Zhang Ruofeng in the Past

"What's a monk?" the goddess asked curiously.

"Uh..." Zhang Ruofeng felt that his usually steady mood was on the verge of being shattered yet again, all in a single day. Only someone who didn't know any better would ask a question that rubbed salt in the wound. "An evolved version of a herbivore man—a man who abstains from food entirely." Zhang Ruofeng could only look thoroughly exasperated.

"That can't be right. There's nothing wrong with your body." The goddess's curiosity was piqued. Ignoring the exasperated look on Zhang Ruofeng's face, she went on teasing him. "Although I can't use my divine powers, it's easy enough to check some basic things about my children, like whether they're sick or anything." The goddess's mischievous smile appeared again. Zhang Ruofeng's face reddened slightly, and his helplessness surged.

"Lady Goddess, isn't it a bit inappropriate to say that to a guy?" Zhang Ruofeng stopped wiping things down and asked helplessly.

"Every child's soul in this world is in a completely pure, naked state. What's wrong with that?" The goddess continued to tease Zhang Ruofeng. She could tell that although he usually seemed indifferent, he had no real experience with romance or relations between men and women. Bring up that subject, and his calm demeanor would crumble. Teasing their children for fun was something nearly every god did. The gods had lived for far too long, and naturally adored their ever-changing children. Although Fura was very curious about the pain buried deep inside Zhang Ruofeng, she knew it was a tremendous wound that had changed his personality and habits. Until he had come to terms with it himself, no one could intrude on that part of him.

"Please stop making fun of me." Zhang Ruofeng helplessly surrendered. As a single man who had never had a girlfriend, he simply couldn't handle this sort of conversation.

"Hahaha!" The goddess laughed again. Zhang Ruofeng's flustered expression was so entertaining. During her interactions with him that day, he had always seemed composed and calm. It was this awkward, boyish side of him that the gods found so amusing.

"Lady Goddess, you can get back to what you were doing. I'm going to test my strength." Zhang Ruofeng couldn't take it anymore and could only flee the shop in a hurry. Many things in this world ran on the power of Magic Stones, like the streetlights he was looking at now, the water heater in their home, and the stove they used for cooking. He'd found that they worked quite well. They didn't form a network like electricity did, but they were very practical.

"All right, let's test my strength." Zhang Ruofeng muttered to himself as he headed to a plaza-like area. It was a block away from his home. Since the area was rather remote, only a few people lingered in the plaza at night. Adventurers passed by him in ones and twos. Some loudly discussed their exploits that day, some brushed past Zhang Ruofeng with grim faces, and others swayed back and forth, dead drunk.

Zhang Ruofeng found a quiet spot and began his tests. First, he tested his speed. Speed was very important. If he ever fought a powerful enemy, being fast would reduce the chances of getting hurt. And if he couldn't win, he'd have a chance to escape. It was the improvement he wanted most. Unfortunately, his specialized enhancements were strength and endurance, making him a typical heavy-hitter.

"This should be about a hundred meters." Zhang Ruofeng could only estimate the distance by eye; this world had no such thing as a running track.

"All right, here goes." As soon as Zhang Ruofeng finished speaking, he took off in a sprint, silently timing himself in his head. But as soon as he started running, he noticed a serious problem: his body moved faster than he could react. His movements were so uncoordinated that he nearly fell flat on his face.

"Has my body changed so much that my mind can't keep up?" Zhang Ruofeng thought as he brought himself to a stop and stared at his legs. "I'm more than ten percent faster than I used to be. Otherwise, my brain should still be able to keep up with my speed." Zhang Ruofeng thought. His previous best for a hundred meters had been about fifteen seconds; now, he estimated he could do it in under eleven.

"I have to say, God's Blessing is truly terrifying." The test had made Zhang Ruofeng realize that. He'd gotten stronger twice in one day, and the second time, thanks to the danger he'd faced and the skill he'd gained, his strength had surged so much that his brain couldn't keep up with his body.

Looks like I shouldn't go to the Dungeon anytime soon, Zhang Ruofeng thought silently. In his current state, he could trip himself up. He figured he should stop and get used to his body. Improvements like this weren't always a good thing; if he charged ahead recklessly, he might end up losing his life without even knowing how.

"I'm back." Zhang Ruofeng pushed open the flower shop's back door and walked inside. He found the goddess and Xin Mu sitting together, leisurely drinking rose tea.

"Go take a bath~" the goddess said cheerfully. Xin Mu nodded and touched her slightly damp hair to show she'd already washed up. Zhang Ruofeng didn't stand on ceremony. He picked up the cup that had clearly been prepared for him and drained it in one gulp.

"Tea should be enjoyed elegantly," Fura protested, a little irritated. Zhang Ruofeng merely laughed it off as he slowly made his way upstairs.

"Has that guy already figured out what makes me angry? Is this payback for teasing him?" the goddess asked as she sat down. Xin Mu silently set down her cup and nodded.

"Ruofeng is very clever," Xin Mu said softly. "He's especially kind to people who treat him well. But if someone hurts something important to him, he'll be like a lurking viper, striking hard when they let their guard down." Zhang Ruofeng didn't know it, but Xin Mu had once seen someone who had designs on her family try to approach her and hurt a friend of Zhang Ruofeng's from the Anime Club, who had played a joke on him. Zhang Ruofeng hadn't said a word about it at the time. But that night, at a corner where the boys turned toward their dormitory, he'd suddenly appeared and knocked the guy down with one punch. If Xin Mu hadn't known Zhang Ruofeng so well, even she wouldn't have believed that the person she'd glimpsed from a second-floor window—knocking the guy unconscious in a single second before vanishing—was him.

The incident had caused a huge stir, and many people had joined the investigation. But the attacker had struck in a blind spot on the main road, and the only thing caught on camera was an arm. There was no way to identify who had done it. Zhang Ruofeng was taciturn and never caused trouble, so no one suspected him. In the end, the guy developed a psychological trauma and dropped out. Only Zhang Ruofeng and Xin Mu probably knew who the culprit was.

"Sometimes Ruofeng's eyes turn frightening for just an instant. But unless you watch closely, almost no one realizes he isn't actually a harmless, quiet person." Xin Mu recalled softly. Sometimes, when Zhang Ruofeng was thinking by himself, a sharp look would flash across his face without him realizing it. Once, when Xin Mu greeted him from behind, he turned around without having time to hide that look. For an instant, she felt her palms grow sweaty. That was when she began to understand that Zhang Ruofeng's kindness was something precious to him, and that he didn't show it to just anyone.

"Mm. Though Zhang Ruofeng hasn't said anything, did you notice the two knife scars on his back and the scar on his abdomen?" the goddess replied. "Who was he before? You said your country was prosperous and powerful, and hadn't experienced any wars for decades. And Zhang Ruofeng's family had no trouble affording food and clothing, right?"

"Yes, that's right," Xin Mu confirmed. "I'm not entirely sure, but I think Zhang Ruofeng either had ties to people in the underworld, or was a member of a gang himself—or one of those troublemaking thugs who liked to get into fights." Even Xin Mu found the idea hard to believe. Zhang Ruofeng becoming a thug was simply too bizarre. The biggest problem was that he'd gotten into an undergraduate program in the capital. She'd never heard of anyone like that managing both things. The thought of someone studying hard in that shadowy world, memorizing vocabulary while beating people up, struck her as ridiculous.

"So you guessed all that?" Zhang Ruofeng sighed quietly from the landing on the second floor. His unconscious habits had still exposed his dark past. Zhang Ruofeng clutched his head.