Semi-Mature Yanxiu

At this point, no one in the hospital room knew that the sleek, pitch-black combat uniforms of Stream Vanguard would soon all sport a girlish pink breast badge. However, that sickening, cringe-inducing sensation where nothing felt right had already been collectively experienced thanks to Han Qingyu’s syrupy sweet "Brother Jiaming." "Can we hold on to just a shred of dignity, Qingzi, please?" Rusty Sister asked, her steel armor shivering. He Tangtang nodded, Zhe Qiuhong nodded, and Wu Xu nodded. Han Qingyu did not even spare them a glance, continuing smoothly, "Brother Jiaming, you really worked hard this time. How was it? You didn't run into any trouble, did you? Speaking of which, I've been worrying about you constantly these past two days..." "Shut up! Han the Snake, you shameless scoundrel! If you ask me, Alphonse's Yanxiu didn't go to Tangtang at all—it went straight into you!" Zhu Jiaming had utterly thrown in the towel. Forcing himself to regain composure, he gritted his teeth and barked, "If you dare call me that one more time, I'd rather throw them away than give them to you!" With that, after a silence of about two seconds, he reached out and tossed a small cloth pouch directly to Han Qingyu. In truth, when standing here just moments ago, the thought of parting with the bones had left Zhu Jiaming feeling conflicted and heartbroken. But now that was completely gone—all that remained was disgust. Han Qingyu obediently shut his mouth. Lying there, using hands the doctors had pronounced ruined, he struggled to feel for the small pouch and clutched it tightly in his grasp. The others crowded around. "Don't just eat them right away! Take them out so we can look first." "Yeah, let us watch you eat them." "Do they really just vanish in a flash? Can we see them melting in?" "..." Among the group, apart from the Little Prince who couldn't bear to look, and Zhe Qiuhong who waited with the calculating gaze of a scientific researcher, everyone else had the mindset of watching a magic show—including Wu Xu in the neighboring hospital bed. "They really disappear in an instant," Han Qingyu said excitedly, a smug grin curling the corner of his mouth. "Don't even need chewing." "Wow, even more impressive than a dog," Rusty Sister said. "..." Han Qingyu shot her a feeble glare, opened the pouch, and twitched his nose. "Huh, why does it smell like beef broth?" "Because they were stewed—for decades, in fact." He Tangtang revealed with a laugh the method Zhu Jiaming's family had used to hide the bones. "Holy shit! They didn't get ruined from stewing, did they?" Wen Jifei asked anxiously upon hearing that. "Surely not?" Han Qingyu feigned panic as well and said, "Damn it, is that how you treated my bones, Little Prince? Let me warn you, if these bones are ruined, believe me, I'll toss you out to hack away at a Daie!" Brother Jiaming... no, the Little Prince, Zhu Jiaming, turned around and gave him a look between tears and laughter. "I! I should've stewed you right along with them!" Laughter broke out across the ward. As they laughed, though, they suddenly realized that in the brief span of just two days and two nights, at least four of them had come hair-raisingly close to never returning, never seeing each other again. So being able to mess around together like this felt truly wonderful... This world had become increasingly cruel and terrifying. ... "Here it comes. Watch closely." "Don't you dare blink." "One, two, three..." The bones were gone. Five Bones of Eternal Life eerily vanished from Han Qingyu's palm into thin air, without a visible process, without a sound. Not even the faintest ripple of energy occurred. "...Badass." "Yeah, downright terrifying." "How do you feel now, Qingzi?" "Qingzi?" Han Qingyu lay on the bed, eyes closed, not moving a muscle. Yet according to what they knew, after he swindled Shu You out of a Bone of Eternal Life during the climactic battle in the City of Iniquity, he had been lively and kicking right on the spot. "Y-you all right, Qingzi?" "Qingzi, what's wrong?" "Did stewing them really mess them up?" Could this stuff not be cooked? Or was it that seasonings weren't allowed? At this moment, even the Little Prince became thoroughly anxious. "I'm fine." Han Qingyu sat up. His body, which moments ago had struggled even to move a hand, now sat straight up cleanly and smoothly. After sitting up, he first felt over his body, then touched the top of his head, and reached for his cloth pouch. Han Qingyu opened his small cloth pouch and pulled out the items inside. Mirror, silver dollars, hair tie... No horn bones. Both horn bones were completely gone. Just moments ago, the instant he devoured those five Bones of Eternal Life, the two horn bones he had previously been unable to make any dent in had vanished directly into his body