Five skill points!
Fang Shuwen's pupils contracted slightly, but his expression remained unchanged.
There was definitely something wrong with this book. It was no ordinary piece of light reading.
The fact that it could provide eerie energy meant it was something like Ghost Jade.
But it wasn't exactly the same. Ordinary people could touch Ghost Jade without danger.
But this book—
He hadn't even touched it. He'd only glanced at it, and he'd nearly met with disaster.
That was only because he'd practiced martial arts and already had two bone-ringing breakthroughs.
His blood and qi surged through his body, giving him a chance to save himself.
Anyone else would probably have died on the spot.
Eerie energy.
The phrase circled once through his mind, connecting with the two characters in "Ghost Jade," which Old Master Zheng had mentioned.
Ghost Jade. Eerie.
Just one character apart, yet they shared the same source.
It seemed the world was full of far more sinister things than he'd imagined.
The book had yielded five skill points, which meant the eerie energy it contained was comparable to the fine piece of Ghost Jade Old Master Zheng had given him.
"Are you all right? You look awful."
Seeing him standing motionless, Shen Xinyi couldn't help asking again.
The poor student had looked like he'd seen a ghost just moments ago, but now he'd calmed down. It was just that his face was still frighteningly pale.
He looked completely drained.
He reminded her of her cousin after a visit to a flower boat.
"I'm fine."
Fang Shuwen shook his head and bent down to set the toppled stool upright.
He put his cloth book bag beside his feet, but his eyes drifted involuntarily toward Shen Xinyi behind the counter.
By then,
Shen Xinyi had lowered her head and returned to her book. Her slender, pale fingers turned a page, her expression focused and calm, without the slightest hint that anything was amiss.
Fang Shuwen looked away, his thoughts churning.
Who exactly was this bookstore owner?
Why could she handle this book and remain so completely unfazed, when he'd nearly fallen victim to it after only a glance?
Ordinary people could touch Ghost Jade without danger, but he clearly hadn't touched this book. He'd only glanced at it, and he'd nearly been dragged into that gloomy old castle.
Fang Shuwen's gaze fell once more on the qipao-clad woman behind the counter, her head bowed over her book.
She quietly turned the pages, her long fingers gliding over the paper, her expression focused and calm.
Fang Shuwen's thoughts churned, but his face gave nothing away.
"Miss, did this book really come from Shenghai Bookstore?" he asked casually.
"Where else? You think I printed it myself?"
Shen Xinyi didn't even look up. Her tone carried a hint of impatience, making it clear she didn't want to be disturbed.
Fang Shuwen smiled and didn't press further.
Shen Xinyi's breathing, heartbeat, and even the flow of her blood showed no change whatsoever.
So she probably really didn't know there was anything unusual about the book.
Besides, he'd already absorbed the eerie energy inside it.
The book was no different from any other now.
Outside the window, dusk deepened.
Fang Shuwen continued reviewing his lessons.
The entrance exams were tomorrow. He had to pass all seven subjects to stay.
Chinese and arithmetic weren't difficult.
His foundations from his previous life were still there. Exams at the middle-school level were as easy as drinking water.
The real headache was the subject called Outline of New Learning, which contained a great deal of theory about martial arts and basic knowledge about the eerie.
The original owner had never paid attention in that class. His textbook looked as new as if it had just been handed out.
He opened the copy of Outline of New Learning and began working through it page by page.
"Evil spirits and the eerie are formed from unusual energies between heaven and earth. They have neither shape nor substance, and often attach themselves to objects..."
Fang Shuwen's gaze stopped on that line.
He looked up and glanced again at the book in Shen Xinyi's hands, its cover a dusky blue-gray.
Neither shape nor substance, attached to objects?
Could Tales of the Ancient Castle be a book possessed by the eerie?
Was that why he'd nearly fallen victim to it after only reading the title?
And Shen Xinyi—
Perhaps she wasn't immune. Could there be some other reason she hadn't been affected?
Fang Shuwen shook his head, set those thoughts aside for the moment, and continued reviewing his lessons.
Time slipped away unnoticed amid the rustle of turning pages.
By the time Fang Shuwen closed his textbook, it was completely dark outside.
The pedestrians on the street had grown scarce, and only the pale yellow moonlight remained.
He rubbed his aching eyes, stood, and packed his book bag. Then he took out a few copper coins and set them on the table.
"Miss, for the tea."
Shen Xinyi finally looked up. She glanced at the coins on the table, then at him.
Fang Shuwen nodded to her and turned to push open the shop door.
The night wind blew against his face, carrying a faint chill.
He stood on the steps outside the bookstore and took a deep breath.
He had five skill points now, still halfway short of the ten he needed to fuse with Soaring Snake Fist.
Once the entrance exams were over, he'd have to find a way to visit the National Martial Arts Hall and buy a cheap piece of Ghost Jade.
If that didn't work, he could play a few more games of chess with Old Master Zheng.
The old man had a strange temper, but his chess addiction was hard to deny. Maybe Fang Shuwen could win something else from him.
At the thought,
The corners of Fang Shuwen's mouth lifted slightly. He slung his book bag over his shoulder and strode into the night.
Xikou County's new government building.
The Folklore and Antiquities Investigation Division's private office was still lit.
Lin Xiu sat behind his desk, holding a thin file in one hand. His brows were knitted into a tight knot.
Several photographs lay spread across the desk, showing the two bodies pulled from Clear Water River that afternoon.
One man's chest had caved in, several ribs broken. His chest had been smashed in by a fist.
The other man's neck was twisted at an unnatural angle. Someone had snapped it.
Clean and decisive, a single blow to kill.
The men had been stripped of their valuables. It looked like robbery—or perhaps a vendetta.
As a member of a special department, he shouldn't have been responsible for a case like this.
But one of the two men was connected to a case he was currently investigating.
And he was an important target.
So, had Liu Mang and the other man been killed because this person had indeed come into contact with Soaring Snake Counter-Scale?
Soaring Snake Counter-Scale came from an ancient tomb in the mountains of northern Jiangnan Province.
A band of tomb raiders had discovered the tomb and dug out all its treasures.
The Soaring Snake scale had thus made its way onto the black market.
At first, no one had paid it much attention.
After all, China was vast, with a long and rich history. Countless objects like this existed.
No one would pay much attention to such an eerie object, its eerie energy almost entirely spent.
But that was until recently.
The Shenghai Folklore and Antiquities Investigation Division had salvaged several bronze slips from an ancient shipwreck dating back to the Xuanshang Dynasty.
From the parts they'd managed to restore, they learned that Zhouyuan, the last human emperor of Xuanshang,
had once ordered the construction of a Red Sky Divine Ship, hoping to soar beyond the nine heavens and seek the essence of immortality.
According to the bronze slips, Emperor Zhouyuan hadn't found the essence of immortality on that expedition.
But it hadn't been a total failure. He'd discovered a divine treasure hidden beyond the nine heavens.
Unfortunately, the time wasn't right, and the treasure couldn't be opened.
Disappointed, Emperor Zhouyuan had returned and recorded the treasure's location on the scales of a Soaring Serpent.
That was the copper scale he was investigating now.
That copper scale was Soaring Snake Counter-Scale!