Astonishing
Walk out of Hongxiang Hutong and go about 400 meters northwest, and you'll see the sign for Luo Family Bathhouse.
This is a large wooden house located beside the winding road to the hot springs on a low hill. There are two children in front of the door who help to attract customers. They are very welcoming to the guests from Japan, and they bring towels and face powder to greet them.
The boy looked no more than twelve or thirteen years old. He sidled up to Billy, looking sweet and adorable, and spoke in a soft, delicate voice.
"Hey! Sir, are you here for a bath? Please be patient, it's just the right time to change the water after work, when most of the fishermen have already left."
Billy was already in a bad mood, but seeing this energetic toddler made him feel a little sorry for him.
--There's no such thing as illegal child labor here. Billy, the crusader against counterfeits, used to outwit all sorts of illegal businesses, buying insurance and risking his life against unscrupulous merchants. He can't stand these kinds of things.
The young woman soliciting customers on the other side was the same. Her manner and expression when serving Teacher Su Ling were standard business fake smiles. Her attitude was gentle and her tone was mild, as if she was afraid of scaring away the distinguished guest. Everything about her exuded a sense of practice and maturity.
If you think about it carefully—perhaps these two six- or seven-year-old children were already standing in front of the Luo family bathhouse a few years ago. The customers coming and going might have been annoyed by the towels and face powder in the adults' hands, and might have been suspicious and wary.
But children are always innocent and naive, and always approachable.
Before Billy could finish thinking--
"Teacher Su Ling asked the question."
How are the fees calculated?
The little girl said with a smile, "Two coins per male guest and eight coins per female guest."
Su Ling: "Is it really that expensive for women to take a bath?"
The little girl, with a dramatic change of expression like a Sichuan opera performer, explained in a pitiful voice, "I need my hair taken care of, I need the finest pig bristle brush to clean my body, and I need a private soaking tub. How can I ask for a discount? You'll have to think about it, sir."
"Women's bodies are delicate; can a farmer compare? He can't."
On the other side, the little boy hurriedly explained, "No."
The little girl glanced at her companion and seemed to roll her eyes.
"What? Are you trying to ruin my business?"
Upon arriving here, Billy finally sensed an eerie atmosphere.
These two doormen didn't seem to be on the same wavelength; there was always a subtle rivalry between them.
When the boy bows, the girl takes his arm and adjusts his clothes.
The boy flattered the horse, praising Billy's heroic and handsome appearance.
The girl spoke in a sweet, melodious voice, praising Teacher Su Ling's elegance and beauty.
"What's going on?" Billy leaned close to Ms. Su Ling and asked in a low voice.
Su Ling: "Look at their health bars."
Something's off about this bathhouse, and it all started with the health bars of these two children—
--At first, the [Health Points] field above their heads was grayed out.
This means that the Phoenix cannot yet ascertain their true identities or determine their friend or foe relationship.
Later on, the two children started to have "[Affection Level -1]" icons appear on each other's foreheads.
In the end, a faint surge of psionic energy occasionally appeared, and Su Ling's soul power immediately turned the two health bars into [yellow] – indicating they were temporarily friendly enemies.
[In meta-analysis.]
[Due to environmental factors, you are unable to receive the target's pheromones; the strong scent of the perfume powder severely impairs your sense of smell.]
[Target Number One: Race Unknown]
[Target Number One: Gender - Male]
[Target Number One: A special individual affected by Soul Power]
[Target #2: Race Unknown]
[Target #2: Gender - Female]
[Target Two: A special individual affected by Soul Power]
[Number 1/Number 2: True age cannot be determined]
[Elemental Analysis Results: The spiritual energy emanating from the two greeters at Luo's Bathhouse already possesses characteristics of Soul Power. They are affected by Soul Power, making it impossible to confirm its specific effects; more information is needed.]
Teacher Su Ling used the Phoenix to synchronize this information and sent it to Billy the Kid's eyes— the Phoenix transformed into a spiritual light screen scroll, displaying lines of characters.
"Did the bathhouse owner brainwash these two kids? Force them to work as prostitutes?" Billy understood the elemental analysis report, and anger rose within him.
"Instead of overthinking, let's take action," Su Ling said decisively.
She grabbed the little girl's arm and bit her.
--Having not tasted the stench of the Blood-giving Monster, the pheromones in his sweat only contained panic and love.
As for this affection, it's very clear: a naked demand for money and a yearning for happiness. It's sickeningly sweet.
"Ouch!" The little girl looked at the bloody teeth marks on her arm, completely baffled as to what had gotten into the guest.
She didn't cry, nor did she scream; she simply smiled awkwardly.
