[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-nothing-is-taboo":3,"chapter-nothing-is-taboo-nothing-is-taboo-chapter-4":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Nothing Is Taboo",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2310389,4514,"Chapter 4: Nine Flows","nothing-is-taboo-chapter-4",4,"\u003Cp>The inn’s front courtyard was a two-story building; the first floor served as both lobby and restaurant, the second floor housed guest rooms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the most luxurious room on the west end of the second floor, a graceful woman sat composedly before the window, clad in a red silk dress with a sheer veil obscuring her face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her pale hands rested elegantly atop her knees.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Master Qiao sat across from her at the table, his expression grim and tone hostile: “I don’t care what you’re looking for, but don’t you dare use those tricks on the young men in my town!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The woman laughed softly, laced with mockery: “Qiao Ziaolang, you really are protecting this town? Don’t think I don’t know what you’ve been up to behind the scenes!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I won’t stop you from entering the town, but don’t touch my people!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The woman tilted her head slightly, her eyes behind the veil studying Master Qiao: “You want to be the village head?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the Huangming Empire, becoming village head isn’t enough with just an official appointment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The mountain runners from the villages are all the village heads.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Master Qiao didn’t deny it, his stance still firm: “In short, you stay out of my way and I’ll stay out of yours. We’ll both be better off.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Master Qiao returned to his side courtyard, where Liu the Accountant was waiting and immediately rose to greet him: “Proprietor.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Master Qiao frowned and asked: “Have many people entered the mountains lately?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Many,” Liu the Accountant managed more than just accounts: “In just these few days, that Xu Yuan in the back courtyard has led five groups into the mountains—and another one today.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Master Qiao growled: “Why didn’t you send someone to notify me?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That boy always brings them back alive,” Liu explained cautiously: “If there were real trouble, how could he return? I didn’t think much of it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Master Qiao frowned deeply: “Find out what exactly these people are searching for!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The esteemed guest brought many attendants; that night, Chef Rongkui prepared late-night snacks and sent Erliang to deliver them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Erliang had been here long enough; everyone trusted him with such tasks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After returning, Erliang was dazed and listless. Xu Yuan shared a room with him; their bed was a splintered wooden plank padded with dry straw. Erliang lay flat, staring blankly at the ceiling: “Yuan, I miss women.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan glanced at him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He could see his “Fate.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Most people have only “Fate,” not “Destiny”—Erliang was one such person.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His “Fate” was ordinary white, but since returning from the front courtyard, a thread of crimson had seeped into it!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan calculated for him: “Your monthly wage is six taels of silver. How many years have you worked?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Two years and three months.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s fifteen taels total. But you’re sweet-tongued and hardworking—you’ve probably earned tips from guests. Call it twenty taels.” Xu Yuan pointed to the sedan outside: “Did you notice the gold-inlaid silver hooks on the sedan door?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Erliang looked confused: “What are you getting at?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Those hooks are from Nanxiang Ji. One alone sells for thirty taels in the county town—this pair is worth sixty.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Erliang was speechless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan rolled over, turning his back to Erliang and preparing to sleep: “Stop being dramatic. Yang the Widow on South Street charges three hundred wen per time—reasonable price, enthusiastic service, perfect for you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Erliang puzzled: “You’ve only been here half a month—how do you know all this?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Chef Rongkui told me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Chef Rongkui’s only been here five days!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan fell silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Xu Yuan wasn’t truly asleep—he was thinking intently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had truly been driven out by his stepmother, but she had no choice. Xu Yuan vaguely knew the family’s situation; after eating the June Worm, he understood her intent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If you can’t become a Fate Cultivator, you can’t help with family matters—better to survive outside than die inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sending you away was truly for your own good.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Fate Cultivators are unique: they’re truly powerful, able not only to “See Fate,” but to truly “Reverse Heaven’s Will!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All major clans and powerful factions in the Huangming Empire seek to possess a Fate Cultivator to ensure lasting prosperity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This includes the imperial family and the court.