Techniques and Dao

Chapter 53 Coffee Time
After a minor argument, Hua Sheng and Tai Shang Xiao Jun sat in the coffee shop waiting for it to close.

Hana looked around at the people sitting nearby; almost everyone in the coffee shop was looking down at their phones.

"Don't you think we should have a cell phone?" Hua Sheng asked.

“That makes sense. Saint Pingning’s communication system has no signal here. We definitely should have one; it would make communication much easier.”

"Conjure up a cell phone."

"You're quite the opposite, always seeking favors, like Zhong Wuyan, and always seeking peace." Taishang Xiaojun seemed to still harbor some resentment about the earlier conversation about the privileged class. "I've never even touched a cell phone in the mortal realm, so I can't change."

"I also know some magic. Teach me the incantation, and I'll do it!"

"Oh?" Tai Shang Xiao Jun looked at Hua Sheng. "Alright. Then this immortal will teach you a few tricks. However, you need to find a cell phone first to transform. Otherwise, I don't know what kind of phone you'll be able to transform into."

"If we could find a phone, would we even need to change it?"

"We can ask the table next door to borrow it." Tai Shang Xiao Jun glanced behind Hua Sheng.

Hua Sheng turned her head and saw a trendy young woman sitting not far behind her by the window. This fashionable woman wore bright red lipstick and was giggling while looking at her phone, occasionally typing text, seemingly chatting with a friend about something interesting.

"Wow! It's pretty!" Hua Sheng said.

“Indeed!” Tai Shang Xiao Jun glanced at the woman and said, “I was referring to her cell phone.”

"Do you think I wasn't talking about cell phones?"

"I thought you were talking about earrings," Tai Shang Xiao Jun deliberately interrupted.

Hua Sheng shrugged: "If I need to borrow her phone, how should I ask her?"

"Just touch the phone, no need to say hello, unless you want to get to know her."

"If you touch someone's phone without asking, what's the difference between that and touching their hand?"

"Touching her hand is like being a hooligan, touching her phone is like being a pervert," said Tai Shang Xiao Jun. "But you can pretend to touch it accidentally; technique is especially important."

Tai Shang Xiao Jun picked up the paper cup, removed the outer heat-insulating paper sleeve, held it between his left thumb and forefinger, recited a spell, and then slapped it with his right hand. With a snap, the paper sleeve fell onto the table and split into two.

"This is the art of copying!" Hua Sheng suddenly realized.

"The Tao gives birth to One, One gives birth to Two. With a slight modification to the 'Scattering Beans to Turn into Soldiers' technique, we can achieve the effect of instant replication." Tai Shang Xiao Jun blinked. "I call it the 'Shopping for Free' technique."

"What kind of a name is that?"

"Do you want to learn?"

"miss you!"

Tai Shang Xiao Jun taught Hua Sheng the incantation for the magic spell. Hua Sheng recited the incantation silently, then patted the heat-insulating paper cover with his hand, and the cover instantly multiplied into two in mid-air. "I got it! Watch me go and conjure up our phones!"

Tai Shang Xiao Jun reminded, "Just pat it once with your hand. Don't pat it too much."

"I understand, I understand!"

Hua Sheng glanced back at the trendy young woman, who was holding a paper coffee cup in both hands, with her phone resting on the table. Hua Sheng quickly calculated that as he walked over, he would first chant a spell, then touch the phone with his left hand, causing it to slide off the table. The phone would split in two mid-air, which he could catch with both hands simultaneously. He could then place the original phone back on the table and carry the extra phone back with his other hand. Once he had one phone, turning it into two would be a piece of cake.

Thinking of this, Hua Sheng stood up impatiently. The young woman was looking out the window at the traffic flowing back and forth on the opposite road and did not notice Hua Sheng approaching.

Hua Sheng pretended to stroll towards the nearby bookshelf. About a third of the phone was already visible off the table, a perfect opportunity for him. As he approached the table, he casually placed his hand on it, as if it were completely accidental. Then, with lightning speed, he caught it and said stylishly, "Excuse me, miss. Your new phone almost fell to the ground."

