Li Yundong smiled when Ziyuan praised him, saying, "Actually, these principles are quite simple. It’s like there’s only a thin layer of paper between ignorance and understanding; a light poke, and it all becomes clear. Once you understand, it’s nothing special."

Ziyuan offered a slight smile, glancing at the plastic bag on the living room coffee table. "I brought you food. You haven't eaten all day; have some now."

Li Yundong felt none of his excitement translate into fatigue or hunger. "I'd like to look at this a while longer. I’m not hungry at all."

Ruan Hongling couldn't help but flare up again. "Hey! I went through the trouble of buying you food, and you refuse it!"

Ziyuan shook her head slightly and spoke softly, "It seems you still haven't fully grasped the Huangdi Neijing or truly understood what cultivation is."

Li Yundong shot Ruan Hongling a glance, ignoring her words, and focused his gaze on Ziyuan, asking with confusion, "What do you mean by that?"

Ziyuan replied, "What is cultivation? Or rather, what constitutes cultivation? Do you think it must involve sitting in meditation and refining qi?"

Li Yundong paused. "Isn't it? Isn't cultivation the process of transforming essence, qi, and blood into spirit, through the stages of Three Flowers Gathering at the Apex and Five Qi Returning to the Origin?"

Ziyuan shook her head. "That is only the most superficial understanding of cultivation." As she spoke, Ziyuan opened the plastic bag, setting out the food containers one by one on the coffee table. "If we understand cultivation in a broad sense, it is actually a discipline of aligning with the Heavenly Principle and the laws of nature, and then, by conforming to them, finding a way to resist the Heavenly Principle and the laws of nature."

Ziyuan opened one of the containers, revealing a dish of stir-fried lotus root slices. "What is the Heavenly Principle? What are the laws of nature? The Heavenly Principle is maintaining a proper schedule according to the orbits of the sun, moon, and stars—sleeping when you must sleep and cultivating when you must cultivate. And what are the laws of nature? The laws of nature dictate that you shouldn't crave food when you are full, but you absolutely must eat when you are hungry!"

Ziyuan arranged all the food containers from the plastic bag, then set out the chopsticks as well, managing everything like a virtuous wife. As she worked, she continued, "You mentioned earlier that if a person expends too much jing, it causes a severe depletion of qi and blood, leaving the entire body weak. Since you understand that principle, why don't you understand that failing to eat when the proper time has passed also causes a depletion of the body's qi and blood?"

Only then did Li Yundong realize the truth. He sat down properly on the sofa, lowered his head, and began to eat in silence.

Watching Li Yundong devour his food, Ziyuan couldn't help but shake her head inwardly again. "You need to eat slowly. Look throughout history—which cultivator eats like you are, gulping everything down? If you don't chew your food thoroughly, the food won't be finely broken down, and your stomach will have to expend a great deal of strength and vital energy to grind it up. A person's strength is finite; the more strength you dedicate to digestion, the less strength you have available for cultivation."

Although Li Yundong had gained some insight from the Huangdi Neijing, he was ultimately no match for a veteran practitioner like Ziyuan, who had been cultivating since birth. He found her explanation so accessible that many new realizations bloomed in his mind. "Ah, I understand now. No wonder some people who eat hastily often develop stomach problems when they get older. It must be because they used up too much vital energy in food digestion when they were young?"

Ziyuan smiled. "That is one reason."

Li Yundong stared off into space for a long moment, his eyes growing brighter; clearly, he was integrating many complex thoughts and teachings within his mind.

Noticing his distraction, Ziyuan gently tapped the table and spoke softly, "Eat first."

Li Yundong snapped back to reality, gave an embarrassed smile, and then took a mouthful of rice, chewing it exceptionally slowly this time.

Ziyuan knelt opposite Li Yundong, watching him eat intently. Ruan Hongling, finding herself bored, sat on a dining chair, letting her gaze wander around the room.

After finishing his meal, Li Yundong suddenly remembered something and stood up. "Could you take me to a hotel for a moment? I need to pick up some things."

Ziyuan inquired, "What things?"

Li Yundong explained, "It’s a room that Su Chan and I rented temporarily to hide from you. My and Su Chan's belongings are in there."

Ziyuan nodded. "It's good to take a walk after eating anyway, to circulate your qi and blood."

Li Yundong nodded. Just before leaving, he remembered something and handed Ruan Hongling's magic tool, which he carried with him, back to Ziyuan. "Here, take this back."

Ziyuan smiled, somewhat surprised. "Why are you willing to return it now?"

Li Yundong laughed. "Regardless of everything, you are helping me so much now; I can't rightly keep holding onto this."

With that, Li Yundong said to Ruan Hongling, "Here’s your thing back. You don't have to be so sharp with your words anymore!"

Ruan Hongling's eyes fixed on her magic tool, filled with delight. She giggled happily, "That depends on your performance!"

The group headed out. On the way downstairs, Li Yundong noticed a crowd gathered in the community pavilion. Some people were pointing and murmuring at the stone tabletop, clearly curious about the palm print etched there.

"Strange, how did a palm print appear on this table overnight?"

"Who did this? No one has been seen hammering away all day!"

