Chapter Twenty: Midnight Specter

After exhausting the last of his strength under the waterfall, Luo Chen was truly spent, teetering on the edge of collapse, and only then did he drag his heavy body back to the dormitory. As soon as he entered the tower, a rich aroma greeted him. There was no need to wonder; this was Shi Feng’s handiwork. Besides women and fortune-telling, cooking was one of Shi Feng’s hobbies, although the dishes he concocted were always bizarre and chaotic.

Luo Chen couldn’t help but swallow; after working and training, the dinner he’d eaten earlier had long since been digested. The scent wafted from a bubbling pot of soup, and Shi Feng, busy stirring it, grumbled discontentedly upon seeing Luo Chen, “You really know how to pick your times, don’t you? Neither early nor late, you show up just as I’m about to finish making midnight snacks. Damn it!”

Luo Chen stripped off his sweat-soaked clothes, tossed them aside, wiped down his body with a towel, and, clad only in underwear, approached the pot, grinning. “It’s not right to secretly hoard delicacies. Lightning will strike you for it. To spare you such punishment, I’ll reluctantly do the noble thing and share it with you.”

“Damn, you’re acting like you’re entitled to my midnight snack now,” Shi Feng complained, then, seeing Luo Chen’s sweat-drenched appearance, leered, “You rascal, out courting girls again? Bet you just had a wild rendezvous, huh? Tomorrow’s the end-of-month assessment, and you’re still so debauched. Beast, absolute beast!”

“Get lost, what wild rendezvous? I’m not as perverted as you,” Luo Chen retorted, flashing him the finger. Shi Feng’s mind was twisted enough on its own, but he always projected his depravity onto others.

Shi Feng patted Luo Chen’s shoulder. “Alright, alright, no need to hide it. Nothing shameful about it. Our pure little virgin, Luo Chen, the madman of cultivation, finally knows how to enjoy life. Worth celebrating! Haha, you must be tired. Here, have a bowl of soup first.”

Luo Chen didn’t stand on ceremony, gulping down the soup. It tasted pretty good, but after draining the bowl, he noticed odd, misshapen things at the bottom and couldn’t help but ask, “What kind of weird soup is this this time?”

Shi Feng answered proudly, “You’re in luck. This is my signature Tenfold Vitality Soup, a painstaking recipe, the exclusive secret of Shi Feng, the premier stallion of the Canglan Continent. It’s brewed with the testicles of ten different demonic beasts as the main ingredient, supplemented by rare herbs and treasures.”

Luo Chen shuddered, a wave of nausea rising in his stomach, nearly making him vomit the soup he’d just swallowed.

“Don’t throw up!” Shi Feng urged, “It took ages to gather all the ingredients.”

“Damn it, why didn’t you say so earlier? You’re going to make me sick!” Luo Chen cursed.

Shi Feng looked at him with disdain. “You have no appreciation, kid. Do you even know the special effects this soup has, especially for men? Tell me, when you and the girl first... did you finish too fast, leaving her unsatisfied?”

Luo Chen paused, confused. “Did what?”

“Stop pretending, obviously that!” Shi Feng snapped, forming a circle with his left thumb and forefinger, then poking his right index finger through it, moving it back and forth.

Seeing this obscene gesture, Luo Chen, no matter how slow, finally understood and groaned, “You filthy lecher!”

“Judging by your look, I must be right. Admit it, you’re just not up to the task,” Shi Feng gave him a look that screamed premature failure, then thumped his chest. “But don’t worry, with Master Shi’s help, your embarrassment won’t last. After drinking this Tenfold Vitality Soup, you'll be harder, longer-lasting. If I brew it for you a few more times, you might even become the second stallion of Canglan. Of course, surpassing me is impossible—I'm a legend, always imitated, never surpassed. Hahahaha…”

Luo Chen shook his head, feeling a bit helpless. Would he become as crazy as Shi Feng after spending so much time with him?

