novelzi Chapter 121: Imperceptible Influence
Chapter 121: Imperceptible Influence
Chapter 121: Imperceptible Influence
A series of resonant ear-pleasing bird chirps, clear spring water flowing downwards from a slope and onto rocks could be heard by the naked ear. Even if one didn’t concentrate on their sense of smell, they could still feel a faint perfume wafting towards their nose. It made one feel as if being in a remote utopia.
Ji Bai felt like he was currently in a half-asleep state. Lying in a quiet wilderness, he was seemingly one with the grass and trees that surrounded him. With his head lying on a soft and cozy cotton cushion and breathing in refreshing air, he was somewhat reluctant to open his eyelids.
It was as if time had come to a standstill for an instant. Apart from the white clouds that were leisurely drifting across the azure-colored skies, the only things moving were the reeds and leaves lifted into the air by the gentle wind.
“Oh, dear~ Is the lap of your mother comfortable enough for you?” The voice Ji Bai dreaded most in the depth of his soul met his ears like a gust of wind hitting him in the face.
He abruptly opened his eyes, only to see a silver-haired girl clad in a black western-style dress smilingly down on him — His head was currently resting on her soft thighs.
“Have a good sleep, my heir~ You must be extremely tired during these times..... No matter where you are, your mother will always l-o-o-k o-u-t for you~ Hehehe...”
............
With his consciousness in a state of haziness, Ji Bai opened his eyes.
A few traces of sunlight fell on his iron helmet through a window, causing his eyes to hurt somewhat.
After shooting a glance at his wet leather gloves, he directed his gaze at the plain furniture surrounding him and the familiar ceiling.
‘So it was just a dream. Probably the repercussions of using the vampire’s power.’
More than a year had passed, but the vampire side embedded inside him had never once given up on taking over leadership of his body and vampirizing him completely. It was like a lethal poppy flower that was unceasingly enticing and tempting him to embrace it.
The only thing that Ji Bai could do was to minimize contact with it as much as he could and leave his human side to be in charge of his body, ensuring that he never forgot the heart of a knight.
However, what truly made him terrified was the imperceptible influence of this power; It was secretly changing his world views and character without him even noticing it.
In the past, Ji Bai had been a silent and hardworking man; He wouldn’t have engaged in superfluous words when he encountered an issue, and would just hack at it with his sword.
“Even if it’s a minor injury, you can’t just ignore it and leave it alone... Ke’er knows where the school’s infirmary is, Mr. Ji Bai...”
“It’s nothing you need to worry about.” Ji Bai once again expressed that his injuries weren’t severe enough to the point that he needed to see a doctor.
“Nyauuu... I-, I’m sorry.” Ke’er’s cat ears drooped as she looked at the extremely stubborn Ji Bai.
“Why are you apologizing?”
“Ke’er doesn’t know anything, and cannot help Mr. Ji Bai with his worries and problems. She only knows how to cause trouble for him...” Said Ke’er in a somewhat dejected tone.
“No, you’ve helped me out a lot.” The eyes inside the iron helmet fixed themselves on the baguette in Ke’er’s hands.
“Uuu... Is Mr. Ji Bai hungry? That won’t do! At the least, you need to seriously take a bath or something before you can begin to eat.” Ke’er hid the baguette behind her back and pouted.
“Did you go out earlier to buy me breakfast?”
“Well, not really. Ke’er also went to Mr. Lin Tuo and applied for a leave of absence in place of Mr. Ji Bai~” Ke’er smiled.
“Thank you.” Ji Bai was silent for a moment before nodding towards her.
‘This child, Ke’er, is so smart and thoughtful... Her actions are so well-thought-out.’
“Ke’er has already warmed up the water for Mr. Ji Bai. You can go in there anytime to have a hot bath~ Just leave tidying up the living room to Ke’er, go~” Ke’er seemed to be in extremely high spirits as she both persuaded and pushed Ji Bai into the bathroom and shut the door after leaving the room herself.
The bathtub was filled with steaming hot water.
Ji Bai shot a glance at the closed door and started to remove the brigandine armor and clothing on his body.
Let alone Lil’ Sha, even Ji Bai himself wouldn’t want to scurry down into the sewers like a rat unless he had no choice. After two days of neglecting proper hygiene management, he could feel that his hair was beginning to solidify. It was indeed time to take a good bath.
A series of rustling noises resounded, and very soon, a set of lean and robust muscles was exposed to the air, with various scars of all sizes densely covering his body.
Although these densely lined scars affected the aesthetics of his body to a drastic extent, they served as decoration and proof of his experiences in battle.
Casually stacking up his armor and dirty clothes on the ground, he stepped into the bathtub that was brimming with a sparkling and translucent liquid.
‘Indeed, my body is a bit dirty... It will probably smell if I don’t wash it... No... It already smells; After staying inside the sewers for 2 days, it would be weird if it didn’t.”
Ji Bai had decided to make good use of this time to do some proper cleaning. The feeling of unkemptness was something he couldn’t endure.