Start from a baby to become a Taoist

Chapter 579, Section 596: The Girl
Chapter 595

The girl's face still had a tired pallor, and there were faint dark circles under her eyes, but her eyes were surprisingly bright, as if they were filled with starlight.

When she saw that Xu Ran had really opened his eyes and was looking at her, the starlight in the girl's eyes was instantly covered by a layer of mist, and then turned into two streams of hot tears that flowed down her cheeks.

She didn't cry out loud, but bit her lip tightly and wiped her tears haphazardly with the back of her hand, crying and laughing at the same time.

"Brother...you're finally awake...that's great...waaaah...you scared me to death..."

Xu Ran looked at her, and the chaotic flow of data in his mind finally found a clear anchor point.

Xu Xiaoyu.

his sister.

Fragments of memories began to surface.

His name is Xu Ran, he's twenty-two years old, and he just graduated from university. His parents died in a car accident a year ago, leaving him and his younger sister to rely on each other. Three months ago, to raise enough money for his sister's university tuition and living expenses, he worked three jobs simultaneously. Due to overwork, while delivering food late one night, he and his vehicle were hit by a dump truck that ran a red light…

He has no memory of what happened after that.

It turns out... I had been in a coma for three months.

So... that earth-shattering cosmic war, that world-creating act, was just a bizarre dream that a person in a vegetative state had while lying in a hospital bed?

Xu Ran opened his mouth, his throat so dry it felt like it was on fire, and the sound he made was incredibly hoarse.

"Little... rain..."

"Hey! Brother, I'm here!" Xu Xiaoyu quickly came over, carefully supporting his head, then picked up the water glass on the table, dipped a cotton swab in water, and gently moistened his lips.

"Don't speak, you just woke up and you're still very weak. Doctor! Doctor! My brother is awake!"

She shouted incoherently as she pressed the call button by the bedside.

Soon, a series of hurried footsteps could be heard, and doctors and nurses rushed into the ward to conduct a series of examinations on Xu Ran.

"A miracle, what a miracle!"

The older attending physician looked at the data on the instrument and shone a flashlight into Xu Ran's pupils, marveling at it.

"All vital signs have stabilized and you are conscious. To recover from that level of traumatic brain injury, young man, your willpower is amazing."

"Thank you, doctor! Thank you, doctor!" Xu Xiaoyu kept bowing and thanking him, tears streaming down her face again.

The doctor smiled and offered a few words of comfort, then gave some instructions before leaving with the nurses, leaving the brother and sister, who had just survived the ordeal, alone.

The ward fell silent again.

All that remained was the steady beeping of the heart rate monitor and the occasional, indistinct honking of a horn from outside the window.

Xu Xiaoyu moved a stool and sat on the edge of the bed, quietly watching Xu Ran as if she could never get enough of him.

Xu Ran was also looking at her.

Looking at her slightly yellowish hair, her faded old T-shirt, and her eyes that seemed a bit too big due to long-term sleep deprivation and malnutrition.

His heart felt as if it had been gently yet forcefully squeezed by an invisible hand.

pain.

It's a very unfamiliar, yet very real, emotion.

In that "dream," he was the creator of the world, the supreme being who overlooked all cycles of reincarnation. His emotions were great love, compassion, and a grand will to protect the entire civilization.

But now, this sharp heartache, specific to a particular person, makes him feel... that he is the only truly living "person".

"Brother, are you hungry? The doctor said you can't eat anything right now, you can only drink some rice porridge."

"Brother, don't worry about the medical expenses. The school gave me a scholarship, and I also applied for a student loan. I also work part-time in my spare time. It'll be enough, definitely enough."

"Brother, although the driver who caused the accident fled, the police said they have leads and will definitely catch him."

Xu Xiaoyu kept talking, mostly about trivial things. She tried to force a smile to lighten the atmosphere in the ward, but her voice choked up as she spoke.

"Brother, please... don't push yourself so hard in the future, okay? I don't want anything to happen to you again... Mom and Dad are gone, you're all I have left..."

She finally couldn't hold back anymore. She leaned over the bed, her thin shoulders heaving violently. The fear, grievances, and helplessness she had suppressed for three months all turned into tears at that moment.

