Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

“Is that so?”

Li Yao vaguely recalled that it did seem to be the case. He had heard somebody calling him and stabbing him, but he had been watching the ‘Cultivator Li Yao’ versus ‘Iron Plateau’s Xiong Yan Xibei’ during the great war on Iron Plateau. It had been a thrilling moment, and he had been filled with brutality and brutality.

Then, Li Yao slapped his head. “Damn. Yesterday’s job fair. Oh my!”

“You can’t blame us for that.”

Yu Xin said, “We really wanted to call you. We wouldn’t have joked with you about such a big thing. But you didn’t know that there was brutality in your eyes, cunningness in your brutality, and shamelessness in your cunningness. In short, Zhao Kai and I were too scared to call you again.

“I say, Li Yao, are you alright? It doesn’t matter if you don’t go to a job fair or not. In any case, we went to take a look. Those who came were all pheasant companies, but your mental state is clearly problematic!”

“Exactly.”

Zhao Kai said, “If you don’t believe me, you can ask Boss. He heard you screaming the night before yesterday. You really have a problem. Do you want us to accompany you to the hospital?”

“Ghost screams?”

Li Yao looked at Zhou Ping. “Boss, what’s my name?”

“They are not lying to you.”

Zhou Ping smiled and said, “Two nights ago, when I came back from the library, it was already very late. The two of them were both lying on the bed with headphones on. I don’t know whether or not they were asleep, but as soon as I opened the door, I heard you scream, stretching out your arms and shouting—’Cultivators are here!’ I was so scared that I didn’t dare to move for a long time. The two of them also jumped up from the bed and almost fell off.

“The three of us were dazed for a long time. Then, we noticed that you were snoring again. Your hands that were hanging on the edge of the bed were cramping fast, and your fingers seemed to be cramping crazily, as if you were playing a piano that did not exist at all. By the way, do you know how to play the piano?”

“I don’t know how to play the piano!”

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Li Yao scratched his head for a long time. “Probably a cramp in my hand!”

“I don’t think his hands are cramping. It’s his brain.”

Yu Xin cursed, “Degenerate!”

“What the heck!”

Li Yao also started laughing. He tried his best to forget all the inexplicable strangeness amidst his brothers’ laughter and curses. “The three of us are more or less the same. Let’s not talk about the pot calling the kettle black here, alright? I like to daydream. Zhao Kai likes to read NovelFires. Yu Xin, don’t tell me that you haven’t been secretly reading comic books over the past few days? Sigh, if you really want to talk about depravity, it’s not up to the two of you. Our boss is an authentic top student, a soon-to-rise investment magnate—only he has the qualifications to say that the three of us have fallen!”

“Yes, yes.”

Yu Xin and Zhao Kai, these two fellows, were not ashamed. On the contrary, they felt proud. With a grin, they acknowledged Li Yao’s theory. The three of them raised their glasses towards Zhou Ping: “Boss, a toast to our future big shot in the investment world, the big shot in the financial world. In the future, us three degenerates will have to hug your thigh!”

“What are you talking about?”

Zhou Ping was embarrassed. His face was flushed red. He wasn’t someone who liked to show off and talk, but his brothers in university had indeed gotten along quite well with each other. Today, they had just settled the matter of work. He thought that his years of hard work had finally paid off, and his future days were getting better and better. He was indeed full of emotions and wanted to give an explanation. He drank a cup of beer in one gulp and wiped his face as he said, “Reading a few comic books and daydreaming is considered depraved? I never thought so! You don’t know this, but I’ve been living too hard over the past few years. It’s too hard… But there’s nothing I can do. If I had conditions like yours, I would also want to live a comfortable and relaxing life for a few years and watch the novels and cartoons that I like. I would be carefree and let my imagination run wild. Really, this is not depraved. This is called youth!”

“Really?”

Li Yao and the other two were all interested. Yu Xin slapped his thigh and said, “Boss, you like cartoons, too? I didn’t know that! We always thought that you were a saint who had no desires and only wanted to travel in the sea of knowledge! Come on, tell us what you like to watch. Chances are that we are the same kind of people!”

“No, no. Of course, I’m not watching it now. I watched it when I was little.”

Zhou Ping didn’t know what to say. He thought for a long time and burped. His eyes were red even before he opened his mouth. He said, “I don’t know what’s popular with kids nowadays, either. Anyway, when I was very young, I saw a TV station play a cartoon called ‘Space Fortress’. It was about a giant spaceship that contained the entire city and a war against the aliens.

“Yes, that’s a very old film.”

Yu Xin said, “Boss, how many years have you been doing this? I remember that you are only two to three years older than us. Why do you look like you are twelve to thirteen years older than us? Are you a post-80?”

Li Yao and the other two all laughed.

Zhou Ping started laughing himself.

