"You said you saw strange birds in the Cloud Sea? And you’ve been seeing them darting among the clouds all day?" Yu Sheng widened his eyes, looking at the obviously nervous Zheng Zhi. "And they’re increasing in number?"
Zheng Zhi reacted at this mont, looked back at the Cloud Sea, then turned his head to Yu Sheng, his eyes clear followed by nervousness: "Damn! It’s only who can see them again?!"
True Man Yuanling also ca over at this ti, his expression particularly serious: "Can you describe the appearance of those strange birds?"
"Pointy and long beak, tail feathers like several ribbons, very large, wing edges... Hey, wait a minute, I should just draw it!"
Saying this, Zheng Zhi turned around and ran back to his "watch station." Monts later, he ca out with a tablet computer and a stylus, opened the drawing pad, and quickly sketched on it. In a few minutes, he drew out the image of a strange bird darting in the Cloud Sea, using only a few simple lines, but showing features vividly and distinctly.
Erin was astonished, staring wide-eyed: "Nephew, you have this talent?"
Zheng Zhi scratched his head embarrassedly: "I used to work as a digital illustrator..."
Erin: "Oh, no wonder you always look exhausted and about to beco an Immortal whenever I see you."
Yu Sheng paid no attention to Zheng Zhi and Erin’s conversation, concentrating on the drawing the other had sketched. After a mont, he looked up again, gazing at the vast Cloud Sea outside the Cloud Viewing Platform.
The sunset was already near the edge of the Cloud Sea, with golden-red glow spreading along the clouds, casting a splendid silhouette on all of them. Yet, among the grand sunset Cloud Sea, no trace of any "strange bird" was visible.
True Man Yuanling frowned deeply upon seeing the drawing.
He reached out to grab in the air above the tablet, and the "drawing" was directly lifted out by him. Then, with a few twists and transformations in his palm, it turned into a vivid black bird illusion, soaring and gliding in mid-air.
"Is it like this?" True Man Yuanling turned his gaze towards Zheng Zhi and asked.
Zheng Zhi was stunned by the "Immortal’s technique" he saw, eyes full of awe, but soon he ca to his senses, carefully observing the strange bird Yuanling transford from the drawing, then cautiously spoke: "Make the tail a bit longer, the tail feathers a bit more flowing."
True Man Yuanling imdiately adjusted accordingly: "How about this?"
"The beak a bit shorter, wing edges more rounded...
"Tail feathers floating upwards, presenting a more lively feel...
"Adjust the neck a bit...
"Let’s go back to the first version then."
Erin poked Yu Sheng’s back head: "Nephew, isn’t this putting all his bitterness of working as a digital artist here, acting like a vengeful client?"
Yu Sheng raised an eyebrow, surprised that even the little puppet understood this, but quickly felt relieved—after all, this little thing spends over forty hours a day online, besides brawling in gas and bantering with internet folks, she absorbs online jokes intensively. It’s perfectly normal for her to grasp so jokes about clients and digital artists...
Luckily, Zheng Zhi quickly settled down: "Oh, right! Just like this! Just like now!"
True Man Yuanling nodded—an old man with good temper, adjusting through many versions without minding—and then with a flip of his hand, the finalized "strange bird" ca back to life, spiralling and gliding in the nearby sky.
Yu Sheng noticed the distinct heaviness and contemplation growing in True Man Yuanling’s expression.
"What have you figured out?" he asked instinctively.
"Feels sowhat familiar," True Man Yuanling spoke solemnly, "but can’t recall where I’ve seen it."
"Is it a species from your Taixu Star?" asked a curious long-haired person nearby.
"No," True Man Yuanling slowly shook his head, "not sothing seen in reality; could be from so ancient book or so other place."
As he spoke, he turned his head to look at Zheng Zhi: "Are those strange birds still at the horizon now?"
"Only three or two left," Zheng Zhi looked back at the Cloud Sea’s end, "seems like they’re roosting as night falls."
Yu Sheng turned to True Man Yuanling: "This matter..."
"This matter is indeed strange. The illusion Zheng Zhi saw seems harmless, but appearing anomalous illusions and shadows within Qianfeng Ling Mountain’s Mountain Protection Array is inherently abnormal—and being so close to Queyun Palace, ordinary deceitful and eerie things can never approach," True Man Yuanling spoke with a solemn face, "I need to investigate thoroughly upon returning, to trace these illusions’ origins."
After exchanging a few more words with Zheng Zhi, True Man Yuanling took his disciples and left the Cloud Viewing Platform.
The long-haired person hesitantly ca to Yu Sheng: "Bro... can we still have fun here?"
Yu Sheng touched his chin and carefully observed the distant Cloud Sea for a mont before retracting his gaze: "The things Zheng Zhi saw don’t seem to be harmful, but it’s getting dark now, so let’s have the children go back first—tomorrow we can have the True Man arrange for so people to take everyone for a tour down the mountain."
"Oh, okay."
The long-haired one looked a bit disappointed but quickly called the children to gather and lined them up to walk through the gate of No. 66 Wutong Road again.
The Cloud Viewing Platform, which had been bustling for a while, soon quieted down again.
