Cataclysm Chapter 80: Afterbirth 6; Qi Gathering

Chapter 80: Afterbirth 6; Qi Gathering

Translated by Shiya of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

 

Du Shuo said, “The offspring of heaven and earth’s Qi, the ghosts feed on raw Qi to grow. Qi is transformed by the seven emotions and six desires. Expanding a single emotion alone can bring a person’s Qi to its fullest, but it’s an irreversible overdraft behavior. Those girls suffering from emotional disorders have some emotion magnified, cultivated to the point of the most intense Qi, reaching its peak, then introducing ghosts into the girl’s body can lead to morning production and evening consumption.”

Chen Yang asked, “Does it mean that even if ghosts are introduced into the girls’ bodies, there is still a day’s time to save them?”

“Yes.”

Chen Yang asked again, “Time isn’t specifically designated as morning production and evening consumption, right? When Su Nini gave birth to the ghost, it was at noon. When the ghost is born, the demon mother will appear to snatch the ghost, but she won’t eat it immediately; she’ll choose to wait until the ghost matures before consuming it. And the moment when the ghost matures won’t exceed a day, so she can quickly accumulate strength, but it takes some time before cultivating the girl into a suitable nutritional container for the ghost.”

He suddenly turned to look at Kui Xuan, “Kui Xuan, you were almost targeted before, right?”

Kui Xuan nodded, “They wanted to make me feel afraid.”

“Kui Xuan is clever, cute, and well-behaved. In the eyes of the other party, she’s the best batch of containers. Otherwise, they wouldn’t choose her despite knowing her body isn’t mature. A nine-year-old child is most prone to feeling fear,” analyzed Chen Yang.

Kui Xuan’s big eyes sparkled, and she smiled with her mouth covered. Chen Xiaoyang praised her for being cute, clever, and well-behaved, which made her very happy. Ma Shanfeng, seeing Kui Xuan’s appearance, had his soft heart instantly touched, immediately taking out a candy to give to Kui Xuan. Seeing this, Chen Yang immediately said seriously, “Children can only eat two candies a day, otherwise, they’ll get cavities.”

He opened his palm, gesturing for Kui Xuan to hand over the other candies. Kui Xuan obediently left two and handed over the others to Chen Yang. Just as Chen Yang was about to put all the candies into his own pocket, he heard Du Shuo’s light cough.

Du Shuo said, “Take them out.”

Chen Yang, feeling wronged and hesitant, reluctantly took out the candies and put them in Du Shuo’s palm, handing them over. Du Shuo didn’t even look at the candies in his palm but continued in a deep voice, “There’s more.”

Chen Yang shouted, “There are only four left in my pocket, and I haven’t eaten any today.”

Du Shuo turned his gaze to Kui Xuan, “How many candies did Yangyang sneakily eat today?”

Kui Xuan looked around, unwilling to betray Chen Yang but also afraid to lie to Du Shuo. In the end, she threw herself into the arms of Ji Jiang, who was going downstairs, saying, “Jiang, I want candy.” So Ji Jiang peeled a candy for her, and with the candy in her mouth, Kui Xuan indicated that she couldn’t speak.

Chen Yang stood triumphantly with his hands on his hips, saying, “I didn’t eat any candy today.” Du Shuo squinted slightly and whispered in his ear to check his room. Chen Yang immediately wilted, his cheeks turning red, obediently handing over all the candies. Du Shuo, however, seemed somewhat regretful. The two’s behavior, though strange to others present, was met with nonchalance as they turned to look at documents.

Ji Jiang covered Kui Xuan’s eyes to prevent her from seeing, while Kou Xuanling clicked his tongue in amazement, “Such puppy love.” Hearing this, everyone, including Kui Xuan who removed Ji Jiang’s hand, looked at him and Lu Xiuzhi with odd glances.

Kou Xuanling didn’t understand, “Why are you all looking at me?” He nudged Lu Xiuzhi beside him with his elbow, “Ah Zhi, say something.”

Lu Xiuzhi let out a burp, his face somewhat flushed, lips tightly pressed, eyes a bit direct. He sat up straight, his back erect. After a moment, he tilted his head, “Huh?”

“…” Kou Xuanling propped up Lu Xiuzhi, “He’s drunk, I’ll take him back to rest first.”

