Chapter 44 Keeping Warm
Before long, he brought out a palm-sized chunk contained in a dark wooden box and placed it on the counter.
"This piece is the ten-thousand-year-old one, sir, please take a look," the attendant said. "However, as for this Whale Glue, the older it is, the harder it becomes. The ten-thousand-year-old variety is as hard as metal or stone, and it requires special methods to melt and consume."
Jiang Bai nodded and asked again, "Give me five portions of the thousand-year-old ones as well."
"Coming right up!" The attendant was efficient, quickly retrieving five smaller wooden boxes from different drawers and lining them up on the counter. Each box contained a piece of thousand-year-old Whale Glue, slightly different in color and size.
As Jiang Bai took gold coins from his storage bracelet to pay, he watched the attendant’s casual, unreserved demeanor and suddenly felt a flicker of curiosity.
Although Whale Glue was sold as a medicinal material, it was usually classified as an "unconventional" or "special purpose" drug, and transactions were often somewhat discreet.
After all, its well-known "aphrodisiac" properties made many respectable people shy away from mentioning it.
Yet, this attendant’s attitude was as natural as if he were selling ordinary herbs.
"Do many people here buy Whale Glue?" Jiang Bai couldn’t help but ask.
While counting the gold coins, the attendant laughed, "Is this your first time in the North, sir? People here often come to buy Whale Glue. However, most buy the ten-year or hundred-year varieties. It is truly rare to see someone like you buy thousand-year and ten-thousand-year ones all at once."
Often? Is this used as a daily necessity?
Jiang Bai was even more confused. "What do they buy Whale Glue for?"
"To keep warm!" the attendant said, as if it were obvious.
Jiang Bai: "..."
He silently tucked the six wooden boxes into his storage bracelet, thanked the attendant, and turned to leave the medicinal shop.
He didn’t continue wandering around but instead found a clean and tidy-looking inn, the Cedar Inn, a three-story stone building with a heavy felt curtain hanging at the entrance.
Pushing the door open, a wave of warmth rushed to meet him. A fireplace was burning in the lobby, the firewood crackling, and several travelers were sitting around the hearth, drinking and chatting.
Jiang Bai walked to the front desk, requested a premium room, and paid the rent for a month upfront.
"You intend to stay that long, sir?" The receptionist was a burly man with a thick beard, looking somewhat surprised.
"Yes." Jiang Bai offered no further explanation.
Taking the brass key, he climbed the wooden stairs to the third floor.
The room was at the end of the corridor, and upon pushing the door open, he found it to be more spacious than he had imagined.
There was a large bed covered in thick fur, a table and chairs, a wardrobe, and a small fireplace that was currently burning, keeping the room warm and cozy.
The windows were double-paned, providing excellent soundproofing and insulation against the cold.
Jiang Bai closed the door securely.
He first walked into the room’s bathroom and filled a waist-high oak bathtub with cold water.
Then, he took the five boxes of thousand-year-old Whale Glue and a large white porcelain bowl from his storage bracelet.
"Boss, come out and help me with something."
A crimson stream of light flew out, landed on the table, and transformed into a Fire Dragon the size of a human head.
"Master, what do you need me to do?" the Fire Dragon asked, tilting its head.
"Heat this up." Jiang Bai placed a piece of thousand-year-old Whale Glue into the porcelain bowl and pushed it toward the Fire Dragon. "Control the temperature well; don’t burn it. Just melt it slowly."
"Simple!" the Fire Dragon replied, opening its mouth to breathe out a wisp of extremely thin, precisely temperature-controlled flame that enveloped the Whale Glue.
Under the scorching flame, the hard Whale Glue began to soften and melt, eventually turning into a bowl of viscous liquid that emitted a rich, fishy scent.
Jiang Bai followed the same process, melting all five pieces of thousand-year-old Whale Glue and collecting them into one full bowl.
He picked up the porcelain bowl, looked at the liquid rippling slightly inside, and took a deep breath.
This dose far exceeded the time he had consumed hundred-year-old Whale Glue at Spirit Hall Academy six years ago.
Although his physical constitution had greatly strengthened through years of Cultivate, consuming five pieces of thousand-year-old Whale Glue at once still carried significant risk.
But it was worth a try.
Jiang Bai closed his eyes, tilted his head back, and downed the Whale Glue liquid in the bowl in one gulp!
