Chapter 87: I'm Still Young

Xiao Nan examined the mist-shrouded space within himself and was surprised to discover that within that faint white light just now, there lingered the vague, illusory shadow of a wolf. After this wisp of white light was absorbed by the golden patterns upon his misty body, the space itself began to change.

"This time, unlike when I slew the bear-man, I didn’t receive a golden-red radiance, but only a trace of white light, and there was no image of the black wolf either. It seems this mirror disdains the black wolf’s abilities and isn’t even interested in analyzing them." Xiao Nan mused inwardly, thinking that the mirror was a picky thing indeed.

If his subconscious truly governed this mirror, perhaps this was only natural. In truth, he himself thought there was nothing remarkable about the so-called bloodthirsty wolf—useful only for its flesh and blood, and nothing more. The only unexpected part was that aside from its flesh, the black wolf had offered up a bit of white light, which appeared to be a form of spiritual energy.

"Could it be the wolf’s soul or spirit? Although it feels exceedingly faint, it still bears the shape of a wolf." At this thought, Xiao Nan’s heart gave a jolt—this mirror was rather sinister. Did this make him a true fiend, devouring the souls of beasts? Uneasy, Xiao Nan no longer bothered to inspect the sudden changes in the misty lake.

Withdrawing his consciousness from the bronze mirror’s space, his expression darkened. "This is something no one can know… To consume the souls of beasts and barbarians—if it benefits me, so be it. But if it came to humans…"

"And as for those weaker beasts and people, the mirror doesn’t bother to devour their souls, which is fine. But why, when I killed Wu Gang and that fox barbarian last time, did it not absorb anything either?"

Xiao Nan pondered carefully and realized this ability must be actively triggered. After killing the black wolf, he had stirred his spirit—somehow sensing there was something more to gain—and so he absorbed the wolf’s spirit. But when he killed the fox barbarian and Wu Gang, the thought hadn’t even occurred to him. He had simply fled after the killing, receiving nothing. Especially in that luxurious mansion, right after slaying the fox barbarian, he had been attacked by a sniper and threatened by a mental master, with barbarians in hot pursuit. Fleeing for his life, he had no spare thought for anything else.

This was probably just a minor feature of the mirror. The ability to analyze talents was difficult to activate, but the rewards were immense. As for this soul-devouring power, if his guess was correct, it only worked on enemies he slew with his own hands—then he could absorb their essence. It cost nothing, and instead replenished his energy.

The third ability was that shadow within the lake—let’s call it the "echo" function. He had taken a glance just now and seen the misty lake, like the river of time, clearly display some images—scenes from his recent experiences. Most vivid was the silver serpent’s pursuit of Han Zhang, and his own desperate escape, every detail familiar and clear.

But for now, there was no urgency to explore this function further.

Beside him, Zhang Shu looked over in puzzlement, his face brimming with unspoken questions he dared not utter. "Don’t overthink it. The reason my strength grew so fast is simply due to natural talent. My bones are strong because I’ve always trained hard," Xiao Nan replied casually, preempting the barrage of questions.

Sure enough, Zhang Shu swallowed back all his queries. He had so many things he wanted to know—why was Xiao Nan’s swordplay so exceptional? Why were his bones so uncommonly resilient? Why had he never heard of Xiao Nan being famous at Yuanjiang First High before? Still, everyone had their secrets, and even someone as naïve as Zhang Shu knew not to pry too deeply, lest he become a nuisance.

"Are we still hunting bloodthirsty wolves next?" Zhang Shu asked.

"Of course—one wolf isn’t enough to fill the gap between my teeth," Xiao Nan grinned, baring his teeth. "But first, let’s roast this one and rest a bit."

"Alright." Noting that it was nearly noon and feeling his own hunger, Zhang Shu took it upon himself to handle the wolf carcass by the riverside. He hacked the meat into thick, bloody chunks, skewered them on sticks, and soon had a fire going.

After their meal of wolf flesh, the two set off again in search of more bloodthirsty wolves. This time, Zhang Shu was much quieter, having realized that any lone wolf posed no threat to Xiao Nan whatsoever. Their afternoon’s efforts bore fruit—Xiao Nan slew three more wolves. This time, he only drank the blood, not daring to display his monstrous appetite before Zhang Shu. Drinking blood was vague enough to gloss over, but to devour dozens of pounds of wolf meat at once, and do so repeatedly, would be far too suspicious—anyone would think him a freak.

He could feel a deep sense of fulfillment within, his vitality surging with each kill. Though delighted, Xiao Nan kept his composure. By the time he killed the fourth wolf, it took only three sword thrusts to pierce its skull—his strength had unknowingly grown by leaps and bounds. Yet Zhang Shu remained oblivious.

As dusk approached, they prepared to return.

By the time they reached the city, the western sky was awash in golden-red sunset.

The golden sunlight bathed Yuanjiang City, casting a tranquil glow across every street and alley. From the west gate, streams of people came and went—warriors carrying beast hides and meat, or burdened with heavy packs. The two of them blended in easily.

Xiao Nan declined to keep any of the beast meat, telling Zhang Shu to take as much as he could carry. After all, there was no easy way to explain bringing home wolf or rabbit meat, so he returned empty-handed.

After they parted ways, Zhang Shu left in high spirits. Xiao Nan checked himself over—finding his clothes passably clean, he abandoned the idea of changing at a tailor’s and decided to hail a ride home.

Before he could catch a cab, he spotted a girl at the fur stall near the city gate, standing on tiptoe and craning her neck beneath the awning, anxiously scanning the crowd. Her gaze was fixed on the stream of people at the west gate, unblinking, her face full of worry.

Zhang Xiaorou—why was she still here? She must have come straight after school to wait.

"Xiaorou," Xiao Nan called, approaching her.

Startled to hear her name, Zhang Xiaorou shrank her neck and turned to see him. Delighted, she exclaimed, "Ah, how did you end up behind me? When did you get here? I didn’t see you come in!"

Seeing her heave a long sigh of relief, her face finally relaxing, Xiao Nan felt a strange warmth and teased, "Did you come straight here after school just to wait for me?"

"No, it’s because my dad… he went out to clear the White Fang Forest path and won’t be back till dark. I’m waiting for him to come home for dinner," she replied awkwardly, her eyes darting.

As if I’d believe that, Xiao Nan thought, amused. Ever since you spotted me, you haven’t looked at the city gate once. Still, he didn’t call her out on it. Watching her blush was amusing, but teasing her too much wouldn’t be kind.

"Since you’re waiting for someone, I’ll head home. It’s been a busy day, and I’m tired."

"Oh, okay… Will you be going out of the city again tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow? We’ll see," he replied. He certainly intended to go—his physical transformation was still incomplete, and he needed more vitality. For now, wolf blood and flesh were the best supplements.

But seeing how distracted Zhang Xiaorou was, neglecting her studies, what if she tried to follow him out again, or waited for his return? Xiao Nan’s thoughts ran wild.

After all, she was still so young.