24: Chapter 24 [Discovery of Special Items]

When the morning light crept onto the windowsill, Chen Zhen was already awake.

It wasn't an alarm clock that woke him; his body had woken up on its own.

It was as if something inside him had rung a bell right on time.

He opened his eyes. The sky was still a hazy gray; it was 5:20.

Even earlier than yesterday.

He lay in bed without moving, first feeling his breath.

There was a ball of warm Qi in his Dantian, expanding and contracting with each breath, as if it hadn't stopped working even while he was asleep.

Half a month ago, he still thought "Qi sinking into the Dantian" was just mystical talk from Wuxia movies.

Now, this ball of Qi was real enough to be used as a thermometer.

He had kicked off his blanket last night, so he should have been feeling chilly right now.

But the Qi was warm.

He sat up and changed his clothes quietly.

His mother's room was still quiet, and his father had said last night that he had to get up early for an assessment today, so he was probably still asleep.

When leaving, he left a note on the dining table: "I'm going for morning exercise, breakfast is keeping warm in the pot."

In the pot was the leftover porridge from last night; he had turned on the rice cooker's keep-warm function before going to sleep.

...

The air at the Riverside carried a damp, fishy scent.

The old man wasn't practicing Tai Chi today; he just stood under that old willow tree, hands behind his back, watching the river water.

Hearing footsteps, he didn't even turn his head. "You're here."

"Yeah."

"We're not practicing fists today." The old man turned around, his eyes squinting in the morning light. "I'll teach you something else."

Chen Zhen stood still. "Go ahead."

"Close your eyes."

Chen Zhen closed his eyes.

"Listen to the sound of the water."

The sound of the river waves flooded into his ears, swish—swish—layer upon layer.

In the distance, there was the muffled whistle of an early-shift boat.

"Don't just listen with your ears." The old man's voice wasn't loud, blending into the sound of the water. "Listen with your whole body."

Chen Zhen tried to relax his shoulders, letting his attention spread out from his ears.

It was strange; his body really felt like it had grown an extra layer of "skin."

He could feel the flow of moisture in the air and the slight tremor of the soil beneath his feet.

That was transmitted from the river waves hitting the bank.

"Did you feel it?" the old man asked.

"It's a bit... like it's vibrating."

"That's right." The old man paused. "This is called 'Body Listening.' Ears can deceive you, but the body does not."

Chen Zhen stood with his eyes closed for five or six minutes.

At first, he could only feel the big movements, but gradually he could distinguish the finer ones:

The rustling sound of willow leaves brushed by the morning breeze.

The buzzing sound of bicycle wheels rolling over the road in the distance.

Even the thumping sound of his own heartbeat.

All mixed into the background sound of the river waves, yet each was distinct.

[Focused Perception triggered hidden Cultivate mode]

[Health Dimension experience + 12, Learning Dimension experience + 8]

[Acquired special status: [Sensory Acuity] lasts for 30 minutes]

When the system panel notification popped up, Chen Zhen opened his eyes.

The old man was looking at him, a hint of a smile at the corner of his mouth. "How was it?"

"It seems... the world has become a bit clearer."

"It's not that the world has become clearer, it's that you have become clearer."

The old man turned around and began to slowly perform the starting stance of Tai Chi.

"The human body is naturally capable of sensing many things. It's just that it's usually too noisy, covering up the sounds inside."

Chen Zhen followed along and set up his stance.

Today's movements were exceptionally slow.

Every motion felt like it was cutting through viscous air.

He could feel the resistance of the airflow moving around his arms.

He could feel the subtle adjustments of the muscles under his feet as his center of gravity shifted from his left foot to his right.

After finishing the set, the old man withdrew his stance. "Alright, that's it for today."

"That's... it?"

"Don't bite off more than you can chew." The old man pulled an old cloth bag from his pocket. "This is for you."

Chen Zhen took it.

