The Identifier

Qiulan was terrified of incurring the master's wrath, so she refused to let Chen Mo get out of bed.

Chen Mo glared fiercely at Qiulan. "Madam isn't here. I'm the one who calls the shots."

Remembering her place, Qiulan ultimately didn't dare defy the Second Young Master. "But your legs..."

Earlier, Chen Mo's feet had been nailed inside a wooden tub. The nails hadn't pierced bone or tendon, but they had still left considerable flesh wounds. He couldn't walk.

But that wasn't going to stop Chen Mo.

"Do you know which guard in the mansion is familiar with the County Office?"

Qiulan replied, "Ma Tie used to be an old constable at the yamen. Later, he had an accident while pursuing bandits and lost his job. Then he came to the mansion to work as a guard."

Chen Mo said, "Go call Ma Tie over to carry me, then get a carriage ready. Do it quietly—don't let Father and Mother see."

Qiulan and Chun Lan had both once been personal maids at Chen Mo's side. Now that Chun Lan was gone, Qiulan was his only personal maid. Whatever she did around the mansion, everyone assumed it was at Chen Mo's bidding, so naturally no one dared question her.

Getting a carriage was no problem.

The County Office had long since closed for the day, so ordinary people couldn't just go there.

But the Chen Family was a prominent clan in the county, so that wasn't an issue.

Soon, a broad-shouldered, burly man with a saber at his side hurried into the room. He bowed respectfully to Chen Mo. "Second Young Master."

This man was, of course, Ma Tie.

Being summoned by the Second Young Master in the middle of the night left him somewhat flattered.

After all, the Chen Mansion had more than thirty guards. Ma Tie was one of the less conspicuous ones and rarely got the chance to distinguish himself. Naturally, he was pleased to be given an errand by the young master in the dead of night.

Chen Mo knew this was Ma Tie. "You're just in time, Ma Tie. I want to go to the Archives Room at the County Office tonight. Can you arrange it?"

Ma Tie seized his chance to prove himself. "That won't be difficult, though we might need a little silver to grease some palms."

Chen Mo said, "If silver can solve it, then it's no problem. Hurry and carry me to the stables."

With the Red Lantern Society in its midst, Honghe County was practically a bustling metropolis.

Even at night, many shops along both sides of the streets were open, and crowds came and went in a lively stream.

A carriage raced down the street toward the County Office at the end of Qingping Alley.

Qiulan and Ma Tie sat on the driver's bench, steering the carriage. The cold wind swept in from both sides, making them hunch their shoulders again and again.

Chen Mo sat alone inside the warm carriage. A furry hide covered the seat beneath him, keeping him toasty. A lantern hung at the side, casting light.

Chen Mo watched the view outside through the window for a long while. The buildings stood shoulder to shoulder along the streets, and everything looked just like ancient times.

Perhaps because he was frail, the cold wind cut straight through him. He couldn't help coughing.

Qiulan's worried voice immediately came from outside. "Young Master, are you cold?"

Chen Yin Fu had repeatedly told Qiulan to take good care of the Second Young Master. Going out like this already defied the master's orders. If the young master caught a chill on top of that, she'd be in serious trouble.

"I'm fine. Hurry up with the carriage."

Chen Mo answered, then lowered the curtain and retreated into the carriage.

This body of mine... is so weak. The original owner must have indulged in wine and women for years. Even without Mad Demon Disease, he doesn't look like he'll live long.

Chen Mo sighed and shook his head.

He was frail, and he had Mad Demon Disease.

There was no peace to be had.

To be honest, Chen Mo was quite satisfied with his current status as a young master.

He could inherit the family business just by lying around. Wealth and splendor, a beautiful wife and concubines... all were as easy to reach as plucking them from a bag.

But first, he had to be alive.

The most tragic thing in the world was having the money still there, but being gone yourself...

Chen Mo felt troubled and uneasy. He lifted his shirt again and examined his abdomen by the light of the lantern.

That faintly visible baby face was still grinning. It sent a chill down his spine.

He reached out and rubbed at it again.

No matter what he did, he couldn't rub it off.

Chen Mo could only lower his shirt and stare blankly at the lantern, his thoughts racing.

Just then, Chen Mo's vision suddenly blurred. His head gave a violent jolt. When he came to, he saw a white rectangular frame, like a barcode, on the lantern before him. Inside it was a black bar.

Three more lines of text had appeared:

[Current Original Understanding Essence: 0]

[Current Recognition Count: 1]

[Recognizable object detected. Identify?]

What was this?

Chen Mo jumped, thinking something was wrong with his eyes. He quickly blinked, and when he opened them again, the barcode frame and text were still there.

As an experienced internet surfer, Chen Mo quickly realized that this must be his Golden Finger.

A recognition-type Golden Finger?

Did a lantern really need identifying?

He had eyes of his own, didn't he?

Wait...

Chen Mo quickly grew humble.

It suddenly dawned on him that what the Golden Finger could identify might... be different from what his eyes could see.

Maybe it could identify information invisible to him.

Even so, using it to identify a lantern seemed like a waste of a chance.

He only had one Recognition Count left.

Mad Demon Disease still plagued him, and Chen Mo was uneasy. Naturally, he didn't want to waste his one chance for nothing.

"Let me fiddle with this first..."

Chen Mo began investigating.

He soon made a discovery:

First, the scene before him only changed when he focused on summoning the Golden Finger. When he focused on putting it away, his vision returned to normal.

Also, when Chen Mo looked at other objects, such as the hide beneath him or the carriage curtains, a corresponding barcode appeared as soon as he focused on them.

Even things that looked perfectly ordinary could be identified.

Chen Mo was thrilled. He really wanted to identify something and see how the information the Golden Finger revealed differed from what he could already see.

But in the end, he held back the impulse.

After all, his Original Understanding Essence was at zero, and he only had one chance to identify something. It would be a shame to waste it recklessly.

"I have to use my first chance where it counts... Why not use it to identify Mad Demon Disease?"

"If I can identify the disease's pathology and cause... then I might be able to find a way to treat it."

The very thought excited Chen Mo. It felt as if this Golden Finger had arrived at exactly the right time.

He shifted closer to the lantern, then lifted his shirt.

Under the dim yellow light, the baby face was still there. It seemed to smile faintly at Chen Mo, sending a chill through him.

Whoosh!

Chen Mo took a deep breath, clearing his mind as he summoned the panel.

Sure enough, a barcode frame appeared over the baby face. But this one had three black bars inside.

"Three black bars?"

That was something he hadn't encountered before.

Whether it was the hide, the lantern, or the other ordinary objects in the carriage, they had all shown only one black bar.

Chen Mo sensed that something was wrong with this baby face.

When he looked at the text beside the barcode frame, he was even more startled.

[Current Original Understanding Essence: 0]

[Current Recognition Count: 1]

[Insufficient Original Understanding Essence. Current recognition level is too low; identification is temporarily unavailable!]

Those final four words sent Chen Mo's heart racing. He felt himself slowly sinking into despair.