Green-Grade Identity: Wandering Daoist

Yang He felt as though he were sitting on pins and needles and hurriedly covered the well with a wooden board.

Though the board was useless, at least he no longer had to look directly into the depths of the well.

"The Hungry Ghost's condition is off. It seems to have suffered a severe blow already."

"Who is attacking the Hungry Ghost?"

Yang He suddenly realized something. If a Martial Artist learned that there was a Hungry Ghost inside his body, could the two of them still maintain their symbiotic relationship?

He could not help shuddering. Even though the evening glow filled the courtyard, it could not dispel the gloom in his heart.

"That Hungry Ghost will not let me go. I do not even have time to practice martial arts. The only possibility of breaking this deadlock lies in... the Lore World."

Either a yin artifact like the red rope, or... spells capable of harming ghosts.

Yang He took out the lotus seed.

Compared with last time, the lotus seed looked somewhat shriveled, and the information revealed by Spiritual Vision had changed as well.

Ghost Lotus: 2/3 (6%)

A progress bar had appeared behind Ghost Lotus. Clearly, entering the Lore World was not without limits. The number of entries needed time to replenish, and he only had two chances left.

Yang He summoned the panel without hesitation. With danger looming over him, he instead grew increasingly calm.

Mundane Object: Lotus Born Lotus

Associated Lore: "Ghost Lotus." Consume 1 point of Spiritual Vision to enter the Lore World?

He looked at the red rope again, and Spiritual Vision revealed more information.

Consume 0.3 points of Spiritual Vision to carry the Grudge-Soaked Red Rope?

"No."

The red rope could not deal with ghosts. Wasting it in the Lore World would not be worth it.

"Let's go."

With a thought from Yang He, three faces appeared before his eyes.

His heart pounded wildly. Compared with the lifeless faces from before, two of them were now utterly bloodless, painted with strange makeup for the dead.

The identities "Coffin Presser" and "Lotus Root Harvester" have died and cannot be selected for portrayal.

Coffin Presser: You were responsible for transporting the gloomy wood coffin from the General's Mansion. Not long after arriving in Cailian Town, you hanged yourself from beneath a locust tree.

Lotus Root Harvester: You secretly entered Qing Lake at night to harvest lotus roots. The next day, you were found drowned on the shore, with lotus flowers growing from your hollowed-out chest and abdomen.

"So every entry into the Lore does not start from the beginning. The storyline keeps advancing, and available identities die as the plot progresses."

Yang He clicked his tongue inwardly. If that was the case, the Lore World would surely become increasingly difficult.

The dead faces crumbled into ashes, and new identities immediately filled the three faces.

Please select the identity you will portray in the Lore.

Carpenter (White): The coffin from the General's Mansion has been temporarily placed in the Yamen. For some unknown reason, a crack has appeared in its nailed-shut lid. At the Yamen's invitation, you attempt to repair the lid.

Constable (White): As a constable of Cailian Town, you discover that strange incidents have continued ever since the coffin from the General's Mansion arrived. In only two short days, twelve people have inexplicably hanged themselves, while another seven have drowned in Qing Lake.

Yang He's expression turned grave. The evil thing inside the coffin had clearly gone out of control. Portraying either the carpenter or constable would be far more dangerous than he had imagined.

His gaze shifted to the third identity, and his expression became somewhat surprised.

Wandering Daoist (Green): As Cailian Town's only Daoist, you possess a rudimentary grasp of spells and have inherited a flawed Qi Gazing Technique. Upon hearing that the Yamen has encountered evil, you decide to gamble on your future.

Identities of green quality or above require additional Spiritual Vision.

If you do not select an identity, you will enter the Lore in your true body for portrayal.

"Compared to white-quality identities, green-quality ones should know at least a few unorthodox tricks."

Yang He naturally knew what to choose. Even if the Qi Gazing Technique was not particularly useful, perhaps the wandering Daoist had some ghost-banishing yin artifact on him.

"Choose Wandering Daoist."

Consume 4 points of Spiritual Vision to enter the Lore "Ghost Lotus"?

"Confirm."

The moment Yang He's consciousness awakened, he felt an indescribable suffocation. Then searing pain shot through his neck, and bloody fluid flowed from his nose and mouth.

"Ugh."

He opened his eyes and discovered that he was in a secluded alley.

A strip of red silk was cinched around Yang He's neck. No matter how he struggled, he could not loosen it in the slightest, and it was already affecting his consciousness.

