novellhall Chapter 6 Learning from the Virtuous
Chapter 6 Learning from the Virtuous
Inside the movie theater, the sounds and lights of an alien movie danced, guns roared and engines exploded, and a dazzling array of neon lights and commercial graphics dazzled the eye. The characters inside were all scantily clad, with alluring figures, shouting arrogant lines and shooting non-stop.
Lin Zhuo had long since become indifferent to these sensory-stimulating contents.
He remained seated upright in his chair, his eyes half-open, his breathing slow and deep, his mind not on the investigation at all, but simply focusing on reciting mantras.
The Flowing Water Classic is simple and unadorned. With a little practice, one can complete the circulation of Qi in about ten minutes, and one complete cycle is enough to trigger the assessment of one's progress.
Ding--
[Training behavior successfully assessed; [Flowing Meridian] basic cultivation progress +1%]
Health status coefficient × 1.4 (Excellent)
[Environmental enhancement factor × 0.8 (noise and visual disturbances ↓)]
[Final Calculation Result: [Flowing Stream Sutra] Practice Level +1.12%]
Unguided pure mental energy is transformed from the essence of life, which is most capable of nourishing the physical body and can have many benefits such as accelerating wound healing and enhancing digestion.
As Lin Zhuo circulated his internal energy repeatedly, he felt as if his limbs and bones were in a warm stove, warm and cozy inside. His muscles, bones and joints felt comfortable and light, and his heart, liver, spleen, lungs, intestines and stomach felt full. His peripheral nerves felt slightly tingly and itchy, like the tingling and numb feeling of plant roots growing in the soil.
After several cycles of this, Lin Zhuo suddenly felt a rumbling in his stomach, as the two jars of nutritional paste he had eaten for lunch were completely consumed.
Knowing he shouldn't rush things, he slowly stopped practicing, emerged from the meditative state, and when he opened his eyes again, they were clear and bright, as if he had just woken up from a long sleep and was full of energy.
He stood up and stretched his arms and legs, his joints cracking with a series of crisp sounds.
Lin Zhuo checked the training results and found that the cultivation level had only increased by 5.6%. The quality of the cultivation environment still has a great impact on daily training. This place is obviously not a suitable place for secluded cultivation.
Health condition: Excellent (Adequate nutrition↑, Strong and healthy↑↑, Proper care↑)
Although he has only been studying the "Flowing Water Classic" for a short time, it has already begun to provide health benefits, and he is confident that if he persists for a while longer, he will see results.
To leave a record of his work, Lin Zhuo sped up the process by watching the film again at three times the speed and wrote a short review report. Although it was written rather perfunctorily, there were no faults to be found.
In fact, these kinds of films all have similar problems: they promote outdated ideologies, provide excessive sensory stimulation, lack aesthetic appeal, have monotonous scripts and boring dialogue, and so on.
As long as you follow this template, it will be pretty much correct, and you don't even need to watch the original film. Although Lin Zhuo was trying to be perfunctory, he still went through the process and tried to make his report as substantial as possible.
As they left the audiovisual room, it was already close to evening. The customers in the theater gradually dispersed, and Lin Zhuo finished his work for the day. He then went out with his colleagues.
The library is open 24 hours a day, but there are no staff on duty at night, as is the case with most public service facilities.
The group said goodbye to each other at the street corner. Lin Zhuo was already starving and began to imagine what it would be like to eat, which made his mouth water.
"Brother Lin, let's go to the cafeteria together. My sister wants to talk to you, but she's too timid to speak up." Shu Wan said with a smile, pulling her reluctant younger sister along.
Lin Zhuo readily agreed. He nodded to Shu Xiaomei in greeting, but the young girl remained silent.
It's 5:15 PM now, not much time before the agreed-upon time to go home. Lin Zhuo is estimating the shortest route back, and after accounting for the travel time, the rest is his mealtime.
The three of them took the elevator together to the residential area on the middle floor of the G10 building.
Here, you're closer to the dome. Standing on the skybridge between the buildings, you can glimpse the countless lights peeking through the gaps between the buildings. These lights are like neatly arranged stars in the night sky, gazing unblinkingly at the 300 million people of Hongshui City.
Occasionally, when light bulbs malfunction due to aging, workers and robots will go up together to repair them. Lin Zhuo has more than once imagined these repairmen who shuttle between light bulbs as fish swimming in a sea of stars, and he thinks the profession is quite romantic and interesting.
