"Is this the child?" the man asked kindly.
"Yes, I'm sorry to trouble you, Mr. Qian again." John Woo said respectfully.
"No problem." Old Qian waved his hand and walked down from the meditation platform.
Lin Fan felt that Mr. Qian perfectly matched her image of a celestial being. Though his hair had turned gray, his face didn't look old. He was around forty, the prime of a man's charm. His robe swayed as he moved, giving him a certain airy, ethereal air.
He clearly had a youthful and romantic face, but he always put on a kind expression, although it didn't seem out of place. For a moment, Lin Fan vaguely saw a trace of aging, but when he looked more closely, there was clearly nothing.
And those eyes that were as bright as stars, I dared not look into them again after just one glance.
"Young man, can you please open your arms?" Old Qian came closer in a few steps.
Lin Fan subconsciously stretched out his arms and didn't dare to move his neck.
Old Qian walked slowly around Lin Fan twice, and then said, "My friend, I want to massage your muscles and bones, don't be afraid." Then he stretched out his hand to pinch Lin Fan's wrist, pinching it up inch by inch, without much force.
Lin Fan felt her arms tingle and numb, nearly tempted to move. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Qian Lao still clutching the money in front of her, and she forced herself to hold it back. For some reason, she didn't dare move in front of this man.
Elder Qian finally stopped when he touched her shoulder. Lin Fan had just breathed a sigh of relief when she felt someone pinch the back of her neck. It turned out to be Elder Qian who had moved behind her and pinched her spine.
This time it really hurt. Lin Fan felt as if his bones were being pulled out of his body, and he couldn't help but let out a hiss.
"Does it hurt?" There was kindness in Old Qian's voice, but his hands did not relax at all.
"No." Lin Fan pinched her throat and dared not admit it. She didn't know why. She was obviously in pain, but she was so scared.
Mr. Qian pinched the neck bone little by little as he moved down until he reached the waist bone.
Lin Fan let out a long sigh, a thin layer of sweat on her forehead. She truly felt her entire spine being pulled out piece by piece. Fortunately, the pain subsided after Master Qian stopped, otherwise she would have been unable to resist turning her head to look.
Elder Qian returned to face Lin Fan and amiably ordered, "Close your eyes."
Lin Fan immediately closed his eyes.
Old Qian stretched out his hand, pointed his thumb at the center of Lin Fan's eyebrows, and covered her head with the other four fingers, with his middle finger resting on the Baihui acupoint.
Without him exerting any force, Lin Fan felt something penetrate her brow. In a flash, it moved around her body and returned to her brow. The next second, Old Qian's hand moved away. "Open your eyes."
Opening her eyes, Lin Fan felt her arms aching. She had been holding her hands up for quite some time. When would she finally let go?
Lin Fan stole a glance at Mr. Qian and saw him pull something like a ruler from his sleeve. The sleeve, though wide, was incredibly flowing, not looking like it was filled with anything. Before she could even think about it, the object was already in front of her.
"Hold it tightly." said Mr. Qian.
Lin Fan quickly took the thing, clenched his hands, and secretly relaxed his extremely sore arms.
It was a jade-like object, off-white, oblong, about 30 centimeters long and 4 centimeters wide. If you held one end with both hands, a good section would still be visible.
They held it for about five or six minutes, and no one spoke. Lin Fan didn't know why she was holding it. She couldn't help but sneak a glance at Mr. Qian, and was caught by Mr. Qian who was looking at her.
"Xiao Wu, it seems that the friend you brought here has no spiritual roots."
"Spiritual roots?!" Lin Fan was shocked. Isn't that from the novel? She turned and looked at John Woo.
Wu Yusen took a few steps forward, opened the tablet in his hand, and took notes of what Mr. Qian said. At the same time, he explained to Lin Fan, "You can think of it as elemental affinity."
"Well, that's an interesting statement." Old Qian took the thing from Lin Fan's hand and stuffed it back into his sleeve. Lin Fan looked at the empty sleeve and had no idea where the thing had gone.
