Chapter 115: First meeting, unblocking the heart aperture
Ding Dong—
No response. After a moment, Lu Heng pressed the doorbell again.
Still no response.
Probably out, Lu Heng thought. He could only take a deep breath, turn around and press the elevator button, mustering up courage to ask the property management for help unlocking the door.
Just then, Lu Heng heard the sound of a door opening behind him. Standing in the doorway was a young man dressed in silk loungewear. His hair was a bit messy, and he looked like he had just been woken up from a nap.
Lu Heng froze for a second.
The man in front of him was really too good-looking, but that wasn't the point. After experiencing several worlds, Lu Heng considered himself somewhat immune to beauty. The reason he was stunned was that, unlike ordinary people who would look groggy after being woken from sleep, this man's gaze was clear and sharp, with an air of coldness.
He seems to be a difficult person to get along with, Lu Heng thought to himself. But since he needed help, there was no other choice.
Lu Heng adjusted his expression, trying hard to look friendly and not some freak: "Hello—"
Bang—
The door was directly slammed shut.
Lu Heng's smile froze on his face. Did I scare my neighbor? Looking down at his current outfit, Lu Heng couldn't help but feel upset. Will the neighbor think I'm a weirdo?
As he pressed the elevator button again, ready to go downstairs, the door behind him opened once more. The young man reappeared, now in a different outfit. Though it was just a simple light gray shirt and casual pants, it made him look even more as tall and straight as a pine tree. His messy hair was now neatly combed, revealing his sharp eyebrows and piercing gaze.
This is a fastidious person, Lu Heng thought. He knew that some people don't like showing a relaxed, homey side to strangers, so unbothered by the cold reception earlier, Lu Heng smiled again, this time even warmer, like a spring breeze: "Hello, my name is Zhou Yiheng. I live next door."
"Gu Lingjun."
"Mr. Gu, here's the situation: I stepped out to grab my takeout, but the wind shut my door. Could I trouble you to contact the property management to get a locksmith for me?" Lu Heng even raised the takeout bag in his hand to make his story more convincing.
Gu Lingjun glanced down at Lu Heng's bare feet on the floor, then stepped aside straightaway: "Come in and sit."
Lu Heng smiled awkwardly. Earlier, to save trouble, he hadn't bothered putting on slippers before running out to grab his takeout, and now standing on the cold floor was indeed uncomfortable. He hadn't expected the other person to notice.
As soon as Lu Heng stepped inside, he saw Gu Lingjun rummaging through the shoe cabinet.
After searching for a while with seemingly no results, Gu Lingjun turned around and said, "There aren't any."
Lu Heng didn't quite understand at first, but then saw Gu Lingjun take off his own slippers and place them in front of him. Only then did he realize that Gu Lingjun meant there were no extra slippers: "Oh, no need, really. Just contact the property management and the locksmith will be here soon."
"They're new, not dirty."
That's not the issue! As a guest, how could he wear the host's slippers and leave the host barefoot? But before Lu Heng could refuse again, Gu Lingjun added, "You go in and sit. I'll contact the property management here."
In this apartment complex, contacting property management was simple—one could communicate directly via the video intercom at the entryway. Seeing the determination in Gu Lingjun's expression, Lu Heng didn't say anything further and went inside.
"Put on the slippers."
Left with no choice, Lu Heng reluctantly put on the slippers and walked into the living room. The decor was minimal yet stylish, and possibly because Gu Lingjun had just moved in, there were no knick-knacks. It felt like a model home—cold and lacking personality.
After a while, Gu Lingjun walked back in, frowning slightly: "The intercom system is broken."
"Huh? That shouldn't be the case. I saw the property manager cleaning here just a couple of days ago. If it was broken, he should have noticed," Lu Heng said.
"It's a friend's place, so I'm not sure," Gu Lingjun replied, though at the same time, he was already thinking about how to buy this apartment.
"What a coincidence, I'm renting too," Lu Heng said with a smile. "Let me take a look."
Gu Lingjun, meanwhile, started considering how to buy both apartments.
Lu Heng went to the door and found that the power light on the intercom system was indeed off. He fiddled with it for a while but couldn't get it to work. Finally, he noticed a few cracks on the side. There was a dent in the center where the cracks converged, likely caused by something hitting it.
The dent was roughly the size of Lu Heng's thumb, though slightly bigger. He wondered what could have caused it. It couldn't possibly be pressed by a thumb, right? That would take an incredible amount of force.
It seemed like the intercom system was completely out of commission. Lu Heng had to turn around and ask helplessly, "Mr. Gu, do you have the property manager's phone number? Looks like I'll need to trouble you to call him."
"No, I don't."
"Ah," Lu Heng said with knitted brows and a doleful look, "I guess I'll have to go down and find the property management myself."
Just as he reached the door, someone grabbed him from behind.
"It..." Gu Lingjun's voice sounded a bit hesitant, "It's not good for people outside to see you dressed like this."
Only then did Lu Heng remember that he was still dressed in women's clothing. The main reason he had forgotten this fact was that Gu Lingjun's expression had been too calm this entire time.
"I'll call my friend and ask."
This new neighbor really is a good guy, Lu Heng thought, deciding he would definitely treat him to a meal as thanks. After Gu Lingjun contacted the property manager, the two sat in the living room waiting for the locksmith to arrive.