Yes! Use a deep, magnetic voice. Although Hanamori was fully prepared, she still felt a little uneasy, like a thief with a guilty conscience.

He finished reciting the incantation that Taishang Xiaojun had taught him. Just as he reached the table, he suddenly heard a young woman's voice talking to herself while looking out the window: "My girlish heart, oh my god, I really want to buy this bag..."

The tone of his voice made Hua Sheng's legs go weak. He stumbled, his left hand instinctively grabbing the table for support, but unfortunately, it landed on the edge of the phone, about a third of the way off the table. The phone instantly flew into the air, and Hua Sheng panicked, frantically trying to catch it with both hands. So the phone bounced back and forth between Hua Sheng's hands.

Then, an unbelievable scene unfolded. Having recited the incantation, every time Hua Sheng touched the phone, it split into two. Then, a "rain of phones" began to fall from Hua Sheng's hand. Phones of the same color and model fell to the ground with a clatter. Amidst the gasps of those around him, Hua Sheng finally managed to grasp the original phone.

Immediately afterwards, thunderous applause erupted in the coffee shop. The young woman was stunned for a moment, then clapped enthusiastically!

"Is this person a magician?"

"Is it a magic flash mob performance?"

"Wow, that's amazing! How did you conjure up all those phones? Where were you hiding them on your person?"

"It must be inside the clothes, there's an inner pocket!"

"Oh no, this is amazing! I should have filmed it!"

All eyes were on Hua Sheng, as if they had stumbled upon a great magician.

Hua Sheng could only grit his teeth and bow to the crowd, saying, "Thank you everyone! Thank you everyone! I'm a magician, and today I'm going to perform a flash mob magic trick for you all. I hope you like it, hahaha!" Hua Sheng covered up his embarrassment with laughter while picking up his phone from the ground.

Finally, the young woman even pulled Hua Sheng, who was carrying a stack of phones, along for a selfie before letting him go. Tai Shang Xiao Jun watched as the "magician" Hua Sheng returned carrying a stack of phones, uttering each word slowly and deliberately.

With so many new phones in stock, why not consider developing secondary distributors?

Time always flies when you're sitting in a coffee shop with your phone in hand, especially if you have several phones. Right now, Hanamoto has a stack of phones in front of him.

"With cell phones, if two countries are at war, and one side's army is about to reach an ambush location, they can take out their phones, scan for nearby people, and see tens of thousands of men around. How could they possibly fall into an ambush?" Hua Sheng asked.

"Your joke is so lame." Tai Shang Xiao Jun looked at his phone. "It does remind us that we should turn off our phone's location services to avoid being tracked by Sheng Ping Ning."

Hua Sheng opened her phone's privacy settings, preparing to make changes.

"The phone settings are useless. Even if you remove the battery, it can still locate you. You need higher permissions." Tai Shang Xiao Jun took Hua Sheng's phone and drew a talisman on the back of the phone with his finger. A row of silver celestial incantations immediately appeared on the back of the phone.

Then, Taishang Xiaojun drew a talisman on the back of his phone. Holding the phone up and examining it, he said, "By the way, does this phone need to be topped up with some credit before it can be used?"

"Right, I almost forgot. I can just use magic to cast a spell. I tried buying coffee earlier, let me make it for you." Hua Sheng took Tai Shang Xiao Jun's phone and asked, "How much do you need to top up?"

"Then please fill it up for me."

Hua Sheng was taken aback: "You think this is like charging a phone? You need to fully charge it to top up your phone credit?"

"If it's fully charged, you can use it with peace of mind."

"What you said makes sense. But this phone credit can't be fully charged at all!" Hua Sheng had no choice but to charge Tai Shang Xiao Jun a little to ensure normal use.

"Top up more, so your service doesn't get cut off due to unpaid bills."

"You're so long-winded. Okay, I understand!"

