Chapter 33: Drinking the Water of Life—Did Xiao Bai Get Bigger?
"We didn't find anyone suspicious. It's possible that the other party was highly vigilant and already escaped—but there's also another possibility—that my guess was wrong."
Although he said this, Luan Yuqing still leaned more toward the first possibility.
Having lived to his age, he knew very well that what falls from the sky is never free of benefits—only traps. (With the sole exception of Golden Crocodile Douluo accidentally picking up Fan Chen.)
"As for my side, that's the situation. I only caught a few small fries. What about you guys?"
Golden Crocodile Douluo didn't come over. He was still guarding Fan Chen.
When it came to Fan Chen, his disciple, Golden Crocodile Douluo took the matter very seriously.
To be precise, the relationship between the two no longer felt like that of an ordinary master and disciple. It was more like a strict grandfather paired with a mischievous grandson who loved stirring up trouble.
"The thing inside that bottle is called the Water of Life. It's an extremely rare heavenly treasure."
"It's mainly born in places where life energy is densely concentrated. To put it another way, places rarely visited by humans, such as the Star Dou Great Forest."
In areas where humans gathered, such an item was basically impossible to appear. Even if it did, it would be forcibly divided up by the major factions—there was no way it would be left behind.
Moreover, while life energy exists in all heavenly treasures, it is usually mixed with other attributes.
A treasure formed purely from condensed life energy like this was exceptionally rare.
According to Qian Daoliu, the Water of Life inside that bottle could immediately extend one's lifespan by ten years upon consumption, cleanse most hidden injuries within the body, and—most importantly—had no side effects whatsoever.
The effect could only be described as astonishingly good. When they learned about it, even they were tempted.
But recalling the scene at the time, that temptation was instantly extinguished.
After all, between gaining ten more years of life and preserving their dignity, they still preferred their dignity.
Lifespan could be extended through other means—but once one's face was lost, it was truly gone.
As it turned out, this Water of Life was something Di Tian had casually scooped out of the Lake of Life.
His purpose was to lure Xiao Bai.
After all, he already had an Auspicious Beast at home—he was quite familiar with their habits.
Although there were differences between Auspicious Beasts, they shouldn't differ too much. Di Tian had approached it with a "might as well try" attitude.
The result was fairly good, only to be directly ruined by Fan Chen's excessive caution.
"So, it's confirmed there's no problem with it?"
"Yes, it's confirmed. The item has already been returned."
After confirming there was no issue, they handed the jade bottle back to Xiao Bai, and they had just come over from there.
For some reason, however, when they left, they all felt their mood improve noticeably—as if something had influenced them.
Many worries that usually lingered in their minds instantly vanished, and their thoughts became much clearer.
This strange phenomenon happened to everyone present, but none of them treated it as a big deal. After all, it was just a shift in mood—nothing worth overthinking.
"Then that's that."
With this, the matter was finally settled, and everyone went their separate ways.
...
Inside the room, Fan Chen looked at Xiao Bai, who was hugging the jade bottle containing the Water of Life.
At this moment, Xiao Bai was incredibly happy, clutching the jade bottle tightly.
A treasure regained after being lost always felt more precious. Even though its intrinsic value hadn't changed, it still made one's mood much better.
Leaning against the bed, Fan Chen quietly watched Xiao Bai.
Earlier, when Guang Ling and the others returned the jade bottle, he once again saw those golden threads.
This time, however, the golden threads didn't break; instead, they emitted a faint glow—noticeably brighter than before.
Fan Chen couldn't figure out what was going on.
If it were a skill, neither his soul power nor his spiritual power had been consumed.
But if it wasn't a skill, then why did it appear every time Xiao Bai's emotions fluctuated?
The unknown made his head ache—and what gave him an even bigger headache was the Water of Life in Xiao Bai's arms.
Others didn't know where this thing came from.
But Fan Chen did.
