Chapter 11: The First Truth: To Learn Inner Strength, First Abstain from Desire

"The Feynman Learning Method," it says, "the best way to understand a concept deeply is to teach it to someone else."

"Iceberg Therapy" was created by Zhuang Jing herself, and after teaching it to quite a few students, her mastery of "Iceberg Therapy" had reached its peak.

At that moment, describing "Iceberg Therapy" to Gu Ran was as effortless as Nuwa creating humans, casually shaping them with her hands.

Gu Ran was also sharp, not only able to remember after listening once but also able to draw inferences from one example.

The look Zhuang Jing gave Gu Ran grew increasingly fond.

After explaining "Iceberg Therapy," Zhuang Jing asked, "Your Lucid Dreaming is at Level 5?"

"Yes," Gu Ran replied.

Lucid Dreaming itself is a discipline, with stages ranging from initial recognition of the dream to skilled exploration and, ultimately, the peak of creating dreams, each advancement like climbing one step after another.

Reaching Level 4 in Lucid Dreaming denotes proficiency, being able to stabilize the dream for one minute and starting to explore the dream environment;

At Level 7, the pinnacle, one can change the dream landscape, though the scenario is random;

At Level 8, one can dream of a specific person;

At Level 9, one has the ability to actively guide dreams; at this stage, dreaming is like playing a self-created online game.

It is said there is a Level 10, but to this day, no one in the world's psychological associations has reached such a realm.

But in ancient times, it happened.

If the legends are true and the historical records are accurate, Chen Tuan, known as the "Sleep Immortal," was a master of Lucid Dreaming at Level 10 or even higher.

Reaching Level 10 meant being a god in one's dreams.

In the records, Chen Tuan could roam the heavens and the earth, traverse past and future, converse with Zhang Liang, casually chat with Fan Li, meet with Cao Cao and Liu Bei, drink with deities, and brawl with demons.

In the national library, there are Chen Tuan's three diagrams—"Yi Long Diagram," "Pre-celestial Diagram," and "Wuji Diagram," and some say the secrets of Lucid Dreaming Level 10 lie within these diagrams.

It all sounds very much like a fantasy novel, but the recipe for Yunnan Baiyao is subject to the same level of secrecy.

"At Level 5," Zhuang Jing calculated based on experience, "you should be able to grasp the basics of 'Iceberg Therapy' in about four or five days, and until you've mastered it, you can continue to come to me daily along with Chen Ke."

This was a perk of the clinic and also one of Zhuang Jing's responsibilities.

"Okay," Gu Ran responded.

Time passed quickly, Chen Ke had still not found a [Profession Card] today, but her mindset was good, and she genuinely felt happy for Gu Ran.

The three woke up, and Su Qing could tell at a glance that today had been fruitful.

After taking a closer look, she turned to Gu Ran and said, "You found one?"

"By chance," Gu Ran said with a joyful smile, "I rolled down a hillside and ended up right in front of [Shepherd]."

"Shepherd." Su Qing's smile had a hint of meaningfulness.

As Zhuang Jing's biological daughter, she naturally knew that [Shepherd] was a rare [Profession Card] that came with two dreams.

"Qing, I heard there's a welcome party tonight?" Zhuang Jing asked.

"Did Gu Ran come to you with complaints?" Su Qing shot a glance at Gu Ran, fixing her gaze on him.

"Nonsense!" Gu Ran denied, "It was Chen Ke who mentioned it."

"Me?" Chen Ke looked puzzled.

Gu Ran helped her recall, "You brought up the point system, didn't you?"

After thinking about it, Chen Ke reluctantly... nodded.

Su Qing glanced at both of them before turning back to her mother, "There is a welcome party, but surely you wouldn't get involved in office bullying of that sort, would you?"

There, she admitted it outright!

While brushing her hair, Zhuang Jing said with a laugh, "Since it's a welcome party and more people make it merrier, I'll ask the nurse on duty tonight to be attentive. First group, second group, and myself, let's all go out to eat."

Gu Ran quickly did the math—

Three from the first group, three from the second, and one Zhuang Jing, seven people in total, and he'd be the one paying for everyone.

Had he committed some kind of grievous sin?

Why all this trouble?

Then, like the voice of an angel, Zhuang Jing added, "Put it on the clinic's account."

"Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!"

Zhuang Jing, Su Qing, and Chen Ke looked over as Gu Ran clapped his hands excitedly.

Zhuang Jing and Chen Ke found it humorous.

Su Qing found it funny but also dissatisfied; firstly, because Gu Ran had dodged a bullet, and secondly, putting it on the clinic's account was tantamount to her paying for the meal.

The money itself was no big deal, but who was treating was important.

"Right," Zhuang Jing added, "from now on, Chen Ke and Jiang Qi will form one group, coming to practice with me every Tuesday—Chen Ke can come every day until she finds a [Profession Card] and learns 'Iceberg Therapy.'

"Qing, you and Gu Ran will pair up and your time will be every Wednesday."

The three acknowledged in unison.

Back in the office, Gu Ran didn't continue to review patients' files; instead, he went to seek out the inner strength expert, Zhao Wenjie.

Residential area, 101.

"Sorry I overslept this morning and didn't come to practice with you as agreed," Gu Ran apologized.

"If you want to learn inner strength, getting up early to bed, early to rise is one of the basic conditions," Zhao Wenjie said.

Following the patient's lead is one of the psychological techniques for doctors, and Gu Ran asked, "Besides, um—what you called aptitude, are there any other conditions?"

"What in this world doesn't require conditions? Even the love of parents for their children comes with conditions, so of course training inner strength does too," Zhao Wenjie said.

"Makes sense, I'll make sure to go to bed early and get up early from now on," Gu Ran replied. He asked again, "You mentioned this is just one condition, what other conditions are there?"

"Abstinence,"

"Abstinence?" Gu Ran heard clearly, but asked again because he couldn't believe it.

Zhao Wenjie nodded, "Abstinence. From today onwards, you must refrain from approaching women."

Then he smiled, "Self-sufficiency is permitted, though."

Despite the fact that both the patient and doctor were men, the female receptionist who had come with them—Wang Jiajia—covered her mouth and snickered.

"You're practicing abstinence?" Gu Ran asked, curious.

"Yes, for several years now. Once I get close to women, the inner strength vanishes," Zhao Wenjie said.

"Like the 'Sunflower Manual'? That's a very powerful skill," Gu Ran said.

"The 'Sunflower Manual' doesn't allow for self-sufficiency, does it? Mine is still somewhat lacking," Zhao Wenjie replied.