Ten minutes later, Huai Shi finally reacted.
‘Did I get targeted by some dark force?’
“Why?” Huai Shi slammed his hand down on the table in distress. “I just kicked him twice, why does he have to be like this?”
“It’s more than that! I saw it clear as day.” Liu Dongli held up his finger to correct him. “Not only did you break his pinky, yank his hair, steal his box, and kick him in the crotch, you even kicked him twice! If I were Wang Hai, I would not forgive you.”
“You beat him up too, how did you forget that so quickly?”
“Spare me, I’m just a gigolo.” Liu Dongli blinked, seemingly pleased with himself. “Look at me, weak, scrawny, helpless, and pitiful.”
“And bald.”
Huai Shi added.
“That’s enough! My hair is growing out already!” Huai Shi was so angry he ripped his wig off and leaned over, pointing at his disheveled hairline. “Can you see that? See? It’s growing out already!”
“It’s fast. But if it grows fast, it’ll fall off fast too.”
Huai Shi did not even bother to look at him and simply ate his rice disinterestedly.
Besides, this roasted pigeon was rather delicious. Since Liu DongIi was the one paying, he did not hold back and ordered another bowl of soup.
As if aware of Huai Shi’s lethargy, Liu Dongli stubbed out his cigarette and pushed the dishes that had been served over to Huai Shi’s side.
“There’s no need to be scared, they’re just a few small lackeys, and you don’t have to face Rancher directly. Don’t underestimate the Astronomical Association, little guy, they’re your support, and they’re the most powerful in the world. Even if Rancher appears in the interior, it will be beaten back to Elysium. Even if you have to enter the battle, it’ll probably just be to defeat a few lackeys.”
He suggested, “If you feel that you can’t do it, just resign.”
Huai Shi paused for a moment, then lowered his head and continued chewing on the pigeon leg until it was nothing but bones before throwing it onto the plate. He grabbed a tissue and wiped his hand.
“No, I’m not scared.” He said. “Just… a little angry.”
“Hm?”
“It doesn’t matter how powerful Rancher is, I don’t have to worry about that, do I?” Huai Shi looked up, and spoke seriously, “But, why? I just wanted to live a decent life, why is that so hard?”
Liu Dongli was stunned and went silent for a while. Then he shook his head and sighed.
“Because life was never meant to be easy, Huai Shi.” He said, “Sometimes, it seems like Ascenders have more choices than regular people. But oftentimes, no one has a choice.
“Unexpected things are bound to happen, and it will make you feel pain and uneasiness, but you still have to try to accept it. It doesn’t matter if you want it or not, this is your life.
“When you become an Ascender, you might as well have bid farewell to your past life, Huai Shi. It’s just that you’re still stuck in the past.”
He looked at the youngster with a conflicted expression. “If all you want is a peaceful life, it’s quite simple, even I can help you with that—change your name and identity, you can just turn around and leave, then start a new life in another city.”
Huai Shi shook his head without hesitation. “My home is here, I’m not going anywhere.”
“Your home is just an empty shell.”
“It’s still my home.” The young man replied calmly. “As long as it’s still there, it doesn’t matter if I end up like a pitiful dog in the outside world, at least I’ll still be a dog with a home.
“Without it, I’d be nothing but a stray.”
Liu Dongli was silent.
He did not say anything else and patted the boy’s shoulder.
.
.
After they finished their meal, Liu Dongli spent a heck of a long time in the toilet, and only came out after applying God knows how much hair growth cream.
After he paid the bill, he asked Huai Shi where he was going, and if he could take him on a ride.
“You bought another car?” Huai Shi was shocked.
“I rented it.”
Liu Dongli opened the door and got into the driver’s seat. After starting the engine, he drove onto the road. He looked out at the road and suddenly said, “I’m leaving.”
“Hm?”
“Haven’t I mentioned it earlier? I decided to go on a two-year vacation, and I’ve finally finished packing everything over the past two days.” He rolled down the window and lit another cigarette. “The plane leaves tomorrow before dawn, it will be departing from Jinling.”
“Where are you planning to go?”
“First, I’ll be heading to America. I heard that there’s plenty of fun places to visit in the free consortium cities.” Liu Dongli started talking about his lengthy travel plans. “After that, I’ll visit Rome or Egypt. I’ll only return once I use up all my money.”
“Oh.”
Huai Shi scratched his head. “Have a safe trip.”
Liu Dongli shook his head, smiling, but did not say another word. He just reached down to grab a paper bag and tossed it at Huai Shi.
“This is for you.”
Huai Shi took the paper bag and opened it. Inside, there was a flat, rectangular box. When he took it out, he saw the logo marked on it and could barely believe his eyes.
“Where did you get this?”
“A Roman friend had given this to me last time, and I had forgotten about it, so I never opened it. I only found it again when I was packing. However, now most people use their phones to listen to music, so I didn’t know what to do with it.” Liu Dongli said, “If you like it, you can have it.”
“Then I’ll keep it.”
Huai Shi quirked his brow in glee. He ripped open the box’s plastic seal and the “Cowon” logo, to reveal a palm-sized music player within the box.
