Chapter 358: A Healthy Young Man, Body and Mind

"You say you saw strange birds among the clouds? And that you've seen them flying through the clouds all day long?" Yu Sheng widened his eyes, looking at Zheng Zhi, who was clearly a bit nervous. "Are there even more of them now?"

At this moment, Zheng Zhi also came to his senses. He turned back to look at the sea of clouds, then turned his head to look at Yu Sheng. After his eyes cleared, nervousness followed immediately: "Whoa! It's just me who can see them again?!"

Yuan Ling Zhenren walked over at this time, his expression on his face particularly serious: "What do these strange birds look like? Can you describe them?"

"Sharp and long beak, tail feathers like several ribbons, very big, the edges of the wings... hey, wait a moment, I'll just draw it!"

As Zheng Zhi spoke, he turned and ran back to his "sentry post." A moment later, he ran out again holding a tablet computer, along with a stylus. After opening the drawing board, he quickly sketched on it. In a few minutes, he had drawn the appearance of a strange bird flying through the sea of clouds. Although he used only a few simple lines, the features were fully displayed, vivid and lifelike.

Even Erin was stunned, her eyes wide: "Big nephew, you have this skill too?"

Zheng Zhi scratched his head awkwardly: "I used to work as a graphic designer..."

Erin: "Oh, no wonder you always look exhausted, like you're about to ascend to immortality."

Yu Sheng, however, paid no attention to the conversation between Zheng Zhi and Erin. Instead, he focused all his attention on the picture the other person had outlined. A moment later, he raised his head again, looking at the vast sea of clouds beyond the Cloud-Watching Platform.

The sunset was already nearing the edge of the sea of clouds. At this moment, golden-red rays of light were spreading along the cloud layers. The sunlight had gilded all the clouds with a brilliant, magnificent outline, yet among that spectacular sunset sea of clouds, there was no shadow of any "strange bird" to be seen.

After seeing that picture, Yuan Ling Zhenren frowned deeply.

He reached out and made a grabbing motion in the air over the tablet computer. That "picture" was actually pulled out by him directly. Then, twisting and transforming several times in his palm, it became a vivid black phantom of a strange bird, leaping and soaring in the half-air.

"Is it like this?" Yuan Ling Zhenren turned his head and asked, looking into Zheng Zhi's eyes.

Zheng Zhi was instantly stunned by this "immortal technique" before his eyes, his eyes full of awe. But he quickly came to his senses, carefully observed the strange bird manifested from the picture by Yuan Ling Zhenren, and spoke cautiously: "The tail needs to be a bit longer, the tail feathers more flowing."

Yuan Ling Zhenren immediately adjusted it according to the instructions: "How about this?"

"The beak a little shorter, the curvature of the wing edges a bit rounder..."

"The tail feathers floating upwards, presenting that kind of lively feeling..."

"Adjust the neck a little bit..."

"Actually, let's just go with the first version."

Erin poked the back of Yu Sheng's head: "Did Big nephew put all the resentment of being a graphic designer into this? Is he acting as a vengeful client over here?"

Yu Sheng raised an eyebrow, not expecting this little puppet to understand even that. But he quickly became at ease—after all, this little thing spent over forty hours a day online. Besides fighting messy battles in games and arguing with netizens, the rest was high-intensity exposure to internet memes. It was indeed perfectly normal for her to understand some memes about clients and graphic designers...

Fortunately, Zheng Zhi over there quickly confirmed it: "Ah, yes! That's the one! Just like this right now!"

Yuan Ling Zhenren nodded—the old man had a good temper and didn't mind adjusting the plan so many times. Then, with a flip of his hand, the adjusted "strange bird" came "alive" again in his hand, circling and flying in the nearby half-air.

Yu Sheng noticed that an unusual solemnity and contemplation gradually appeared in Yuan Ling Zhenren's expression.

"What do you see?" he asked subconsciously.

"I feel... somewhat familiar," Yuan Ling Zhenren spoke in a deep voice, "but I can't remember where I've seen it before."

"Is it a species from your Tai Xu Star?" the long-haired one asked curiously from the side.

"No," Yuan Ling Zhenren slowly shook his head, "not seen in reality. It might be in some ancient book, or perhaps somewhere else."

Saying this, he turned his head again, looking at Zheng Zhi: "Are those strange birds still on the horizon now?"

"Only three or two left," Zheng Zhi turned back to look at the end of the sea of clouds, "looks like they're returning to their nests as night falls."

Yu Sheng looked at Yuan Ling Zhenren: "This matter..."

"This matter is indeed strange. The scene seen by Zheng Zhi seems to have no harm, but the appearance of illusions and strange shadows within the Great Array protecting the Thousand Peaks Spirit Mountain is extremely abnormal in itself. The Cloud-Watching Platform is also very close to the Queyun Palace; ordinary evil and bizarre things would absolutely be unable to approach," Yuan Ling Zhenren said with a serious face. "I will go back and investigate thoroughly to see where these phantoms truly come from."

After exchanging a few more words with Zheng Zhi, Yuan Ling Zhenren led his disciples away from the Cloud-Watching Platform.

The long-haired one came hesitantly to Yu Sheng's front: "Brother... can we still play here?"

Yu Sheng stroked his chin, carefully observing the distant sea of clouds for a moment before withdrawing his gaze: "The things Zheng Zhi saw seem to have no harm, but it's almost dark now. Let the children go back first. Tomorrow, the Zhenren can arrange for a few people to take everyone on a tour around the foot of the mountain."

"Oh, okay."

The long-haired one looked a bit regretful, but quickly called the children to gather, forming a line and walking back through the gate of No. 66 Wutong Road.