Zhang Qiudao was curious, “You both smell of alcohol quite a bit, did you go drinking this afternoon?” He stepped aside to let Kou Xuanling help Lu Xiuzhi walk past, saying as they went, “Ah Zhi suddenly said he wanted to drink, so we drank two cases of beer at the barbecue stall outside the community. He was already a bit drunk, got a bit sober after the breeze just now, but now that he’s seated, he’s getting drunk again.”

Ma Shanfeng asked, “Can he handle beer?”

Kou Xuanling said, “He wasn’t used to it at first, but he finished every bottle one by one.”

Suddenly, Lu Xiuzhi stopped moving, no matter how Kou Xuanling dragged him. Kou Xuanling coaxed him gently, “Ah Zhi, you’re drunk. Let’s go back to our room.”

Lu Xiuzhi’s expression was blank and cold, and he seemed unable to recognize Kou Xuanling. After a while, he hesitated and said, “Xuan Xuan.”

Kui Xuan turned her head, “Did you call me?” Ji Jiang quickly pulled her back, covering her mouth to signal her not to speak, then nestled on the sofa, grabbing some melon seeds like everyone else while watching the scene.

Kou Xuanling’s cheeks felt hot because Lu Xiuzhi was too close, making him uncomfortable. Lu Xiuzhi lowered his head, sniffing around Kou Xuanling’s cheeks and neck, his handsome and lazy demeanor unusually enticing. He said in a low, hoarse voice, “It’s you.”

The faint smell of alcohol hit Kou Xuanling’s face, and for the first time, he realized that the five-yuan-a-bottle beer could actually be intoxicating. He swallowed hard, trying to keep as much distance as possible from Lu Xiuzhi, “You’re drunk, I’ll take you back to the room. Let’s go upstairs now. Lift your leg—”

Lu Xiuzhi chuckled, biting Kou Xuanling’s earlobe. Kou Xuanling almost screamed, and if it weren’t for the dazzling gazes of his colleagues behind him, he might have actually yelled out. He tightly grabbed Lu Xiuzhi’s arm and whispered, “Ah Zhi, you’re really drunk. Let’s go back to the room.”

“Back to the room?” Lu Xiuzhi looked at Kou Xuanling with a smile that wasn’t a smile, nodding in response to the latter’s anxious eyes, then asked, “What are we going back for? Mm? Are you going to sleep with me?”

Oh dear! Kou Xuanling could already imagine the howls and satisfied gossip of his colleagues behind him. He urgently pulled Lu Xiuzhi and ran back to the room. In his mind, he cursed silently: saying he wouldn’t get drunk, all just bluffing!

But when they got back to the room, Lu Xiuzhi really fell asleep, his hands folded in front of his abdomen, sleeping so neatly that he didn’t even snore. Kou Xuanling glared at Lu Xiuzhi’s sleeping face, pinching his handsome face angrily.

Downstairs, the onlookers were satisfied with the gossip. Mao Xiaoli clapped her hands, sweeping the melon seed shells into the trash can, and said, “I never thought Lu Xiuzhi, who usually looks so upright and gentlemanly, would turn out to be… hehehe.”

Zhang Qiudao glanced at her, “Are you still a girl?”

“What did I say?” Mao Xiaoli stared at Zhang Qiudao, and then both sides suddenly kicked and punched each other, like two big children fighting. Mao Xiaoli’s face was squeezed so tightly by Zhang Qiudao that her features were barely visible, but she still shouted, “Your head is full of junk too, isn’t it? Dare you say you didn’t think of ‘hehehe’ just now?”

“Normal adults would think of that, but they wouldn’t say it,” Zhang Qiudao’s fingers were bent backward by Mao Xiaoli, causing him pain, so he pinched Mao Xiaoli’s face even harder, threatening, “Let go!”

“You let go first!” 

“No, you first.” 

“Ladies first!” 

“Get lost.” 

“Let’s count to three and let go together.”… Amidst this background noise, Chen Yang looked somewhat worried, “Will Zhang Qiudao and Mao Xiaoli ever find partners?”

Ma Shanfeng chuckled calmly, “They’re good at pretending outside. They’re still young. Take it slow, they’ll come around. If Lao Kou can find a partner, why not the two of them?”

