Free Web NovelIt was a little past three in the afternoon.
After waiting for nearly two days, Du Sixian finally received notification from An Qing and hurried to the Huacheng Folk Culture Research Administration.
From a distance, before she even reached the entrance, Du Sixian's path was blocked by a truck at the narrow alley entrance in front of the Huacheng Folk Culture Research Administration.
It was a courier truck, with the logo of a common express delivery company printed on the side of the cargo box.
When Du Sixian arrived, the cargo box doors of the truck were open, and several burly men in sunglasses were taking something out of the box.
An Qing had briefly introduced them to Du Sixian; these burly men were members of the Night Watch Special Operations Team, mostly ordinary people who had undergone special training, with some also possessing a rudimentary grasp of Spiritual Energy application.
Members of the Special Operations Team took three silver metal-cased password boxes from the truck; they were in groups of three, each escorting one box towards the Huacheng Folk Culture Research Administration.
Du Sixian watched them curiously for a moment, then squeezed through the gap between the alley and the truck.
As she passed by the burly men, she subconsciously lowered her head, but heard one of the men beside her congratulate her with a smile, "Congratulations!"
Du Sixian was startled, glanced at the burly man whose muscles seemed to extend to his face, felt slightly intimidated, awkwardly thanked him, and continued forward.
The thought that she would soon gain "superpowers" to fight urban legend made her steps lighter.
Before this, besides making videos, the only thing she was good at was RPG games; now she could suddenly advance to fighting urban legend, it was hard not to be excited.
...
The entrance to the office building, which had been converted from an ancestral hall, swallowed Du Sixian's figure like a large mouth. Following her memory, she found the door to An Qing's office and gently knocked.
"Knock, knock, knock—!"
"Come in!"
Hearing An Qing's voice, Du Sixian pushed the door open. When she steadied herself and saw the scene inside the office, she couldn't help but be slightly taken aback.
The bright afternoon sunlight, carrying the fragrance of the courtyard flowers and plants, fell upon An Qing. On the desk in front of her, there were three silver password boxes, each with the faint pattern of a death-knell owl, just like the ones she had seen earlier.
"This..." Du Sixian's lips parted slightly in surprise, thinking to herself, no wonder that Uncle congratulated me just now!
"They used a special passage." As if guessing Du Sixian's confusion, An Qing smiled and, while speaking, raised her finger to point at the password boxes on the desk, "These are the raw materials for your Spirit Mark. Pick one?"
Pick one? Du Sixian carefully examined the password boxes on the desk. The three boxes looked identical, and she didn't know how to choose, so she could only cast a pleading look towards An Qing.
"It seems none of these three options particularly match your Spiritual Energy fluctuations, which is a bit of a shame." An Qing sighed and explained, "Some people with Spiritual Energy potential, due to individual differences in Spiritual Energy fluctuations, have an affinity for a certain type of urban legend."
"If that were the case, you should have a special connection to one of the boxes. How should I put it? It's like a fated feeling!"
"Then..." Du Sixian glanced at the password boxes on the desk and said, "Does having no reaction mean that the core bodies of these urban legend are not suitable for me?"
"Of course not." An Qing smiled and shook her head, replying, "In fact, most people won't have a reaction; that was just a necessary procedure."
"Don't worry, even if it's not the most suitable at first, you can find ways to gradually complete it later. Just like many legends have inaccuracies and legendary urban legend have overlapping information, Spirit Marks can also be completed and changed after certain conditions are met."
"Oh, oh." Du Sixian nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.
Anyway, as long as there are no downsides, right? Whether it's invincibility or headshots, any cheat that can defeat the enemy is a good cheat!
"Bang, bang!" As Du Sixian was thinking aimlessly, An Qing suddenly patted the password boxes on the desk, interrupting her thoughts.
"Manticore..." An Qing said, paused for a few seconds to think, then continued, "The Spirit Mark ability is probably related to flight, and some gain poison abilities after use."
"This one is a Kappa. The Spirit Mark ability is related to water control."
"And then there's this one." An Qing patted the last box and said, "Meizi Henggong Fish..."
"What does it do?"
"It's delicious," An Qing said seriously.
Du Sixian, "???"
"I don't know about the others. No one in the archives has tried this Spirit Mark. If you use it, you'll be the first case."
Du Sixian, "..." Isn't that a guinea pig? Only a fool would use this!
