Chapter 201: The Dao of Other Minds

The long dining table was half-occupied by the three of them, with Taozi squatting right in the middle.

The light was insufficient on this rainy day, so the young girl went to turn on the lights. The orange light was slightly reddish when it first turned on, only gradually becoming bright after a few seconds.

There were only two dishes on the table: cold-dressed crucian carp and cold-dressed sour and spicy shredded potatoes; there were only two crucian carp. The dumplings were made in two flavors, fish-fragrant and rattan pepper. Among them, one of the rattan pepper ones was dry-mixed, and one had a soup base. Chen Shu let the young girl choose, and she chose the dry-mixed one.

As for Taozi, picking one for it was enough.

This little thing had something wrong with its brain; it insisted on eating the same thing as people. Chen Shu had thought about boiling a few plain shrimp-filled dumplings for it separately, but he gave up on that too. If he did that, this little thing would definitely think he was abusing it and excluding it.

"Has your school started preparing for the Mid-Autumn Gala yet?" Chen Shu asked while eating dumplings.

"I don't know," Ning Qing replied.

"Our college seems to have seniors who have started rehearsing. I heard every college has to put on a program," the young girl said, holding a dumpling to let it cool. "But it's usually handled by the seniors from before; we freshmen don't worry about it."

"Our college seems to have started organizing it too," Chen Shu thought for a moment. "I wonder if it will be any good."

"Brother-in-law, are you going to perform a program?"

"How could I possibly go!"

"You sing well."

"I'm too lazy to go."

"Why not go?"

"You could also go perform a crosstalk act, why don't you go?"

"I'm too lazy to go."

"..."

"..."

The big one and the small one looked at each other, then lowered their heads and stuffed the dumplings into their mouths.

If rattan pepper dumplings are made into soup dumplings, they aren't as tasty as the dry-mixed ones and aren't flavorful enough, but the advantage is that the soup base is very delicious.

Chen Shu ate two, then reached his chopsticks into Qingqing and Xiaoxiao's bowls to take theirs to eat, and then said, "Wait for me to ask around for news. If it's good, we'll go watch it together; if it's not good, we'll have a barbecue in the yard."

"Barbecue!" the young girl raised her hand.

"The National Comprehensive University gala is good," Ning Qing said.

"Barbecue!" The young girl raised her hand even higher, her body even leaning to the side. "Make more potato slices! And there must be spiral potato skewers!"

"We'll talk about it in a few days," Chen Shu nodded, indicating he had taken the suggestion.

Beside them, Taozi was struggling with a dry-mixed rattan pepper dumpling. This dumpling looked white and fresh, just like a plain one, but in reality, it was both numbing and spicy. Taozi's pair of big eyes soon became watery, and it had to stop from time to time, panting with its tongue out like a dog, then glancing at the others, pretending to be listening to their conversation, and then continuing to eat once it recovered slightly.

Through observation, it discovered that the other humans were not showing obvious discomfort while eating the dumplings, so it could not show it either.

It raised its paw to rub its eyes and continued to eat.

At this moment, Chen Shu asked it:

"Is it delicious?"

Taozi hesitated for a moment, opened its mouth, and trembled twice:

"Ji-ji~"

"..."

This cat was beyond saving.

Chen Shu shook his head and asked again, "Do you want to eat fish?"

"Mm~"

"Oh my! Is it almost time?" Chen Shu twitched the corner of his mouth and picked up a small piece of white, fresh back meat for it, adding some cilantro and celery bits as a garnish. However, it looked a bit monotonous with only green, so he picked up a few slivers of millet chili rings and placed them on top. "Eat it. Eat it and you'll turn into a little cat-girl sooner."

"Ah~"

Taozi let out a cry, not knowing what it was saying, then lowered its head to take a bite and immediately narrowed its eyes.

It was sour and spicy!

"Sss-ha~"

"Hahaha!"

"!!"

Hearing the laughter, Taozi immediately became vigilant, closed its mouth, and stared straight at the person laughing with its watery eyes that looked like they were about to cry.

After lunch.

Ning Qing walked out of the kitchen, wiped the water off her hands, sat down on the sofa, and beckoned to Taozi, who was squatting at the door watching the rain:

"Taozi."

