Techniques and Dao

Chapter 94 Tear
Since I was a child, I've hoped that such a paradise exists in the world.
The region is vast, and its inhabitants have preserved the traditions of the Tang and Song dynasties, safeguarding their precious cultural customs for thousands of years. It has never been disturbed by outsiders, nor has it ever destroyed itself; everything seems to stand still, flowing through the river of time. The people there don't need to pander to foreign cultures or wear Western suits to gain respect; they wear their own traditional clothing, which is also constantly evolving, and are equally proud of it.

Legend has it that gods, spirits, and humans lived in harmony here. There was no hunger, no disasters, no wars, no corrupt officials, no one was hungry or cold, and no one could not afford medical treatment or education.

Every resident enjoys a secure and safe life, and never envies any other place. No matter how wealthy they become, they would never want to leave.

People cherish peace and tranquility and will not commit crimes out of greed. But if they encounter something worth protecting, they will fight for it without fear, regardless of whether they own it or not.

That world was so peaceful.

I hope it exists; I always believe it exists.

This place is called Saint Pingning.

The dilapidated hospital room was dimly lit.

Hua Sheng began to get anxious, large beads of sweat dripping onto the cement ground beneath his feet.

"What did you say? There's no Academy of Arts and Crafts?"

“Yes. Hanamori, we’ve told you many times. There is no such place as the Magic Academy in this world,” the cat nurse replied.

"No! A year ago, right here, after you gave me the Nine-Turn Rejuvenation Pill, Hei Yun, that woman in black, took me from here and went directly to the Dao of Arts Academy. That's where I completed my enrollment procedures!"

“Hua Sheng, there’s no such thing as the Nine-Turn Rejuvenation Pill. You keep talking about elixirs of immortality, but where would you find such a thing?” said the cat nurse.

"No elixir? Aren't you a spirit? Aren't you a cat in disguise? Isn't this the Holy Peaceful Wonderland?"

"Why do you keep saying that? I'm just a normal person! How could I possibly be a cat in disguise?" The nurse turned her back. "Look, where did that tail come from!"

"But didn't you just say this is Saint Pingning?"

“That’s right. But this is St. Pingning Hospital, not some St. Pingning Wonderland you’re talking about!” the nurse said. “Hua Sheng, you need to wake up. You’ve been fantasizing! It’s all your fantasy!”

Hua Sheng felt as if he'd been struck by lightning: "You're lying to me! What nonsense are you talking about?!"

The nurse opened the desk drawer, took out a thick stack of manuscript paper, and placed it in his hand.

"Take a look, what is this?"

Hua Sheng looked at the stack of manuscript papers, hundreds of pages filled with dense text. He turned to the first page, where two large characters were written: "The Way of Techniques".

The nurse said, "This is the world you've imagined. You gave yourself the pen name Jiuxiao and just kept writing and writing. You imagined this hospital as a fairyland."

Hua Sheng froze, his eyes fixed on the manuscript in his hand. He quickly flipped through the paper, finally seeing the last sentence:

"She finally shattered into tiny specks of dust, shining like stars."

The dust drifted away, leaving only a small, glowing stone.

In the vast universe, this small stone is like a seed buried deep in my heart.

This seed is like the pure, flawless moonlight of that night, as white as snow.

Hanamori's eyes were like they could kill: "Impossible! This isn't my imagination. It's all real! Really!"

The nurse placed her hand on Hana's shoulder, intending to comfort her.

Suddenly, Hua Sheng roared and leaped up, rushing towards the door. At the same time, he jumped into the air, shouting, "Hurry, hurry, as the law commands! Teleportation Technique!"

But contrary to his expectations, he didn't disappear; instead, he fell down in the corridor. He immediately got up and ran down the corridor at breakneck speed. He kept falling and crashing into the walls, but he didn't care. The slight pain was nothing compared to the emotions he felt at that moment.

Then, Hua Sheng saw several nurses walking towards him, knocking their trays and medicines to pieces, desperately trying to break free from this cage. Finally, he saw the nurses on night shift at the front desk, with a nurse and a security guard sitting at their desks.

The two men were startled to see him, and then a shout came from behind: "Stop him!"

The security guard immediately stood up and tried to grab Hua Sheng. When Hua Sheng saw the face, it was none other than Brother Xu—Xu Xiaocheng!

Xu Ge tried to stop Hua Sheng, but Hua Sheng dodged past. However, Xu Ge occupied the position at the top of the stairs, blocking the way with his arms outstretched.

Hua Sheng tried several times but couldn't dodge. He glared with his bloodshot eyes and shouted, "Get out of the way! You monster! Get out of the way!"

Then Hua Sheng grabbed an aluminum alloy chair next to him and swung it at Brother Xu. Brother Xu was clearly professionally trained; he dodged left and right, and Hua Sheng couldn't touch him at all.

So, Hua Sheng turned around and smashed the chair against the tempered glass floor behind him with all his might.

With a loud crash, a large hole was smashed in the French windows. Hua Sheng looked out and saw that it was the third floor. The chair had crashed heavily to the ground with a thud, its aluminum alloy material twisted and deformed by the force of the impact.

The female nurse who looked just like the cat nurse caught up: "Hanamori! Don't be impulsive! Go back. Get some rest, everything will be alright!"

