Skillful Hands, Empty Pockets

With a thought from Xiao Ran, the [Calamity Suppressing Token] in his hand immediately emitted an eerie glow.

The next moment, the man's body trembled as memories sealed away for many years began to surface.

By the door and windows, a woman in a costume twisted her body, holding flowers in her hands as she faced a mirror. Her feet moved in a lotus-like pattern, her legs barely moving as her hands gestured, striking a pose from "The Drunken Beauty" before falling into the man's embrace.

The two exchanged flirtatious glances, in the midst of their passionate moment, when suddenly the door was kicked open.

"Fuck your mother, Mei San, you're not escaping today!"

Several people rushed in, wielding axes and cursing. Mei San's expression shifted slightly as he pushed the woman in his arms away. He leaped from the sofa, transforming into a gust of wind, and calmly dodged the incoming axe.

"Trying to catch me? You're still too green," Mei San sneered, then turned and ran outside.

Seeing this, the group quickly spread out, attempting to block all of Mei San's escape routes. However, Mei San's every step was as light as smoke. With a tap of his toes, he leaped onto the roof beams in a few steps, using the wall for support.

"This is for you!"

He then threw a cloth bag from his waist down.

"Bang!"

The cloth bag exploded, scattering white powder that left the group below covered in dust. Their eyes stung fiercely, and the strong smell of chili made their nostrils burn.

In their panic, the group shoved and pushed each other as they ran outside. Once they finally stumbled out the door, still cursing, they managed to catch their breath. When they opened their eyes, Mei San was nowhere to be seen; he had already vanished.

"Huh!!"

At this point, someone seemed to remember something and quickly patted their pocket, their face falling: "It's over, my money's gone."

Hearing this, the others frantically reached for their pockets, only to discover that in this short time, not only was their money gone, but their gold rings and silver necklaces had also disappeared.

The leader stared blankly for a few seconds before cursing, "Damn it, I'll chop off his hands sooner or later. Let's go!"

Only after the group had grumbled their way out of the room did Mei San's figure appear, hanging upside down from the roof. With an aerial flip, he landed steadily on the ground, a small bag now in his hand, containing the valuables he had just taken from the group.

The memory was short, only this segment.

Xiao Ran didn't have any particular feelings about it, but what truly surprised him was the new ability he had gained.

"You repaired Mei San's corpse, rated A-class, gaining 20 energy points."

"Calamity Suppressing Token privilege Spirit Seizing successful, you have acquired Mei San's ability 'Skillful Hands, Empty Pockets'."

As the prompts sounded, a string of memories appeared in Xiao Ran's mind. All memories related to skillful hands were stripped of Mei San's personal traces and embedded into his consciousness.

This included the process of Mei San learning skillful hands under the tutelage of an old beggar since childhood.

"So-called Skillful Hands, Empty Pockets, Empty Pockets, Skillful Hands, it's all about skill and speed," the old beggar said, raising his arms. But the hands below his arms had already been severed. "This is the consequence of not practicing diligently. Today, we'll practice speed. When you can retrieve a pancake floating on a hot oil pan with your bare hands, we'll move on to the next level..."

The scene shifted again, and the pancake in the oil pan was replaced by a key submerged in the oil.

Every day was an ordeal, year after year, for a full six years. Only when Mei San could easily take the wallet from the old beggar's embrace right under his nose was the skill of Skillful Hands, Empty Pockets truly mastered by Mei San.

It was a shame that the Skillful Hands, Empty Pockets that Mei San had practiced for six years would now change its name and surname, becoming Xiao's.

By the time Xiao Ran had fully digested all the memories of Skillful Hands, Empty Pockets, the duration of the [Red Armband]'s privilege, Curse Contract, had also expired.

Xiao Ran squinted, savoring the intricacies of Skillful Hands, Empty Pockets.

The man before him, however, had turned furious, his face flushed with anger. He could feel that when Xiao Ran activated the [Calamity Suppressing Token], besides awakening a buried memory, he had inexplicably lost something.

It felt as if a hand had forcibly cut something out of his body.

Lost what?

He had no impression of it now. When he tried to recall, he couldn't remember what he had lost. His already vague memories were now fragmented and torn apart.

"What did you do!"

Mei San stared intently at Xiao Ran, wishing he could tear him to shreds.

"Heh heh, if you're unwilling to pay, I can only take something else. What it is, is none of your business."

Xiao Ran casually patted Mei San's shoulder and turned away. Flipping his palm, a delicate snuff bottle landed in his hand.

It was made of dark jade, with an engraved depiction of immortals.

"Discovered F-class Cursed Object: Eight Immortals Snuff Bottle, activate?"

"As expected of Skillful Hands, Empty Pockets."

Looking at the treasure that had so easily fallen into his grasp, Xiao Ran's smile widened. He immediately chose to activate it, curious about its effects.

F-class Cursed Object: Eight Immortals Snuff Bottle · Corpse Stitcher

A special snuff bottle.

Privilege 1: Spirit Smoke

Spirit Smoke Count (8/10)

Inhaling once can make you invigorated for a short period.

Inhaling twice can grant you a random curse buff.

Inhaling a third time can grant you the blessing of a random Ghostly Eight Immortals.

Note! After the Spirit Smoke buff wears off, you will also experience a certain degree of mental fatigue. The more times you inhale, the stronger the negative effects will be.