"We can understand it this way. Everything in the world is composed of various elements. Some people have an affinity for certain elements, and therefore can attract and mobilize these elements, turning them into a form of self-awareness," Wu Yusen explained with a smile. "Cultivation is also a scientific form of training. It's just that the science of the past couldn't explain it."
Cultivating immortality? !
Lin Fan suspected that he had heard it wrong.
"Well, that makes sense," Mr. Qian agreed. "Xiu Xian is indeed a scientific way of training."
Well, this is a special affairs office, so it is normal to see people practicing Taoism here.
So is this Mr. Qian an immortal?
Old Qian laughed heartily, and Lin Fan realized that he had spoken what he was thinking.
"That depends on your definition of an immortal," Wu Yusen said with a smile. "If it means flying into the sky, hiding in the earth, moving mountains and filling the sea, then Mr. Qian is indeed an immortal."
Wow, that’s awesome.
Lin Fan felt as if he had accidentally entered a fantasy script. He seemed to understand everything, but he didn't understand it.
After Mr. Qian finished laughing, he continued, "There's nothing special about this young friend's bones and muscles. Her spiritual perception hasn't yet developed, and her spiritual roots aren't evident. To prevent any errors, I even found a spirit-measuring ruler and tested it on her. As you can see, she held it for a long time, but nothing showed up."
John Woo also knew that the spirit measuring ruler would change color when it sensed spiritual roots.
"Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Qian." He nodded and wrote down the information quickly.
"It's not that hard," said Old Qian kindly, "but I see that your mind is in chaos, and you could easily get lost. Meeting you today is fate, and I'm giving you something to keep you sane and clear-minded, so you won't fall into madness forever."
Before Lin Fan understood, Wu Yusen hurriedly urged her, "Why don't you thank Mr. Qian quickly? He has all these great things in his hands that ordinary people can't get."
Lin Fan said "thank you" in a daze, and then she realized that Qian always wanted to give her something.
"Don't talk like you've never won it." Old Qian scolded John Woo with a smile, and rummaged in his sleeves again.
"I'm just envious. After all, your treasure is unparalleled, and who could have too much?" Wu Yusen flattered him with a grin. Seeing that he had been digging for a while, he asked with a smile, "How much do you have in your secret world? Why haven't you found it in so long?"
"The only downside to Sleeve Qiankui is that it's too slow to find things. In the past, there weren't so many things, so it was easy to find them. Now there are so many and so many things, and it's easier to find big ones, but if you want to find a small one, you'll inevitably have to spend more time." Old Qian complained.
"What is the secret in the sleeve? Is it like Doraemon's pocket?" Lin Fan asked curiously.
Mr. Qian didn't know what Doraemon was, so it was John Woo who answered: "The Universe in the Sleeve is a kind of magic. You can use Doraemon's pocket as a magical tool. The function is similar."
"Can magic tools be made? Like Doraemon's pocket?" Who doesn't want to have a Doraemon pocket that can hold things and is portable?
"The Refining Group has similar storage devices, but they're not very spacious, and can't compare to the Sleeve's Universe. As for pockets... they don't seem to have tried them. But even if they could make one, who would go out with a pocket? Our equipment is smaller and more portable, and won't draw attention."
"Found it."
The two of them looked over quickly.
Mr. Qian was holding a small red wooden box in his hand, with exquisite and intricate patterns carved on the outside.
Lin Fan took it respectfully with both hands, and opened it at Wu Yusen's urging: it was a pair of black earrings.
Made of an unknown material, the tip is a sphere about two or three millimeters in diameter. Up close, it's not perfectly round, but rather faceted, like a spherical polyhedron. A thin needle trails from the back, making the entire earring appear seamless.
"This is a little gadget I made many years ago using scraps from my spare time while refining tools. It's quite good, and can reduce the interference of negative emotions on the mind, allowing one to maintain clarity and avoid falling into madness. But it's only useful for ordinary people, and is useless to those of us who practice cultivation." Elder Qian recalled, "I happened to remember this item when I saw you today, so I'm giving it to you."
