Striving for Science C95 pt2

Shen Chang'an's good mood lasted until Uncle Zhang called him.

"Uncle Zhang?" Shen Chang'an closed the page on "Tips for Pursuing a Lover." "How have you been lately?"

"Still alive." Uncle Zhang coughed a few times. "I went to the Imperial Capital a few days ago and got some good stuff. Come over and get your share."

"How could I be so bold?" Shen Chang'an thought about Dao Nian being a yao and that Uncle Zhang might have things that could help *yao* cultivation. He changed his mind and said, "I'll come over at noon."

"Good." Uncle Zhang glanced at the one human and one ghost playing games in the corner, his cheeks puffed up with worry. His disciples and grandchildren were all so useless, all they did was play games, and their Daoist exam scores were worse than each other.

A ghost with a special destiny, one who could even cause turmoil in the human world, was not only a shut-in, but also spent his days dragging people into online games. That was fine, but to buy a new skin, he actually went online to be a companion, using a high-pitched voice to act like a woman.

Him a poor old man, in his seventies and eighties, he faces these troublesome things all day long. It's simply a test of fate for him.

After comparing Zhang Gu with the otaku ghost, Uncle Zhang finally understood how good and how worry-free Shen Chang'an was. Every time he thought about this, he wanted to sigh and say, "If only I had met Shen Chang'an a few years earlier, I would have definitely taken him as my closed-door disciple."

"Ah! Zhang Gu, quickly lick the medicine packet!"

"Damn, the other side must be cheating!"

Uncle Zhang was annoyed by the noise. No wonder old people didn't like living with younger generations these days. This kind of life, when would it ever end?

He hadn't taken on any disciples in recent years. The sect had arranged for Zhang Gu to come here to be his assistant. But what use was such an assistant?

The doorbell rang, and Uncle Zhang turned to the ghost and the man, "Guests are here, you should tidy up."

Zhang Gu and the otaku ghost quickly got up and cleaned the living room. Worried that the dust in the cracks of the sofa wouldn't be cleaned properly, he even used a talisman to make a little person to clean the crevices.

But when he opened the door, Uncle Zhang didn't see Shen Chang'an, but several seniors from the cultivation world.

These seniors didn't know what they had encountered, they were covered in sweat, their faces pale, as if they had experienced something terrifying.

"Yun Feng, Yan Yin?" Uncle Zhang reached out to support the two of them, while the otaku ghost and Zhang Gu reached out to support the other cultivators.

"What's going on?"

"The celestial phenomena are in chaos." Yun Feng clutched his chest and coughed up a large mouthful of blood. He slumped back against the sofa, "Daoist Zhang, I can't calculate anymore."

Uncle Zhang looked at Yun Feng in shock, "How could this be?"

"Yesterday, I observed the celestial phenomena and found that the constellations were in disarray, and Heavenly Dao was unclear. I rushed to Daoist Yun Feng's residence and found him collapsed in the courtyard." Yan Yin's face was pale. 

"I'm not good at divination, and I barely managed to calculate a little bit before I was backlashed and almost lost half my life."

"In the end, it was these Daoist friends who managed to calculate the location of the lifeline in Wuming City, and we rushed over by private jet." As a monk, Yan Yin practiced compassion, but he couldn't bear to watch others fall into despair. "Daoist Zhang, Heavenly Dao is in chaos. What awaits us?"

According to the records, whenever there are slight changes in Heavenly Dao, wars and disasters will follow. Now that Heavenly Dao is in such chaos, what will they, humanity, face?

"Uncle Zhang."

"Uncle Zhang, is your doorbell broken? Why can't I press it?"

In the heavy atmosphere, Shen Chang'an's voice was like a key that broke through fear and despair. The masters, struggling to pull themselves out of their despair and helplessness, all turned to the door.

Only Yan Yin clasped his hands together and chanted a Buddhist prayer.

The otaku ghost was extremely cautious in front of the masters. He slipped to the door and opened it for Shen Chang'an, "Big boss Chang'an."

Shen Chang'an shoved the takeout he was holding into the otaku ghost's hands. He had just taken a few steps into the house when he saw several people sitting in the living room. He stopped in his tracks and said to Uncle Zhang, "Uncle Zhang, I didn't know you had guests. I'll come down later."

"This must be Mr. Shen." Yun Feng, who had just coughed up a mouthful of blood, brightened up at the sight of Shen Chang'an. "Please, have a seat, have a seat."

The other masters all had expressions similar to Yunfeng's. Shen Chang'an suspected he wasn't human, but a spirit made of gold ingots. Otherwise, why were their eyes so bright when they looked at him?

"You guys, stop jumping around like that after getting hurt!" Uncle Zhang shoved a tin of good tea he'd brought from his sect into Shen Chang'an's hands. "There's no use panicking when things happen. Heaven has a benevolent heart, and it will always leave us a sliver of hope."