The sunset had already sunk below the Cloud Sea, leaving only dim twilight gently spreading at the boundary between the clouds and the sky. The sunlight faded, and stars began to rise on the horizon, along with the three moons above the Taixu Spirit Hub.
The largest moon, Taiyou, exuded a faint glow as it rose first. Various ecological zones, big and small, were embedded like blue-green jewels in the silver glow of the moon’s surface.
Next was the smaller "Hengming." From the ground, it appeared as large as a bean, yet a bit brighter than Taiyou. It was said that the satellite was covered with crystal veins that could reflect sunlight, making it especially bright in the night sky, hence the na "Hengming."
"Constant Darkness" was the last to rise from the horizon. If it weren’t for Erin’s sharp eyes, Yu Sheng wouldn’t have even seen it—it appeared just a little smaller than Taiyou from the ground, yet extrely dim, like an unremarkable gray stone sphere in the night sky. On the surface of this "stone sphere," one could vaguely see so luminous grid-like light strips, said to be the ancient mining network built by the Netherworld Valley long ago. Although the mining facilities on Constant Darkness had been shut down, the old transportation lines connecting the mines still self-maintain, providing basic lighting, becoming a "landscape" in the night sky of Taixu Star.
Yu Sheng carried a deck chair out of the house and, like Zheng Zhi, sat at the best spot at the edge of the Cloud Viewing Platform to enjoy the alien planetary nightscape.
Through gaps in the Cloud Sea, he could still see the scene below the mountain—below the towering peaks was a large city, its lights brilliant, with streams of light occasionally traversing the sky above. Sotis, a large cargo Flying Boat could be seen crossing the distant plains, traveling between the city and the mountains.
Zheng Zhi’s voice ca from the side: "Brother Yu, was I a bit of a killjoy today?"
"Why do you say that?" Yu Sheng raised an eyebrow, "Just because you saw sothing strange?"
"The children originally planned to play until night," Zheng Zhi sighed, "Actually, what I saw were just shadows, really, seeing them or not makes no difference. If I hadn’t ntioned it, everyone would probably still be playing, but because I did, it ended up causing a scare..."
Yu Sheng glanced at the young man, who wasn’t much younger than himself, and didn’t say much, just relaxed into his chair.
"I’ve had this issue since I was a kid," Zheng Zhi continued, "I often see weird things, but I can’t tell which are visible to everyone and which only I can see, so adults have always been not too fond of . Later, when I gained a bit of common sense, I could tell which were ’not supposed to be seen’, but I still often gave people a fright, just like now, ruining the fun—it’s just that, whether I say it or not, those things are always there...
"Later, my uncle started to help . He mapped out a ’common sense table’ to help distinguish between normal and abnormal things in reality, and taught how to act like a normal person after seeing those abnormal things, and how to keep distance from stuff that might be harmful... He didn’t have any special skills; he just had so theoretical knowledge in this area, but what he taught worked well.
"However, it only worked at the Boundary Land, but not so much here."
Yu Sheng turned his head: "Done talking?"
Zheng Zhi: "Uh, yes."
Yu Sheng adjusted his position on the deck chair to make himself more comfortable and squinted slightly: "Have you watched horror movies?"
"Uh, I’ve watched so, but later on I found them not that scary, so I didn’t find them very interesting."
"Watching so is enough. Do you know what the classic way for protagonists in horror movies to die usually is?"
Zheng Zhi looked a bit confused: "...What is it?"
"It’s when soone in the group finally spots a life-threatening clue but keeps silent."
Zheng Zhi: "..."
"What you’ve had since you were little isn’t a problem; it’s a talent, but this talent hasn’t been put to good use," Yu Sheng said leisurely, "You’re just late to the ga, but I think your eyes could be put to great use."
Zheng Zhi’s eyes lit up: "Really?"
"Really," Yu Sheng said casually and then thought for a mont before adding, "But I think your biggest advantage is your ntal state."
"ntal state?"
"How the hell did you grow up ntally healthy and with a normal worldview?" Yu Sheng turned to look at Zheng Zhi, his amazent evident, "With your rough experiences, shouldn’t you have gone down a path to end up on a legal channel’s typical case segnt at age fourteen? At worst, it should have ended with jumping out of the school building in the second sester of ninth grade... and aren’t you supposed to be High Sensitivity Low Stability? I don’t see the ’Low Stability’ in you?"
Zheng Zhi: "Anyway, my uncle says I’m ’Low Stability’, and after testing, the bureau also said my constitution is prone to contamination, but I’ve grown up this way and still don’t quite understand what they an by ’contamination.’ As for having a good ntality, I’ve indeed always had a pretty good mindset."
As he spoke, he grabbed another grape-like "Immortal Fruit" from the small table beside him and tossed it into his mouth, but a smile appeared on his face.
"After all, if soone were to see a ’ghost’ for the first ti at thirty years old, they’d be startled, but if soone could see ghosts around them since three months old, they’d most likely start naming the ghosts around them. To put it bluntly, I’m more familiar with the ’shadows’ I see than my parents. My parents go out for work, but those things flitting before my eyes never take a day off."
"...There’s so truth in that."
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