At Xiao Ran's thought, the [Calamity Suppressing Token] in his hand immediately gave off an eerie glow.
The next moment, the man's body trembled, and memories sealed away for many years began to surface.
By the window, a woman in theatrical costume posed with delicate hands, swaying before a mirror. She moved with light, lotus-like steps, keeping her legs still as she moved her body. With a wave of her hands, she struck the pose of a concubine drunk on wine, then fell neatly into the man's arms.
The two exchanged flirtatious glances, right in the middle of their tender moment, when suddenly the door was kicked open.
"Fuck your mother, Mei San! You're not getting away today, you bastard!"
Several men rushed in, cursing and waving axes. Mei San's expression shifted. He pushed the woman in his arms away and sprang up from the sofa, moving like a gust of wind as he calmly dodged the descending axes.
"Trying to catch me? You're still wet behind the ears." Mei San curled his lip, then turned and ran outside.
The men quickly spread out, trying to block every escape route. But Mei San's every step was as light as smoke. He touched down on the wall with his toes and bounded up to the rafters in just a few steps.
"Here's a little something for you!"
He pulled a cloth pouch from his waist and tossed it down.
"Bang!"
The pouch burst open, showering the men below with white powder. They were soon covered in dust, their eyes stinging fiercely. A strong smell of chili made their nostrils burn, too.
In the confusion, the men shoved and jostled their way outside. After cursing and finally catching their breath, they opened their eyes and looked around. Mei San was nowhere to be seen; he had long since disappeared.
"Huh?!"
Then someone remembered something and hurriedly checked his pocket. His face fell. "I'm done for. My money's gone!"
Hearing that, the others all reached for their own pockets, only to discover that not only was their money gone, but so were the gold rings on their fingers and the silver chains around their necks.
The leader stared blankly for a few seconds, then cursed. "Damn it, one of these days I'm cutting that bastard's hands off. Let's go!"
Only after the group had cursed their way out did Mei San appear, hanging upside down from the rooftop with his legs hooked over the edge. He flipped through the air and landed steadily on the ground, a small pouch now in his hand. Inside were the valuables he had just taken from the group.
The memory was brief, showing only that short scene.
Xiao Ran didn't feel particularly moved by it. What truly delighted him was the new ability he had gained.
"You repaired Mei San's corpse. Your rating is A. You gained 20 Energy Value."
"Calamity Suppressing Token special privilege: Spirit Seizing successful. You gained Mei San's ability, 'Skillful Hands, Empty Pockets.'"
As the prompts sounded, a string of memories surfaced in Xiao Ran's mind. All of Mei San's memories related to sleight of hand were stripped of his personal imprint and embedded into Xiao Ran's consciousness.
They included the training Mei San had undergone since childhood, learning sleight of hand under the guidance of an old beggar.
"Skillful Hands, Empty Pockets—or Empty Pockets, Skillful Hands. It all comes down to two things: skill and speed." The old beggar raised both arms, but both hands had been chopped off below the wrists. "This is what happens when you don't train enough. Today, we'll work on speed. Once you can snatch a pancake floating in a pot of boiling oil with your bare hands, we'll move on to the next level..."
The scene shifted. The pancake in the pot of boiling oil had become a key submerged in the oil.
Every day was an ordeal. Year after year, six years passed before Mei San could casually steal the wallet from the old beggar's pocket right under his nose. Only then could he be said to have truly mastered Skillful Hands, Empty Pockets.
Unfortunately, after six years of hard training, Mei San's Skillful Hands, Empty Pockets would be changing its name today. It would now belong to the Xiao family.
Just as Xiao Ran finished absorbing all the memories related to Sleight of Hand, the [Red Armband]'s Curse Contract privilege expired.
Xiao Ran narrowed his eyes, savoring the intricacies of Sleight of Hand.
The man before him, however, had already grown furious. The veins stood out on his face, and he could feel that when Xiao Ran had activated the [Calamity Suppressing Token], he had not only awakened a sealed memory but had also inexplicably lost something.
It felt as though a hand had forcibly cut something out of his body.
What had he lost?
He couldn't remember at all. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't recall what was missing. His already hazy memories had now been torn into even more scattered fragments.
"What did you do?!"
Mei San glared at Xiao Ran, wishing he could tear him limb from limb.
"Heh. You wouldn't pay me, so I had to take something else. What it was is none of your business."
Xiao Ran casually patted Mei San on the shoulder, then turned away and flipped his hand. A delicate snuff bottle had appeared in his palm.
It was made of dark green jade, with an image of the Eight Immortals carved into it in intaglio.
"F-class Cursed Object discovered: Eight Immortals Snuff Bottle. Activate?"
"So it really is Empty Handed Master—Sleight of Hand."
Looking at the treasure he had so easily obtained, Xiao Ran's smile widened. He immediately chose to activate it and see what it did.
F-class Cursed Object: Eight Immortals Snuff Bottle · Corpse Stitcher A special snuff bottle. Privilege 1: Spirit Smoke Spirit Smoke quantity (8/10) Inhale once to become invigorated for a short time. Inhale twice to gain a random curse enhancement. Inhale a third time to gain the enhancement of a random Ghost Eight Immortal. Warning! Once the Spirit Smoke enhancement ends, you will also experience a certain degree of mental fatigue. The more times you inhale, the stronger the negative effect. Privilege 2: Accumulated Fragrance Each time you stitch up a corpse, you can obtain some of its energy to replenish the amount of Spirit Smoke. (Note: When you encounter a special corpse, there is also a chance of obtaining Spirit Smoke with special properties!)
