Chapter 43: Detailed Explanation of Bloodlines

Su Ning didn’t reply to Luo Nanchuan’s message. She lay quietly on her bed, her mind in turmoil. One moment, she wondered how she could have killed someone; the next, she convinced herself she was right—they had brought it upon themselves. She didn’t know how long she lay like that, until in a drowsy haze, she eventually drifted into sleep.

Half asleep, half awake, Su Ning seemed to see Ma Shangting crying again and hear Ma Shangfei’s furious shouts. Their twisted faces, half real, half dreamlike, lunged at her repeatedly. Perhaps because it was a dream, Su Ning felt neither fear nor panic. She calmly watched them, speaking slowly and clearly: “You deserved to die, betrayers. May you meet a terrible end.”

By morning, the sky was dim. Waking from the vivid dream, Su Ning finally let go of the mental turmoil.

Outside the window, fine rain was falling. Su Ning stood on the terrace for a while, only to trigger the “Chilled” negative status.

Chilled: Mild cold; in non-combat situations, automatic mana regeneration drops to 5 points per minute.

Before Su Ning could react, Qiao Duoduo pushed open the terrace door, ready to come over. Su Ning quickly called out to stop her.

“There’s a negative status. Don’t stand in the rain,” she said, walking toward Duoduo.

Duoduo had been worried Su Ning was still upset, but seeing her acting normally now, she relaxed and asked, “What negative status?” while guiding Su Ning back inside.

Shaking the water off her hair, Su Ning explained, “Chilled. In non-combat situations, mana regeneration drops to 5 per minute.”

Duoduo quickly fetched a fresh towel to dry Su Ning’s hair. Hearing this, Huoyang came downstairs and said, “In that case, we probably can’t go fight monsters outside.”

Duoduo thought for a moment. “Not necessarily… what if you wear a raincoat?”

Su Ning liked the idea and agreed aloud. “Good idea. We should try standing on the terrace in a raincoat,” she said, pausing as if an additional thought struck her. “…Better stand for a while.”

“Then let Huoyang stand. You go take a shower first, see if it clears the Chilled status. If it worsens, it’ll be troublesome,” Duoduo said firmly, pushing her sturdy man forward as the perfect test subject.

Su Ning went home and took a hot bath. After half an hour, the Chilled status was gone. Negative statuses, she thought, were like a storm: they come fast and leave slowly. Although she had only stood two minutes on the terrace, the effect lasted much longer. Rainy days were clearly unsuitable for going out.

Meanwhile, Huoyang, standing on the terrace in a raincoat, also stood for half an hour, but still caught the Chilled status. Duoduo guided him inside, teasing, “Looks like even your warrior physique can’t resist a rainy-day buff!”

Huoyang smiled indulgently and ruffled her hair. “Since we can’t avoid it, we won’t go out today.”

Duoduo raised an eyebrow, half smiling. “Then tomorrow, when everyone levels up, it’s probably going to be chaotic.”

Huoyang grabbed a towel from the bathroom and peeked out. “Then we won’t go out tomorrow either.”

“Why not just say we never go out again?” Duoduo sighed. From the bathroom came Huoyang’s laughter: “That works too.”

Duoduo rolled her eyes, reassuring herself: she chose this man, no use getting upset. She sent Su Ning a message explaining they probably couldn’t go out today. Su Ning suggested Huoyang take a half-hour bath; that would likely clear the Chilled status.

In her own room, Su Ning, fresh from the shower, intended to dry her hair and then take another nap. She still felt a bit dizzy from the previous night. As she set down the hairdryer, she received a friend message from Luo Nanchuan.

Su Ning was grateful for his comfort the night before; she had lost control and acted rashly.

Luo Nanchuan: “Custom raincoat.”

Not seeing any mention of last night, Su Ning was relieved. How to explain that, she didn’t know. But a custom raincoat? Was it raining at Mr. Feiyang’s place too? She asked.

Su Ning: “Mr. Luo, is it raining there as well? But a raincoat won’t help much. Over time, you’ll still get chilled.”

Something stirred in Luo Nanchuan’s mind. It was raining there too. Could their locations be close?

Luo Nanchuan: “Yes, raining. Short sleeves—weather here will get hot soon. Preparing a few short-sleeves in advance.”

Su Ning: “Makes sense. It’s getting hot here too. I’ll order a few.”

Luo Nanchuan thought: perhaps they really weren’t far apart. Su Ning seemed nice; maybe if they met, he could get a discount.

Luo Nanchuan: “We should be close. Custom six pieces, two sizes, three each.”

Su Ning saw this and thought, “Wow… Mr. Feiyang might want to meet in person?” She decided to wait. Meeting him in person could be risky if he demanded a discount. Better to be cautious.

Su Ning: “Alright, deliver in five days.”

Seeing that Su Ning didn’t bring up the distance again, Luo Nanchuan realized she probably didn’t want to meet.

Though Luo Nanchuan wasn’t from a wealthy family, he was comfortably well-off. In his youth, he had been a pampered heir, unaware of worldly hardships. But now, he found himself scheming to befriend the shop owner in hopes of a discount—something he never imagined he would do.

Even so, he understood that if he were the shop owner, he wouldn’t want to meet customers either. Not knowing when Su Ning could get a discount, he realized fighting monsters alongside Yanhan might essentially be working for her.

Still, knowing the shop owner wasn’t far was reassuring; maybe they would meet someday.

Seeing no more messages from Luo Nanchuan, Su Ning closed the chat and opened her backpack to finish making Mr. Feiyang’s clothes. Unexpectedly, she found a purple card and pulled it out:

Purple Item – Detailed Bloodline Explanation

Description: Do you want to know the secrets of bloodlines? Do you want to know which bloodline suits you best? Do you want to learn how to enhance your bloodline? If you want all this, open this book. It will introduce everything about bloodlines in detail.

Su Ning held the book, turning it over and over in her hands, her heart in turmoil.

A purple-grade item—truly worth killing and plundering for. Ma Shangting had not lied; she knew the secrets of bloodlines. If it had fallen into Mudan’s hands, there was a high chance she and her brother would have been silenced. Rather than pray for Mudan’s mercy, deceiving herself was far easier.

No wonder she hadn’t dared hand it over—such a supreme item, no one could guarantee they wouldn’t be blinded by it and lose their mind.