Bloodied Tang Knife

Yu Xing asked, "Who was it that helped you suppress the vengeful spirit?"

"I don't know, I was too young then, no one told me." Zhao Yijiu had already said too much, and it was a bit tiring for him, so he didn't plan to go into too much detail. He just briefly mentioned a few things, "After suppressing the ghost, my physical condition became more human-like. Although my temperament is still irreversible, at least I regained my black eyes and can feel hunger and tiredness."

"Later, I still preferred to stay in dark places. The Zhao family, seeing that I was special, built a training ground for me, hoping to unleash the usable power of the vengeful spirit within me. It was pitch black inside, and I stayed there until I was fifteen years old."

He was the first and only member of the Zhao family to be trained in individual combat. After leaving the training ground, he often heard mutterings in his ears. Occasionally, when he couldn't suppress the evil spirits, Zhao Mou would help him find tools to suppress them.

The Zhao family originally valued him highly, but perhaps because the vengeful spirit was suppressed too firmly, over the years, he only improved his skills through training, but failed to develop any special abilities. Gradually, the Zhao family stopped valuing him.

Many younger people only know that he is an "oddball," but they don't know the specifics. Because this matter was kept from the older generation, the younger generation thought that "oddball" was a derogatory term and that Zhao Yijiu had done something bad. They would reject him to some extent, or even isolate him.

Zhao Yijiu didn't care about other people's opinions anyway. He and Zhao Mou moved to Mijin City. Zhao Mou was often not home, so he stayed alone, reading books and practicing his combat skills.

Originally, he could have entered the deduction Yugi after he came of age, but Zhao Mou was worried that the vengeful spirit inside him would react to some things in the deduction, so he forced him to familiarize himself with and suppress it for another seven years. When Zhao Yijiu was twenty-five years old, he finally started the deduction at Qingyuan Pharmaceutical Factory.

"So that's how it is..." Yu Xing turned his head to look at the snow scene outside the balcony's French windows, muttered to himself, his narrow phoenix eyes slanted upwards, giving the impression that he was being nonchalant.

The reason behind Zhao Yijiu's demeanor has become clear, and the strange attitude of the Zhao family has also been explained. It seems that he is not the only one in this world whose fate has been passively altered because of the existence of Absurd Deduction.

"The Lingren said I would also be a member of Single Prism in the future." Just as Yu Xing was lost in thought, Zhao Yijiu suddenly spoke again, her face cold, "I can't say for sure that he's wrong."

"One day in the future, when I fail to suppress the vengeful spirit, I will reveal my ghostly side, and at that time, I will no longer be able to control my killing intent."

"Heh, Brother Jiu, look at your differentiation line." Yu Xing turned around and smiled at Zhao Yijiu. "The Righteous Path, huh? Don't you have a clear understanding of your self-control? You're strong, don't be so insecure. I believe you can keep suppressing it."

Zhao Yijiu didn't respond to that. He downed the cold water in one gulp and asked, "The party's over. When are you leaving?"

"After I finish trading the Meng Po's Soup with your brother, I have to go back. I still have some things to take care of." Yu Xing didn't mind waiting for Zhao Yijiu's eyes to recover before leaving, after all, he was her future teammate.

Unfortunately, the population density of the Three Great Families here is too high. The simulation has just ended, and several groups are still in the process of simulation, so the Three Great Families have not yet reacted. Once they are free, the relationship between Yu Xing and the Lingren will definitely be investigated by them.

There's nothing wrong with investigating, but who knows if these people won't resort to some methods he dislikes?

Yu Xing doesn't like being forced. If he gets angry and cripples a few more young people from another family, things will probably get really difficult for him, and he'll cause trouble for Zhao Mou and Zhao Yijiu. It's better for him to leave sooner rather than later.

"Okay, I'll message you when I get back to Mijin City, but it'll take a long time," Zhao Yijiu said.

That evening, Zhao Mou knocked on Yu Xing's door. Yu Xing was catching up on sleep at the time; he usually slept whenever he wanted, regardless of his biological clock.

During the several days of simulations, his physical body did not eat, yet strangely he did not feel hungry. However, the physical fatigue was real; he almost did not want to get out of bed once he touched it. Zhao Mou knocked on the door three times before he reluctantly got out of bed to open it.

"You're so weak, even Zhao Ruru looks more energetic than you." Zhao Mou smiled as he pushed up his glasses, noticing Yu Xing's sleepy eyes.

Yu Xing said weakly, "That's just her excitement after surviving a near-death experience. Come in, are you here to trade items?"

"Of course, although I'm busy, I don't want to delay something this important." Zhao Mou walked in, Yu Xing noticed that he was carrying a dark rectangular wooden box on his back.

He closed the door and gestured with his chin. "Is this it?"

"Yes." Zhao Mou placed the wooden box flat on the table, then unlocked it and turned it upside down.