“It’s different,” Chen Yang still seemed worried, “Lao Kou had a unique investment vision since he was young, and he knew how to make money to support his partners… no, to impress his partners day after day. Zhang Qiudao and Mao Xiaoli, one addicted to games, the other to petty fights to earn money, seem to be destined for lonely lives.”

Ma Shanfeng rubbed the edge of his cup, revealing a profound and unpredictable smile, “Don’t worry, I have a lot of contacts and resources on hand.” With that, he took out a thick book from under the table, opened it up, and said, “These are the contacts I’ve accumulated over the years, people from the Tianshi world, business, and education sectors, all suitable young people are listed here.”

He looked up, giving Chen Yang a sense of a big shot. Ma Shanfeng pushed the book forward with a flourish and said, “Take your pick.”

Kui Xuan curiously asked, “What is it?” Ji Jiang calmly replied, “A matchmaking catalog.”

“Kids shouldn’t look at it.” Chen Yang snatched the book back from Kui Xuan’s hand, glanced at it, then handed it back to Ma Shanfeng, saying, “Uncle Ma, you’re just three sizes short. Your records are too clear, and there are both men and women. What are you doing?”

Ma Shanfeng chuckled, “Just bored. Besides, it’s so difficult to find partners nowadays. Our branch office also needs to be considerate and assign partners.”

At this moment, Mao Xiaoli and Zhang Qiudao, after finishing their fight, noticed this side and asked, “What are you discussing? Uncle Ma, did you take out that thick criminal records book again?” Seeing Chen Yang’s puzzled expression, Mao Xiaoli explained, “The information on each person inside is so detailed, it’s like a record of criminal cases.”

“Don’t talk nonsense, marriage partners are for life, how can we be careless? Of course, the more detailed, the better, to avoid harming someone for a lifetime.” Ma Shanfeng smiled innocently, “Good marital relations can accumulate good social connections. Uncle Ma has accumulated many connections over the years through matchmaking.”

Then he looked at Mao Xiaoli, even more affectionately, “Xiaoli, aren’t you worshiping He He Er Xian as your ancestor? This book will be left to you in the future, and you will continue to accumulate connections for the branch office.”

Upon hearing this, Mao Xiaoli’s eyes lit up, “Sure.” She found it quite interesting, and besides, accumulating social connections seemed more useful than earning money. She had long been envious of Ma Shanfeng’s terrifyingly vast network of connections. “Uncle Ma, can I take it back to look at it tonight?”

“Sure. Next time there’s matchmaking work, I’ll take you along,” Ma Shanfeng replied.

“Thank you, Uncle Ma.”

Chen Yang patiently waited for them to finish their banter before clapping his hands and saying, “Back to the main topic, is there any way to save those girls who have had their vitality drained?”

Mao Xiaoli flopped onto the sofa, “Instead of trying to regain their vitality, why not replenish it?”

Chen Yang replied, “It’s not that easy.”

Ma Shanfeng added, “Actually, the only way now is indeed to replenish their vitality, but it’s not so easy to accomplish. Vitality is intangible, how do we capture it? How do we make those girls absorb this vitality? How can we ensure that this vitality can revive their lives? These are all big problems.” He pondered for a moment, then looked at Du Shuo, “What does the Bureau of Metaphysics think?”

At this, Chen Yang also looked at Du Shuo, leaving Du Shuo no choice but to respond. “Gathering Qi Formation.”

“The origin of life comes from the qi of heaven and earth. Humans have vitality, essence, and yang. The Yellow Emperor’s Inner Canon says: The origin of life lies in yin and yang. Humans have yin and yang, circulating through the five viscera and six bowels. The mingmen’s yin and yang are called vitality, which propels the yang qi of the five viscera, allowing the yang qi to operate. The yin and yang qi of the five viscera and six bowels and the twelve meridians are called vitality, which is born from the qi of heaven and earth. If a person lacks yang qi or vitality, they may be physically weak and mentally depressed, but they can still be treated with medicine or food. If there is no vitality, they will wither completely. Vitality exists between heaven and earth. A plant without vitality will wither, and a city without the flow of vitality will die. A person without vitality, like these people, will rapidly wither and age until death.” Du Shuo looked up, “So, we need to gather and store vitality to replenish theirs.”

“How do we do that?” Chen Yang turned to massage Du Shuo’s shoulders, trying to please him, “Can you be more detailed?”

