Gu Yu vanished in the middle of their conversation.
Long Qiu startled. Looking around, she couldn't see him anywhere. "Brother, where are you?"
"Why, has he become faster again? No, that's not it. He wasn't hiding!"
Xiaojin was equally baffled and called out, "Brother-in-law, say something!"
"Ha, it's actually not that hard to find me."
A familiar voice rang out in mid-air. As capable as the two younger ones were, they couldn't figure out the exact location of Gu Yu—the guy sounded to have diffused into the air.
"..."
Xiaozhai, on the other hand, released a streak of blackish purple Water Thunder after a moment of consideration. It spread out and turned into a large web, wrapping around the chair Gu Yu was sitting on. Sensing the fluctuation inside the thunder web, she was mildly surprised. "So, you've made it?"
"You could say that."
With those words, a blurry figure appeared on the chair, not making contact with the thunder web with any part of the body. It almost looked unreal.
The voice then explained, "The essence of Shadow-switching Technique is the transformation between tangible and intangible forms. Before, I could only turn into a mist, which is still a tangible and visible existence. My skill has improved now; I can become intangible."
"Tsk, you and your big words. I've watched The Invisible Man, ok?" Pursing her lips, Xiaojin's face lit up all of a sudden as if a light bulb had just popped out of her head. "Hey, that's a great skill you've got there. I have a very bold ide—"
Before she could finish the sentence, she jolted to a stop as her brother-in-law shifted his eyes onto her. Damn! She meant it when she said she was afraid of him!
Although he said they were his family, that look in his eyes could still scare the sh*t out of anybody—it was indifferent and emotionless, reminding one of the look gods would have when looking down at mortals and when a higher form of life glanced at the lesser ones.
Gu Yu obviously did not give her the look on purpose. However, with his perspective and state of mind completely changed now, it would escape him without him even noticing it.
Xiaozhai pitied her little sister and took Xiaojin into her arms. She then asked curiously, "Are you able to vanish completely or is it just a change of form?"
"The latter."
Gu Yu shifted his eyes away and casually swept a hand across the table, which instantly disappeared along with the teaware sitting on it. He swept across the same spot again and they reappeared.
"These things still exist, only that you can't see nor touch them. They didn't vanish. My current ability can only turn tangible objects into intangible, then back, but not the other way around. That'll be creating things out of thin air, which is beyond my power."
"Oh! I see!" Long Qiu raised her hand again and said happily, "It's like water turning into steam and steam turning back to water. Its form changes, but it still exists."
"Not exactly, but you're on the right track." Gu Yu nodded and went on, "When we consumed the spiritual essence before, what we took in did not have any attribute. Only those with a special endowment, such as Zheng Kaixin, could sense Yin energy. At the beginning of the universe, Qi took countless forms. There were the Black and Yellow, Yin and Yang, Five Elements, Gang energy, evil energy, etc. Skills such as essence-consuming method, Thunder Technique, Dan method, formation method, talisman method… are all applications of various types of Qi.
"After rising into the Human Immortal state, I have improved in all aspects and become more sensitive to these types of energy. Combining with the Small Moving Technique, I can do this…"
With that, he grabbed at the air, and there was a ball of fire-attributed energy in his palm, which dissipated right away. He grabbed again; this time, it was a black ball of energy… the next time, it was a ball of wood-attributed energy.
"I was planning to continue with my seclusion and just came out to let you know a few things. We haven't collected too many Taoist skills and our cultivation system could use some complexity, so there are several things I am going to do next. The first is to work out the recipe of the Essence-gathering Dan, the second is to keep digging into our existing resources, and the third is…"
He looked at Long Qiu and Xiaojin in turn, saying, "I think I can start to invent some simple Taoist skills myself."
'!!!'
Xiao Qiu held onto Xiaojin, who held onto her sister in turn. Eyeing their brother/brother-in-law, the two younger ones were overwhelmed by all sorts of emotions. On one hand, they were proud of his mightiness, on the other hand, they felt he was moving further and further away from them.
Xiaozhai also eyed him for a while, then asked, "So, after your seclusion, you'll set up the altar and start teaching?"
"Yes."
"And recruit pupils for our new sect?"
"Yes."
"Ok, leave that to me."
There were things one could only learn after they actually reached the Human Immortal state. Once there, they would wish they had 48 hours a day for all the cultivation and would not waste their precious time on petty fights.
What fun would a Human Immortal have going around bullying the poor innate kids?
For now, Human Immortal was the nuclear weapon, the last resort everyone tried not to mess with!
As a cultivator with great aspirations, Gu Yu was putting all his attention into research, building the Taoist system, improving his cultivation state, and exploring unknown territories.
He also felt immensely lucky—thank God he was smart enough to close the deal with Xiaozhai the first chance he got. Tsk, tsk, she had saved him at least two hundred years worth of cultivation effort.
***
Shengtian, Linsheng Town.
The place was quite far from the city center, and was once a small town. It was later changed into a residential district and barely made its way into the ten downtown districts. For the past twenty years or so, little had changed in the area. Farmlands were requisitioned, industries were nonexistent, and there was barely any commercial activity. Tens of thousands of people just muddled along one year after the next.
However, since last December, Linsheng Town suddenly became alive. The residents here were so used to being ignored that they were overwhelmed by this unexpected attention, and almost complacent.
The change was brought by none other than the first batch of migrants from Heishui Province, who were resettled to those old tube-shaped apartment building in Linsheng Town.
The buildings were probably built in the 1980s. There were four blocks in total, packed closely like building blocks. The yards were reeking with stale air.
Most middle-aged people of the country were familiar with the tube-shaped apartment buildings. A corridor ran straight down a floor from end to end, flanked by closely set rooms on both sides. There were no separate kitchens and the bathrooms were communal. However, these buildings were extremely good at taking in large numbers of people. The four blocks were all that was needed to fit all the migrants.
