Artifact Refining Trial

The wooden door creaked open, letting in a few shafts of sunlight carrying dust.

Wang Da Fu's round face was brimming with delight as he rushed to the crude wooden bed in three quick strides. "Junior Brother Bao Shan! You... you're finally awake!"

The figure on the bed slowly opened his eyes. His pupils were initially unfocused, as though veiled by a thin mist, reflecting the rough grain of the ceiling.

Xie Bao Shan turned his eyes blankly, and his gaze finally settled on Wang Da Fu's familiar plump face. A hoarse question squeezed out of his throat. "Where... where is this? What... what happened to me?"

He instinctively tried to raise a hand, only to find his arm as heavy as if it had been filled with lead.

"Xie Bao Shan!" Wang Da Fu frowned and leaned closer, his bell-sized eyes full of scrutiny.

"You didn't really get struck stupid by that lightning, did you? Look carefully. Who am I?" He pointed a chubby finger at his own nose.

Xie Bao Shan blinked hard. The unfocused look in his eyes gradually sharpened as he stared at Wang Da Fu for a long while. At last, a trace of clarity dispersed the haze in his gaze.

"You're... you're Senior Brother Wang Da Fu?" he murmured. Then, as if struck by an invisible bolt of lightning, he sharply inhaled.

"That's right! I remember now! We went... went to eat the Lightning Strike Fruit! Why... why am I in your room?"

"Ha, you finally recognized me!" Wang Da Fu sighed in relief and dropped onto the low stool beside the bed, making the wooden stool groan under his weight.

He wiped nonexistent sweat from his forehead and described the scene with lingering fear. "The moment you ate that fruit, countless black lightning