Taozi immediately transformed into a little sycophant, twisting its body without hesitation and trotting toward her.

"Meow~"

Ning Qing hugged Taozi while turning her head to say to Chen Shu beside her, "What are you doing this afternoon?"

"Cultivating, researching a Spell, and playing with you."

"..."

Ning Qing rolled her eyes.

Two minutes later.

A long-haired white cat that was already several years old but hadn't grown up was crawling clumsily on the floor. At this moment, it really looked like a little kitten; every time it crawled, its hind feet would turn outward, and sometimes it would trip over itself, looking both dull and silly.

"Whoosh..."

A strip of paper tied to a string appeared in front of it.

"Swish!"

The white cat subconsciously reached out to grab it.

However, the shredded paper strip instantly pulled upward, and it uncontrollably bounced along with it, a small paw waving continuously in the air, trying to catch the paper strip, but failing every time.

It only reacted after landing again, turning its head to look at the person behind it, and let out a sound of protest:

"Meow!!"

That person's face held an incredibly bright smile, and he shook the small wooden stick in his hand.

The shredded paper strip made a rustling sound.

"Swish..."

The white cat couldn't help but stretch out its paw again.

After swiping twice, it regained its senses, shot a cold glance at this person, turned its head, and ran to the other side of the room.

It tripped three times along the way.

"Haha!"

Chen Shu found it extremely amusing.

Ning Qing, however, felt very helpless.

This Secret Technique only attaches a portion of one's consciousness to an animal or plant, connecting to the other party's consciousness to a certain extent. For animals, it controls the other party's behavior by connecting with their brain or nerve cells; in this process, one can also feel the other party's emotions and instantaneous thoughts and reactions, but what controls the other party's body is still their own brain. The other party is still influenced by their own brain mechanisms and bodily mechanisms, rather than replacing all of their thinking and control organs with one's own brain and consciousness.

This is also the significance of this Secret Technique—

When a Secret Sect Practitioner practices the Taixin Dao, although they retain their own consciousness and thinking, when possessing another, they must be influenced by the other party's thinking and must perceive the world through the other party's senses, rather than just turning themselves into the appearance of an animal or plant.

In this process, one must slowly experience the thinking, emotions, and reaction mechanisms of animals and plants, and master what kind of responses they will make under what circumstances, and why?

Do birds also feel confused?

How do cats express love?

How complex can an insect's thinking be at most?

How does a flower or grass perceive the outside temperature? Can the external stimulus information transmitted by a sensitive plant before it retracts its leaves be interpreted in a human way as an itch or other strange sensation?

Only by borrowing the other party's senses to perceive the outside world, borrowing the other party's way of thinking and reaction mechanisms, and then retaining one's own ability to think and organize information, can one deeply experience them.

Just like now, the Taozi possessed by Ning Qing still retains the nature of a cat: playful, full of energy when not napping, likes to catch small animals, is full of curiosity about things that move and make sounds, is full of vigilance toward the unknown, but feels full of security at home, is particularly sensitive to certain sounds, feels uncomfortable with certain sounds, likes to catch small red light spots...

Wait! A small light spot?

The white cat had already pounced on it.

Where did the small light spot come from?

While using its small paw to press on the light spot, the white cat looked up at the person in the distance whose finger was emitting red light.

"..."

It didn't have time to look much, the red light moved too fast, and it had to try its best to chase it.

"Patter patter patter..."

Four small paws slipped on the wooden floor, making a distinct sound.

The white cat faintly heard a voice coming from the side:

"Brother-in-law, I want to play too."

It took a moment to glance to the side.

It discovered that the person had an incredibly bright smile, and its younger sister was standing right next to him, her two hands grabbing his hand and moving it to the left, while at the same time, the red light spot on the ground was moving along with it.

"..."

Taozi stopped its steps and collapsed on the ground.

"Eh? Taozi isn't running anymore?"

"What's going on?"

"Emmm..."

"No way..."

The two looked at each other and simultaneously looked to the side.

Ning Qing was staring at them coldly with her eyes open.

Chen Shu sat up straight, expressionless, and said with zero sincerity:

"I was wrong."