"Garbage!"
After Xiao Ran figured out what it did, he was deeply disappointed. It was nowhere near as good as the [Calamity Suppressing Token] or the [Mourning Ring]. Even compared to the [Black Swan Brooch] and [Ghost Cloak], it fell far short.
Still, he couldn't really call it garbage. Every Cursed Object had its own unique traits. It might be useless to him, but in someone else's hands, it could be a treasure they'd kill to obtain.
For now, he'd keep it. If he got the chance, he could try trading it at the Changchun Association. Maybe he could exchange it for a Cursed Object he needed.
The only real shame was that the Red Armband didn't last long. Thirty seconds—enough for him to stitch up a corpse just once, even with the Master-level Suturing Technique enhancement.
If only it lasted a little longer. Then he could do it a few more times.
The lightness skill shown in Mei San's memories was impressive, too. He'd scaled a three-meter-high rafter by stepping on the wall and leaping up in a single bound. It was a first-rate life-saving skill.
While Xiao Ran quietly lamented that, Mei San stood in place, dazed.
He stared fixedly at Xiao Ran, wanting to drag the man off the bus and tear him limb from limb. But Xiao Ran was wearing the Red Armband, and his status as the bus ticket inspector left Mei San able to do nothing but glare. His chest heaved, and his face twisted with frustration.
The other passengers had no idea what had happened, but seeing Mei San's pained expression, they knew he had clearly suffered a major loss. The few who had been watching from the sidelines immediately settled down.
"Ding dong. Bone Spirit Street is here. Passengers getting off, please move to the rear door."
The announcement sounded, and the bus began to slow down.
"Pssh..."
The doors opened, and some passengers hurried off. Mei San was among them; even as he stepped off the bus, he never once took his eyes off Xiao Ran.
A few other passengers hesitated, looking toward the door as if they wanted to get off, but they seemed wary of Bone Spirit Street and ultimately didn't dare step outside.
In a moment, more than half the passengers had left the bus.
Taking advantage of the lull, Xiao Ran sat down beside the man in the vest to rest.
Using Cursed Objects so frequently didn't cause any negative effects, but it still took a heavy toll on his mind.
"Bro, you're incredible! Let's be friends. I'm Huang Le."
Huang Le looked at Xiao Ran with such reverence that he practically worshipped the ground he walked on. If he'd been sitting on the bus alone, surrounded by all those evil ghosts, he figured he wouldn't have had a scrap left by the time they reached the stop.
Simply staying alive would have been a miracle.
Meanwhile, Xiao Ran was thriving. Huang Le couldn't help wondering how the gap between people could be so huge.
Huang Le rummaged through his shirt pocket and actually found a business card, which he handed to Xiao Ran.
Xiao Ran took it and glanced at it, his expression turning a little strange.
The card showed a sexy woman on each side. At first glance, it looked just like one of those gaudy little cards people carelessly tossed onto the street.
He flipped it over. The words [Huang Le Adult Products Store] were printed prominently on the back.
"If you ever need anything, just come to me. I guarantee I can get you whatever you're looking for."
Huang Le winked at Xiao Ran, wearing an expression that said he knew exactly what he meant.
Xiao Ran was a little speechless. After thinking it over, he put the card away. He had a decent impression of Huang Le, and the two might be able to work together someday. That is, if Huang Le survived the trial.
Soon, the bus started moving again.
"Next stop: [Fifth Hospital]. Passengers boarding, please hold on and take your seats. Passengers getting off, please move to the rear door..."
Huang Le nervously raised his head and looked. As the doors closed, quite a few new passengers got on. This time, though, he wasn't nearly as terrified as before. With a powerful ally like Xiao Ran beside him, what was there to worry about?
Huang Le turned to look at Xiao Ran, only to discover that at some point, Xiao Ran had taken off the Red Armband. Noticing Huang Le's puzzled gaze, he raised a finger to his lips.
Huang Le's eyes darted around. He immediately understood and put on a terrified expression, trembling as he watched the new 'passengers' board.
Huang Le's cooperation couldn't have been better.
His expression was full of terror and uncertainty; he looked just like a mouse trapped among cats.
His convincing performance immediately caught the attention of an old woman.
"Young man, my legs aren't good. Give me your seat."
The Old Woman grinned, holding a bowl of pitch-black rice with a pair of chopsticks stuck into it. As she walked over, a pungent stench wafted from the bowl, and she stared at Xiao Ran.
Xiao Ran kept his head down, looking as though he couldn't be bothered to move. The Old Woman frowned, her expression darkening. Her voice grew shrill. "I'm talking to you! Why are you pretending you can't hear me? If you won't let me sit, then you won't be sitting either!"
As she spoke, she raised the bowl to smash it at Xiao Ran. But he moved faster. The moment she lifted the bowl and chopsticks, he stood and kicked the bowl out of her hands.
The black grains of rice scattered across the floor and immediately turned into black liquid, sizzling as it spread.
Seeing this, the passengers in the back row silently mourned for the Old Woman.
The old man sitting next to Xiao Ran, the one Xiao Ran had fined and checked for a ticket, had completely shed his earlier dejected look. His eyes shone as he took a handful of sunflower seeds from his bamboo basket and noisily crunched them in his mouth.
Without a word, Xiao Ran pulled out the Red Armband and put it on. With a dark expression, he held out his hand to the Old Woman. "Hello. Littering and attacking the ticket inspector will cost you a five-yuan fine!"
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