ragginovel Chapter 3 Wounds
Chapter 3 Wounds
It turned out to be the case.
There's no such thing as divine favor; opportunities arise naturally.
This so-called awakening of bloodline supernatural powers was, from beginning to end, a scheme she had orchestrated. And she herself was nothing more than a pawn to be manipulated at her mercy.
Before he could even process his surprise and doubt, he felt a lightness beneath him.
"I'll take you to see the fire."
Without a word, Su Chan lifted him up, held him close to his chest, and slowly walked towards the alchemy furnace.
She walked slowly, as if afraid of disturbing something.
After walking three steps to the stove, she stopped and lifted Zhang Nanfeng up, bringing him close to the hole in the stove lid.
Zhang Nanfeng was filled with doubt and fear, but he also focused his attention and looked inside.
At first, all he could see was darkness. He blinked and looked again, and suddenly a faint glow appeared in the depths of the darkness.
The light was faint and almost extinguished, as thin as a spider's thread, and could not be detected without close inspection.
It was a wisp of fire.
Zhang Nanfeng stared for a moment longer, and his vision suddenly distorted. The wisp of fire seemed to possess a soul-corroding power, as if it wanted to burn through everything in sight.
He hurriedly looked away and struggled to burrow into Su Chan's arms.
"Don't be afraid."
Su Chan pulled him back into her arms, her palm covering his back. Her fingertips were slightly cool, but more comforting than the fire in the stove.
"It can't get out."
"...At least for now, we can't get out."
He looked down at Zhang Nanfeng, his gaze slightly unfocused, as if he could see something through him.
Suddenly, her voice trembled slightly:
"In a way, we are destined to meet. When my master found me, I was just a month old."
Zhang Nanfeng listened attentively.
"She named me, fed me, bathed me, and told me that a woman's hair is the most precious thing and should not be defiled. At that time..."
Zhang Nanfeng pressed his hand against her chest, listening to her heart pounding rapidly like a drum.
"On the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival... she personally pushed me into the alchemy furnace... but in the end, it was she who perished. That fire also became my origin."
origin?
Zhang Nanfeng was completely confused and was waiting for her to continue when Su Chan suddenly tightened her grip, causing him to cry out in pain.
Su Chan snapped back to his senses, his gaze focusing back on him.
She loosened her grip and lifted Zhang Nanfeng up to her eyes, their noses almost touching.
"Beasts are simpler than humans. Humans lie and betray... but you don't. From now on... you'll be all I have."
Zhang Nanfeng trembled in her palm, his heart churning with turmoil, but he still pretended to be ignorant and clueless, looking back innocently with his beady eyes.
What kind of past does Su Chan carry that makes her say such things? If she knew that I had already developed intelligence and concealed my awakening of supernatural powers, would she strangle me on the spot?
Su Chan pulled him back into her arms and gently stroked his back, as tenderly as if she were stroking an infant.
Zhang Nanfeng buried his face in her clothes, his nose brushing against her collarbone, not daring to move, for fear of disturbing any of her tense heartstrings.
After a long silence, Su Chan lifted him up again, untied his belt with one hand, and unabashedly removed half of his outer robe.
Zhang Nanfeng paid no attention to the exposed skin, his gaze fixed on her back—
His right shoulder and back were covered in burn scars. The skin and flesh were stuck together, making it difficult to distinguish between them.
He was horrified by what he saw; it would be a lie to say he wasn't heartbroken.
"What's wrong? Are you scared?"
Su Chan turned his head slightly, not in a hurry to straighten his clothes, and his voice returned to its usual cool and clear tone.
"You beasts value fur above all else; do you find me ugly in this state?"
Zhang Nanfeng dared not act rashly, but weighed the pros and cons in his mind.
Should one show fear? Pity? Or indifference?
After a moment's thought, he raised his front paw and gently placed it on her wrist, without making any further moves.
Su Chan was taken aback, looked down at the delicate pink paw on her wrist, and after a long while, chuckled softly:
"You seem to be even more intelligent than I thought..."
