Full Armor Ablaze

Inside the cave, Han Qingyu remained seated. He slowly tilted his head, casting a glance at the iron armor lying on the ground beside him. It was not a large movement. Yet across several places on his body—where the molten lava glow had gradually stabilized and dimmed—sparks flared with searing brilliance, like embers suddenly stirred with a poker. Nearly twenty days. Han Qingyu had never locked another person's special characteristic energy completely inside his own body for this long. In his memory, the highest record he had ever held—even for energy that had already been converted—was less than five days. This was not merely because those people had stayed by his side and there had been no need to do so; it was also because back then, he simply hadn't been capable of it. That he could accomplish it this time was likely due to an overwhelming obsession, coupled with the factor of his bone source. The obsession stemmed from General Ivan's dying moments. In circumstances like that, once he accepted it, to expect Han Qingyu to voluntarily give up before reaching the brink of life and death—to "tell" General Ivan that the gift bestowed on his deathbed had vanished without accomplishing anything... that simply wasn't his nature. Though regarded as complex and inscrutable, and saddled with rumors calling him "cunning," Han Qingyu was actually remarkably stubborn in certain respects. In the words Wen Jifei had once spoken in private: Han Qingqing was someone who did not know how to let others down. He had always been that way. This was the root of so many stories over the years, both good and bad. It was one of the most important reasons he had made it this far, yet it might also be the very thing that would one day get him killed. Another factor was his bone source. Had he not obtained five Bones of Eternal Life from the Little Prince right before this happened, and when devouring them, managed to swallow those two stubborn horn bones he hadn't been able to chew through before, then no matter how deep Han Qingyu's obsession ran, his strength would have fallen short of his will. Compared to other Bones of Eternal Life, the energy contained within those two horn bones was distinct and far more powerful, faintly brimming with vitality. That was why Zhe Qiuhong had deduced back then that Han Qingyu had roughly assembled half a complete skeleton and become a semi-mature Yanxiu. Of course, she had soon added that something was wrong with his body. Over these twenty days, Han Qingyu had relied on his steadily strengthening bone source to lock down the energy of General Ivan's ultimate characteristic eruption, keeping it firmly bound within himself. Locking it down by taking the brunt of the harm. In the process, he hadn't converted much more of the characteristic than before, nor had he experienced any sudden epiphanies like in wuxia novels... The only progress he made was gradually learning how to suppress—or rather, stifle—it. *Buzz—* Han Qingyu rose to his feet. With merely that single motion of standing up, red fire shone through several of his joints and vital organ regions. A surging thermal wave, carrying halos of bright yellow flame, rolled out toward the mouth of the cave... The people outside pulled each other aside to dodge. A patch of shrubs not far away withered in an instant. "..." Though he couldn't see the expressions of those bastards outside, Han Qingyu felt a flicker of embarrassment. Standing firm, he circulated his bone source, striving to suppress the surging characteristic. In truth, this was not an open flame; it was a form of energy. Once the surface of his body gradually drew back from its semi-molten state, Han Qingyu took a deep breath. Cautiously bending down, he picked up a piece of the iron armor, strapped it on, and then took the next piece... *Clack.* Locked in place. Then the next part... *Shk.* The final step: he pulled down the visor, latching and locking it with the neckpiece. Han Qingyu slowly raised his head, steadied himself, and stepped out toward the cave mouth. This day was October 11, 1994. In the early morning hours, Han Qingyu—reported by the outside world to be missing for over half a month due to severe injuries—walked out of the unnamed cave where he had confined himself for twenty days, reappearing before Wen Jifei and the others fully clad in armor. ... "How is it?" He Tangtang asked from a safe distance, holding up a lamb chop on the tip of his blade. Hearing his voice, Han Qingyu turned his head toward them. *Hiss... clack.