Perk 2: Scent Accumulation

After you stitch up a corpse, you can absorb a portion of its energy to restore the quantity of spirit smoke.

(Note: If you encounter a special corpse, there's also a chance to obtain special spirit smoke!)

"Trash!"

Once Xiao Ran figured out the effect of this item, he was immediately disappointed. Not to mention, compared to the [Calamity Suppressing Token] and [Mourning Ring], it was far inferior even to the [Black Swan Brooch] and [Ghost Cloak].

However, it couldn't be said that this item was trash. After all, every Cursed Object had its own characteristics. What was trash to him might be an unobtainable treasure in someone else's hands.

In any case, he'd keep this item for now. If he had the chance to visit the Changchun Association later, maybe he could trade it for a Cursed Object he needed.

The only regret was that the Red Armband's duration was too short, only 30 seconds. Even with the boost from his Master-level Suturing Technique, he could only stitch up one corpse.

If only the duration was longer, he could have done it a few more times.

The Qinggong displayed in Mei San's memory was also impressive. He leaped onto a three-meter-high roof beam by stepping on the wall, a surefire life-saving skill.

While Xiao Ran was lamenting inwardly, Mei San stood frozen in place, lost in thought.

His eyes were fixed on Xiao Ran, wanting to drag him off the bus and tear him to shreds. But unfortunately, with Xiao Ran wearing the Red Armband and acting as the bus conductor, he could only glare, his chest heaving, his contorted features a picture of frustration.

Although the other passengers didn't know what had happened, seeing Mei San's pained expression told them that he had clearly suffered a great loss. Those who had been observing immediately became well-behaved.

"Ding dong, Bone Spirit Street has arrived. Passengers alighting, please move towards the rear door."

At this moment, the announcement for alighting sounded, and the bus began to slow down.

"Pfft..."

The doors opened, and some passengers hurried off, including Mei San, whose eyes never left Xiao Ran until he stepped off the bus.

There were also a few passengers who looked hesitant, their gazes fixed on the door, as if they wanted to get off but were also extremely wary of Bone Spirit Street. In the end, they didn't dare to step outside.

In a moment, more than half the passengers in the carriage had left.

Xiao Ran took advantage of the lull to sit next to the man in the vest and rest.

Using Cursed Objects so frequently, while it had no negative side effects, was quite draining mentally.

"Brother, you're amazing! Let's be friends. My name is Huang Le."

Huang Le looked at Xiao Ran with utter adoration, as if he could prostrate himself on the ground. Faced with a car full of evil spirits, if he had been alone, he probably wouldn't have even been reduced to scraps by the time they reached the station.

Being able to keep his life was already a stroke of incredible luck.

Yet Xiao Ran was thriving, making Huang Le sigh at the vast difference between people.

Huang Le fumbled in his shirt pocket and actually found a business card, which he handed to Xiao Ran.

Xiao Ran took it and his expression turned somewhat strange.

The business card featured two scantily clad women on either side, looking like the gaudy flyers carelessly discarded on the street.

Flipping it over, he saw the words [Huang Le Adult Products Store] clearly printed on it.

"Brother, if you ever need anything, just come find me. I guarantee I can get you any kind of product."

Huang Le winked at Xiao Ran with a knowing look.

Xiao Ran was a little speechless. After thinking for a moment, he still put the business card away. He had a decent impression of Huang Le and they might even cooperate in the future, provided, of course, that this guy survived the trial.

Soon, the bus started moving again.

"Next stop, [Fifth Hospital]. Passengers boarding, please hold on tight. Passengers alighting, please move towards the rear door..."

Huang Le nervously looked up. As the doors closed, many new passengers boarded. However, he wasn't as terrified this time. After all, with such a powerful ally beside him, what was there to worry about?

Thinking this, Huang Le looked towards Xiao Ran, only to find that Xiao Ran had already taken off the Red Armband at some point. Noticing Huang Le's confused gaze, Xiao Ran made a shushing gesture towards him.

Seeing this, Huang Le's eyes darted around, and he immediately understood. He immediately put on a terrified expression, his body trembling as he looked at the newly boarded 'passengers'.

It had to be said, Huang Le's cooperation was impeccable.

His face a mask of shock and unease, he looked like a mouse trapped among cats.

His realistic acting immediately drew 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 black rice with chopsticks stuck in it. A pungent odor emanated from her as she approached, her eyes fixed on Xiao Ran.

Xiao Ran kept his head down, looking unwilling to move. Seeing this, the Old Woman frowned, her expression darkening, and her voice began to sharpen: "I'm talking to you! Why are you pretending to be mute? If you don't let me sit, you won't sit either!"

She raised her hand as if to smash the bowl towards Xiao Ran, but Xiao Ran was faster. As the Old Woman raised her bowl and chopsticks, he suddenly stood up and kicked the bowl, overturning it onto the ground.

The dark rice grains fell onto the floor, instantly turning into a black liquid, emitting a sizzling sound.

The passengers sitting in the back rows silently mourned for the Old Woman.

The old man sitting next to Xiao Ran, who had been fined and ticketed by him earlier, now had a completely different expression from his previous dejection. His eyes gleamed as he took a handful of sunflower seeds from his bamboo basket and chewed them loudly.

Xiao Ran silently took out the Red Armband and put it on his arm. With a dark expression, he reached out to the Old Woman: "Hello, littering and assaulting a ticket inspector. That'll be a five-dollar fine!"