The Golden Finger Shouldn't Be Broken, Right?

The Golden Finger Shouldn't Be Broken, Right? Midnight.

The moonlight was hazy, dreamlike and illusory.

The rasping sound of a whetstone rang out without end.

A whetstone, half a gourd ladle of clear water, and a long saber mottled with rust.

Under the bright moonlight, Chu Mu carefully sharpened the blade against the whetstone.

Amid the ear-piercing scraping, the rust-mottled long saber slowly began to reveal a gleam of purity.

Splash...

A ladleful of clear water poured down. Rust and grime washed away, leaving the mottled surface spotless. The edge gleamed brightly, and beneath the shining moonlight, a piercing, icy radiance flowed through the courtyard along the blade.

After examining the long saber for a moment, Chu Mu pressed his lips together and surveyed the unfamiliar little courtyard. An indescribable loneliness and confusion surfaced between his brows.

It was hard to imagine that someone could be in modern society one second, then find himself in a completely unfamiliar environment the next.

An unfamiliar era, unfamiliar people, and even unfamiliar, fragmented memories... an unfamiliar body...

Chu Mu slowly lowered his head. Beneath the moonlight, a face was faintly visible in the clear water inside the ladle.

Although he was looking at his own reflection, the face in the water was utterly unfamiliar. Even though he had seen this face more than once, that feeling remained indescribably strange and horrifying.

Strange and horrifying, yet there was one concept that seemed to perfectly explain what had happened to him.

Transmigration?

Chu Mu shook his head inwardly, unsure whether he should rejoice or grieve.

After several days in this new world, combined with the Original Owner's somewhat fragmented memories, he had more or less figured out the situation he had transmigrated into.

This appeared to be an ancient dynasty called Great Chu, while the Original Owner had lived in a small town on Great Chu's northern border.

Although it was Great Chu, after learning more about it these past few days, it seemed not to be any dynasty he knew, but rather an unknown Different World.

As for him... or rather, the background of the body's Original Owner, it was quite simple. His mother had died young, while his father had originally served in the county's Patrol Bureau. He had later been transferred to Nanshan Town, but less than two years after arriving, he Died in the Line of Duty during an assignment. They had not even found his body.

The Original Owner, overcome with grief, had collapsed unconscious. As for him, he had occupied the magpie's nest as the dove, abruptly barging into this world and becoming Chu Mu of this era and this small town.

In a daze, he had handled the Original Owner's father's funeral, then spent several days alone in quiet seclusion. Only then had Chu Mu somewhat adapted to this era and this extraordinarily abrupt transmigration.

Late autumn was approaching, and the night already carried a chill. A cool breeze brushed past, and Chu Mu instinctively tightened his clothes. The heavy thoughts in his mind scattered considerably as well.

The long saber turned in his hand. He carefully slid the blade back into its scabbard and was just about to enter the house when Chu Mu seemed to remember something. He silently recited a thought, and a pale-blue, transparent Light Screen Panel soundlessly appeared in his field of vision.

Name: Chu Mu.

Skills: None

Spirit Radiance Value: 99.9%

The Light Screen Panel was wondrous, just like a skill panel in a game. Clearly, it did not belong to this ancient era.

Chu Mu was naturally accustomed to it. After all, transmigration had already happened. How could a transmigrator's standard Golden Finger possibly be absent?

The functions of his Golden Finger were just as clearly displayed by this Light Screen Panel.

"Name" naturally referred to him.

The so-called "skills" meant exactly what they said and were already quite clear. Although no skills were displayed on the Light Screen Panel, he supposed it was because some sort of requirement had not yet been met. Having only just arrived and spent all this time in a daze handling the Original Owner's father's funeral, he had not had time to experiment carefully.

As for "Spirit Radiance Value," it referred to some sort of energy Chu Mu could not yet understand. Obtaining this energy was not difficult, but it was not easy either...

As long as Chu Mu himself focused intensely on doing something—whether reading, exercising, or even thinking, not to mention sharpening a saber just now—as long as he concentrated without distraction, he could make this "Spirit Radiance Value" increase.

The value that had already reached ninety-nine point nine percent was naturally the result of Chu Mu's pondering over the past few days.

As for the use of "Spirit Radiance Value," he had made many guesses, but he truly had not figured out its specific effects.

"Perhaps it has something to do with skills..."

Watching the "Spirit Radiance Value" displayed on the Light Screen Panel, Chu Mu secretly speculated.

His thoughts were still turning when Chu Mu's gaze suddenly sharpened. The Spirit Radiance Value on the Light Screen Panel, which had reached ninety-nine point nine percent, seemed to have reached one hundred percent because of his focused contemplation just now.

At that very instant, a tiny, flashing plus sign appeared after the Spirit Radiance Value.

"Add points?"

Seeing this, those two words instinctively surfaced in Chu Mu's mind.

In his previous life, he had read countless webnovels. He naturally possessed some familiarity with this sort of thing.

But after staring at it for a moment, Chu Mu grew puzzled. Without any skills, how was he supposed to add points?

Moreover, the Light Screen Panel did not display any option that could receive points.

Could there be something wrong with my Golden Finger? After thinking for a while, Chu Mu pressed his lips together, then looked at the long saber he had just sharpened in his hand.

The saber had been passed down through the family—or, strictly speaking, it had been issued by the Patrol Bureau. The Original Owner's father had used this very saber. After Dying in the Line of Duty, by rights, it should have been returned to the Patrol Bureau.

However, because his father had died in the line of duty, custom dictated that, in addition to a fairly generous pension, his son could take over his father's post and continue drawing a salary from the government.

Although he had not yet fully adapted after just arriving, Chu Mu naturally would not give up this government job. Once the funeral was over, he went to the county's Patrol Bureau and secured the position.

By taking over his father's post, he became a Patrol Inspector at the Patrol Inspectorate in Nanshan Town.

Naturally, there was no need to hand over this Patrol Inspector's saber. It smoothly became the Service Saber he inherited after taking over the post.

With a saber, there were naturally some saber techniques to go with it.

The Original Owner's father had served in the Patrol Bureau for many years. Although he had no great abilities, he had practiced the saber techniques and routines drilled by the Patrol Bureau rather well.

In his memories, the Original Owner had often followed his father in practicing those saber techniques and routines when he was young. It could barely be considered a skill.

Saber techniques and routines... they should count as a skill too, right?

Thinking this, Chu Mu could not help carefully recalling the saber techniques and routines in the Original Owner's memories. Only after a long while did he return from his contemplation.

He drew the saber from its scabbard, then slowly swung the long blade while recalling the movements.

The so-called saber techniques and routines were hardly profound or mysterious. Although Patrol Inspectors were responsible for maintaining public order, the position was also half military in nature.

Military drills amounted to nothing more than basic moves like chopping, slashing, and Upward Strike. They were not especially complicated.

After fumbling through the practice for only a short while, with the Original Owner's foundation to build upon, the long saber was already being wielded quite skillfully in Chu Mu's hands.

Of course, that only meant it looked presentable. As for how it truly was, Chu Mu felt that his childhood rampages through the cornfields had probably looked more skillful than this.

After all, this long saber was forged of iron, and it was far from light. How could it compare to a random little wooden stick from his childhood, with which he could roam unhindered in every direction...

This will be a mortal-oriented story, but it should differ somewhat from the usual mortal-oriented stories. It will be more detailed and include some interesting elements. The plot will heat up slowly rather than follow a fast pace—not a fast pace! If you don't like it, please don't flame me. Thank you.