The cloth bag was very light, and inside was a small, hard object.

"Look at it when you get back." The old man waved his hand. "Same time tomorrow."

After saying that, he walked slowly along the river embankment with his hands behind his back.

Chen Zhen squeezed the cloth bag, didn't open it, and stuffed it into his pocket first.

...

On the way home, the [Sensory Acuity] status was still active.

He could feel the distribution of force every time his soles hit the ground during his morning run.

Before, he would just run blindly, but now he could "see" which foot was turned outward a bit and which step was taken too hastily.

He tried to adjust.

Landing softer, bending his knees a bit more, and syncing his breathing with his pace.

After running three kilometers, the system panel popped up:

[Morning run posture correction Breakthrough improvement]

[Cultivation + 0.31 (Base 0.18 + Quality Bonus 0.13)]

[Health Dimension experience + 18]

It was nearly double what it was yesterday.

Chen Zhen stopped, panting, calculating in his heart: if he could maintain this quality every day, maybe the Hundred-Day Foundation Building could be finished early...

But he immediately shook his head.

The old man just said "don't bite off more than you can chew."

The System was never about quantity anyway.

Take it steady.

...

He arrived home at seven.

His father had already left; the note on the dining table had been flipped over, with a line added: "Drank the porridge, went to the assessment."

The words were written with force, leaving marks on the back of the paper.

His mother was frying eggs in the kitchen. Hearing him return, she poked her head out and said, "Wash your hands and eat."

"Dad didn't eat?"

"Said he couldn't eat, took a steamed bun and left." Mother plated the eggs. "He's nervous, I suppose."

Chen Zhen washed his hands and sat down.

The porridge was still warm, and the edges of the fried egg were crispy.

"Mom, what time are you going to the Library today?"

"Eight-thirty." His mother sat down, picked up her bowl, then put it back down. "Xiao Zhen, Mom has been thinking, that hourly worker for the evening... let's not hire one for now."

Chen Zhen looked up.

"The work at the Library isn't tiring, but standing all day is quite draining."

His mother looked down, stirring her porridge. "Mom needs to save some energy to cook for you two. Your dad just started his job, and you'll be in your third year of high school soon; someone needs to look after things at home."

"Besides, in case the shop needs me to handle something one of these days, I need to be able to free up time."

Chen Zhen swallowed the porridge in his mouth. "I think that makes a lot of sense. It's okay, Mom, just do what you decide is best."

[Family understanding and support Social Dimension experience + 8]

[Affinity Field effect triggered, mother's stress level lowered]

After finishing the meal, Chen Zhen rushed to wash the dishes.

After returning to his room, he remembered the cloth bag in his pocket. He took it out and untied the string.

Inside was a wooden plaque, half the size of a palm, with smooth edges.

The front of the plaque was carved with a strange pattern: concentric spirals.

Like ripples on water.

But the center of the ripples wasn't a dot; it was a tiny, hollow circle.

He flipped it to the back, where two characters were carved: "Guard the Center."

The characters were in clerical script, the carvings were deep, and the wood grain followed the strokes of the characters.

Chen Zhen traced the carvings with his finger.

The wood was sandalwood; he could smell a faint fragrance when he brought it close.

There was a thin layer of patina on the edges of the plaque, looking like it had been handled for many years.

Why did the old man give him this?

He stared at the spiral pattern.

As he watched, he suddenly felt his eyes blur a bit.

The circles seemed to be rotating slowly.

He blinked, and the pattern was still again.

A hallucination?

[Found special item exploration dimension experience + 15]

[Item identification: unknown wooden talisman, suspected Cultivation aid]

[Suggestion: wear it on your person, observe changes]

The system panel gave a hint but no answer.

Chen Zhen found an old shoelace, threaded it through the hole at the top of the plaque, and hung it around his neck.

The plaque pressed against his chest, feeling a bit cool, but it was soon warmed up by his body temperature.