As usual, Chen Xuan took stock of the abilities in his inventory. Earlier, he had traded Can Eat a Lot for Gilles de Rais's Horse Riding and Black Magic, bringing his stored abilities to eight! Counting the four he was using himself, he had twelve abilities in all.
Granted, his stored abilities were generally low-grade and of questionable use. But that was still far better than when he'd had only his own four abilities available to trade.
That trade had also brought his accumulated Performance Points to twelve, so naturally he'd sent another email requesting a promotion. He just didn't know how long a reply would take.
October was only two days away, and he was already looking forward to seeing how much he'd get paid.
Of course, Chen Xuan hadn't forgotten to examine the two new abilities one by one.
Horse Riding was straightforward. With it equipped, he suddenly had the confidence to mount any wild horse. Unfortunately, it seemed to work only on horses. It came with no bonus knack for riding wolves, dragons, or giant birds.
The moment he removed it, all the relevant experience vanished. Yet he still remembered I was an expert horseman one second ago. That jarring disconnect was another side effect of switching abilities.
Black Magic was far more sinister.
Its sole function was sacrifice: using the victim's heart to extend the caster's life. No wonder Gilles de Rais had gone so far as to abduct children for live sacrifices after Joan of Arc's death. Perhaps he'd done it in the hope of giving her more time.
The trouble was that it came with a long list of penalties. The lifespan gained was reduced a hundredfold, and the caster would be cursed by the sacrificed soul, among other things. It was a terrible bargain. Sacrificing a rat, for instance, would yield only a little over a hundred days of life despite the rat's average three-year lifespan. At the same time, the caster would suffer a rat-transformation curse and become something close to a half-human, half-rat monster.
Chen Xuan wasn't making any of this up. The experience bundled with Black Magic told him so. Gilles de Rais had clearly known it too, which was why he could only choose fellow humans, specifically children too young to resist him.
Now that Gilles de Rais had lost the ability, he probably wouldn't get another chance to study Black Magic.
Given the harm it could cause, Chen Xuan had no intention of trading it to anyone else.
One thing did catch his attention, though: the store's trading app's assessment of Black Magic.
—"Forbidden +1."
That was all it said.
It hadn't even called the gray-grade ability garbage?
The app had certainly had plenty to say about other white-grade abilities.
"Sir."
A familiar voice rang out.
Chen Xuan hurriedly closed the inventory screen, then turned around as though nothing had happened. "You're here. Have a seat. I'll get you some coffee."
Then he paused.
Liu Shuyue wasn't wearing her usual loose, comfortable clothes. Instead, she had on a leather jacket, cloth trousers, and tall boots. She was covered in dust, as though she'd just finished an arduous trek through the wilderness.
And she could use a spell to keep herself clean whenever she wanted.
"What happened to you? Were you... playing in the mud?"
Liu Shuyue smiled and shook her head. "How long has it been since you last saw me, sir?"
"Don't call me sir. It sounds a little strange. You can use my name, or call me shopkeeper."
"Then... Chen Xuan."
"Mm." Pleased, Chen Xuan handed her a milky coffee. "We saw each other yesterday afternoon, and it's afternoon now, so a day at most."
"For me, it's been twelve days," she said, taking the cup.
"That long? Do you still have enough instant noodles? Wait... the relief funds and grain should have reached Zhangwei City by now, shouldn't they?"
Chen Xuan found it odd. She'd been coming to discuss the grain distribution with him every day.
"No. They never intended to provide relief in the first place. The refugees from Qingzhou have all been abandoned."
Liu Shuyue spoke slowly, as though this were the most ordinary thing in the world.
Chen Xuan's heart lurched.
"What did you say? There's no relief?"
He'd expected officials to skim some off the top or substitute inferior supplies. But providing no relief at all was outrageous. It wasn't as if the dynasty were on its last legs and the government had completely collapsed.
"Let's put that aside for now. I came today because I'd like you to accompany me to see something."
"Is it... connected to the refugees?"
Liu Shuyue nodded. "Yes."