...
In the end, Du Sixian still chose the Meizi Henggong Fish as her Spirit Mark. Although the abilities it could bring were unknown, compared to the side effects of the Manticore causing excessive hair growth and the Kappa causing baldness, it was more acceptable to her.
At worst, it would just strengthen her body!
Du Sixian felt a little tired. It was like being given the starter Pokémon choices at the beginning, but the options were only a disabled Magikarp, an ugly Magikarp, and a normal Magikarp...
After Du Sixian made her decision, An Qing's face showed a strange smile that ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ made her uneasy. "Since you've made your decision, don't just stand there! Take off your clothes?"
She rubbed her hands together happily and said expectantly, "Before you advance, let Sister check if your development is normal..."
Only Psychic in the novice stage would believe the nonsense that "important rituals must be done completely naked," and so...
Du Sixian believed it, her face flushed, and she slowly shed her outer clothing.
Bright sunlight fell on the windowsill. Through the window, one could see the girl's slender back.
She threw her outer clothing onto the hanger, took off her T-shirt, exposing her smooth back, and the slender straps across her fair skin, tied with a light pink bow.
Her wool short skirt was pulled down and fell to the floor. Her slender calves, encased in black stockings, were lifted, and she slowly peeled them off, revealing a flash of pure white.
Just as she took off her socks and reached to untie the straps, the curtains were suddenly pulled shut by An Qing...
...
An Qing wasn't a devil or anything; at most, she was a cold-blooded, heartless zombie.
So, she didn't do anything strange to Du Sixian; she just gave her a normal physical examination.
Although, even that wasn't necessary.
In the sickroom, which seemed arranged like a clinic, a strong scent of medicinal herbs lingered.
An Qing stood before a large crucible, concentrating intently on the changes in the liquid inside. The dark brown medicinal liquid was rolling and boiling, faintly revealing a hint of golden yellow.
It was like gold dust floating in a murky pond.
When the golden color became more intense, An Qing decisively grabbed the reddish bone fish from the table. Her slender fingers squeezed hard, crushing it in her palm.
As the powdered core body of the Meizi Henggong Fish Strange Tale rustled down, the flame extinguished, and the liquid in the crucible rose up, outlining a complex shape in the air.
After a final burst of dazzling light, it began to contract violently, instantly transforming into a palm-sized swimming fish.
Every scale, as if cast in gold, was lifelike, without any flaws. Light flowed across its mirror-like body, like ripples spreading across a water surface.
Guided by An Qing's Spiritual Energy, the swimming fish glided through the air and shot straight towards Du Sixian's brow.
A vast tide of vitality poured into her body. She opened her mouth to scream, but felt her consciousness rapidly growing numb.
Having accepted the Spirit Mark of the Meizi Henggong Fish, she felt like she had truly become a fish.
Happily swimming back and forth in the water, forgetting all worries and troubles, forgetting everything.
As for who Du Sixian was...
Who cares?! Just be happy!
...
It was night.
Watching Du Sixian lying unconscious on the sickbed, with a persistent high fever and gradually weakening breath, An Qing's brows were tightly furrowed. freēwēbnovel.com
"Why is she having a rejection reaction? She clearly doesn't have a natural Spirit Mark, does she? Even if she did, the probability of a rejection reaction would be very low... Strange, it's too strange."
As she spoke, her gaze fell upon the faintly appearing golden scales on Du Sixian's forehead, and a hint of regret flashed in her eyes.
I hope she can adapt to the power and eventually wake up? If the Spirit Mark drawing fails and she turns into a Strange Tale...
Thinking of this, An Qing let out a long sigh, "Sigh—!"
...
That night.
Lu Yibei had a strange dream. Actually, it wasn't that strange, after all, it wasn't the first time he had dreamed of Du Sixian.
But strictly speaking, it was also very strange. He dreamed that Du Sixian was constantly blowing bubbles, like a silly goldfish, inexplicably eerie.
"What the hell kind of fish are you pretending to be?! Just be a person, okay? Be normal!"
Lu Yibei cursed loudly, woke up from the dream, sat on the bed, full of complaints with no one to tell them to.
Damn Du Sixian, what kind of trick is she pulling now?
Meanwhile, Du Sixian, located at the Night Watch, gradually emerged from her abnormal state and woke up...
