There was a bullsh * t truth in the world: If there was, there was, and if there wasn't, there wasn't. In the secular world, the standard of whether there was or not was very simple: if there was something that could be seen like a mountain, then there was something that could be heard like a sound, and there was something that could be touched like a fire. But if you couldn't see, hear, or touch it, then there was naturally no such thing.
This standard was not applicable to the world of cultivation. The breath or primordial Qi that permeated between heaven and earth, and the Psyche Power that caused the primordial Qi to vibrate through the Ocean of Qi and Mountain of Snow could not be perceived by ordinary people. They couldn't see, hear, or touch the breath of heaven and earth and the cultivator's Psyche Power, but it didn't mean that such things didn't exist.
The Initial State, also known as the Initial Awareness State, meant that the cultivator's psyche could be released from the Ocean of Qi and Mountain of Snow and understand the existence of the breath of heaven and earth. The Perception State meant that after the cultivator knew the breath of heaven and earth, he could get along with it in harmony and even communicate with it. These two initial states were collectively known as the Emptiness State.
Whether an ordinary person could embark on the road of cultivation could be judged by the above discussion: if he could see, hear, or touch the breath of heaven and earth or psyche, then he was really on the road.
Ning Que stared at his slightly trembling fingers, the thin gap between his fingers and the wet towel, and the steaming hot air. He knew that what he felt was not the hot air, but something else.
It was not accurate to describe this feeling as touching. It was more like perception.
There was spirit in the human brain, and the spirit produced psyche. The psyche was thinking, and the Psyche Power was thinking very, very, very, very, very much to be with you … It was a kind of mysterious power that was similar to this, which was the power of thinking.
At this time, Ning Que had not recovered from his serious injury, and he was exhausted. His mind was clear without any distracting thoughts except for one. He wanted to pick up the steaming wet towel and wipe his body.
It seemed that the aura circulating between heaven and earth finally understood his thoughts and felt the power of his thoughts. From the eaves, from the cracks in the window, from the quilt, from every drop of sweat, they gathered in front of his fingers at a speed that exceeded the scope of speed and fell on the hot wet towel.
…
…
There was a dead silence in the room. Ning Que looked at his fingers like the famous infatuated girl of the Yuelun Kingdom, not daring to breathe or blink. He used all his strength to ensure that his trembling fingers did not turn into shadows. He maintained this posture with unprecedented caution, like a frozen quail.
After a long time, he raised his eyebrows extremely slowly and tilted his head slightly as if in slow motion. He looked at his fingertips in bewilderment and uneasiness. Then, he slowly closed his eyes, forcibly suppressing the excitement in his heart, and began to meditate.
Many years ago, Ning Que had obtained the Article on the Response of the Tao in Kaiping market. Since then, he had been meditating all the time. He meditated before going to bed, meditated while staring at the morning sun after waking up, meditated while staring blankly at the morning sun after winning three bowls of rice wine in a bet, and meditated after jumping into Shubi Lake while bathed in blood. Even though he had never felt the Primordial Qi flowing between heaven and earth, his proficiency in entering the state of meditation was definitely the best in the world.
All thoughts were gone.
Firmly guard your heart.
Follow your will.
It had been 16 years since he came to this world. His acupoints in the Ocean of Qi and Mountain of Snow were blocked, and his hopes had been destroyed countless times. Finally, for the first time, he heard or felt the long and calm breathing sound. It was the breathing of heaven and earth.
He dared to swear on the reputation of his mother, who loved him the most in the General's Mansion, that this long and calm breathing sound was absolutely the most beautiful sound he had ever heard, even more beautiful than the sound of the Horse Gang of Shubi Lake falling off their mounts, more beautiful than the sound of Zhang Yiqi struggling with his eyes wide open, and even more beautiful than the sound of the silver in the money bag knocking against each other.
Between the long and calm breaths, there were green leaves unfolding, beautiful flowers blooming, hundreds of birds chirping, towering mountains, vast streams of water, oranges falling at the end of a province, hundreds of ships racing to cross, the vastness of the earth, the tranquility of the sky.
Ning Que did not know how to describe the beauty of the breathing of heaven and earth. After thinking about it, he could only compare it with the faint breathing sound he had heard years ago. That year, when he found Little Sangsang, who was frozen blue and blue all over, he took off his clothes and held the little baby girl in his arms for a whole day and night, and finally heard the faint breathing sound.
At this moment, he finally vaguely remembered the sounds he had heard when he was unconscious on the long street, and understood the meaning of those sounds. Those were the breathing sounds from the stone posts by the street to tie the horses, the doors of the wine shop. Those were the breathing sounds from the ancient pagoda tree in the deep courtyard, the green leaves under the seat, the breathing sounds from the stone lions, the wooden buildings, the streets, the imperial palace, and the city walls. They were all the breaths given by heaven and earth.
What he heard was the long and calm breathing that came from the ancient times and was destined to go to the future. His fingers touched something that was not real but could confirm its existence. The doors and windows of the room were tightly shut, but there was a gentle wave like the wind slowly surrounding his body. No, this wave was more dignified than the wind, more like the gentle water in a still pond, but more agile than water.
