[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-nothing-is-taboo":3,"chapter-nothing-is-taboo-nothing-is-taboo-chapter-9":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},2310394,4514,"Chapter 9: The Delicacy Inside the Brain","nothing-is-taboo-chapter-9",9,"\u003Cp>Erliang could hardly believe it—this fairy-like beauty was speaking to him!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her voice was so beautiful, drifting into his ears like soft little hands gently caressing his heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Y-yes.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Was he here last night?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, we slept together till dawn.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Holy Maiden’s eyebrows twitched almost imperceptibly; she asked again, “Where is he now?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He was punished by Uncle Zheng and sent to fetch water.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Holy Maiden fell silent, as if idly shifting her posture; her robe parted slightly toward Erliang, revealing a deep expanse of pale, creamy skin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Erliang’s mouth opened involuntarily, his gaze burning hot, his groin hardening instantly!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The maid stepped aside, wanting to advise but daring not speak—no one could change the Holy Maiden’s decisions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides, the Holy Maiden hadn’t eaten in days; if she didn’t eat soon, she’d grow even more erratic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Holy Maiden set down her breakfast, flipped her palm, and plucked from between her slender fingers a small knife glinting with cold light.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She stepped before Erliang and studied him closely; he showed no reaction, his eyes fixed, as if staring at the one thing he most desired.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Holy Maiden traced a circle around his forehead with the blade, then flicked the tip upward—his entire skullcap flew open, revealing the white, glistening brain inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the folds and grooves of the brain lay several plump, dark-yellow worms!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The instant his skullcap was lifted, the worms scurried like woodlice startled from beneath a broken tile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the Holy Maiden’s fingers moved with uncanny dexterity and speed; with a few light taps of the blade, she skewered all the fat worms upon its tip.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Erliang collapsed with a thud, his brain matter splattering seven feet away, blood pooling across the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Holy Maiden used her bright, delicate teeth to bite the “brain parasites” off the blade’s tip, chewing slowly and elegantly as ever.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After eating one worm, she told the maid, “Dispose of the body.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Have Zhao Yong personally capture Xu Yuan.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Meet at Beauty Dam outside town in half an hour.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the maid cleaned up the corpse, she couldn’t help saying, “Holy Maiden, this is a complete break with Qiao Zia’ang…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What is Qiao Zia’ang?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Holy Maiden’s sedan waited at Beauty Dam for half an hour, then Zhao Yong arrived, panting with his men.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He knelt outside the sedan and apologized: “Holy Maiden, we turned the whole town upside down but couldn’t find the boy—he must have fled.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Useless fools!” the Holy Maiden snapped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Yong kept his head bowed, saying nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The maid remained tense; she hadn’t yet found a chance to check whether Xu Yuan had left any impure traces inside the Holy Maiden’s sedan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Chang Xunbei!” the Holy Maiden called. A middle-aged man stepped forward from beside the sedan: “Your servant is here.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Can you do it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I need his birth date and time, and a personal item he wore close to his body.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Holy Maiden ordered, “Return to the inn!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The entire party stormed back to “Yitingfang” Inn; the Holy Maiden commanded, “Chang Xunbei, take men and find anything the boy left behind—he fled in haste, so he must have dropped something.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The rest of you, come with me to find Accountant Liu.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Uncle Zheng was in the side courtyard, shouting at Accountant Liu: “This morning, both boys vanished! How are we supposed to finish the work in the back courtyard…?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Crash!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The courtyard gate was kicked open, and the sedan was carried straight in.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Accountant Liu’s eyes tightened; the Holy Maiden’s voice came from within: “I’m looking for Accountant Liu. Anyone unrelated, get out now!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Uncle Zheng shrank his fat neck, dared not utter a word, and slunk away along the wall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Accountant Liu’s expression darkened: “What is the Holy Maiden’s meaning?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Holy Maiden demanded: “Who is this Xu Yuan?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Xu Yuan? Did this boy offend the Holy Maiden? I’ll report it to the Proprietor and discipline him properly…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Holy Maiden cut him off: “Qiao Zia’ang is always cautious—you must have his birth date and time. Tell me!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How would we know that? We hire laborers, not arrange marriages…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Holy Maiden’s patience ran out; she shouted: “Refuse the wine, take the punishment—find the explosives!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Accountant Liu reacted instantly—he sidestepped, his body swelling rapidly, his clothes bursting apart with a pop; in an instant, he became a giant fifteen feet tall!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The bookkeeper was actually a Wu Xiu!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every muscle and tendon bulged and tightened like ancient tree roots exposed above ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He roared, shattering roof tiles, raised his hands like cast iron, and charged the sedan with a monstrous snarl: “You Hejian are fierce dragons crossing the river, but we aren’t easy prey either…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly, the luxurious sedan’s roof flipped open, revealing a short, thick bronze cannon, its black muzzle aimed squarely at Accountant Liu!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The cannon was only seven feet long, engraved with ancient patterns; its belly was wide, its muzzle narrow—but even that muzzle was thicker than Accountant Liu’s head now!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A faint red glow flickered within the barrel, ready to fire at any moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Accountant Liu broke into cold sweat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Holy Maiden spoke coldly: “Last year, the Divine Mechanism Camp in the Northern Capital fought the Snow-Crushing Ghosts in the north and killed seven thousand. Those five hundred artisan cannons in the battle? Made by our sect. Accountant Liu, would you like to test whether your Wu Xiu body is tougher than our cannons?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Accountant Liu immediately dropped his cultivation, returning to his normal form.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Yong stepped forward and shackled him with iron chains.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These chains were specially forged by Artisan Cultivators; none below the Fifth Level could break free.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time, Accountant Liu confessed willingly: “The boy is from River Work Lane in Shanhe County. His father was a shadow puppeteer.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Recently, his father died; his stepmother—this boy’s stepmother—likely wanted to seize the family property, so she drove him out.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“She probably feared gossip from neighbors saying she left her stepson without means, so she arranged for us, the Proprietor’s men, to take him in as labor.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the Holy Maiden heard “River Work Lane,” it sounded familiar, but she couldn’t recall where she’d heard it before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What property could a shadow puppeteer possibly have?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Accountant Liu replied: “I heard only that his family owned an old puppet stage, passed down for generations—probably worth something in land value.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Footsteps approached outside the courtyard gate; Chang Xunbei returned with his men: “Holy Maiden, we found one of the boy’s old clothes.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Holy Maiden nodded: “Accountant Liu, give me the boy’s birth date and time.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Accountant Liu lowered his head and spoke it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chang Xunbei wrote Xu Yuan’s birth date and time on yellow ritual paper, then set up the altar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His ritual was complex: he opened the altar and placed nine ritual objects in precise order, none out of sequence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then he tied the yellow paper and the old clothes together with red prayer cords and placed them upon the altar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chang Xunbei held the other end of the prayer cord in his left hand, his right hand forming rapid hand seals, his feet stepping in peculiar patterns, swaying as if walking on a boat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He chanted incantations, his tone rising and falling like ancient song.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ritual objects on the altar came alive, sounding drums and music in harmony.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After about fifteen minutes, a thunderclap exploded within the altar with a bang—Chang Xunbei vanished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In his place stood another man—could it be anyone but Xu Yuan?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chang Xunbei’s Dao was unorthodox: he didn’t find people—he swapped places with them!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1271,"2026-06-20T12:07:23.516Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","f43468b841eb59780cc16fd3176767266ca08ae627ec3a6abc6096f39f065e56","nothing-is-taboo-chapter-10","nothing-is-taboo-chapter-8",413,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fnothing-is-taboo-cover.jpg"]