“Ladies, the master of this shop is a playboy, though he does have some skills. Whenever he gets drunk, he loves to flirt with pretty women on the street. Snatching a sweat cloth or grabbing a handkerchief is a common occurrence for him.”
Taking the copper coins, the young worker saw that Nan Zhi was gentle and not nearly as intimidating as her appearance suggested. After hesitating for a moment, he added, “This lady is so beautiful that I fear that fool might cause trouble for you. First thing tomorrow morning, as soon as the weather clears, you two should leave as early as possible.”
After saying this, the young worker hurried out along the wall, seemingly unwilling to linger for even another moment.
Nan Zhi and Wanniang exchanged a look, neither of them dismissing the young worker's well-meaning advice.
Once he was gone, Wanniang lowered the hand that had been covering her face, revealing a bright-red long tongue. “Hehehe, if the shop master really sets his sights on me, he must have reckless courage driven by lust.”
Although Nan Zhi had long grown used to her appearance, seeing it so suddenly under the lamplight—a long-tongued beauty with a hideous ghost face—was still somewhat chilling.
Nan Zhi made the bed and placed the umbrella where Wanniang resided beside her pillow. “Didn't the worker who led us in say it earlier? His master went out drinking tonight and hasn't returned yet. We're in a hurry to travel, so as soon as the rain stops tomorrow, we'll leave. I doubt we'll even cross paths with that scoundrel.”
“I know, I'm just lamenting how much time has passed. Even the foot-shops I used to stay at have changed their rules.”
Wanniang sighed, her tone full of sorrow. Her entire ghostly form lightly dissolved into a puff of smoke, slithering into the paper umbrella, and then all fell silent.
Nan Zhi shook her head. She grabbed a quick bite of the food the worker had brought up, then washed herself thoroughly.
Even though she couldn't feel dirtiness inside the game, after traveling through rain and yellow mud all this way, she couldn't help feeling like she smelled bad.
...
...
“Phew...”
By the time she finished everything, the night was quiet.
Nan Zhi blew out the oil lamp in the room, extinguishing the very last speck of light. Outside, torrential rain poured down, a boundless curtain falling from the heavens.
Controlling her character to lie down on the bed, Nan Zhi surprisingly chose not to cultivate tonight, instead taking the time to review her rewards from the draw.
First was her primary focus: the five spellbooks.
【Water Shield Art (Green Quality): A basic water control method of the Five Elements. Utilizes the water spiritual energy of heaven and earth to condense water into a shield around the body.】
【Flying Fire Art (Green Quality): A basic fire control method of the Five Elements. Utilizes scorching heat to shoot fire and injure enemies.】
【Wood Binding Art (Green Quality): A basic Wood-element method of the Five Elements. Utilizes Wood power to spawn withered vines that bind enemies.】
【Earth Mud Art (Green Quality): An Earth method of the Five Elements. Turns soil into mud, creating a prison on the spot.】
【Sharp Gold Curse (Green Quality): A Sharp Gold spell of the Five Elements. Utilizes Sharp Gold power to chant incantations onto a blade, sharpening it into a formidable weapon.】
Although they were all basic spells, they were a huge pleasant surprise for Nan Zhi at her current stage. Even though her cultivation level was steadily rising, her only actual offensive spell was the Five Thunder Curse. While these Five Elements spells were low in quality, if used wisely, they could catch enemies off guard and secure a victory.
Next, she turned her attention to another reward: a blue-quality book.
【Painted Skin Manual (Blue Quality): Painting a person's skin is easy, but painting their bones is hard; painting their bones and eyes is easy, but painting their heart is hard. This contains the insights gathered over many years by the Painted Skin Ghost. Those who master it can study the Painted Skin Art.】
Nan Zhi flipped through it casually, her face instantly lighting up with joy. Who would have thought? The Painted Skin Ghost had been dead for so long, yet she could still squeeze out such a good item from him!
Wasn't this just the xianxia version of disguise technique?!
She had previously been worried that the grand path of cultivation was vast and fraught with danger—what if she played too recklessly and made too many enemies? This item was an absolute artifact for alternate identities!