Du Shuo glanced at Chen Yang, who didn’t even bother to hand him his clothes when he came back, and smiled ambiguously, not making things difficult for him, “The qi gives birth to all things, and among all things, the vitality of mountains, rivers, lakes, and the earth is the most abundant. The so-called genius lies in the earth, and the spirit lies in the earth. The vitality of mountains, rivers, and lakes is abundant, nurturing all things. The more people there are, the more vigorous the vitality, which in turn nourishes the earth, sustaining life. So if you want to replenish their vitality, you need to borrow the qi of mountains, rivers, lakes, and the earth, preferably in a prosperous city with a large population.”

“Will borrowing vitality affect the city and its residents?” 

“No, it’s endless. As long as you don’t extract a large amount of vitality from a city, the vitality extracted by the Gathering Qi Formation is like taking a drop of water from the ocean.” Moreover, it’s basically impossible to extract the vitality of an entire city. As long as the lives of mountains and rivers are intact, the source of vitality will not be cut off. Unless you slaughter the entire population of a city and destroy the feng shui of mountains, rivers, and lakes, blocking the flow of vitality. Turning vitality into luck, but this will inevitably backfire.”

Ma Shanfeng suddenly realized, “Is the Bureau of Metaphysics using the principles of feng shui to gather and store vitality?” Du Shuo nodded, and Ma Shanfeng explained, “Feng shui emphasizes the gathering and storage of vitality, whether in a city or a household. From the veins of mountains and rivers to the layout of family structures, the principle is to gather and store vitality, with water being the top priority. If there’s no gathering of vitality, everything will disperse. Therefore, there are many formations in feng shui to gather vitality, borrowing from mountains, rivers, lakes, or the vitality of a city, which is feasible.”

Chen Yang then asked, “What formation should we use to gather vitality?”

“The Tai Chi Gathering Qi Formation.” Tai Chi generates yin and yang, and the yin and yang of the five viscera, six bowels, and twelve meridians are called vitality. The Tai Chi Gathering Qi Formation is vigorous and intense, suitable for girls who have lost all vitality. After all, they are facing withering and decline at the moment, and slow nurturing probably can’t keep up with the rate of decline.

“Okay, let’s start preparing now. Give the Gathering Qi Formation to Lu Xiuzhi, and Xiaoli and Qiudao, you two are responsible for contacting all the girls whose vitality has been drained and bring them to the branch office for Lu Xiuzhi to arrange.” Chen Yang checked his phone for the time, “Big Fatty should be close to tracking the class monitor now. We can use her to catch the Demon Mother.”

“I’m afraid this Demon Mother is just one of her incarnations.” The true form of the Demon Mother is still in the Potala Palace in Tibet, and it’s probably futile to capture her incarnations.

“I know. But I speculate that she doesn’t have many incarnations. She gave birth to ten sons, and at most she could have ten incarnations at her peak. Now that she’s suppressed in the Potala Palace, her power is greatly diminished. She probably has no more than four incarnations, each of which is extremely precious. Even killing one incarnation would be a major blow to the Demon Mother. Ma Shanfeng, I’ll trouble you to contact the monks in Tibet and make sure to suppress the Demon Mother.”

“I’ll contact them now, but it may need approval from the Taoist Association, so it may take some time.”

“No problem.” Chen Yang stood up and clapped his hands, “Now everyone get ready. Xiaoli and Qiudao, I’ll send you the list of girls to contact later.”

Mao Xiaoli and Zhang Qiudao replied, “Okay.”

Kui Xuan raised her hand, “What about me? Chen Yang, what should I do?”

“Homework done yet?” Chen Yang asked in return.

Kui Xuan nestled into Ji Jiang’s arms, feeling as if high school students had no human rights.

Just then, Big Fatty jumped in through the window. Upon seeing Kui Xuan and Du Shuo it looked frightened, toppling to the ground with a loud thud, surprising Kui Xuan. “I thought you would float down,” she said, surprised at its weight.

Chen Yang stepped onto Big Fatty’s round, chubby body and asked, “Fatty, did you find the class monitor?”

Big Fatty buried its head in its flesh, holding up a cardboard sign. On the sign, there were shaky punctuation marks, too scared to speak and its hands trembling. Chen Yang raised an eyebrow and turned to Ji Jiang. “Jiang, could you take Kui Xuan back to her room and remind her to finish her homework?”