Xu Ran slowly raised his right hand, the one that wasn't receiving an IV drip.

This simple action almost exhausted all his strength.

His hand gently landed on his sister's head, awkwardly stroking her not-so-soft hair.

His movements were light and slow, yet they carried an undeniable and reassuring power.

"rest assured."

His voice was still hoarse, but it had gained a warm and gentle quality that he had never experienced before.

"From now on, I'll be here for you."

"Everything will be alright."

Xu Xiaoyu's crying gradually stopped.

She could feel that her brother's hand, though weak and powerless, was like a mountain that could shelter her from the wind and rain.

She looked up at Xu Ran with teary eyes and nodded heavily.

She didn't know why, but she just felt that her brother seemed... different after waking up.

Eyes.

It's the look.

His eyes remained calm, but behind that calmness seemed to lie a universe deeper than the night sky and more vast than the sea.

Being stared at with those eyes, all my hesitation and unease seemed to be soothed away instantly.

……

For the next few days, Xu Ran underwent rehabilitation treatment.

His recovery speed exceeded all the doctors' expectations.

In just one week, he was able to get out of bed and walk slowly down the corridor with his cane.

During this time, Xu Xiaoyu came to keep him company every day, telling him interesting stories from school and reading him news from the newspaper, trying her best to help him reconnect with the world.

Xu Ran, most of the time, just listened quietly.

He was like a dried-up sponge, greedily absorbing all the information about the world.

He learned that it was now 2024 AD, and the city he was in was called "Jiangcheng," a bustling modern metropolis full of opportunities and challenges.

He gradually became convinced that the earth-shattering cosmic war was really... just a dream.

Although every detail of that dream was incredibly real, and the insights into the Great Dao and the clashes of the laws were clearly imprinted deep within his soul, so what?

Dreams are just dreams after all.

Ultimately, people have to live in reality.

However, this dream seems to have left him with some... aftereffects.

For example, his senses became exceptionally sharp.

Chapter 596

He could clearly hear the suppressed sobs of the patient's family members in the next ward.

He could smell the sweet fragrance emanating from the osmanthus tree in the garden downstairs.

He could even feel the warm, pulsating light particles as the sunlight pierced through the glass and fell on his skin.

The whole world, in his perception, became more vibrant than ever before.

For example, his mindset. He found it difficult to experience intense emotional fluctuations in response to certain things.

He found the gossip about a celebrity on TV utterly uninteresting.

He simply smiled when he heard the nurses discussing housing prices and stocks.

Those things that once made a 22-year-old anxious, angry, or ecstatic now seem to him like... a drama whose ending he already knew.

His heart, as if it had gone through an entire era, had become as still as a deep well.

The only person who could stir his heart was his younger sister, Xu Xiaoyu.

Watching her happy for the wages of a part-time job, watching her jump for joy because she got a high score on her exam, watching her carefully tuck the money she saved under her pillow...

Only then could Xu Ran's heart, which was as still as a deep well, be stirred with warm, gentle ripples.

This, perhaps, is the true meaning of the "guardianship" that Yao left behind in that "dream".

Protecting someone isn't about protecting a vast world, but about protecting the person you cherish most right in front of you.

That afternoon, Xu Ran completed the discharge procedures.

He refused Xu Xiaoyu's offer to pick him up and walked out of the hospital gate alone, leaning on his crutches.

Three months later, autumn had arrived in Jiangcheng.

The sky was high and blue, like a washed gemstone.

The leaves of the plane trees lining the road have begun to turn yellow. When the autumn wind blows, it picks up a few fallen leaves, which twirl in the air and slowly drift down.

There is a lot of traffic and people coming and going.

The glass curtain walls of skyscrapers reflect the glaring sunlight, and huge electronic billboards display glamorous celebrities and tempting products.

Everyone was in a hurry, their faces showing signs of fatigue, numbness, or anxiety, as they rushed about in this steel jungle in order to make a living.

Xu Ran stood at the hospital entrance and took a deep breath.

The air was filled with the fumes of cars, the aroma of food, and... that unique, earthy scent of everyday life.

