Apocalyptic Era: Starting from picking up a Bishoujo -
Chapter 282 - 264 Night Talk Dong Che 1
Chapter 282: 264 Night Talk Dong Che 1
When I woke up, it was around two in the morning, and I reckoned it was still dark outside. I awoke in my bed, faintly remembering that I had been practicing the usage techniques of the Fake Water Moon before entering a dream. It was probably Mazao who saw me passed out and carried me to bed.
At this moment, Mazao was sprawled on another bed in the room, in a disorderly sleeping position. I checked the history recorded by the thermal energy marker left inside her and found that she was planning to stay up all night, but as the night deepened, she yawned incessantly and eventually, unable to resist the sleepiness, accidentally drifted off.
The fact that she got so sleepy after just staying up for a bit was probably because of a spirit injury. She always acted like everything was normal in front of me, but the deep wounds left by the Great Demon in her soul must have already affected all aspects of her daily life. She’s always been trying to tough it out.
I went over and adjusted her arms and legs into the proper positions and carefully placed her head on the pillow. It seemed like she was going to wake up during the process but continued to sleep instead. I hoped she could rest a bit longer in the world of dreams and moved her with the gentlest force, finally covering her with the blanket.
After finishing this, I returned to the desk that came with the room, sat down, and took out my phone to look up the location named "Moon Concealing Mountain."
The Master of the Divine Seal hadn’t tricked me; this was indeed a place I could easily find. According to the search results, Moon Concealing Mountain is a peak about three to four hundred kilometers away from Fufeng Base, with an ancient town at the foot of the mountain.
Although called an ancient town, it wasn’t particularly ancient; it was a town built about a hundred years ago, called "Moon Concealing Mountain Town," which relies on tourism as its economic pillar, yet it’s neither cold nor warm with visitor numbers. Part of Moon Concealing Mountain is also included in the tourist area, with most areas closed to the public. Based on my experience investigating paranormal events across the country, these phenomena are quite normal.
Deep in the mountains and forests has always been an accident-prone area, with enthusiasts who go missing in the mountains every year because of half-hearted attempts. Some can be found dead, but more often not even their bodies are found, and they become topics of gossip.
Even in modern society, the deep mountains hold a mysterious aura in people’s hearts, perhaps this is a collective unconscious inherited in our genes. Therefore, victims who disappear in the mountains are occasionally exploited by unrelated gossipers as material for fake supernatural tales.
I’ll say goodbye to Fu Feng once it gets light and then it’s also about time to bid farewell to Dong Che. Although I’m still not completely sure what arrangement caused Mazao’s disaster-attracting constitution to coincidentally attract Dong Che to Fufeng Base, considering that I will soon head to Moon Concealing Mountain to find Yinyue, who has abducted Changan’s soul, perhaps Dong Che’s appearance was merely to bring a senior researcher in front of Mazao and me to provide us with clues about Yinyue.
Of course, just because I have such a thought, I don’t completely let go of my suspicions. The thermal energy marker left in Dong Che is still active, and I slightly sensed that direction, then noticed something strange about Dong Che’s movements.
He wasn’t resting in his own room but was moving along the corridor. Upon closer observation, it seemed like he wasn’t progressing towards a specific direction, but rather walking as if he were taking a stroll.
Was he clearing his mind? At two in the morning, walking in the corridor to clear his mind? I was initially puzzled, but then I understood. Being a fourteen-year old boy effectively under house arrest in the base and not allowed to go out, and possibly with his life being covertly targeted by Fu Feng, who had lived for hundreds of years and was of Great Success Rank, his state of mind was bound to be very heavy and complex. If he could have cleared his mind outside the base it would be one thing, but now, he could only do so in the corridor.
My covert observation was once again perceived by him. Suddenly he looked up, his gloomy and heavy expression transforming into a bright and cheerful smile, and he greeted me, "Senior Zhuang Cheng, aren’t you sleeping either?"
He wasn’t too far from our room. Thinking that we would soon say goodbye, I didn’t pretend not to hear his greeting this time. I released an extra load of "fireflies" in the room, then went out the door to join Dong Che.
The corridor was empty, with all the lights still environmentally unfriendly lit, and there were public facilities like benches for resting and vending machines. I bought two cans of cola from the vending machine and tossed one to him. He caught it with delighted surprise, thanking me quickly. We sat down on a bench to chat, and I took the opportunity to ask him why he was not sleeping at this late hour.
His expression was once again clouded, and he evasively replied, "My cultivation practice hit an obstacle."
