Chapter 22: Boss Is Generous!

Even with Feng Xue's large heart, seeing this thing nearly made him miss a beat; this sudden change caught Jiu Gu's attention, and she gave him a playful glance, smiling:

"Looks like you're not as clueless as you claimed!"

"Heh…." Feng Xue let out two dry laughs, unable to answer, but he now understood—this scripture was probably acquired using something like the Five Ghosts Transport Method.

But even knowing that, looking at the scripture's garishly colored cover made it hard to keep a straight face.

After all, a stitched-book cover in blue or earth-yellow was fine, and even a special one in red wasn't odd—but seeing all three colors together inevitably gave off an unprofessional vibe.

Still, Feng Xue knew he couldn't be overly fixated; he focused his attention on the text on the cover.

"Summoning Objects," "Commanding Ghosts," "Paper Cutting," "Igniting Fire," "Hex Prayer," "Possessing Staff," "Divine Travel," "Ingestion," "Slaying Demons," "Walking on Water," "Pouch Heaven," "Purifying Dust."

Twelve spells in total, each name concise—some obvious at a glance, others slightly abstract—but after a quick scan, Feng Xue realized that except for "Hex Prayer" and "Possessing Staff," whose meanings were unclear, the rest were mostly combat or protective techniques, with none for exorcising evil spirits. If Jiu Gu didn't know, then why weren't there techniques like "Invoking the Divine" or "Communicating with the Netherworld," which any shaman would surely know?

"So this is your family's specialty?" Feng Xue thought it through and grasped the logic: though from his perspective, combat and protective abilities seemed more mysterious than pulling souls from the Underworld to possess a body, for a professional trade, these were the actual core skills that could be sold for payment.

"I'll take them all!"

Feng Xue declared with great boldness; Jiu Gu's eyes instantly brightened, and she immediately raised a thumb:

"Big-hearted! Twelve books, twenty percent off is nine thousand six hundred cash—rounding down the change, just give me nine guan!"

"No problem," Feng Xue said, then added: "But Jiu Gu, I'd like to ask you something."

No sooner had he spoken than Jiu Gu replied:

"It's just that I heard there's a kind of method that collects the power of faith to nurture a nascent spirit…"

"I can't teach that." Before Feng Xue could finish speaking, Ninth Aunt shook her head. The money-grubbing expression that had been on her face vanished in an instant, replaced by a stiff, solemn look as if she were carved from wood and clay. She didn't explain, and even gave off the air that if he said another word, he shouldn't bother buying any of these either.

Before Feng Xue finished speaking, Jiu Gu shook her head; the greedy expression on her face vanished instantly, replaced by a rigid, statue-like solemnity. She offered no explanation, and the air carried an unmistakable warning: say another word, and you won't be buying any of this.

Feng Xue didn't press further; he pulled out a gold bean:

"I don't have that much cash on hand—do you take gold? If not, we can go to the money shop…"

"We take it! Of course we take it!" Jiu Gu took the gold bean, weighing about two qian, hefted it briefly, then pinched it with her fingers. Though gold was soft, her clean, swift pinch—cutting off a segment so cleanly—made Feng Xue blink in surprise; after all, malleability didn't mean you could actually cut it!

But Jiu Gu showed no such hesitation, handing him the remaining small piece:

"I'll charge you one qian plus one fen—want me to weigh it?"

"No need, no need!" Feng Xue's gold beans were each exactly 10g; comparing with money shop prices, Jiu Gu was even giving him a slight discount.

Jiu Gu happily tucked the gold into her purse, then glanced at Feng Xue, who was stuffing the stacked books into his bag, and said:

"Even though I've sold you the Cultivation Techniques, I'll still warn you: cultivation is a gradual process—don't rush. Also, don't go chasing ghosts right after someone dies! That shortens your yin lifespan. If you need ghosts but don't know where to find wild ones, come to me—I sell them at fair prices!"

Feng Xue didn't finish his sentence, just smiled and nodded, then rose and left the hall, turning to head home to prepare for study. Compared to the hassle of buying furniture himself, the broker knew very well where to purchase different goods. Feng Xue had barely stepped back into his house when the broker arrived at the door with the purchased bed and bedding.

Feng Xue didn't promise anything, only nodded with a smile, then rose and left the temple, heading home to study. Compared to the hassle of buying furniture himself, the go-between clearly knew where to purchase different goods; barely had Feng Xue stepped through his door when the go-between arrived with the bed and bedding he'd bought.

After directing the men to set down the items, Feng Xue paid the final sum, shut the door, and collapsed onto the not-very-comfortable sofa, glancing at the still-sealed Western bedding.