Across the entire Douluo Continent, he knew of only one place capable of producing such an item.
That was the Star Dou Great Forest—the closest great forest to Spirit City.
And at the very center of the Star Dou Great Forest lay the Lake of Life.
The water within that lake… was the Water of Life itself.
Being able to take something like this out of that place—and even use it as bait—could only have been done by that group of ferocious beasts.
But why would those ferocious beasts do something like this? As far as Fan Chen could remember, he hadn't provoked them at all.
"Could it be because of Xiao Bai?"
Fan Chen shifted his gaze toward Xiao Bai, who also raised his head to look back at him.
"What's wrong, big brother?"
Xiao Bai could sense the worry in Fan Chen's heart, but he couldn't fully understand what Fan Chen was thinking.
The connection between them was subtle—while they shared an emotional bond, they were still two separate bodies. He wasn't a clone, after all, so it was impossible to know everything.
"It's nothing. Go ahead and play," Fan Chen said, reaching out to rub Xiao Bai's head in reassurance.
Xiao Bai was special. Although he was Fan Chen's martial soul, Fan Chen had never truly treated him as a mere tool to be commanded at will.
Instead, much like Qian Renxue, Fan Chen regarded him as an independent individual.
Martial souls themselves were inherently special. Fan Chen didn't know their true origin, but Xiao Bai's existence made him feel that martial souls hid far deeper mysteries than he had imagined.
"Then… big brother, can I drink this now?" Xiao Bai asked, hugging the jade bottle and looking at Fan Chen for approval.
"Go ahead—but don't drink it all at once. Just drink half… no, one-third," Fan Chen replied.
Now that he knew the origin of the item, Fan Chen didn't stop Xiao Bai anymore.
"One-third… let Xiao Bai take a look…"
Xiao Bai's small paws clearly weren't capable of such precise control. Smiling, Fan Chen helped him instead, directly pouring it into his mouth.
Xiao Bai opened his little mouth obediently, waiting to be fed.
The pale green Water of Life flowed from the bottle into Xiao Bai's mouth. In an instant, surging life energy filled the entire room.
Golden runes appeared on Xiao Bai's twin horns, and a layer of gentle white light enveloped his body.
Life energy circulated within Xiao Bai, and Fan Chen felt it gathering within himself as well.
A layer of foul-smelling black substance began to seep out from Fan Chen's body, quickly spreading across his skin.
He looked as though he had just crawled out of a mud pit.
"This is… marrow cleansing?!"
Fan Chen immediately realized what was happening. He didn't dare stay on the bed any longer—otherwise, there would be no way to sleep on it tonight.
Rushing into the simple bathroom inside the room, Fan Chen stripped off his clothes and splashed clean water over himself, washing away the filth on his body.
"Life really is inconvenient without showers and stuff…"
Although the facilities in the Spirit Hall were already considered top-tier by current standards, they were still styled after the feudal era of his previous life.
There was no such thing as a shower—he could only wash himself using the most primitive methods.
After much effort, he finally cleaned off all the impurities expelled from his body and stepped back out.
At this moment, he was completely naked, preparing to grab a clean set of clothes from the wardrobe nearby.
"Good thing I didn't let Xiao Bai drink it on the road earlier. Otherwise, I'd really have lost all face."
Covered in black sludge and reeking of stench—anyone would instinctively keep their distance.
And with Qian Renxue nearby, that would've been even worse. She'd probably remember that scene every time she saw him in the future.
Fortunately, none of that happened. Letting out a relieved breath, Fan Chen finally relaxed.
But just then, his gaze suddenly landed on Xiao Bai lying atop the bed.
The white glow around Xiao Bai had already faded, and the runes on his horns had vanished as well.
Yet despite that, Fan Chen felt that something was… off.
As he walked closer to take a better look, his eyes widened in shock, and he blurted out—
"Xiao Bai… why did you get bigger?!"
End of Chapter