Zombie Bodyguard

Chapter 1877 - 1874: Fire Control

Ning Jianxun’s temper is fiery, always eager for a fight when meeting someone, so having this big hunting dog suits his style. However, Lin Tian needed only a slight show of force to make this dog submit. Just think, even the Black Water King Snake is wary of him, so what’s a dog by comparison.

"Ahem, maybe it’s because I’m handsome," Lin Tian said with a straight face.

"Pfft..." The two women couldn’t help but laugh. This guy really has a thick skin.

However, Ning Luoxi quickly returned to her usual calm demeanor. Even so, Ning Jianxun was amazed, as he hadn’t seen any man who could make his "violent" cousin laugh since he was a child.

Ning Luoxi waved her hand and said generously, "Today’s training is over. You can rest now."

To Ning Wenbin, these words sounded like a heavenly voice. He bared his teeth at the hunting dog lying on the ground; this dog had run him ragged.

But Lin Tian knew that Ning Wenbin was training so hard not just because of the dog chasing him. It was for Wu Xiuluo. He once thought that if a man had knowledge and talent, he could be worthy of the woman he loved and bring her happiness.

But now he realized how weak he was. At critical moments, not only could he not protect the woman he liked, but she had to protect him instead. He wants to become stronger; that’s his motivation for training.

Yet Lin Tian was well aware that with Wu Xiuluo being one of the Ksitigarbha Six Envoys, it was destined to be impossible for her and Ning Wenbin to be together.

"Lin Tian, what do you want with me?" Ning Luoxi dismissed the hunting dog and then turned to ask Lin Tian.

Lin Tian took off the backpack from his back and handed it to Ning Luoxi. She was puzzled and opened it to find several boxes inside.

"Blue Snake Grass!" Ning Luoxi immediately recognized the box and knew what was inside, her face full of surprise, "Did you go to the Underground Ice Cave?"

"Yeah, last time Wenbin mentioned that you ran out of Blue Snake Grass, so I made a trip. Although Wu Xiuluo helped stabilize the energy with her incantation, it’s still more secure to use the Blue Snake Grass alongside it," Lin Tian said casually, as if it was no big deal.

Ning Luoxi rarely showed a gentle expression, and her face blushed slightly, which made Ning Wenbin, her cousin, gape in astonishment. His "violent" cousin could blush? Could be gentle? The sun must be rising from the west.

"Thank you," Ning Luoxi said very solemnly.

Lin Tian waved his hand dismissively, "No big deal. That Blue Snake won’t harm me anymore, so getting the Blue Snake Grass is no trouble for me."

"Why?" Ning Luoxi looked slightly puzzled. The Blue Snake Grass is the Blue Snake’s food, and picking it usually means risking your life, as last time’s frenzied chase showed.

Lin Tian recounted the Blue Snake laying eggs, leaving everyone stunned with their mouths wide open.

"Lin Tian, you actually helped the Blue Snake give birth? That’s amazing," Xiao Manxuan said, her big eyes wide with surprise and admiration.

"Lin Tian, I get it now. No wonder the big hunting dog ingratiates itself to you. Even the Blue Snake submitted to you, much less a hunting dog," Ning Wenbin said, giving a thumbs up repeatedly.

Although Ning Luoxi didn’t say anything, her gaze at Lin Tian sparkled with interest.

"Ahem, I’m a pharmacist, not a midwife. Ah, never mind, think what you will. This Blue Snake Grass can’t be stored for too long. Let’s find a place to refine it into an elixir first," Lin Tian initially wanted to explain, but realizing explanations only lead to further questions, he decided to drop it.

"Come with me. The last time’s alchemy furnace is still in the indoor training room," Ning Luoxi said as she led Lin Tian and the others away from the Martial Arts Arena to a room.

Above the door was a character for "Martial," and Lin Tian turned to the others, "Wait for me outside. I can handle this myself."

"I don’t have any fuel left, should I..." Ning Luoxi began to say, suggesting they go find some.

Lin Tian waved his hand, "No need, I have my ways." He ignored their curious expressions, opened the door, and went inside, closing it behind him, leaving the others looking at each other in confusion.

Ning Wenbin scratched his head in puzzlement, "I don’t get it. Last time Brother Lin used to burn fuel; I think it was called carbon crystal. Why not now?"

The cousins looked at Xiao Manxuan, who interacted with Lin Tian the most. Even she was baffled, "I don’t know either. I’ve never seen him practice alchemy at school."

At this point, Lin Tian was already standing in front of the alchemy furnace, unaware of their confusion and not planning to use carbon crystals for ignition. With his palm facing up, a purple flame ignited spontaneously. He planned to use purple flames for alchemy.

Initially, he thought that purple flame’s destructive power was too strong, unsuitable for alchemy. But he later realized it was his poor control, unable to regulate the fire’s potency precisely.

For a while, Lin Tian practiced with purple flames in his mind, finding they were much more effective than carbon crystals because external flames require physical control, whereas purple flames respond to mental focus.

Earlier in the Ice Cave, Lin Tian attempted alchemy with purple flames and found the results satisfactory.

With his left hand over the furnace’s fire mouth, the purple flames flowed gently into the furnace like obedient sprites, casting a purple glow inside.

Although this alchemy furnace was decent, it couldn’t withstand the power of purple flames. Lin Tian had to be careful not to let them destroy the furnace. Losing control of purple flames wasn’t merely an explosion risk but could mean total annihilation.

Once the furnace’s temperature rose, Lin Tian threw in the Blue Snake Grass, carefully controlling the heat. These steps, rehearsed thousands of times in his mind, meant that even though it was only his second time using purple flames for alchemy, he was quite proficient.

Dealing with just a single herb was no challenge for Lin Tian. With enough materials, he felt confident he could reach the level of a mid-level pharmacist. Of course, that was a pipe dream since the ingredients for even basic elixirs were so rare, not to mention those for mid-level ones.

Over an hour later, Lin Tian finished the alchemy process, with bottles lined up as his result—twenty in total, enough to last Ning Luoxi a while.

Lin Tian opened the door and let the three in. Upon seeing the pale blue elixir on the table, they were astonished, while Ning Wenbin searched for something.

"What are you looking for? The elixirs are all here," Lin Tian asked curiously.

"I’m looking for fuel. Without any, what’d you use? An induction stove? A gas burner?" Ning Wenbin asked comically, making Lin Tian’s face darken.

"I used solar power—clean and eco-friendly," Lin Tian sighed.

"Lin Tian, don’t listen to him," Ning Luoxi said, giving her cousin a sharp look, then spoke earnestly, "Thank you again for helping me. I know you don’t need money, but I don’t know how else to thank you."

"Marry him, then," Ning Wenbin mumbled quietly.

Ning Luoxi glared at him again, but unusually didn’t get angry, instead blushing slightly.