"Are you an alchemist, sir? Would you like to taste a piece of human flesh?"
In the Great Xia, alchemists were never considered proper cultivators. No matter what kind of elixir it was, the best medicinal ingredient was still human flesh. There were countless ways to identify the essence, but the most direct and effective method was to "take a bite"—Su Ling skipped the useless conversation and directly confirmed the identities of the two children by biting them.
[In meta-analysis.]
[Race: Homo sapiens]
[Age: 12 years old]
[For individuals affected by Soul Power, more clues are needed regarding the specific effects.]
"Take me to see the accountant." Su Ling got straight to the point without saying another word. Since the two children were fine, she would follow the instructions given by [Phoenix] and find the accountant who was unwilling to handle silverware.
The little girl was still angry after being bitten by a customer, and when she heard this inexplicable request, she was naturally unhappy and wanted an explanation.
"Thank you, dear sister."
Before she finished speaking, Su Ling quickly pulled out twenty cat-themed coins from her bag, counting them cleanly and efficiently.
"Here, two thousand, is that enough?"
The girl quickly forced a smile, "That's enough! Please come with me."
Teacher Su Ling followed the girl into the inner room of the bathhouse. Billy also wanted to follow, but he couldn't quite understand the VIP's behavior. Her words and actions were just like those of a "strange player" who played the game of life. It seemed that she skipped all the conversations that could be skipped and never beat around the bush when it came to questions that could be answered directly.
I've heard BOSS and other VIPs talk about her, and the gunsmith teacher even gave her private lessons, discussing the properties of Radiant Stones, and using [Phoenix] as a special case.
That woman seemed to be able to handle all the stones, like a sophisticated machine.
Upon entering the inner hall, one finds paintings and ceramic artifacts authenticated by [Phoenix].
This fifty-meter-long corridor is covered with explanations written in spiritual script.
Billy's eyes swept over it, and [Phoenix] immediately revealed its details.
[Longyou bamboo: also known as Zong Zhu, it can grow up to 20 meters tall. It is used as an ornamental beam in this building. It does not bear weight, so attacking it when choosing to destroy the building is useless.]
[Hanging painting ①: It looks like a work by a Western artist from Shambhala. Since most of the oil paintings in the Nine Realms of the East are in a realistic style, in order to protect the paintings in the hot spring environment, the owner of Luo's Bathhouse only purchased some watercolor decorative paintings.]
[Note: This painting depicts the natural landscape of Baibei Harbor at sunrise. The treatment of foreground and background is quite rough, neglecting most of the brushstrokes and focusing on the changes in light and shadow. It is the work of a beginner.]
[Hanging painting ②: This is a portrait painting, using sketching techniques to depict a three-dimensional human face. The woman in the painting is dressed in gorgeous clothes, has a tall figure, and is adorned with a large number of ornaments.]
[Note: Judging from the cursive script of the signature on the sketch, this was the great-grandmother of the Luo family, who was also the manager of the bathhouse appointed by the prefect of Daoheng County. Under her family's operation and management, the bathhouse gradually developed into what it is today.]
From the structural walls, decorative walls, load-bearing beams, and wallpapered windows of the wooden house, to the real windows for ventilation and the fake windows for maintaining indoor temperature, to the decorations and welcoming food, and even the stone steps leading to the hot spring pool on the first basement floor, every object in the environment became detailed data about the [Phoenix] in Su Ling's eyes.
Billy was shocked, just like when the gunsmith first met Ms. A Ling.
He had never imagined that Soul Power could be used in this way, as a real-time monitoring recorder. It seemed to have no great use, but it was almost omnipotent.
When Teacher A Ling led the way, she specially left Billy a series of footprints made of spirits. These bright red light marks became the best signposts in the dark environment.
Billy followed to the counter, pricked up his ears to listen, and stopped talking nonsense.
Su Ling simply handed over the money and chatted with the little girl about family matters. As for Judas's army, she didn't mention a word about it and refused to reveal any information.
"You come here to work, don't your parents care about you?"
The little girl laughed and said, "Why should I care? My parents have long since passed away."
Su Ling leaned against the counter, waiting for the accountant to arrive.
"--Have you made enough money? What are you planning to do?"
"Where can you earn enough?" The girl laughed even harder. "Is there such a thing as 'enough money' in the world? Isn't it always better to have more?"
Su Ling then asked, "Does the bathhouse owner know about your family's situation?"
"I know," the little girl said, a hint of impatience creeping into her voice. She thought to herself, "Why is this customer asking so many questions? It never ends!" Normally, she was the one asking the questions, the one who would get the guests talking; that was the way to win them over.
