The King of Black Fog

Where would one think to go when large meals are needed to heal wounds?

A buffet restaurant!

It's strongly recommended by protagonists in various works!

Cheap, no need to order, no waiting, and a wide variety of dishes.

Li Changzhou didn't engage in particularly exaggerated behavior.

He followed the two beauties in eating, non-stop for an hour before leaving and continuing to the next buffet.

The two beauties were full after the first restaurant, mainly providing cover for him afterwards.

A table for three full of dishes looks more ordinary and more discreet than a table for one.

The trouble was that the charm of the three was too high, and while there were no lights or cameras, they looked like they were there to shoot a TV drama. Customers glanced over from time to time, with some even taking photos from a distance.

Such was the trouble with beauty. If they were lucky enough to get a corner spot suitable for sneaking extra food, Li Changzhou would eat a bit more, otherwise, he would eat like a normally hungry person.

On Friday, the buffet restaurant was open for an extra half hour. By the time it closed at half-past nine, Li Changzhou's wounds had healed by a small amount.

"Let me see," Li Qianxia said, lifting his arm gently as if handling a piece of silken tofu, and examined it carefully.

Yang Qinglan also watched closely.

"Bro, does it hurt?"

"It itches."

"I'll scratch it for you," Li Qianxia offered without touching the wound, lightly scratching around its edge.

Yang Qinglan said with slight disappointment, "So far, I haven't seen any skills for healing wounds."

"Try looking in the hospital, you might find something," Li Changzhou said with a laugh.

This casual remark triggered Yang Qinglan's reverie.

If there was no Li Qianxia, or if Li Qianxia hadn't brought Li Changzhou into the game, would he have sought out doctors or nurses in major hospitals for his instinct to heal?

With his charm, pretending to be ill would've made female nurses and doctors feel fond of him at first sight.

And beyond that... the game had made it very clear that his charm was rated as that of a 'villainous boss'.

Returning to their courtyard on Yanhe Road, Li Changzhou didn't dig holes; he carefully took a shower without touching his wounds and fell asleep as soon as he lay on the bed.

He was too tired.

Tired in body and weary in spirit.

The next day, Saturday, they were supposed to continue playing the game as planned, but he was injured. There was no helping it; they had to let other players off easy for the time being.

Early in the morning, with the air fresh, Li Qianxia and Yang Qinglan went out to buy breakfast together.

Li Changzhou sat on a stone bench, staring at the alcohol lamp on the stone table.

The flames on the alcohol lamp were not droplet-shaped, but swirled like a mosquito coil.

Charm, communicating with nature... incomprehensible, puzzling.

The flame mosquito coil melted into a giant sculpture - perhaps an eagle, but it could be said to be any winged being.

The eagle flapped its wings and flew out from its nest on the alcohol lamp, circling the verdant apricot tree.

Five or six seconds later, it vanished into thin air like a melting candle.

There was no spirit; the flapping wings were controlled by Li Changzhou, and the taking flight was also his doing; there was no inherent connection between the wings and flight.

He picked up a lighter and relit the alcohol lamp.

Then he stretched out his right index finger and held it above the flame to roast it.

It hurt.

It was searing pain.

A powerful force surged inside him, making him howl, dance wildly, twist his features, and wish he could break his burning finger.

Li Changzhou kept his eyes closed, his will as immovable as Five Finger Mountain, holding down this monkey-like powerful, troublesome force while feeling the power and properties of the flames.

Twenty-some seconds later, the monkey roared, burst through Five Finger Mountain and emerged, causing him to pull away his finger.

"Hiss—" He clenched his teeth and sucked in the air, with cold sweat breaking out on his forehead.

The wound was blood-red, like a skinned rabbit.

The edges were tinged with black as if oozing oil, and the skin would fall off at the slightest touch.

He let the intense pain spread throughout his body, hammering at his will with every throb.

In the midst of the terrible suffering, there always lay a powerful strength.

Li Changzhou recalled the shape of the flames, their temperature, the sensation of the flames licking at his fingers, and the process of that feeling spreading throughout his body.

Just as he was enduring the pain, about to enter "Concentration," Li Qianxia and Yang Qinglan returned, having spent less time than usual, but bought much more than usual.

"Brother, come and eat, I got you twenty baskets of big buns! Meat, greens, glass noodles, pickled vegetables, tofu, shredded radish, we've got them all!"

"Not bad, on par with an instant noodles feast." Li Changzhou opened his eyes and smiled.

So many buns, piled high on the stone table, filled it to the brim.

Li Changzhou reached out with his right hand, picked up one using his thumb and middle finger, and took a big bite. Glass noodle bun.

"What happened to your finger?" Yang Qinglan noticed his raised index finger.

"I was practicing the Flame Wave just now and accidentally burned it."

"Burned? Let me see!" Li Qianxia quickly set aside her plating task, grabbed his right hand, "How did it get burned like this! Does it hurt?!"

Li Changzhou, helplessly: "You worrying about me here might as well let go of me and let me eat a couple more buns, the wound might already be healed."

Li Qianxia snorted and released his arm.

Yang Qinglan had a thoughtful expression on her face.

"I want the pickled vegetable one, find me a pickled vegetable bun." Li Changzhou devoured the glass noodle bun in two bites, commanding the two maids.

After breakfast, with twenty baskets of buns down, the injury on his finger healed, and the hole in his left arm half-closed.

With his arm injury not fully healed, Li Changzhou didn't dare exert much force, fearing blood would spurt out.

He sat on the stone bench all day long, recalling the experience of his finger being scorched by the flames, intermittently entering "Concentration" several times.

Li Qianxia practiced with her spear in the courtyard for a while, then turned into an owl, flew around the apricot tree, landed on the roof, perched on the branches of the apricot tree, and watched Li Changzhou with black pupils rimmed with gold, mimicking the owl's demeanor.

After eating an extra-large amount of lunch and dinner, Li Changzhou's left arm was almost healed.

He moved his left arm, then punched a shield filled with gravel.

Puff.

Many of the pieces of gravel at the point of impact turned into dust, the remaining gravel inside the shield sank down, and a two-centimeter space opened up on top.

"Brother, teach me Bull Bull Fist tomorrow!" Li Qianxia was originally concerned about his arm but changed her mind immediately after seeing it.

"Sure."

Li Qianxia felt a flutter of anticipation inside.

She then asked Yang Qinglan, "Are we going today?"

"Not today." Yang Qinglan opened her eyes, "My Thorns only take two or three days to learn. I'll go after I've mastered it, by then your brother's Flame Wave might also have progressed, and you have to learn the Bull Bull Fist too."

"It's the Great Strength Bull Demon Fist, the technique of the Bull Demon King."

It was "Water Buffalo Style·Great Strength Bull Fist," they both got it wrong, and they both did it on purpose.

"It's so hot." Li Qianxia wiped her sweat, "It's that time, let's rest, shall we go bathe together?"

"Mhm." Yang Qinglan stood up, stretched her arms out, yawning lazily, and her soft top once again outlined the shape of her bust.

"Can I come too?" Li Changzhou asked.

"No." Yang Qinglan lowered her hands, her tone plain but leaving no room for debate.

"Miss Yang, didn't you say it yourself, to accomplish great things, one needs a bit of a wild streak."

"Mr. Li, please apply that wild streak where it's appropriate. Let's go, Qian Xia."

"Qing Lan, my brother isn't being a hooligan. It's in a man's nature to tease a girl he likes, but my brother never said he wanted to bathe with me."

"...I can feel your good intentions."