Striving for Science C25 pt2

Shen Chang'an played on his phone for a while in his room. The room's soundproofing was excellent, and he couldn't hear anything from downstairs. Worried that something might have happened to Dao Nian, he still opened the door and peeked out into the hallway.

Hmm?

That man who had been so aggressive, why was he kneeling before Dao Nian in a prostrate position?

He wanted to silently retract his head, pretending not to have seen this awkward scene. But the kneeling man suddenly looked up, their eyes met, and they remained silent, staring at each other.

Dao Nian turned his head as well, looking at the man standing by the railing of the corridor.

"That... you guys continue." Shen Chang'an took two steps back, chuckling dryly, "I won't disturb you."

"Come down." Dao Nian beckoned with his finger, "There's milk, come have some."

"Okay." Shen Chang'an ran downstairs, saw a bowl of double-skin milk on the table, picked up a spoon and was about to eat, then saw the man kneeling on the ground looking at him, his hand stopped: "Do you want some too?"

Dao Nian frowned slightly.

The man quickly retracted his gaze.

"Get out." Dao Nian no longer looked at the man. The man got up from the ground, bowed deeply to him, and left in a hurry.

"Dao Nian, this person... did he also owe you money?"

"Mm." Dao Nian threw the empty plate to Liu Mao, controlled his wheelchair to come beside Shen Chang'an, "He owes a lot."

"Isn't the property management of the community a bit irresponsible? How can they let such a person barge in, what if he brought a weapon?" Shen Chang'an sighed, "Crying, making a scene, kneeling, and hanging themselves, these are the standard tactics of deadbeats who refuse to pay their debts."

"It's fine." Dao Nian's black eyes reflected Chang'an's figure, "Debts should be repaid, it's only natural."

Not long after lunch, Shen Chang'an saw Liu Mao bring in an old man with gray hair. The old man didn't speak, but first, he knelt down in front of Dao Nian with a thud.

Shen Chang'an jumped in fright, pushing Dao Nian aside. Was this person here to scare him, or to cause trouble? What if he fainted or something happened? Who would be responsible?

"Kong Ying committed a grave error, I'm here to plead guilty." The old man saw that Dao Nian didn't accept his bow, his face grew even more panicked. He changed to a reverse kneeling position, Shen Chang'an had no choice but to push Dao Nian away again.

After doing this back and forth four or five times, Shen Chang'an was afraid that the old man would kneel himself into a health problem, so he simply let him be.

The old man was relatively calm. He glanced at Shen Chang'an standing beside Dao Nian and apologized, "Kong Ying is impulsive and young and doesn't know any better. We have already punished him severely at home. Please forgive him."

The old man also used the five-body prostration kneeling posture. He was quite old, but his bones were still quite strong. Shen Chang'an guessed that the "Kong Ying" the old man mentioned was the man who came to make a scene in the morning. It seemed that this family owed Dao Nian a lot of money, otherwise why would they all kneel rather than pay?

Shen Chang'an was a compassionate person, but he hated it when people took advantage of pity and threw tantrums without any bottom line. So seeing this scene, he was a little impatient and simply went upstairs to find some peace and quiet.

The Civil Service Department had a chat group. Shen Chang'an returned to his room and opened the group. He saw that Gao Shujuan had sent a message in the group, so he asked her about her situation.

Chang'an: Aunt Juan, how are you doing?

Gao Shujuan: Not good, the situation is very bad. If nothing unexpected happens, I'll be able to come back in a few days.

Could it be that her sister's family's matter couldn't be resolved? Shen Chang'an didn't feel comfortable asking too much, so he just said a few words of comfort.

Ding Yang: Chang'an, weren't you home today? I came to look for you at noon, your phone was unreachable, and no one answered when I knocked.

Chang'an: I was at a friend's place today. What's up?

Ding Yang: Nothing major. Director Du asked me to tell you that we'll be back to work officially on Monday. Halloween is in a few days, and all departments are worried that some young people will dress too shockingly and scare some people with weak hearts, and they're also worried that some criminals will deliberately take advantage of the situation to cause trouble. So they've asked all departments to increase patrols. The police force in our area is insufficient, so we've all been seconded to help.

Looking at this comfortable room, Shen Chang'an sincerely sighed, "It's easy to go from frugality to luxury." He had only stayed here for one night, and he already felt a little reluctant to leave.

Chang'an: Okay.

***

In a valley in the north, the miasma grew thicker and thicker, eventually gradually condensing into a humanoid shape. The cultivators standing on the mountain peaks looked at this scene in despair, but they didn't know what to do.

"Dharma Master Yan Yin, what should we do now?"

Yan Yin spat out a mouthful of blood, his face turning pale. "There's nothing else we can do. We can only leave it to fate."

"I've already notified the security department and asked them to prepare for epidemic prevention work in advance." Daoist Master Gao's hat had fallen off, revealing her chestnut-colored curly hair. However, her curly hair hadn't been taken care of for several days, and it looked a little lackluster.

As they were talking, the mountain peak suddenly began to shake violently, and thick smoke billowed from the valley, as if something was about to be born.

"Demon!" A master screamed, "A demon has been born!"

They saw the miasma, gradually taking shape in the thick fog, slowly extending its limbs and head, laughing wildly as it vanished into the wind, leaving them no time to react.

"It's bad, quickly calculate where he's going, and have the local government prepare."

"The divination is chaotic, I can't calculate it, something seems to be blocking the celestial secrets!"

"It should be in a southerly direction." A Daoist Master of profound cultivation had just finished speaking when the tortoise shell used for divination shattered into four pieces, and even he coughed up several mouthfuls of blood, his face turning yellow as he collapsed to the ground.

"Master Zhang!" Everyone was shocked, even the heir of the Zhang lineage couldn't do anything?

Southerly direction?

Does that mean southeast, southwest, or directly south?

Such a large area, how can they prepare?

"Send a message to the Association, have all the disciples strengthen their vigilance, and immediately report if they discover any traces of the demonic creature." Yan Yin supported Master Zhang, his expression grave.

In fact, they all knew that this kind of demonic creature was born from the miasma of heaven and earth. If ordinary disciples encountered it, being drained of their spiritual energy would be the best outcome, they might not even be able to keep their souls.

This kind of demonic creature was recorded in ancient texts as "disease ghost" or "plague god". If such a thing had been born a hundred years ago, countless people would have died.

Fortunately... now that medicine was advanced, even the plague demon, under the siege of various vaccines, would be greatly weakened. The only fear was that he might find that the plague he brought is ineffective, and then start devouring people's souls, that would be troublesome.

***

Just as they were halfway through their meal, Shen Chang'an noticed Dao Nian frowning and asked, "What's wrong?"

"A small insect flew out, I don't like it."

"If you don't like it, just swat it." Shen Chang'an glanced out the window, "There are many flowers, plants, and trees in the community, so there will be more mosquitoes and bugs."

"Mm." Dao Nian nodded, "Now people have many ways to kill insects, it's fine."

"Oh." It was rare for Dao Nian to say a few more words, and they were all about insects. It seemed he really disliked insects.

He should find time to ask Aunt Juan about what kind of insecticide is effective and harmless to humans, and buy a few bottles.

Wait, he's just a guest staying here, why is he thinking about how to kill insects and pests in someone else's house?

Isn't this against the rules of being a guest?