"What happened?" Shen Chang'an noticed that the faces of these old men were all bad, as if they had been seriously ill. The otaku ghost, who usually got excited when he saw him bring food back, was also solemn, making him feel uneasy.

"Has the Great Demon appeared?"

Uncle Zhang: "..."

"Has a Demon Child been born?"

Yan Yin: "..."

"It can't be the end of the world, can it?" Shen Chang'an chuckled dryly, but he noticed that everyone else's faces, except his own, seemed... more solemn.

"Really, the end of the world?" Shen Chang'an couldn't help but hug the tea leaves in his arms. "What about the pandas if it's the end of the world?"

"Boss, it's almost the end of the world, who cares about pandas?" The otaku ghost turned his grief into appetite, desperately eating the snacks Shen Chang'an brought back. "I just want to be a good ghost, earn some pocket money online, what's wrong with Heaven that it has to bring about the end of the world?"

"What will the end of the world be like?" Shen Chang'an swallowed hard. "Like in the movies?"

"How did dinosaurs go extinct? That's probably how we humans will disappear too." Uncle Zhang finished brewing the tea, his tone surprisingly carefree. 

"It's not the whole world that's facing the end, but us humans and some other creatures. We are all mortals, we can't save all living beings, but we can strive for a clear conscience. If the end truly comes, we can only hope to leave behind fewer regrets."

"The weather has been getting weirder and weirder lately, and I just felt something was wrong." Zhang Gu sat beside Uncle Zhang, his eyes wide. "Last night, it was windy one moment, then thundering the next. It's the middle of winter, where are all these torrential downpours and thunder coming from?" Zhang Gu felt a little regretful. He hadn't followed his master to learn properly when he was young, and now that something big was happening, he couldn't help at all.

"Maybe there's still a chance." Shen Chang'an felt more afraid of death than before. He still wanted to have a passionate, earth-shattering human-yao love with Dao Nian, a love that no one could stop.

"Yes, maybe there is." Yun Feng smiled with a pale face. Looking at the golden light of merit on Shen Chang'an's body, he suddenly thought of something and stared at Shen Chang'an with burning eyes.

Lifeline, lifeline...

They had been desperately searching for that invisible, intangible lifeline, but they had forgotten that Shen Chang'an had unknowingly resolved many events that would have led to great disasters.

The plague ghosts, and those few resentful ghosts who would have become evil spirits, all changed their course because of Shen Chang'an's appearance. Perhaps the key to survival is not a magical artifact that can save the world, but people.

If Shen Chang'an was truly the lifeline to survival...

Yun Feng's cheeks flushed an unhealthy red, and he said in a trembling voice, "Mr. Shen, if the end of the world is really about to come, what would you do?"

"I..." Facing Yun Feng's expectant eyes, Shen Chang'an was very honest, "I would confess to the person I like, and die together, even if it means death."

If time came to an end, that's all he wanted.

The blush on Yun Feng's cheeks faded.

No, he was wrong. Someone who could save the world, when faced with a great disaster, would definitely not be thinking about something like love.

"Can I ask a question?" Seeing the solemn expressions of these old men, Shen Chang'an couldn't help but ask, "Does Heavenly Dao being in disorder mean the end of the world?"

"You don't understand the mysteries of Heavenly Dao." Uncle Zhang pushed a cup of brewed tea into Shen Chang'an's hand. "Do you know about the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, when the world was in chaos?"

Shen Chang'an nodded.

"With such a large-scale war, the celestial phenomena are only abnormal." Uncle Zhang smiled bitterly, "Today's celestial phenomena are so chaotic, you don't need to think to know what awaits us."

"Maybe, maybe it's just that the old man in the sky is in a bad mood, or maybe he's in a good mood?" Shen Chang'an saw that the atmosphere in the room was too heavy, "Maybe it will be fine in a few days."

"If that's the case, it would be good." Uncle Zhang couldn't bear to tell the young man about the cruel future, he sighed, "What the future holds, none of us can predict, if you have anything you want to do, do it early, in case the end of the world really comes…"

"I understand." Shen Chang'an nodded solemnly, turned and walked out the door.

"Where are you going?" Uncle Zhang saw him turn around and wanted to leave, fearing that he would do something illegal, he quickly said, "You can't do anything illegal."

"I'm going to confess to my sweetheart!"

"Sweetheart?"

Zhang Gu stared blankly at the empty doorway, when did Shen Chang'an have a sweetheart?

"I know, I know." The otaku ghost searched for a video online, "See, Shen Chang'an saved a beauty at the entrance of the shopping mall."

"That's not right." A Daoist who hadn't spoken much said, "I observe Donor Shen's face, it is a fate of no kinship, no wife and children, how could…"

"Oh dear." Zhang Gu and the otaku ghost sighed in unison, it seemed Shen Chang'an's confession was going to fail.

