Striving for Science C47

"Come." Sensing Shen Chang'an's discomfort, Dao Nian beckoned him over, gesturing for him to sit beside him.

"Mr. Shen."

Shen Chang'an saw that all the people who had been sitting stood up as he walked towards Dao Nian. They only sat back down after he sat beside Dao Nian.

This much formality? It doesn't feel like good news.

Seeing their behavior, Shen Chang'an's expression turned wary. Elder Kong said, "Mr. Shen, our younger generation has been disrespectful and rude to you. We are deeply ashamed of our failure to properly educate them. Please forgive us, Mr. Shen."

Seeing their solemn expressions, Shen Chang'an chuckled dryly, "I wonder who you're referring to as your younger generation..."

After hearing them speak, Shen Chang'an realized that the "younger generation" they were referring to were the young men and women who had sneered at him downstairs in the office building. Didn't Brother Liu say they were descendants of the Kong family?

"You don't need to worry about it. After the incident, Mr. and Ms. Kong have deeply realized their mistakes and even sponsored a lot of publicity funds for our department." It had been so long since the incident that Shen Chang'an didn't take it to heart.

Thinking about it, Shen Chang'an couldn't help but look at Elder Kong a few more times, his eyes unconsciously filled with pity. Of all these people, he had the strongest impression of this old man. This old man was truly pitiful. A descendant of his caused trouble for Dao Nian, and now he had to come apologize at his old age. He didn't expect that the two Kong sisters were also his children.

To raise three such troublesome descendants in one breath, it was pitiful that he was so old and still had to clean up after them.

"Although children have their own blessings, you have to keep a close eye on them when they are young. If you wait until they grow up and go astray before you try to discipline them, it will be too late." 

Shen Chang'an said earnestly, "You can't spoil children. You have to be strict when you need to be strict, and you have to reason with them when you need to reason with them. You can't let them do whatever they want. There are always people better than you, and there are always things beyond your reach. Even if you have power and influence, you might still encounter people you can't afford to offend. By then, even if you, the elders, lose face and beg for mercy, it will be too late."

"Can't spoil them," "strict," "can't afford to offend," with each word Shen Chang'an uttered, the bird clan elders couldn't help but shiver a little. They even began to suspect that Shen Chang'an already knew their identities as yao cultivators and was preparing to mistreat the only phoenix bloodline of their bird clan.

Seeing these guests occasionally turn their heads to look at the bird cage, Shen Chang'an thought they were interested in the parrot: "Sorry, that parrot is a little timid. Please don't stare at it all the time."

Poor little parrot. It's usually so lively, but today it's so scared of these strangers that it doesn't even dare to make a sound. These people keep staring at it. They're going to scare the bird to death!

Fei Ying, who was hiding her head and pretending to be dead, wished she could just fall to the ground. As a parrot yao with not much cultivation, she had just mocked the entire bird clan's future hope, saying it was small and ugly. How could she dare to speak in front of so many elders?

The elders' expressions were a little strange. They weren't looking at the parrot, but at the little phoenix beside it. However, they didn't dare to tell Shen Chang'an this.

"Mr. Shen's liking for the parrot we sent is a blessing for this parrot." The peacock elder was unwilling to miss any opportunity to win Shen Chang'an's favor.

"This parrot was sent by your family?" Shen Chang'an really didn't expect that these people who owed debts would even resort to sending pets to curry favor with Dao Nian, their creditor.

"That's right." Elder Kong quickly agreed.

Facing the old man's hopeful gaze, Shen Chang'an said dryly, "This parrot is... pretty good."

"Thank you for your praise, Mr. Shen."

Shen Chang'an: "..."

This kind of politeness and courtesy was truly unsettling.

Dao Nian said calmly, "If you have nothing else, you can leave."

The elders didn't want to leave the little phoenix so soon, but since Dao Nian had spoken, they dared not disobey. They could only say hesitantly, "Sir, that bird..."

In front of Shen Chang'an, they didn't dare to address Dao Nian as "Lord," and they didn't dare let him know that there was a phoenix in this house.

