Zhang Ruofeng of the Past

"What is a monk?" the Goddess asked, full of curiosity.

"Ugh," Zhang Ruofeng felt his usually calm composure on the verge of shattering for the second time today. This was the kind of salt-in-the-wound question only the truly ignorant would ask. "An evolved version of a herbivore man—a man who has sworn off women entirely." Zhang Ruofeng couldn't help but let a black line of irritation appear on his forehead.

"Impossible, there is nothing wrong with your body." The Goddess's curiosity surged, ignoring the black line on his face as she continued to tease him. "Even though I cannot use the power of a god, it is quite easy to see through the basics of you children, such as illnesses and the like." As she spoke, a devilish smile appeared on her face, and while Zhang Ruofeng's face flushed slightly red, a wave of helpless frustration welled up within him.

"Goddess, saying things like that to a guy isn't very nice," Zhang Ruofeng said, stopping his cleaning to look at her helplessly.

"Every child's soul is in a completely pure form in the eyes of the gods; what could possibly be wrong with that?" The Goddess continued to toy with Zhang Ruofeng. She could see that although he was usually indifferent, he had no actual experience with romance or the affairs between men and women, so whenever she brought up this topic, his calm facade would crumble. Teasing children was something almost every god did. Gods lived for such long, tedious ages, and children, who were always changing, were naturally their favorites. Although Fura was very curious about the deep-seated pain in Zhang Ruofeng's heart, she knew it was a trauma that had fundamentally altered his personality and habits; until he could come to terms with it himself, no one could step into that domain.

"Please, stop making fun of me." Zhang Ruofeng helplessly chose to surrender. On this topic, a single guy who had never even had a girlfriend was completely defenseless.

"Hahaha!" The Goddess laughed again. Zhang Ruofeng's flustered expression was highly amusing. Throughout the day, Zhang Ruofeng had presented himself as steady and indifferent, but this boyish, flustered look was what the Goddess found truly entertaining.

"Goddess, you go ahead and get busy. I'm going to go test my strength." Unable to handle any more, Zhang Ruofeng fled the shop in a panic. In this world, many things operated on the power of Magic Stone, such as the streetlights he was looking at now, the water heater in their home, and the stove used for cooking. Zhang Ruofeng found them quite convenient; although they didn't form a network like electricity, they were very effective in practice.

"Alright, time to test my strength." Zhang Ruofeng muttered to himself as he arrived at a plaza-like area. This place was a block away from his residence, and because the terrain was somewhat remote, very few people lingered here at night. Only a few adventurers passed by him—some loudly discussing their battle records for the day, some brushing past him with gloomy faces, and others stumbling by, drunk.

Zhang Ruofeng found a secluded spot and began his test. First was speed. Speed was a crucial factor; if he were to fight a powerful enemy, speed would reduce the likelihood of taking damage, and if he couldn't win, it would provide an opportunity to escape. It was the attribute Zhang Ruofeng wanted to improve most, but unfortunately, his specialized enhancement was in strength and stamina—a typical "bruiser" role.

"This should be about a hundred meters." Zhang Ruofeng could only estimate the distance based on his own judgment; tracks didn't exist in this world.

"Alright, start." With that, Zhang Ruofeng sprinted forward, silently timing himself in his head. As he ran, he discovered a serious problem: his mental reaction speed couldn't keep up with his physical movement. His uncoordinated body control nearly caused him to face-plant into the ground.

Has my body changed so much that my consciousness can't keep up? Zhang Ruofeng thought as he came to a stop, staring at his legs. This is at least ten percent faster than my original speed; otherwise, my brain would definitely have been able to keep up. He mused that while his best 100-meter time used to be around 11.5 seconds, he estimated he could now break 11 seconds.

"I have to say, the Divine Blessing is truly terrifying." Zhang Ruofeng realized this through the test. Moreover, he had received two boosts today, the second one triggered by the danger he faced and the skills he gained, causing his strength to skyrocket to the point where his brain couldn't keep up with his physical capabilities.

It seems I shouldn't go to the Dungeon for a while, Zhang Ruofeng thought silently. This state of being able to trip over his own feet made him feel he should stop and adapt to his body. Such rapid growth wasn't always a good thing; rushing in blindly could end up costing him his life.

"I'm back." Zhang Ruofeng pushed open the back door of the flower shop and walked in to find the Goddess and Xin Mu sitting together, slowly sipping rose tea.

"Go take a bath~" the Goddess said happily, while Xin Mu pointed to her slightly damp hair, indicating she had already finished. Zhang Ruofeng didn't stand on ceremony; he picked up the cup clearly prepared for him and downed it in one gulp.

"You should be elegant when drinking tea," Fura protested, sounding a bit annoyed, while Zhang Ruofeng just chuckled and headed upstairs.

"Did this guy figure out what makes me angry so quickly? Is this his revenge for me teasing him?" The Goddess sat down and asked Xin Mu, who silently set down her cup and nodded.

"Ruofeng is very smart," Xin Mu said slowly. "He is exceptionally kind to those who are good to him, but to anyone who harms something important in his heart, he becomes like a lurking viper, striking hard when they least expect it." Although Zhang Ruofeng didn't know it, Xin Mu had once seen a guy who had designs on her family and tried to get close to her, only to hurt a friend of Zhang Ruofeng's from the Anime Club who had made a joke at the time. Zhang Ruofeng hadn't shown any reaction then, but that night, he appeared at the corner of the boys' dormitory and knocked the guy out with a single punch. If Xin Mu hadn't known Zhang Ruofeng so well—having seen it by chance from a second-floor window—she never would have believed the person who vanished after knocking the boy out in a second was him.

The incident caused quite a stir, with multiple parties investigating, but because the attacker had been in the blind spot of the main road's surveillance cameras, it was impossible to identify who had done it based on a glimpse of an arm. Naturally, the quiet and trouble-free Zhang Ruofeng was never suspected. In the end, the boy developed psychological trauma and dropped out of school, and the only people who knew who the culprit was were likely Zhang Ruofeng and Xin Mu.

"Sometimes Ruofeng's gaze is terrifying for a split second, but if you don't look closely, no one would think he isn't just a harmless, quiet person," Xin Mu recalled. She remembered that Zhang Ruofeng would occasionally reveal an unconsciously sharp gaze when lost in thought. Once, when Xin Mu greeted him from behind, he turned around and, for a split second, didn't retract that look. Xin Mu felt her palms sweating, and she began to understand that Zhang Ruofeng's gentleness was something very precious in his heart—it wasn't something he gave to just anyone.

"Hmm, although Zhang Ruofeng didn't say it, did you see the two knife scars on his back and the one on his abdomen?" the Goddess replied. "What was his identity before? You said your country is wealthy and powerful, and hasn't seen any war for decades, right? And Zhang Ruofeng's family seems to have no trouble with food or clothing either."

"Yes, that is true," Xin Mu confirmed. "Although I'm not sure, I think Zhang Ruofeng is either involved with people from the underworld, or he himself was a member of a gang or one of those troublemakers who likes to fight." Even though Xin Mu found it incredible—the idea of Zhang Ruofeng being a thug was too bizarre—the biggest problem was that Zhang Ruofeng had been admitted to an undergraduate university in the Imperial Capital. She had never heard of anyone who could balance both lives: studying hard in that shadow world, beating people up while memorizing vocabulary. No matter how she thought about it, it felt ridiculous.

"To think they guessed it," Zhang Ruofeng sighed faintly from the corner of the second floor. His unconscious actions had exposed his dark history after all. Zhang Ruofeng buried his head in his hands.

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