26: Chapter 26 Shadows in Dreams

Chen Zhen worked with extra care that afternoon.

He gently shook every magazine to see if there were any inserts tucked inside.

He flipped through the front and back covers of every book, checking for any handwriting.

But he found no other clues.

At 5:30, the work was finished.

Grandpa Wu paid him as usual, but five yuan extra today: "Thirty-five. The work was heavy today."

"Thank you, Grandpa Wu."

As he walked out of the Bookstore, Grandpa Wu suddenly called out to him: "Kid."

Chen Zhen turned back.

Grandpa Wu sat behind the counter, the twilight slanting in from the doorway, burying half his face in shadow.

"Some things," Grandpa Wu said slowly, "knowing them isn't necessarily a good thing."

Chen Zhen stood there without moving.

"But not knowing," Grandpa Wu paused, "makes you itchy inside, right?"

Chen Zhen nodded.

"Then just remember, look if you must, but don't dig too deep." Grandpa Wu waved his hand. "Go on."

When he arrived home, his father had already returned.

He was sitting on the sofa, his back straight as a board.

Holding a glass of water in his hand, he hadn't taken a sip for a long time.

His mother was busy in the kitchen, the frying pan sizzling.

Chen Zhen carried the fish into the kitchen: "Mom, the fish."

"Oh, put it there." His mother turned back, her eyes bright. "Your dad passed."

Chen Zhen looked toward the living room.

His father happened to look over, his mouth twitching as if trying to hold back a smile, which finally turned into a heavy nod.

Dinner was indeed sumptuous.

Half the crucian carp was stewed into a milky white soup, and the other half was braised in a rich, dark sauce.

There was also a stir-fried green vegetable and a steamed egg custard.

His father took a sip of the fish soup and let out a long sigh of relief: "This soup is fresh."

"Of course, it was just killed." His mother picked a piece of the braised fish belly for him. "Will it be stable from now on?"

"Yeah, starting work officially next Monday. The salary... is okay, enough to get by."

"Enough is enough." His mother put a piece for Chen Zhen as well. "Our family, we don't ask for great wealth or status, just stability."

Chen Zhen lowered his head to eat the fish.

The fish meat was tender, and the bones had stewed until they were soft.

The tofu in the soup had absorbed all the freshness, bursting with juice with every bite.

This meal lasted a long time.

His father talked about some interesting things from the training, which old master loved to drink, and which young guy was clumsy.

His mother shared what she saw at the Library, about an old lady who came every day to borrow romance novels, five at a time.

Chen Zhen mostly listened, occasionally chiming in.

The sky outside the window slowly turned pitch black, while the room was brightly lit. The electric fan shook its head, mixing the smell of food and the sound of conversation together.

[Family Warmth Moment Social Dimension experience + 15]

[Affinity Field effect triggered, family happiness significantly increased]

[Special Reward: Cultivation + 1 (Family Harmony Bonus)]

After dinner, his father volunteered to wash the dishes, even humming an off-key tune.

His mother sat on the sofa, finally not scrolling through her phone to look for odd jobs, but instead reading a book she had brought back from the Library, flipping through it slowly.

When Chen Zhen returned to his room, the wooden plaque on his chest felt slightly hot.

Not hot, but warm, like a piece of jade that had been held until it was warm.

For his evening reading task, he chose "Illustrated Guide to Chinese Ancient Architectural Decoration".

When he read the chapter on caisson ceilings, he suddenly remembered the [Structural Perception] he had unlocked that afternoon.

There were five minutes of usage time remaining.

He closed his eyes and activated the ability.

What he "saw" in his mind wasn't text, but a three-dimensional, rotating structure.

How the beams were laid, how the rafters were joined, and how the dougong brackets supported the caisson ceiling layer by layer.

Those mortise and tenon joints disassembled and reassembled themselves in his mind, and the stress on each part was as clear as if it had been color-coded.

Five minutes later, the ability ended.

Chen Zhen opened his eyes and found he was covered in sweat.

But his mind was clear.

He would never forget the structure of that caisson ceiling in his life.

[Deep Understanding of ancient architectural structures]

[Technique Dimension (Hand-drawing) experience + 30]

[Learning Dimension experience + 18]

[Cultivation + 0.42]

At 9:30, he closed the book and summoned the system panel:

[Day 14 Summary]

[Cultivation gain: + 2.41 (Morning run 0.31 + Learning 0.28 + Technique Breakthrough 8 + Family Harmony 1 + Other 2.82)]

[Current total Cultivation: 51.33 / 100]

[Health Dimension: 73.2 / 200]

[Learning Dimension: 108.7 / 200]

[Social Dimension: 38 / 200]

[Technique Dimension: Cooking 48 / 100, Organizing 72 / 100, Hand-drawing Lv.2 ( 30 / 300 )]

[exploration dimension: 65 / 100]

[Special Note: Hundred-Day Foundation Building progress Breakthrough 50%]

[Assessment: Excellent]

It was over halfway there.

Chen Zhen lay on the bed, his hand resting on his chest.

The wooden plaque rested quietly against his skin, warm.

Between breaths, he could feel that mass of Dantian Qi rising and falling with the slight pulsation of the plaque.

It was as if it had a heartbeat.

When he closed his eyes, he dreamed again.

It was still that mountain.

But this time, he climbed halfway up the mountain and saw light in the fog.

It wasn't sunlight, but colorful, flowing in strands through the fog, like aurora, but closer, softer.

There was a shadow in the light, very faint, like a human shape.

The shadow beckoned to him.

He wanted to walk over, but his feet felt like they were stuck in mud, unable to lift.

He looked down; it wasn't mud under his feet.

It was densely packed words.

1953, 1983, strange light, map, newspaper clippings...

Those words wrapped around his ankles, pulling him down.

He struggled to lift his head, and the light in the fog gradually grew distant.

When he woke up, it was still dark.

Chen Zhen sat up and caught his breath.

The wooden plaque hung steadily on his chest, neither hot nor cold.

Outside the window, the city in the early morning was quiet.

He reached for his phone to check the time: 4:50.

Half an hour earlier than yesterday.

The system panel floated out in the dim light, a new line of text:

[Day 15 begins]

[Main Quest Hundred-Day Foundation Building progress: 51.33%]

[Suggestion: Good rhythm, maintain observation, do not be anxious or impatient]

Chen Zhen looked at that line of text, and remembered the years that had wrapped around his ankles in the dream.

Observation.

The System kept talking about observation.

He got out of bed and walked to the window.

The river in the distance was still black, but there was a faint line of gray-white on the eastern horizon.

During the day, he had to go ask the old man about the wooden plaque.

Also, he had to find a way to organize all those books of Engineer Gu in the Bookstore.

But most importantly, it was still Foundation Establishment.

It was over halfway there; the second half had to be walked more steadily.

He took a deep breath, the cool morning air filling his lungs, carrying a hint of the fishy smell from the distant river.

A new day was about to begin.