Chapter 82: The Secret of the Misty Stream—The Mark of Mist (Bonus Chapter)

In the end, Zhou Yan couldn't bring himself to coldly refuse the girl's request.

After receiving his permission, the girl wasted no time; she bowed her head and slipped under his covers without hesitation.

Soon, Zhou Yan experienced firsthand what it meant to hold warmth and softness in his arms.

He slept in his fate vestments, which, apart from the chest and abdomen being covered in light armor, were otherwise made from a special material as thin as a cicada's wing.

To put it bluntly, it was even more skin-like than the most cutting-edge ultrathin garments.

At his age, his blood ran hot—especially after training in martial arts, which only heightened his vigor and restlessness. The girl in his embrace was a rare beauty, her features exquisitely carved, with a willowy figure pressed trustingly against him.

This made things nearly unbearable for Zhou Yan.

If not for the fact that after curling up in his arms, Long quickly grew tired and fell asleep; and if not for the sight of tearstains at the corner of her eyes, a reminder of the grief she had suffered that day in losing her parents, he might not have been able to restrain himself.

He decided to distract himself.

For him, there was no easier way to shift his attention than to review his own status panel.

His personal attributes didn't need repeating. He had “15,433” points of spiritual essence left, the main consumption being the eight to ten hours a day it burned after returning to reality.

He kept it activated nearly all the time except when eating or sleeping, allowing his comprehension to rival that of the most gifted martial prodigies.

With such talent and insight, he had managed in just two days to master two secret sword techniques that would take an ordinary genius ten days or half a month to learn.

As for the core secret method that enhanced his physique—the “Breathing Technique”—after Luo Xuan formally began teaching him, he felt as if he were on the verge of breaking through to a new stage.

However, the current “Hundred Cries” level breathing technique was more than adequate for his needs. The higher-level “Crane’s Cry” breathing technique consumed far more resources, and its effectiveness didn’t necessarily offer a better return.

This was Luo Xuan’s assessment. When she began teaching him, she explained that although the breathing technique was a method to enhance the body, it also demanded certain physical prerequisites from the practitioner.

Simply put, if an ordinary person couldn't even train their body to the “limit of an ordinary human,” then practicing even the most basic breathing technique not only produced poor results but could actually be harmful.

The same applied to higher levels of the breathing technique. Though the side effects weren't as severe as when an ordinary person forcibly practiced the basic technique, if a practitioner whose strength was only twice that of an average person used the “Hundred Cries” technique instead of the “Sparrow’s Cry,” the results would be somewhat better, but the physical toll would be four times as great—a poor exchange.

Zhou Yan only dared to cultivate this way because he possessed the “Micro Life Essence,” a cheat-like item, and he trained under the added boost of spiritual essence burning. This allowed for rapid progress, but the consumption was terrifying.

Over ten days, his physique jumped from thirteen points—where it had been after his third “walk”—straight to eighteen.

Correspondingly, his life essence dropped from forty units to just sixteen.

Having reviewed his personal attributes, he moved on to his fate vestments.

There wasn’t much to say. Including the two rune factors he obtained today, his rune slots were now filled to six. Just four more rune factors and he would trigger another advancement of his vestments.

This time, the calamity world “walk” would last thirty days, and this land of a hundred demons and evil spirits would surely provide no shortage of “treasure-bearing children.” He might even advance two stages in this journey.

Among his items, he still had a “Broken Core,” which he could swap in for the “Hidden Core” in his vestments at any time, depending on the situation.

With that in mind, he converted the “Keen” rune he just acquired from defeating the blue demon into “Physique” at the cost of two hundred spiritual essence.

Now, his runes consisted of one each for Physique, Keen, and Spirit, plus a Curse and Destruction rune—five rune factors in total.

He had achieved the combination necessary to satisfy both the “Broken Circuit” and “Hidden Circuit” requirements.

No matter which core he equipped, he could activate the relevant circuit effects, finally realizing the flexible configuration he had envisioned.

Inventory complete, Zhou Yan quietly closed his panel.

The fire that had been stoked within him gradually subsided.

He felt the softness and warmth of Long nestled in his arms, gazed at the delicate, sleeping face of the girl, and hurried to close his eyes and fall asleep before his thoughts could run wild.

Yet things rarely go as one wishes.

His iron will could only restrain him while awake.

Once asleep, the peaceful slumber he had hoped for did not come.

He dreamed of Luo Xuan, Luo Ke, Long... and even some gentle, indistinct women whose faces he could not see clearly.

He dreamed of many scenes.

The sword hall, the sofa, the living room, the bathroom, the kitchen, the teahouse by the pass...

And in that barely cleaned peasant house in the deserted village, two people huddled together on a small bedroll.