It had a brass-colored body and manual dual-control adjustment buttons on the upper side… He loved it so much he did not want to put it down.
It even made him happier than getting that border relic.
In this day and age, where everyone was starting to get used to using mobile phones, very few people would remember such a thing as the MP3 player. It had been cast aside, just like CD players were. Other than a small number of enthusiasts, very few people would pay attention to such a relic of the past.
Moreover, the price of those that remained was increasing every day.
A music player like this was enough to pay for a good handmade cello.
If he had gotten another present of the same value, he might not have accepted it. However, the things that Liu Dongli chose did not leave him with space for hesitation.
Having said that, he had damaged a car worth millions and had accepted a music player worth 10 thousand bucks. Regardless, he shrugged off the burden on his conscience.
He’d just treat this as a thank-you gift for the Overlord Hair Growth Set.
Looking at the smiling youngster in the passenger seat, Liu Dongli could not figure out what the hell he was thinking. He just shook his head and sighed,
“It’s nice to be young…”
Finally, the car stopped in front of the chalcedony museum’s entrance. Huai Shi got down from the car, put aside the music player satisfactorily, and waved goodbye. “Have a safe trip, I’ll treat you to a meal once you get back.”
“We’ll see about that.”
Liu Dongli smiled and waved goodbye. “Just look after yourself.”
Then, he drove off.
Huai Shi watched as Old Liu’s silhouette disappear with an empty feeling in his heart. He stood still for a long time, then shook his head, trying his best to chase away that hint of sadness.
He could not be sad anymore, if he continued being sad he would be gay…
He could only wish Old Liu a safe trip.
In reality, the moment he got home, he started feeling down again.
Crow landed on the table before him. She had put on a surgical mask and white coat, whilst a mini stethoscope hung around her neck. She even had a tube of dark green medicine clamped beneath her wing.
“Come, it’s time for your physical examination!”
She retrieved a pair of glasses out of nowhere and propped them on top of her beak, her voice gentle and charming. “Let sister see if your puberty is going normally…”
If only it was not a crow talking.
‘Is there a problem with my graphics card?’
Huai Shi sighed and leaned back against the chair, letting her do whatever she wanted.
In reality, it was not much different than the basic physical examination at a hospital, so much so that it had almost become a daily routine. His weight and height would be measured, and his blood would be drawn to be tested in some kind of odd reagent.
Because of Huai Shi’s knowledge of alchemy, which was close to none, he could not tell what was going on. He did not need to see what was going on either. When it came to his own body, he had better intuition than any fancy test.
His puberty was starting to speed up.
If the initial process was gradually gaining speed, he had now sped onto the highway and was rushing forward, accelerating exponentially.
Every day, he could clearly feel his body’s growth. The itch and the pain he felt from his elongating bones had woken him up from his dreams quite a few times.
After the soreness he felt from his growing muscles in the past two days had passed, his heartbeat started feeling irregular again. He kept feeling the phantom pain from his internal organs and his limbs.
Barely a week had passed and he had already grown 4cm. The measurements of his previous clothes were ready to be thrown away.
Moreover, he could start to see muscle definition in his skinny arms and legs.
Especially in his hands, where his nails were growing very fast. He was now cutting his nails on average once a day. Every time the blade cut his nails, he could smell an almost hallucinatory-like scent of sulfur.
According to Crow, this was a side effect of enhanced strengthening.
Because the direction of his ascension seemed to be perceptual, even if he finished growing, his muscle strength might not ascend to a point of exaggeration.
As compensation, some parts of his key muscles and bones would be strengthened. His nerve response speed and visceral load capacity would improve, and most importantly, his sight, hearing, sense of smell, and touch would be enhanced as well.
According to Crow’s evaluation, this type of perception style was the most suitable for survival. He could see far, smell clear, hear widely, and have explosive strength. He could run very fast too… like an old dog, constantly sliding out of reach. Without the use of special equipment, there was no way he would be caught.
Additionally, with the constant death that came with his “Premonition of Death”, Huai Shi felt as if he could stay alive for a very long time.
There was only one flaw.
He did not know why, but recently he had started looking paler. He looked just like a little white face[1], and the type who put powder on his face too. His tanned arms had become as white as jade, whilst even the veins beneath his skin had started to become visible.
This made Huai Shi, who was longing for a macho look, extremely uncomfortable.
“Isn’t this a little too feminine?”
He looked at himself in the mirror. “Can’t you be a little more normal?”
“It seems like the medicine is working well.”
Crow seemed to be satisfied with her achievements and took off the glasses. “If you continue developing at this pace, you will be able to enter the earth in another week or so.”
“What the hell is that?” Huai Shi was alarmed.
“Hm? Did I accidentally say something?” Crow blinked innocently.
“I think I heard someone say, ‘enter the earth’?”
“I think you might have had an auditory hallucination, no?”
Crow averted her gaze and seemed to sigh helplessly. “These are some of the regular symptoms of the developmental stage, it’s just like puberty, some shameful things are bound to happen… you should get used to it.”
[1] A term used to describe male sugar babies, typically with pale and smooth skin because they were being taken care of by an older woman