He tried to tear the red silk apart, only to discover that it felt like human skin.

Fine hairs even covered its surface.

"What kind of damned start is this? Could it be that my 4 points of Spiritual Vision were wasted for nothing?"

Yang He looked around the dim alley. There was not a single passerby, and he could see extremely dense yin energy. The red silk had clearly come from a ghost!

"Urgh, urgh, urgh."

He recalled the information from the constable identity. During the two days since the General's Mansion had settled in Cailian Town, twelve people had already inexplicably hanged themselves.

It had to be that coffin. The ghost inside was even fiercer than he had imagined!!

Bones cracked in Yang He's neck as the red silk embedded itself into his flesh.

"No, I at least need to figure out the Qi Gazing Technique, otherwise..."

He could sense unfamiliar memories in his mind. They were precisely the method of the Qi Gazing Technique. He could not help closing his eyes to inspect them as obscure, difficult phrases surged through his thoughts.

"Hm?"

The instant Yang He recited it silently, he suddenly discovered something strange in his chest. No, there was something strange within his flesh!

There was a ghost inside the wandering Daoist's body! It was the ghost corresponding to the Qi Gazing Technique!!

Yang He clenched his teeth and squeezed out the last oxygen from his lungs. Through eyes streaming with blood, he saw a bizarre eye moving beneath the surface of his skin.

The strange eye was entirely white, its pupil no larger than a grain of rice.

"I'm going to die..."

Yang He gradually lost strength, while the strange eye had already crawled up to his chest.

When the strange eye burrowed into his neck—

Sizzle—

A sound like a rolling blade cutting through butter suddenly rang out as the strange eye fought against the red silk.

Yang He's pain intensified, and he nearly passed out.

His consciousness had already begun showing signs of returning to the Main World when, with a snap, the red silk broke cleanly into two.

The red silk turned into bloody water that dripped down the wall, mixed with heaps of white bones.

A moment later, the bloody water completely evaporated into smoke.

Still shaken, Yang He touched his neck. Purple-blue strangulation marks stood out clearly, and he still felt short of breath whenever he inhaled.

"Ah, the cultivation methods of both worlds stem from the same source. The first step is always accommodating a ghost."

He activated the Qi Gazing Technique. A strange eye opened a slit on the back of his hand, and in an instant, the black-gray smoke in his field of vision began to dissipate bit by bit.

As expected, the smoke was grudge energy.

Pupil Ghost Way (Qi Cultivator)

Once mastered, the Pupil Ghost becomes a spiritual root for communicating with the yin energy of the outside world. Each time you command the Pupil Ghost, your vision will suffer damage. Should you go completely blind, the Pupil Ghost will replace your eyes.

Yang He noticed that the Pupil Ghost within him was clearly weakened and could not fully open, seemingly having nearly been destroyed by the red silk.

"So... I'm already a Qi Cultivator now?"

Yang He laughed bitterly. The flawed Qi Gazing Technique only contained methods for controlling the Pupil Ghost and could not draw qi into the body. It was merely an inferior version of a Qi Cultivator's cultivation method.

Fortunately, raising ghosts was not as terrifying as he had expected.

Spiritual Vision: 2.4 points

"Controlling the Pupil Ghost to fight the red silk consumed 0.2 points of Spiritual Vision."

The drawback of the Pupil Ghost damaging his eyesight was perfectly offset by Spiritual Vision. As long as Spiritual Vision was not exhausted, he did not need to worry about going blind.

"The Pupil Ghost should be able to return to the Main World with me. A Qi Cultivator really does suit me."

Yang He staggered out of the alley.

His current body was a little over forty years old. He carried no yin artifacts, and more than half of his old Daoist robe was tattered. It was clear that his life had been difficult.

Night had fallen, and the low clouds looked as if they were about to unleash a torrential downpour.

The burnt stench permeating the air grew increasingly pungent. Paper money drifted in the wind, most likely from Cailian Town burning corpses.

The moment Yang He left the alley, he found himself beside the heavily guarded Cailian Town Yamen.

The wandering Daoist had most likely been on his way to recommend himself to the Yamen when he encountered the coffin's strange influence and nearly got hanged in a corner.

A man dressed like a county magistrate paced anxiously before the Yamen gates.

He paid Yang He no attention and merely stared toward the end of the street.

Only when two figures approached did the county magistrate finally let out a relieved breath.

Yang He turned to look. A middle-aged constable was hurrying toward the Yamen with the carpenter.