Chapter 45: Biological Son

Nearly every household in Tiger Head City—as well as the villages and settlements outside it—had a cellar.

The State of Yan already lay north of the Central Plains, and Beifeng Commandery lay in the northern part of Yan. Winters here were long. In autumn, households needed to store four to six months’ worth of vegetables, fruit, and grain, and the most effective and economical method was underground storage.

There was also a large cellar beneath the front residence.

After all, the place had previously needed to store enough food for the Hyena Gang’s members and their human captives, along with a quantity of gold, silver, and valuables.

But several days ago, this cellar had already been cleared out.

More than ten barbarian slaves were working inside, bustling back and forth among large cauldrons and various pieces of equipment.

The Blind Man Bei walked in front carrying a lantern.

Xue San slowly followed behind, dragging along his three short legs.

The two descended a long flight of steps and entered the cellar.

On one wall, several strings of letters and symbols had been written in chalk.

A’Ming had left them there.

2NaHCO + Ca(OH) ==== CaCO + 2NaOH + 2HO...

“Heh. Looks pretty advanced.”

Xue San smiled as he stared at the chemical equation.

“Middle-school chemistry, that’s all,” the Blind Man Bei replied calmly.

“Fine. Looks like if you don’t study chemistry properly, you won’t even dare transmigrate in the future.”

“Mm. That does seem to be the logic.”

The Blind Man Bei pointed around the cellar.

“Recently, A’Ming may spend more time accompanying Master as a blackboard. He was originally responsible for this place, so for now I’m handing it over to you.

“We can already produce soap, and the distillation and extraction process for perfume is basically mature.

“Keep a close eye on these barbarian slaves.

“I would rather kill one by mistake than let a single one slip through.”

“Got it. I understand.”

Soap and perfume were directly tied to the inn’s next stage of development.

Naturally, they could not afford any mishaps.

At present, they simply did not have enough manpower, so they had no choice but to use the barbarian slaves taken over from the Hyena Gang as labor.

“Good. In another two days, the first batch of goods should be ready in sufficient quantity.

“After that, I’ll go to Tuman City and look for a major trading house. We’ll see if we can directly contract out the distribution.”

“You don’t want to let it trickle out slowly and steadily?”

“Better to make fast money.

“Once the first batch is sold, we can begin recruiting and organizing cavalry.

“When the time comes, we may even have to send people back into the desert.”

“You mean that penal tribe Fan Li mentioned?”

“We’ll keep watching for now. We still can’t be completely certain.”

“All right. I’ll watch this place for you. Nothing will go wrong.”

“If you’re handling it, I’m at ease.

“If there’s a problem, find A’Ming.”

“Fine. Got it. Don’t you get tired of nagging this much?”

“Actually, if Master’s cultivation could advance a thousand li in a day, we wouldn’t need to go through so much trouble.”

“A thousand li in a day is too difficult.

“Shitting a thousand li, though... that we can work on.”

“That’s enough.

“Deal with that slip of paper yourself.

“I’m going back up.”

“Mm.”

Xue San watched the Blind Man Bei carry his lantern back up the stairs and leave the cellar.

Then he silently leaned against the wall and sat down.

He understood perfectly well.

This was, in effect, a minor exile.

And also a warning.

“What are you staring at? Work!

“No work, no food!”

Xue San pointed at the barbarian slaves and roared.

Then he puffed out his cheeks and blew out a breath.

Muttering under his breath, he said, “Tch. Looks like he wants to become the boss.

“Heh.

“An old 404 fossil.”

The Blind Man Bei’s voice suddenly sounded directly inside Xue San’s mind.

“Still better than a eunuch like you.”

Xue San’s old face instantly reddened.

“Holy shit! Do people get no privacy anymore?”

“Sorry. Forgot to turn it off.

“I’m closing it now, and then...”

Xue San snorted through his nose.

“Stinking blind bastard.”

“Dead... cripple...”

“...”

Xue San.

...

At the edge of the bathing pool, Zheng Fan soaked in the water.

The obvious pain in his body had already faded, but from time to time he still felt a wave of carsickness, as though he had turned into a bottle filled halfway with water. The slightest movement sent everything inside him sloshing around.

A towel covered his face.

He lay there imagining he had already passed away.

Creak...

Feng Siniang walked in carrying a plate of fruit.

A wave of fragrance followed her.

She sat beside the bathing pool, took a washed grape in her hand, and peeled it.

Then she gently lifted one corner of the towel covering Zheng Fan’s face.

Zheng Fan obediently opened his mouth.

The grape entered.

“Master, do you like grapes?”

Zheng Fan gave a muffled sound from his throat.

“A pity this grape is a little too big.”

“...”

“The kind I mean is the milky-flavored grape.

“Like milk-flavored fruit corn.”

“Fine.

“I’m the impure one.”

“Master, are you tired?”

“Mm...”

“Have we... been putting too much pressure on you?”

“No.

“It’s just that the baleful qi today made me feel like I had a fever.

“I don’t feel very comfortable.”

“Then shall I give Master a massage?”

“No need.

“I’ll soak a little longer, then go to sleep.

