Smelling the faint scent of garlic on the white paper, Lu Fei remembered what Lu Yu had told him: "Writing in garlic water is invisible. Only when warmed over a low flame will it appear!"
Lu Fei frowned slightly and summoned his Martial Soul, half doubtful. Using Martial Soul Possession with his Fire Monkey Martial Soul, he brought forth a monkey tail behind him, with a fist-sized ball of fire at its tip.
Lu Fei brought the monkey tail around in front of him and carefully laid the paper flat on the table. Controlling the flame at the tip of his tail, he slowly and evenly warmed the surface of the paper.
Sizzle-
Gentle warmth spread through the paper, and line after line of neat, clear black writing slowly emerged on the once clean white surface, visible to the naked eye.
[Xiao Fei, seeing these words is like seeing me.
...]
The lines of writing emerged clearly, one after another.
Lu Fei read every word and sentence, then stood rooted to the spot for a long time, utterly shaken.
He put down the letter and looked at the three open wooden boxes. Unable to hold them back any longer, Lu Fei burst into tears.
"Brother, I understand!"
"I'll be sure to temper my body properly and cultivate diligently. I'll never hold you back!"
Sunlight streamed through the window, falling on the pristine white jade box and the letter.
In the letter, Lu Yu had mentioned not only how to use the Whale Rubber, but also the small courtyard house he had secretly rented in the east of the city.
He had also told Lu Fei not to tell Su Yuntao the secret of the Whale Rubber for now. He was to give Su Yuntao the cultivation pills first, then tell him that Whale Rubber could strengthen the body once Su Yuntao reached rank 30.
Though Lu Fei did not understand, he followed Lu Yu's instructions and said nothing to Su Yuntao. After setting aside half the pills and Gold Soul Coins, he carried them out of the room.
Hearing the door open, Su Yuntao turned and saw Lu Fei's reddened eyes. He grinned. "Xiao Fei, you're a Soul Master now. If you keep crying, people will laugh at you."
Lu Fei's little face turned red at that. He rubbed his damp eyes and forced a smile, then carried the pills and Gold Soul Coins over to Su Yuntao.
"Brother Tao, my brother gave these to you."
Su Yuntao looked at the things in Lu Fei's arms and froze for a moment. Truthfully, he had felt some resentment after a month without any news of Lu Yu.
When the things Lu Yu had sent back for Lu Fei arrived earlier, Su Yuntao had felt a smoldering frustration.
After the Lu brothers got into trouble and were left homeless, Su Yuntao had kindly taken them in, providing food and lodging. He had never treated either of them poorly.
Even if Lu Fei had no talent, Su Yuntao could have sent the two of them to the Spirit Hall orphanage in such circumstances, rather than letting them sleep on the streets.
Yet Lu Yu had been gone for a whole month without a word, not even sending a letter to let them know he was safe.
More than once, Su Yuntao had worried in private that Lu Yu was only a child and might be cheated, bullied, or even abducted and sold while he was away.
Su Yuntao had worried about him every day, only to be met with a full month of complete silence.
When Su Yuntao learned that Lu Yu had bought the things the Seven Treasure Chamber of Commerce had delivered, he was delighted to finally have news of him. But as he looked at the things in his hands, his eyes filled with disappointment and a chill of hurt.
In that moment, Su Yuntao even felt the bitter injustice of having fed an ungrateful wolf out of the goodness of his heart.
But now Lu Fei had come over with the things in his arms, saying that Lu Yu had bought them for him. In an instant, the resentment Su Yuntao had bottled up for an entire month shattered.
Su Yuntao froze, staring blankly at the wooden box Lu Fei held out in both hands. He pressed his lips together and reached out to stroke the box, but did not take it.
So Lu Yu had not forgotten.
He had not forgotten his roots once his wings were strong, nor had he grown cold-hearted after finding success.
