused. "You still have to sing for me."

"I never agreed to that."

"You did."

"Hmm..." Something about her shamelessness felt familiar to Chen Shu, though it was rather cute. "Where am I supposed to find you?"

"You can guess where I am."

"How could I guess right? I'm not you..."

"If you can't guess right, once I finish practicing the Stillheart Way..." Ning Qing scooped another bite of cake into her mouth, her tone level. "You're finished too."

"What the fuck..."

"Hm?"

"I didn't say anything."

Ning Qing calmly looked away.

Chen Shu soon spoke again. "You'll have to tell your roommates, and especially your teachers, beforehand, won't you? What if a teacher calls on you?"

"Yes."

"Right?"

"I will."

"Hmm..."

Chen Shu imagined the scene—

And suddenly found it rather amusing.

"What are you thinking?"

Ning Qing turned to face him, her lovely face expressionless as she warned, "Don't tease me. Don't provoke me. Don't ask for a beating. The Stillheart Way is only temporary. I won't lose my memory while I'm practicing it. It will end eventually."

"Why would I..."

Chen Shu scratched his head with a look of honest innocence, then asked, "Just one question. Say—hypothetically—I tease you or catch you off guard. Can you stop me or fight back?"

"I can break your hand."

"Wouldn't that make you fail?" Chen Shu asked with concern, spreading his hands. "That wouldn't be worth it. Better not do that."

"It wouldn't."

"Why not? Stopping me or fighting back is a kind of communication too, isn't it? You'd be telling me not to do that."

"Necessary, subtle, minimal communication."

"Oh..."

"You'd better not try it."

"Oh..."

The Chen Shu who gets beaten after she finishes practicing the Stillheart Way has nothing to do with the Chen Shu who's around while she's practicing it.

Today's wine is today's wine.

Tomorrow's worries are tomorrow's worries.

"How long do you have to practice?"

"If I don't fail, as little as a month. As long as half a year."

"That's quite a range."

"It depends on the results."

"What would make you fail?"

"My mind needs to be still. If it isn't, I fail."

"What happens if you fail?"

"Nothing. I just start over."

"Then why make me come find you? If you don't see me, I won't make you fail."

"I can't run from it or take shortcuts. Just act normally around me. If I fail, it means my mind isn't still enough and I ought to start again. That would be a good thing."

"What affects the results?"

"A still mind, observation, thought, insight..."

"So how long do you think you'll need?"

"One month."

"You're confident."

"I'm very talented."

"Oh..."

Chen Shu nodded repeatedly.

See? See?

Using a beating a month from now to threaten someone a month earlier—Secretary Ning really throws her weight around.

Smack!

"Why did you hit me?"

"Don't think I don't know what you're thinking."

"You can guess that too?"

"Because I know you."

"I see." Chen Shu nodded, then told her, "You hit me first, you know."

"..."

Chen Shu showed Ning Qing around his university, then they took a walk outside campus. After lunch at a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant, they went their separate ways.

Jiang Lai and Meng Chunqiu were both sitting in the living room.

Chen Shu opened the door and was surprised to see them. "Weren't you two checking out the clubs?"

"We finished."

"That was fast."

"There wasn't much to see."

"Find anything good?"

"I joined the Poetry Society." Meng Chunqiu pointed at Jiang Lai. "Brother Jiang joined the Martial Arts Society. You really should have come with us. There's also the Spell Principles Society, the Ancient Cultivator Society, and the Divine Way Society. Our university's students are usually full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers. I'm sure you'd find something interesting."

"I'm not that interested in dragons or tigers." Chen Shu yawned. "I'm a little introverted. I'm afraid they'd be so impressive I'd feel inferior."

"Ahem... Has your studying gone well this week, Brother Chen?"

"Very well. How about you two?"

"I've done all right. I've talked poetry with the teachers and students. My classmates all like me."

"Probably." Chen Shu looked at his delicate features. The female students liked him, and the male students probably did too. "What about Jiang Lai?"

"Just training as usual."

"Oh..."

"Let's go out together tomorrow. Autumn's here, and the countryside is just beyond University City. The fields have turned yellow, and the osmanthus is in bloom. We could enjoy the season and, if inspiration strikes, improvise a poem. Who knows? It might even become a verse for the ages." Meng Chunqiu looked at them, eyes full of hope. "What do you say?"