He suddenly realized that his dream of creating the universe was somewhat ridiculous.

What about the cycle of yin and yang, the changing of the seasons, birth, aging, sickness, and death...?

Aren't those grand principles actually hidden in the most ordinary things, in the act of breathing?

The falling of autumn leaves is to accumulate nutrients for the new buds of spring.

Isn't this reincarnation?

As one generation ages and another grows up, the torch is passed on, generation after generation.

Isn't this what inheritance is all about?

He once tried to define a world using his own "Tao".

But now he realizes that the true "Tao" exists in the world itself, in the lives of every ordinary person.

He doesn't need to define anything; he just needs to feel, experience, and immerse himself.

"Hey kid, get out of the way!"

An impatient voice interrupted Xu Ran's thoughts.

A deliveryman in a food delivery uniform, riding an electric scooter, hurriedly drove past him, not forgetting to turn back and glare at him.

Xu Ran smiled, leaned on his cane, and moved to the side.

He watched the delivery guy's back as he disappeared into the traffic, his eyes somewhat dazed.

Three months ago, I was one of them.

For those few thousand yuan each month, they braved wind and rain, never daring to stop.

That kind of life was very tough and tiring.

But looking back now, it also feels... very reassuring.

He took out an old cell phone with a cracked screen. It was recovered by the police from the scene of the car accident, repaired, and still usable.

He pulled out his contacts and dialed his sister's number.

"Brother? You've been discharged from the hospital? Where are you? I'll come pick you up right away!" Xu Xiaoyu's anxious voice came from the other end of the phone.

"No need, I can go back by myself." Xu Ran's voice was gentle. "You can focus on your studies. By the way, where do we live now?"

After the car accident, in order to pay for his high medical expenses, Xu Xiaoyu had already sold the old house left by his parents.

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, followed by Xu Xiaoyu's somewhat hesitant voice.

"I rented a single room in... in the old town in the south of the city... Brother, don't mind, it's just a little small, but the rent is cheap..."

"Silly girl, how could I possibly dislike you?" Xu Ran's eyes welled up with tears. "Send me the address."

After hanging up the phone, Xu Ran hailed a taxi.

"Master, go to the south of the city, to Willow Leaf Lane."

……

The taxi drove through the bustling city center, heading south. The scenery outside the window gradually changed from high-rise buildings to low, dilapidated tenement buildings.

The air was filled with a damp, musty smell.

Liuye Lane is the most famous shantytown in Jiangcheng.

This is another side of the city.

It is the glamorous and beautiful city of Jiangcheng, but its hidden wrinkles are unknown to many.

Xu Ran got out of the car and, following the address on his phone, walked into a narrow, secluded alley.

On both sides of the alley are jagged "handshake buildings," with densely packed power lines stretching overhead like a spider web, cutting the sky into irregular fragments.

The ground was covered with wet bluestone slabs, and the corners of the walls were covered with moss.

The air was filled with the smell of cooking oil emanating from each kitchen.

Xu Ran walked with his cane, his steps uneven. He looked at everything, his eyes showing no disgust, but rather... a long-lost sense of familiarity.

Here, there are no great laws, no changing of eras.

Here, you'll find only the most authentic...life.

He found the address, which was a three-story building that looked dilapidated. The stairs were made of wood and made a creaking sound when you stepped on them.

His and his sister's home was in the innermost room on the third floor.

The door wasn't locked, so Xu Ran pushed it open and went inside.

A familiar and warm feeling wafted over me.

The room is very small, only about ten square meters. A bed, a desk, and a wardrobe take up most of the space.

The desk was piled high with senior year review materials, and next to it was a schoolbag that had been patched up several times.

On the bed, the blankets were neatly folded, and beside the pillow lay an open professional book about fashion design.

The room was small, but it was spotless.

On the balcony, several freshly washed clothes were still hanging, some his and some his sister's, emitting a faint, fresh scent of laundry detergent in the autumn sunlight.

Xu Ran put down his cane and slowly sat on the edge of the bed.

He looked around at this small "home" that belonged to him and his sister.

(End of this chapter)