Chapter 599: Awakening

When Jiang Feng's awareness awakened, he felt only intense pain all over.

He wanted to open his eyes, but his eyelids felt as heavy as if filled with lead.

After struggling for a while, he barely managed to open a slit.

The light was soft; Jiang Feng lay there, and after a long while, his awareness slowly returned to his brain.

But his memory was like being cut cleanly by a knife.

He only remembered some fragments.

He remembered being schemed against, remembered being locked in a very cold, dark place...

That kind of pain, when he recalls it now, still makes his whole body chill, as if something forcibly pulled his soul out of his body, tearing it into fragments.

But what happened in the back, he completely doesn't remember.

How did he get out of that place?

Who saved him?

Where is this?

He knows nothing.

Jiang Feng strained to lift his heavy head and looked around.

He lay on a pile of grass.

That grass looked ordinary, spread on the ground, a thick layer.

But lying on it was unexpectedly comfortable, and more strangely, although his body was in extreme pain...

But at this moment his Divine Soul felt an indescribable comfort.

Although the process was slow, it was indeed improving.

Jiang Feng looked around.

This is a grass hut.

It's very small, very crude.

In the grass hut there was nothing except a low table made of tree stumps and a few woven grass mats, besides the pile of grass he lay on.

Although it looked rundown, there was an indescribable tranquility.

Jiang Feng frowned.

He couldn't remember why he was here.

He couldn't even remember how he had left that place.

He only remembered that cluster of black light, that eerie rune, that terrifying aura that made people's souls tremble.

Then it was just a blank.

How did he manage to stay alive?

Who saved him?

Jiang Feng's head started hurting again, as if someone were hitting his skull with a hammer.

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and forced himself not to think anymore.

Just then, he heard a sound.

"Squeak squeak"

It was very fine, very light, like something calling.

Jiang Feng opened his eyes and looked in the direction of the sound.

Then he froze.

Beside his grass mat, a small beast was crouching.

It was very small, about the size of a cat.

But its face.

Its face was a human face.

Its features were delicate, its brows and eyes clear, yet it exuded an indescribable childishness and cuteness.

Its eyes were large and round, its pupils golden, like two ambers, staring big-eyed at Jiang Feng.

Behind it, a short little tail swayed back and forth.

Just one.

Wrong.

Jiang Feng narrowed his eyes and looked closely.

They were actually several strands tangled together, as if something had tied a knot, twisted messily into a braid.

Jiang Feng stared at that human face, feeling he had seen it somewhere before.

A very familiar feeling welled up from his heart, but he couldn't recall it; the memory in his brain was like paste, sticky and impossible to sort out.

The little beast wasn't shy, just crouched there, staring with its big golden eyes, unblinking at Jiang Feng.

Its mouth slightly opened, making a squeak squeak sound...

Jiang Feng looked at it, and it looked at Jiang Feng.

Man and beast just stared at each other for a while.

Then the little beast moved.

It tottered on its short little legs, pat-pat to the side of Jiang Feng's face, drew near, and sniffed with its nose.

Its nose was wet and icy cold, and brushing against Jiang Feng's face made it a little itchy.

Jiang Feng did not move.

It wasn't that he didn't want to move; he couldn't move.

His body now felt as if it had fallen apart, and he didn't even have the strength to lift his hand.

The little beast sniffed for a moment, seemed to confirm something, then stuck out its tongue and licked Jiang Feng's face once.

That little tongue was soft and warm, and licking his face felt very comfortable.

Just then, footsteps came from outside the thatched hut.

Jiang Feng instinctively turned his head toward the doorway.

The footsteps grew closer, and a figure appeared at the doorway of the thatched hut.

It was a man.

He wore a gray robe; the fabric looked ordinary, even a bit worn, yet on him it bore an indescribable bearing.

His hair was long, loosely tied back with a wooden pin, a few strands falling over his shoulders.

His face looked young, about thirty, with delicate features.

He held a pottery jar in his hand, steam rising from its mouth, carrying a medicinal aroma from inside.

Seeing Jiang Feng awake, he wasn't surprised, merely giving a slight nod.

Then his gaze fell on the little beast.

The little beast lay beside Jiang Feng's face, licking it repeatedly with its tongue.

Focused intently, it completely failed to notice the person at the doorway.

The man's brow furrowed slightly.

"Lu Wu."

He spoke.

The little beast's ears shot up, its body stiffened, and its tongue halted midair.

It slowly turned its head, saw the man at the doorway, and its large golden eyes instantly grew a little guilty.

The man said nothing, just quietly watched it.

The little beast squeaked and hurriedly jumped away from Jiang Feng's face.

On its short legs it pattered to the corner, crouched there, and covered its face with its tiny paws.

Jiang Feng watched this scene, and his head rang with a boom.

Lu Wu?

That wasn't the one before...

He suddenly recalled something.

That colossal creature.

That had a human face, a tiger's body, nine tails, and was covered in thunder.

The thing that had stepped out from deep underground.

Was it that?

Was it this palm-sized, furry little thing, curled up in the corner covering its face?

Jiang Feng opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but couldn't utter a word.

The man didn't even glance at Lu Wu in the corner, walked straight to Jiang Feng, knelt, and placed the pottery jar on the ground.

He glanced at Jiang Feng's complexion, felt his forehead, then lifted his eyelids.

His movements were practiced, as if he had done this countless times.

After checking, he nodded.

"Your divine soul is badly injured, but it's nothing serious. Rest here for a few days and you'll be fine."

His voice was calm, as if he were stating something quite ordinary.

Jiang Feng stared at his face for a long time.

He had seen that face before.

But not on this person's face; he had seen it elsewhere.

His memory became muddled again, as if a fog blocked his mind, making it impossible to see clearly.

The man seemed to notice his doubt and gave a faint smile.

"Don't think about it; your divine soul is severely damaged, and forcing recollection won't help you."

He picked up the pottery jar, poured out a bowl of dark medicinal broth, and brought it to Jiang Feng's lips.

"Drink."

Jiang Feng looked at the bowl of medicine, hesitated, then opened his mouth.

The medicinal broth was bitter, so bitter his tongue went numb.

But the temperature was just right, sliding down his throat smoothly, leaving his stomach warm.

He finished one bowl, and the man poured another.

After drinking three bowls, the man finally set the pottery jar aside.

"All right, keep sleeping. We'll talk when you wake up."

Jiang Feng opened his mouth to ask something, but before he could speak, a wave of drowsiness welled up.

His eyelids grew heavier, his vision blurrier, and the man's figure in his field of view gradually became indistinct.

In his daze he saw the little beast from the corner patter over, crouch beside the straw mat, and stare at him with its golden eyes.

Then his consciousness sank again, and he knew nothing more…