Traits

"Dad, why go through all this trouble? You're even making Second Brother call him Dad. I said, that old bastard probably doesn't have many days left. He might not even make it through this winter. Once he breathes his last—or better yet, we finish him off directly—we can take over his property. You and he are cousins; who could say anything?"

"Exactly. I took a look just now. There were only some pots, bowls, and other junk on that broken boat. Bundled up, they wouldn't sell for much. That boat is falling apart too. What's the use of taking it? We'd even have to waste a table of food and wine."

On the Black-awning Boat, two youths stared at their father in confusion.

"You two idiots!"

Zhang Cheng cursed his two sons for failing to meet his expectations. "That old ghost may not have children, but he has plenty of relatives, both near and far. They may not usually keep in touch, but who would pass up Exploiting the Deceased's Estate? A whole crowd would come rushing over then. How would we keep it all for ourselves?"

"This..."

The two sons exchanged glances. They understood a little, but still did not get it. "Is that necessary? What kind of assets could that old bastard have? Just some broken junk and a wreck of a boat. Is it worth all this effort?"

"What the hell do you know?"

Zhang Cheng cursed again. "In these times, what fisherman who lives to that age doesn't have some hidden skills? That old bastard has always kept a low profile. He never even took a wife, so he must have quite a bit saved up. Even if we take a step back and say he doesn't have a single coin, we can still..."

As he spoke, Zhang Cheng lowered his voice. "Use his name to sell off certain things openly and legitimately. Understand?"

"This..."

"Got it, got it!"

"Dad, you really are wise!"

Only then did the two finally understand after hearing Zhang Cheng's words, and they immediately began praising him.

"Otherwise, how could I be the father of two little bastards like you?"

Zhang Cheng snorted, then turned to look behind him and said gloomily, "Old cousin, old cousin, don't blame me. At your age, you've lived long enough. Better to go down early and reunite with your family. Don't worry, I keep my word. My Second Brother will definitely carry on your family line..."

That night, in the cabin, Xu Yang looked at the knife in his hand. Its blade had been sharpened to an extreme edge, reflecting a chilling gleam.

Sharpening Knife (Sharpness)

Just as its name implied, it could sharpen blades to keen edges.

As for how sharp... Xu Yang had tested it. It still could not achieve Sword That Cuts Iron Like Mud, but hacking flesh, chopping bone, cutting off heads, and stabbing hearts were all effortless.

Xu Yang set down the dagger and looked outside the cabin. The moon and stars were hidden, and darkness stretched without end.

A moonless night was perfect for murder; a windy night was perfect for arson!

He did not know what Zhang Cheng and his sons were planning, but their Actions had already posed a real threat to his safety.

So they had to die. Tonight!

Xu Yang stood up and removed his loose rain cape, revealing a hunched, bent body. Against the oversized clothing, he looked even thinner and frailer, no different from an ordinary old man.

But as he took off his clothes, his hunched body and gaunt muscles gradually straightened and filled out. Strange sounds of shifting sinew and bone came from within him.

A moment later, the cabin no longer held a dry, frail old man. In his place stood a tall, powerfully built, muscular... old man?

Then, with one hand dipped in water, he wiped his face. The old man with mottled skin and deep wrinkles vanished as well, leaving only a Youth with sharp features and an unyielding air.

Breathing (Turtle's Breath, Robustness, Vigor, Life Extension, Longevity)

Disguise (Camouflage, Voice Alteration, Bone Shrinking, Breath Concealment)

Life Extension was one trait of the Breathing skill. It could increase Lifespan while slowing the body's aging. Combined with his extended life, Xu Yang was not an old man at all, but a strong adult in the prime of his life.

But such an abnormality obviously could not be revealed to the outside world, so Xu Yang had begun practicing a skill early on—Disguise.

Disguise? How was one supposed to disguise oneself?

Xu Yang did not know either. But it did not matter if he did not know. With the Attribute Panel's skill solidification, whether he knew how or not, as long as he did it enough to develop the skill and generate traits, he could turn decay into magic.

That was exactly what Xu Yang had done. At first, he did not understand Disguise or Voice Alteration, Camouflage or Bone Shrinking. Every day, he simply smeared mud over his face. Whenever he went out, he wore a bamboo hat and rain cape whenever possible. He bent at the waist, kept his head lowered, hunched his back, and pressed down his voice when speaking to others.

Over time, Xu Yang developed the Disguise skill and derived four traits from it: Camouflage, Voice Alteration, Bone Shrinking, and Breath Concealment.

Skill traits possessed the power to turn decay into magic. With them, Xu Yang needed only simple materials, such as mud from the riverbed, to disguise himself as a dying old fisherman and conceal his original appearance, physique, and vitality. Let alone ordinary people, even Martial Artists could not spot the slightest flaw.

Xu Yang had tested this several times. He had encountered Martial Artists from the Golden Carp Gang and other factions on Dongting Lake, yet none had noticed anything unusual about him. This showed just how effective Disguise was when enhanced by skill traits.

