Face-to-Face

Little Doubi's ability is to steal a certain function from its target? Last time it was Aunt's sense of smell and taste, and this time it was Uncle's ability to speak?

Zhang Yuanqing, who was pretending to cough, felt a surge of pleasant surprise. If it could steal a certain ability from an ordinary person, could it also steal a certain ability from a Spirit Realm Walker?

If that were the case, the value of this little spirit servant would be immense.

At this moment, Uncle finally reacted. Recalling his performance just now, the nightclub veteran's face flushed red, looking both bewildered and embarrassed.

Haha, Uncle, so you can be embarrassed too. Zhang Yuanqing gloated inwardly, noticing that the Infant Spirit riding on his uncle's neck seemed exhausted and was drifting off to sleep.

"Th-this. I was just joking around with you all. I suddenly remembered what Yuanzi looked like when he was a child and couldn't help but imitate him."

Uncle was truly a veteran rascal with decades of experience; his skin was as thick as a city wall, and he quickly shifted the blame onto his nephew.

Zhang Yuanqing was caught off guard.

"You're at your age, aren't you ashamed!" Grandma scolded angrily.

"Mom, I'm still a child," Uncle said with a grin. "I will always be your child."

"Get lost, get lost, get lost." Grandma looked at him with utter disgust.

After dinner, Uncle's family returned to the apartment across the hall. Zhang Yuanqing went to the bathroom to wash up early, and after telling his aunt not to disturb him for the night, he entered his bedroom.

He had to wake up early tomorrow to meet Li Dongze at the office and report on the Infant Spirit, so he needed to sleep early.

But before that, he had to try to tame this little guy.

Zhang Yuanqing sat cross-legged on the bed. Little Doubi curled up and slept in his arms, holding one of his thumbs to suck on. The Lunar Power flowed like a thread into the Infant Spirit's body, nourishing it.

According to the description in the post, as long as one successfully refined a spirit servant, one only needed to maintain the feeding of Lunar Power to keep the spirit servant in this world.

Zhang Yuanqing had essentially picked up a ready-made treasure.

"This little guy doesn't seem very bright right now. I wonder if its intelligence will improve in the future."

Zhang Yuanqing settled his emotions and mobilized his Lunar Power. A thick, viscous black light surged from the depths of his eyes, gradually replacing his pupils and whites, occupying his entire eye sockets.

"Hoo."

Zhang Yuanqing exhaled a pale black mist that enveloped the Infant Spirit, then opened his mouth and inhaled, swallowing it into his abdomen.

Suddenly, Zhang Yuanqing felt a consciousness appear within his body—a weak, inactive consciousness.

Then, following the method in the post, he drove his Lunar Power to wash over this consciousness again and again, imprinting his mark upon it and forcing it to accept his power, becoming his spirit servant.

This process lasted for over ten seconds. Suddenly, his mental energy sank into a dark, void-like space.

It was very warm and comfortable, just like sleeping in a mother's embrace.

His mental energy sank into the "body" of the Infant Spirit, briefly merging with it.

"The post was right; the master can control the consciousness and abilities of the spirit servant, briefly dominating their 'body'."

After Zhang Yuanqing initially adapted to this "body," a brand-new talent naturally emerged in his mind.

It felt as if it were innate.

This talent was called "Exchange"—using something of one's own to exchange for something of the target's.

For example, using one's own sense of taste to exchange for the other's, or using one's own language to exchange for the other's. The duration of the exchange was three seconds.

That was why Aunt lost her sense of taste, and why Uncle spat out baby babble.

However, this exchange did not necessarily require equal value. One could also use one's own trash abilities to exchange for someone else's precious abilities. It was just that the Infant Spirit was too young and its intelligence was limited, so it couldn't perform such delicate operations; it could only perform equal exchanges, and it triggered the skill randomly.

The condition for triggering the skill was physical contact with the target.

If Zhang Yuanqing were to operate it, he could achieve the micro-management of exchanging trash for god-tier skills.

Additionally, the exchanges the Infant Spirit could currently perform were limited to physical abilities; it could not exchange skills, at least not at this stage.

Finally, as the master, Zhang Yuanqing could transfer the damage, control effects, and other negative statuses he received onto the spirit servant, letting the spirit servant share the damage.

"I finally understand why the Night Wanderer is one of the peak professions; it really is ridiculously strong," Zhang Yuanqing sighed silently.

He let his consciousness return to his body.

"Yi-yi."

The Infant Spirit moved its short legs, crawled to his side, and nudged Zhang Yuanqing's hand with its sparsely-haired head, wanting to suck on his thumb.

This thing could eat.

"No, this is where you get your food." Zhang Yuanqing pointed to his own chest.

The Infant Spirit tilted its head, looked at him blankly for a moment, and seemed to finally understand what he meant, obediently crawling toward his chest.

"Get lost."

Zhang Yuanqing swallowed it back into his abdomen, storing it within his body.

The next morning, Zhang Yuanqing got up and went to the bathroom to wash up.

Just as he picked up his toothbrush, he thought for a moment, opened his mouth, and exhaled a wisp of yin energy. The Infant Spirit's tiny figure appeared on the bathroom counter.

Nourished by the Lunar Power, it looked quite energetic, its dark, round eyes looking at Zhang Yuanqing with innocence.

"Let me teach you a little bit of common sense for daily life. This is a toothbrush, and your master is going to brush his teeth now. Come on, repeat after me: toothbrush, brush teeth, use a toothbrush to brush teeth."