After drawing the talisman and topping up his phone credit, Tai Shang Xiao Jun used his phone to search for news leads, hoping to find any information about the Xuanwu Spirit Serpent.

Suddenly, he looked up at Hanamori and said, "I saw a news report about an investigation into the disappearance and sinking of a cruise ship called the Bedland a year ago. It said that all the passengers and crew were found unconscious on the shore closest to the sinking site, as if they had been rescued by some supernatural force. Only a small number of tourists and staff went missing. Could it be the ship you were on?"

"Really?" Although Hua Sheng had no memory of what happened before, he had some flashbacks of the cruise ship scene in his mind.

Hanamori took the phone from Taishang Xiaojun and looked at the report. The report was short, only a few hundred words. Perhaps because the truth was still unclear, the media couldn't speculate, simply recounting a strange experience through the words of an interviewee. The mention of supernatural forces also came from a child interviewed. The report stated that the cruise company and government experts were investigating further details.

Hua Sheng had no clue what to do and could only shake his head helplessly. The matter had to be put on hold for now, and they would discuss it again after Wei Yu was rescued.

The two then observed the large bronze jar in the center, planning the details of their upcoming alchemy session. Before they knew it, it was nearly ten o'clock at night, and the coffee shop was closing time. A barista wearing a gray canvas apron approached them and said, "Excuse me, gentlemen, we're about to close."

After the barista left, Hanamori said to Taishang Xiaojun, "It looks like the shop is going to be cleared out. Let's find a place to hide and come out after everyone's gone."

Tai Shang Xiao Jun checked the time: "You've learned the Xuanming-level incarnation spell, right?"

"These past six months at the Daoist Academy haven't been wasted!" Hua Sheng felt he was no longer an ordinary person and was slightly proud.

Taishang Xiaojun and Huasheng walked to a corner where they wouldn't be easily seen and said, "In a coffee shop, do you know what's the least noticeable thing to do?"

"Hey! Of course I know!"

"Alright!" Tai Shang Xiao Jun looked around the shop; besides a few baristas cleaning, only the two of them remained as customers. He then pushed Hua Sheng back slightly, and the two whispered:
"Hurry, hurry, as the law commands! Change!"

In an instant, their figures shrank. Taishang Xiaojun became an inconspicuous coffee bean, blending into a square basket full of coffee beans on the table, and disappeared without a trace. Huasheng, on the other hand, transformed into a travel thermos coffee mug on the shelf.

Although they are transformed into different objects, they don't seem out of place hidden inside the coffee shop.

Just then, the coffee shop door was pushed open, and a boy and his mother walked in.

"Sorry, we're closed!" said the barista wearing a green apron.

"Mom, Mom! Look, the limited edition coffee thermos I told you about is still here!" The boy ran to the shelf, pointing to the "Flower Bloom Coffee Mug" on it. Then he grabbed the "Flower Bloom Coffee Mug" and ran to the cashier.

"Can we pay for this?" the boy's mother asked.

"Sure, we'd be closing time if we were a minute later," the barista said with a smile. "You've come at just the right time!"

Hua Sheng felt a sinking feeling in her heart.

The barista picked up the "Floral Coffee Cup," scanned the tag, and said, "...This limited edition cup is quite heavy. One hundred and eighty-eight yuan."

After the boy's mother paid by card, the barista put the coffee cup, which had transformed into a flower, into a paper bag and handed it to the boy. The boy took out the coffee cup, shook it, listened to it, and then said to his mother, "Mom, this coffee cup makes a gurgling sound when you shake it."

"It's probably full from drinking coffee!" the mother teased the little boy.

Then, the mother and son took the coffee cup that Huasheng had transformed into out of the shop. The boy walked ahead, skipping and jumping, shaking the thermos rapidly against his ear, listening to the rumbling sounds coming from Huasheng's stomach.

Hanako inwardly groaned. This brat! My stomach's full of coffee; if he keeps shaking me like this, I'm going to throw up!

(End of this chapter)