She straightened her clothes, put Zhang Nanfeng back in the grass nest, and turned to fetch the porcelain bowl and the bottle of spiritual liquid.
"Drink more; it will help you awaken your supernatural powers."
She poured the entire bottle of elixir into a bowl and pushed it in front of him. Zhang Nanfeng quickly picked it up and drank it down.
Su Chan's voice descended from above, his expression inaudible, yet each word carried a solemn weight:
"I won't rush you. Cultivating supernatural powers can't be rushed. I can wait, ten years, twenty years, or even thirty years."
"But if the pure fire can be achieved..."
Su Chan paused, his gaze sweeping over the alchemy furnace before returning to him.
"I will then guide you onto the path of immortality and help you transform into human form. At that time, you will no longer be just a rat. If your ambition lies in the world, you can go anywhere in the land."
"Or... stay by my side."
Zhang Nanfeng looked up from the bowl, and the spiritual liquid dripped down the rat's whiskers.
Staying by your side? Unless I'm crazy.
He was only moved by the word "transformation".
The allure of transformation is self-evident. Even his dreams are filled with scenes of his past life as a human, though those memories are filled with exhaustion and unbearable pain.
He hesitated. Such a promise sounded good, but who knew if it would stand the test of time?
Su Chan seemed tired and said no more. He only said that he would come earlier tomorrow and asked him to try to sense the supernatural power tonight. He also strictly ordered him not to go near the alchemy furnace. Then he turned and left.
The moment the door closed, Zhang Nanfeng immediately closed his eyes and sank into a dreamlike state.
He once again captured the spirit of the demon rat, intending to refine all the spiritual liquid in its belly into a strange wind.
It stopped shortly afterward.
The tailbone and meridians were filled with wind, and the invisible wind permeated the limbs and bones, making the whole body feel like it was about to burst.
It seems that the rat's body is still weak, and today it has already been refined to its limit by the power of the Qi-enhancing pill, making it difficult to withstand the strain.
He stopped insisting, feeling a slight itch in his heart, and was somewhat eager to try.
Looking around, all that could be seen were haystacks and porcelain bowls.
He was now a lone rat, with no other of his kind to try, and the porcelain bowl was his means of eating, not to be wasted. He could only turn his attention to the hay.
With no one around, there was no need to hide. He opened his mouth and expelled all the strange wind from his body.
This strange wind was different from the one that had previously ruffled the mouse cubs' fur. It had taken on a pale color, just like the strange wind from the demonic rats in the illusory realm, only it was still faint.
The whole patch of dry grass was blown about and immediately danced wildly, like a falling green snow.
He stared at the thickest blade of dry grass, a playful thought suddenly arose, and he exhaled another puff of air.
The wind carried the dry grass further and further away, eventually drifting slowly into the small hole of the alchemy furnace.
Zhang Nanfeng was terrified, Su Chan's warning still ringing in his ears.
Oh no! What if it spews fire out?!
He stood frozen in place, staring blankly at the alchemy furnace, completely unaware that his body was covered in dry grass.
However, the hay was thrown into the oven without causing the slightest ripple.
After a long while, Zhang Nanfeng finally let out a long sigh of relief and collapsed into the grass nest.
A sinister laugh suddenly echoed in the empty alchemy room.
who?!
Zhang Nanfeng's relaxed body suddenly sprang up, startled, and he stood up straight.
He hurriedly looked towards the entrance of the alchemy room, only to find it completely empty, without a single person in sight.
It's not Su Chan.
He strained his ears and listened intently to the door for a long time, thinking that it might just be the sound of the wind outside the corridor.
But there was complete silence outside the door, and he shook his head.
It was definitely not outside the door. The laughter echoed, clearly coming from inside the room.
He felt a chill run down his spine, scanning the dark corners of the room, wondering if some unseen evil spirit had infiltrated.
...Could it be...the fire in the furnace?