Later that night, Han Yu sat in his room, back aching, hands sore, mind spinning.
He was now:
The Ninth Stage of Body Tempering,
The accidental idol of an underground rat society,
The only recorded human user of Rat-Forged Spirit Ink,
And the personal servant of a woman who made most of the disciples fear her.
"…I have made so many bad decisions," he whispered into his blanket.
Sniffles curled up beside him, squeaking softly.
Han Yu sighed.
"…I'll be back at the lab tomorrow."
Because somewhere, deep down, he knew—
This madness was only getting started.
Morning sunlight filtered into the lab like it was afraid of what it might find. Which was fair. Even the roosters avoided crowing too close to Li Mei's courtyard after what happened to the last one (it crowed at the wrong time and became part of a "bone-manipulating broth").