The faint morning light illuminated the rivers stretching for thousands of miles.
A few lone boats drifted across the water. Fishermen could vaguely be heard singing as they rowed toward Peibai City in Jialiang Water Town, their boats laden with fish.
Peibai City stood at the crossroads of Jialiang Water Town. With a permanent population of over a hundred thousand, it was holding its first early-spring market today.
Frost crept over the old city district, where rows of shops clustered around the market.
People streamed through the streets and alleys. Goods were continuously delivered by boat at the docks, while two or three patrol constables stood nearby watching.
An old man and a young man led a mule along the street, purchasing fresh vegetables.
"A He."
"Dad, what is it?"
The old man called down to him, and the seventeen- or eighteen-year-old youth answered.
"A He, you haven't been in Peibai long. Stay sharp and watch the mule. Don't let some passing brat pick our pockets."
"Got it, Dad."
"Mm."
The old man greeted each vendor one by one.
The fishmonger Song teased, "Yang San, you even brought your boy to Peibai. Looks like you made quite a bit of silver last year."
"Not at all. I had him late in life, and his mother died young. If I didn't bring him along, his elder cousins would probably resent him." Old Man Yang patted the mule's rump and lifted his chin with faint pride.
"Let's go. We've still got work to do."
He knew every vendor in the market and smoothly asked about vegetable prices. Occasionally, he bought a few bundles, never taking advantage of the sellers.
Yang He led the mule close behind, taking in the antique charm of the Jiangnan town.
Two months ago, Yang He had still been living in a technologically advanced city.
After waking from a single night's sleep, he had replaced the original owner of this body, who had just died after falling off a cliff. During his recovery, he had only managed to learn that this world was utterly unfamiliar.
The dynasty seemed to be called Great Si, and it had lasted for more than two thousand years.
"A He, come take a look. There's quite a knack to picking vegetables."
Yang He came back to his senses. Old Man Yang turned sideways and pointed at a vegetable stall as he imparted his experience. "To tell whether early-spring greens are fresh, first look at whether the color is emerald green, second whether the leaves are full, third..."
He then handed over a few copper coins and picked several pounds of greens to be wrapped up.
Old Man Yang worked as a vegetable merchant, responsible for delivering fresh vegetables to restaurants and estates. Naturally, he hoped Yang He would inherit the family trade.
Yang He suddenly remembered the purpose of their trip.
"Dad, are we delivering goods to Blackwater Martial Arts Hall later?"
Old Man Yang nodded. "You're already a bit too old, A He. Otherwise, I'd have sent you into a martial arts hall to build a foundation. Ah, it's a pity we've only had a little surplus recently."
Yang He was deeply interested in martial arts. Coming to Peibai was also his attempt to gain exposure to them.
He had heard that Martial Artists could run across rooftops and walls, shatter boulders with a single palm, and take an enemy general's head from among a thousand men with a weapon in hand. Cultivating both inner and outer strength could even prolong one's life.
As a transmigrator, how could he possibly miss such mysterious martial arts?
All of a sudden, a commotion broke out.
Yang He looked toward the market entrance, his expression turning somewhat strange.
Thousands of people poured toward the entrance, while more citizens kept arriving from the surrounding districts.
Old Man Yang immediately noticed a merchant caravan's carts transporting seven huge vats. Living creatures were inside them, and they were being placed one after another in the open space.
"Dad, this is..."
"You've only just arrived in Peibai, A He. You probably haven't seen a strange creature before, have you? Come on, broaden your horizons!"
Father and son squeezed into the crowd, saving themselves quite a bit of effort with the mule clearing the way.
"A strange creature?"
Yang He spoke with mixed feelings, staring blankly ahead.
"Once plants, beasts, and birds absorb the essence of the sun and moon, they become strange creatures. Martial Artists consume them to strengthen their essence and replenish their blood, but ordinary people would be unable to handle such nourishment."
Old Man Yang rambled on, emphasizing that strange creatures were all extremely valuable.
Yang He's breathing quickened. It was not because he was excited to see a strange creature, but because the cheat ability he had possessed through both lives had suddenly stirred.
Words surged before his eyes, and a panel began to emerge.
Spiritual Vision: 0.2 points Your eyesight is slightly better than that of ordinary people. You will no longer be troubled by eye diseases.
For all twenty-four years of his past and present lives, Spiritual Vision had remained at 0.1 points. Its primary effect was merely superior eyesight, making it rather useless.
Yet now that a strange creature had appeared, Spiritual Vision had actually begun to rise.
Spiritual Vision: 0.3 points
Yang He had only taken a few steps when his Spiritual Vision increased again for no apparent reason. He did not know whether it was an illusion, but the market's clamor seemed to be gradually fading into silence.
"A He, it's Treasure Fish!" Old Man Yang leaned closer and said.
The Martial Artists from the caravan smashed the seven giant vats, and water poured out with the living creatures, spilling across the open ground.
The crowd erupted in an uproar. Inside the vats were fat koi, each a full meter long.
Their bodies were covered in proliferating fleshy tumors. Their oddly placed pupils faced the sky, while their balloon-like bellies looked ready to burst at any moment.
Spiritual Vision: 0.5 points
A chill ran through Yang He's entire body. Looking at the Treasure Fish filled him with an inexplicable sense of horror.
Old Man Yang explained, "Treasure Fish often appear around Jialiang Water Town. Their stomach sacs are excellent materials for making leather armor, and their flesh is also rare nourishment for Martial Artists."