"I have plans," Jiang Lai said.

"Me too," Chen Shu said.

"Hm?" Meng Chunqiu was puzzled. "What could be more important than enjoying autumn and writing poetry?"

"Earning living expenses," Jiang Lai said.

"Same here," Chen Shu said. "Besides, these days, unless you're already famous, even the best poetry won't make much of a splash."

"Ah..."

Not only were his two roommates vulgar, they were steeped in the stench of money at such a young age. Meng Chunqiu was deeply pained.

Brother Jiang was understandable. Anyone could tell from his clothes that his family might not be well-off. His shirt, trousers, and shoes were all plain and rather old. Brother Chen, though, made no effort to wear brands—his clothes simply looked good, and much of it was unbranded—but it was obvious his family was fairly comfortable.

He doesn't lack money, yet he chases it so eagerly...

Meng Chunqiu mourned their wasted potential and felt a little sad.

Life is not easy; one must enjoy it to the fullest! Poetry, song, the starry sky, and philosophy—those are what give life meaning. Alas, am I, Meng Chunqiu, destined to be a blue lotus rising alone from the mud?

Back in his room, Chen Shu turned on his computer.

Teacher Shi Qian had sent him the complete Thousand Mechanisms Art that very night. It was unlikely to be the latest version, but it should be fairly recent. Later, Chen Shu could fine-tune it according to his needs and circumstances, improve it, or even add other functions.

The spell itself, however, was extremely complex—a large-scale spell through and through. Inscribing its complete Runes in his Spirit Sea would take quite some time.

He had been working on it for days.

Fortunately, his soul was unusually strong, making the task much easier for him than for most people.

Teacher Shi Qian had also found out the commission company's name for him—

May Commission Company.

The second-largest commission company in the Jade Capital.

It had a good reputation and didn't exploit students. Older students praised it left and right.

It was also close to the western part of University City.

That might have been why no stories of student exploitation had come out of it. The west side of University City was full of prestigious universities. The government kept a close eye on the area, and the students stood up for themselves. They weren't easy to exploit.

Chen Shu went there early on Sunday morning.

Commission companies were popular in this country. They accepted jobs from clients, and the vast majority of those jobs were legal. In rare cases, legality depended on the circumstances.

They were rather like the private detective agencies from his previous life, or the mercenary associations Chen Shu had read about in older novels—though closer to agencies.

Companies like this had their own websites and took on a wide variety of work. The jobs they accepted usually weren't posted for employees to choose freely. Instead, supervisors assigned them according to each person's abilities and needs. Sometimes they gave you one job; sometimes several to choose from.

Full-time employees generally weren't allowed to refuse unless they lacked the ability to do the work.

Part-timers had more leeway. If you got a job you didn't want, you could say you couldn't fit it into your schedule, so long as you didn't refuse every time.

Commission companies generally welcomed part-timers. They could get work done without paying for social insurance, so they were happy to have them.

"Hello, sir. Are you..."

"I'd like to work part-time."

"Did someone refer you?"

"Some older students at my university did."

"Which university?"

"Yujing University."

"What year are you in?"

"First year."

"Are you a registered cultivator?"

"Yes."

"Let me ask the manager. Please wait a moment."

The sound of the young woman's high heels faded away. Soon she returned with a man.

The man introduced himself as Wang Yang, a supervisor. He gave Chen Shu a brief interview, and when he heard Chen Shu was Second Tier, he wasted no time signing a part-time work agreement with him.

Then Chen Shu had to fill out a form.

Cultivation level: Second Tier

Specialty: Spell Principles, theoretical knowledge

Spells mastered: Too many to list

Preferred assignments: Ideally, ones I don't have to attend in person and can handle online. No tutoring jobs (unless they pay a lot).

Chen Shu thought for a moment, then added:

Ones that pay a lot.

He filled in the rest and handed the form to Supervisor Wang.

Supervisor Wang looked it over without much reaction, then said politely, "All right. You've listed your contact details here, so I'll add you later. Please accept my request. If I find any assignments that suit you, I'll get in touch. I look forward to working with you."

"Thank you, Supervisor."

"You're welcome."