along with them. ... "We can try to deduce this: it means that after devouring those five Bones of Eternal Life, your physical state broke through a certain stage threshold, allowing you to integrate the horn bones." Zhe Qiuhong paused before speaking again. "How do you feel right now? I remember you saying that the bone source energy in the horn bones is exceptionally powerful, and seemingly possesses life force." "I... can't quite describe it..." Han Qingyu turned his head to look at Wu Xu, then at Rusty Sister... "Too weak." "Has the old man gone far?" he finally asked Wen Jifei. The old man, of course, was Chen Buer. "Why?" Wen Jifei countered. "I want to have a fight with him." "Can you... beat him?!" Wen Jifei grew excited, and everyone else became excited as well. "Can't beat him. Just want to spar a bit and see how long I can hold out. He won't use his full strength anyway." Though Han Qingyu phrased it in a conceding, cautious manner, everyone in the room was thrilled. No matter how much he had improved before or how arrogantly carried away he had gotten, he had never once contemplated sparring with the Lord Commander. Wen Jifei and the others crowded around the bed. "The old man shouldn't have gone far." "Should we go chase after him?" "Do you really want to try?" "..." The room erupted into clamor. Zhe Qiuhong stood alone at the back, seemingly deep in thought... After a flicker of hesitation in her eyes, she abruptly took a few steps forward and said: "No, you can't fight right now. Lie down first. It seems we've been a bit too optimistic. Let me give you a thorough examination first." ... Two hours later, on an operating table surrounded by intricate equipment, Han Qingyu, having just undergone his examination, opened his eyes. "What is it?" He noticed Zhe Qiuhong's expression looked somewhat off. "It's good," Zhe Qiuhong looked up at him, expressionless, staring straight at him as she said, "The good news is that according to my research and deduction, you should already be a semi-mature Yanxiu now. You are very strong." "Oh, really? Then why is there bad news?" "Yes. It was my oversight. I shouldn't have allowed you to devour the Bones of Eternal Life under those circumstances," Zhe Qiuhong said. "The injuries repaired too urgently, too quickly. Now, at least four old bone fragments are encased directly inside your heart tissue." "...What will happen because of that?" "It's not entirely clear yet. The issue might not be as bad as I imagine, or it could be even more severe. Right now, the worst outcome I can envision is that if you erupt with full power, you will die on the spot of your own accord." "...Is there a way to fix it?" Han Qingyu asked. "Yes, but I need time to think, design an operation, and make preparations," Zhe Qiuhong said. "How long will it take?" "Four, three... probably one to two months. I can't say for sure just yet." "That's so long." "Yes," Zhe Qiuhong said with her solemn demeanor as a doctor. "I know you must be anxious given the current situation, but there is no other way." Han Qingyu: "..." "Go back to the ward first. I'll figure out a way." Having said that, Zhe Qiuhong called two nurses from outside the door to escort Han Qingyu back to the hospital room. Only she and a trusted female assistant, whom she had kept at her side ever since the City of Iniquity, remained in the operating room. The two cleaned and packed up instruments in silence. The assistant was a girl in her early twenties. As she tidied up, she turned her head, lifted her eyes, and stole a cautious glance at Zhe Qiuhong. Once. Twice... "If you have something to say, just say it," Zhe Qiuhong said, noticing her and looking over. "Um, I was wondering why... Doctor Zhe, why did you lie to Major Qing?" the female assistant asked gingerly. During the entire examination just now, she had been right beside her helping. There were no bone fragments whatsoever in Han Qingyu's heart. This was actually very easy to detect. Yet because Zhe Qiuhong was Zhe Qiuhong, Han Qingyu believed her without question, and in all likelihood would never seek a second opinion from anyone else. "Because... I don't want him to die." Zhe Qiuhong paused for a moment, then lowered her head to clean the instruments as she said, "Azure is definitely trying to find a way to bait and kill that Daie right now. But in this world, how many people are actually qualified to take part in that? And if they truly want to pull off the kill, how many of them will die?" "..." The assistant froze. Holding the tray loaded with instruments, Zhe Qiuhong glanced at her once more, then turned and walked away. "So do you want Major Qing to go? He just nearly died at the hands of that Daie. Barring any accident, the Daie's target this time was him." "I... I don't... I understand," the assistant said earnestly.