"What material is this?" John Woo asked from the side.
"It's made of jade, not metal. Are you worried about security?" Old Qian said with a smile, "Don't worry."
Wu Yusen asked Lin Fan to put it away and said, "I'll take you to the equipment department to get a pair of buttons later. After wearing them, you won't have to worry about negative emotions having too much of an impact."
But Old Qian said, "Why bother going to the equipment department? Just put it on here. I'll refine it for you, and it won't fall off no matter what. Don't ruin my good stuff with those crappy things made by the equipment department."
Seeing that Lin Fan had come to this, she had no choice but to wear it first and take it off later if it didn't fit.
John Woo helped put on the earrings. Mr. Qian stretched out his hand, with his thumb and index finger pointing at the two ends of the earrings in the air.
Lin Fan felt his ear warm, and then he saw Elder Qian withdraw his hand. He touched it again, and the needle-like end had become the same size as the small ball at the front. It looked like two small balls sandwiched around the ear.
Wu Yusen looked at it carefully and asked, "Is it welded?"
"It's been refined into one. This thing is small and easy to lose, and it needs to be worn for a long time to maintain its effect. It's not advisable to remove it frequently. It's best to refine it into one." Elder Qian thought about it and seemed to feel that it was not appropriate. He asked Lin Fan, "Or do you want to make it easy to remove?"
Lin Fan felt that welding was not very convenient, but he was embarrassed to trouble Mr. Qian again, so he waved his hands and said no.
She doesn't like wearing jewelry, so her ear holes have always been empty. If there is nothing wrong with it, it can be used as an ear plug.
Moreover, jade is inherently brittle and might break at any moment. If all else fails, you can just pry it off with a tool. There are many ways to do this, so there's no need to bother a celestial being.
The matter was settled. The two said goodbye to Mr. Qian, passed through the light curtain, and returned to the business department lobby. Lin Fan watched as the light curtain turned back to black as she emerged, and couldn't help but touch it again. This time, her hand couldn't pass through, and she touched the real wooden door.
John Woo saw it and said with a smile: "I couldn't believe it when I first saw it, but after seeing it many times, I got used to it."
"I thought you guys had special abilities and could catch ghosts, but I didn't expect there were also people who practiced Taoism." Lin Fan admitted that he had too little experience.
"Cultivating immortals is also a part of our traditional Taoist culture. It has always existed in our lives. It's just that the tradition has been largely lost. In recent years, we have also been looking for seedlings with spiritual roots to cultivate. This faction is very powerful. This underground office was dug out by them."
Yesterday, Lin Fan was wondering how long it would take to complete such a large project. But now he heard from John Woo that it was done by the Immortal Cultivation Department.
"There are spells for digging, spells for moving, and spells for promoting the growth of plants. Of course, with the help of other departments, it will be done in no time." John Woo said as he walked.
"To be honest, they are really powerful. They are not on the same level as real people like us in hand-to-hand combat. If I didn't have spiritual roots, I would have wanted to join the Immortal Cultivation Department."
"Oh, by the way, the earrings that Mr. Qian gave you are definitely a fine item." Wu Yusen suddenly reminded him, "He must be hundreds or thousands of years old. The things he keeps in his hands are definitely not ordinary, but he rarely gives them to outsiders. I also got one by chance, and it has benefited me a lot."
"Hundreds or thousands of years old?" Lin Fan couldn't help but raise her voice. She thought Old Qian was just born with white hair. She said that for a moment, she saw Old Qian's old age and thought she was seeing things.
"Scary, isn't it? No one knows how many years he has lived. It is said that when the Special Affairs Bureau was first established and he was recruited, Mr. Qian looked like this. Decades have passed, and he hasn't changed at all." John Woo clicked his tongue.
"Anyway, with Qian Lao in charge, the Special Affairs Office won't be disrupted by anyone. It's very stable!"