I'm Male Daji?

Dayuan Dynasty, Jiangzhe Province, Hangzhou Road, Qiantang County.

In a poor little hut east of the county, Ge Xian sat half upright on a cold bed, his face frozen in stunned disbelief. His gaze shifted bit by bit, sweeping over the impoverished room before finally settling on the peddler's pack propped in the corner.

Cups, plates, and bowls; straw sandals and scissors; strings of beads, hairpins, and ornaments; kites and clay figurines... The goods were numerous and dazzling, truly eye-catching. A fan stuck out from the pack, its surface bearing two lines of large characters: "A fox's roar at dawn, a muddled path ahead."

"I... I'm a peddler?"

The words slipped out of Ge Xian's mouth before he could stop them. It was as if a flash of light had burst inside his skull. His mind roared, and then memories surged in like a flood.

Before long, the blank unfamiliarity faded from his face, replaced by the ashen terror of someone who had seen a ghost. He felt so bitterly helpless that he could have cursed the heavens.

It was no wonder Ge Xian felt that way. First, he had learned that he'd been transported to another world.

His predecessor was also named Ge Xian. He was a peddler who lived in Qiantang and had lost both parents.

That alone would have been bad enough, but what truly terrified Ge Xian was what he learned from his predecessor's memories about the sort of mad, horrifying world this was.

It was indeed an ancient world, seemingly modeled on the Yuan Dynasty—but this Yuan was not that Yuan.

The dynasty here was called the Dayuan Dynasty, an unimaginably vast and savage empire spanning several continents, with boundless territory. It boasted, "From where the sun rises to where the sun sets, all of it is ours."

But this dynasty—or rather, this entire world—was wrong. Monsters lurked everywhere, and the supernatural was commonplace. It seemed as if anything at all could become a spirit.

Worse still, the ruling class of this world—whether emperors and officials or immortals and eminent monks—were no longer "human." They were all demonic creatures or evil gods.

They had once been human, but after cultivating their powers, they became another savage species. Whether they were humans or members of any other race, they were all treated like pigs and dogs, like chives to be farmed and harvested, penned up and devoured at will.

In its heyday, the Dayuan Dynasty had apparently maintained many restrictions and rules, giving commoners a chance to catch their breath and raise families.

But in recent years, the dynasty had fallen apart and fires of war had sprung up everywhere. With the signs of a dynasty's end plain to see, the "rulers" large and small across the land had begun to reveal their true forms—and their appalling appetites.

Take Lu Hualong, the county magistrate of Qiantang. Half a month ago, he had revealed his true form: a bizarre monster, tiger-like but not quite a tiger, with bat-like membrane wings. That very night, the fiend had spewed Demonic Mist around Qiantang County, claiming it as his territory and corralling tens of thousands of county residents.

County Magistrate Lu had a taste for human flesh and an enormous appetite. Afraid he might eat all the county's residents, he sent wraiths out each day with copper gongs, sharp blades, handcarts, and bronze cauldrons to visit households one by one and cut off their flesh. The amount was calculated by head: three liang for each adult, while children were spared.

Afterward, he would distribute medicine to stop the bleeding. Applied to the wound, it would heal before long, without endangering anyone's life.

He would also hand out a strange food called Tai Sui Grain. It tasted delicious and filled the stomach; in just a few days, it could even replace the flesh that had been cut away.

One would think that with a county magistrate like this, tens of thousands of residents would either rise up in revolt or flee as entire families. Yet not a single household had fled Qiantang. In fact, many residents had welcomed relatives and friends who had fled there from elsewhere.

The reason was simple: in this day and age, a magistrate who ate human flesh but offered compensation could earn a good reputation. Local officials—and even Border Governors—who were cruel and shameless were everywhere.

As for fleeing to the wilderness, deep mountains, secluded valleys, or marshlands, that was even less feasible. Those places were perilous in the extreme, full of demonic creatures and monsters, not to mention countless unsolvable mysteries and inexplicable phenomena. Stay too long, and death was certain.

Because of all this, Lu Hualong—the human-flesh-eating magistrate—had an excellent reputation among the magistrates of the nine counties under Hangzhou Road. He was fond of thigh meat, and his wraiths usually cut from that spot. Thus, the fellow had earned the fine-sounding nickname "Thigh-cutting Magistrate."

"What kind of world is this?"

"A Demon County Magistrate who sends wraiths every day to cut a chunk of flesh from your thigh can actually be thanked and praised?"

Ge Xian swore furiously, then instinctively wanted to demand whether the common people of this world had any hope left.

Where were the proper Immortal Gods? Where was heavenly justice?

He soon found the answer in his memories. There were indeed many paths of cultivation that allowed humans to cultivate extraordinary powers and transcend the ordinary. With talent and the right path, one could ascend to the heavens in a single bound and rise above the world.

Lu Hualong, for example, had originally been human. Born with tiger stripes and Tiger Eyes, he had cultivated successfully and received an appointment from the Imperial Court, taking the seat of county magistrate.

But for some unknown reason, most cultivators, no matter what they had been before, ended up corrupted once they gained power.

There were exceptions, but very few.

As Ge Xian continued taking in his memories, he suddenly discovered that his predecessor had possessed a cultivation talent, too.

Supernatural Perception!

That was the talent Ge Xian had awakened a month ago.

He could intensely sense anything supernatural in the world, whether living or dead.

With this talent and his identity as a peddler, his predecessor had collected quite a few strange and unusual "supernatural objects." He had also cautiously explored how to formally embark on the Path of Cultivation, transforming himself from a frail human into an Immortal God.

And, believe it or not, he really had found a few paths.