The migrants were given single rooms about a dozen square meters in size. Regardless of how many people there were in a household, one family, one room. A small proportion of the rooms was transformed into eight-bed dormitories for single-person households and special groups.
Because it was wintertime, heating became the main issue. A lot had to be done over a limited time period, so instead of laying the pipelines, they set up traditional stoves. There was plenty of coal and the stoves were hot enough to make the people through this winter.
Liu Ziming and Liu Shuang were a young couple. They hadn't had a child yet and were given a single room in a building.
Before coming here, they had a small shop in Heishui, bought their own place with a loan, and were planning to have a baby. Everything was great when, like one of those Hollywood films Liu Ziming loved, disaster fell upon them.
They were right in the middle of the severely affected zone and lost everything. Utterly terrified and confused, they arrived at Shengtian, aimless and despairing. It was only after the psychological intervention of aid agencies that they slowly recovered.
"Sweetheart, I'm off!"
"Hey, take this."
In the narrow and cramped room, Liu Ziming wrapped his padded jacket tight around himself and opened the weathered-looking door that had lost its original color. Liu Shuang hurried near, handing him a lunchbox and a bottle of hot water. "I've made you some pancakes for your lunch. Don't starve yourself."
"..."
Tears welled up his eyes as Liu Ziming took in his wife's haggard face. "Don't worry. I'm sure I'll find a job today. Any job will do!"
"Just be safe. I'll see you at dinner."
Stretching out her arms, Liu Shuang gave her husband a hug with as much gentleness and firmness as she could offer and watched him going downstairs.
The weather was as cold as always. In Shengtian, it did not snow as insanely as in Heishui, but snow was frequent enough. It piled up everywhere and his footsteps made a crunchy sound as he walked.
Carrying his things, Liu Ziming went to the subdistrict office. A lot of people were already waiting outside, giving him an indifferent look before turning back to staring at the door.
As mentioned before, the main issue with migration was accomodation and food. With those two fulfilled to some extent, the next concern was employment.
Although the government was providing them with unemployment relief, it was not the same as having a job. With a job, there was income, life, purpose, and comfort instead of staying at home and idling life away.
With so many people rushing in at the same time, there were no adequate job vacancies. Those with specific skills had long been recruited and those left behind were deemed skilless.
The government was doing all it could to contact all potential employers. Whenever there were job openings, the information was sent to the subdistrict offices, who would then inform the individuals.
However, people did not want to stay at home waiting. The earlier they arrived at the office, the earlier they would hear the news and the more likely got a job opportunity. They would usually stay out here for an entire day.
"Ha…"
Liu Ziming crouched down in a less windy corner and watched the time ticking by on his phone. At exactly seven o'clock, he bolted to his feet and squeezed into the crowd rushing towards the office entrance.
Before long, shuffling footsteps came from inside and the staff on shift opened the gate.
Ever since the migrants arrived, the primary-level staff here had long lost the concept of on and off duty. They were set up in groups, each working a near twenty-hour shift. It was common for them to stay overnight in their offices.
A middle-aged woman walked out, watching the dense crowd with resignation. "I've told you many times, the moment we have the job openings, we will post them in the chat group. And you're all in that group… sigh, why do you have to come all the way here on such a cold day!"
"Director Wang, that's not the same! We have to sign up in the chat group and that's more work for you. Out here, we can just get it done," said someone.
"That's right. Meeting in person is so much more reliable."
"Director Wang, please tell us. We've been waiting here all morning!"
Dispirited as they were, the crowd remained calm—those that couldn't had long been punished as warning. The woman was familiar with the drill and started right away. "We have quite a few today, so no rush. The first one: Shengda Transportation needs dockers. The desired candidate: young, strong, good at obeying orders, can handle hard work. The position is a ten-hour job daily and you get two days off a month."
Buzz!
Buzz!
Instantly, everyone was shouting at the same time. Men and women of all age groups were all trying to raise their voices above everyone else. Even with a treatment as harsh as this one, no one wanted to miss it.
"Pick me! Pick me! I've done this before!" a man in his early thirties yelled at the top of his voice at the back of the crowd, but his voice was drowned in the hubbub. His face went scarlet and he was stomping his feet.
Liu Ziming happened to stand in front of him and knew the guy from his building. The man lived with his elderly parents, a wife, and a child, and had been having a hard time.
After much hesitation, Liu Ziming turned around and dragged the man to the front roll; the latter shouted even louder and finally got Director Wang's attention. He got the job he wanted, then, without saying thanks to Liu Ziming, ran into the building to sign up.
"The second one: Xinfeng sock factory needs sock-folding and packaging workers, and extra hands in the kitchen. Women only."
"Me! Me! Me!"
"I'm a woman! Here!"
The handful of women present waved their hands frantically to make themselves seen.
"You, you, you, and you. Ok, that'll do!"
Just like so, three job offers were taken. Liu Ziming, still empty-handed, grew more and more anxious. He either was of the wrong sex or backed off because he pitied someone else in a worse state.
"The fourth one: um, Bai Town needs construction workers, preferably with past experience. Those without but physically strong will do as well."
"..."
The crowd suddenly went silent. It was after a while when someone finally asked, "Where is Bai Town?"
"It's a mountainous area in the east, about 200 km from here. This is a long-term contract and you won't be coming home for a while. It pays an average salary."
The crowd exchanged looks; no one replied.
It was far and they had to work away from home. Not everyone was determined enough to leave home to work in another strange place after just moving into one.
"Director Wang!" Chewing his lips, Liu Ziming turned the idea over in his head and finally shouted, "I'm a strong man. I'll go!"