056 Enhancing the Five Senses

“By the way, Du Ruo, I heard the mountain has a lot of new, advanced infrared cameras installed lately. When you go up, don't just drop your pants for a bath whenever you see a stream.”
At the dinner table, Yang Chenguang looked at Du Ruo with a smile, his tone teasing but mostly reminding.
He didn’t know why Du Ruo often went up the mountain—there must be some secret—but since nothing illegal was happening up there, he never probed further.
“How many did they install?”
Du Ruo was taken aback; he hadn’t considered this before.
“No idea. I heard it from some village officials. Most are near the research institute, quite far from us. Apparently, they spotted a pregnant female clouded leopard there and want to capture some footage.”
Yang Chenguang took a long gulp of icy beer and belched contentedly.
“That’s good. I really wasn’t paying attention before.”
Du Ruo felt a little awkward, raising his glass to hide his expression. He hadn’t stripped for a bath up the mountain, but he had beaten up a clouded leopard. As he drank, his mind kept replaying his route, wondering if there were any cameras.
“Forget it. I’ll check it out tomorrow. Not sure if the leopard they mentioned is the same one—just that big cat? And pregnant? I don’t think I hit its belly or injured it last time, did I?”
He thought for a long time but couldn’t recall the details. Who would pay attention to such things up on the mountain? What concerned Du Ruo more was whether the leopard Yang Chenguang mentioned was the same one he’d encountered.
Clouded leopards aren’t just a top-tier protected species—they’re the rarest animals on Mount Huang. As a local, Du Ruo didn’t want any harm to come to it. He finally decided to go up the mountain early the next morning.
As for being caught on camera, he wasn’t too worried. As a martial artist, it’s only natural for him to stride a bit wider and run a bit faster—he wasn’t exactly flying or vanishing up there.
“Tsk, beer is perfect in this weather, but drinking too much makes you bloated.”
Xiang Yuanyuan drained half his glass in one go, then lazily slumped in his chair, unconcerned about appearances, letting out a comfortable sigh before continuing his chat with Du Ruo.
“Boss Du, I’ve finished editing your video. Do you want to review it before I upload?”
“No need, there’s nothing there I’d rather hide.”
Du Ruo was relaxed. These days, everyone online claims to be a grandmaster; seeing someone like him, most people would just call it flashy moves, perhaps less eye-catching than smashing a prop brick.

“What? Du Ruo, you’re making videos? Planning to be an influencer? If you get famous, don’t forget to help promote my stuff.”
Yang Chenguang perked up, interested. Nowadays, everyone’s into self-media—even he had started live streaming tea sales, though he didn’t have many followers. He’d asked Xiang Yuanyuan to join him, but she’d declined, not wanting to livestream.
Xiang Yuanyuan made videos as a hobby, just to document life, not for profit.
“What would I promote? If I get famous, I’ll go live and sell your kiwifruit, haha!”
Du Ruo laughed at his own joke.
“And tea—rest assured, all locally grown, safe and additive-free.”
...
That night, the three drank late. There was no helping it; yesterday had been busy, and Yang Chenguang had to supervise the event, plus arrange cleanup, so Du Ruo got roped in to help.
Yang Chenguang knew his limits, stopping at two beers, leaving only Xiang Yuanyuan and Du Ruo to keep drinking.
Beer went down like water for Xiang Yuanyuan. Since Du Ruo’s breakthrough in “vital energy,” his tolerance had increased dramatically. They drank until around ten-thirty, when the movie ended, the plaza emptied, and their gathering finally wrapped up.
Du Ruo helped move some things before heading home to rest.
Early the next morning, Du Ruo grabbed a piece of beef from the fridge and set off up the mountain.
Along the way, he paid special attention but saw no cameras. Last night, he’d looked up those outdoor infrared cameras—they were quite bulky, meant for shooting wildlife, and not easily concealed.
He reached the familiar giant boulder, finding no cameras, but did spot signs of Huangshan short-tailed monkeys.
But monkeys all look alike, and Du Ruo hadn’t brought kiwifruit this time. He watched from a distance, then continued searching for traces of the clouded leopard near the boulder.
Standing atop the rock, Du Ruo scanned the surroundings, hoping for some clue. He found nothing, except a bit of fur on a pine tree beside the rock, suggesting the clouded leopard had been there recently.
Suddenly, inspiration struck. He remembered how channeling “qi” into his palms not only protected them but also enhanced strength. Could “qi” be applied to his senses?
Du Ruo experimented. Normally, “qi” was dormant within him, circulating subtly only during movement or martial practice, but with intent, it could go anywhere he wished.

Gathering “qi” around his ears brought no enhancement—only extra protection to the area.
“Is it useless? Or am I doing it wrong?”
He focused all his attention on his ears, guiding the qi through acupoints nearby, hoping more refined control would strengthen them.
Several attempts yielded nothing, but as he was about to give up, a cool sensation spread. Suddenly, the wind’s whisper and the rustle of leaves grew louder and clearer, and distant sounds reached his ears.
“Is this intent? A manifestation of the mind?”
Du Ruo tested, slowly withdrawing the qi. As it faded, the coolness diminished, and the sounds softened.
He increased the flow, feeling the coolness intensify, and the sounds grew sharper and more distant.
Removing all qi from his ear acupoints brought his hearing back to normal. Then, he began channeling qi to the acupoints around his eyes.
He already knew “qi” was miraculous, a bridge between reality and illusion, circulating without harming his organs—so he dared to experiment boldly.
The process wasn’t complicated: “qi” protected the acupoints, “mind” provided support, and soon his vision was enhanced. He quickly became adept.
“Didn’t expect an unexpected reward from this trip—not a loss after all.”
Du Ruo alternated between boosting hearing and sight, enjoying himself immensely.
“Hmph-hmph… meow!”
Just as Du Ruo maxed out his hearing, a faint sound mixed with the wind reached his ears.