128: Chapter 128 List

6:00 AM on Saturday, Chen Zhen opened his eyes.

Seventeen points of light were slowly rotating inside his Dantian. The fruit had completely melted, but it had left something behind—a golden seed, suspended in the center of the seventeen points of light, sleeping quietly.

The seed of the Heavenly Road.

After eating the fruit, the seed remained in his Dantian.

When it sprouts again, the Heavenly Road will open once more.

That is what the Original Body said.

He stood up and walked to the window.

It was overcast outside; the clouds hung very low, and the air had a damp smell.

It was going to rain soon.

He turned and walked to the workbench, taking the list out of his Storage Space.

Fifty-three names.

Teacher Li in the east of the city, Master Zhang in the west, Lin Duoduo from the primary school in the south, Grandma Zhao in the north...

He had already delivered thirty-seven, Yun Xi had delivered thirteen, and there was one left to deliver.

He glanced at the last name:

Liu Ying, female, 32 years old, address in a place called Liuhe Village in the suburbs.

The remarks column had a line of small text: "Can see, can hear, can converse. Has gone insane."

Chen Zhen stared at this line of text for a few seconds and then put the list away. He would go today.

At 7:00, Chen Zhen stepped into the classroom.

Zhang Meng was in the back row catching up on homework; seeing him, he cried for help as usual.

Chen Zhen threw the workbook over and walked to his seat to sit down.

Su Xiaoya, who sat in front of him, turned her head, holding an insulated bag: "Buns my mom made, pork and cabbage filling. She said you definitely didn't eat breakfast."

Chen Zhen took the insulated bag and opened it. Inside, six buns were neatly stacked, with thin skins and large fillings, still steaming hot.

He picked one up and took a bite; the delicious broth melted in his mouth.

Su Xiaoya watched him eat, smiling: "Is it good? My mom said if you like it—"

"No need for every day," Chen Zhen interrupted her.

Su Xiaoya laughed: "Alright then, I'll tell her to make them every other day." She turned back around.

In the last row, Zhou Rui looked up at him once, then lowered his head to read.

Chen Hao turned around from the front row and lowered his voice: "Xiaoxue said those shadows have decreased again. There used to be three or four, but now there's only one."

Chen Zhen nodded. Chen Hao hesitated for a moment: "She also said that the shadow is talking to her."

Chen Zhen put down the bun: "What is it saying?"

Chen Hao was silent for two seconds: "It said, thank you."

Chen Zhen didn't speak.

Chen Hao waited for two seconds, sighed, and turned back.

When school let out at noon, Chen Zhen didn't go to the cafeteria.

He left the school gate and walked towards the suburbs.

Liuhe Village was fifteen kilometers south of the city; it took an hour by bicycle.

He took out a Speed Talisman and stuck it on himself; his speed instantly tripled.

Half an hour later, he reached Liuhe Village.

The village wasn't large, with dozens of households scattered on both sides of a small river.

At the entrance of the village was a large locust tree, and several elderly people were playing chess under it. Chen Zhen walked over and asked: "Excuse me, where is Liu Ying's house?"

The elderly people looked up, and one of them pointed south: "The last house by the river. What are you to her?"

"A relative."

The old man nodded and didn't ask again.

Chen Zhen walked forward along the small path by the river, passing several houses, all of which had their doors closed.

The last one was a small courtyard with a very low wall, from which the house inside could be seen.

The house was very old; the wall plaster was peeling, and a pane of glass on the window was broken.

The courtyard was piled with messy items: broken chairs, old tires, and rusted iron buckets.

A woman in her thirties was sitting on the threshold, her hair messy, wearing old pajamas and barefoot.

She had her head down, muttering something.

Chen Zhen pushed open the courtyard gate and walked in.

The woman didn't look up and continued muttering.

Only when he got closer did he hear clearly: "They're here again, they're here again, they're here again, they're here again..."

He crouched down and looked at her levelly: "Liu Ying?"

The woman looked up abruptly. Her eyes were very bright, unnaturally bright, and something was moving in her pupils.

She stared at Chen Zhen, and the things in her pupils suddenly stopped moving.

"You... on you..." Her voice was trembling, "So bright... so bright..."

Chen Zhen took a Protective Talisman out of his pocket and handed it over.

The woman didn't take it, just stared at his hand.

"This is a Protective Talisman. It can help you."

The woman finally looked up, staring into his eyes: "They say you are the person who opens the door."

Chen Zhen didn't speak.

The woman waited for two seconds, then suddenly laughed.

The smile was very strange; it didn't look like a smile, but more like crying: "They say if the door opens, they can leave."