Since the little thing is not an unconscious spirit, it will eventually grow, and during that process, it needs its master to instill the right values.

It must be an upright ghost, law-abiding, and reject gambling and drugs.

The Infant Spirit tilted its head, looking at him blankly.

"Toothbrush, brush teeth, use a toothbrush to brush teeth. Hurry, repeat after me."

"???"

Zhang Yuanqing persisted for a moment, then suddenly deflated, temporarily abandoning the teaching idea because he couldn't tell who was the bigger moron between himself and Little Doubi.

After washing up, his phone rang; it was Li Dongze calling.

"Hello, Squad Leader?"

"Yuanshi, come over this morning. There is something I need your cooperation with."

"What is it?"

"A Night Wanderer from the Taiyi Sect has some questions for you. We'll discuss the specifics when you get here."

Why would a Night Wanderer from the Taiyi Sect want to see me? Did they take a fancy to my peerless talent and want to recruit me? If that were the case, they should have approached me privately.

"Understood, Squad Leader." Zhang Yuanqing hung up.

He happened to be heading to the office to report the Infant Spirit incident anyway.

After breakfast, he put on his backpack to pretend he was going to school. Once he left the residential complex, he hailed a taxi and headed straight for the Public Security Bureau, entering the double-glass building.

Just as he reached the door of Li Dongze's office, he heard hearty laughter from inside:

"Oh, God, that is the funniest joke I have ever heard."

"Let me tell you another interesting story. Do you know Captain Zhao? Yes, the guy who always walks into the wrong women's restroom. When he first became a Night Wanderer, he devoured seven female spirits in one go and has had the habit of peeing while squatting ever since. He hasn't been able to change it for years."

"Hahaha, God, that is the funniest joke I have ever heard. The previous one doesn't count."

"It's alright. I know many secrets about Night Wanderers. I'll tell you in detail later, but you must promise not to spread them. After all, we aren't the gossiping type, right?"

Knock, knock! Zhang Yuanqing knocked on the glass door.

The laughter inside stopped instantly, and Li Dongze's steady voice came through: "Please, come in."

Zhang Yuanqing pushed the door open and saw Li Dongze drinking with a man in a black suit and black shirt on the guest sofa.

The man in all black had decent features, slightly pale skin, and a lean build, exuding a faint, noble air.

"Our excellent newcomer is here," Li Dongze said with a smile, gesturing with his eyes. "There's cola in the fridge, help yourself."

After Zhang Yuanqing twisted off the cap and took a gulp, Li Dongze introduced him:

"Yuan Ting, Captain of the Taiyi Sect stationed in Kangyang District, a Level 3 Night Wanderer. He is the elite of the elite among our official organizations."

As a top-tier combat profession, a Level 3 Night Wanderer is a peak existence within the Extraordinary realm.

"Truly a man of talent. Elder Sun is a fool~"

Yuan Ting sighed with emotion and shook hands with Zhang Yuanqing.

Zhang Yuanqing wore an eager smile on his face:

"The moment I saw Captain Yuan, I felt like I was seeing family. It's inexplicably intimate. Could this be the sense of belonging between Night Wanderers?"

With an outsider present, Zhang Yuanqing temporarily suppressed the matter of the Infant Spirit.

Yuan Ting was stunned. "There shouldn't be such a sense of belonging between Night Wanderers."

Zhang Yuanqing realized suddenly: "So it was Captain Yuan who gave me that feeling of intimacy. This must be Captain Yuan's personal charm."

Hearing this, Yuan Ting couldn't help but beam; this kid really knew how to talk.

Upon second thought, realizing this was Li Dongze's subordinate, he felt a wave of regret: "Elder Sun is a fool~"

Seeing the two of them exchanging glances, Li Dongze coughed and said sternly:

"Captain Yuan is here on official business today."

He turned to ask Yuan Ting: "Shall we do it in my office, or in the conference room across the hall?"

Yuan Ting said: "Let's go to the conference room."

As he spoke, he picked up his briefcase from the glass coffee table, nodded at Zhang Yuanqing, and smiled:

"A word, if you please."

A private talk? Judging by the Squad Leader's attitude, it doesn't seem like he's trying to poach me. What could it be?

"Sure!" Zhang Yuanqing didn't refuse, saying: "I'd like to go to the restroom first."

Yuan Ting nodded and walked out of the office first.

Zhang Yuanqing turned toward the office area, scanned the room, deliberately ignored Wang Tai who was hunched over writing some academic paper, and walked to Guan Ya's desk, saying in a joking tone:

"I didn't get the honey trap, but I did get a Night Wanderer from the Taiyi Sect."

Guan Ya held her water cup and smiled: "That means it wasn't a honey trap. Hmm, Scorpio's horoscope is good today, but you should be extra careful when speaking to colleagues and superiors, otherwise, things might take a sharp turn for the worse."

She was wearing a white shirt and a short skirt, her slightly wavy long hair had just been styled, looking exquisite and fashionable. Her oval face was bright and charming, wearing light makeup, further enhanced by her mixed-race allure.

Zhang Yuanqing teased, "For example, if you were to hit on me and I righteously refused, would that cause our ship of friendship to capsize?"

"No, you wouldn't refuse, because you're a Scorpio," Guan Ya said with a straight face.

Enough of that. If you keep slandering Scorpios, I'm going to beat you with a stick!

However, having received the hint he wanted, he turned around immediately, walked quickly to the conference room door, and tapped lightly on the glass.

"Please, come in!"

Yuan Ting responded from inside.