* He gave a slow nod. Between the suppression of his bone source and the containment of the high-tier dead iron full armor, he still could not completely control General Ivan's vast characteristic energy, but at least he would no longer destroy everything in his wake. Then—*bang!* A sudden loud collision. "Haha, hello, Bucket Bro!" Rusty Sister had been waiting for this scene and this line for days, and she was wildly excited and thrilled. She hadn't actually hugged him that hard, but since both were clad in iron armor, even a casual bump made quite a racket. At the mouth of the cave, the picture of two suits of iron armor hugging... No, it was the picture of one suit of armor frozen stiff while the other wrapped both arms around its neck. "..." The men walking over from a distance looked at one another, feeling goosebumps prickle their skin. "Damn, that's creepy as hell." "Yeah." "Can't say what's wrong with it exactly, but it just feels super eerie." "..." At the same time, at the mouth of the cave, *hiss... clack*. Han Qingyu slowly turned his head, then looked down. With what seemed like immense exasperation, he glanced at Rusty Sister and said: "Let go." Due to the iron armor, his voice sounded muffled and low. "...Oh. I just thought it'd be fun." Rusty Sister gave him a meek look, released her hold, stepped back, and stood awkwardly to the side. Yang Qingbai said, "It's even creepier now." He Tangtang nodded. "Sure is." "Can we come over?" Wen Jifei raised a hand, gesturing to himself and Yang Qingbai. "Yeah." Han Qingyu nodded. And then, he was surrounded. "Not bad. Looks pretty sharp." "Yeah, still a bit hot, though." "Qingzi, you still got any hair left?" "...Yes." Han Qingyu turned his head, glanced at Wen Jifei beside him, and asked helplessly, "What are you doing?" Wen Jifei looked up with a grin. "Just seeing if I can light this. If I can, I won't need to bring a lighter when we head out." Between two of his fingers, he held a cigarette. Just a moment ago, he had been pressing the cigarette against the iron armor. The tobacco already gave off a faint singed smell, but it hadn't caught fire yet. Because they were standing so close, Han Qingyu was suppressing the molten lava energy to the absolute limit. "..." Han Qingyu felt utterly exhausted. After a moment of silence, he turned his head away from Wen Jifei, but said, "Try again... Careful not to burn yourself." Then, he eased his suppression slightly. ...Before long, the cigarette pressed against the armor flared to life. "Fuck, that really is hot." He quickly popped the cigarette into his mouth and stepped away, Yang Qingbai trailing after him. Next, He Tangtang walked over... Without a word, he lowered his hand and pressed the lamb chop on his blade directly against the chest plate. *Sizzle, pop, pop...* *Pop.* A mouthwatering aroma wafted up. "..." Han Qingyu looked down at the lamb chop, then looked back up at him. Slowly, he said, "He Tangtang... believe it or not, I will end you." He Tangtang looked up, a flash of panic in his eyes. While Han Qingyu wouldn't actually kill him, thrashing him or stringing him up in some bizarre pose was very likely to happen—and had indeed happened more than once. "My mistake," the greatest kidney-striker in human history said with utmost sincerity. "Don't sweat it, Tangtang." Before Han Qingyu could speak, Wen Jifei cut in with a chuckle. "I've got good news. Want to hear it?" "What?" "I'm guessing Han Qingqing can't make any violent moves right now. Haven't you noticed? Ever since he stepped out, every single move he's made has been cautious." Wen Jifei paused, then added, "So, Tangtang, this might be your only chance in this lifetime to give Han Qingshe a good beating and get your revenge." He Tangtang didn't say a word. He whipped back around to stare at Han Qingyu, an itch stirring in his eyes. "Wait, Tangtang, think this through. Setting aside whether I get back at you later... right now, if you touch me, I might accidentally explode. You know that?" Han Qingyu rushed through the first half, then paused. "Explode? Explode how?" He Tangtang asked tentatively. "A single *boom!*, and this whole mountain turns into molten lava," Han Qingyu said, slowing his speech. "And you will end up charred to a crisp." He Tangtang: "..." "Really," Han Qingyu emphasized with utter sincerity. "Heh... This granddaddy will spare you today." "Once my Yanxiu matures, you're the first one I'll eat." He Tangtang turned around and took a resentful bite out of the now-cooked lamb chop. Amid the laughter... Han Qingyu turned to look at Yang Qingbai and said: "Seems it's time for us to get going."