"Go where?"

The woman shook her head: "I don't know. They can't say clearly. They just say they want to leave."

She stood up from the threshold, stood barefoot on the ground, and looked at the distant sky: "They have been trapped here for a long time. Some for hundreds of years, some for thousands. They want to go home."

Chen Zhen looked at her. The things in her pupils were moving, glowing like fireflies.

"You can hear them?"

The woman nodded: "I have been able to since I was a child. At first, there were only one or two, but later there were more and more. I couldn't drive them away, scold them away, or beat them away." She looked down at her hands, "My mom said I was crazy, took me to see doctors, take medicine, get shots. It was useless. They were still there."

She looked up at Chen Zhen: "You didn't come to cure me, did you?"

Chen Zhen handed the Protective Talisman over.

This time she took it. The moment the talisman paper touched her fingers, it lit up with a warm golden light.

The things in her pupils quieted down and stopped moving around.

She looked down at the talisman in her hand, and tears fell.

"It's quiet... finally quiet..."

Chen Zhen stood up and took five more Protective Talismans out of his pocket to hand to her: "Use them sparingly. When you finish them, come find me."

The woman took the talismans and looked up at him: "What is your name?"

"Chen Zhen."

The woman nodded: "I'll remember it."

Chen Zhen turned to walk out. When he reached the courtyard gate, the woman suddenly called out to him: "Chen Zhen."

He turned back.

The woman stood on the threshold, holding those talismans in her hand, barefoot, her hair messy, but her eyes were very bright. She smiled, and this time it was a real smile: "They say, thank you."

It was already 2:00 PM when he left Liuhe Village.

Chen Zhen rode his bike back; all fifty-three names on the list had been delivered.

Those who could see, those who were treated as lunatics, those who were trapped in the darkness with no one to believe them, now had a Protective Talisman.

But he knew that a Protective Talisman could only block, not cure.

What could truly cure them was the Heavenly Road.

When the Heavenly Road opened again, those things would be able to leave. He sped up on his way back.

At 4:00 PM, Chen Zhen pushed open the door.

The flower had completely withered, its petals scattered all over the floor, leaving only the bare stem. Shen Nian was squatting nearby, picking up the fallen petals one by one and putting them into a box.

"Are these still usable?" he asked.

Chen Zhen walked over and took a look: "Yes. Dried and ground into powder, the calming effect is even better than the flower."

Shen Nian nodded and continued picking them up. Zhou Rui was drawing talismans at the workbench, and Yun Xi was leaning against the wall, resting with her eyes closed.

Everything was as usual.

Chen Zhen walked to the center of the formation and sat down, taking the list out of his Storage Space and placing it in front of him.

Yun Xi opened her eyes and walked over: "Finished delivering them?"

"Yeah."

Yun Xi picked up the list and flipped through it, pausing when she saw the last page: "This Liu Ying..."

"I've seen her."

Yun Xi looked at him: "How is she?"

Chen Zhen thought for a moment: "She's okay. The Protective Talisman can stabilize her."

Yun Xi nodded and put the list down: "What's next?"

Chen Zhen looked out the window.

Overcast, the clouds were very low.

Those with sensitive Physiques, those who could see shadows, those who needed Protective Talismans.

Fifty-three was just the beginning.

How many are there in the whole world?

He didn't know.

But he knew he couldn't deliver them one by one.

"Make a batch of Protective Talismans and find people to help distribute them."

Yun Xi was stunned for a moment: "Find who?"

Chen Zhen thought for a moment: "The old man at the teahouse, the one from Changbai Mountain, the one from Wuyi Mountain. They know a lot of people."

Yun Xi stared at him for a few seconds and then smiled: "Alright. I'll go contact them."

She pushed the door open and left. Zhou Rui put down his pen and walked over: "Master, can I help?"

Chen Zhen looked at him: "Do you know how to draw Protective Talismans now?"

Zhou Rui nodded: "Yes. You taught me."

Chen Zhen took a stack of blank talisman paper out of his Storage Space and handed it to him: "Then draw."

Zhou Rui took the talisman paper, sat back at his workbench, and began to draw. Shen Nian also walked over: "What can I do?"

Chen Zhen pointed to the pile of fallen petals: "Grind them into powder. Make auxiliary materials for a batch of Protective Talismans."

Shen Nian nodded and began to work.

Chen Zhen sat alone in the center of the formation.

Seventeen points of light were slowly rotating inside his Dantian.

The seed of the Heavenly Road was sleeping.

The day it sprouts, the Heavenly Road will open again.

By then, those things trapped here will be able to leave.

And those who can see will no longer have to be afraid.