The next day, Li Xianyu brought Great-Grandma out to shop for clothes. She could not always dress like a man. He prepared a long to-do list. Other than clothes, purchasing daily necessities was on the list as well. When Li Xianyu asked her if she wanted any sanitary pads, she was taken aback.
"All right, I'll put it in another way. Do you still have that time of the month?" he asked.
Probably not. The thought of her period being delayed for over a hundred years terrified him.
Li Xianyu then took a heavy blow to the neck from his great-grandma. When he went out, his neck was somewhat twisted. He still had to thank her for sparing him and not taking his life before he had managed to continue the family line.
His finances were better at the moment with the fortune he inherited from his father. Although it was not far from making him a millionaire, two hundred thousand dollars was enough for him to lead a comfortable life, albeit for a while only.
Li Xianyu called for a taxi to ferry both of them to Nanjing Pedestrian Road, the busiest retail street in Shanghai and a tourist destination together with the Bund.
Along the way, Great-Grandma leaned on the windows of the car excitedly, as she gazed at the city views.
"Towards the east is the Oriental Pearl Radio & TV Tower. It was the tallest building in Shanghai upon its completion. Now, there are quite a few buildings taller than it."
"Are all the roads as wide as this now? People live in such tall buildings too…"
"Wasn't Pudong a deserted village? It has only been 20 years, and this place is so vibrant now."
She continued to chatter endlessly about how modernized Shanghai had become.
The car driver couldn't help but ask, "Miss, where are you from?"
Great-Grandma's words sounded incoherent and unintelligible to him. The car driver was a local. If he remembered correctly, the year in which that tower was completed was 1995. She probably had not even been born then.
Yes, Pudong was a deserted village 20 years ago, but you don't even look like you're 20.
What confused him the most was her tone; she sounded like she had lived in recluse for the past 20 years
Great-Grandma replied, "The capital."
"Oh, from Beijing."
The driver had just managed to comprehend her words, before he asked again, "What do you mean by over 20 years ago?"
As Great-Grandma was about to speak, Li Xianyu cut her off and interrupted, "She likes to joke, ha ha ha."
Trying to hide their awkwardness with a laugh, he tugged at Great-Grandma's sleeves and glanced at her, signaling her to shut up.
He wasn't worried that her secret of how she was a war spirit from 100 years ago, would leak out. Instead, he was worried that others would take her as a lunatic.
The traffic was smooth as it wasn't peak hour in the morning. Half an hour later, they reached the People's Square.
Li Xianyu dragged Great-Grandma off the car and blended into the crowds. He warned her, "Great-Grandma, don't speak nonsense in future. It's a different world now."
"I know."
Great-Grandma was still an obedient soul for the majority of the time, except for the occasional intentional playfulness. At least, it looked like this for now.
"I have a question. I'm curious." Li Xianyu grabbed her hand to prevent her from running away.
"How many grandsons have you had?"
"Including you, six," Great-Grandma replied.
Li Xianyu trembled as his face turned pale.
Five grandsons in 150 years. That meant 30 years per grandson. Why did my ancestors live such short lives?
Great-Grandma sighed. "Due to certain reasons, they always lived short lives. Don't be afraid. As long as I'm still around, I will ensure that our family line continues."
Li Xianyu felt flustered all of a sudden.
He held her hand and walked in the front. Great-Grandma followed suit as she looked towards her left and right excitedly, being attracted by tour buses, food that other tourists were eating, as well as colourful shophouses.
This sight was like an impatient boyfriend dragging his curious girlfriend along.
If she saw a couple kissing on the street, she would blush. However, society was not that liberal yet, so that was a rare sight.
Li Xianyu suddenly reminisced of his childhood. Back then, his parents would visit this place monthly to buy him clothes. The family of four would always enjoy themselves. When he was an adolescent, it was him and his sister.
His sister was always too calm, if not cold. Their one-on-one interactions often placed great stress on him.
Li Xianyu had suffered under her sister's tyranny for many years. After his parentage was revealed, he moved out instantly, escaping from his sister's crutches.
He bought many things for Great-Grandma, mainly conservative outfits. The revealing outfits that he fancied, like short shorts, miniskirts, camisoles and off-shoulder tops, were chalked off his list.
Likewise, Great-Grandma was not willing to wear such revealing clothes. Twenty years ago, conservative women did not wear these outfits. Thus, they were not to her liking.
After the shopping spree, he remembered that they had not purchased any lingerie. So, he brought her to buy some.
She was familiar with women's apparel. She did not clamour to buy lingerie that covered her tummy like 20 years ago. However, present-day lingerie caused her to panic.
Li Xianyu gave her a few pieces of slightly revealing lingerie to her. She blushed and muttered, "I hate this era for having to wear such shameless clothes."
After they finished shopping, they prepared to head home. His body was not in good condition today. What happened to his kidney had not been cured by one night of sleep yet.
On the way back, there was a yoghurt stall on the roadside. Upon Great-Grandma's insistence, Li Xianyu whipped out his wallet to buy two bottles of the ordinary-flavoured, expensive stuff. It was more like a stunt for tourists than a bargain.