The little girl also stood straight:

"I was wrong."

"I was also just trying to help you better experience a cat's nature." Chen Shu said shamelessly.

"I was also just trying to help you better experience a cat's nature." The little girl mimicked him.

"..."

A smile bloomed on Ning Qing's face.

"Gulp!"

"Gulp!"

The two swallowed their saliva and looked at each other again.

Five minutes later.

Ning Qing was sitting on the sofa again, eyes closed in cultivation.

The little girl limped over to get water with a cup, only filled it halfway, and limped back.

Chen Shu rubbed his face, opened the "Fifth Stage Cultivation Spiritual Method" he had just received from Teacher Fu Jia yesterday, and began to study it seriously.

Cultivation Spiritual Method is also a relatively large system; its complexity exceeds the vast majority of large-scale Spells, and it emphasizes the interaction between the Cultivator themselves and it, so it is much harder to learn than Spells. Fortunately, it is divided into many volumes, and each tier is just an upgrade or variation based on the foundation of the previous tier.

Actually, one can cultivate without a Cultivation Spiritual Method, but the efficiency and results would be very, very poor.

A Cultivation Spiritual Method does not just teach people how to absorb and digest Spirit Power; that is the function of the most ancient Cultivation Spiritual Methods. Later, as it gradually developed, besides determining the efficiency of cultivation, Cultivation Spiritual Methods also determined the difficulty of advancement, the strength and inclination of the Spirit Sea after advancement, and the effect of Spirit Power on the Cultivator.

In ancient times, not only did different sects have different Cultivation Spiritual Methods, but different systems also had different Cultivation Spiritual Methods.

For example, the Cultivation Spiritual Method of the ancient Spirit Sect could make a Cultivator's Spirit Sea and Spirit Soul more powerful, while the Cultivation Spiritual Method of the Ming Sect would have more effect on the Cultivator's body after each tier of advancement, making it stronger.

However, modern Cultivation Spiritual Methods have progressed greatly; while one dare not call them perfect, they can certainly be called very comprehensive—under existing technology, modern Cultivation Spiritual Methods have reached the peak of what is achievable in all aspects, so different systems no longer need to practice different Spirit Methods. The same set of Spirit Methods can satisfy a Martial Cultivator's needs for physique, and simultaneously satisfy a Spirit Cultivator's needs for the Spirit Sea and Spirit Soul; even if one were to create a targeted Spirit Method, its enhancement in one aspect would not exceed this comprehensive Spirit Method, at most being slightly simpler to practice, but it would sacrifice enhancements in other areas.

This is largely thanks to the contributions made by the Secret Sect.

It is also thanks to the power of the modern academic system.

With Chen Shu's talent, if he did not use any Cultivation Spiritual Method, it might take over a decade to go from opening the Spirit Sea to the peak of the First Tier—this is how Cultivators in the ancient era were, with the vast majority spending their entire lives just to become Cultivators. It was not until generations of people continued to explore and summarize Cultivation Spiritual Methods, giving cultivation a structured approach and constantly optimizing it, that the speed began to increase. Finally, the Secret Sect summarized a set of Cultivation Spiritual Methods that approached perfection, which became the blueprint for modern Spirit Methods.

Thanks to modern Spirit Methods.

Thanks to Teacher Fu Jia.

Thanks to the Spirit Sect.

Chen Shu threw himself into it heart and soul.

Just two meters in front of him, a small white cat sat squatting on the floor facing him, raised a small paw, licked the paw, then rubbed its cheeks, stopping every now and then to stare at him for a few seconds before continuing to repeat the face-washing motion.

Ning Qing was also familiarizing herself with this set of Secret Technique for cultivation.

In fact, the white cat's previous stumbling walk and falling on flat ground were not due to her being unfamiliar with Taozi's body, but because the white cat's brain and consciousness are more complex, and her application of this Secret Technique for cultivation was still relatively unpracticed. Once she became familiar with the Secret Technique for cultivation and the connection became natural, this situation would no longer occur. Possessing other animals or plants would also no longer result in this situation.

Consequently, the white cat's movements became visibly natural and smooth, and it was no longer possible to distinguish it from the ordinary Taozi.