Chapter 118

Chapter 118: Little Hamster’s Bath Time

A sudden mishap caught Little Hamster completely off guard.

Startled, he sprang out of the big bowl in a few quick hops, then dragged his right leg, which had only been simply treated, and scrambled off the table.

Rong Shu started in alarm and said: “Wow, don’t run; you’re filthy, come take a bath first.”

Little Hamster did not listen to Rong Shu and kept running. But every door and window in the room had been locked tight by the far-sighted Rong Shu, so no matter how he scampered around the floor, he could not escape this room. In the end, he could only curl up in a corner, watching Rong Shu draw nearer, tense as a ball. [Don’t… don’t come here.]

Rong Shu scooped Little Hamster up and gently stroked his taut back, saying softly: “All right, all right, it’s fine, it’s just a bath.” She added with a smile: “I will wash you quickly and make you clean and soft.”

Her voice was very gentle. Little Hamster still wanted to bolt, yet he could not slip out of her palm no matter what he tried, so at last he could only let himself be set into the water.

“Gurgle, gurgle… gurgle, gurgle…” Little Hamster clutched the rim of the big bowl with his tiny paws, chittering in tones Rong Shu could not understand.

Rong Shu rubbed a little foam between her hands and began to scrub Little Hamster’s small body. Gradually, beneath his dense fur, his skin flushed a vivid red. Little Hamster could clearly feel the little miss’s hands using the lightest pressure as they stroked over every part of him, not leaving a single nook unattended. For the especially soft places, the little miss lingered a moment longer, curious.

She pinched Little Hamster’s small ears and kneaded them in her palm, marveling as she said: “So soft and squishy, so good to scritch.”

After she released his ears, her hand slid from his head along his back and finally paused on that short little tail; the little miss let out a delighted sound and said: “Wow, with this little tail, I could rub it bald.”

Hearing that, Little Hamster shivered all over, and his tail shrank as well.

When the back was clean, Rong Shu turned her attention to the front. Those soft little paws could be held effortlessly in one of her hands; with the other, she dabbed on fresh suds and kept kneading. Water went whoosh and pattered around the bowl; Little Hamster’s body quivered and quaked, looking pitiful.

“Huh, why is your face red?” The little miss sounded as if she had discovered something very novel.

Little Hamster stiffened: [!!!]

That one sentence immediately provoked the already-shy Little Hamster. His tiny paw jerked and the surface of the water splashed up a string of little droplets. Yet in the little miss’s eyes, such splashing posed no real threat; instead she found it adorable and cooed: “Wow, so cute.” She glanced down and added in surprise: “Oh, so you’re a little boy.”

Her gaze swept over a certain part, and in return she received Little Hamster’s furious glare.

[I am not small. I… I… am not a little boy.]

These two thoughts popped up suddenly. He did not fully grasp what they meant, but that did not stop a bonfire of anger from flaring in his chest. No matter how angry Little Hamster was, though, the bath still ended.

After the bath, Rong Shu used wind qi to blow Little Hamster’s fur dry, then took a small comb and patiently groomed the tousled fluff until it lay neat and tidy. When she finished, Rong Shu gazed with satisfaction at the result: a sparkling, bright-eyed Little Hamster. Cupped in her hands, he felt exactly like a pocket hand warmer.

“These hairs here… red?” Rong Shu reached out and touched the fur between Little Hamster’s brows. She had thought it was stained and would rinse out, yet even after the bath this patch had not faded. It was red, shaped like a flame, very distinctive.

Because he was still angry from the bath, Little Hamster turned his back and refused to look at her. So Rong Shu rubbed his back and asked with a smile: “Do you have a name?”

At that, Little Hamster froze. [A name? What is that?]

Rong Shu did not realize he had fallen into confusion. As she continued to take out her medicine kit and treat his wounds, she mulled over what name to give him and said, pleased with herself: “…How about Yan Yan?” She brightened and added eagerly: “Mm, you can share my surname; your formal name will be Rong Yan.”

Thinking of that flame-like red mark, Rong Shu’s eyes lit up; she pitched her voice high with interest as she spoke to Little Hamster.

As he listened, Little Hamster felt a faint, unfamiliar ripple in his heart. [A name… so this is a name?] He was a little dazed. Deep down, it seemed as if his “name” was not this. It seemed as if many people had always called him monster, beast, little bastard, poor little thing…

Little Hamster looked up at Rong Shu, who was still dressing his wound and softly repeating the words “Yan Yan.” [Yan Yan…] He felt that this name sounded better than all the earlier “names.” He did not dislike it.

Little Hamster’s injury looked serious, but it was only a bone fracture. In the mortal world, such a wound would take months to heal, but in the cultivation world it was the work of a few pills. After taking several pills, Little Hamster could basically walk.

“Do not walk too fast; if you need anything, tell me,” Rong Shu said as she set Little Hamster on a soft bed, then warned him gently.

She herself sat down on a floor cushion. She had just closed her eyes to meditate when, after only a few seconds, Rong Shu opened them again. Little Hamster was lying on the soft bed; when he saw her open her eyes, he hurriedly sat up, looked at Rong Shu, and asked silently with his gaze: [What is it?]

Rong Shu took several spirit fruit and a small bag of melon seeds from the Han Chuan Cosmos Pearl, arranged them on a clean little saucer, and set it before Little Hamster as she said: “I will be cultivating for a long time. Be good and stay here; if you get hungry, eat some fruit.”

Seizing the moment, Rong Shu scratched Little Hamster’s head, then immersed herself fully in cultivation.