Chapter Forty-Eight: The Scorpion’s Shell or the Centipede’s Legs?

In a way, this was precisely the method she had sought to become stronger.

Li Le nodded with near caution.

"You haven't practiced any other body-forging techniques before, have you..." Brother Bai glanced at her, pointing to the tub nearby. "This 'Ash Pattern Fragment' is the most suitable one for you."

"Brother Bai... Is this the body-forging technique you use as well?" Li Le turned curiously at his words.

"Yes, the entire Bai clan uses this method, myself included."

Brother Bai was not inclined to elaborate further; after answering Li Le's question simply, he turned to ask, "Tonight you'll forge your body, and tomorrow morning you'll practice archery... I noticed you left many arrow marks on that tree out back today?"

Li Le snapped back to reality, recalling her sword practice earlier that morning, and could not help but look somewhat embarrassed. "Brother Bai, I was just trying it out."

Brother Bai waved his hand and said thoughtfully, "Le, I'm not criticizing you. Soon, you'll undergo the 'Rite of Spears.' It's good to familiarize yourself with a weapon within the time of Two Returns."

Li Le pressed her lips together and nodded.

Brother Bai continued, "You've chosen the bow, which is fitting. I've noticed your eyesight has grown much sharper lately—enough to accurately aim at prey."

"But I'm not skilled with the bow myself, so I can't teach you much about it..." Brother Bai paused, then looked at Li Le, "If we're speaking of archery, the best in District Thirteen is 'Wind.'"

Wind?

Wasn't he the one she met at the old district elder's doorstep?

He was skilled with the bow?

Li Le's heart stirred.

"Here's what we'll do..." Brother Bai thought for a moment. "Coincidentally, in the coming days our district will be hunting in the Death Fog, and there won't be patrols in the city. 'Wind' should be at home resting as well."

"If you have any questions, you can ask him."

Li Le nodded repeatedly.

Brother Bai considered further and spoke again.

"Also, the bow you practiced with today is too large—it doesn't suit your strength or build. Before the hunt, we'll visit the smithy and ask Elder Ji to forge a suitable one for you..."

"Remember to pick it up when it's ready."

...

Brother Bai laid out everything clearly, striving to settle Li Le's affairs properly.

Li Le's eyes brightened. "Thank you, Brother Bai!"

Bai Ye chuckled quietly, shook his head, and said no more, turning back to his quarters.

Li Le smiled gently, then carefully picked up several bottles from the table, approached the bedside, drew the curtain she had just hung days before, and tucked it in meticulously to keep the steam from escaping.

Then, wearing only her nightclothes, she stood by the tub.

She gazed at the steaming, strangely alluring black liquid. Li Le dipped a hand in tentatively.

"...It's warm?"

Li Le was surprised; she hadn't expected the steamy liquid to be warm, its texture reminiscent of melted chocolate, but not as viscous as she had imagined.

But who could say what it would feel like to immerse herself entirely?

"Whether I jump in now or later, it's all the same! Li Le, why are you hesitating?"

She slapped her own cheeks hard, exhaled deeply, clenched her teeth, and, stepping on the rim, nimbly climbed into the tub.

A pain utterly different from before tore at her flesh—heart-wrenching agony. She even felt something icy beneath the water, some shell pressing against the skin of her foot.

Li Le's hair stood on end!

Was it the shell of a scorpion, or the legs of a centipede?

A cold sweat broke across her brow, and the needle-like pain throughout her body paled her face, yet these terrifying thoughts nearly made her lose composure and burst into tears.

"I've only ever seen these things in nature documentaries... Please, please don't let it be alive..."

"Hiss... It hurts... It hurts..."

"Father... Mother..."

Li Le was in great pain but dared not move, for fear that any ripple would stir up whatever lay at the bottom.

After a while, she adapted, gritting her teeth in silence.

"No, I must go home, this can't go on!"

She glanced at the black liquid, her gaze hardened, pinched her nose, clenched her teeth, and submerged herself completely.

...

Bai Ye sat cross-legged on his bed in the dark, bare-chested, his tall frame straight, muscles and bones rippling like a great dragon with each breath.

He seemed like a wild beast lurking in the darkness, his body radiating explosive power.

Alone, he sat so that the modest bed seemed cramped beneath him.

Suddenly, his ears twitched; he faintly heard Li Le's muffled sobs and cries of pain from the adjoining room.

But he kept his eyes closed, his iron-hard face and tightly shut lids exuding an astonishing, otherworldly coldness.

To break the cocoon and become a butterfly.

If she could not endure even the first trial, Li Le was destined never to become a true member of the Bai clan!

Body-forging techniques were the fundamental distinction between clans and families.

If Li Le could not cultivate such a method, then in the Death Fog, she could not claim the Bai clan name, and strictly speaking, she would not be his kin.

But...

"She will certainly survive this ordeal!"

Bai Ye opened his eyes in the darkness, his voice cold and certain, as if declaring an immutable truth.

On his torso, indistinct gray totems began to emerge, casting a dim light that revealed the web of scars crisscrossing his body.