Two Unknown Calls

The Boiling Blood Beast is a rare Tier 3 Ferocious Beast that can control fire and manipulate the blood within living organisms, making it a formidable existence even among beasts of the same tier.

Its flesh and blood contain a special kind of energy, and consuming it causes one's "blood to boil."

The unbearable heat and burning sensation Chen Mochuan felt earlier stemmed from this.

As Spirit Devourer continued to operate, slowly consuming the energy from the Boiling Blood Beast jerky, his physical condition gradually improved; although the Qi and blood within him were still surging, they had returned to a controllable range.

However, the prolonged "tug-of-war" had left his spirit feeling withered and exhausted.

When he sensed that seven or eight tenths of the energy in the jerky had been digested by Spirit Devourer, he put away his stance and collapsed onto his bed.

A wave of intense fatigue washed over him like a tide. He pulled out his personal terminal, replied to the repeated inquiries from Li Biao with "I have something to do today, I won't be going to Mingxin," and closed his eyes, sinking into a deep sleep.

He did not know how much time had passed when Chen Mochuan vaguely felt a slight vibration from the personal terminal on his wrist while he slept.

Startled awake from his chaotic dreams, he subconsciously raised his hand and gave a command in a slightly hoarse, slurred voice: "Display communication."

The next second, a pale blue holographic interface rapidly unfolded in the air before him, and a translucent floating screen appeared clearly.

The person attempting to call him was an unfamiliar number.

Chen Mochuan frowned. He had never shared his number with strangers, and still heavy with sleep, he prepared to cut off the call that was disturbing his rest.

Just as he was about to shout the voice command "Hang up," his gaze inadvertently swept over the communication software module on the projection interface, catching a message Li Biao had sent that afternoon:

"Instructor Feng Shi specifically came to ask me about your condition and why you didn't come today."

He remembered that when he opened his membership card at Mingxin Martial Arts Hall, he had entered his number into the contact information field of his member profile.

"Could it be Instructor Feng Shi? I've only missed one day at the martial arts hall; why is he so concerned?"

This thought prompted him to answer the call, though he quickly realized he had guessed wrong. The voice coming through the terminal was rather gruff and clearly not Feng Shi.

"Chen Mochuan? I'm Liang Wenbin, the police officer who led the team last night."

He hadn't expected it to be Liang Wenbin, though it wasn't surprising that the man had obtained his number after he left it during the statement process.

Still, wondering why Liang Wenbin had specifically contacted him, Chen Mochuan forced himself to stay alert and expressed his gratitude first.

"Officer Liang, hello. Thank you for the Boiling Blood Beast jerky you gave me yesterday."

"No need to be so formal, just call me Uncle Liang."

Liang Wenbin on the other end of the phone seemed like a different person, completely unlike his serious demeanor in reality.

"I forgot to tell you last night, although that piece of jerky looks small, you'd best eat it in several sittings, otherwise you'll be in for a long, uncomfortable time..."

Liang Wenbin on the other end of the terminal suddenly stopped, as if he had just realized what Chen Mochuan had said. "How did you know the jerky was made from a Boiling Blood Beast?"

Chen Mochuan's heart skipped a beat, and his sleepiness vanished by more than half. Not fully awake when he answered the phone, he had accidentally blurted out the information analyzed by the golden light screen, so he quickly tried to remedy it:

"I saw the jerky glowing with an unusual red light, and after eating it, my Qi and blood surged throughout my body, feeling just like the 'boiling blood' described in books. These are characteristics of Boiling Blood Beast meat, so I was able to guess."

"You already ate the whole piece?"

"Yes."

After a brief silence, Liang Wenbin spoke again, his tone carrying a hint of imperceptible concern and scrutiny: "Then, are you feeling alright?"

Chen Mochuan wanted to be vague, but he realized that if Liang Wenbin took a whim to come and check on his condition, it would be even harder to explain later, so he said:

"At first, there were some signs of Qi and blood congestion, but my grasp of the Root-Solidifying Stance is quite solid. I persisted in holding the stance to channel my Qi and blood, and now, aside from feeling exceptionally tired and having some soreness in my body, there are no other problems."

He spoke the absolute truth, merely blurring the details of the digestion method and timing.

"That's good, that's good..." Liang Wenbin said with a sense of relief, his voice sounding significantly lighter.

Last night, he had felt that Chen Mochuan was to his liking, so he had made the gesture of gifting the meat, intending to help the other party improve their Qi and blood.

But today, he remembered Chen Mochuan's Qi and blood state, which looked to be that of a Tier 3 martial artist, and Boiling Blood Beast meat was notoriously difficult to digest.

If the nourishment was too strong, while it wouldn't cause injury, it would inevitably lead to Qi and blood congestion, causing discomfort for ten days or half a month, which would hinder martial arts cultivation.

One had to remember that the other party was a high school senior, and every day was precious. If he had truly delayed the student's preparation for the martial arts exam because of this, he would have truly done a bad deed with good intentions.

Therefore, he had immediately called to warn him, only to find he was a step too late.

Fortunately, it seemed the other party had a special constitution and a sufficiently tenacious will, able to endure the pain and rely on the stance to channel the Qi and blood without causing any negative effects, which made him breathe a sigh of relief.

"Thanks to this piece of jerky, I feel my Qi and blood have increased quite a bit. The midterm exams are coming up soon, so I must thank you again, Uncle Liang, for your great help." Chen Mochuan expressed his sincere thanks once more.

Afterward, the two exchanged a few more pleasantries, and after Liang Wenbin told him to contact him anytime if anything came up, the call ended.

Saving Liang Wenbin's number into his contacts, Chen Mochuan felt quite happy. Establishing a good connection with a powerful Inner Scene Realm martial artist was undoubtedly a good thing.

He looked out the window and found that it had turned completely dark.

He glanced at the time clearly displayed on the terminal projection: [20:35].

If he remembered correctly, he had laid down around one in the afternoon after practicing his stance; he had slept for a full seven hours.

However, the aftereffects of the Boiling Blood Beast meat were indeed potent. Even after sleeping for so long, he still hadn't fully recovered, and his body remained sore and fatigued, so he prepared to continue resting.

But just as he closed his eyes to gather sleepiness, his wrist vibrated again. With a sense of helplessness, he activated the personal terminal projection once more and saw a new call request from an unfamiliar number.

Looking at the flashing number, he hesitated for a moment before choosing to answer.

"Hello, is this Chen Mochuan?"

Chen Mochuan was very familiar with this voice; it was actually Feng Shi.

"It's me, Brother Feng. I heard from Li Biao that you were looking for me this afternoon?"

"Yeah, I just wanted to ask why you didn't come to the martial arts hall today. Are you not feeling well?"

"No, I'm doing fine. I had some things at home to take care of, so I didn't go out."

"I see. If you need anything, just let me know. I might be able to help..."

The two exchanged pleasantries for a while before hanging up. Chen Mochuan could clearly feel the genuine concern coming from Feng Shi.

Usually at Mingxin Martial Arts Hall, Feng Shi took quite good care of him, always using the opportunity of sparring to patiently feed him moves and privately pointing out the essence of the Tiger Fiend Fist.

He kept all these kindnesses in his heart.

"Have I become a popular commodity?" Chen Mochuan rubbed his still-aching brow and gave a self-deprecating smile.