Su Yuntao took a deep breath, forced a smile, and waved a hand. "Keep them for yourself! Your brother is so young, and it can't be easy for him making his way out there alone. Whatever the Seven Treasure Chamber of Commerce delivered must have cost a great deal."
"Brother Tao, my brother bought these cultivation resources especially for you. With my cultivation, I can't use them. If you don't accept them, they'll just go to waste."
Smiling, Lu Fei used the words Lu Yu had taught him in the letter to persuade Su Yuntao to accept them.
"Just keep them for later. Don't worry! I'm not short of cultivation resources." Su Yuntao ruffled Lu Fei's hair. All the disappointment and hurt that had filled him moments ago vanished.
"Brother Tao, please take them! It's a token of my brother's goodwill too!" As he spoke, Lu Fei pushed the wooden box straight into Su Yuntao's arms.
Su Yuntao still wanted to refuse, but Lu Fei held the box in place. Looking at Lu Fei's stubborn little face, Su Yuntao smiled, his heart finally at ease.
"All right, I'll accept them!"
Seeing Su Yuntao accept them, Lu Fei smiled happily as well. After chatting a little longer, he told Su Yuntao he was leaving.
"Brother Tao, if there's nothing else, I'll head back to the academy!"
Su Yuntao nodded and gently reminded him, "Cultivate well when you get back to the academy. Don't disappoint your brother."
"Don't worry, Brother Tao! I definitely won't disappoint him," Lu Fei answered emphatically.
He packed the remaining cultivation resources into a bundle and went out, but instead of returning to the academy, he followed the address in the letter to the small courtyard house Lu Yu had rented earlier.
After arriving, Lu Fei gave the courtyard house a quick cleaning, then broke the Whale Rubber in half. Following the instructions and precautions in the letter, he consumed it to temper his body.
"Whew, whew, whew... So this is Whale Rubber? Its body-tempering effect really is powerful. After just half a piece, I feel full of strength."
After refining the medicinal effects of half the Whale Rubber, Lu Fei sat in a tub of warm water and looked at his hands, his eyes full of admiration for his brother.
He climbed out of the tub, dried the water from his body, and sat cross-legged on a straw mat. Taking out the Fire Ganoderma, he broke off a piece the size of a garlic clove, as Lu Yu had instructed, and swallowed it.
As soon as the Fire Ganoderma reached his stomach, Lu Fei felt as though a fire were burning inside him. Without further hesitation, he immediately began using the meditation method Su Yuntao had taught him to refine its medicinal power.
By the time Lu Fei opened his eyes again, the once-clear sky had long since darkened. He felt the abundant power inside him in disbelief.
"I broke through to rank 6?"
Even Lu Fei was unsure. He closed his eyes and sensed it again, and there it was in plain sight: the unmistakable fluctuation of rank 6 Soul Power.
"Brother, thank you!"
Lu Fei did not know which direction Suotuo City lay in. Looking at the moon in the sky, he felt as though he could see Lu Yu, far away in another city.
After finding a hidden place to stash the Whale Rubber, Lu Fei took the remaining Fire Ganoderma and pills back to Nuoding Academy.
Lu Fei skipped all the way back, in an excellent mood. As soon as he returned to the dormitory, he sprawled on his bed, feeling the Soul Power that had surged within him, unable to keep the corners of his mouth from turning up.
He had not lain there long when a knock sounded at the door. Puzzled, Lu Fei sat up and looked toward it.
"Who is it?"
"Hello, fellow student Lu Fei. I'm Tang San, a first-year work-study student!" Tang San's polite voice came from outside.
Tang San? Isn't he the one who beat Boss Xiao? What does he want with me? Curious, Lu Fei got up to open the door.
That was right. Even with Lu Yu and Lu Fei's involvement in this timeline, the two archenemies, Xiao Chenyu and Tang San, had still faced each other.
Xiao Chenyu had still fallen at Tang San's feet, and he still called Xiao Wu "Sister Xiao Wu"!
Just as Buddha Tang could never do without Mother's Entanglement!!!