After hauling back a generous supply of mountain spring water, Su Zhenghao began the process of imbuing it with spiritual energy. By ten o'clock that night, he had locked his door. As an added precaution, he tied one end of a thin rope to the door handle and the other to his arm, a crude alarm that would alert him the moment someone entered.
He drank several large gulps of the prepared spring water, feeling a familiar warmth spread through his
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