Hua Sheng roared furiously, his eyes bloodshot: "You lied to me! None of you can trap me! I have the Ruyi Jingu Bang! I'll kill anyone who dares to come near me!"

As he spoke, he tore off the necklace around his neck. "The Golden Cudgel! The Golden Cudgel! The Golden Cudgel!" Hua Sheng shouted three times!

The necklace in her hand didn't react. Hua Sheng gripped the necklace tightly, her palm pierced by the sharp triangular pendant, and blood kept seeping from between her fingers. The blood was so hot.

Hua Sheng roared to the sky, "Victorious Fighting Buddha! Victorious Fighting Buddha! What should I do? What should I do?"

He stared at the blood-soaked iron cudgel in his hand, his eyes filled with sorrow, and cried out helplessly, "I promised you, I haven't abandoned the golden cudgel, nor have I harmed any living beings. But! But how can I use it to protect myself? What should I do!"

More and more doctors and nurses gathered in the corridor, their eyes filled with strangeness and fear.

"Come back! It's dangerous by the window!" the nurse advised.

“Young man, you’re just sick. It’s alright, you’ll recover if you face reality.” Brother Xu’s tone was full of sympathy.

"Get out of here, all of you! I've been an orphan since I was little, my parents are dead! Only the teachers and friends at the Daoist Academy truly care about me, I want to see them! I absolutely cannot, I will never be locked up in this damned hospital!"

After saying that, he jumped out of the broken French window without looking back. In mid-air, he recited the Cloud Riding Technique, which he already knew by heart, but before he could finish, he heard a bang and crashed heavily onto the concrete ground.

At that moment, the sound of bones shattering vibrated in his eardrums, followed by excruciating pain. He lay on the ground, turning his head to see that his legs had been pierced by broken bones, a bloody mess.

Hanamori saw the hospital gate, then crawled down with difficulty, leaving a long trail of blood on the ground.

"I want to escape! I want to get out! I want to get out!"

This was the only voice in his mind.

At that moment, he saw a girl with golden-brown curly hair standing on the lawn not far from him, looking at him in horror.

Hua Sheng shouted hoarsely, "Extinction Shadow! Extinction Shadow!"

"Hanamori?" The curly-haired girl seemed to recognize him. She looked at him in alarm. "You... what's wrong with you?"

At the same time, a middle-aged man in a shirt appeared before Hua Sheng—Master Yu Ran!
Master Yu Ran's beard had become shorter, but Hua Sheng still recognized him!

He shouted with all his might, "Immortal Master Yu Ran! It's me! It's me, Hua Sheng! She, Mie Ying, knows me! I'm not dreaming!"

Master Yu Ran was walking in through the hospital gate when he saw Hua Sheng. He was extremely surprised and quickly ran up to hug Hua Sheng.

"Hanamori! What happened to you?"

Hua Sheng cried out hoarsely, "Immortal Master! Teacher, save me! Save me! I want to go back! I want to go back to the Academy of Arts and Sciences!"

Master Yu Ran hugged Hua Sheng tightly and said, "Alright, alright! Let's go back, Hua Sheng, let's go home!"

Hua Sheng cried out loudly, as if he had suffered endless pain and injustice, not because of his broken legs, but because his heart was breaking. He couldn't accept that the world he knew had been completely destroyed.

Then he started to feel dizzy, and before he lost consciousness, he saw red lettering on the roof of the hospital.

“Saint-Ping Ning Mental Health Center”.

When I woke up again, it was past noon the next day.

Hua Sheng found himself back in his hospital bed, with a clear blue sky outside the window. It reminded him of the sky he had once shared with Tai Shang Xiao Jun and Wei Yu riding cranes.

The sky in my memory was so clear and beautiful, even more real than the sky before my eyes, as if I could touch it.

The crane's back is covered in full, soft feathers, and its long, silvery hair flows like silk—everything feels so real.

Hua Sheng saw that his legs were wrapped in thick plaster casts, and next to the hospital bed was a stand with an IV drip bottle hanging from it, giving him an unknown drug.

Before him, Nurse Cat, Immortal Master Yu Ran, Immortal Master Jue Guang, and Immortal Master Huo Lei were all dressed in white coats and surrounding him. He hurriedly tried to sit up.

"Hua Sheng, slow down." Master Yu Ran patted his shoulder.

"Immortal Master Yu Ran, are you all here?"

Master Yu Ran said, “Hua Sheng, don’t be anxious. I understand what you want to say. You have mentioned the Academy of Arts and Sciences to us more than once. My name is Yu Ran, but I am not a Master. These two are Director Zhang and Director Chen. The three of us are your attending physicians.”

Hua Sheng remained silent, her eyes fixed on the doorway.

Suddenly, a boy appeared before her, looking about nine years old, being led by a middle-aged woman dressed in the same hospital gown as herself, standing outside the door talking to her. Hua Sheng was astonished to discover that the woman leading him was Xu Ge's sister-in-law, and that the boy was none other than Dao Ling Xing Jun!

The little boy, who looked exactly like Dao Ling Xingjun, was stomping on the ants on the ground, shouting as he did so: "Eliminate the bugs! Smash you all flat! Dimensional reduction attack! Dimensional reduction attack!"

"Ah! Those two people!" Hua Sheng pointed outside the door. "Who are they?"

(End of this chapter)