“I still have class tomorrow.

“No massage tonight.

“I didn’t get beaten today anyway.”

“Very well.

“Then Master should rest early.

“I’ll withdraw first.”

Feng Siniang slowly stood and walked out.

She turned around and closed the door.

At the instant the door shut, a trace of worry appeared on her face.

Master might have been an ordinary person.

He had even lived all the way into adulthood as an ordinary person.

But she and the others were, after all, comic characters created by Master.

A creator who had immersed himself in horror comics all the way until death someone who had refused to let go even then would surely possess a lonely heart.

And a sensitive one.

The Blind Man had not told Master the truth.

Yet because everyone was so desperate to recover more strength, perhaps they really had placed far too much pressure on him.

Feng Siniang bit her upper lip.

She very much wanted to walk back inside and explain everything clearly to Master.

But after hesitating, she still did not push the door open again.

All her worries condensed into a soft sigh.

Then Feng Siniang turned and disappeared into the night.

...

In truth, Zheng Fan was not nearly as melodramatic about it as they imagined.

Because from the very beginning, his sense of his own position had been extremely accurate.

For example, these six subordinates seemed to compete every day to please him.

But it was rather like a school principal arranging a little “military review” before the end of student boot camp simply so he could enjoy the feeling.

The students shouted in unison, “Good morning, Principal!”

The principal waved grandly and, like a monkey wearing a crown, replied, “You’ve worked hard, students!”

But really who took whom that seriously in their hearts?

If Zheng Fan had truly placed himself at the supreme position of “Master,” he would have ordered Feng Siniang to attend his bed long ago.

As for them forcing him, Zheng Fan had indeed sensed it.

But he did not particularly resent it.

If enduring a little pain and suffering could genuinely raise his strength, then in Zheng Fan’s opinion, it was worth it.

A leader who could only stand in the rear while his subordinates charged and slaughtered the enemy, doing nothing except shouting “666!” from the side what confidence would such a leader possess?

How could he expect genuine respect?

It was the same principle as young people yelling at their parents that they wanted independence and freedom.

Once you no longer needed your parents to support you and could even support them in return freedom naturally followed.

It was just that... he felt a little melancholy.

Back in those first few days after waking at the inn, everyone had interacted with one another with a certain warmth.

They were all fellow castaways at the ends of the earth.

There had been something almost familial about it.

But now, that feeling from the beginning seemed to be slowly fading.

Still, the road was one he had chosen himself.

Since he had chosen to walk it, sentimentality truly was nothing more than baggage.

“Ahhhhhhh...”

Zheng Fan let out a quiet little “roar.”

Then his gaze settled once more on the stone floating in front of him.

Every day when he bathed, he brought the thing into the pool with him.

He even draped a little towel over it.

Smack!

Zheng Fan kicked the stone all the way to the far end of the bathing pool.

Before long, the stone leisurely floated back, still wearing its towel.

“It’s all because of you.

“Why the hell haven’t you come out yet?”

Zheng Fan truly felt tired.

*Demon Pill* had been the most successful work his studio ever produced.

It was his own painstaking creation.

If translated into the logic of this world, the Demon Pill was his direct line.

His own bloodline!

Yet this direct descendant had somehow sealed himself inside a stone, then shut himself away like a maiden from an aristocratic household who never stepped beyond the inner courtyard.

If the Demon Pill were here even if he did not flatter Zheng Fan, even if he treated Zheng Fan coldly then when facing the Blind Man Bei, Liang Cheng, and the rest, Zheng Fan would undoubtedly feel an enormous increase in confidence.

He reached out.

Picked up the stone.

And held it before his face.

In the past, Zheng Fan often heard fellow creators say their works were like their own children.

Back then, he had thought the metaphor far too melodramatic.

Even with a real son, when the kid cried, made trouble, refused to listen especially when you were supervising his homework you often felt the urge to stuff him back where he came from.

But in this world, in this environment, there were the others.

The Blind Man’s cunning.

Xue San’s endless bullshit.

Liang Cheng’s coldness.

Feng Siniang’s gentleness.

Fan Li’s foolish honesty.

A’Ming’s tsundere pride.

Their images passed through Zheng Fan’s mind one after another.

And in the end, he still felt there was a layer between them.

“Sigh...

“Son...”

Zheng Fan felt his eyes growing slightly sore.

He murmured with emotion, “Dad misses you.”

His voice remained somewhat restrained.

Even inside his own residence, Zheng Fan did not dare scream at the top of his lungs and vent his emotions.

He shook his head.

Then tossed the stone back into the bathing pool.

Zheng Fan climbed out.

He took a dry towel from nearby and roughly wiped down his body.

After that, he went to the bed in the rear room and lay down to rest.

After Zheng Fan left, only a single lonely stone remained floating in the bathing pool.

What Zheng Fan did not see was that not long after he left, the water in the bathing pool slowly began turning black.

The originally warm water rapidly cooled.

A thin layer of ice crystals even began forming across the surface.

If Feng Siniang or Xue San had been in the room at that moment, they would certainly have cried out in shock.

Such powerful... killing intent!

(End of Chapter)