Later, he wanted to become a space pioneer crew member, which may have been influenced by this.
The community canteen is always bustling with people. After all, compared to rushing home after work to cook and prepare meals, and then having to wash dishes and clean up afterwards, which leaves you exhausted, it's much easier and less stressful to eat at the canteen.
Depending on the chef's skill, each canteen has its own signature dishes. There is a widely circulated online magazine called "Hongshui City Food Guide", which is updated every year to help locals and tourists find their way around.
The closest restaurant to the Jianlan Library is the People's Trusted Canteen, where various stir-fried vegetarian and meat dishes are a local specialty, with a salty and spicy flavor that is so good it deserves its own page in a food guide. Even before you reach the canteen, the pungent aroma of the dishes grabs the noses of passersby like an iron hook.
Throughout Lin Zhuo's journey, Shu Wan, who was by his side, kept talking about food. She was very intelligent in this regard and had figured out the best way to eat each dish. Her vivid descriptions made Lin Zhuo, who was already starving, drool with envy.
As a temporary worker, Lin Zhuo didn't earn many work points each day, so he had to hesitate a lot when it came to the main dishes made from various kinds of poultry and meat. Lin Zhuo was just hungry, but not picky about food, so he only chose the free dishes.
First, fill a large bowl with rice and press it down firmly like a brick. Then, top it with glistening, oily stir-fried chili peppers, smooth and spicy mashed potatoes with pepper, and crispy fried tofu with a rich sauce. This is a three-in-one dish. Finally, add a bottle of refreshing lychee soda.
Shu Wan was a big foodie, and she earned work points just to eat more meat. As a minor, her younger sister had a special meat ration every day. They laid out several plates of chicken, duck, fish, and meat and generously shared them with Lin Zhuo.
"Thank you for feeding us." Lin Zhuo didn't stand on ceremony and solemnly clasped his hands in a fist and palm salute to the two of them.
Shu Xiaomei was completely taken aback by Lin Zhuo's quirky behavior and covered her face with a chuckle.
She spent an afternoon in the library, often observing the librarian who sat behind the counter like a flagpole.
Hearing that going to university meant joining the army and undergoing trials and tribulations, Shu Xiaomei was both afraid of Lin Zhuo's rigid and cold demeanor and envious of his fiery energy after seeing his style.
Knowing her younger sister was shy, Shu Wan spoke up for her: "Brother Lin, my sister is in the top fifty in her grade. Do you think it's necessary for her to try taking the college entrance exam?"
Lin Zhuo had already stuffed several mouthfuls of food into his stomach, and his hunger was no longer nagging. He took a sip of soda to soothe his throat. "Back when I was in school, most of my classmates were lazy and thought that they wouldn't go hungry no matter what job they did, so there was no need to compete with the top students."
Shu Xiaomei pricked up her ears but didn't look up. Shu Wan chimed in, "Yes, yes, that's exactly how I am, haha. When I was in school, I just played every day, and everything I did with my classmates was fun."
"The college entrance exam is just one choice. Regardless of success or failure, you will have no regrets about your teenage years, so there's no harm in giving it a try."
Upon hearing this, Shu Xiaomei whispered, "I've heard that going to university is very tough."
Lin Zhuo held the soda bottle for a moment, pondered, and said, "Some suffering is purely harmful, born of oppression, while other suffering is a kind of heroism. You've also taken history class and know what a heroic people our ancestors were. Their stories inspire me and make me want to emulate them. This silly confidence has accompanied me for many years, and it still does now."
After saying this, he stopped trying to persuade her, since young people don't like listening to grand principles, so he just chatted with Shu Wan.
If Shu Xiaomei weren't present, they could subtly inquire whether the curator had secretly tried to win over Shu Wan, but now, their conversation was simply about sharing their daily observations.
Before they knew it, the dishes were all gone, and most of them ended up in Lin Zhuo's stomach. After the meal, the three said goodbye at the entrance of the cafeteria. Lin Zhuo walked away quickly, his straight back disappearing into the crowd on the street, making Shu Xiaomei feel as if a sword had been thrown into water.
"You've met a college student now, what are your thoughts?" Shu Wan smiled and patted her head.
The younger sister nodded without saying anything. On the way home, she held her older sister's hand and suddenly murmured softly, as if sighing, "When you see someone virtuous, think of emulating them."