Chapter 00065: I’m Back Again
# I’m Back Again
Chapter 65
Novel: After the Myth
Chapter 65: I’m Back Again
The little creature in Ding Huan’s hand kept squirming and squealing, but Ding Huan could see fear in its eyes.
He had never seen such an animal before.
Its body somewhat resembled a dog, but not quite.
Its voice was a bit like a monkey’s, though it didn’t have the sharp, narrow face of a monkey.
Its front legs were long, while its hind legs were short.
“Looks like you’ve got some brains. You dared to ambush me? Just you wait,” Ding Huan muttered.
He grabbed a vine from nearby, tied the little creature up, and tossed it into his bag before zipping it shut.
Whether it would suffocate or not, Ding Huan didn’t care.
The little thing looked cute, but it was far from harmless.
If Ding Huan hadn’t already reached the fourth level of genetic cultivation, he might have fallen victim to its tricks.
If he hadn’t thought of fusing the memory genes of the stone monkey into this little creature, he would have just burned it to a crisp with a fireball.
In this era, Ding Huan had no sympathy for such a seemingly adorable creature.
As Ding Huan approached, the Great Desolate Golden Ape, whose legs had been broken, showed the same fear in its eyes as the little creature in the bag.
It clearly had some intelligence.
How could it not see how Ding Huan had dealt with the little thing?
Looking at the Great Desolate Golden Ape, Ding Huan spoke calmly, “The person who stole your medicinal herb last time wasn’t me. I even avoided you because I thought you were formidable. You chased me, but I didn’t hold it against you. But now, you’ve come after me again, trying to ambush and kill me. People really shouldn’t be too kind.”
The Great Desolate Golden Ape growled lowly, as if it didn’t understand Ding Huan’s words.
But Ding Huan’s spiritual sense detected a shift in its gaze.
He was certain it understood him.
“Heh,” Ding Huan chuckled, patting his bag. “This little thing tried to ambush me, so I’m planning to roast and eat it later. It’s just a waste of some star anise, that’s all. As for you, you’re bigger, but I’ve heard that ape brains have a delicious paste inside. Perfect for roasting. If you’re too big to fit on one rack, I’ll just cut you into pieces…”
When Ding Huan mentioned brain paste, the Great Desolate Golden Ape let out a mournful howl, clearly pleading for mercy.
“So you *can* understand,” Ding Huan snorted. “Since that incident last time had nothing to do with me, and you’re the one who provoked me, if you want me to spare your life, you’ll have to compensate me. Nod if you understand.”
The Great Desolate Golden Ape nodded repeatedly, and Ding Huan grinned.
“I don’t want much from you. Just two things. First, I need that medicinal herb you stole last time. Second, I need a bit of blood from your forehead. Simple, right?”
The Great Desolate Golden Ape’s eyes widened. *This is ridiculous…* It had lost that herb once before and had sought revenge.
Now, it seemed it was going to lose it again.
Ding Huan pulled out a short knife from his bag and tapped the blade against his palm. “Ah, it’s been a while since I last used this. I killed a few gene beasts back then. I wonder if I’ll get to use it today.”
Before Ding Huan could finish, the Great Desolate Golden Ape let out a few more growls and nodded vigorously.
*If only you’d been this cooperative earlier,* Ding Huan thought.
“Since you’re being so cooperative, I’ll help you with your injuries,” Ding Huan said.
He roughly set the ape’s broken bones, used some branches to stabilize them, and wrapped them with vines.
Then, he cut down a tree and fashioned a pair of crutches for the ape.
The Great Desolate Golden Ape, which had been planning to ambush Ding Huan, watched in fear as Ding Huan casually created the crutches with a few waves of his hand.
It didn’t dare to act anymore.
Three hours later, the Great Desolate Golden Ape, hobbling on its crutches, led Ding Huan to its lair.
Seeing the ape’s lair, Ding Huan couldn’t help but comment, “You’ve got quite the eye for real estate.”
The place was far better than the cave where Ding Huan had been cultivating.
There was a small pond, and beside it stood a wooden hut built with logs in an A-frame style.
Behind the hut was a medicinal herb garden filled with all sorts of rare and mutated plants.
“You’re quite the talent,” Ding Huan said, looking at the Great Desolate Golden Ape. “This place looks like something a hermit would live in.”
The ape looked aggrieved.
It wasn’t a monkey; it was a golden ape.
“Go on, fetch the herb yourself. I won’t go into your home. I might be tempted to take all your herbs if I do,” Ding Huan said.
Truthfully, he didn’t know which herb he needed.
He guessed it was the one the ape used to develop its Desolate Eye.
Hearing that Ding Huan wouldn’t enter its garden, the ape hurriedly hobbled in and soon returned with a plant.
The scent was even more fragrant than before.