“Our small town can’t be compared to your city. All kinds of information come in slowly. Anyway, it’s fine as long as you know that there is such a cartoon.”

Zhou Ping said, “Now, now that I’ve said it, don’t laugh!”

“Nonsense. Who dares to laugh at our most admired boss?”

Yu Xin said, “Boss, just say it. We’ve been together for so many years, and I’ve rarely heard you talk about your childhood and your family. Now that we’re about to go our separate ways, just say what you want to say. Whatever you’re happy or unhappy about is in the wine. Let’s get drunk and forget everything tomorrow. It’s a new day!”

“In fact, who doesn’t like watching cartoons, reading novels, playing games, and doing those very interesting, bizarre daydreams, right? I still remember that when I first saw the cartoon called ‘Space Fortress’, none of you knew—”

Stimulated by the alcohol, Zhou Ping finally opened his heart. “At that time, our family was boat runners. We drove the kind of ‘Tutututututututu’ diesel-powered barge all day long. We rarely went ashore, so naturally, we didn’t have much entertainment. When I was young, I thought that the whole world was like this—a few narrow waterways, a barge carrying sand, stones, or all kinds of goods, an unpleasant smell of diesel, and a ‘Tututututu’ sound. The only joy was to climb to the top of the cabin every night and look at the stars in the sky.

“It was not until I watched ‘Space Fortress’ that I realized that there was such an amazing world out there—a starship that could fit an entire city, a deformed fighter jet, a giant alien, and a dazzling space war. Really, I’m not good with words.

“It’s alright.”

Li Yao spoke on behalf of everyone. “We all understand. It’s like our souls have left our bodies and entered a new world.

“Yes. Soul out of body. That’s it!”

Zhou Ping continued, “I was hooked by the cartoon ‘Space Fortress’. I was completely hooked. When I finished watching it, it was gone. It was as if—as if the entire world had collapsed.

“I don’t feel good. My heart feels like it’s being scratched by a cat. Every night, when I sleep and dream, I dream of a lot of space fortresses, star wars, transformation planes, and giant robots. The scenes are very vivid, as if every scene and every character has a life of their own. They are completely different from the usual dreams.

“I feel—I feel that… you are not allowed to laugh when I say it. I feel that I lived in the universe in my previous life as the captain of a super-large warship!

Puchi!

Yu Xin still laughed out loud.

Zhou Ping glared at him.

Li Yao and Zhao Kai each knocked Yu Xin’s head with their chopsticks.

“I’m not laughing, Boss.”

Holding his head, Yu Xin grimaced and said, “I did drink too much. Please go on, Boss. I’m not laughing at you. Almost all the kids have had such dreams before. I did, too. Really. I dreamed that I was a certain someone in the endless universe in my previous life. Of course, I was not as awesome as the captain, but I did. Please go on.”

“I knew that nobody would believe it, not even myself. But when I was young, I truly believed that I was the captain of a cosmic warship in my previous life.

Zhou Ping narrowed his eyes, lost in his memories. “Every night, I pondered over the plot of ‘Space Fortress’. Then, I dreamed of a cosmic warship. I remember that there were a lot of details, from the structure of the warship to the distribution of personnel to the route in the sea of stars and the various problems that the captain would encounter during the voyage. It was as if a large logbook was burning inside my brain.

“I have an exercise book. It’s the most important treasure of my childhood. I’ve drawn a lot of sketches of cosmic warships, some of which are similar to ‘Space Fortress’, but most of which I came up with myself. It’s very beautiful and delicate. I can’t believe that a ten-year-old can draw something like that. There are also fighter jets and many… What are you called? Mechas and such.

“I can also steer a ship.

“I’m not lying to you. I seem to be a natural at sailing. The dashboard and the steering wheel of our barge are even simpler than toy blocks in my eyes. The river in front of our house is even more peaceful than a brook in my eyes. I’ve been helping my father take care of the affairs on the boat since I was eleven or twelve years old. I can tell the status of the diesel engine just by listening to it. I can tell which part of the boat is wrong with a touch. I seem to have melded with the entire boat. I can steer the boat all the way to the sky.

“I thought that I would be tied to the starship for the rest of my life. One day, I would sail the biggest, most awesome starship to explore the entire world.

“Once, when I saw an aircraft carrier on the news, I was immediately attracted by the magnificent object. I thought to myself, No. I firmly believe that my dream is to be the captain of an aircraft carrier. I was born for the dream. I can. I will!”

Veins were bulging on Zhou Ping’s forehead and fists. He punched the desk heavily, but nobody noticed that all the college students were immersed in their own emotions.

Li Yao and the other two were fascinated.

“What happened next?”

Yu Xin asked.

However, it was a silly question. Their university had nothing to do with the oceanic shipping industry. Their boss had never received professional training in the field. Besides, he had just found a job in an investment company. Naturally, his absurd dreams and hilarious ambitions were gone.