Hearing the surrounding discussions, the sudden shock in Yang He's heart deepened.
"How strange. Treasure Fish usually only appear in large numbers when the water town floods. Tsk, tsk, tsk. Why have they shown up three or four months early this year?"
"Who knows?"
"Treasure Fish are the greediest things. They eat whatever they see. In two or three years, they'll stuff themselves to death. The Fuyang Merchant Association really went all out."
"Treasure, treasure. I heard someone once found gold in a fish's stomach. Wonder if that's true."
Spiritual Vision: 0.7 points
Yang He swayed. In his eyes, watery vapor churned through the streets, and the stench coming from the Treasure Fish grew increasingly fishy, yet everyone else seemed utterly oblivious.
Old Man Yang noticed something was wrong with his son and touched his forehead.
"You all right?"
"I'm fine. It's just hard to breathe in this crowd."
Old Man Yang licked his lips. "Treasure Fish are extremely troublesome to process. Their flesh must be removed while they're alive. If they die beforehand, most of the meat will lose all nourishment."
"It wouldn't be bad if we could learn a trick or two from the merchants."
Shopkeeper Chen cupped his hands, drawing waves of applause. "Fellow townsfolk! This old man is Chen Baosheng of the Fuyang Merchant Association."
"The Treasure Fish have already been reserved by the major martial arts halls, but everyone can try their luck."
"Whatever debris is found in the fish stomachs, regardless of value, will be given to you all!"
The crowd surged and bustled. The Fuyang merchant caravan's actions had drawn the entire market's attention.
"Gut them!!"
Guard Chen shouted. Seven butchers drew long knives and sliced open the Treasure Fish's bellies, exposing flesh as white as mutton-fat jade.
Martial Artists caught the fish blood in wooden basins, hurrying to assist the butchers with the slaughter.
Spiritual Vision: 0.9 points
Yang He's head buzzed, and his temples throbbed violently. He could feel that the source of Spiritual Vision's rapid growth was something within the fish stomachs.
Pfft.
Stones and water weeds poured from the fish stomachs, occasionally mixed with a few dried animal bones.
Spiritual Vision: 1 point You possess 1 point of Spiritual Vision and can see part of the world's true nature. Remember: do not let ghosts discover you. Those who see ghosts will leave behind neither corpse nor bones.
Yang He's pupils constricted. It felt as though an opening had appeared in the crown of the head, and an icy chill flooded into him.
His legs went numb, and everything in his eyes underwent a drastic change.
Peibai City was still Peibai City, yet it had become dark and terrifying.
Yang He noticed that the Treasure Fish being dismembered by the butchers were no longer koi.
What Spiritual Vision showed him was this.
The Treasure Fish had turned into a ferocious half-human, half-fish monster. Its body was as thin as a stick, its belly swollen like a drum, and it muttered indistinctly through its mouth.
"Hungry... so hungry..."
Hungry Ghost
A Hungry Ghost that had died from drinking water. It had been starving in life, yet could only drink raw water until it burst itself to death. Its resentment lingered after death, transforming it into a ghost.
The butchers skillfully gutted it, while the Hungry Ghost opened its mouth wide without offering any resistance.
It could even be said that it was... excited? Excited to welcome death?
Yang He looked around, all kinds of piercing whispers echoing in his ears.
Only then did he realize that he was not in the world of the living at all, but in Hell!
More than a dozen Head Lantern Ghosts drifted through an alley corner; Qi-Eating Ghosts with long necks clung to the rooftops; a mass of Long-Haired Ghost floated downstream in the river. Most outrageous of all was the pharmacy.
The pharmacy clerk was drying angelica shaped like eyeballs, tsaoko that resembled organs, ginseng with facial features, astragalus that constantly seeped blood...
Every medicinal ingredient related to strange creatures actually came from ghosts!
"Martial Artists in this world use ghosts as medicine!!"
Yang He clutched his head. Could all these abnormalities have been caused by Spiritual Vision? Were they all hallucinations?
No.
Better to believe it was real than believe it was not.
According to Spiritual Vision's warning, those who saw ghosts would be torn apart and devoured. Clearly, being able to look directly at ghosts was not a good thing.
Humans and ghosts were separated by a layer of window paper. Once that paper was pierced, he would likely leave behind neither corpse nor bones.
The only thing he could do was pretend not to see them!
Yang He forcibly suppressed his stray thoughts. He realized that the object causing Spiritual Vision to rise was extremely important. His cheat ability was what he would rely on to survive.
"Eh?!"
One butcher made a mistake. Before he could correct it, the Treasure Fish had already died.
From a normal perspective, the Treasure Fish visibly withered at an astonishing speed.
Shopkeeper Chen smiled helplessly and did not blame the butcher.
But what Yang He saw was different. A crack split open along the Treasure Fish's back, and it seemed that a ghost crawled out of the corpse before abruptly vanishing.
"If a strange creature is improperly processed, a new ghost will be born? No wonder there are wandering ghosts everywhere."
Yang He gritted his teeth and bent down to squeeze into the crowd fighting over the debris.
"Dad, I'm going to try my luck."
"Don't be reckless!"
Old Man Yang waited anxiously. Only after a long while did he see his son return in a disheveled state.
Yang He panted heavily, clutching a lotus seed in his palm. There was nothing unusual about its appearance, while his Spiritual Vision had already stopped at 1.2 points.
Mundane Object: Lotus Born Lotus Associated Lore: "Ghost Lotus." Would you like to consume 1 point of Spiritual Vision to enter the Lore World?
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