Chapter 207: The Power of the Abnormal Fire

Chapter 207: Chapter 207: The Power of the Abnormal Fire

"Uncle, how can you not even understand an analogy?" Gu Nuan Nuan pretended to be annoyed. "I’m done talking to you. I’m going to keep looking. Who knows, there might be other good things hidden here." Committing to the act, she started searching again. This time, even Zhang Wei Qiang joined in.

They searched the entire inner cave and didn’t even spare the outer one. Although they found nothing more, neither of them was disappointed. They stayed in the outer cave, where Gu Nuan Nuan, with Cao Cao’s help, used her spiritual power to release a tiny wisp of Abnormal Fire, lightly touching the clothes on the body...

From the outer cave, both of them could see a fleeting flash of fire from within. Strangely, however, there was no smoke, no heat, and none of the scorching smell that comes from an ordinary fire.

"Master, it’s done." Less than a minute later, Cao Cao’s voice rang out in Gu Nuan Nuan’s mind.

Gu Nuan Nuan was taken aback. ’It’s done already?’ But she trusted Cao Cao just as her uncle and grandfather now trusted her, so she didn’t doubt its words for a second. Still, to avoid arousing her uncle’s suspicion, she waited patiently with him for a minute or two before speaking. "Uncle, it seems like things have quieted down. Why don’t we peek in from the entrance and see what’s going on?"

"Alright. A quick peek should be fine. I doubt that Abnormal Fire is as amazing as they say. It probably didn’t even light..." Zhang Wei Qiang’s words caught in his throat as he looked into the inner cave. The white jade bed had been completely obliterated, leaving only a layer of fine dust on the ground. His mouth hung open, and he stood frozen in place, his eyes wide with disbelief.

Gu Nuan Nuan was just as shocked. ’Seeing it for yourself is a thousand times more powerful than just hearing about it.’ As she stood there, stunned, Cao Cao suddenly shouted in her mind, "Master, quick! Grab your uncle! Don’t let him go over there!"

Without a second thought, Gu Nuan Nuan instinctively grabbed her uncle, who was just about to walk into the cave. At the same time, Cao Cao’s voice came again, "Master, even though the Abnormal Fire is extinguished, the residual heat remains. You can’t feel it, but its power is still more than an ordinary person’s body can withstand."

Just as Cao Cao finished speaking, Zhang Wei Qiang noticed Gu Nuan Nuan holding him back and stopped. He asked, confused, "Why are you holding me back? This is just too bizarre. I’m going to go take a closer look and see what happened."

"Uncle, you can’t go over there! If you don’t believe me, just toss a rock and you’ll see." Fearing her uncle wouldn’t be convinced, Gu Nuan Nuan quickly took a rock out of a storage bag and handed it to him. Zhang Wei Qiang took the rock, looked at Nuannuan, then at the pile of dust. He hesitated for a moment before accurately tossing the rock onto the dust pile. Instantly, the rock turned into a slightly grainy mush, just like fruit in a blender.

"Thank god..."

Zhang Wei Qiang broke out in a cold sweat. He looked at Gu Nuan Nuan with relief. "Was this also mentioned in that Jade Scroll?"

"Yeah. This kind of high temperature will take at least a full day and night to cool down. Uncle, should we fill it in with rocks now, or come back and do it on our way out?" Gu Nuan Nuan asked. "It’s just the residual heat of the Abnormal Fire now. I don’t think all our rocks will turn to mush if we pile them on, right?"

"No rush. Let’s wait until we’re on our way back, after the residual heat has completely dissipated. Besides, this place could stay empty for a year and it’s unlikely anyone would stumble in, so we don’t have to worry about anyone getting accidentally hurt," Zhang Wei Qiang decided after a moment’s thought. "We should hurry and get back up. Your grandpa must be getting anxious from waiting."

"Okay, let’s go up right now." At the reminder, Gu Nuan Nuan pictured her grandpa worrying himself sick, and she couldn’t stay calm any longer.

This time, Gu Nuan Nuan didn’t have to climb herself. Zhang Wei Qiang tied her securely to his back and carried her up. They quickly reached the surface, where Zhang Dazhuang was, as expected, as anxious as could be. After Zhang Wei Qiang confirmed there was no one around, and Gu Nuan Nuan had Cao Cao double-check, the two of them recounted what had happened below to Zhang Dazhuang and then demonstrated how to use the storage bags.

Zhang Dazhuang’s eyes went wide. Once he learned how to use them, he couldn’t wait to grab the storage bags and examine each one carefully. He spent a long time taking things out and putting them back in before finally bursting into excited laughter. He patted Gu Nuan Nuan’s little head. "We call you our lucky star, and you truly live up to the name."

"Dad, there are three bags, one for each of us. I was thinking, finding them was all thanks to Nuannuan, so how about we give her the biggest one?" Zhang Wei Qiang asked for Zhang Dazhuang’s opinion. Zhang Dazhuang didn’t object, nodding repeatedly in agreement. "That’s only right."

"I don’t want the biggest one. A small one is fine for me. The big ones would be more useful in your hands, Uncle and Grandpa. You could fit so many more fish in them at once." Gu Nuan Nuan immediately refused. Then she added with a grin, "Are you two afraid you’ll get into a fight over how to split the loot, so you’re just giving the biggest one to me to solve the problem?"

"Nonsense," Zhang Wei Qiang laughed, playfully patting her on the head. "You just don’t know how to appreciate a kind gesture. You’d better think it through. Once we all bind them with blood, it’ll be too late for regrets." Zhang Dazhuang nodded and chuckled. "That’s right. Don’t come crying to us later, kicking yourself over it."

"I won’t! I don’t have that much stuff to carry anyway. But I’m calling dibs—I get to pick whatever I want from what was inside the storage bags." ’As if I’d regret it,’ Gu Nuan Nuan thought. ’I have a much better storage ring.’

"Hah... you don’t recognize a good thing when you see it. You’re passing up the real prize for a bunch of stuff you can’t even use." Zhang Wei Qiang was speechless.

Zhang Dazhuang was also rather helpless, smiling dotingly at her. "Think about it again. Even if you take the biggest bag, you can still have whatever you like from inside. It can all be yours."

"No need to think. My mind’s made up." Gu Nuan Nuan took one of the small storage bags and put everything from the three bags—except for the rocks—into it. She gave it a little shake and grinned. "I’ll study the Jade Scroll and figure out how to use these things. Who knows, there might be something useful for us in here."

Her words made both Zhang Dazhuang and Zhang Wei Qiang laugh. Seeing her insistence, they could only shake their heads, feeling rather helpless.

Earlier, after Zhang Wei Qiang and Gu Nuan Nuan had come up, Zhang Dazhuang had also tried to use the Jade Scrolls, only to find that, like Zhang Wei Qiang, he couldn’t see their contents at all. Afterward, he and Zhang Wei Qiang had tried fiddling with the Magic Treasures from inside, but they discovered that the miniature items were nothing more than "toys" in their hands—things to be looked at, but not used.