Chapter 17: Wind Runner
Chapter 17: Wind Runner
In the darkest hour before dawn, a slender figure moved gracefully among the trees in the woods of Minsheng Park.
After more than an hour of experimentation, Lan Mu had mostly grasped the wonderful uses of the Natural Force within his body.
First was giving back to nature. Ordinary plants possessed a similar power, but it was fundamentally different from his. He tentatively called it Life Force, the vital energy all living beings had.
After being transformed by the Natural Force inside him, it offered significant benefits to plants. He had even tested it on a small, nearly withered grass blade. By merely absorbing and then returning that tiny bit of Life Force within the grass, the blade immediately became vibrant and lively.
Lan Mu even experimented on animals. However, unlike plants, the insects he caught had intense resistance when he tried to draw their Life Force. Yet the effect was the same; after returning the force, they also became lively and energetic.
In the forest, only the plants held an instinctive reverence for his Elven form. He could communicate with them naturally.
The Natural Force within the Elf wrapped around his body at will, allowing him to avoid all dust and dirt. With his natural inclination for cleanliness, as long as he used hands enveloped in the energy to do things, he would never get dirty.
Additionally, the Natural Force had a light-body function, enabling him to move through the forest as if walking on flat ground, like a White-maned Lion. At his top speed, he could cover a hundred meters in about eight seconds.
When consuming Natural Force to sprint, it felt like transforming into a Wind Runner, with nature itself helping him speed along.
As for the adhesive force that defied gravity, it was only effective on plants for now. On ordinary soil, rocks, and man-made bricks, the miraculous adhesive function of the Natural Force failed.
Then there was moonlight. A hand enveloped in Natural Force could touch moonlight. Or rather, he was touching the magical energy within the moonlight. This energy, combined with the Natural Force, might create a chemical reaction, possessing a purifying function.
The simplest was purifying the air, though the Natural Force itself could do that too. However, the purifying power of moonlight energy was somewhat magical. With enough of it, it could purify the dirty into the clean, the filthy into the pure. It had a strong effect on killing bacteria and viruses.
Beyond that, highly compressing moonlight with Natural Force would form a type of crystal, a polyhedron similar to crystal.
As for what use this crystal had, Lan Mu did not know yet.
Finally, Lan Mu tested his throwing ability.
Under normal circumstances, his throwing talent was extremely strong, not just because of his greatly enhanced senses, but as if he had an innate, precise talent.
Actually, the best testing method would be archery, but unfortunately, he didn’t have a bow. He had to use stones for throwing. His accuracy could be said to be one hundred percent. As long as his strength was sufficient, within range, there was absolutely no chance of deviation.
Unless the target could dodge. He had tried hitting a flying beetle with a stone. The beetle dodged the stone, but Lan Mu used the Natural Force to stir up a gust of wind, changing the stone’s direction!
This was remotely invoking the Natural Force after the stone had left his hand. But if he infused the stone with Natural Force from the start, then the stone was almost under Lan Mu’s control. It would shoot out much faster and hit exactly where he aimed.
In the end, he could even detonate the Natural Force, causing the stone to explode and scatter.
However, in his initial tests, Lan Mu felt this wasn’t very powerful. It might be better to use Natural Force to enhance his own throwing speed for rapid-fire shots.
“The specifics can only be tested with a real bow and arrow.”
“But even if a few abilities are useless, it feels much more useful than the White-maned Lion. What can the White-maned Lion do besides hunt? Its invisibility is just pretty strong.”
“But the Elf is different. First of all, the appearance is my own, though it’s a bit feminine… But with sunglasses and a hat, I can completely walk around in society without being seen as a monster.”
“From this perspective, transforming into an Elf is simply fantastic!”
Lan Mu was overjoyed. He then noticed the sky was almost light.
Thinking that there would soon be many pedestrians on the road, and his current appearance without disguise—with pointed, long ears—was still quite conspicuous.
So, while there were still few people around, he hurriedly accelerated at full speed and ran home.
His swift figure darted through streets and alleys. Turning into an alley, he sped past a sanitation worker, startling the person so much they almost fell.
“What was that?”
The person turned back, watching Lan Mu’s disappearing figure, and sighed, “A national athlete? That speed could break a world record, right?”
The passerby didn’t think much more about it. Lan Mu rushed to the foot of his apartment building at a speed under eight seconds per hundred meters. He didn’t dare jump up and enter through the window, afraid someone might see him.
After all, this was his own home. If someone saw, it would be troublesome.
He honestly took the stairs, reached his door, and used his key to enter.
The sound of him entering woke Su Yue. She listened carefully; Lan Mu was still in the living room.
She thought, did Brother Mu go out at some point?
With Su Yue’s personality, she wouldn’t ask Lan Mu. Feeling well-rested, she walked out of the bedroom, wanting to prepare breakfast for Lan Mu.
Seeing Su Yue, Lan Mu was startled, then relaxed because he remembered Su Yue couldn’t see his current appearance.
“Su Yue, up so early? Did I wake you?”
Su Yue smiled and said, “I rested very well. Brother Mu, what would you like to eat?”
Lan Mu habitually replied, “Soup dumplings.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Su Yue froze. Seeing this, Lan Mu quickly said, “I’m not asking you to make them. Let’s go eat downstairs. The soup dumpling shop downstairs will probably open in about half an hour.”
“Oh…” Su Yue responded softly. She really didn’t know how to make dumplings, let alone soup dumplings.
Lan Mu laughed, “Don’t overthink it. I’m just used to the dumplings downstairs. You can try them later too.”
“Okay. You go freshen up first. I bought new things yesterday; they’re in the bathroom.”
Su Yue nodded and slowly walked into the bathroom.