Suddenly, a slender Tang sword without a scabbard appeared in Yu Xing's pupils. He was stunned, and instead of touching it, he looked at Zhao Mou: "It's actually a weapon-type prop?"

Whether it's offerings or items, weapons are the most precious because, in addition to their special abilities, their very existence greatly increases the survival rate of the deducer.

Even without Yi Qing, the Sheqing Dreamscape would still be an extremely sharp and handy dagger, but unfortunately it's now sealed inside the Persona Mask and can't be taken out.

Yu Xing was lacking a usable cold weapon, but...

Seeing his expression, Zhao Mou smiled smugly, "Trying to figure out how I knew you couldn't use your sacrifices anymore? Don't underestimate me. You didn't use a single sacrifice in the third stage, and I knew it. You must have paid a heavy price when you faced the Lingren in the second stage."

"You truly live up to your reputation as Zhao the Fox." Yu Xing laughed as well. "Your observation and analytical skills are probably unmatched by many in the Zhao family, aren't they?"

Zhao Mou remained noncommittal. He pointed to the Tang sword and said, "I've heard from A Jiu that you're very skilled and have a very disciplined fighting style, like a trained professional. Your offensive capabilities are strongest when using cold weapons. So, although the dagger is highly concealable and convenient, in terms of actual ease of use... you should probably prefer the long sword, right?"

Yu Xing almost wanted to applaud Zhao Mou. This guy was not even thirty years old, but he was as shrewd as an old man who had lived for a hundred or eighty years. Not only could he see through his true preferences, but he also used this to prevent Zhao Mou from giving an excuse to refuse the deal, thus ensuring that the Meng Po's Soup would be in his hands.

Trading an item that Yu Xing doesn't need to restore his mutation level for a weapon that he urgently needs right now is a win-win situation for both parties.

"Alright, let me see." Since Zhao Mou was so kind, he didn't want to waste his good intentions.

Yu Xing examined the Tang sword carefully and discovered that it was a type of horizontal sword with great destructive power.

The Tang sword is a type of sword from the Tang Dynasty, but the name does not refer to a single type of sword. Instead, it encompasses several types, including the ceremonial sword, the long sword, the shield sword, and the horizontal sword.

The horizontal sword has a straight blade, similar to a longsword, but the angle at the tip is still very obvious. The idiom "horizontal sword on horseback" refers to this type of sword, which was also the most common sword worn by the Tang Dynasty army.

The sword in the box was missing its scabbard, and the hilt was covered in rust, with traces of blood mixed in with the rust.

What's most unique is that it doesn't resemble a typical horizontal sword. Instead, it has a winding, twisting groove on the blade. Based on Yu Xing's experience, he judged that this was a blood groove, meaning that this Tang sword was very fierce.

He ran his fingers over the hilt of the knife, and the tool description appeared before his eyes.

[Bloodied Tang knife: A sharp horizontal sword that can deal some damage to ghosts and monsters, but when the blood gauge is full, the blade will break and become unusable.]

After all, it's just a prop, and props have a limited number of uses. Even though this Tang sword suits Yu Xing's taste, it's only a temporary weapon. He reckons that after killing a few more creatures that still have blood flowing, the sword will be ruined.

However, Yu Xing was already quite satisfied. He held the Tang sword in one hand and weighed it in his hand. The sword was rather heavy, and he was sure it would be very comfortable to use.

"How is it? Are you satisfied?" Zhao Mou smiled, his eyes behind his glasses revealing a hint of determination.

"Yes, happy transaction."

Yu Xing took a small box out of her down jacket pocket and tossed it to Zhao Mou Zhao Mou, who caught it deftly and asked suspiciously, "This is... Meng Po's Soup?"

"Of course, you don't really think the Meng Po's Soup is just one soup, do you? How could I have brought it?" Yu Xing let Zhao Mou open the box himself, then held the Tang sword to get used to its weight. He originally wanted to send him away directly and practice with the Tang sword himself, but suddenly remembered something, "Right, Zhao Mou."

Zhao Mou opened the box and found that the Meng Po's Soup was a glass reagent tube, colorless and completely transparent. If it weren't for the effect of light refraction, he would have thought there was nothing in the glass tube. Hearing Yu Xing call him, he asked, "What's wrong?"

"When I was chatting with Brother Jiu during the day, he told me about his story. He also said that he was too young at the time and didn't know who gave him the item to suppress the evil spirits." Yu Xing glanced at Zhao Mou, who remained expressionless. "But I reckon you must know, right?"

"That's right, during that time, I paid attention to all of A Jiu's decisions." Zhao Mou turned away so Yu Xing couldn't see his expression. "After all, I'm his only real family. If I didn't care about him, he might really be treated even worse."

"Who was that person? Was he kind or did he have ulterior motives? What was the thing that suppressed the ghost?" Yu Xing asked without any hesitation.