Great-Grandma had never tasted yoghurt before. Upon taking her first mouthful, she was won over by its taste. A sweet and sour sensation began to spread across her taste buds as her expression changed to one of bliss. With yoghurt stains on the side of her mouth, she said, "How delicious. I love this era again."
The outstanding Great-Grandma, changing her love for the era with a bottle of yoghurt.
"Let's go, Wang Jingze. Once you learn of Tmall and other e-commerce platforms, you'll love this era even more."
"Who is Wang Jingze…"
...
He had lessons the next day. Once they reached home, he taught Great-Grandma how to operate the electrical appliances at home. Although Great-Grandma was an ancient spirit, her knowledge did not stop at 100 years ago. She had certain impressions of modern life, and was able to understand instructions after a few sentences.
Li Xianyu scavenged for a phone that had been rendered obsolete. He charged it and realized that it was still usable, and handed it to Great-Grandma.
"Li Xianyu, I'm going to teach you some qi cultivation techniques." Great-grandma called out to him with her hair still wet after her shower, while he was playing PUBG.
"Qi cultivation techniques?" He was suddenly excited after a short daze. He threw his mobile phone aside and asked fervently, "Immortality?"
"You wish," Great-Grandma replied impatiently, "Qi cultivation techniques help to refine one's energy to cultivate the spirit. This was discovered by our fellow human beings. In ancient times, demon descendants discovered that once a human had practiced enough, there would be a flow of qi in the body. It is a kind of power that originates from the cells. If it is cultivated in a special way, it can nurture the body, as well as fuse together with the spirit. Once the qi has reached a certain level of strength, certain special abilities begin to develop. It's different from the special abilities that flow within one's blood. It is a strength beyond one's bloodstream."
"This is also the only type of supernatural power that humans can develop. Ordinary mortals find it extremely hard to achieve this because their cells are not strong enough. Descendants of ancient demons, in wanting to find ways to awaken the power within their bloodstream, find this way the best to do it. It can stimulate and awaken the cells, drawing their power from within."
This was the earliest known story of how people in the past practiced the cultivation of qi.
Following advancements in this field, simply by improving their physical conditions the descendants could cultivate qi (on applicable to demon descendants).
Presently, the technique was slightly different–some were more advanced than others–but still very much the same.
The essence of cultivating qi was to breathe, to inhale and exhale the reiki. To let the organs be in sync, to increase their strength. Next, there was an emphasis on physical fitness. It was from the inner body to the outer. This was often the known path.
Li Xianyu opened the windows and let the reiki from heaven and earth flow into his room. Following his great-grandma's instructions, he sat on the ground, looked up, and drifted into a state of deep focus.
Then, Great-Grandma began to impart the first step of her technique: Open the heavenly doors, close the earthly ones.
The first step was to focus on the upper reaches of the body, while the second step was to seal the lower body.
The scientific explanation: Contract the muscles around the anus to close the acupoint there while releasing the Baihui acupoint located on the head.
In layman terms: close up the ass, open up the brain.
The former was easy, all men would have had a similar experience.
As for the latter, it was up to Great-Grandma to teach him.
Releasing the Baihui acupoint was the most vital step in cultivating qi. It was known as opening the heavenly doors. The breathing technique was simple and easy to learn, but opening up the acupoint was not easy. Without the presence of an expert, it was virtually impossible to achieve.
Without opening up the acupoint, the reiki would be unable to enter the elixir field.
As the saying went: "The immortal holds my head that grows hair out, helping me achieve immortality."
As Li Xianyu followed her breathing technique, Great-Grandma stepped forward, reached out her hand and placed it on Li Xianyu's head, targeting his Baihui acupoint.
Li Xianyu, eyes closed, felt his head heat up. It was as if a gush of warm air rushed in. Subsequently, his entire body felt warm.
Two gushes of warm air were flowing within his elixir field, traversing through his body to the rhythm of his breathing. Once they had passed the twelve main meridians, the "Small Circuit" had been achieved. Once they had passed through the meridians of Ren and Du, the "Big Circuit" had been achieved.
Great-Grandma maintained this posture for an hour, until the warm air had passed through one "Big Circuit" within Li Xianyu's body. It was only then that she retracted her hand and panted for a little while.
Li Xianyu slowly entered a state of nirvana, as he tapped on the reiki of the external environment to nurture his own body.
His ability is pretty average, Great-Grandma thought to herself worriedly. She opened up a bag of chips and took a bite, her worries instantly dissipating for that moment.
Chips are so nice. I love this era! She thought to herself as she grinned, her eyes forming slits.
This process continued until 10:30 PM. A thick blanket of fog engulfed the entire city. The room was quiet, with Great-Grandma staying by his side, focused on the task.
Suddenly, Li Xianyu's breathing suddenly began to speed up, which disrupted his original rhythm.
Wheeze!
Wheeze!
Like a drowning person, he begged for oxygen. After a few panicked breaths, he opened his eyes fiercely, seemingly back into his mortal state. His eyes were bloodshot. In a hoarse voice, he spluttered, "Great-Grandma, I think I've gone qigong deviation."