Tavern of the Spear: Desire for Pleasure

Chapter 116 Untitled (Bonus chapter for the star who sleeps during the day)

In another room, Bai Ze left Abu's mental world. Abu's mind was in chaos; Bai Ze's warning still echoed in his ears, but he also knew that Kemenridge's power was a huge temptation for him. He needed to become stronger; it had always been his dream.

Just then, Kemenridge's voice rang out again: "Abu, you were spacing out again. Why is that?"

Abu tried to appear calm, saying, "I'm just thinking about what I should do. The power you're offering sounds tempting, but I also know there might be danger lurking behind it."

“Oh? I’m a little surprised you didn’t agree immediately.” Kemenridge’s voice carried a hint of admiration. “However, I appreciate your caution. It shows you’re not an impulsive person. But you should also know that opportunity always favors the bold.”

Abu was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "You said before that you would give me a task to get close to Cheng Yu. I refused, and you didn't seem angry."

“Of course I’m not angry.” Kemenridge’s voice carried a hint of amusement. “I appreciate your independent thinking. However, I still hope you can complete this task. This is a good start for you.”

Abu shook his head and said, "I don't want to be someone else's pawn. I have my own ideas." "Heh, very good, but you'd better think it through, Abu." Kemenridge's voice carried a hint of approval mixed with sarcasm. "You are indeed different. In that case, I will give you power, but you must complete my task first. This is an exchange, and also a test for you."

Abu hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded. He knew he had no way out and could only temporarily accept Kemenridge's terms.

Abu entered his bedroom, opened the door, and saw Cheng Yu sitting on the bed, seemingly deep in thought. Bai Yu and Xing Luo were also in the room, and all three looked at him with some surprise.

"Abu, what brings you here?" Xingluo spoke first, her tone tinged with curiosity.

Abu took a deep breath and said, "I...I want to tell you something."

"What is it?" Cheng Yu looked up, a hint of wariness in his eyes.

Abu hesitated for a moment, then said, "I... I also want to become as good as you guys. Can you teach me?"

Cheng Yu and Bai Yu exchanged a glance, while Xing Luo showed a surprised expression. Abu's words had taken them all by surprise.

"You want to become like us?" Cheng Yu raised an eyebrow, his tone slightly teasing. "Then you'd better be prepared, it's not an easy thing."

Abu nodded, his eyes resolute: "I know it won't be easy, but I really want to try. I don't want to be bullied and feel powerless like before."

Xingluo looked at Abu, a hint of admiration flashing in her eyes: "Abu, you're really amazing. I believe they will definitely help you, but you have to tell us first why you suddenly had this idea."

"I've already explained. I don't want to be bullied anymore, and I want to become strong!"

Xingluo turned to look at her two good friends, her eyes clearly conveying the message that Abu had lied.

In fact, everyone present knew very well that Abu was really not good at lying. However, since Cheng Yu and the others had stayed at someone else's house, they were bound to give something in return, so they didn't care whether Abu was lying or not.

"What do you want to learn, Abu?" Cheng Yu asked, his tone tinged with curiosity.

“I…I want to learn combat skills, and magic,” Abu replied, his voice not loud, but full of determination.

Bai Yu and Cheng Yu pondered for a moment. They knew that Abu's physical condition was not very good, and if he wanted to learn combat skills and magic, he would probably have to put in more effort than the average person.

“Abu, learning combat skills and magic is not an easy thing. You need to be prepared to suffer,” Xingluo reminded him intentionally.

“I’m not afraid of hardship!” Abu answered without hesitation, his eyes filled with determination.

Seeing Abu's resolute attitude, Bai Yu and Cheng Yu didn't say anything more. They decided to test Abu's talent first, and then formulate a corresponding training plan based on his situation. Although this training plan might only last for two days before they ran away, that wouldn't stop them from teaching this guy. After all, they had to find something to do when they were bored, otherwise, they would definitely get bored if they kept staring at this egg.

“Alright then, Abu, come with us first,” Cheng Yu said, leading Abu out of the room.

The midday sun filtered through the sparse leaves, casting a golden veil over every corner of the White Dragon Tribe. After the morning's hustle and bustle, the tribe returned to its usual tranquility, broken only by the occasional bird call.

Cheng Yu, Bai Yu, and Xing Luo led Abu to a relatively open space. Such places were rare in the White Dragon Tribe; most were old, abandoned houses or specially cleared public areas. This place used to be a small market where tribe members would periodically exchange daily necessities or handmade trinkets. But today, it was unusually quiet, with only the rustling of leaves in the breeze.

"Why are we here?" Abu asked curiously, looking around with a puzzled expression.

“It’s quiet here, suitable for conducting some… well, tests.” Cheng Yu stroked his chin, seemingly deep in thought. “We want to see if you have any talent for learning magic.”

"Magical talent?" Abu's eyes lit up. He had always longed for magic, but never thought he would have the opportunity to learn it.

“Yes, magical talent,” Bai Yu added. “However, we don’t know how to test it, since we’re not professional magicians.”

"Isn't that simple?" Cheng Yu smiled and took out a bottle of viscous, transparent liquid from his bag. The liquid shimmered with an eerie light under the sunlight, as if it contained some kind of mysterious power.

The moment Abu saw the liquid, his face turned deathly pale. He remembered the horrific experience he'd had before—the so-called "potion" had nearly killed him. He instinctively took a few steps back, asking in terror, "What...what is this? You're not going to make me drink this again, are you? I won't fall for it again!"