Lu Heng glanced at the clock on the wall, feeling a bit hesitant to speak. He had a nagging feeling that his next request was a little too much. But his livestream was about to start, and he had announced two days ago that he would present a visual feast to his fans today. If he stood them up without any notice, he would be scolded to death.
"What's wrong?" Gu Lingjun seemed to sense Lu Heng's anxious mood.
"Could you please lend me your phone to send out a quick late notice? I'm dressed like this because I was going to livestream on the platform soon, and it's not nice to keep my audience waiting without saying anything," Lu Heng said, a little embarrassed.
Gu Lingjun handed his phone over, but just as Lu Heng was about to take it, Gu Lingjun pulled it back. He seemed to be clearing something off the phone, and Lu Heng fully understood. Phones are personal, after all, and it made sense to be cautious when lending one out.
After getting the phone, Lu Heng said anyway, "I might need to download the OhMyMy streaming app, but I'll delete it afterward."
"No need to download. I already have it."
Eh? Lu Heng looked down and, sure enough, the pink icon of the OhMyMy streaming platform was right there on the first page. Gu Lingjun's phone was very clean, with only the system's preinstalled apps and that one live-streaming app. Nothing else.
Lu Heng didn't think much of it, but he found it amusing. Despite Gu Lingjun's seemingly indifferent and I-have-no-desires demeanor, he apparently liked the OhMyMy streaming platform too.
Half an hour later.
The locksmith finally arrived, and Lu Heng thanked his kind neighbor profusely as he said goodbye: "Mr. Gu, thank you so much for today. When you're free, I'll invite you to a meal to express my gratitude."
"Tomorrow."
"..." Lu Heng froze for a second before laughing, "Alright, tomorrow it is."
"Phone," Gu Lingjun said another word.
Lu Heng immediately understood that this person wanted his phone number. He blinked, teasing, "Don't worry, I won't back out of the meal."
But considering they were practically friends now, Lu Heng walked to the front door, grabbed a pen and paper, and wrote down his phone number for him.
The livestream full of twists and turns finally came to an end. His outfit naturally caused quite a stir, and his fan base surged once again. However, what caused an even bigger stir during the livestream was the wealthy fan named Sovereign Gu. At the end of the livestream, some viewers calculated that he had given hundreds of thousands in gifts that night, setting a new record for the highest value of gifts given in a single day. If the livestream hadn't ended, they likely would've kept giving.
After washing up, Lu Heng eagerly sat on his bed to meditate. To his pleasant surprise, he discovered that the thought energy stored in his heart had tripled. He originally thought it would take at least another half month to unblock his heart apertures, just barely meeting the registration deadline for the National Ancient Martial Arts Exchange Conference. But this sudden increase meant he now had time to practice before the event.
Is Sister Miao so mighty? Lu Heng briefly wondered, but didn't have time to dwell on it. He wholly focused on attacking the blockages.
Calm and composed with five hearts facing the sky[1], breathing in through the nose and breathing out through the mouth, directing the energy toward his dantian, inhaling the new, exhaling the old. As Lu Heng gradually immersed his consciousness into his own body, he began to purify the thought power he had absorbed today. To his surprise, nearly 80% of the thought power he'd absorbed today came from the same source, and it was so incredibly pure that there was no need to refine it.
It didn't take much effort for Lu Heng to purify the remaining chaotic thought energy. Once that was done, he concentrated the purified thought energy into a fine but resilient thread and began to slowly clear the impure qi blocking his first heart aperture.
As dawn approached, Lu Heng's eyes snapped open, filled with joy. Success! He could now sense the weak but finally unimpeded flow of thought energy circulating through his body. With his palm facing upward, the prototype of a psychic weapon gradually materialized in mid-air.
Condensing a psychic weapon was the first step on the Martial Path. The shape of a psychic weapon depended on a person's innate talent, and once formed, it would accompany the Martial Artist for life. The road of subsequent practice would involve continuously tempering this psychic weapon to make it more powerful.
Two small scimitars fell into Lu Heng's palm. Their appearance was exactly the same as the silver scimitars he had frequently used in his previous world. Lu Heng looked at the two small scimitars with satisfaction. Although they were a bit too delicate, the size of these weapons would also evolve as his thought power grew stronger. It's said that powerful Martial Artists at the Heaven-tier could manipulate the size and length of their psychic weapons at will.
Just as Lu Heng was sizing up his psychic weapon with satisfaction, even eager to jump up and practice a few moves...
On the balcony next door, Gu Lingjun, who had been meditating and communicating with the world, opened his eyes. He tilted his head slightly, looking toward Lu Heng's apartment: "He is condensing his psychic weapon?"
Gu Lingjun found it odd, because during the time they interacted earlier, he found that Lu Heng was just an ordinary person with no signs of prior training. Condensing a psychic weapon signified that Lu Heng was stepping onto the path of Martial Arts. But this time seems a bit too late? Even in non-martial families, it was common practice to have children tested for aptitude by the Martial Arts Association before the age of three. If a child had potential, they would typically begin formal training around six.
Why is Ah Heng only now starting to condense his psychic weapon?
Ah Heng was the nickname that Gu Lingjun silently gave Zhou Yiheng in his heart. He wasn't sure why, but it felt right, like he should call him that, like he had called him that many times before.
[1] 五心朝天: This posture is supposed to be conducive to the unblocking of meridians and the stability of the mind. Looks like Padmasana (yoga: lotus pose) to me.
Translator:
Thank youuuuu hehe
ReplyDeleteThank you for the double update!! 🥰
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