The next day, when Feng Yi woke up, it felt as if he had been punched squarely in the face and slapped with a brick; he was completely dazed.
The nightmare from last night lingered in his mind, but before he could even try to recall it, his attention was wholly diverted. He couldn't afford to think about the nightmare anymore.
Nightmares, after all, are just dreams, no matter how many he had, they were all illusions. But the pain on his face was real!
His nose hurt!
Or rather, his entire face was in pain. The spot around his nose was the worst!!
Feng Yi even suspected that he had fallen out of bed in the middle of the night and landed on his face, possibly breaking his nasal bone, and even suffering a concussion.
His head was dizzy, it hurt, and his nose was in intense, acidic pain and swelling.
His nasal congestion was severe; he could only breathe through his mouth.
Feng Yi thought he had caught a cold and was about to search for cold medicine in the medicine box, but after taking a few steps he realized something was off... had another organ begun to evolve?
Indeed, there was no time to react! It had ambushed him just like that!
Feng Yi rushed to the mirror and stared at the face in the reflection, so swollen that it was unrecognizable, taking deep breaths with his mouth wide open.
The fuss this time was quite big...
When the teeth and venom glands were growing, at least he could still go out with a mask on. Now that his face was swollen like a pig's, no mask was big enough to cover it. Not even a face mask would do!
The main issue was the pain!
Every part of his face hurt! His head ached so much it affected normal thinking! It was like countless drills were constantly boring into his brain.
Luckily, he had stocked up on supplies yesterday when he noticed something was wrong, so he didn't need to go outside. All he could do now was to stay at home and endure it!
The more enjoyable yesterday's outing had been, the more miserable the pain he suffered at home today!
"What's happening this time?"
He reached up to touch his deformed, swollen nose, and the instant he did, it felt like thousands of needles pierced through it all at once.
Feng Yi couldn't even let out a cry of pain; he twisted his face and his veins bulged. It took a good while before the pain subsided.
He tried hard to open his eyes and look at the pig-like face in the mirror.
Looking closely, he could see countless thick and thin vein-like things under the skin, spreading from the nose to various parts of the face.
It was kind of scary.
So this time it was the nose?
What was it going to turn into?
Feng Yi, trembling, took out the tea leaves given to him by Mute Uncle and brewed a pot of tea.
Although Mute Uncle often spoke in riddles and was always busy with various things, the help he provided in this situation was substantial.
Originally, he wanted to chew the dry tea leaves directly, but moving his mouth stressed many facial nerves, especially when he tried to chew vigorously, the pain was exceptionally sharp.
While waiting for the tea to cool down, he chanted in his mind:
"To endure great hardships, one must first suffer through trials of the heart and toil of the bones..."
After the toil of the bones, things will get better... right?
When the tea had cooled off, he inserted a straw and drank it greedily.
The month stipulated by Mute Uncle's words had not yet passed, and the tea still had some effect. The intensity of the pain was not as severe as before.
He finally calmed down, catching his breath.
His nose was still out of commission, as if countless webs and roots extended from it, connecting the eyes, ears, mouth, nose, and even the brain together.
"This time it's affecting quite a bit," Feng Yi thought, and began to worry, "My head hurts so much and even the brain is involved. I wonder if it will affect my intelligence."
Feng Yi sifted through his memory for the research he had looked up. If it was the nose, it might be that thing.
With that thought, he also remembered the nightmare he had the night before. It was still vivid in his memory.
He had thought he might grow heat-sensing pits, and even dreamed of a forked tongue. That didn't match with reality at all... No, actually, it sort of did.
Feng Yi called the old butler.
"My nose might be starting to evolve, but the affected area seems a bit large."
The old butler, upon hearing this, spoke with a calm tone infused with a touch of reassurance, "Is your face swollen? Don't worry, once this round is over, you'll recover and still be a handsome young man. Your nose evolving—that should be considered... something like a vomeronasal organ."
Feng Yi thought to himself: As expected.
The vomeronasal organ.
Also known as the Jacobson's organ.
A very special organ.
The forked tongue of snakes isn't a sensitive taste organ; when they frequently flicker their tongues, they're actually collecting scent particles from the air, bringing them into the vomeronasal organ. This organ is connected to the olfactory nerves and the brain, completing the task of discernment.
It's said that a snake's sense of smell can be dozens of times stronger than a dog's—such powerful olfaction relies on this kind of organ.
But in humans, the vomeronasal organ is generally considered to be vestigial, existing in fetuses or infants but gradually degenerating and disappearing as one ages, and is of no use.
Research on the human vomeronasal organ has always been controversial. No matter the debate, this organ doesn't exist in adults, or if it does, its presence is very weak—nobody knows what an evolved version of the vomeronasal organ would do in a human.
Now, the degenerated vomeronasal organ in Feng Yi's body was re-evolving, and it might be evolving in a new way, unlike reptiles and unlike ordinary humans. Just as the old butler said, he was on an evolutionary path different from ordinary people.
"So I won't grow a forked tongue, right?" Feng Yi was a bit worried.
The olfactory organs of snakes, besides the nasal cavity, include the tongue and the vomeronasal organ—these two components come as a package.
With the vomeronasal organ growing, does that mean a forked tongue is next in line?
Thinking further, for the convenience of frequently extending the tongue, snakes have a notch at the snout, and some even appear to pucker their lips.
If that were to happen to a human...
The image was too beautiful...
Feng Yi felt a chill run down his spine.
The butler chuckled softly, "You shouldn't, your evolutionary path is different from those wild beasts, at a higher level."
Feng Yi felt somewhat relieved.
"How long will this process take?" Feng Yi asked again.
With his face swollen like this, he definitely couldn't go out, nor meet other people; otherwise, they might think he'd been beaten up and call the police.
But he couldn't possibly stay at home all the time, seeing no one, and still endure the pain. If it came to that, he'd go mad, right?
The old butler said cheerfully, "Not long, just about two weeks."
Feng Yi looked stupefied.
Two weeks! He had to endure this pig-face for two more weeks!
Of course, as long as he didn't see anyone, the pig-face was manageable, but he still had to bear the pain of evolution.
Reluctant as he was, this was a burden he had to shoulder himself.
Two weeks—he could handle it!
"How should this newly evolving organ be cared for during its development and growth?" Feng Yi asked.
"Just don't get your nose punched," was the answer.
"So, if this organ develops properly, will my sense of smell become extremely sensitive?" Feng Yi was curious.
If he had the super keen sense of smell of a snake, would that mean nothing could hide from him?
The butler's smile held a deeper meaning, "Of course, you will 'see' a different world."
Feng Yi felt a chill on his back, "Are, are there ghosts?"
Butler: "…No."
This kid doesn't seem to be the brightest.
One wonders if the evolution process damaged his brain.