I didn’t call him out, but his excuse made me curious about another matter. I asked, "Aren’t you at achieved level now? I heard this level signifies the pinnacle for a demon hunter. At this stage, is there still room for further improvement through cultivation practice?"
I knew that above the achieved level was the Great Success Rank. From this perspective, Dong Che certainly still had areas for refinement. But if that’s the case, why then is the achieved level called the limit for a demon hunter?
After all, what determines the achieved levels and the Rank of Great Success?
When I asked Mazao whether she was at the Rank of Great Success in her prime, she replied that she "didn’t know" herself, and then immediately added that she should be able to battle with enemies at the level of Divine Spear and Chen Long during her prime. Possessing the power of Great Success Rank yet claiming not to know whether she personified that rank seems to suggest that there are elements beyond "power" that distinguish between achieved levels and the Rank of Great Success.
If this is the case between achieved levels and the Rank of Great Success, then could there also be unknown factors that I have never considered before when it comes to distinguishing the Rank of Great Success and Impermanence?
"...I’m sorry, I was imprecise in my explanation just now."
Dong Che seemed not to have expected my probing questions; he pondered for a moment, then explained: "At my current level, normal cultivation practices can no longer help me progress further, so my current cultivation practices are merely to maintain my existing power and prevent any regression. After all, cultivation and learning alike require constant effort, to not advance is to fall back. This kind of stationary spinning doesn’t involve whether there is an obstruction or not.
"What is now stalling me is the path to the Rank of Great Success, which is the step of the carp leaping through the dragon’s gate."
"Leaping through the dragon’s gate... what exactly does that mean? You may know, I became a demon hunter midway and am ignorant of many common knowledge. Although you address me as a senior, on this path, you are my senior. I would like to ask you for guidance and for you to clear my confusion," I said.
Upon hearing this, he seemed pleased, exhibiting a most willing attitude, and then said: "Senior Zhuang Cheng, are you aware of the concept of ’Knowledge Barrier’?"
The so-called "Knowledge Barrier," as I understand it, is the phenomenon where knowing about something prevents one from being able to think about it without that prior knowledge. For example, it’s impossible for someone to imagine how the ancients in an era of ignorance perceived the natural world, which to them was filled with infinite unknowns.
In my own experience, before encountering the abnormal world, I had limitless imagination about it; now that I have been in touch with Luo Mountain and the Human Bureau, and through a series of adventures, I have come to understand concepts such as demon hunter and Impermanence. Thus, whenever I think of the abnormal world now, my mind is dominated by these concepts.
The infinite possibilities of the abnormal world in my consciousness have been contracted to a single type, and I can no longer return to envisioning that "otherworldly realm" filled with boundless mystery that I once perceived in my mind.
This is the price I must pay for encountering the true abnormal world; on a broader scale, perhaps it could also be considered the price of growth.
Everyone has boundless curiosity about the world in which they live during their infancy, and gradually, most people stop paying attention to the unknown of the world. Because most things in life have formed set experiences in people’s minds, and it becomes impossible for them to regain that innocent and naive spirit.
Hearing my answer, Dong Che nodded in agreement.
"Many spiritual teachings, including Daoist cultivation theories, believe that from the moment a person is born and breathes their first breath of air in this world, their spirituality begins to be polluted. As the body evolves from an infant to an adult, the spirit is in continual degradation," he said. "This is because humans have an instinct to learn, from birth we naturally perceive information from around us and understand it.
"Gradually, we form experiences, knowledge, and also ’Knowledge Barriers’. Precisely because thinking becomes orderly and systematic, invisibly there are also inertia and trajectories formed.
"The more one knows about the external world, the narrower the inner world becomes."
I couldn’t immediately agree with his statement and even found it somewhat anti-intellectual. Thousands of years ago, ancients thought the sky was round and the earth was square; some even believed the world was propped up on a turtle’s back or encircled by a huge serpent.
While people today have realized the vastness of the universe, aware that even the seemingly boundless Milky Way is but a drop in the ocean within the cosmos, this worldview has been broadened based on the accumulation of countless pieces of knowledge and technological advancements — how could it be considered narrow?
However, I didn’t immediately speak up to contradict him. People from different cultures cannot understand each other. This is true for me, who grew up in a secular society, and for him, who was raised in the world of demon hunters; we, too, have this ’Knowledge Barrier’. Perhaps my thoughts are not sufficient to overturn his beliefs in his heart, or perhaps I have misinterpreted the true message he is trying to convey from my own perspective. Since I am the one asking for guidance, it is my responsibility to listen until he has finished speaking.
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