Spirit Realm Wanderer

Chapter 36: The Interview

Does this little rascal’s ability involve stealing a specific function from his target? Last time it was his aunt’s sense of smell and taste; this time, it’s his uncle’s ability to speak? Zhang Yuanqing, who was pretending to cough, felt a surge of excitement. If he could steal a certain ability from an ordinary person, could he also steal one from a Spirit Realm Walker? If so, this little spirit servant would be incredibly valuable. Just then, his uncle snapped out of it. Recalling his behavior moments ago, the nightclub owner’s face flushed crimson, a look of bewilderment and embarrassment spreading across his features. Haha, so Uncle, it turns out you can feel embarrassed too... Zhang Yuanqing gloated inwardly. He noticed that the infant spirit perched on his uncle’s neck seemed exhausted and was drifting off to sleep. “W-well… I was just messing with you guys. I suddenly remembered what Yuanzi looked like when he was little, and I couldn’t help but imitate him.” True to his reputation as a seasoned streetwise veteran with decades of experience, Uncle had a face as thick as a city wall and quickly shifted the blame onto his nephew. Zhang Yuanqing was caught off guard. “You’re a grown man—isn’t this embarrassing?” Grandma scolded angrily. “Mom, I’m still a kid,” Uncle said with a grin. “I’ll always be your child.” “Get out, get out, get out…” Grandma said with a look of disgust. After dinner, Uncle’s family returned to the house across the street. Zhang Yuanqing went to the bathroom early to wash up. After telling his aunt not to disturb him that night, he went to his bedroom. He had to get up early tomorrow to go to work and meet Li Dongze to report on the matter of the infant spirit, so he needed to get to bed early. But before that, he wanted to try taming this little guy. Zhang Yuanqing sat cross-legged on the bed, with the little rascal curled up asleep in his lap, sucking on one of his thumbs. The Taiyin energy flowed steadily like a thread, entering the infant spirit’s body and nourishing it. According to the description in the post, as long as he successfully refined the spirit servant, all he’d need to do afterward was keep feeding it with Taiyin energy to ensure its eternal existence. It was as if Zhang Yuanqing had stumbled upon a ready-made treasure. “This little guy doesn’t seem very smart yet. I wonder if his IQ will improve in the future...” Zhang Yuanqing calmed his emotions and channeled the power of the Dark Moon. A thick, viscous black light surged from the depths of his eyes, gradually replacing his irises and sclera until it filled his eye sockets. “Huh...” Zhang Yuanqing exhaled a wisp of pale black mist that enveloped the infant spirit; then, with a single inhalation, he drew it into his belly. Instantly, Zhang Yuanqing sensed an additional consciousness within him—a faint, dormant one. Next, following the method described in the post, he channeled the power of the Taiyin, repeatedly cleansing this consciousness, imprinting his own mark upon it, and compelling it to accept his power, transforming it into his spirit servant. This process lasted for over ten seconds. Suddenly, his spiritual energy settled into a dark, void-like space. It was warm and comforting, just like sleeping in his mother’s embrace. His spiritual energy settled into the infant spirit’s “body,” fusing with it briefly. “Everything in the post is true—a master can control a spirit servant’s consciousness and abilities, and temporarily take command of its ‘body.’ ” After Zhang Yuanqing had initially adapted to this “body,” a brand-new talent naturally surfaced in his mind. It was as if he’d been born with it. This ability is called “Exchange,” which involves trading something of one’s own for something belonging to the target. For example, exchanging one’s own sense of taste for the other person’s sense of taste, or one’s own language for the other person’s language—the exchange lasts three seconds. That’s why my aunt lost her sense of taste, and why my uncle began to utter a baby’s babbling. However, this exchange does not necessarily have to be equivalent; one could trade some of one’s own worthless abilities for another’s valuable ones. It’s just that the infant spirit is too young and has limited intelligence to perform such intricate maneuvers—it can only make equivalent exchanges, and the skill is triggered randomly. The skill is triggered by touching the other party. If Zhang Yuanqing were to handle it, he could pull off the subtle maneuver of trading a worthless ability for a god-tier skill. Furthermore, the exchanges the infant spirit can currently perform are limited to physical abilities; it cannot exchange skills—at least not at this stage. Finally, as its master, Zhang Yuanqing can transfer negative effects—such as damage or control effects—he has suffered onto his spirit servant, allowing the servant to share the burden. “I finally understand why the Night Wanderer is one of the top-tier classes—it really is absurdly powerful,” Zhang Yuanqing mused silently. He brought his consciousness back into his body. “Ee-ee...” The infant spirit wiggled its little legs and crawled over to him, its head—covered in sparse baby hair—nudging Zhang Yuanqing’s hand, wanting to suck on his thumb. “This thing can eat.” “No, this is where you get your nourishment,” Zhang Yuanqing said, pointing to his chest. The infant spirit tilted its head and stared at him blankly for a moment. It seemed to finally understand what he meant and obediently crawled toward his chest. “Get lost.” Zhang Yuanqing swallowed it whole, absorbing it into his body. The next morning, Zhang Yuanqing got out of bed and went into the bathroom to wash up. Just as he picked up his toothbrush, he paused for a moment, then opened his mouth and exhaled a wisp of Yin energy. The infant spirit’s tiny form appeared on the sink. Nourished by the power of the Great Yin, it looked quite lively, its jet-black eyes gazing at Zhang Yuanqing with innocent purity. “Let me teach you a little about daily life. This is a toothbrush, and your master is about to brush his teeth. Come on, repeat after me: toothbrush, brush teeth, use a toothbrush to brush your