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Among the Seven Schools, Fate Cultivators are the only ones who cannot inherit through a “Guide,” but only through a “Medicinal Catalyst.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Other cultivators require “Entry into the Flow,” but Fate Cultivators, after ingesting the Medicinal Catalyst, immediately become “Nine Flow,” gaining their first “Destiny.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Destiny gained is random: ordinary good, exceptionally good, or supreme good.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The “No Taboos” Destiny is unquestionably supreme—thus the value of the June Worm is obvious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But they’re also truly weak.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At Nine Flow, Eight Flow, and Seven Flow, they possess no abilities beyond their own Destiny and “Seeing Fate.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon advancing to Eight Flow and Seven Flow, they each gain another Destiny.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Destinies are not direct abilities.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This path is not only weak in its early stages, but its cultivation speed is excruciatingly slow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, nearly all Fate Cultivators seek protection from major clans and powerful factions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without their protection and support, a Fate Cultivator stands almost no chance of reaching the Upper Three Flows.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The cultivation levels of all Seven Schools range from One Flow to Nine Flow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One, Two, Three are the Upper Three Flows; Four, Five, Six are the Middle Three Flows; Seven, Eight, Nine are the Lower Three Flows.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only at Six Flow can a Fate Cultivator wield “Fate Arts.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their combat power increases dramatically.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At Five Flow, they can condense a “Fate Object,” making them extremely hard to kill at their own level.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If a Fate Cultivator truly reaches the Upper Three Flows, they become terrifying—under the invisible influence of their powerful Destinies, their opponents often don’t even know how they lost.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For example, the “Heaven and Earth as One” Destiny grants constant, inexplicable “assistance”; opponents face relentless misfortune and constant “accidents.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan’s current headache is that a Nine Flow Fate Cultivator seems useless—even returning home might not help much.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fastest paths to combat power are the Pill, Method, and Artisan Schools.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He needed a way to cultivate one of them simultaneously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he thought this, night deepened. Strange sounds emerged outside—the ones high above, the ones in the streets, and some… as if pressed right against the door!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the stable, the draft horse that pulled Master Qiao’s cart snorted nervously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Night travel is forbidden!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tonight, who knew how many things had descended from Ghost Witch Mountain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, they couldn’t enter the gates.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every door bore a Door God; as long as the Door God remained intact, ordinary anomalies could not enter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan silently yawned and slowly fell asleep.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At dawn, a loud rooster’s crow shattered the darkness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ominous presences that lingered over the town last night also retreated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This rooster belonged to Ying Taipo; it stood half a person tall, its feathers bright and gleaming, majestic and fierce.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was the only rooster left in the entire town—all others had been devoured by demons that slipped through doors and crevices.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan rose, yawning, and glanced at the almanac.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The tenth day of the seventh month.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Auspicious: cleaning, bathing, burial, sacrifice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inauspicious: marriage, meeting friends, building a stove.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Forbidden: daytime napping, night travel!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan quickly closed his mouth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Forbidden daytime napping means if you accidentally fall asleep and dream during the day, a demon might slip into your dream and cause trouble.” Xu Yuan washed his face with cold water from the corner: “Not my problem—I have no time to nap during the day.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Erliang opened the door; fresh air rushed in: “Time for work.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was eager—if Chef Rongkui still asked him to deliver food in the morning, he might see that woman again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chef Rongkui prepared two breakfasts: one for Erliang to deliver to the front courtyard, which he rushed off to do, thrilled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The other was for Xu Yuan to deliver to the side courtyard; Chef Rongkui added casually: “The Proprietor specifically instructed you to take it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan paused, then carried the tray over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1360,"2026-06-20T12:07:23.516Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","cdf5b3e2bf0c214794c4caafa90899ff03163cc8e952ee2d8265b3e0ac815e8d","nothing-is-taboo-chapter-5","nothing-is-taboo-chapter-3",413,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fnothing-is-taboo-cover.jpg"]