Still, Luo Chen understood Shi Feng’s intention. He would never accept monetary gifts, so Shi Feng chose another way to help—by sharing food every day. And those strange dishes really worked; at least Luo Chen was no longer the pale, malnourished, skinny boy he’d been at the start.

From a special-admit student scraping the bottom of the school rankings to a middling member of his class, Luo Chen’s own effort was the main reason, but Shi Feng’s contributions couldn’t be denied.

A few fat rats in the tower had already crept over, drawn by the scent, gazing at them with drooling mouths. Shi Feng fished out a few chunks from the pot and tossed them over. “Hey, you lot can have some too, but don’t blame me if you’re consumed by lust afterwards!”

The big rats, of course, didn’t understand a word and greedily gnawed at the meat.

Shi Feng produced a small bottle of liquor from somewhere. “Come, let’s toast to our innocent Luo Chen shedding his tragic dependence on ‘Five Girls’ and stepping into a blissful new life!”

Luo Chen: “…”

After two rounds of breathing exercises and intense cultivation, Luo Chen was utterly exhausted; even half a pot of Shi Feng’s Tenfold Vitality Soup couldn’t revive him. Lying in bed, sleep soon overtook him.

Outside, wind had picked up, rattling the window frames. Nearby, large trees swayed, their shadows looming like ghosts prowling the night.

Luo Chen didn’t believe the tower was haunted, but its location—an empty wasteland behind the mountain, far from the dormitory and classroom blocks—meant the atmosphere at night was always a bit eerie.

Just as Luo Chen was slipping into dreams, he vaguely heard someone calling, “Master, master…”

Half asleep, Luo Chen barely noticed, but after several calls, his awareness sharpened and he sprang up, scanning the empty room—there was no one.

Yet the voice continued, “Master…”

The source seemed near and far at once, flickering and uncertain. Even Luo Chen, bold as he was, felt a chill run down his spine. Could the tower truly be haunted?

Steeling himself, Luo Chen shouted, “Who’s there? Who are you?”

“Wonderful, you finally heard me,” the voice replied, sounding delighted, its tone as sweet as silver bells, enough to melt anyone’s heart—a beautiful woman’s voice. But Luo Chen was in no mood to appreciate it; nervously, he said, “Listen, even if you’re a ghost, I paid for this room. It’s big enough for both of us. We mind our own business, so don’t bother me!”

The woman laughed, “Hehe, you’ve got it wrong. I’m not a ghost.”

Luo Chen paused, startled. “Then, are you human?”

“No, no, I’m not human either.”

Now Luo Chen was utterly confused. “Then what are you?”

“Well, it’s a long story. Sadly, I can’t explain it all now, because I haven’t fully adapted to your brainwave frequency. Our connection will soon end; I just came to say hello. Oh, it’s no good now, your emotions are too turbulent. The psychic link is about to break. Master, next time you see me, try to keep calm and not be too surprised. That way, we can talk longer. Well, farewell…”

Her voice grew weaker and weaker, finally vanishing completely. Luo Chen cried out, “Wait, don’t go!”

He shouted, jolting upright from bed, drenched in cold sweat, his back soaked through.

Breathing hard, he realized it was just a dream.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Shi Feng’s voice came from outside; Luo Chen’s cries had startled him awake, and he rushed over, worried.

Luo Chen replied, “Nothing, just a nightmare.”

“Damn, what did you dream about to yell so loud? Was it a wet dream and suddenly the beauty turned into Alice the dinosaur?” Shi Feng, seeing Luo Chen was alright, muttered as he went back to his own room.

Luo Chen lay back in bed, thinking the dream was strange—unusually vivid. He could still recall every word the woman had spoken.

[Brothers, don’t toss your update votes at twelve thousand, you’ll only make the thieves jealous but unable to get any! At eight thousand, at least sometimes they can luck out and grab a few. Frustrating, awkward.]