"Wh-what?" Bai She sharply sensed Feng Xue's gaze and asked nervously. Feng Xue's lips curled up; he didn't answer directly, but asked:

"I do!" Little Bai She answered without hesitation, but at the same time suddenly came to her senses and hurriedly said:

"Yes!" Bai She answered without hesitation—but immediately snapped back to alertness and added:

"It's not that troublesome. Do you know how to make a bed and fold the covers? Help me tidy up the room." The words were barely out of Feng Xue's mouth when he felt something wasn't quite right—after all, Little Bai She might really not know how.

"No need for that," Feng Xue said. "Can you make a bed? Clean up the room."

As soon as he spoke, he realized it might not make sense—Bai She might truly not know how.

Watching Little Bai She looking so eager to play the maid, Feng Xue could barely keep the corners of his mouth from twitching. Although he had already vaguely guessed that every time he sealed Little Bai She's mouth he would gain some benefit, for him, who wielded the power of "one word to annul one's cultivation," Little Bai She getting stronger would only benefit him.

"Never done it before, but I know roughly how! Don't worry—I'll do it well! Really!"

Watching Bai She eagerly act like a maid, Feng Xue struggled to suppress his grin. Though he'd vaguely guessed that each time he spoke to her, she gained benefits, for him—who held the power of "One Word Nullifies Cultivation"—Bai She growing stronger only helped him.

"Since you're so sincere, fine—I see you as human." Feng Xue said proudly.

Instantly, he felt his arm grow heavy—and Bai She crashed onto him.

"I—I'm going to go figure out how to make a bed!"

Though he was now surrounded by soft warmth, Feng Xue felt no pleasure whatsoever—the sudden weight exploded upon him, nearly knocking the breath from his lungs.

Fortunately, Bai She reacted even faster than him, springing up instantly, glancing warily at Feng Xue. Seeing he hadn't recovered, she hurriedly blurted:

"I—I'll go figure out how to make the bed!"

Saying that, the slender girl lifted a large chest that had required several strong men to carry, and dashed toward the master bedroom Feng Xue had chosen.

Pulling out the manuals he'd bought from Ninth Aunt, Feng Xue didn't pick and choose, just casually drew one out and started reading.

Compared to the simple, direct manual from the charity burial home, this book struck Feng Xue as rather wordy. Many places that could have been written clearly in a sentence or two were instead padded out with large amounts of vague, equivocal phrasing, feeling like the kind of factory-line writing from a studio whose vocabulary just couldn't make the cut and could only desperately pile on repetitive rhetoric.

"This body needs proper cultivation… Forget it, first read the books, read the books."

Pulling out the scripture he'd bought from Jiu Gu, he didn't pick—he randomly grabbed one and began reading.

Compared to the straightforward simplicity of the previous scripture from the mortuary, this one struck Feng Xue as overly verbose: places where one or two sentences would suffice were filled with vague, redundant phrasing, like a studio's mass-produced text written by someone with a limited vocabulary who could only pile up repetition.

Still, no matter what, the sheer volume of text did eventually make the meaning clear; paired with the crude but serviceable illustrations beside it, Feng Xue quickly grasped the ritual of the "Possessing Staff" technique.

"Prepare a wooden staff, pre-activate the spell—when injured within the spell's duration, transfer the damage to the staff… Isn't this the Substitute Spell?"

Regarding the misunderstanding about helping me cultivate, I think I made it clear: it's not that the protagonist didn't realize—it's that he didn't care at all.

At first, due to the mouth-seal testing causing friction, the protagonist assumed Bai She's non-cooperation was normal.

After entering the county town, the protagonist acquired "human Cultivation Techniques," so Bai She's importance dropped another notch. Moreover, though Bai She refused, she still answered questions when asked, so the protagonist didn't care what exactly she resisted.

Until now, the protagonist has always viewed Bai She as a "tool." He holds the power of "One Word Nullifies Cultivation" to control her, and he's noticed her desires—so there's no need to ask her about things she clearly doesn't want. Just like a boss doesn't care why an employee doesn't want to work overtime. Either way, if he demands it, the employee has no choice.

PS: Regarding the stacking of mouth-seal talents, it's not actually overpowered—don't worry about it being too broken.

Because it's not a percentage increase—it's a fixed value.

In the early stages, it stacks quickly because the base is small: if the snake's talent is 1, each mouth-seal adds 10 talent, twice is 20, five times is 50—it looks like a huge gain each time.

But as the number increases—say, stacking talent to 100 or 1000—the effect of adding 10 each time becomes wildly diluted.

【60】

【61】

【62】 (End of Chapter)