teeth...” Since the little creature wasn’t a mindless spirit, it would inevitably grow up someday. As it grew, it would need him, its master, to instill the right values in it. It must become an upright ghost—abiding by the law and staying away from gambling and drugs. The infant spirit tilted its head, looking at him blankly. “Toothbrush, brushing teeth, using a toothbrush to brush teeth—hurry up and repeat after me...” Zhang Yuanqing persisted for a moment, then suddenly lost heart and put his teaching plans on hold for the time being, because he couldn’t tell whether he—acting this way—or the little goofball was the real moron. After finishing his morning routine, his phone rang—it was Li Dongze calling. “Hello, Squad Leader?” “Yuan Shi, come by this morning. I need your help with something.” “What’s up?” “The Night Wanderer from the Taiyi Sect has some questions for you. I’ll explain the details when you get here.” Why would the Night Wanderer from the Taiyi Sect be looking for me? Has he set his sights on me—this peerless prodigy—and wants to recruit me? If that were the case, he’d contact me privately. “Got it, Squad Leader.” Zhang Yuanqing hung up the phone. He was just about to head to the office to report on the infant spirit incident. After breakfast, he slung his backpack over his shoulders as if heading to school. Once he left the residential complex, he hailed a taxi and headed straight for the Public Security Bureau, entering the building with its double-paned glass facade. Just as he arrived at the door to Li Dongze’s office, he heard hearty laughter coming from inside “Oh, my God, that’s the funniest joke I’ve ever heard.” “Let me tell you another funny story. Do you know Captain Zhao? Yeah, the guy who’s always walking into the wrong women’s restroom. When he first became a Night Wanderer, he devoured the spirits of seven women in one go. Ever since then, he’s gotten into the habit of squatting to pee, and he hasn’t been able to break it for years.” “Hahaha, my God, that’s the funniest joke I’ve ever heard—not counting the last one.” “It’s not too bad, is it? I know a lot of secrets about the Night Wanderers. I’ll tell you all about them later, but you have to promise not to spread them around. After all, neither of us is the gossiping type, right?” Knock, knock! Zhang Yuanqing knocked on the glass door. The laughter and chatter inside stopped instantly, and Li Dongze’s steady voice came from within: “Come in.” Zhang Yuanqing pushed open the door and saw Li Dongze sitting on the reception sofa, drinking with a man dressed in a black suit and black shirt. This man, dressed entirely in black, had fairly handsome features; his skin was slightly pale, he was lean, and he exuded a subtle air of nobility. “Here comes our outstanding new recruit,” Li Dongze said with a smile, gesturing with his eyes. “There’s Coke in the fridge—help yourself.” After Zhang Yuanqing unscrewed the cap of the Coke bottle and took a swig, Li Dongze introduced “Yuan Ting, Team Leader of the Taiyi Sect’s Kangyang District detachment, a Level 3 Night Wanderer—he’s the cream of the crop among our official organization’s elite.” As a profession with top-tier combat prowess, a Level 3 Night Wanderer is a standout figure in the Transcendent Realm. “He really is a handsome fellow—Elder Sun was way off the mark!” Yuan Ting remarked with a sigh and shook hands with Zhang Yuanqing. Zhang Yuanqing, however, broke into a warm smile “The moment I saw Captain Yuan, it felt like seeing family—an inexplicable sense of warmth. Could this be the sense of belonging shared among Night Wanderers?” With an outsider present, Zhang Yuanqing temporarily set aside the matter of the infant spirit. Yuan Ting was taken aback. “There shouldn’t be that kind of sense of belonging among the Night Wanderers.” Zhang Yuanqing suddenly realized, “So it’s Captain Yuan who makes me feel this way—that’s your personal charm, Captain Yuan.” Hearing this, Yuan Ting couldn’t help but break into a smile—this young man really knew how to flatter. But then he remembered this was Li Dongze’s subordinate, and a wave of regret washed over him: “Elder Sun is so foolish~” Seeing the two exchanging knowing glances, Li Dongze cleared his throat and said solemnly “Captain Yuan is here today on official business.” He turned to ask Yuan Ting, “Shall we meet in my office, or in the conference room across the hall?” Yuan Ting replied, “Let’s go to the conference room.” With that, he picked up his briefcase from the glass coffee table, nodded to Zhang Yuanqing, and smiled, saying “Can I have a word with you?” A private conversation with me? Judging by Section Chief Yuan’s attitude, it didn’t seem like he was trying to poach me. What on earth was this about? “Sure!” Zhang Yuanqing didn’t refuse, adding, “I’d like to use the restroom first.” Yuan Ting nodded and led the way out of the office. Zhang Yuanqing turned and headed toward the office area. His gaze swept across the room; he deliberately ignored Wang Tai, who was hunched over writing some academic paper, and walked over to Guan Ya’s desk. In a joking tone, he said “I wasn’t expecting a ‘beauty trap,’ but here comes the Night Wanderer from the Taiyi Sect.” Guan Ya held a cup of water and said with a smile, “That means it wasn’t a beauty trap. Hmm, Scorpios have good luck today, but you need to be extra careful when talking to colleagues and superiors—otherwise, your luck might take a dramatic turn for the worse.” She was wearing a white blouse and a short skirt, her long, slightly wavy hair freshly styled—refined and fashionable. Her oval face was radiant and alluring, adorned with light makeup, and her mixed-race charm added to her appeal... Zhang Yuanqing teased, “For example, if you try to flirt with me and I firmly reject you, would that cause our little boat of friendship to capsize in an instant?” “No, you wouldn’t refuse—because you’re a Scorpio,” Guan Ya said with a straight face. “Enough already! If you keep bashing Scorpios, I’m going to whack you with a stick!” However, having received the hint he was looking for, he immediately turned around, strode quickly to the conference room door, and gently knocked on the glass pane. “Come in!” Yuan Ting replied from inside.