Ji Jiang complied, picking up the expressionless and unwilling Kui Xuan and carrying her upstairs. Kui Xuan clung to Ji Jiang’s neck, glaring at Big Fatty with menacing sharp teeth. Big Fatty, both angry and scared, its fur bristling, emitted a low growl. Du Shuo cast a light, fleeting glance over, and Big Fatty’s growl abruptly stopped.

Chen Yang, stepping off of Big Fatty, asked, “Fatty, where is the class monitor girl?”

Big Fatty held up the cardboard sign, “Gone home.”

“Can you still move? Do you want me to carry you?” Chen Yang squatted down to ask Big Fatty. Big Fatty shook its head, wanting to nod but its legs felt weak. The next moment, it noticed a shadow looming over its head and caught a glimpse of the terrifying face of the Emperor. It dashed to the door, “I can move!”

Du Shuo withdrew his gaze, interlocking his fingers with Chen Yang’s. “Let’s go.”

As Chen Yang was being pulled away, he didn’t forget to turn back and remind, “Don’t make mistakes, and remember to instruct Lao Kou and Lu Xiuzhi about the Gathering Qi Formation.”

The living room was now left with Ma Shanfeng, Mao Xiaoli, and Zhang Qiudao, and the lively atmosphere suddenly became cold and lonely. Mao Xiaoli felt a bit uncomfortable, pinching her arm. Then she heard Ma Shanfeng’s phone ring. He picked it up, “Hello, honey.” He got up and went into the office to speak privately, making Mao Xiaoli even more uncomfortable. She pinched her arm in silence for a while before saying, “Well, how about you and I start dating?”

Upon hearing this, Zhang Qiudao glanced at Mao Xiaoli, silently retreating. Mao Xiaoli said, “I wasn’t talking to you.” Zhang Qiudao breathed a sigh of relief, took out his phone, and opened a game interface, “Oh.”

Mao Xiaoli kicked him, “Serves you right for being single.” She picked up the book and said, “No, I can’t take it anymore. I’m fed up with being fed dog food every day. There are only a few of us in the bureau, and everyone else is in a relationship. It’s just the two of us left. Aren’t you feeling lonely?”

“Don’t we still have Kui Xuan?”

“You beast! Can children count?” Mao Xiaoli glared at Zhang Qiudao and continued to flip through Ma Shanfeng’s matchmaking book, “I have to get out of being single as soon as possible.”

Zhang Qiudao sneered, his fingers flying over the screen, making the phone screen crackle, “Do you know what being in a relationship means? It means you have to spend all your time earning money on your boyfriend, watching those boring movies, going shopping with your boyfriend, spending two hours every morning putting on makeup and dressing up just to be cute and charming in front of your boyfriend, unable to even open a bottle cap.”

Mao Xiaoli was startled, hesitant and wary. “Are you trying to trick me? If things are really like that, you would have pushed me into the fire long ago. How could you kindly remind me?”

“Am I that bad?” Zhang Qiudao raised his eyebrows, “At least we’re colleagues. I’m just reminding you not to jump into the fire pit.”

Mao Xiaoli puzzled, “But Brother Chen and the Director Du seem to have a good atmosphere.”

“That’s because they’re familiar with each other and happened to meet the right people. Can you guarantee that the people you meet are the right ones? Ninety percent of the time, you’ll meet scumbags, and the remaining nine percent will treat you like a little sister or a friend.”

“What about the remaining one percent?”

Zhang Qiudao leaned close to Mao Xiaoli, who nervously retreated, until her back was against the sofa. Mao Xiaoli nervously asked, “What are you doing? Zhang Qiudao, you have to calm down. We’re good buddies, front and back, don’t do anything reckless—”

Zhang Qiudao, with a smirk on his lips, leaned in closer, his face becoming more tense, which made Mao Xiaoli even more nervous. With her back pressed against the sofa, she finally asked, “Ahaha, Zhang Qiudao, did you just admit that I’m pretty and good-looking? Is that it?”

Zhang Qiudao’s eyes were rolled up to the point where only the whites were visible. By the end, Mao Xiaoli only focused on ‘appearance.’ Normally not very smart, but surprisingly cunning in crucial moments. It seemed that everyone in the Mao family was the same, dense as wood!

 

 

 

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