Danwu Refining Spirit

Chapter Two: The Unruly Golden Finger

Seeing Qingmeng sleeping on the table, wearing only a thin, coarse cloth garment, Xiao Chong was afraid she would catch a cold, so he reached out and pushed her.

Qingmeng was dreaming that the young master had bought him a braised pig's head. Looking at the shiny, steaming pig's head, Qingmeng swallowed hard and reached out to grab it, but he grabbed nothing.

A large hand, seemingly appearing out of nowhere, suddenly reached out from beside him and snatched the braised pig's head that was about to be taken. Qingmeng was furious and immediately woke up.

"You damned thief! How dare you steal my pig's head! This was specially bought for me by the young master!"

Before Qingmeng had fully opened his eyes, he flailed his arms wildly, but by sheer bad luck, he accidentally slapped the lump on the back of his young master's head.

"hiss!"

Xiao Chong was caught off guard by the sudden slap, and his vision went black. He gasped for breath and squatted on the ground, unable to lift himself up.

"Huh? How come it's Young Master? There was clearly a thief stealing a pig's head just now, but how did he disappear in the blink of an eye?" Qing Meng was obviously confusing reality with his dream, staring blankly at Xiao Chong squatting on the ground.

"This is tantamount to using a slave to harm her master!" Xiao Chong endured the excruciating pain, glared at the dim-witted little girl, and said with worry, "Qingmeng, you are so pretty, but why are you born with such a stupid brain? How will you ever get married in the future!"

"Young Master, why are you covering your head? Did someone hit you in the head again?"

"Was he really knocked unconscious? What about the silver he received? Was it stolen too?"

"This is the fourth time already. If this continues, we're afraid we'll all starve to death."

"Young Master, even if I really can't get married, why do I have to get married? Is it because you don't like my cooking?"

Qingmeng kept asking questions in rapid succession, but her thoughts jumped around a lot. One minute she was talking about Xiao Chong being beaten, and the next she was asking why she was getting married.

Looking at Qingmeng's beautiful face and the occasional innocent look in her eyes, Xiao Chong felt a deep sadness, knowing that he had been defeated by her once again, just like countless times before.

"I have no strength left in my body. You should help me to bed first." After saying that, Xiao Chong shut his mouth tightly, deciding not to discuss any issues with the other party tonight.

"Oh!"

Qingmeng readily agreed and clumsily dragged Xiao Chong to the bedside to sit down. He supported Xiao Chong's back with one hand and tried to move his legs onto the bed with the other.

However, her body was too weak, making it difficult for her to move. Inadvertently, the hand that was supporting Xiao Chong's back slid upwards and pressed hard on the lump at the back of Xiao Chong's head.

"It hurts! Let go!" Xiao Chong shouted through gritted teeth.

"Oh!" Qingmeng readily agreed again, quickly pulling both hands back.

"Bang!" Xiao Chong's body suddenly leaned back, and the lump on the back of his head hit the hard wooden headboard.

"Go! Go quickly! I... will die at the hands of... you stupid girl sooner or later." The blow was so hard that Xiao Chong almost lost his breath.

"Oh!" Qingmeng agreed as readily as ever, staring blankly at Xiao Chong on the bed as she turned and walked towards her room, muttering to herself, "How could he die by my hand? Shouldn't it have been the bed board?"

Finally, some peace and quiet!

There was not a sound in the room. Xiao Chong lay on the bed, but his mind began to buzz. Countless scenes he had never experienced before flashed through his mind like a revolving lantern.

Ever since Xiao Chong was hit by a brick in Wuyi Lane, his thinking began to go wrong. But at that time, it was just like a water jar being cracked, the water inside had not yet found an outlet. But now, with the bed board hitting him hard, it was like the water jar being completely smashed, and the water inside immediately gushed out.

A massive amount of information kept bombarding Xiao Chong's brain, like a flood of water constantly eroding the riverbed, roaring and carrying up large amounts of silt.

The upstream river water surged violently into the downstream, stirring up all the water in the river. Eventually, it flowed into the sea, gradually calmed down, and became clear, no longer distinguishable from the surrounding water.

At this moment, the memories of the two lifetimes merged completely, and Xiao Chong lay on the bed with tears streaming down his face.

"So I've traveled through time. Although I woke up a little late, I did wake up eventually."

"What about the old Taoist priest at Ziyun Temple? Was he as lucky as I was? Or has he already been reincarnated, or has he vanished into nothingness?"

"If I hadn't watched the old Taoist priest refine pills that day, and if my paper had been published, I wonder what things would be like now?"

"But this is good too. Compared to the unchanging life before, the new life may be more exciting."

"Those youthful days are truly unforgettable."

"..."

Okay, let's not dwell on the past; real life is what matters most. Xiao Chong was an optimistic person in his previous life, and he quickly stopped worrying about those useless things, instead trying to discover the changes that came with his new life.

"Huh? What is that small, indistinct image in my mind? It looks a bit like the alchemy furnace the old Taoist priest used."

"It seems that fate is still fair; if it takes something away from you, it will surely give you something else in return. This furnace must be the ultimate weapon that every time traveler dreams of, right?"

As if sensing Xiao Chong's thoughts, the illusory figure resembling a furnace suddenly trembled and emitted a slight fluctuation.

With this fluctuation, a surge of heat rose from the top of Xiao Chong's head, quickly circulating throughout his body along his meridians before being absorbed.

Smelling the faint, pleasant fragrance emanating from his skin's pores, Xiao Chong was overjoyed. In just a short while, his physique had greatly improved, and his strength was much greater than before. The effects of the heat were several times stronger than the pills distributed by the sect.

Whether he could pass the body tempering test was unknown, but compared to the previous anxious and difficult days, the current feeling of anticipation made Xiao Chong even more excited.

After the initial euphoria subsided, Xiao Chong gradually calmed down and then found himself at a loss again.

Aside from the initial fluctuations, the phantom remained silently suspended in his mind, refusing to approach no matter how he summoned it. Moreover, compared to before the fluctuations, the phantom seemed to have faded somewhat.

"Looks like I'll have to find a way to get rid of it." Xiao Chong acted on his impulse, his mind filled with various scenes from TV dramas.

"Prajnaparamita, gather!"

"No response? Right, Prajna Paramita is a Buddhist mantra, while the furnace is a Taoist treasure. We should choose a different one."

"Supreme Lord Laozi, by the power of the law, appear!"

"Still nothing? Try another one!"

"Heaven and Earth are boundless, the righteous law governs all!"

"Nothing working? Keep trying!"

"Heavenly spirits, earthly spirits..."

"Change!"

"..."