Mortal Transformation

"I know, Ma Cai told me." Chen Mo didn't deny it.

"What are you planning?" He Ma Guan looked at Chen Mo.

A little over a month wasn't enough to see through a man completely, but it could reveal a few hints.

Chen Mo was different from the other soldiers who just drifted with the current. He had more of his own ideas, and his mind was sharper.

He also followed the rules, knew his place, was quick and diligent with his hands, and above all, was steady and reliable.

He Ma Guan had been watching and remembering all this time, and he was quite satisfied with Chen Mo.

You could say that aside from being a glutton who loved to eat, Chen Mo had no real flaws.

"No plans. I'll just go give it a try when the time comes. Nothing to lose." In truth, it wasn't just Chen Mo—most of the soldiers in camp felt the same way.

Win or lose, trying didn't cost anything.

"And if you don't get picked, you'll come back and keep feeding horses with me?" He Ma Guan asked as if it were just a casual question.

Chen Mo didn't think much of it and answered with a smile, "Of course I'll come back and feed horses with you, old sir. Where else would I go?"

"Alright, go eat." He Ma Guan nodded lightly, watching Chen Mo's figure disappear into the room.

He was old now. He'd spent his whole life in the army, with no wife or children. He needed an apprentice to pass down his skills and to see him through his old age and burial.

Originally, he'd planned on Ding Bao for the role, but Ding Bao had hidden the private sale of horse manure from him together with Ma Cai, and that disappointment had been too great. That was when he'd started thinking of switching.

For now, Chen Mo seemed decent enough, but he still needed to be tempered. At the very least, his true character had to be known.

A month and some days could let you know a man's face, but it was hard to know his heart.

Chen Mo sat back down at the table in front of the shed, laid out the remaining twenty-four coppers, and counted out eight for each of the two men.

The day's share wasn't much, but day by day, it added up to a considerable sum.

After nearly a month of eating, the radishes from the captain's field were finally finished, so today they had potatoes stewed with cabbage.

There wasn't a single drop of oil or fat, but the salt was strong enough.

Even though the food in front of him was hard to swallow, Chen Mo still ate quickly. How bad could it be? It was still far better than what he'd had as a refugee.

At night, he slowly ate the leftover cornbread he'd saved as a midnight snack, and when he went to add the horses' evening feed, he found a chance to steal a pear.

To build up as much blood and qi as possible, he never missed a single opportunity to get an extra bite of food.

Every day after that, Chen Mo repeated the same routine: hauling manure to sell, stealing horse feed when he could, and going to the market to get some meat.

At home, resting meant steaming cornbread for the horses, feeding them fine grain, and finding chances to sneak horse feed for himself.

Until five days remained before the recruitment of personal guards began—the Mortal Transformation Pearl had finally accumulated enough blood and qi!

Chen Mo carefully sensed the Mortal Transformation Pearl in his abdomen. It had turned completely blood-red, filled to the brim with the power of blood and qi.

Putting away the six remaining cornbreads he hadn't finished, Chen Mo didn't rush to undergo the Mortal Transformation right away.

He wasn't sure what would happen during the transformation. If there were major changes, he'd definitely be noticed as abnormal, and that wouldn't be good.

Better to wait until night, when everything was quiet, and secretly find a chance to undergo the Mortal Transformation.

He poured the cooled cornbread into the feeding cart and pushed it into the stable.

The horses, seeing him arrive, let out cheerful snorts.

After feeding them the cornbread, he tidied up the stable and the shed, and did some odd chores.

When it was time for the meal distribution, he picked up the wooden basin for food and headed to the kitchen.

Today, the kitchen had rare good food—cabbage stewed with tofu. It was far better than the usual clear-boiled cabbage and potatoes.

Chen Mo filled his bowl and walked back to the stable. Ma Cai and the other man had just returned from hauling manure.

"Oh, we're having tofu today!" Ding Bao was quite surprised. Even after years as a soldier, unless it was a holiday or festival, he could count on one hand the times he'd eaten tofu in camp.

The food was good today, and everyone was in a decent mood.

"Mo-ge, I saw the bathhouse in the market is open. Let's find a chance to go wash up," Ding Bao suggested after they finished eating.

Back when it was warmer, they could heat water in the sun at noon to wash up and bathe, but this past month, as the weather turned cold, they hadn't bathed at all.

"Don't go. In a few days, it'll be General Sun's recruitment for personal guards. Going to wash might soften you up," Ma Cai said, stopping him.

He didn't know the exact requirements for recruitment, but he was putting his full attention into it, striving to pass the selection and become a personal guard.

He had connections at home, but those connections only worked if he proved himself. If he didn't measure up, there was nothing.

"Wait a few more days. It's only a matter of days anyway," Chen Mo agreed with a smile.

After eating, they washed their hands and feet with cold water and each went back to their quarters to rest.

When deep night came, though Chen Mo was bone-tired, he gritted his teeth and got up from his bed.

The camp had a curfew. Once curfew began, aside from the night watchmen on duty, everyone had to stay in their own barracks. Even if they needed to piss or shit, they had to do it inside.

The stable was in a remote spot, and to avoid startling the warhorses, few patrols passed by. If he found a secluded place in the dark, he could complete the Mortal Transformation.

Chen Mo quietly slipped out the door and came to the haystack beside the stable, where piles of coarse hay for the horses were stacked.

Finding a blind spot where no sentry could possibly spot him, Chen Mo lay down and sat inside, closing his eyes slightly, focusing inward on the Mortal Transformation Pearl in his abdomen.

The Mortal Transformation Pearl, originally transparent and colorless, was now entirely crimson red.

"Mortal Transformation." Chen Mo's mind stirred, and the accumulated blood and qi within the Mortal Transformation Pearl erupted completely, surging from his abdomen and flowing outward to his limbs, bones, flesh, and sinews.

The scorching, restless blood and qi churned within his body, strengthening and refining his flesh, bones, and sinews, causing them to undergo a transformation.

Wave after wave of blood and qi poured from his abdomen into every part of his body, and he could perceive the changes within himself with extreme clarity.

His muscles, which had grown somewhat tough and rigid from prolonged labor, now became soft and supple.

Chen Mo understood that his muscles had been perpetually tense because of inflammation from insufficient rest. Now that the inflammation had vanished, his muscles regained their vitality.

It seemed that Mortal Transformation not only enhanced his physical strength but could also heal injuries through this process.

The transformation process was not lengthy. The blood and qi within the Mortal Transformation Pearl gradually depleted, and to undergo another Mortal Transformation, he would need to accumulate more blood and qi.

Each Mortal Transformation was harder than the last, because every transformation made him stronger.

As the transformation ended, waves of hunger struck. Chen Mo took out the steamed bread he carried with him and devoured it in just a few bites.

Only then did the hunger in his stomach ease slightly.

He now felt light and comfortable throughout his body, his flesh, bones, and sinews clearly far stronger than before.

As for exactly how much his strength had increased, he had no means to test it at the moment and would have to check later.

Standing up and stepping out from the haystack, Chen Mo's expression suddenly changed drastically.