"It won't die." Dao Nian's voice was even colder. "If you're not at ease, take it back yourselves."

"What kind of bird?" Shen Chang'an watched the expressions of these people, full of conflict, as if they were forced to leave some rare treasure with Dao Nian, but no one else could protect this treasure except Dao Nian.

"The little bird that hatched last night." Dao Nian's indifferent gaze swept over the elders of the bird tribe. "Their family loves to raise birds, and they were so fond of the little bird after seeing it that they wanted to ask me for it, but they were afraid they wouldn't be able to raise it well."

"So that's how it is." Shen Chang'an didn't think much of it. "This bird doesn't even have feathers yet. When it gets bigger, I'll let you come and see it."

"Thank you, Mr. Shen." The elders of the bird tribe were full of gratitude. If they weren't afraid of scaring Shen Chang'an, they would have knelt down on the spot to show their gratitude. "Please... please take good care of the little bird, Mr. Shen. We are willing to cover all its expenses."

A bird that has nothing to do with them, they can like it so much, it seems they are really a group of bird lovers.

"No, no, we have…"

"It's our duty, it's our duty." The elders of the bird tribe said in unison. "Please take extra care, Mr. Shen."

Shen Chang'an: "..."

What does the bird he and Dao Nian raised have to do with them? And "it's our duty"?

Glancing at the parrot that was handed over by them but didn't receive much attention, could this be the legendary "what you don't have is always the most exciting"?

After these people left, looking back every three steps, Shen Chang'an walked to the parrot, reached out and touched its forehead: "It's okay, your master loves you."

Fei Ying: "..."

No, no, no, please just love the one next to her more, she won't be jealous at all, really.

"Chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp…"

The little phoenix next to it felt the familiar presence approaching and spread its tender wings again.

"This little thing's call, how come it sounds a bit like a chick?" At first, wasn't it chirping?

Shen Chang'an carefully touched the little bird's wings, looking it over from head to toe. He didn't know if it was his imagination, but the fine down on this bird seemed to have grown a little?

"A fallen phoenix is not as good as a chicken." Liu Mao came over with a very small bowl, using a small spoon the size of an ear scoop to feed the little bird a bright red fruit puree. The little bird's mouth was wide open, and it ate happily, one spoonful at a time.

"What is this?" Shen Chang'an smelled the fruit puree and thought it was quite fragrant.

"This?" Liu Mao put the bowl and spoon into Shen Chang'an's hand. "They sent it over last night. It tastes pretty good. I brought it for you to try."

Shen Chang'an: "..."

He didn't mean to compete with the little bird for food. Looking down at the little bird with its tender yellow beak, Shen Chang'an learned from Liu Mao and fed it.

The little thing ate so much that its wings were flapping.

Shen Chang'an whispered, "You haven't even grown feathers yet, don't even think about flying."

After a while, Liu Mao brought over a plate of red, round fruits that looked like pearls: "Mr. Shen, try this."

"What is this?" Shen Chang'an took the fruit plate and picked up a fruit, taking two bites. No wonder the little bird chicks liked to eat it, this fruit was so delicious.

He picked up one and put it in the parrot's food trough: "Brother Liu said you ate too much today, so you can only have one of these today."

Fei Ying stared at this Lang fruit, brimming with spiritual energy, hesitant to take a bite. This kind of fruit was extremely rare, requiring a place untouched by defilement and tended by three-headed people to successfully bear fruit.

In the bird tribe's academy, she had seen countless photos of this fruit, but she had never eaten it, nor even smelled it.

Now, suddenly receiving a whole one, how could she dare to actually eat it? She timidly glanced at Liu Mao, deciding that if Mr. Liu's eyes showed even the slightest hint of something amiss, she would push the fruit away.

As it turned out, she was overthinking. Liu Mao didn't even look at her. With a surge of determination, she buried her head and started to eat voraciously. Even if she were to die, she would die a bird who had eaten her fill of Lang fruit.

