Chapter 257: The Stick and the Sweet Date
Su Zhan picked up the shower gel and shampoo hanging on the wall. They were common student brands, but to him right now, they were practically luxuries.
He applied a generous amount of shampoo to his hair.
The greasy, tangled long hair encountered a powerful cleanser for the first time. Rubbing it produced a large amount of murky, colored foam that washed down with the water, pooling into a gray-black, filthy stream on the floor.
Su Zhan vigorously scrubbed his scalp.
Next was the shower gel, applied all over his body, scrubbing carefully.
Layers of grime, dried blood scabs, and sweat stains were washed away, revealing the well-defined muscular skin beneath.
The lingering foul stench also gradually faded as the dirty water flowed away.
The icy cold water stream washed over his body, carrying away the filth and bringing a sense of release.
Being drenched head to toe in cold water, he felt a long-lost sense of cleanliness.
This process was about cleansing his body, but also a ritual, a ceremony to bid farewell to that desperate period of the past. Su Zhan opened his eyes again.
The person in the mirror still had overly long hair and an unshaven beard.
But at least he no longer looked like a wild man, and his eyes seemed clearer.
The cold shower washed away the filth and exhaustion covering his body.
Su Zhan felt much more refreshed overall, his hair still damp and hanging over his shoulders.
Standing before the mirror.
Looking at the face still mostly obscured by the overly long hair and thick beard.
"This beard... is too much of a nuisance."
Su Zhan murmured to himself.
Extending the index finger of his right hand, with a slight thought, the fingernail on his fingertip instantly sharpened.
Facing the mirror, he used this sharp nail to carefully scrape across his cheeks and chin.
Beard hairs fell away one after another, washed away by the water.
Soon, a young face with a hint of sharpness was completely revealed.
Su Zhan touched his smooth chin.
He decided to keep the long hair, casually tying it back.
This length could serve as a constant reminder of the long, difficult years he had spent in the Mist World, a kind of warning.
After washing all the shaved-off beard down the drain.
He faced the next problem: clothes.
Su Zhan's original set of rags had long been thrown in the trash and were unwearable.
He unceremoniously began rummaging through this dorm room.
A few washed school uniforms and some casual clothes were hanging on the balcony to dry.
He picked out a black tracksuit that looked like a decent fit and found a pair of relatively clean sneakers.
Straight-up freeloading.
After changing into these clean clothes.
He looked like a normal person.
Time to erase traces.
Su Zhan began carefully searching the dorm room. Sure enough, under a pillow on one of the beds, he felt a disposable lighter.
In a high school, there were always some students who secretly smoked, so finding a lighter wasn't surprising.
Su Zhan picked up the lighter, his eyes cold.
He walked out of this dorm room and into the hallway.
Confirming no one was around, he lit the lighter.
Piled-up clothes, bedding, books, and other flammable items.
The weather was dry, and these items were highly combustible.
Soon, flames leaped up, spreading rapidly.
Thick smoke began to fill the air.
Su Zhan watched the fire grow, then quickly retreated to the dorm room he had first entered, throwing his pile of discarded ragged clothes into the inferno as well.
Ensuring all items that might retain his DNA or scent were incinerated.
After doing all this, he swiftly left the dormitory building.
Behind him, several dorm rooms were already engulfed in roaring flames, completely erasing all evidence of his previous presence.
Putting on the mask.