The Ger's Contract Marriage [BL]
Chapter 535: Seeds of Understanding Pt.2

Chapter 535: Seeds of Understanding Pt.2

Xu Feng wanted to start a business selling jams and wines in Dongzhou, to support his family and their estate. But now he realized that he had to be even more careful.

If his food could enhance bloodlines, if it had such an impact on dragons and other immortal bloodline carriers, then he couldn’t just sell it to anyone. He needed to understand his own powers better, to learn how they worked before he unleashed them on the world and made himself a target.

Maybe Xu Zeng could help him understand. Even with his inherited dragon heritage, Xu Feng still felt like he knew nothing about his own abilities.

Just to gain some gold, he wasn’t willing to jeopardize his or the people of Nanshan’s safety.

Maybe coming to Dongmen was a good thing?

It wasn’t fun, of course. But maybe, just maybe, it was exactly what he needed to grow.

.

.

.

The night passed uneventfully, though it hardly felt like night. The world outside the bank had been cloaked in thick fog, obscuring the line between night and day, leaving everything in a gloomy, perpetual twilight.

Xu Feng could barely tell the difference when the dawn crept in—there was no overbearing sun to break through the fog, no warmth to greet the new day.

It was as cold as it had been the night before, but the air was different. Less still. Less dangerous. The few zombies still lingering in the city, mostly stragglers now, seemed more sluggish.

These ones were clumsier than the undead Yujie had encountered prior to the news of the zombies congregating in large groups near bases filled with life. Whether it was the weather, or the looming zombie tide pulling the stronger ones toward the bigger bases, Xu Feng didn’t know.

After an all-night watch, followed by a quick breakfast of sandwiches from Yujie’s stash, they had prepared to leave the bank. There were a few stragglers near the front entrance when they’d woken, but only one lone zombie near the back where the van was parked.

"Get ready," Yujie called out as they prepped to leave. It wasn’t needed, though. Dispatching these zombies was almost mechanical at this point, more of a routine than a real fight.

It took no time at all to handle them even with his trusty pipe, leaving Xu Feng with a small pile of crystal nuclei to add to his collection. Anything the boys and Yujie couldn’t use went into Xu Feng’s bundle of crystal cores safely tucked away in his space.

The zombies in this area weren’t strong—something that was easy to tell by the small size of the cores left behind in their skulls—but Xu Feng was learning to appreciate even these small rewards.

This abundance of energy wasn’t something he had available in Dongzhou.

After everything was clear, they climbed into the van and continued toward their destination: the agricultural school compound. Xu Feng couldn’t help but feel like everything was moving too quickly and too slowly at the same time.

The ride was long but passed in a blur, the city slipping by as they maneuvered through foggy, cracked streets. He hadn’t been sure how much time it would take to get here, but the clock told him it was just over two hours.

When they finally arrived, the hidden side gate to the compound came into view through the fog. That’s when Xu Feng realized something that hadn’t crossed his mind before—they didn’t have a key.

Not just any key, but the main key to the gate.

He didn’t know if Xu Zeng had a key. He didn’t know if there was a key in Dongmen at all...

Okay that last part wasn’t true. There was a spare key hidden within the walls of the compound, but the location of the main key was a mystery. Xu Zeng hadn’t been back here in several months, and Xu Feng hadn’t exactly been prepared for this detour.

He stared at the small gate and the rusted-looking padlock keeping it shut, unsure what to do next.

Yujie stepped up beside him, looking far too rested for someone who had spent the night in a bank snoozing away. "No key?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Not exactly," Xu Feng muttered, running a hand through his braided silver hair in frustration. The braid wasn’t meant to be fiddled with and threatened to come undone when Xu Feng was awed into a frozen state.

Yujie shifted the weight of Mingjun, who was lazily leaning his head against her shoulder and approached the gate. Without a word, his eyes flashed with a faint purple hue. Xu Feng watched as a small flame flickered in the palm of his hands.

In a matter of seconds, the lock began to glow, the metal warping under the heat as a gust of wind seemed to concentrate Mingjun’s efforts. The flames turned from orange to purple as the lock deformed, melting into a lump of charred metal before falling to the ground with a dull "thud."

The mother and son worked well together.

"Locks don’t mean much to us anymore," Yujie said with a satisfied grin, her tone as casual as if they’d just opened a simple door instead of melted through solid metal. Only the sweat on her and her older sons’ faces showed the effort they’d just used.

Xu Feng blinked, watching the now-useless lock crumble.

With a shake of his head, he realized just how fragile these old-world protections were in the face of new abilities. Sure, he had seen his own powers evolve in Dongzhou and now here in Dongmen, but this was different.

Offensive powers really hit differently. The ease with which the duo melted metal reminded him that the world had changed in ways beyond simple survival.

With ability users, were things like locks even still secure? Xu Feng wondered if it were an ability user with no ties to the dragon or any other demon beast clans, would they still be able to do what Mingjun had done?

Would they be able to do it with more difficulty? Would they even be able to deform metal if given enough time and resources like crystal nuclei?

The idea of ability users really began to dawn on Xu Feng. It wasn’t just some novel concept in fiction anymore. Whether it was the ability users in Dongmen or the immortal blood carriers of Dongzhou, such power was frightening.

It must be a harsh reality for those with no ability to digest.

He let the thought simmer as they pushed through the gate and made their way inside the compound.

The agricultural school compound hadn’t changed much. Dustier than when Xu Feng last saw it, but not by too much. It was still secure, still standing. Though Xu Zeng hadn’t been here in over three months, it felt like time had paused in this place.

But as always, caution was needed. Xu Feng and his group weren’t about to just walk in without checking first.

Mingyue was the one to take the lead here as his older brother and mother made way for him. Xu Feng watched in awe as the boy calmly raised his hand theatrically—for dramatic effect as his eyes narrowed in concentration.

Xu Feng could feel the boy’s energy sweep through the compound, subtle but methodical. It was something Xu Feng hadn’t thought much about before—this intentional use of energy.

He’d done it before, inadvertently, but watching Mingyue made him realize how much more control the young Dragonborn had over his own powers. The energy combed through the compound, touching every corner, every crevice.

Xu Feng followed suit, mimicking Mingyue. He closed his eyes, focusing on pushing his energy outward, using it like a wave to feel out the space.

It was different from what he was used to. He wasn’t giving energy to the plants or to the earth like he usually did. He was commanding it, using it as a tool, directing it with purpose and intention.

The compound was seemingly clear—no humans, no zombies. But there was something else. Xu Feng could feel it, faint but present. Vermin. Not quite animal, not just zombie, but zombie pests.

"Mingyue," Xu Feng said softly, guiding the boy toward one of the locations where he sensed the ’energies’ congregating. "Down below."

Mingyue’s eyes sparkled as he caught on. Without hesitation, the young boy summoned a small storm of energy, lightning crackling at his fingertips. His smile was wide, proud, as he sent a powerful burst of energy into the ground where Xu Feng directed his energy.

The earth trembled beneath them, and the air hummed with the sound of thunder.

Xu Feng could feel the nests of zombie rats disintegrate under the onslaught. There were two nests, both buried deep beneath the surface, farther than Mingyue could sense on his own. But with Xu Feng’s guidance, the boy was able to target them with deadly accuracy.

The first nest was eradicated in seconds.

The second followed not long after.

When the last of the rats was destroyed, Mingyue let out a laugh, his eyes glowing with satisfaction. "Did you see that?" he asked, looking up at Xu Feng with wide eyes, his excitement bubbling over.