"No, no." Yun Feng shook his head, "Donor Shen's face, at first glance, is indeed like that, but his face is very peculiar, as if everything is just an appearance, unfortunately, my ability is not good enough to penetrate his face."

Everyone was silent. If even Yun Feng couldn't see or calculate it, they couldn't do it either.

***

Shen Chang'an parked his car in the garage and came out to see Shen Tu guarding outside the flower room: "Shen Tu, is Dao Nian in the flower room?"

"He's here, but..." Shen Tu hadn't finished speaking when he saw Shen Chang'an rushing into the flower room like a gust of wind. Shen Tu looked at his own feet in doubt, was that the running speed a human should have?

In the flower room, the elders of the Beast Yao race, the Water race, and the Bird race sat cross-legged on meditation cushions, their expressions solemn, none daring to speak rashly in front of the Heavenly Dao Lord.

"Lord, the unknown person who brought Mr. Shen to our clan's temple yesterday may be the murderer of Elder Pig." The fox elder's tone was somewhat complex, "Although we don't know what kind of agreement that person made with Elder Pig, our Beast Yao race absolutely dare not violate the Heavenly Dao rules."

In the past, several birds of the bird race who had gained intelligence but could not transform, because they violated the Heavenly Dao rules and ate the remains of a human with merit, no bird yao has been able to successfully transform to this day.

This incident became a classic negative example for the entire bird world. Anyone who dares to be unclear-headed should think about the punishment the bird race has suffered over the years.

"Our clan has been deeply remorseful for what happened back then. We investigated thoroughly afterwards." Hearing the words "violating the rules of Heavenly Dao," Elder Peacock spoke up very consciously, "I discovered that those hawks who had just awakened their spiritual intelligence were deliberately lured there by someone with ulterior motives."

Hawks that had awakened their spiritual intelligence were different from ordinary hawks. They could digest the souls of other living beings.

He suspected that the person who had lured the hawks into committing that grave error had ulterior motives and wanted to avoid a certain rule.

"Do you know who the hawks ate back then?" Elder Fox suddenly turned to Elder Peacock.

"Who was it?" Elder Peacock had a bad feeling about this.

"Mr. Shen Chang'an's father." Elder Fox observed Elder Peacock's expression. Seeing his face full of shock, self-blame, and shame, not seeming to be faking it, he withdrew his gaze.

Elder Peacock felt utterly ashamed. Not only did their bird clan owe Mr. Shen a huge debt of gratitude, but it turned out they also owed him a debt.

"Dao Nian." Shen Chang'an pushed open the door to the flower room and saw several people kneeling on the cushions. The courage he had mustered instantly vanished by half.

What day is it today? Why are you all entertaining guests?

"Greetings, Mr. Shen." These guests saw Shen Chang'an enter and all bowed respectfully to him.

"Greetings to you all." Shen Chang'an quickly bowed back. These yaos were really too polite.

"Come here." Dao Nian saw that Shen Chang'an had beads of sweat on his forehead, so he asked him to sit next to him, took out a handkerchief and threw it to him, "Wipe the sweat off."

Shen Chang'an took the handkerchief and wiped his face, his face getting redder as he wiped.

"Hot?" Dao Nian saw that his cheeks were flushed, and waved his hand to cool the room a bit. He poured him a cup of tea, "Have some water."

"Hmm." Shen Chang'an thought for a moment, feeling that when pursuing a lover, one must be diligent in praising them. So he said, "Dao Nian, your Mandarin is very standard."

"Why are you suddenly talking about this?" Dao Nian asked, puzzled.

"Most of you pandas are from Sichuan, but you don't have any Sichuan accent at all. That's amazing," Shen Chang'an said. "I have a college classmate who's also from Sichuan, he's really good at everything, but he just can't get rid of that standard Sichuan accent."

Dao Nian, Dao Nian had nothing to say and could only remain silent.

The kneeling yao cultivators were speechless. Although they all knew that the Lord had no relation to a panda.

With Shen Chang'an present, they no longer discussed the previous topic and began to talk about local customs and traditions, or the wonders of the seabed.

However, when Shen Chang'an heard Elder Peacock say that his original form was a peacock, his expression became somewhat subtle.

While Elder Peacock might not look very young, his face is quite handsome. And it's said that yaos can freely change their age.

He turned his head to look at Dao Nian, then at the peacock, his brow furrowing.

"I heard... that peacocks are the companion animals of pandas?"

"So Mr. Kong's original form is a green peacock?" Shen Chang'an mused, "I heard green peacocks are an endangered species."

Elder Peacock quickly said, "These days, it's not easy for any race to survive."

Shen Chang'an nodded. "You're right."

There are over six billion people in the world, but the number of green peacocks is less than four digits. His competitiveness might be a bit lacking. Rarity makes things valuable, and in this regard, humans are simply too weak.

The Peacock Elder, feeling particularly guilty in front of Shen Chang'an, suddenly noticed that Shen Chang'an was looking at him strangely.

Peacock Elder: ?