In Furen's villa, only one room had a lit candle.
Furen blew on a sealing wax envelope, touched the uneven wax marks, then suddenly looked up at the lit candle, muttering, "I'm going to cancel my visit to the 'Flame Axe' tavern meeting. Hmm, I'll go when I'm in Sequence 8—no, Sequence 7. If Sam, the owner of that tavern, also wants to take advantage of the Demon Sect's offer, then I'll be in danger."
"Now…" Furen could no longer contain himself. His face darkened, and at his usual pace, he opened the office door and rushed into the room where he kept his herbs and other supplies. Once the letter was finished and a moment of respite had passed, his body made it clear that his injuries were causing him terrible pain.
Previously, in his state of extreme tension, the pain of his injuries seemed to have been suppressed by adrenaline, but once Furen stopped worrying, he could no longer hold back.
In this world, herbs are just herbs. Thus, apart from those with extraordinary powers or materials kept in the cellar, the herbs needed to treat wounds were stored in a room of the villa, which allowed Furen to reduce his suffering.
However, Furen was astonished upon entering the herb room. There was no ointment prepared in advance, and only a simple candle.
Anyone passing by would be terrified at the sight of it: a pale face, marked by pain, flickered in the candlelight. Furen thought he could frighten people in a haunted house without needing a makeup artist.
The "ghost" of the herb room sighed, put down the candle, and hurried out. Furen quickly gathered four or five candles from the neighboring rooms, lit them all, and headed toward the library opposite the herb room, where several books were on display.
He picked a prescription at random, checked the dosage and the name of the medication, and with the same diligence as before, meticulously prepared a bandage, step by step. Fortunately, the bandage for sprains and bruises was the simplest, and Furen prepared one quickly.
Looking at the black paste, he had the impression that it wasn't very reliable. But thinking that he was an excellent product of twelve years of compulsory education, he mustered his courage and applied the ointment he had prepared himself.
"A hissing sound." Furen was surprised by the contact between the paste and the wound, but remembering the same sensation he had experienced when using Yunnan Baiyao (a traditional Chinese medicine) for his injuries, he was reassured.
Furen checked the time: it was already 10:30 PM! He had spent an hour and a half tending to his wound. Thinking there was nothing urgent, he glanced at the instructions for the bandage, felt relieved, and then fell into a deep sleep.
In the following days, Furen's life resumed its usual course: eating, reading, and sleeping. From time to time, he went out to see a circus, a magic show, a play, or even a recently released film, which allowed him to avoid monotony.
Furen sank heavily onto the plush sofa. Relieved, the pain was gone, and he sighed with relief. Furen loved lounging on the sofa, but unfortunately, the scrapes on his back had prevented him from indulging in his favorite pastime for several days.
In fact, the first time he injured himself, leaning against the back of the sofa, he felt a sharp pain and even experienced a slight psychological aftereffect for a short time. But the injury healed and he was able to resume his hobby.
Furen tightened his fingers, recalling what he had done over the past two weeks.
The first step, of course, was to write the letter. Quevedo naturally guessed what had happened to Furen. He therefore cooperated, temporarily forgetting that he had a friend in the Abraham family, which brought Furen a great deal of peace of mind.
Aside from the hunt led by the Demon Sect, the most important thing was assimilating the Sequence 9 potion. It was also the main reason why Furen had rediscovered his love for learning in this world. The result was exhilarating. Just the day before, Furen had felt a kind of explosion of stars within him, accompanied by an unprecedented sensation of total mastery over his "Apprentice" potion.
The enhancement conferred by the "Apprentice" potion primarily allowed Furen to travel freely even without the "Angel Gate," meaning that walls, doors, and anything else that might obstruct his path could no longer hold him back.
"Hahaha, let's see what can stop my rise!" thought Furen arrogantly.
It is not surprising that Furen observed that the "Gate of Angels," which he considered so powerful, was no longer in use. This piece of paper was, in reality, useless. For an Abraham who had fully assimilated the "Apprentice," this object was superfluous; at most, it was kept to help Abrahams remember the name of their ancestor.
When Furen mentioned the "Gate of Angels," his heart sank. Yes, the piece of paper bearing his ancestor's signature had vanished forever after a single journey.
"Wasn't it supposed to be indestructible? The things our ancestors left us aren't always reliable," Furen thought, scratching his head in frustration.
Although the paper was said to be indestructible, its author simply meant that it would not age or disappear over time, not that anyone should be stubborn enough to break it with a sword. After all, even if the Abrahams were certain that the paper possessed some form of divine power, they would not have forcibly destroyed an object devoid of extraordinary properties. Ultimately, it was a testament left by Abraham to remember his past glory.
Of course, if Furen's ancestors saw a descendant use a piece of paper that had belonged to their ancestor as a shield, thus saving his life, they would not know whether to be angry or happy.
"Probably happy, after all, she's a living person," thought Furen, nodding his head, certain.
As for why a simple piece of paper without any extraordinary power possessed such miraculous abilities, Furen wasn't entirely sure, but he had a guess.
The "Gabriel" inscribed on this piece of paper must be the holder of the extraordinary properties of the sealed artifact, now known as the "Staff of the Ancestors," later renamed the "Staff of the Stars" by Klein a true angel. Even if an angel's name is handwritten, the object will possess terrifying power; of course, this is only true while the angel is alive. It is understandable that a piece of paper bearing a handwritten name could possess divine power after the angel's death.
However, Furen still felt great regret.
(End of chapter)