Ding Huan nodded.
This was the herb he needed.
Last time, a woman named Qin Yi had stolen it, and the ape had chased her down, blocking the cave for days and killing two people in the process.
How times had changed.
Now, the ape was handing the herb over willingly.
The plant was no more than a foot tall, with a blue flower at the top and a black stem with bamboo-like joints.
Satisfied, Ding Huan stored it away.
The ape’s eyes showed reluctance and longing, but Ding Huan ignored it.
After securing the herb, Ding Huan took out a bottle. “Come here. I’ll take a bit of blood, and then I’ll be on my way.”
The ape, though reluctant, obeyed.
It bent down, still leaning on its crutches, as Ding Huan quickly drew a line of blood from its forehead, collecting it in the bottle.
Once the bottle was full, Ding Huan sealed it, and the ape’s forehead stopped bleeding.
Seeing that Ding Huan only took a small amount of blood, the ape breathed a sigh of relief.
“I’m leaving now. Consider our past grievances settled. Before I go, I’ll give you a piece of advice. Don’t go near human cities or settlements. If you do, it’ll be the end of you.”
With that, Ding Huan grabbed the stone monkey beside him and vanished in a flash.
The Great Desolate Golden Ape watched Ding Huan disappear, feeling helpless.
It had planned to visit human cities after developing its Desolate Eye, using human blood to further its cultivation.
But now, with Ding Huan’s warning, it didn’t dare to go.
---
Ding Huan swaggered back into Luohe City.
This time, he didn’t disguise himself.
However, after months of cultivation in the cave, his hair was long, and his beard was unkempt.
Unless someone looked closely, they wouldn’t recognize him as Ding Huan.
Standing at the gates of Yujiang University, Ding Huan sighed.
After all this time, he was back.
Yujiang University was livelier than before.
Three students had been admitted to the top ten academies on Blue Star, attracting many new applicants.
If it weren’t for the sudden surge of gene beasts, the university’s reputation would have been even higher.
As for funding, Tan Bei, the university’s president, no longer had to worry.
Plenty of people were willing to donate money to Yujiang University.
Even though Ding Huan was no longer there, it didn’t stop the flow of funds.
After all, Yujiang University had produced three students who ranked among the top in Blue Star’s top ten academies.
Once they graduated, how could their alma mater possibly fail?
Despite being away for nearly a year, Ding Huan’s residence was still intact.
There were no signs of the Blade-Washing Society outside.
Either they knew they couldn’t catch Ding Huan here, or they realized that Ding Huan’s reputation had grown too large for them to challenge him.
Either way, Ding Huan had no intention of letting the Blade-Washing Society off the hook.
But for now, his priority was to head to the gene lab and work on his experiments.
After a quick shower and a change of clothes, Ding Huan headed straight to the gene lab, not bothering to trim his hair.
He still wasn’t used to using the Dust-Clearing Spell, even though he had mastered it.
The entrance to the gene lab building was still quiet, though there was now a security guard.
“Kong Dan? What are you doing here as a guard?” Ding Huan recognized the guard immediately.
Kong Dan, finally recognizing Ding Huan, exclaimed excitedly, “Teacher Ding! I’ve been waiting for you. I knew you’d come back to the gene lab first. I wasn’t wrong!”
“Good. I’ve got some things to take care of, but once I’m done, I’ll teach you how to cultivate,” Ding Huan said, patting Kong Dan’s shoulder.
“Yes, Teacher Ding! Don’t worry, I’ll guard this place. No one will disturb your experiments,” Kong Dan said, still unable to calm his excitement.
Ding Huan had said it might take a year or two before he returned.
Kong Dan had prepared for a long wait, but Ding Huan had come back much sooner than expected.
“Alright, I’ll head up to do my experiments. By the way, are there many people coming here for gene experiments now?” Ding Huan asked casually.
“No one comes here. You’re the head of Yujiang University’s Gene Department now,” Kong Dan replied, finally calming down a bit.
“I’m the head of the Gene Department?” Ding Huan asked, surprised.
He hadn’t even known about this.
How had he become the head of the department?
Kong Dan explained, “I brought the note you gave me to President Tan Bei. He immediately offered me a position here. I chose this spot, telling him you’d definitely return to continue your experiments. After hearing that, President Tan appointed you as the head of the Gene Department. Even though Yujiang University is bustling now, there are no gene scholars or anyone coming here to experiment.”
“That’s perfect,” Ding Huan said, pleased.
Tan Bei had been quite thoughtful.
Ding Huan didn’t care about the title, but having control over the lab meant he could conduct his experiments without interference.
This would be a huge help in extracting the stone monkey’s memory genes.
(Note: Starting tomorrow, updates will return to 6 PM and 9 PM.)
(End of Chapter)