"Male Daji isn't out of the question, as long as this talent isn't passive."
"I got lucky this time. I wasn't drained dry, and even got quite a few benefits. But what if next time I can't control myself and start giving off that fragrance for no reason, attracting some real Demonic Creature that eats me alive? What then?"
Muttering to himself, Ge Xian began silently examining his body. He wanted to fully adapt to it while also understanding the changes within.
Perhaps he was lucky, or perhaps things were simply meant to be this way.
His original body's First Talent, Supernatural Perception, was perfectly suited to the task. At a single thought, the many hidden passages and mysterious changes within him—including traces left behind by the previous night's events—came into view.
Before long, a look of understanding appeared on Ge Xian's face. He felt both delighted and rueful as he murmured:
"So that's how it is. My predecessor really had terrible luck. His Charm Talent could be controlled at will, just like his perception. He'd only been unable to control it the first time it awakened. But its initial range was tiny. If there hadn't been many Demonic Creatures around him then—or if there had been fewer, just one or two strange objects—he could have come through it safely. If there had been only one, the strange power of Cai Bu that came with his charm might even have helped him gain some benefits."
"But the boy was lecherous in his youth, and had accumulated no fewer than five Female Fiends—strange objects that specialized in devouring Essence and Blood Qi. And so he lost his life."
"And when my soul possessed this body and was reborn, it seems to have greatly amplified all the talents within it...?"
He still had some doubts about that last thought, but Ge Xian was already quite certain. He simply didn't know exactly how much they had been amplified.
At the very least, both his range of perception and the power of Cai Bu were undoubtedly far greater than those of the original owner.
The benefits he'd gained the previous night also surfaced in detail at that moment. Aside from being brimming with vigor and having gained a year of life, he sensed several kinds of strange power lingering within him.
They were Call Wind Summon Rain, skin-painting, and bewitchment.
"The first can summon a light rain. It must have been given jointly by Bamboo Lady and Green Umbrella Woman."
"The second lets me paint a woman's skin and wear it over my own. That must have come from the Lady Painting."
"The third can bewitch living creatures with weak wills. I suppose it came from the Ancient Mirror Demon."
"Unfortunately, they're all temporary abilities. They'll dissipate completely within twelve hours."
Ge Xian felt a pang of regret, but in truth, he wasn't all that disappointed.
When he'd first realized that his Charm and Cultivate Talent could even temporarily steal the talents of spirits and strange objects, he'd been overjoyed.
Even though he wasn't a cultivator yet, he could tell this ability was probably heaven-defying. He was even more certain that it must be because his talents had been greatly amplified after his possession. The original owner's Cai Bu was probably nothing more than absorbing a little essence and energy.
After those thoughts settled, Ge Xian suddenly looked at the Broom Spirit, as though remembering something, and asked, "By the way, if they couldn't stop themselves from coming to suck me dry, Sister Bai, how did you manage to hold back?"
At the question, two bright blushes sprang up on the Broom Spirit's snowy-white face. She stamped her foot, embarrassed and annoyed. "I... I don't know either. I simply couldn't resist the strange fragrance in your body. But those four demonesses were so fierce. They split your body four ways, and I couldn't fight them off or get onto the bed."
"..."
Ge Xian had thought the Broom Spirit possessed some wondrous ability to resist his charm. He hadn't expected the reason to be that. For a moment, he was speechless.
Seeing that the Broom Spirit was so mortified she seemed ready to vanish back inside, Ge Xian hurriedly called after her and began asking about cultivation. Though he'd inherited all of the original owner's memories, the original owner had been a complete novice in this regard. Otherwise, he wouldn't have died such an unjust death.
He'd hoped that the "multifaceted spy" plan would work, allowing him to set foot on the path of cultivation. Sadly, before it could even get underway, the original owner had died of pleasure.
Unfortunately, his questions were in vain.
The Broom Spirit gave him a strange look, then replied:
"I... I'm just a broom. How could I know about Immortal Gods? I thought you already knew, Master, so whenever you summoned me, we only talked about romance. You never asked about cultivation."
"However, the female slave in that ancient mirror let something slip last night. She said that if she could devour an ordinary person like you, Master—someone with two talents—she might be able to [enter the Dao] and become a cultivator."
"She should know something about cultivation. But whenever you summoned her before, you only ever praised her beauty and had her dance an erotic dance for you alongside the Lady Demon..."
"Ahem, someone's coming. Sister Bai, you should go home and rest."
Ge Xian's expression had already turned awkward halfway through. It was all the original owner's sordid history, true, but now that their soul and body were one, he felt embarrassed just hearing about it. What a young man—he'd certainly had some unusual tastes.
After sending the pretty, snow-white young wife back into the broom, Ge Xian rose from the bed and opened the door bolt. Outside was a small courtyard with a water vat, a table and stools, and a half-dead old pagoda tree. The poor courtyard and humble house had naturally been left behind by the original owner's parents.
This place was in the second left ward of eastern Qiantang County, in Locust Flower Old Lane—a poor neighborhood of common folk.
Ge Xian hadn't made up an excuse when he sent the Broom Spirit back. His Supernatural Perception had a fairly wide range, and he really had sensed someone coming.
Before they even appeared, the clanging of a loud, grating gong rang out, setting the entire old lane into a frenzy. People came streaming out of the houses and courtyards on either side.
The many voices drifted into Ge Xian's ears:
"Can't be this unlucky, can it? They only came to cut us yesterday. Why are those accursed hopping ghosts here again? Did our lane get picked again?"