"Come, open your mouth." Shen Chang'an walked over to Dao Nian and fed him a fruit, leaning back lazily on the sofa. "When you're at work, you complain about being tired, but when you're not working, you have no…"

His phone rang. Shen Chang'an picked it up and saw that the caller was Du Zhonghai.

"Director Du." Shen Chang'an placed the plate on his lap. Seeing Dao Nian finish a piece of fruit, he fed him another one. "I haven't gone out to play, I'm still in the city.

Where?" Shen Chang'an frowned, placing the fruit plate in front of Dao Nian. "Okay, I'll go right away."

Hanging up the phone, he stood up and said, "Dao Nian, there's another sudden incident that needs me to go handle it immediately. If I come back too late for lunch, don't wait for me to eat together."

"What happened?" Dao Nian saw him rushing upstairs to change into his going-out clothes. As he was going downstairs to leave, he asked another question, "I'll have Shen Tu drive you."

"It's okay, I can just drive myself over." Shen Chang'an raised the car keys in his hand. "Don't worry, it's nothing serious."

Looking at the empty doorway, Dao Nian pushed the Lang fruit in front of him away without expression and closed his eyes, leaning back against the chair.

As countless times before, whenever Mr. Shen left, the house would become deathly silent. Even the little phoenix, which had been chirping and eating, retracted its flapping little fleshy wings and stopped making a sound.

Liu Mao finished feeding the little phoenix and dripped two drops of jade dew into its mouth. He wrapped it up with a small towel, turned around, and pushed Dao Nian upstairs. Liu Mao said, "Sir, Mr. Shen... is he... the embodiment of that vital energy?"

The master has never been close to any human before. Since meeting Mr. Shen, he has always been special to him. He thought it was because the master liked humans with deep merit and pure hearts. He never thought that the life force that was nowhere to be found was right before their eyes.

Seeing that Dao Nian didn't speak, Liu Mao asked again, "Did you already know that he is the life force that was deliberately separated before the Great Dao dissipated?"

That's why Mr. Shen can remember Mr. Dao Nian's name, not only possessing merit that ordinary people cannot have, but also being impervious to gods and ghosts.

Dao Nian closed his eyes and didn't pay any attention to Liu Mao, as if he was talking about an insignificant matter, not something that could cause the heavens to change and the fate of countless living beings to shift.

"Mr. Shen..." Liu Mao saw that Dao Nian was unwilling to speak, so he could only retreat helplessly.

***

"You went to persuade the master again?" Old Zhao saw Liu Mao come down, shook the apron in his hand, and slowly tied it around himself. "You've been the master's mount for nearly ten thousand years, how can you still not let go of that stubborn bull's heart?"

"You, the esteemed Stove God, now don't even have a temple, and you're living under the master's roof. You're quite relaxed about it." Liu Mao thought about Shen Chang'an's true identity, and his heart felt a mix of emotions. 

"If the fifty laws return to their rightful place, and Heaven reigns supreme over all living beings, perhaps your divine race can regain their former glory."

"Whether it's a god or a yao, isn't it all the same?" Old Zhao chuckled, patting the apron he had just tied. "How do you know that when the fifty laws return, things will be better than they are now? Maybe what the Great Dao wants is for everything to be destroyed, to get a new world."

"The Great Dao is emotionless. The birth and death of all things in heaven and earth, it wouldn't even bat an eye." Old Zhao said, "Back then, when the Great Dao dissipated, heaven and earth were about to collapse, all living beings were in despair. The Lord was born from the prayers of all living beings in heaven and earth. He controls the forty-nine laws left behind by the Great Dao, yet he is not the emotionless Great Dao.

He is not emotionless laws, but the embodiment of the desire of all living beings to survive and the laws themselves." Old Zhao sighed deeply. "Old Liu, all we can do is honestly stay with the Lord, not try to change his mind."

"Besides..." Old Zhao raised an eyebrow, "You can't change anything either. You're not Mr. Shen, and the Lord wouldn't even bother listening to what you have to say."

Liu Mao: "..."

I don't know which is more depressing, but both are really disheartening...