As for Lan Mu, he found an old winter beanie from a box, the kind knitted from wool that could cover his whole head when worn, effectively hiding his pointed ears.
But he was very uncomfortable with the feeling of his ears being covered—it was itchy and unpleasant.
However, this discomfort was nothing compared to being stuck at home unable to go out.
He also prepared sunglasses, the cool kind that were great for showing off. There was a time he liked wearing sunglasses every day, so he bought a trendy style.
In about ten minutes, Su Yue was ready.
For a girl her age, taking only ten minutes to get ready was astonishingly fast—usually only something a tomboy might manage.
Yet Su Yue didn’t feel like a tomboy at all. On the contrary, she seemed delicate and fresh. She just washed up normally and combed her hair, yet she appeared cleaner and more refreshing than any other girl Lan Mu had seen.
She never wore makeup. Her hair was simply tied up. Combined with her closed eyes, she exuded a natural, serene aura.
At this moment, even the picky Elf that Lan Mu was approved of Su Yue, admitting he really liked this feeling.
After Su Yue came out, it was Lan Mu’s turn. In contrast to Su Yue, he spent a full half hour in the bathroom before emerging.
There wasn’t much change; the Elf itself was already super clean.
He mainly spent too much time fussing with his hair. The mess he had made by cutting it himself looked terrible no matter how he saw it. So he trimmed it again, finally getting rid of that awkward feeling in his heart.
Walking out of the bathroom and seeing Su Yue sitting quietly on a chair waiting, Lan Mu felt a wave of comfort.
“Su Yue, let’s go. I’ll take you for soup dumplings.”
Lan Mu put on his hat, covering his ears properly, and donned the sunglasses, hiding his light green eyes.
The two stepped out. Lan Mu carefully held Su Yue’s crutch, wanting to guide her, especially since they had to go down the stairs.
Su Yue paused, then smiled and said, “Brother Mu, I’ve memorized the way out. I can go downstairs myself.”
“Alright, alright…”
Lan Mu let go of the crutch and let her walk on her own. Indeed, just as she said.
Though Su Yue walked slowly, each step was steady. If there was anything wrong ahead, she could quickly judge it through the tactile feedback of her crutch. She didn’t even need to hold the wall as she descended from upstairs.
Having spent a day together, Lan Mu had witnessed Su Yue’s amazing spatial sense many times and was reassured. Su Yue was much more independent than he had imagined.
Walking downstairs, not far away, Lan Mu took her to Lao Xinglong Soup Dumplings. It was not even six o’clock yet, so there were few people in the shop. Lan Mu led Su Yue to an empty table and they sat down.
Su Yue sat down generously, but Lan Mu hesitated for a moment. Finally unable to resist, he wiped the stool with a paper napkin before sitting.
This small action was noticed by customers at the next table. Lan Mu spoke up, “Five soup dumplings, two glasses of fresh milk.”
As soon as he finished, he heard the customers at the next table whispering.
“Wow, definitely a beauty!”
“Obviously, I saw too. Her skin is so soft and tender.”
“This aura is incredible!”
“Yeah, I really like this kind of aura.”
There was no helping it; Lan Mu’s hearing was too good. These murmurs automatically entered his ears; it was hard not to hear them.
To be honest, while Su Yue wasn’t drop-dead gorgeous, her skin was pale, and she could certainly be called pretty. Especially with her pure and tranquil aura, Lan Mu himself liked it very much.
He had thought Su Yue might attract some attention, but he didn’t expect that just going out for breakfast would lead to people talking behind their backs. It really soured his mood.
But he couldn’t control what others said. Su Yue was pretty; could he stop people from looking?
Moreover, Su Yue’s hearing was also far beyond ordinary. She must have heard the people next to them talking too, yet she remained calm-faced and showed no reaction. She probably didn’t mind these comments.
But whether Su Yue minded or not, Lan Mu was here. Hearing that group go on and on, with their words eventually including some unpleasant terms, Lan Mu felt very annoyed and disgusted.
“Hey, do I not exist to you? Can you stop? Do you really think others can’t hear you?”
When Lan Mu heard some even more vulgar and lewd remarks, he finally couldn’t hold back and said angrily.
One person not only showed no embarrassment but stretched his neck closer and said, “Beauty, can’t we look if you’re so pretty?”
“Exactly, dressed so covered up—aren’t you hot?”
“The aura is so good. I really like this androgynous feel. The voice is nice too, like Zhou Xun.”
Hearing these words, Lan Mu felt as if struck by lightning!
“Me? A beauty?”
He stiffly turned his head, wide-eyed, glaring at the group.
Unfortunately, he was wearing glasses, so they couldn’t see his almost murderous glare.
They continued laughing and joking, “Of course you’re a beauty! Don’t think wearing men’s clothes can hide it. Even though you’re flat-chested, it’s obvious at a glance!”
“Yeah, skin that good. Even though the sunglasses hide your face, just looking at that smooth chin gives it away.”
“Right, why pretend? You even wiped the stool with paper just now. Still say you’re not a woman?”
Lan Mu was being hit on. Hearing these words, he felt fury surge to the top of his head.
He felt like killing someone!
“Screw you! You’re the beauty! Your whole family are beauties!”
“I’m a man! A real man!”
“Are you blind? Can’t you see my Adam’s apple?”
The group froze. Looking closely, though not very obvious, Lan Mu’s neck indeed had an Adam’s apple.
“Uh…”
“This…”
The group was dumbfounded, utterly embarrassed.
“Sorry! Dude, you’re just… haha…”
A few of them apologized and quickly shut up, continuing their breakfast.
But undoubtedly, their eyes were still full of laughter and mockery.
Lan Mu trembled with anger but couldn’t say anything more. He could only blame his bad luck.
His Elven self was just too good-looking.