Xue Qinghe nodded with a smile, then turned his gaze to She Long. "Uncle She, take little Fei to the Sunset Forest tomorrow and find a suitable first soul ring for his Golden Python martial soul."
She Long nodded in agreement.
But a different thought stirred in Zhang Fei's mind.
For the past three years, he had lived in pampered comfort, eating and drinking well. He had shot up taller than his peers, his little face fair and round, like a porcelain doll.
Yet only he knew that this body's foundation had never undergone any real tempering. At most, it was an empty frame raised on fine clothes and lavish meals.
With his current constitution, absorbing a soul ring beyond the normal age limit was out of the question. Even whether he could withstand the roughly four-hundred-year limit for a first soul ring was uncertain.
He knew full well how important soul ring configuration was to a Soul Master.
So he spoke up without hesitation.
"Your Highness, I'd like to ask you for a few things."
Xue Qinghe raised his brows slightly and looked at him. "Go ahead."
"I want a few pieces of thousand-year whale rubber."
Silence fell over the study for a moment.
She Long's expression froze, and his stern old face visibly flushed red.
He whipped his head around to glare at Zhang Fei, his voice low and urgent. "Little Fei! What nonsense are you talking about?"
He seized Zhang Fei's arm and pulled him to his side, waving his other hand repeatedly at Xue Qinghe. "Please don't take offense, Young Master. The boy doesn't know any better. He has no idea what that stuff is. I'll give him a proper scolding later."
She Long's reaction was hardly surprising.
These days, whale rubber was mainly bought by nobles and wealthy merchants as a tonic. Its primary use was as an aphrodisiac, commonly known as a "man's secret treasure."
If word got out that the grandson of a distinguished Titled Douluo had asked for such a thing, where would She Long hide his face?
Zhang Fei stumbled a step as he was dragged over. Once he regained his footing, he put on an innocent expression. "Grandpa, don't you know?"
He turned to Xue Qinghe and spoke in earnest. "I read in a book that if whale rubber is melted at a high temperature and swallowed directly, it can greatly strengthen your constitution and raise the limit of what soul rings your body can withstand."
Xue Qinghe paused slightly at that. "You read it in a book? Which one?"
"I don't remember which one. I thought everyone knew, so I didn't pay much attention. I only remembered the method."
Zhang Fei's expression remained unchanged. He had worked out this story long ago.
She Long listened in bewilderment. Half convinced, he glanced at Zhang Fei, then at Xue Qinghe. A trace of embarrassment remained on his old face, but most of his anger had faded, replaced by confusion.
Books even contain things like this? Looks like reading really does have its uses.
Xue Qinghe considered it. "We've never heard of this method either. Are you sure it works?"
Zhang Fei grinned, showing his white teeth. "Just let me try. If it doesn't work, we won't lose anything. It's not as if whale rubber is poisonous, right?"
He sounded casual yet utterly certain.
Xue Qinghe looked at him and smiled. "All right. Since you're so confident, give it a try."
He turned toward Porcupinefish Douluo, who had been standing to the side enjoying the spectacle. "Uncle Porcupinefish, fetch a piece of thousand-year whale rubber from the Crown Prince's storeroom."
"Yes, Young Master."
Porcupinefish Douluo acknowledged the order, then turned his round, plump body to head outside.
"Wait, Grandpa Porcupinefish," Zhang Fei called after him. "We'll also need a large iron bowl, a stove, a wooden tub, and some ice."
Porcupinefish Douluo looked back at him with a wry smile. "Anything else, little tyrant?"
"No, that's everything."
"You little brat. If this doesn't work, I'll spank your backside until it blooms."
His rotund figure disappeared through the doorway.
Three people remained in the study. She Long hesitated several times before finally asking, "Little Fei, are you sure swallowing that stuff... won't cause trouble?"
"Don't worry, Grandpa. I wouldn't gamble with my own life."
Zhang Fei answered with such certainty that She Long said no more.
About an incense stick's worth of time later, Porcupinefish Douluo returned.
He took the items out of his Storage Soul Tool one by one.
There was a palm-sized lump of dark, gelatinous material, its surface gleaming like oil-the thousand-year whale rubber.
There was also a black iron stove, an iron bowl, and a wooden tub half a person's height. He then poured the ice he had prepared into the tub.
"That's everything."
Porcupinefish Douluo waved his plump hand, sending a thread of soul power into the stove. The charcoal instantly flared with orange-red flames.
Without needing to be told, She Long set the iron bowl over the stove and tossed the piece of thousand-year whale rubber into it.
When the dark lump touched the scorching bottom of the bowl, it slowly softened and collapsed. A brown, oily sheen appeared around its edges, then the entire piece melted into a pool of thick, dark brown liquid, tiny bubbles burbling across its surface.
An unbearably foul, fishy smell spread through the study, like the stench of sun-dried sea fish.
All four raised their hands to cover their noses.
Pinching his nose, She Long stepped forward and lifted the iron bowl with his soul power. Steam billowed from the melted whale rubber inside.
He held the bowl out to Zhang Fei, unable to resist asking once more, "Little Fei, are you sure you want to eat this stuff? This... this is revolting."
Looking at the churning pool of brown slime in the bowl, Zhang Fei honestly found it revolting too.
His throat bobbed, and his body instinctively leaned back half a step.
But he quickly suppressed the nausea.
Zhang Fei fetched a damp cloth to cushion his hand, then reached out and took the iron bowl.
He smiled at She Long. "Grandpa, just don't be too surprised when you see the results."
With that, he closed his eyes, held his breath, and tipped his head back.
A bowlful of scalding, viscous brown liquid poured down his throat.
Hot. Fishy. So thick it felt like something alive writhing down his gullet.
The instant Zhang Fei swallowed it, he felt as though a lump of red-hot iron had been stuffed into his stomach. Burning heat erupted from the center of his abdomen, like a small bomb detonating inside him.
Almost in the blink of an eye, that heat spread along his meridians into every limb and bone.
His entire face began to flush red, and the veins at his temples bulged and throbbed.
Clang!
Gritting his teeth, Zhang Fei dropped the empty bowl and plunged headfirst into the ice-filled wooden tub beside him.
With a clattering rush, crushed ice rose over his shoulders, nearly burying him completely.
Bone-piercing cold surged in from every direction, colliding violently with the burning heat inside him. The mingling of ice and fire made his whole body tremble slightly.
Xue Qinghe stood watching from the side, his fingers unconsciously tightening around his sleeve.
She Long crouched beside the tub, watching Zhang Fei without blinking, ready to protect his meridians with soul power at the slightest sign that his grandson could no longer endure it.
But Zhang Fei made no sound. He curled up in the crushed ice, his clenched teeth grinding audibly.
An hour later.
Most of the crushed ice in the tub had melted. A layer of murky black, flocculent matter floated on the water, giving off a faint, rank odor.
Those were the impurities the whale rubber had forced out of his body.
Zhang Fei shuddered all over as he stood up in the tub, water dripping steadily from his soaked short robe.
He climbed out of the tub and stood on the gray-brick floor, drawing a couple of heavy breaths.
She Long grabbed his shoulder and sent soul power into Zhang Fei's body, carefully examining everything from his meridians to his muscles and bones.
A moment later, undisguised delight appeared on his stern face. "Your constitution really has improved. Your muscles and bones are far more resilient, and your soul power flows much more smoothly than before. What's more... a great deal of the impurities in your body have been expelled."
Before you continue