"Must have. There's no rhyme or reason to the drawing. The county has six wards and fifty-two districts, and some places get picked over and over. It's our first time in Locust Flower Lane, so we've already been lucky."
"It's fine. Let them cut me. I've still got another leg to spare. It won't cost me my life, and I'll get more Taisui Grains out of it. The little ones in my house have been eating a lot more lately."
"Ah, what can you do when you've got a family to feed? We're not like that boy from the Ge family, who only has to fill his own belly. He even has money to bribe the hopping ghosts into leaving his flesh alone. He doesn't know how to live. The cut only hurts for a few breaths, and the Taisui Grains you get in exchange are delicious. He's never even tasted one."
"That boy isn't the only one. I've heard the wealthy households in town, and some of the foreigners, often bribe the hopping ghosts to spare their flesh too. They're all afraid of pain and don't know how to appreciate a blessing. With their status, if they took a cut, they'd get twice as many Taisui Grains as we do."
"Shh! Do you want to get yourself killed? How dare you run your mouth about them?"
As Ge Xian walked toward the courtyard gate, he listened to the chatter, his brow furrowing slightly. Related memories surfaced in his mind, one after another.
He'd learned of the magistrate's flesh-cutting when he woke up, and he knew about the medicine and grain they handed out. As for the so-called drawing, that was another one of [Thigh-cutting Magistrate Lu Hualong]'s bizarre schemes. Following the layout of Qiantang County's six wards and fifty-two districts, the man drew lots each day to select a quarter of the area for harvesting, while the rest were given a reprieve.
The flesh-cutting was also divided by rank. The hopping ghosts, acting on their master's orders, were harshest on southerners, cutting off the most flesh while giving them the least in compensation. Ordinary Han people fared somewhat better, and foreigners better still. As for the wealthy households in town, they were simply exempted.
In the eyes of ordinary people, those two groups were afraid of pain.
Ge Xian was an ordinary Han. Every time, he bribed the hopping ghosts with silver to exempt himself from the flesh-cutting, and he'd never once asked for the Taisui Grains to steam and eat. It wasn't because he was afraid of pain. Rather, he'd noticed something amiss.
At that thought, Ge Xian opened the courtyard gate, and the bustling scene, which had been hidden behind the courtyard wall, suddenly came into view.
The lane wasn't very wide, yet people crowded it from end to end. Dozens of children ran back and forth, playing. Men and women, young and old, all looked toward the entrance to the lane, craning their necks in anticipation of someone's arrival.
At first glance, Ge Xian saw the strange signs the original owner had once noticed:
The first was the neighbors. Old or young, male or female, every one of them looked excited and full of energy. This was a chaotic world in a year of famine. Though there were no refugees or starving beggars here, they still shouldn't have looked so healthy.
The second was the lively children. Every one of them was plump and fair, and as they ran about, each gave off a wonderful grainy fragrance, pure and rich. It made one's mouth water and fingers itch, almost tempting him to scoop up these "Ginseng Babies" and suckle them a few times.
The next moment, that scene became reality:
At the entrance to the lane, the gong drew closer. Then a dozen men and women, almost indistinguishable from the neighbors, came clanging into Locust Flower Old Lane with knives in hand, pushing handcarts.
They split into two lines. Each handcart carried a Bronze Cauldron as tall as a person.
The women on the left moved first. No one knew how they had such strength, but they lifted off the lids of the cauldrons—which looked to weigh dozens of pounds—with effortless ease. In an instant, a dozen streams of grainy fragrance, enough to churn the belly and flood the mouth with saliva, gathered and filled the entire lane. The aroma was visible to the naked eye.
The children, who'd already been fidgeting, immediately cheered and crowded around, chattering:
"Fragrant food, yummy food!"
"It smells so good! I want some!"
"Big sisters, please, please give me a bite first!"
"And me! I want one bite too. Just one!"
The eerie women, who'd all been expressionless a moment ago, broke into radiant smiles when they saw the children crowd around. Each picked up a child and planted a few fierce kisses on their tender cheeks. Then, as if they weren't afraid of the heat, they reached into the cauldrons, pinched out gleaming, translucent grains sparkling with colorful light, and stuffed them into the children's mouths.
At the same time, the men on the right opened their cauldrons too. This time, a dozen waves of fresh, bloody meat stench poured out. They didn't need to call anyone over. The neighbors, who'd been complaining moments earlier, now smiled brightly, hurried over, and fawned on them.
If you ignored the scene itself and listened only to the laughter, anyone would have thought it was a happy occasion where food and benefits were being handed out.
But Ge Xian, standing at the courtyard gate, furrowed his brow. His hair stood on end, and a chill rushed up from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head, making him shiver involuntarily.
His Supernatural Perception saw everything clearly:
The men and women who looked like "people" all had green light glimmering in their eyes, black qi swirling above their heads, and smiles like puppets. Looking closely, the men were all missing the little finger on their left hand, and the women the little finger on their right. They were clearly a kind of hopping ghost, a demonic being.
And at that very moment, these hopping ghosts were walking beneath the blazing sun. On one side, they fed the children strange rice balls; on the other, they sharpened their blades, collected their payment in flesh, and tossed it into the cauldrons.
He'd only just arrived, and after digesting the original owner's memories, Ge Xian had thought he'd adapted somewhat.
But faced with these scenes, he still couldn't help swallowing. Rage and fear surged up together, and he murmured involuntarily:
"What kind of world is this?"
"And if there are cultivators, what kind of cultivators are they?"
Before you continue