Li Yundong glanced at them, smiled inwardly, and then slipped into the Hongqi sedan.

Ruan Hongling drove again. They arrived near the hotel where they had previously stayed. Li Yundong got out, retrieved his things from the room, and holding the little girl's coin bank, felt a pang of nostalgia. He stood silently in the room for a moment, his expression somber, before returning the key card and heading back to the house in the Hongsheng New District.

Back home, Ziyuan, who followed him into the room, noticed the large black iron fan Li Yundong had casually left by the door. She couldn't help but shake her head. "The foundational treasure of the Fox Zen Sect, discarded so carelessly by you. I truly wonder what Old Man Panshi Hu would think if he were still alive."

Li Yundong suddenly remembered the magic tool Su Chan had given him. He walked to the door, picked up the heavy iron fan, and asked in confusion, "This thing is so cumbersome; it’s a magic tool?"

Ruan Hongling, lounging carelessly on the sofa, sneered, "It's because you don't know how to use it. There is no such thing as a cumbersome magic tool in this world!"

Li Yundong examined the large iron fan in his hands. Other than its extraordinary weight and the golden Sanskrit inscriptions covering its blades, he saw nothing else unique about it.

Ziyuan pointed to the fan. "Open it and see."

Li Yundong flicked his wrist, intending to open it, but was shocked to find the blades seemed rusted shut, completely immobile!

Li Yundong was momentarily stunned. He circulated a bit of qi, increasing the strength in his hand, and only then did the iron fan slowly open.

With every blade that unfolded, a sharp, scraping friction sound echoed, resonant and forceful. When the Seven Treasures Spirit-Penetrating Fan was fully extended, a fan-shaped iron wall appeared before Li Yundong’s eyes, covered entirely in shimmering golden Sanskrit, as if every character was ready to leap out!

Li Yundong ran his hand over the fan. Although he couldn't read the meaning of the exquisite Sanskrit on the blades, he loved the aesthetic beauty these characters conveyed.

The iron fan felt cool and smooth to the touch, exuding a deep sense of authority that made Li Yundong unwilling to let go. Looking at this magic tool Su Chan left before departing, he felt as if he could see the lively image of the little girl before his eyes, momentarily lost in a daze, almost infatuated.

Ziyuan spoke from the side, "Do you remember what I told you?"

Li Yundong jolted awake. "What did you say?"

Ziyuan looked at the grand and imposing iron fan, her eyes showing admiration. "For everything, you must ask 'why'! Don't you want to know what this iron fan is called?"

Li Yundong thought for a moment and shook his head. "Su Chan didn't tell me."

Ziyuan said, "This iron fan is called the Seven Treasures Spirit-Penetrating Fan. Do you know why it has that name?"

Li Yundong asked, "Why?"

Ziyuan explained, "This fan was forged by Old Man Panshi Hu before he achieved immortality. In remembrance of the enlightenment granted to him by Master Baizhang, he inscribed the Vajra Sutra upon the precious fan and imbued it with the supreme power of the Vajra Tathagata. Only a body possessing the Seven Treasures of a male can wield it."

Li Yundong asked, confused, "What does 'only a body possessing the Seven Treasures of a male can wield it' mean?"

Ziyuan nodded appreciatively when she saw him actively questioning. "That's right. In cultivation, you absolutely cannot just know what happens, but not why it happens. You must question everything thoroughly, or your cultivation will be plagued by inner demons."

Ruan Hongling, bored on the sidelines, couldn't resist chiming in. "Hey, dummy, let me explain it to you. The phrase 'only a body possessing the Seven Treasures of a male can use it' means this: That old man Shakyamuni, who favored men, stated in the twenty-seventh section of the Treatise on the Seven Treasures of Males within the Vajra Heart Sutra Compendium: 'The male body possesses seven treasures, while the female body has five leaks.'"

Ziyuan couldn't help but glare at Ruan Hongling. "Hongling, do not show disrespect to the Buddha!"

Ruan Hongling retorted loudly, unconvinced. "It's true! Look at Shakyamuni's disciples—are any of them women? Look at the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Vajra Arhats scattered everywhere—are any of them women?"

Li Yundong wondered aloud, "Isn't Guanyin Bodhisattva a woman?"

Ruan Hongling burst into loud laughter, clapping her hands and mocking Li Yundong. "What a joke! The Avatamsaka Sutra says: 'The valiant hero Guanzizai.' This refers to Guanshiyin Bodhisattva. Along with Manjushri, Samantabhadra, and Ksitigarbha, they are known as the Four Great Bodhisattvas. How could such a mighty, brave man be a woman?"

Li Yundong’s face showed embarrassment. Although he had read many miscellaneous books, he truly did not know that Guanyin Bodhisattva was originally male!

'Is this the ancestor of the transgender community?' Li Yundong thought, suddenly very vulgar and irreverent. 'If someone is so awesome that the whole world worships them, perhaps that is the ultimate level for the transgender community? No wonder Thailand is so devoutly Buddhist and produces so many transgender people! They have tradition!'

"So, how does the fact that this fan cannot be used by anyone but a man relate to Shakyamuni favoring men?" Li Yundong mused wickedly for a moment before asking again.