After all, this world was ruled by Demonic Immortal Gods. Both the Imperial Court and other factions chose talented people to recruit and train as subordinates. And now that chaos had arrived, rival powers were contending for supremacy, giving rise to many new factions that were rapidly expanding and recruiting in droves.

The most sought-after personnel were spies, agents, and informants.

Factions and organizations looking to expand would cast a wide net, first developing a large pool of recruits before formally selecting and absorbing them. Thanks to his identity as a peddler and a certain eerie reputation, his predecessor had gotten lucky and received invitations from more than one organization.

The fatal part was that he'd accepted every single one.

Ge Xian's face turned deathly pale in an instant. His eyes filled with disbelief as he blurted out:

"Well, well. So I'm a servant to every master, huh?"

By this point in his memories, Ge Xian had thought he'd seen enough to be stunned.

But before long, the final rush of memories came flooding in. At the same time, he fully adapted to this new body—and the lingering sensations from last night's bedchamber overwhelmed him, utterly beyond description.

Only then did Ge Xian look toward the bed. It was a complete mess, an indecent sight. Words like "utterly disgraceful" and "an affront to propriety" came to mind.

On the bed, which should have held nothing but blankets and pillows, lay a Bamboo Lady, a Mottled Bronze Mirror, an Ancient Lady Painting, and a Worn Green Umbrella. A broom wrapped in Seven-Colored Silk Thread had fallen beneath the bed as well.

Without exception, these were the supernatural objects Ge Xian had collected.

Every one of them was uncanny.

The Bamboo Lady, for instance, had once been nothing more than a contraption for easing the summer heat, a common object hardly worth mentioning. But this one had become a spirit. If you held her while you slept, you could meet a goddess in your dreams, soothe your longing, and satisfy your deepest desires. The only price was a few days of listlessness.

The Worn Green Umbrella was also a spirit. Open it and recite, "Seek Wife Meeting," and a beautiful woman in green would appear beneath it at once, speaking in a soft, lilting voice so enticing it was hard to resist.

The bronze mirror, the lady painting, and even the broom were similar.

His predecessor had awakened his talent a month ago and gone to great lengths to collect these five supernatural objects. You could imagine what kind of man he was: a lustful young man, through and through.

He had lived for his lust, and it had been the death of him.

The last memory in Ge Xian's mind was of the fellow accepting invitations from several spy organizations. Convinced he would be able to embark on the Path of Cultivation no matter what, he had been so excited last night that he unexpectedly awakened a second talent.

Supernatural Charm!

At that moment, an eerie aura and a strange fragrance began to emanate from his body, giving him an inexhaustible attraction for supernatural objects. The effect didn't spread far, but it was enough to send every supernatural object in the room into a frenzy. They all manifested and lunged at him...

"So I was drained dry?"

"If that's what happened, why do I feel so vigorous and refreshed now, while most of these supernatural objects have been ruined?"

Ge Xian's face turned strange, then puzzled.

His predecessor hadn't been stupid. Though he was extremely lustful and had collected these objects, he knew that using any of them came at a price. After the pleasure came the loss of a large amount of vital essence. Being listless for a few days was the least of it; the terrifying part was that it would certainly shorten his life.

Four of the five supernatural objects had at least one life to their names. The most vicious was the ancient mirror. The Mirror Slave inside it had killed at least a dozen people, men and women alike.

Ge Xian treasured his life, so after acquiring them, he had miraculously held out for a whole month without using them. He only occasionally used his first talent to summon the spirits inside and chat with them, indulging in a harmless fantasy.

Judging by the commotion and how he'd used them last night, Ge Xian should have been a dried-out husk by now.

But when he sensed his own body, the answer he got was: Essence full, spirit replete, lifespan increased by one year.

Conversely, the supernatural objects all felt like ordinary things to him now. Their spirits and uncanny powers had vanished completely.

Of course, there was one exception.

The broom was still a supernatural object.

Ge Xian suddenly reached out and took it, then called in his usual gentle voice:

"Sister Bai, don't be alarmed. I've regained my senses and can restrain the aura inside me now. I'm just utterly confused about what happened last night and don't understand any of it."

"Please come out and let me see you, Sister Bai. Tell me what happened."

Perhaps she was afraid, or perhaps it was the bond they had formed through a month of conversation.

As soon as he finished speaking, the Seven-Colored Silk Thread on the broom shimmered. A woman dressed in white appeared, pretty enough, her expression shy.

She was the Broom Spirit. She had never killed anyone; she was gentle by nature and loved cleaning, insisting that not a speck of dust be left behind. Her previous master had been a Pauper Scholar surnamed Bai, so she had taken his surname as well.

Fear still lingered in her eyes. As soon as she appeared, she instinctively floated back several steps before bowing to Ge Xian and telling him what had happened after he had awakened his talent and passed out the night before.

As it turned out, when Ge Xian awakened his Charm, the supernatural objects had indeed gone berserk at first. They had manifested to drain him dry—and really had succeeded, dividing up all his Essence and Blood Qi.

Just as the spirits, satisfied, were preparing to leave after turning the young man into a husk, a Devouring Power arose inside him. In the blink of an eye, they were pulled back toward him. Not only did he reclaim all his Essence and Blood Qi, he drained them dry in turn. Only the Broom Spirit survived.

After listening, Ge Xian kept his expression calm, though he couldn't help marveling inwardly:

"So I got a blessing in disguise? My second talent isn't just Charm. It also comes with a Counter-Absorption Divine Ability. It irresistibly attracts supernatural objects, and it can devour them and steal their supernatural powers?"

"Isn't that the Demon Fox's legendary method of Cultivating Yin to Replenish Yang? Have I become Male Daji?"

As for questions like whether there were enough humans to sustain the world under this sort of worldbuilding, explanations would appear as the story went on. Don't rush to flame Fatty Fish.