After removing his clothes and restoring his original appearance, Xu Yang, wearing only a pair of shorts, walked out of the cabin and onto the bow. He tied the dagger and a cloth pouch around his waist.

"Caw!"

At that moment, a resounding cry rang out. A black shadow descended and landed steadily atop the awning.

It was... a cormorant, an enormous cormorant.

Aquaculture (Domestication, Growth, Exotic Fish, Cormorant)

In this rigidly stratified world, where rising in status was difficult, Xu Yang had constantly sought ways to protect himself. Since he could not gain access to martial arts, he had to start elsewhere.

Thus, Xu Yang developed the Sharpening Knife skill. He also practiced a precise Flying Stone technique through skipping stones, and secretly swung his blade at night, developing the Hacking skill with its powerful traits.

After gaining the Domestication trait through the Aquaculture skill, he had even wanted to follow the path of beast taming, gathering some Shrimp Soldiers and Crab Generals—birds, beasts, and the like—as bodyguards.

Though things had not developed as ideally as he hoped, and no transcendent traits such as Shrimp Soldiers and Crab Generals or Spirit Beast Enlightenment had appeared, the combination of Growth and Cormorant still gave Xu Yang a capable assistant.

Growth, as the name suggested, meant growing very large. Animals raised through Aquaculture grew better and faster, and their final size exceeded normal standards.

As for Cormorant, it allowed him to tame cormorants, make them obey commands, and enhance their abilities.

This great cormorant was the product of Xu Yang's careful cultivation. Its name was Old Six!

Why was it called Old Six?

Because Old One, Second Brother, Old Three, Old Four, and Old Five had all died!

Old Six had only just reached adulthood and was at the peak of its life. It could accompany him for quite some time yet.

"Did you find them?"

Xu Yang glanced at Old Six, which actually nodded at him in a humanlike manner.

"Very good!"

"Go!"

Seeing this, Xu Yang said no more. At his command, the cormorant spread its wings and flew up, using its loud cries to point out the direction from the sky.

Xu Yang also leaped from the bow and plunged into the dark, deep lake waters.

"Splash!"

On a late autumn night, the waters of Dongting were already a bit bone-chillingly cold.

But Xu Yang felt nothing at all. He dove underwater, swayed his body, and began swimming at astonishing speed.

Swimming (Like a Fish in Water)

After testing it, Xu Yang discovered that skill traits also varied in rank. Two-character traits were ordinary traits, while four-character traits were rare traits, of higher level and stronger effect.

Like a Fish in Water, the trait of Swimming, was a rare four-character trait. It allowed Xu Yang to move like a fish. However fish moved in water, he could move the same way, equivalent to a large fish of the same size.

With Xu Yang's current physical qualities, a fish of his size could practically be called a Spirit Monster of the waters.

Thus, his underwater capabilities were easy to imagine. Even though the waters where Zhang Family's father and sons had moored were more than ten miles away, he could swiftly reach them through Swimming without having to travel by boat and draw attention.

"Caw!"

Guided by the cormorant's cries, Xu Yang swam underwater like a fish and soon reached the waters where Zhang Family's father and sons had anchored.

Xu Yang emerged from the water and saw a Big Black Canopy Boat moored in a natural harbor ahead.

Fishermen did not necessarily live aboard their boats. Those with enough property to buy land and build houses usually lived on shore and only took their boats out when they needed to fish.

Only impoverished families with no other options, whose entire possessions consisted of a single broken boat, would endure the wind, rain, damp cold, and sickness aboard such an unstable vessel.

Xu Yang was like this, and Zhang Family's father and sons were no better off. A Family of Three all lived aboard that Big Black Canopy Boat.

The Big Black Canopy Boat was anchored in the bay, with a small lamp lit for illumination to prevent collisions with passing boats.

Xu Yang looked at the sky and estimated the time for a while before dismissing the idea of sneaking aboard directly.

Though he had a Strong and robust body and a dagger as a weapon, giving him a great advantage in a sneak attack, it was only a great advantage, not an absolute one.

Two fists could not defeat four hands. The other side had three people, including two strong adults, while he had never practiced orthodox martial arts. Aside from being somewhat physically strong, he held no great advantage. A direct ambush could still end in disaster.

So...

Xu Yang opened the small pouch tied at his waist and took out a fist-sized pebble.

Flying Stone (Precision)

Another of Xu Yang's offensive skills, a Flying Stone technique developed through skipping stones. At present, it had only one trait, Precision, granting an extremely high hit rate within a certain distance.

Though it had only one trait, it was sufficient as an offensive method for now. Xu Yang did not believe any of Zhang Family's three members could withstand a Flying Stone to the head.

Now, all he had to do was wait patiently for one of them to get up at night to relieve himself.

Of course, if no one came out, or if they had the good habit of keeping chamber pots aboard, Xu Yang would still sneak onto the boat and kill them by force.