Chapter 28: Are You Selling Ghosts or Running a Tech Academy?

The port city, a cosmopolitan metropolis that flourished thanks to its natural deepwater harbor, was still far smaller than the third-tier town Feng Xue had known in his era, but a single glance revealed traces of the night-Shanghai aesthetic from old crime dramas.

A bustling metropolis of wind, flowers, snow, and moonlight, yet the streets were also filled with rickshaw pullers, laborers toiling for meager wages, and beggars huddled in corners.

Compared to the idyllic, almost otherworldly simplicity of Ping'an County, this city, merely dozens of li away, gave Feng Xue a starkly different sense of reality.

A reality that felt exactly how the old era should have been.

With the startup capital—acquired before departure by trading his watch—tucked in his arms, Feng Xue suddenly felt glad he'd made the decision; waiting until he arrived here to trade might have fetched a higher price, but retrieving it would not have been easy.

Though he carried Bai She, his great weapon, Feng Xue still had no confidence facing those so-called martial artists, for fear stems from the unknown.

Fortunately, his purpose in coming to Shenshuigang was simple: Feng Xue ignored the gaudily dressed young ladies calling out from the roadside and waved at the rickshaw drivers waiting near the brothel.

At Feng Xue's gesture, two or three drivers nearby immediately rose, but as they noticed others doing the same, they paused distinctly.

Without a word, as if bound by unspoken agreement, one driver continued forward while the other two returned to their "idle" stance.

"Where to, Mr.?" The rickshaw driver approached with a smile. Feng Xue spared no words and uttered the address given to him by Jiu Gu:

"Qinfeng Road, No. 42."

……

The scenery along the way was unremarkable. Feng Xue paid the fare and arrived before a small, cramped antique shop.

The tiny storefront was squeezed between a brothel and a gambling den; from the street, it looked like a half-person trapped between two burly giants—weak, pitiful, helpless. Unless deliberately sought, one might never notice its existence.

Yet this reclusive aesthetic perfectly matched Feng Xue's ideal aesthetic. Ignoring the noise on either side, he slipped into the narrow, alley-like recess and pushed open the plain wooden door.

"Ding ling ling…"

The door's opening and closing rang a clear copper bell. The middle-aged man seated calmly before the counter set down his book, lifted his eyelids slightly, and said:

"Welcome, customer. What are you looking to buy?"

Feng Xue's gaze swept over the cramped shop—paintings, jade carvings, jewelry—and yet he said directly:

"Jiu Gu sent me."

The instant he heard "Jiu Gu," the previously lethargic shopkeeper snapped awake, a smile spreading across his face. A premonition of being fleeced rose in Feng Xue's mind, but remembering the seven watches still tucked in his arms, he calmed and continued:

"I want…"

"I know, I know. Everyone referred here has more or less the same idea. This way!"

The shopkeeper gave Feng Xue no chance to state his request, immediately opening a small door at the back of the shop. As the door swung open, a faint chill spread outward.

Feng Xue activated his over-the-shoulder view but saw nothing noteworthy—except the eighty-thousand-plus days of remaining lifespan on the shopkeeper's forehead, confirming he was also a cultivator.

"I've met plenty of Young Masters like you—tired of women, now seeking ghosts or female demons for thrills…"

As the shopkeeper walked ahead, muttering, Feng Xue felt Bai She tremble against his fingers and grimaced slightly, offering a half-explanation:

"I just need a ghost for my cultivation technique. Since I can choose, why not pick one that's pleasant to look at?"

"Ah yes, yes, yes—every customer says that. Just don't get yourself killed and make your family come bother me!" The shopkeeper spoke with utter indifference, leading Feng Xue down a corridor-like passage resembling a school hallway, glancing at row after row of small doors as he asked:

"So, specifics: do you want a refined, cultured one, or a spoiled, willful one? A tomboy or a rich girl's daughter? Don't worry about appearance—anything capable of attaching to an object won't be ugly."

"Uh… shouldn't you ask what function I need?" Feng Xue blinked, bewildered—was this like selecting a technician?

"?" The shopkeeper paused, studying Feng Xue carefully, then slapped his forehead:

"Damn, you're actually training in occult arts? That's rare… Then I need to explain some things."

Saying this, the shopkeeper led Feng Xue past the two largest doors and opened a small one, revealing sparse shelves behind.

"Though you can choose, appearance doesn't mean it's truly its original form. Take this scroll, supposedly the authentic work of a female poet from eight hundred years ago—"

The shopkeeper pulled the light cord; the dim room instantly brightened. He picked up an aged painting scroll and turned to Feng Xue:

"In truth, this was a Copy written four hundred years ago by someone practicing calligraphy, inspired on a whim. But because it was so beautifully done, it became beloved—even after death, the spirit clung to it.

"After the writer died, someone else obtained it, remounted and aged it, then claimed it was the authentic work of that female poet—and it entered circulation.

"Subsequent collectors mostly believed it was authentic. For four hundred years, the scroll was steeped in the power of that belief, warping the spirit attached to it until it came to believe it truly was that poet—and even composing decent poetry, though nowhere near the original's caliber.

"I acquired this scroll about twenty years ago. Its incense offerings ceased seventeen years ago, and only then did the spirit finally break free, returning to the Netherworld. But the part that never belonged to it, yet which it believed to be true, remains embedded in the scroll. Most of the spirits I sell come about this way."

Here, the shopkeeper returned the scroll to the shelf and spoke solemnly:

"If you only wanted a female ghost for amusement, I wouldn't tell you this—because such use only degrades the spirit's purity, and beyond a certain point, it vanishes entirely, causing no harm. But if you truly intend to nurture a spirit, you must follow the proper cultivation process. If you raise it wrongly, you'll harm both yourself and others."

Feng Xue nodded gently, but in his mind, another term surfaced:

"Virtual God?"

Upon hearing Feng Xue utter those two words, the shopkeeper nodded:

"Correct. In outcome, a spirit ghost can also be considered a Virtual God. But unlike pure Virtual Gods formed solely from belief-energy, spirit ghosts arise from ghosts. Compared to Virtual Gods, which rigidly follow their programming, spirit ghosts possess human complexity. Though they have advantages—unbound by karmic ties, cause no moral decay, possess superior intellect—they also have drawbacks. If you nurture a Virtual God bound by loyalty, it will never betray you, no matter what. But if you choose a spirit ghost, beware: its core may well be a treacherous villain disguised as a loyal man."

The difference between ghosts, spirit ghosts, and Virtual Gods can be explained using virtual worlds and digital life.

Suppose the afterlife is a network world.

A ghost is like a human consciousness uploaded to the network—essentially human, minus the body, but gradually losing humanity over time.

A Virtual God is an artificial intelligence programmed by Algorithm. Its logic is fixed at creation and cannot exceed its programming.

A spirit ghost lies between the two: it is an AI, but its underlying code is not simple Algorithm—it is a replication of a human's personality code, possessing human complexity. Properly trained, it becomes a true digital life.

PS: Regarding the protagonist's Golden Finger's consumption—put it this way: according to Feng Xue's lineage (those uninterested in the Golden Finger's origin may ignore this), this Feng Xue comes after the Paradox Feng Xue. Just as the Weird Tale Feng Xue's Golden Finger originates from the Dream-Asking Feng Xue, this Feng Xue's Golden Finger derives from the Paradox's 【Truth】 Authority. And within the Truth Authority, there is one ability called 【Ball Division Paradox】. Can you understand now?

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(End of Chapter)