Madmen don't keep diaries

Chapter 304 303 The Hidden Power
The first thing to change was the list of beauties.

Suddenly, the book lying quietly on the ground began to move on its own, without any wind, and the pages turned rapidly, one after another, until it reached the last page with a picture of a beautiful woman.

The lines and text in the illustrations began to blur, as if stained by dampness; the pages began to yellow and dry, about to crumble into spiderweb-like flakes.

A woman's spirit leaped from the paper, but before it could fully take shape, it vanished into hazy specks of light with a ghostly howl.

Looking down again, I saw that this page was already covered with tiny pieces of paper, like ashes slipping through my fingers.

Paper scraps drifted down, a new page fell on top, and the process began again.

The book was filled with details, and all of this actually happened very quickly. Under the influence of the erosion rules, the erosion of each page was only a few seconds apart. In no time, the "Beauty Chronicle" was almost finished.

Shi looked at Feng Xiuhu, who sat silently in meditation. There was no unusual movement around him, and everything seemed to be developing normally.

It just seems a little slow.

After a while, as Chen Xiniang on the first page also turned into specks of light and disappeared, the beauty encyclopedia, now completely closed, fell silent. In its place, the age-preserving mirror next to it began to undergo drastic changes.

The once gleaming metal frame was now visibly covered in rust; the intricate carvings had faded and were now covered in mottled crusts; fine cracks had spread from the back like a spider web; the mirror itself was shrouded in a hazy yellow hue, as if shrouded in a century-old mist, reflecting only a blurry outline.

Shi Neng could sense that the spirit of the Youth-Preserving Mirror was rapidly dissipating, and at a much faster rate than that of the Beauty Manual.

Something was amiss, and Shi immediately looked up, casting his gaze back at Feng Xiuhu.

Obscure runes appeared around Feng Xiuhu. In the blink of an eye, the rhythmic patterns changed from weak ripples to surging waves. Centered on the spot where he sat, the damp mudflats were drying up and cracking, and there were faint signs of erosion and desertification.

Shi's expression changed drastically, a fierce glint flashed in his tiger eyes, and he leaned forward, letting out a low growl from his throat.

The tiger's spirit trembled slightly as it struggled to suppress the rhythm of the rules.

Runes also appeared around him, and two similar rules were clashing.

In just a few seconds, the Youth-Preserving Mirror completely lost its spirit and became a rusty mirror, as if it would shatter into pieces at the slightest touch.

But Feng Xiuhu didn't stop. The pages of the Beauty Manual, which had already thinned several layers, began to curl and turn yellow. "Erosion" found it again.

Shi Neng could clearly sense that as Feng Xiuhu's cultivation level increased and his understanding deepened, the rhythm of the rules was becoming increasingly difficult to suppress. If this continued, things would really go wrong.

"enough--"

As Shi took a step forward, visible ripples quickly spread out from the point where the rules of the two sides intersected.

He let out a suppressed growl: "How long are you going to keep thinking about this! Stop it!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than Feng Xiuhu suddenly opened his eyes.

"The essence of erosion is to bring about change, not to change itself. I'm not wrong, so why do you want me to stop?"

Shi was taken aback. He had never seen such a serious expression on Feng Xiuhu's face, nor had he ever heard Feng Xiuhu speak in such a calm tone.

It's as if he suddenly stopped being crazy.

In that moment of distraction, the rhythm of the rules around Feng Xiuhu suddenly intensified, and the confrontation between the two sides instantly became unbalanced. The surging power of the rules seemed to have undergone a silent explosion, and the shock wave swept over like a tsunami, blowing Shi and Feng Xiuhu away.

Oh no, this commotion is huge.

Only one thought occupied Erosion's mind. As it climbed up from the mudflats, Erosion subconsciously shook its fur, only to suddenly remember that it was now merely a spirit.

He quickly looked into the distance, where Feng Xiuhu's spirit was floating in mid-air, while his physical body was being pulled out of the mud by a large rat.

Without thinking twice, Shi rushed over and said, "Quickly, let's get out of here! The commotion was too loud; we probably can't keep it a secret anymore."

Upon seeing Shi, Mr. Gray shrank back and hid behind Feng Xiuhu: "Mr. Tiger, please don't worry. If you mean the explosion just now, I think no one else should have noticed it."

Feng Xiuhu was extremely excited. He ran over, grabbed Shi's ear, and shouted into the room, "It's done! I did it!"

With a flick of its tail, it sent him flying, staring warily at Mr. Gray: "How did you know?"

Mr. Grey took off his top hat and pressed it to his chest, bowing slightly to Erosion: "Because I 'hid' it."

Shi didn't understand, but became even more wary: "What do you mean?"

Erosion's gaze frightened Mr. Gray, making him somewhat uneasy: "Uh, it means exactly what it says. I used the power of authority to hide it. Apart from the three of us, no one will know what just happened."

Feng Xiuhu returned at some point and abruptly interrupted, "Isn't your power supposed to be for offerings? You actually have this ability?"

Mr. Gray smiled apologetically: "Please forgive my concealment, but that was not my intention—it is another of my powers, concealment."

Shi squinted and asked, "What do you mean by 'not your intention'?"

Mr. Gray rubbed his hands awkwardly: "This authority is somewhat special. Just like its name, even I myself cannot utter it under normal circumstances."

Shi nodded silently. Feng Xiuhu might not understand these words, but he could—this showed that this was the characteristic of concealing power; it would even subconsciously "hide" the existence of the power itself.

Feng Xiuhu asked, "Then why are you able to speak now?"

Mr. Grey smiled calmly: "This is the effect of dedication. When I used the ability of concealment for your sake, dedication allowed me to bypass the 'little temper' of concealment."

Suddenly, Shi asked, "When did you arrive?"

Mr. Gray was a little embarrassed by the question, but he still didn't choose to hide it: "Okay, actually I've been watching from the sidelines ever since you arrived here."

Feng Xiuhu corrected him: "What you're doing is spying."

Mr. Gray felt a pang of guilt and buried his head in the fur on his chest: "I apologize to you. I promise I didn't mean it."

Shi revealed an "I knew it" expression: "So this is also the ability of 'concealment'? No wonder I couldn't find you."

Mr. Gray kept his head down and didn't speak. Suddenly, as if he remembered something, he skillfully rummaged through the fur and found a series of pots, pans and other kitchen utensils. He said to Feng Xiuhu, "How about I cook for you as a way of expressing my apology?"

Before Feng Xiuhu could speak, Mr. Gray interjected, "I remember you don't eat sashimi, so I'll cook it."

Feng Xiuhu pondered for a moment: "For the main course, I want baked lobster, creamy mushroom chicken, and braised oxtail; for the appetizer, a bowl of corn chowder, and for dessert, a chocolate lava cake—oh right, and a bottle of wine."

Mr. Gray's hand, which was holding the kitchen utensils, froze in mid-air.

After a moment, he asked hesitantly, "We only have fresh rat meat for now. Would you like to try some?"

PS: In Chapter 173, Mr. Grey paused noticeably when explaining his authority—and he has always been good at hiding things.

(End of this chapter)