The Cloud-Watching Platform, which had been lively for a while, quickly fell silent again.

The sunset had already sunk below the sea of clouds. Only faint rays of light remained on the horizon, slightly spreading at the boundary between the clouds and the sky. As the sunlight faded, stars rose from the horizon. Rising together with them were the three moons above the Tai Xu Spirit Pivot.

The largest moon, Tai You, emitting a hazy, faint glow, rose first. Ecological regions of various sizes on its surface were embedded like blue-green gems amidst the silver light.

Then came the smaller "Heng Ming." It appeared as big as a silkworm bean from the surface, yet it was even brighter than Tai You. It is said that this satellite is covered with crystalline ore veins capable of reflecting sunlight, making it exceptionally bright in the night sky, hence the name "Heng Ming."

"Chang An" rose last from the horizon. If not for Erin's sharp eyes, Yu Sheng might not have seen it at all. From the surface, it looked only slightly smaller than Tai You, yet it was incredibly dim. In the night sky, it was like an unremarkable gray stone sphere. On the surface of that "stone sphere," one could vaguely see some net-like light strips emitting a faint glow. It is said these were automatic mine networks built by the Nether Valley long ago. Now, the mining facilities on the surface of "Chang An" have been shut down, but the ancient transport lines connecting the various mines still self-maintain, sustaining the most basic lighting. They have also become a "scenic spot" in the night sky of Tai Xu Star.

Yu Sheng brought a recliner out of the house and, just like Zheng Zhi, sat down at the spot with the best view on the edge of the Cloud-Watching Platform, admiring this alien night scene.

Through the gaps between the clouds, he could still see the scene below the mountain. Beneath the towering mountains lay a great city, its lights brilliant. From time to time, streaks of light traversed the sky above the city. Occasionally, one could even see massive cargo flying boats crossing the distant plains, traveling between the city and the mountain ranges.

Zheng Zhi's voice sounded from the side: "Brother Yu, was I quite a downer today?"

"Why do you say that?" Yu Sheng raised an eyebrow. "Just because you saw something strange?"

"The children originally planned to play until night," Zheng Zhi sighed. "Actually, the things I saw were just shadows. Seeing them was fine. If I hadn't spoken up, everyone would have continued playing and having fun as usual. But I spoke up, and now everyone is in a panic..."

Yu Sheng turned his head to look at this young man next to him, who was not much younger than himself. He didn't say anything, just leaned back in his chair.

"I've had this problem since I was young," Zheng Zhi continued speaking. "I often see all sorts of strange things, but I can't distinguish which ones everyone can see and which ones only I can see. So the adults never really liked me. Later, when I had a bit more common sense and could distinguish which things were 'not to be seen,' I still often accidentally scared people. And often, just like now, I spoil everyone's fun. Actually, many times it doesn't matter whether I say it or not; those things are just there anyway..."

"Later, my uncle started helping me. He organized a set of 'Common Sense Tables' for me to distinguish between normal and abnormal things in reality, and taught me how to behave like a normal person after seeing those abnormal things, and how to try to keep my distance from things that might be harmful. He didn't actually have any special abilities, just some theoretical knowledge in this area, but what he taught me was quite useful."

"But it only works in the borderlands. Over here, it seems to be useless again."

Yu Sheng turned his head: "Done talking?"

Zheng Zhi: "Uh, done talking."

Yu Sheng adjusted his posture on the recliner to make himself lean more comfortably, squinting slightly: "Have you ever watched horror movies?"

"Uh, I've seen some, but later found they weren't very scary, so I'm not very interested."

"Seeing some is enough. Do you know what the most classic way for the protagonist team in horror movies to die is?"

Zheng Zhi looked somewhat confused: "... What is it?"

"It's when someone in the team, who is finally sharp-eyed enough to spot a life-or-death clue, holds it back and doesn't say it."

Zheng Zhi: "..."

"What you've had since childhood isn't a flaw; it's a skill. It's just that this skill hasn't been put to use yet," Yu Sheng said slowly and steadily. "You just entered the profession late, but I think these eyes of yours can be put to great use."

Zheng Zhi's eyes lit up: "Really?"

"Really," Yu Sheng said offhandedly, then thought for a moment and added, "But I think your greater advantage is your state of mind."

"State of mind?"

"How the hell do you guarantee that you grew up this long with a healthy mind and normal values?" Yu Sheng turned to look at Zheng Zhi, his astonishment overflowing, "With your bitter and resentful experiences, shouldn't you have taken the irreversible path of a typical case on the legal education channel by the time you were fourteen? At the very least, you should have ended up jumping off the teaching building in the second half of the ninth grade... And didn't they say you were 'low and stable'? I don't see any sign of you being 'low and stable'?"

Zheng Zhi: "Anyway, my uncle said I'm 'low and stable', and after the bureau finished the test, they also said my constitution is easily susceptible to corruption, but I just grew up this big, and I still don't know what they mean by 'corruption'. As for you saying my mindset is good, well, my mindset has indeed always been quite good."

While speaking, he grabbed another grape-like "immortal fruit" from the small table beside him and tossed it into his mouth, yet a smile appeared on his face.

"After all, if a person sees a 'ghost' for the first time at thirty, he will be startled, but if he has been able to see ghosts around him since he was three months old, the most likely thing he would do is give names to the ghosts around him. To put it bluntly, I am more familiar with those 'shadows' I see than with my own parents. My parents have times when they go out to work, but those things swaying back and forth before my eyes have never rested for a single day."

"... There is some logic to that."

(End of this chapter)