Thinking of this, she finally lowered her guard a bit, because Su Ling had given her so much money; this reward tip, converted into silver dollars, would be enough to cover the tuition for the private school.
As a result, he let his guard down during the conversation, and his will gradually weakened with each question and answer, leading him to utter a strange remark.
"Oh," the girl sighed, "It's all because Grandfather has to study, Grandma had a second child, and my good-for-nothing eldest son is always worrying about the dowry. The betrothal gifts don't match the accounts, and he can't come back during the busy fishing season. His wife isn't satisfied and wants to remarry the second son—from then on, the two brothers are not on good terms and always want money."
"Huh?" Billy didn't understand.
To be honest, Su Ling didn't understand either.
The two tried to remain calm, exchanging glances.
The Phoenix's spirit gradually transformed into a giant question mark.
Billy opened the private message and saw it--
[Group Message - Phoenix: Did you understand?]
[Group Message - Stinky Boy: How can I possibly understand this?! This is almost as much information as a damn Indian TV series!]
[Group Message - Stinky Boy: Why am I this ID?]
[Group Message - Phoenix: You can modify it yourself.]
[Group information is being updated--]
[Group Message - Brave Billy: Hey, what's going on? What's going on!?]
Skip the [Group Information] label.
[Phoenix: I don't understand, it seems like this little girl is saying...]
[Brave Billy: She needs to raise money for her Grandfather's tuition, earn money for her grandmother's pregnancy, and support at least three other children.]
[Phoenix: She really is only twelve years old.]
[Bold Billy: Is this little kid crazy? He's talking nonsense!]
[Phoenix: Remember the message the scouts sent back, Billy? I think they've gone mad too.]
[Bold Billy: That's different. At least the Quick-Knife brothers can still maintain their fighting spirit; their voices are all related to combat. But what was this little girl saying just now?]
[Phoenix: Perhaps she's gotten used to it— Billy, is it possible that she looks twelve? The blood I tasted in her arm certainly proves it's the flesh of a twelve-year-old.]
[Brave Billy: What do you mean?]
[Phoenix: It seems we've arrived at the edge of the unpredictable Spirit Realm. We're still seven kilometers from the Aizong Mausoleum. These two children have been affected by the soul power. They were originally adults, having lived for many, many years and had a complete life, but suddenly, this strange soul power has turned them back to twelve years old.]
[Brave Billy: So.]
Upon closer reflection, this naturally explains why the Quick Knife team's bell-ringing messages were so frantic and illogical.
After entering the town of Aizong Mausoleum, they could no longer determine their own time or the direction of time.
Am I heading towards the future? Or rushing headlong into the past? Am I aging rapidly? Or have I become like a child again?
They needed to constantly check their watches and send messages, using time to mark information to ensure the accuracy of the battle situation. To outsiders, these rings seemed like useless, boastful pronouncements made in an instant.
The warriors of the swift blades mentioned time repeatedly, but they didn't understand how all this had happened and were gripped by immense panic.
At this very moment, the doorman at the bathhouse is also like this--
The little girl has grown up. She has her own family, a husband and children. Grandfather grandparents are still alive, but her parents have passed away.
Her Grandfather was also under the control of this spiritual power, possibly having returned to his childhood and needing to receive a private school education in the new era.
Meanwhile, her grandmother had returned to her youth or middle age, and was pregnant with her second child, making it inconvenient for her to work. She could only rely on her granddaughter to work and support the family.
She herself had at least three children, and immediately after giving birth, her time was reversed by the Soul Power, returning her to the age of twelve.
Only under such circumstances could such an incomprehensible, seemingly nonsensical conversation occur.
[Phoenix: Her entire family is affected by this soul power.]
[Brave Billy: This seems to be...]
A young, beautiful girl with fair skin walked out from backstage. She looked no more than seventeen or eighteen years old. Her eyes were bright and her face was like a peach blossom. She had a saddle nose and eyebrows like a crescent moon. She was a beauty in the prime of her life, a budding flower.
"Both of you are rare guests from the Orient! Come, come, come!"
Billy and Su Ling both felt a strong surge of psionic energy; the young woman in question was Blood-giving Monster with only 50% human blood.
Occasionally, guests would come and go, mostly strong and robust fishermen with sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, and occasionally one or two young ladies dressed in silk robes would walk by quickly.
Without exception, this place is like a paradise, where the concept of time seems to disappear.
Aside from the innkeeper at White Shell Harbor, anyone with psionic energy fluctuations—people possessing this characteristic—
--They were all young, even infants.
"May I ask a question?"
Su Ling decided to get straight to the point and demand that the accountant girl show the blood slip.
If you can force them to kneel, then force them to kneel and ask them questions directly.
Can I pay with silver coins?