Zhao Mou chuckled and put away the Meng Po's Soup: "I don't know the person. I was just a ten-year-old child back then. After doing my best, all I could find out was that the thing the person sent was a blue iris."

"..." Yu Xing paused for a moment.

Blue Iris?

Okay, he probably knows who sent it.

Unexpectedly, Hua Subai was also involved in this matter?

He recalled something the Boss Hua had said enthusiastically about the meaning of flowers in other people's gardens: the meaning of blue irises seemed to be a fateful wandering, broken passion, exquisite beauty, fragile and fleeting.

These words don't sound like a good omen at all. What do their implications mean for the icy, aloof guy like Brother Jiu?

For a moment, Yu Xing was unsure whether Hua Subai's purpose in helping Zhao Yijiu was good or bad. This person's actions were unpredictable, and his morals were always a mix of good and bad, almost impossible to predict. To some extent, Yu Xing felt more out of control over Hua Subai than he did with the Lingren.

It seems that once we get back, we need to have Zhu Yan thoroughly investigate the connections behind this matter without alerting Hua Subai. Although the probability of Hua Subai not noticing such a large undertaking is close to zero...

Yu Xing sighed inwardly. After Zhao Mou left, he sat on the bed in a daze for a while before practicing his swordsmanship in the spacious front hall of the room.

It takes time to get used to such a long cold weapon after not using it for so long.

Over the years, he has really traveled all over the country, mingled in all sorts of places, and learned a wide variety of things. Fortunately, many things that had been piled up in the corners of his memory can be quickly retrieved whenever he encounters them again.

While practicing his swordsmanship, Yu Xing pondered his plans after returning to Mijin City. Besides dealing with certain people in reality, he also needed to make more careful choices in the simulation.

It's best to quickly transition out of the scenario where sacrifices cannot be used twice and physical abilities are suppressed, otherwise who knows what kind of trouble the Lingren might cause.

First of all, we can't consider live-streaming the simulation, because after the Death Parallel Line ends, his Rose Mask will finally become completely ineffective, and acting under the noses of so many viewers at this point is not a good choice.

Role-playing deduction requires the player to act in the mannerisms of an existing character. Yu Xing had just experienced the identity of Xiao Jin and was getting a little tired of it.

Then, he realized that killing ghosts was more worthwhile with his newly acquired Tang sword, and he didn't want to waste his health bar progress on humans, so Combat Type were temporarily ruled out.

The remaining options are mapping-type and investigator-type deductions. Compared to the former, investigator-type deductions already have a Coffin Village as a foundation, so the worldview is stable. Moreover, Yu Xing hasn't visited his "San" for a long time and misses that world with its logical structure.

"After we resolve the real-world issues, we'll do one investigator-type deduction exercise first, and then decide on the next one based on the situation. I wonder how much the difficulty of San's deduction will increase after I advance to the Differentiation Tier," Yu Xing murmured, inexplicably thinking of the WeChat group they created after the Coffin Village incident.

I don't know how many of the people inside are still alive.

The next morning, Yu Xing got up unusually early. After saying goodbye to Zhao Yijiu and Zhao Mou, he quietly left Feng Gulan Ting when no one was paying attention.

The only one who probably noticed him was the young gatekeeper from the Luo family. The young man was still wearing a suit, looking lazy and utterly listless. He didn't even ask where he was going, but muttered as Yu Xing's figure disappeared, "Tsk, how pleasant. I wish I could slip away like him too~ These guys are much more tedious than last year, holding this meeting and that meeting. Damn it, when will this gatekeeper's life ever end?"

Yu Xing came empty-handed and left empty-handed, which was indeed very pleasant.

He took the direct high-speed train back to Mijin City. As soon as he exited the subway station, he saw Zhu Yan with her hair in a ponytail squatting in front of a street stall, talking to the stall owner.

Yu Xing walked over and heard Zhu Yan praising the "blind" stall owner wearing sunglasses. "Wow! You're so accurate! I really have been lucky since I was little. My parents have become richer and richer, and my first half of life has been smooth sailing. I haven't even experienced a single fright! How did you predict this so accurately!"

The stall owner, who ran a fortune-telling stall, didn't suspect anything amiss when Zhu Yan agreed. He even put on an air of superiority, calmly muttering, "Heavenly secrets cannot be revealed, but young lady, although your early life was good, I foresee that the second half of your life will likely bring great calamity."

The stall owner pulled out a bracelet that looked like jade. "This jade has been blessed by Master; it can protect you from calamities..."

"Ahem." Yu Xing, standing behind Zhu Yan, coughed lightly.

Zhu Yan shuddered, her legs went weak, and she stumbled to the side. She belatedly looked up and saw Yu Xing looking at her with a half-smile, her nose red from the cold.

Zhu Yan rubbed her bottom, which was touching the ground, in frustration. Her lips twitched. "That scared me to death... It really was a disaster. I should have worn thicker jeans..."