Chapter 34: [Death] The Brand-Name Bathhouse Attendant, Golden Crocodile Douluo
There was no time to think about anything else.
Fan Chen quickly walked to the bedside and scooped up Xiao Bai from the bed.
Originally, Xiao Bai, when curled up, was only about the size of his own head.
Now, it was at least a full size larger. From a distance, the change wasn't very obvious.
But once he got closer, the difference was unmistakable.
Fan Chen lifted Xiao Bai, and its weight was noticeably heavier than before.
"You brat, what are you shouting about in the middle of the night now?"
Golden Crocodile Douluo's voice came from outside the door.
Creak—
The door swung open as Golden Crocodile Douluo strode in.
Ever since Luan Yuqing had said those words earlier, he had been staying near Fan Chen, never straying too far.
So, the moment he heard unusual noises coming from Fan Chen's room, he rushed over without hesitation.
But the instant he stepped inside, he froze.
Fan Chen was standing there, stark naked, holding Xiao Bai in his arms—an utterly bizarre sight.
"Damn it, Master, can't you knock before coming in? Have some respect for personal privacy, will you?"
"Privacy, my ass. You little brat—what kind of privacy do you think you even need at your age?"
Golden Crocodile Douluo stepped forward and smacked Fan Chen on the head. Still, seeing that Fan Chen was unharmed, he quietly let out a sigh of relief.
His nerves were wound tight right now, which only showed how much he cared about Fan Chen.
"Where are your clothes? Why are you naked like this?"
As he spoke, his hand itched, and he gave Fan Chen's butt a casual pat. Surprisingly enough, the texture was quite… springy.
"Master, if you keep this up, I'm going to lose my temper!"
Fan Chen instantly bristled. At that moment, he finally understood the feeling behind that line of poetry—
The helplessness of being old and powerless while bullied by village children.
Right now, it was more like being bullied by an old bastard from the Spirit Hall while being young and powerless—utterly suppressed by Golden Crocodile Douluo.
"What are you talking about? You little brat, do you think you can fly to the sky?"
"Tell me, what's going on?"
Golden Crocodile Douluo pressed one hand down on Fan Chen's head. As his gaze swept across the room, he also noticed that something was off.
"It's just that earlier, Xiao Bai drank a bit of that bottle of Water of Life, and then…"
As Fan Chen explained what had happened, Golden Crocodile Douluo shifted his focus to Xiao Bai.
"It really has grown a bit. Let me check your condition first."
Golden Crocodile Douluo placed a hand on Fan Chen's shoulder and probed his body with soul power. After a short while, he withdrew his hand.
"The impurities in your body have decreased, your meridians have been strengthened somewhat, and your soul power seems to have increased a little, though not by much."
So far, the effects of the Water of Life looked excellent. The only thing Golden Crocodile Douluo couldn't quite understand was the change in Xiao Bai's size.
Xiao Bai's existence was already extremely special. There was no precedent or reference to draw from.
Nothing like this had ever been mentioned involving that useless Yu Xiaogang either, though it was also possible that Golden Crocodile Douluo simply didn't know enough about him.
After all, why would he ever spend time paying attention to such a useless piece of trash?
"Other than getting bigger, have you noticed anything else?"
"No. As far as I can sense, that's all."
As Fan Chen's martial soul, every change in Xiao Bai could be clearly perceived by him.
But at present, aside from its size, there were no other changes at all.
"Then it shouldn't be a big problem."
The effect of the Water of Life was merely to replenish life energy; it didn't possess any other special functions. Most likely, there was nothing to worry about.
Still, it's better to stay cautious. Being careful never hurts.
"Put your clothes on. I'll take you out to soak in a proper bath. Look at how filthy you are."
Golden Crocodile Douluo rubbed a bit of grime from Fan Chen's hair that hadn't been completely washed off, his face full of disgust.
The bathing facilities in the room were far too crude. They were fine for cleaning surface dirt under normal circumstances.
But when it came to washing away the impurities expelled from the body during marrow-cleansing and body-reforging, they were clearly inadequate.
Golden Crocodile Douluo had gone through it himself and knew very well that dealing with this kind of filth took some real effort.
Fan Chen answered with a simple "oh," then hurriedly put on a set of clothes and followed Golden Crocodile Douluo out.
Not long after the two of them left, a dark shadow appeared outside the window of Fan Chen's room.
"I'm seriously speechless. How does this human brat manage to have so much crap going on all the time?"
Di Tian was truly at a loss for words. After being dealt with once by Luan Yuqing, he had gone through great trouble just to sneak in here.
He had finally managed to locate traces of the Auspicious Beast, but there was yet another presence guarding the area—one even stronger than Luan Yuqing.
Di Tian genuinely began to wonder whether these human powerhouses had nothing better to do with their time. Why were they guarding a single child so closely?
What would it hurt to relax a little? Even he himself didn't keep such a tight watch over the Three-Eyed Golden Lion.
Still, none of that was the real issue. To Di Tian, Golden Crocodile Douluo, and Luan Yuqing were merely troublesome, not true threats.
The real problem was that not far from here, Di Tian had sensed an aura at the level of a god.
That was something he absolutely had not expected.
This search for the Auspicious Beast had turned out to be far more troublesome than anticipated. If he weren't worried about provoking the Auspicious Beast and getting hit with a wave of karmic backlash, he would have already acted and snatched it away by force.
"Just you wait, you little brat."
With no suitable opportunity to make a move, Di Tian could only retreat for now.
…
Inside the bathhouse, Fan Chen soaked in the warm pool while Golden Crocodile Douluo scrubbed the filth from his body in a rather rough manner.
Meanwhile, Xiao Bai splashed around happily in the water, creating a stark contrast between them.
"Master, go a little easier! You're going to scrub my skin right off!"
Fan Chen screamed in pain, but Golden Crocodile Douluo remained completely unmoved.
"Stop squirming. It's not clean yet. I've never heard you complain during training—now you're making such a fuss just from getting scrubbed?"
After enduring Golden Crocodile Douluo's brutal treatment, Fan Chen floated on the surface of the water, his entire back red as fire.
"Quit playing dead over there. Wash yourself properly—I'm leaving."
"There are some precious heavenly materials mixed into this pool water. Absorb it properly."
Golden Crocodile Douluo gave Fan Chen, who was lying face down in the water pretending to be dead, a light kick with his foot. Then he stood up and left without another word.
Watching Golden Crocodile Douluo's departing figure, Fan Chen silently swore to himself—
Next time, no matter what, he would never bathe in the same place as Golden Crocodile Douluo again.
Feeling the stinging pain all over his body, Fan Chen truly felt like crying without tears.
This hurt even more than training. How was this a bath? This was outright abuse.
Who scrubs someone with the intention of peeling their skin off? Golden Crocodile Douluo's grip was absurdly strong—his small body really couldn't handle it.
That said, this pool water really was something special.
As Fan Chen soaked in it, he could feel a warm energy washing over his body.
It was as if countless invisible hands were massaging him from head to toe, a level of comfort that simply couldn't be put into words.
"Hah… now this is what a bath is supposed to feel like. So comfortable."
Fan Chen sank his entire body beneath the water, leaving only his head above the surface to breathe.
"Hm? Where did Xiao Bai go?"
Being tortured by Golden Crocodile Douluo had made him forget about Xiao Bai for a moment. When he quickly scanned the pool, he soon found it.
But after just one glance, he exploded.
"Xiao Bai—don't drink the bathwater!"
—
End of Chapter