This humble Taoist priest wants to take the college entrance exam.

Chapter 43 Remember to take the stairs

Cities are crowded with people, but most souls are lonely.

This is an inherent constraint imposed by the uniqueness of individual existence and the limitations of human cognition.

Li Wanyin, who hadn't spoken to anyone all day, finally had the experience of having a proper chat with someone during the hour Chen Shi'an returned home.

The relaxed and comfortable state, the absence of any vested interests, the lack of ulterior motives, the lack of differences in values, the absence of criticism and judgment... this kind of chat is truly addictive for her.

It was clear to the naked eye that the sister, who was in a good mood and relaxed at this moment, was completely different from the dull and tense state she had when she came back from get off work.

If she weren't broke, Li Wanyin really wanted to buy a clock from the young Taoist priest so he could chat with her a little longer.

It's already 11 o'clock before I knew it.

Li Wanyin was satisfied and took the initiative to end the chat.

"It's eleven o'clock, I'm going back to my room. Shi'an, you should get some rest too. By the way, are there any mosquitoes in your room? I have some mosquito coils."

"It's okay, the mosquitoes aren't biting me, so I'm going back to my room to sleep."

"Good night."

"Sister Wanyin, you should rest early too."

The two of them stood up from the sofa. Li Wanyin picked up the remote and turned off the TV. After Chen Shi'an and the cat went into the room and closed the door, she turned off the living room fan and lights before returning to her own room and gently closing the door.

Just like last night, Chen Shi'an didn't turn on the air conditioner or close the window. He stood by the window and looked at the night sky outside. At least for the next few days, the weather would be good and it wouldn't rain.

When he was in the mountains, he usually turned off the lights and went to bed around 9 p.m., and rarely stayed up until 11 p.m. like he is now.

But now it seems that going to bed after 11 p.m. will become the norm.

"I examine myself three times a day. Fei Mo, have you reflected on your actions today?"

"Meow."

Chen Shi'an lay down on the bed and pulled the sheet next to him over himself.

The black cat stretched, yawned, curled up, and nestled beside his pillow. Its jet-black fur blended into the night, and only when it opened its eyes could others notice its presence.

At midnight, the light that had been seeping through the crack in Li Wanyin's door went out.

The night was quiet...

……

Even though he slept later in the city than in the mountains, Chen Shi'an still woke up as usual at five in the morning when it was just getting light.

Compared to the discomfort he felt yesterday morning, he seemed much more comfortable today.

He was a little sleepy because he hadn't been sleeping much, but it wasn't a big deal for him. He could just sit quietly and meditate for a while and he would be back to his best condition.

Meditation can replace sleep to some extent, but Chen Shi'an rarely does it.

We are all mortal beings, and prematurely stripping away the natural feelings of being human may not be a good thing for cultivating the Tao. Replacing an afternoon rest with a midday rest is fine, though.

The growth of magical power is not entirely obtained through meditation. It mainly depends on whether one can comprehend the operating principles of the Dao and achieve consistency between the inherent nature of one's own Dao and the Great Dao. In this way, one can naturally gather the energy of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth.

Even while eating, sleeping, walking, or studying, this accumulation happens silently.

Sitting in meditation merely accelerates the accumulation of this power, but it cannot change the upper limit of one's own magical power growth. It's like a bottle; how much magical power this bottle can hold in the end depends entirely on the cultivator's talent and the depth of their understanding of the [Tao].

Therefore, when one's magical power reaches a certain bottleneck, there is the saying of seclusion, which is actually about closing oneself off to comprehend the Dao and trying to find a way to increase that limit.

The opposite of seclusion is going out to gain experience. But the paths are different, and the goal is the same: to attain enlightenment.

The display of supernatural powers is ultimately nothing more than borrowing the inherent laws and energy of heaven and earth; it's just that the degree to which one can achieve it varies depending on one's level of cultivation.

Chen Shi'an sat cross-legged on the bed and meditated for a while. The fatigue and grogginess he felt when he woke up due to lack of sleep disappeared, and he returned to his best physical and mental state.

open one's eyes.

There was a butterfly fluttering around the room.

It probably flew in last night because the window wasn't closed.

The black cat glanced at it, eager to try—butterflies may not taste good, but they're a lot of fun.

Before Fei Mo could pounce, Chen Shi'an waved to the butterfly. As if an invisible force had trapped it, it fluttered its wings, trying to escape, but couldn't help drifting towards him.

Chen Shi'an did not perform any rituals to help it pass on to the afterlife; he simply took it, walked to the window, and released it out of the window.

After releasing the butterflies, he stood by the window, enjoying the city's morning atmosphere.

The sky was overcast and the air was heavy. When you breathed it in, you felt like you were being enveloped in something indescribable, unlike the wind in the Taoist temple, which came from the pine forest and carried the scent of pine needles and dew. Taking a deep breath made even your brow bone feel refreshed.

The clattering sound of a trash can being dragged came from downstairs. Chen Shi'an looked down and saw a sanitation worker dumping the trash. There were people in the city who got up earlier than him.

