Ah Xing

[Item: Cola from 1982]

[Item: Hundred-forged blade with the sharpness trait]

[Item: Bunny girl outfit]

"This blade's pretty good."

Jiang Xiang ran his fingers along the blade.

His maternal grandfather was a wealthy man, with plenty of decorative pieces and antiques at home.

Jiang Xiang knew a thing or two about appraising such craftsmanship.

That sharpness trait might give the blade something special.

"Keep going!"

Whoosh-

A legendary gold pull?

A gold-bordered card appeared before Jiang Xiang.

"What's this?"

[Special Incarnation Card-Ah Xing]

[Rank: E]

[Special effect: Can be advanced using special items. Available advancement paths-Iron-Headed A Xing / Ling Ling Qi Ah Xing / Special Powers Ah Xing]

[Skills: Laughing heartily, picking locks and breaking in...]

[Description: An utterly ordinary... person]

"There are cards like this too? There sure are a lot of different types."

"So this isn't an independent avatar? My main body has to transform into him?"

Curious, Jiang Xiang checked the advancement requirements.

[Iron Fist: 4,000 Emotional Value + a one-of-a-kind Shaolin Buddhist scripture]

[Ling Ling Qi: 1,800 Emotional Value + a butcher's knife (used to slaughter 100 pigs)]

[Special Powers: 3,000 Emotional Value + a sweet kiss from a beautiful woman + a master and a senior fellow disciple (they don't have to be real)] ```

Jiang Xiang rubbed his chin in realization. After reading through them carefully a few times, he understood.

"These seem to represent three different paths."

"Martial arts, superpowers, and technology?"

Superpowers came in all sorts of forms. Judging by the movies, illusions and telekinesis were pretty powerful.

Ling Ling Qi could probably develop toward the robot from Sixty Million Dollar Man.

"So... Iron Fist it is."

Jiang Xiang firmly believed in buying the most expensive option, not the right one.

The one that required the most Emotional Value might not be the best, but it certainly wouldn't be bad.

"Buddhist scriptures... I don't think Grandfather's collection has anything from other religions."

Jiang Xiang's maternal grandfather was a devout Christian.

At any rate, he attended services regularly, acted very devout, and was just as devout when donating money.

Whether he actually believed was harder to say.

"Then I'll have to rely on-Old Man."

"I don't have four thousand emotion points yet. I should have enough by this afternoon."

"So next up-sleep!"

Jiang Xiang pulled the covers over himself, and the room fell silent.

Evening.

After waking up, Jiang Xiang rode his little scooter to Old Man's Antique Shop in Chinatown.

Inside, a man with a goatee and a yellow shirt of the sort older men wore was rummaging around for something. Though he looked a little old, his movements were strong and vigorous.

"Uncle, I'm here to see you!"

The greeting came from behind Old Man. He instinctively turned around at once and looked toward the door.

When he saw that it was Jiang Xiang, his tightly furrowed brows relaxed.

"Oh, Xiang. Do you remember where Old Man put his tea?"

"If you can't find it, don't bother looking. I brought some new tea."

As he spoke, Jiang Xiang handed Old Man the tea he had brought.

"Aiya! You could have just come. Why bring gifts?"

Despite his words, Old Man was quick to take the tea from Jiang Xiang.

He stood on no ceremony with Jiang Xiang at all.

Old Man treated Jiang Xiang like his own child.

Whenever he had something good, he would save some for him. He had also made Jiang Xiang quite a few protective charms.

Though they had known each other for less than a year, that sense of familiarity and closeness made them comfortable in each other's company.

"What trouble have you run into this time, coming to Old Man?"

Jiang Xiang got up and poured out some tea leaves for Old Man.

"What kind of question is that? Can't I come see you without needing something?"

Old Man rose, fetched a mop and broom from the corner, and smiled at Jiang Xiang.

"If you don't need anything, help Old Man give the place a thorough cleaning."

Jiang Xiang's expression abruptly turned serious.

"I do! Something important! I urgently need a one-of-a-kind Buddhist scripture."

"A Buddhist scripture?"

Without asking what Jiang Xiang needed it for, Old Man turned and headed into the basement.

Here.

Hmm, no.

Here. Aiya!

I had everything organized. How did it get so messy?

Found it!

Old Man walked slowly toward the stairs.

Ding-dong-ding-dong-

Jiang Xiang got up to answer the door.

"Welcome to Old Man's Antique Shop."

He opened the door, and a well-dressed middle-aged man who looked somewhat disheveled walked in.

"Hello. What can I help you with? We mainly buy and sell antiques here."

The man was clearly East Asian, and those features prompted Jiang Xiang to give him a few extra looks.

In this United States city, East Asians weren't particularly numerous, but they weren't uncommon either.

The man glanced around the antique shop, then looked Jiang Xiang over before asking tentatively, "I heard the owner of this shop was an elderly man. Who are you?"

He asked in standard Mandarin.

"I'm the owner's nephew. Just a moment."

"We've got-"

Jiang Xiang was just about to call out.

Old Man came up the basement stairs.

"I know. Just these two. Have a look and see if they'll do."

Though Jiang Xiang had provided the antique shop, Old Man had brought all the antiques and texts with him.

Jiang Xiang leafed through them.

"They'll do."

Then he leaned close to Old Man's ear and whispered, "He's looking for the owner. Seems like he came specifically for you."

Old Man adjusted his little round glasses and blinked.

It was as though he were saying, Old Man knows what he's doing.

Old Man went over to greet the man, with Jiang Xiang following behind.

"Would you like to buy something, sir?"

The man studied Old Man for a moment, then asked tentatively again, "I heard you're skilled at assessing feng shui. Do you believe... that supernatural things exist in this world?"

Old Man and Jiang Xiang exchanged a glance, then motioned for him to continue.

Seeing that Old Man showed neither contempt nor disbelief, the man couldn't help breathing a sigh of relief.

Then he took a photograph of his family of three out of his wallet.

"This is a photo of me, my wife, and my son."

"A year ago, my son was caught in a car accident and died... He was still so little. He was such a sweet boy..." The man choked up a little.

"Ahem, ahem." Jiang Xiang interrupted before he could get carried away with his emotions.

"Sorry. I lost control for a moment."

The man looked a little embarrassed. After all, he was a grown man crying in front of two strangers.

"We decided to adopt a child from an orphanage. To our surprise, there was a boy who looked very much like our late son, so we adopted him."

At this point, the man began speaking faster.

"At first, I didn't actually think he looked that much like my son. But after we adopted him, he started imitating my son, becoming more and more like him."

The man's expression gradually filled with terror.

"Later, I discovered that he'd started getting up in the middle of the night to eat raw meat. He would roar like a wild beast, and he never spoke. When we took him to the hospital for an examination, any electromagnetic equipment used on him would stop working."

"As he became more like my son, we gradually accepted him. But one day, while we were celebrating his birthday, he roared like a wild beast again and knocked over the cake, which was covered in lit candles. Uneasy about where he'd come from, I made up my mind to investigate his background."

A look of disbelief came over the man's face.

"In the end, I found a newspaper from twenty years ago. It said that the old director of that orphanage had rescued a small child, and that child was my adopted son..."

"I asked a nun to help drive him away, but I still don't feel safe."

With a sincere expression, the man pleaded with Old Man, "I asked around everywhere before learning that you're a renowned expert in these matters. I'd like to ask you for a protective charm. If possible, I'd also like you to take a look for us and find out just what..."