"All right... wait while I close up." Chen Xuan hung up the closed sign, then followed Liu Shuyue through the back door of the second-floor VIP Room and into her world.
The moment he stepped through, he couldn't help letting out a soft "Wow."
A magnificent landscape stretched before him.
Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of pillar-like stone spires rose along the horizon, each lush with greenery. Though they looked like stone spires, every one was dozens of kilometers wide at its base. They were really small mountains of unusual shape. They had everything a mountain should have: even from this distance, he could make out caves, waterfalls, dense forests, and birds in flight.
Below the mountains, shallow pools joined to form a lake. The water was so clear it reflected the sky and white clouds. Tracks showed that many animals wandered along its shores. It was clearly a haven where they came to drink and forage.
Chen Xuan couldn't help thinking of a nature reserve.
The two of them stood atop a small hill, less than ten kilometers from the "reserve" before them.
"Where are we?"
He looked around. Not only was Zhangwei City nowhere in sight, he couldn't spot even a small town or village. He did find the refugees' camp below the hill, and it held at least twenty thousand people.
The only halfway decent building for a hundred li around was the thatched cottage behind them.
Clearly, Liu Shuyue had led the refugees out of Zhang Wei.
"The southernmost part of Qingzhou, where it borders the Myriad Mountain Great Wilderness."
"I see." Chen Xuan understood at once why she hadn't come to see him these past few days. "There was no way to survive in Zhang Wei, so you made a way for yourselves. That was the right choice."
"Was it?" Liu Shuyue smiled, though weariness showed at the corners of her eyes.
"This place looks good to me. There's water and there are mountains. It's rich in natural resources," Chen Xuan said. "You can organize hunting parties at first, then fish and clear land for crops. Food shouldn't be a problem. Those caves in the mountains are natural shelters too. Once people clean them out, there should be enough room for the refugees."
At most, they lacked tools for clearing the land.
But were tools a problem for him? Whether they needed machetes, axes, fishing nets, or seeds, he could buy them easily. Liu Shuyue had already done so much for the refugees. Of course he had to help a little more.
"Honestly, it's a beautiful place... Tens of thousands of people could settle here. Why hasn't the Qingzhou government developed it?"
"A Great Demon lives here."
"Ah, that explains... what?" Chen Xuan didn't immediately process what she'd said.
"Its name is Xuan. It's an Azure Dragon," Liu Shuyue said calmly. "Xuan is hundreds of meters long. It commands water and can fly. Its bones are hard as steel, and blades can scarcely harm it. It also likes raw flesh, and humans are among its prey. Since it appeared, it has likely eaten thousands of people. As long as this monster remains, the Myriad Mountain Great Wilderness is completely off-limits."
She let out a breath. "Of course... the sect's records on the wilderness are vague. No one knows whether other Great Demons lurk deep in the mountains and forests. But near Qingzhou's southern border, Xuan is the most powerful monster. There are also nearly a hundred kinds of vicious monster beasts here. Monster attacks are exceptionally common."
"If that's true... is it safe to bring the refugees here?"
Chen Xuan couldn't understand.
"Ordinary people won't survive. Never mind a Great Demon that can unleash the power of heaven and earth. Even an unremarkable Shadow Demon could kill a dozen people in the blink of an eye." Liu Shuyue made no attempt to hide it. "If these refugees are to live, they can't remain ordinary people."
"To cross the threshold of cultivation and achieve Qi-Sensing, a person needs either talent or outside help. Sects usually choose those with talent, because cultivators who rely entirely on outside help can only advance so far. They'll never reach the heights of cultivation. Even so, the weakest cultivator is far stronger than an ordinary person who cannot sense qi."
"According to the sect's secret records, Dragon's Blood is one of the finest aids. Even someone with no talent whatsoever can be transformed and change their fate by drinking fresh, warm Dragon Blood. And every part of a dragon is a treasure. Its scales can be made into armor, its bones into weapons. With this dragon's carcass as their foundation, the refugees might have a chance to survive in this deadly wilderness."
She looked at Chen Xuan, the old light returning to her eyes.
"So I'm going to slay the monster."
Before you continue