The monotonous life between two points was not what he wanted. After thinking about it, Chen Shi'an decided not to study this morning and instead go out for a run while there was still plenty of time before class.

He put on his shoes, took his keys, walked to the balcony on the ninth floor, hesitated for a moment, and then saw a security camera hanging on a pole in the community not far away. In the end, he decided to obediently go down the stairs.

"Meow?" "I'm going outside for a walk, Fatty Mo, do you want to come?"

"Meow."

Fat Cat wasn't as obedient as him and didn't take the stairs.

Despite being so fat she's practically a pig, her agility is outrageous.

The black cat leaped onto the balcony, arched its back to gather strength, twisted its hips, and soared into the air like an arrow. It traced a parabolic arc, accurately pouncing on the vertical wall beside it. It ran along the wall as if walking on flat ground, rushing straight downstairs. In the blink of an eye, it had already reached the second floor. It used the wall to push back onto the second-floor balcony for a little leverage, then leaped up again, finally landing lightly on the concrete ground like a feather.

After going downstairs, Shimo didn't wait for the little Taoist priest who was going up the stairs. With its big tail held high, it walked with a cat-like gait, heading towards the gate of the community with ease. It had already explored the entire community and surrounding area yesterday.

Before long, I heard familiar footsteps behind me.

Chen Shi'an ran out at a leisurely pace, but his 'leisurely pace' was only in his demeanor; in fact, he was running quite fast.

The neighborhood was quiet a little after five o'clock; apart from the sanitation workers cleaning the area, there were almost no other residents.

The person and the cat ran like that, and soon they arrived at the entrance of the residential area.

The middle-aged man in the security room had been playing on his phone all night, scrolling through Douyin videos of beautiful women. It wasn't until dawn that he yawned, made himself a cup of strong, bitter tea, and sat down on a stool next to the security room to get some fresh air, a cigarette dangling from his lips.

Cats don't use doors. Even if the door is right in front of them, the black cat will insist on jumping over the wall next to the door.

The security guard was stunned. What was that dark thing that flashed past him? A big black rat?

Before he could even stand up and get a good look, a boy in a t-shirt ran out again.

The community is an old one, and the management is lax. The main gate is usually half-open, but it is closed at night and early in the morning. You need to swipe your access card to enter.

Chen Shi'an stopped in front of the community gate and took out his access card from his pocket.

The security guard reminded him, "You don't need to swipe the access card to go out; just press the button next to it."

"this one?"

"Correct."

"Okay, thank you uncle."

"Young man, are you going for a run? Up so early!"

"Yes, I just moved here and am just looking around."

No wonder you looked unfamiliar to me.

The security guard smiled, completely failing to recognize Chen Shi'an as the Taoist priest who had entered the community that day. He only thought that Chen Shi'an's T-shirt outfit resembled his father's... ptooey! His style of dress!

In fact, Chen Shi'an looks to be about the same age as his son, but his son would never get up so early to run. If you saw his son at this time during a holiday, he probably wasn't just waking up, but still in bed.

"What should I call you, Uncle?"

Chen Shi'an has always been easygoing and can chat with anyone he meets. Even though he used to live on the mountaintop, he is very familiar with the uncles, aunts, grandpas, and grandmas at the foot of the mountain, and even their dog, Da Huang. He even knows which family's child has constipation from eating too many wild fruits.

Now that he has changed his living environment, he has to rebuild his network of relationships with his neighbors. He doesn't expect these relationships to bring him any benefits; all he wants is natural harmony. This mindset is completely different from the alienation of people who "don't know their neighbors" that is common in the city today.

My surname is Zheng.

Seeing the young man's enthusiasm, the security guard responded with a smile. Having lived in the city for so many years, he hadn't seen such an old-fashioned young man in a long time.

"Chen Shi'an".

Oh my, even his name is different from the current trend of 'Zixuan' and 'Zihan'. Not only is his clothing style like his father's generation, but his name style is also like his father's generation!

"Judging from your age, you must still be in school, right? Where do you study?"

"Yunqi No.1 Middle School next door."

The security guard's eyes lit up, and he nodded, saying, "Your grades are really good! My son is about your age, and he didn't even get into the high school in our hometown. We're both young, how come there's such a big difference? I even saw a Taoist priest the other day, about your age and about your height..."

The security guard's voice grew softer and softer, and the more he looked at Chen Shi'an, the more familiar he seemed.

"The Taoist priest that Uncle Zheng mentioned must be me."

"...Hey! It really is!"

The security guard slapped his thigh, and before he could continue his rambling, the young Taoist priest had already started running outside the residential area.

"gone."

It's unclear whether Chen Shi'an was speaking to him or to someone else.

Just then, the dark shadow that he had mistaken for a large black rat suddenly appeared in front of him from some corner.

This time he saw it clearly.

It's a black cat.

It's still just a black cat that only follows people around!
(Thank you Yunchen Xiatian for the 80,000-coin character card donation! A huge thank you to Yunchen for your continued support!)
(End of this chapter)