Finally, he was sure that he had sensed something. He could no longer suppress the emotions that gushed out from the depths of his heart and woke up. Looking at the scroll he had written on the wall and the simple patterns on the beams and pillars, his eyes were filled with excitement and a very complicated emotion. He felt that although the doors and windows were tightly shut, he seemed to be able to see the gray wall and the row of green trees on Lin 47th Street. He knew that the world in front of him seemed to be no different from the previous world, but from today on, the world to Ning Que … would be different.
Stretching out his slightly trembling fingers, Ning Que aimed at the pea-sized candle flame on the table. He slowly inhaled and urged his psyche to enter the Ocean of Qi and Mountain of Snow. After a long time, he slowly released it.
The candle flame on the table swayed uneasily. He did not know whether it was because of the wind, his fingers, or his chaotic mind.
"Is this … the Qi of Heaven and Earth?"
Looking at his fingertips, he did not see anything, but he could feel that there was a very thin layer of existence there. He muttered to himself and then added in a low voice, "This is the Qi of Heaven and Earth!"
His young and tender face was full of determination and affirmation, without any wavering or self-doubt.
…
…
Ning Que did not have the time to grab an unlined shirt to put on his body. He did not put on his shoes because he did not wear shoes at all. He suddenly jumped off the bed and almost fell down because of his weak legs. He forced himself to run out of the room and knocked over the bucket beside the bed. His waist was hit by the corner of the table. However, the lad who was about to faint from the great happiness did not feel any pain at all.
Pushing open the door, he rushed into the small courtyard and stood in front of Sangsang who was chopping firewood. He looked at the little handmaiden who was bent over and opened his mouth to say something, but found that his voice was a little hoarse and he was almost unable to speak.
Sangsang looked at him in confusion and found that his expression was extremely strange, as if he was crying and laughing at the same time.
"Young master, are you all right?"
She stood up and raised her arms habitually, wondering if Ning Que had a fever and was a little confused. But she found that she could touch his head with one foot and could not help but laugh happily.
Ning Que reached out his right hand and grabbed her thin arm. He pulled her into his arms and held her in his naked chest, just like many years ago. He murmured, "It's good that you are alive, and I am … also very good now."
He had not cried for many years since he escaped from Chang 'an with a hatchet. He still did not shed tears today. But he did not know why he felt that his eyes were a little wet and his nose was a little sour.
Sangsang raised her head with difficulty and was shocked to see the faint wetness in Ning Que's eyes. Then she guessed something and her little face was full of shock. Two lines of tears flowed out from her willowy eyes.
Being speechless and choking was definitely not enough to release the emotions of the master and handmaiden at this moment.
Sangsang opened her thin arms and hugged Ning Que's waist tightly. She cried bitterly, "Oh … Young master, this is a happy event. You have to eat more duck tonight."
After the hug, they separated from each other. Ning Que looked down at the little handmaiden's dark face with tears. His lips moved slightly as if he wanted to say something, but he did not say anything in the end.
Sangsang immediately understood what he meant. She lowered her head in shame and raised her sleeves to wipe her tears. She whispered while sobbing, "I … I will order takeout from Building of Pines and Cranes. It will cost six taels of silver."
"That's more like it." Ning Que lovingly rubbed her head.
Sangsang opened the box and took out the silver. She hurried to the shop and suddenly thought of something. She slowly stopped in front of the door and looked back at him. She bit her lips and said very seriously, "Young master, next time you go out and do these dangerous things, you must remember to take me with you. It's not good to wait for you in the shop."
Ning Que quietly looked at her and then nodded hard. He said, "Don't worry. This kind of thing will never happen again. At least within this year, I won't do anything again. You don't have to worry."
…
…
The door of the Old Brush Pen Shop was already closed.
The small wooden sign hanging on the shop originally said that the owner was busy, but Sangsang changed it to "The owner is happy" in the shortest time possible.
Since it was a happy event, they naturally had to drink to liven things up. The master and handmaiden luxuriously ate six taels of silver worth of noodles from Building of Pines and Cranes and drank two big pots of wine. Sangsang, who had never been drunk before, was unexpectedly drunk today, either because she was too happy or because she felt sorry for spending so much money on a meal.
Ning Que looked at the little handmaiden who was drunk on the table and scratched his head in surprise. He thought to himself, "How could you get drunk before me?"
He carried Sangsang back to the room and covered her with a single layer of quilt. Then he sat by the bed and took a round cattail leaf fan to fan her and drive away those annoying mosquitoes. It was Sangsang who had been serving him all these years and he rarely did these things. But after all, he had done it so many times in his childhood that he was very skilled.
The great happiness and excitement gradually calmed down as the round cattail leaf fan swayed. He began to silently think about what had happened to him, and his eyes subconsciously fell on the big black umbrella beside Sangsang's little face.
…
…
(This is the most wonderful plot that I have ever written. Writing a story is really hard, but I can earn a lot of money, which makes me very happy. But nothing can replace the great happiness I felt when I wrote this plot. This is probably the true meaning of this plot. Put your palms together and feel sour again. But it can't be helped. Ning Que's nose is sour, and so am I.) (To be continued. If you like this work, please come to Qidian.Com to vote for me. Your support is my biggest motivation.)
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