The viscous, warm, and intensely fishy liquid slid down his throat into his stomach.
"Boom!"
It was as if a ball of fire had exploded in his abdomen!
The violent heat, like a flood breaking through a dam, instantly swept through his entire body! It felt as if his blood vessels had been filled with boiling lava, and his skin turned crimson at a speed visible to the naked eye!
"Ugh——" Jiang Bai let out a muffled groan, and beads of sweat the size of beans instantly seeped from his forehead.
He gritted his teeth, quickly stripped off all his clothes, then stumbled to the bathtub and dove in!
"Splash!"
The cold water instantly enveloped his scorching body.
He closed his eyes and channeled his Soul Power with all his might, guiding that violent heat within him to circulate, spread, and permeate along his Meridians.
This was a painful and long process.
Time passed minute by minute.
One hour.
The water in the bathtub was changed three times; whenever the water temperature became too high, Jiang Bai would drain some of it and refill it with cold water.
When the second hour passed, the violent heat within his body finally began to subside gradually.
The intense pain transformed into a deep, bone-aching soreness and burning sensation, as if he had just undergone an extremely grueling workout. Every part of his body was groaning, but at the same time, he could clearly feel a sense of lightness and power as if he had been reborn.
Jiang Bai slowly opened his eyes.
He looked down at his body.
His skin was still flushed with a faint red, but those scars previously left by the Eternal Wound, which had already faded, seemed to have diminished even further.
His muscle definition was sharper; though not exaggerated, it was full of an understated explosive power.
He clenched his fist, and his knuckles popped with a crisp sound.
He could feel that his strength had increased significantly, his Meridians were broader and tougher, and the speed and efficiency of his Soul Power circulation had notably improved.
"Hoo——"
Jiang Bai exhaled a long breath of stale air.
He stood up from the bathtub, water sliding down his body.
After drying off and putting on clean clothes, he stretched his limbs, a satisfied expression appearing on his face.
The effect of the five pieces of thousand-year-old Whale Glue was even better than he had expected.
But this was not enough.
Jiang Bai walked to the table and took out the wooden box containing the ten-thousand-year-old Whale Glue.
He prepared the porcelain bowl again and looked at the Fire Dragon. "Boss, one more time. This time——the temperature needs to be higher, and it will take longer."
The Fire Dragon nodded and breathed out flames again.
The hardness of the ten-thousand-year-old Whale Glue far exceeded that of the thousand-year-old variety. Even with the Fire Dragon’s flames, it took a full stick of incense’s worth of time to barely melt it into a bowl of even more viscous liquid.
Jiang Bai picked up the porcelain bowl, watching the liquid rippling slightly within, his eyes firm.
He walked to the bathtub, which had been refilled with cold water, tilted his head back, and downed the entire bowl of ten-thousand-year-old Whale Glue liquid in one gulp!
"Gulp——"
The moment the liquid went down his throat, Jiang Bai knew he had underestimated the power of the ten-thousand-year-old Whale Glue.
Jiang Bai’s entire body instantly stiffened, his pupils contracting sharply!
He could clearly hear the muffled sounds coming from his bones as if they were being struck by heavy hammers, and he could see the terrifying process of his Meridians expanding, tearing, and rapidly healing under the scouring of the violent energy!
Jiang Bai could no longer remain calm; he lunged forward and slammed into the cold bathtub!
"Splash!"
Water splashed everywhere! The bathtub shook violently, as if it might fall apart at any moment!
Jiang Bai struggled crazily in the water, his hands gripping the edge of the tub so hard his knuckles turned white.
Time became incredibly long at this moment.
Jiang Bai’s consciousness flickered between clarity and haziness amidst the intense pain.
He felt as if he were rolling in a vat of boiling oil in Hell, or being forged in the furnace of Heaven. Extreme pain and extreme transformation intertwined and collided at this moment.
He did not know how long had passed.
When the water in the bathtub was changed for the eighth time, Jiang Bai finally slowly stopped struggling.
He lay limp in the bathtub, his head resting against the edge, panting heavily.
Every breath carried a scorching heat, condensing into white mist on the surface of the cold water.
Jiang Bai looked down at his hands.
His skin was still fair, but it faintly shimmered with a luster like jade.
He could clearly feel that his bones, the toughness of his Meridians, and the strength of his internal organs had all achieved a qualitative leap!