Cheng Yu chuckled awkwardly and scratched his head. "Oh dear, this isn't the same thing as last time. That last one... well, you insisted on having it yourself, I didn't intend to give it to you." He explained, "This is for testing magical talent, it's absolutely safe, don't worry."

Abu looked at the bottle in Cheng Yu's hand with suspicion, but his fear did not lessen much. He swallowed hard, hesitating whether to step forward.

"Are you sure there's no problem?" Abu's voice trembled slightly.

"Really, no problem!" Cheng Yu assured him confidently. "Trust me, you definitely won't get diarrhea this time."

Abu gritted his teeth and finally mustered the courage to walk up to Cheng Yu. He took the bottle of liquid, closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then poured all the liquid in the bottle into his mouth in one gulp.

Cheng Yu stared wide-eyed at Abu's actions, momentarily stunned. He had only intended for Abu to apply the liquid to his body or drip a few drops on the ground to observe the reaction, but he never expected Abu to drink it directly!

"Abu! You... how could you drink it?" Cheng Yu said hurriedly, "This stuff isn't for drinking!"

Abu's face had turned a riot of colors, his expression contorted as if he were enduring immense pain. He pointed at Cheng Yu, his mouth opening and closing as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he could only let out a series of retching sounds.

"Why...why didn't you say so sooner..." Abu said haltingly, then began to vomit violently.

Bai Yu and Xing Luo stood aside, watching this comical scene, unable to help but cover their mouths and chuckle. Although they felt some sympathy for Abu's plight, the scene was just too dramatic to bear.

"Abu, are you alright?" Xingluo asked with concern, but there was a hint of a smile in her voice.

Abu waved his hand as he vomited, indicating that he was fine. He just wanted to throw up everything in his stomach; the feeling was worse than death.

Cheng Yu looked helpless and guilty. He hadn't expected that his mistake would cause Abu to suffer like this. He went to Abu's side and gently patted his back, trying to make him feel better.

"I'm sorry, Abu, I really didn't mean to," Cheng Yu said. "I didn't know you would drink it."

Abu was too weak to speak; he could only express his resentment with his eyes. All he wanted now was to find a place to rest and vomit everything out of his stomach.

After a struggle, Abu finally vomited up most of what was in his stomach. Pale-faced and weakly leaning against a tree, he said feebly, "You...you guys...can you please explain things clearly in the future...I almost...almost died..."

Cheng Yu quickly apologized, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'll definitely be more careful next time."

Bai Yu and Xing Luo also stopped smiling and walked over to Abu, asking him about his condition with concern.

"Abu, how are you feeling right now?" Bai Yu asked.

"I feel much better, just a little exhausted," Abu said. "Your test... was terrifying."

"Haha, sorry, Abu," Xingluo said, "but you looked really funny just now."

Abu rolled his eyes helplessly; he wasn't in the mood for jokes right now.

"So what do we do now?" Abu asked. "Are we still going to do this test?"

“Of course we’ll do it,” Cheng Yu said. “However, this time we’ll try a different approach.”

He took out another bottle of liquid from his bag. This liquid was light blue and looked much milder than the previous one.

"What is this? Why is it as sticky as that stuff from before?" Abu asked warily.

“This is a genuine magic talent testing potion,” Cheng Yu explained. “You only need to put a drop on the back of your hand to know if you have magic talent.”

Abu took the potion with some skepticism and carefully dripped a drop onto the back of his hand. The pale blue liquid emitted a soft glow the moment it touched his skin.

"It's reacting!" Xingluo exclaimed in surprise. "Abu, you really have magical talent!"

Abu stared at the shimmering light on the back of his hand, his eyes filled with disbelief. Did he really have magical talent? Was it true?

"You did it, Abu!" Cheng Yu exclaimed in surprise. "It seems you really are a magical genius!"

Abu was so excited he couldn't speak; he had never imagined he possessed such talent. At that moment, it was as if a whole new world was beckoning to him.

"Thank you, Cheng Yu, Bai Yu, Xing Luo," Abu said gratefully. "You've helped me discover my potential."

"You're welcome, Abu," Cheng Yu said. "This is a testament to your perseverance and hard work."

"Let's begin the formal training!" Bai Yu said. "Abu, are you ready?"

Abu nodded vigorously, his eyes filled with determination: "I'm ready!"

Actually, Abu was too happy too soon, because at that moment the potion was exhibiting a very bizarre phenomenon.

The medicine that was being spat out, and the medicine that had just been used, both exhibited strange phenomena at the same time.

Even though Abu only poured the contents of the second vial onto the back of his hand, something absurd still happened.

At this moment, Abu was holding the medicine bottle in his right hand. He had just dripped a drop of medicine onto the back of his left hand, but now the key was sticking to Abu's left hand, and it even seemed to be actively flowing from the medicine bottle into Abu's left hand.

Abu watched this miraculous scene with no joy. His face was filled with fear. He thought back to the time when he drank the first "potion" Cheng Yu gave him, and the feeling that it had brought him to face death again suddenly surged into his mind.

The medicine he had just spat out was slowly moving in this direction, which looked rather eerie. Zhang Abu's little heart almost shattered.

At this moment, Abu was thinking to himself, "Why did I crave power so much? Isn't this just courting death?" He was filled with regret, and even if he had the power, he would never forget how he felt right now.

……

This paragraph is not part of the main text.

Huai grabbed one of the guys by the neck and said viciously, "I'm not a cow or a horse, even a donkey wouldn't do this to me! Rubbing me all day long!"

(Just kidding, I'm not that mean, I'm just joking. You abstract ghost, sleeping during the day!)