...

The next day, at dawn.

Sleep-deprived and groggy, Zhou Yan felt that the pillow in his arms was extremely comfortable to hold.

Soft, warm, and so lifelike in its embrace.

Wait—a lifelike embrace?

He suddenly realized: this was no pillow!

The thought sent a cold sweat down his back.

He was instantly wide awake.

He reflexively tried to move.

“Mmm...”

The person in his arms, disturbed, made a displeased little sound.

Zhou Yan froze in fright.

In that moment of stillness, he realized his only remaining right hand was also misbehaving—not just grasping a round cushion, but actually slipping inside its outer wrapping.

Zhou Yan, you’re truly hopeless!

He quietly withdrew his hand, then cautiously lifted the covers for a peek and felt somewhat relieved.

Though the girl's kimono was a bit disheveled, the important places were well covered.

Most importantly, his fate vestments were still securely worn, and the reason the girl had been uncomfortable just now was because of the hard armor at his chest and abdomen.

Nothing untoward had occurred, and Zhou Yan breathed a sigh of relief.

It wasn’t that he was pretending to be a prude or resisting such things out of principle.

But faced with a girl he’d only known for a day—who had just lost her family—he couldn’t justify anything else, even to himself.

Lately, he’d been spending a lot of time around beautiful girls, and, with his body growing stronger, certain urges had clearly been building up.

Wasn’t there some kind of “Heart of Ice” technique he could cultivate to cool his fire?

His thoughts wandered as he deftly moved the sleeping girl from his arms to the bedding.

Then he stood and left the room.

Yesterday’s journey had been exhausting, and the still-sleeping girl’s cheeks were faintly flushed.

...

“Good morning, Lord Yan.”

Not long after Zhou Yan got up, Long emerged from the room as well, greeting him with a slightly unnatural expression.

“Mm...” Zhou Yan nodded, not noticing her expression.

He went straight to the point: “Long, we’ll need to pick up the pace from here on. So, much of your luggage should be left behind—only bring what’s necessary.”

“Yes, Lord Yan,” Long nodded obediently. After carrying that huge bundle for dozens of miles yesterday, she realized she had packed too much.

She tilted her head, thinking. “I’ll throw away one of the bedrolls first—after all, I can just sleep with you from now on, Lord Yan.”

Zhou Yan was speechless. How had she managed to bring the topic back to this again?

Moreover, he began to realize something.

In this country, reminiscent of ancient Japan, perhaps when a girl pledged to follow someone, she was implicitly giving herself—her everything—to that person?

In any case, one couldn’t judge the thinking of the ancients by modern logic.

So he simply replied calmly, “Yes, just keep the essentials. We’ll be able to resupply in town almost every day—there’s no problem.”

“Alright!” Long agreed at once.

Yet as she went back to pack, a worried look appeared on her face.

“Resupply in town... The teahouse business was never good, and my parents were old—they barely grew enough for us to eat. They didn’t leave much money. I wonder if it’s enough for me and Lord Yan to reach Musashi...”

Then her gaze firmed.

“No problem! Lord Yan is so strong—he’s even better at dealing with demons than I am, despite having the Long school. He’s sure to come up with something!”

And so, with the girl’s fluctuating worries and hopes, the two set off.

*

“Huh? Lord Yan, you want to study the Long school?”

Walking along the coastal highway, the girl looked puzzled as Zhou Yan asked her directly.

Lord Yan was clearly stronger than she was—why would he want to learn her swordsmanship?

“To be precise...” Zhou Yan smiled faintly. “I want to learn how the Long school absorbs and manipulates demon energy.”

The techniques themselves weren’t especially impressive to Zhou Yan. But with their method of harnessing demon energy to form a “demon blade” and enhance the body, the school became a peerless art.

It was like the “Evil-Repelling Sword Technique” from the wuxia novels he’d read on Earth.

Before self-castration, it was an utterly mediocre third-rate sword technique. But once the secret was discovered and the troublesome root removed, even an ordinary technique became as swift as lightning and unstoppable.

Understanding his request, Long nodded in realization. She raised her right hand, and, responding to her will, a sigil appeared across the back of her hand, pulsing faintly with blue light.

“Lord Yan, though I don’t know why I possess this knowledge of the Long school... being able to turn demon energy into a blade and enhance myself all comes from this ‘Long Seal’...”

She pointed to the mark on the back of her hand. “With the Long Seal, you can absorb demon energy released when monsters die, and you can use it at will.”

She looked at Zhou Yan and, before he could ask, volunteered more information.

“Lord Yan, I know the ritual and method for inscribing the Long Seal. But if you just draw its symbol on the back of your hand in the ordinary way, it won’t have any power.”