As long as she had the materials ready, she would become a walking identity factory. Even an onion wouldn't have as many layers as her!
Great stuff.
Nan Zhi immediately clicked to learn it. The light-blue pages flipped, and lines of tiny black characters floated into her character's forehead. Within just a few breaths, she felt like something new had been added to her mind.
If not for the lack of materials at the moment, she would have definitely gotten up to test it out.
She wondered if it was because she had left the beginner village rewards behind, but even the new materials drawn from the prize pool had become weird and varied.
【wet blood mud: Produced in the Ten Directions Mountains of the Southern Border. A strange blood mud formed by the wailing of Yin spirits after death. It smells unbearably foul, but for ghostly entities, it is a rare delicacy.】
【ghost incense: A Demon Suppression Division special supply. Incense pills ground and blended from rhino horn, spirit cicadas, and Small Chun seeds. Held under the tongue, it allows one to understand the language of birds and beasts.】
These two also seemed quite useful.
Nan Zhi scrolled down further, her eyes suddenly landing on one item:
【Strange Pause Button (?): Meticulously refined by a supreme expert of this realm, containing infinite power of law. Upon use, it can pause the progress of either the game or reality to prevent the cultivator from missing important plot points. Please use with caution. (Cooldown: 90 days)】
What was this?
“?!”
Nan Zhi bounced straight up from the bed.
“Wait, if this broken game could be paused, why didn't you say so earlier?!”
Three months!
Do you know how she spent these three months?!
For three whole months without rest, working like a dog by day and working like a slave by night, grinding herself to the bone!
Even though cultivation could replace sleep, mentally she felt like she had never rested! Come out, game designer, let's talk about life philosophy, poetry, and songs. I promise I won't beat you up (not really).
The rain outside rattled even more fiercely against the windows. Once Nan Zhi calmed down, she took out the item and held it in her hands, turning it over.
It was a small metallic triangle, only about half the size of a palm. The center was transparent with an interior structure like an hourglass, making a rustling sound when shaken.
“Can pause the game or reality... I can understand pausing the game, but saying it can pause reality—isn't that a bit exaggerated?”
Nan Zhi tapped the item, and two black options immediately appeared in her line of sight:
【Pause Reality】
【Pause Game】
She could really choose?
Putting down the tablet in her hand, her in-game character instantly entered an AFK state.
Outside the Great Song foot-shop, the rain poured relentlessly, as if it were the only sound left in the world.
Inside the modern city rental apartment, silence reigned, save for the occasional honk of a car horn outside.
For a moment, Nan Zhi felt a disorienting confusion.
If time in reality could also be paused, which side was actually real?
Was she a wanderer in a game, or a cultivator in reality who had just embarked on the Dao?
Nan Zhi had no answer.
However, she didn't dwell on the question for too long.
【Pause Reality.】
The instant she made her choice, Nan Zhi felt a subtle shift in her surroundings.
She slowly turned her head.
Rumble!
A flash of white light glinted across her vision, followed by a sudden crack of thunder.
The quiet, cozy rented room transformed into a simple, tidy ancient-style inn. Sheer drapes hung beside the bed, swaying gently in the dim breeze. Through the hazy bed curtain, she could faintly make out the room's furnishings.
The damp atmosphere brought by the heavy rain washed over her. The smell of rot and moisture in the air rushed into her nostrils. The rain beat incessantly, its strikes against the eaves ringing harsh and sharp.
Rumble, rumble!
Another clap of thunder rolled by.
Nan Zhi stared blankly at everything around her.
An oil-paper umbrella lay beside her pillow. A dark shadow slowly extended half its body out, and the female ghost Wanniang, holding her long tongue in her mouth, looked at her with concern.
“What is it, Sister Zhi? Is something wrong?”
Nan Zhi lifted her eyes slightly, her gaze falling on the bruises on the female ghost's neck and her deadly white face.
With Wanniang leaning in so close, Nan Zhi could even smell the chilly aura of death lingering on her, mixed with the faint fragrance of wine.
Nan Zhi stared at that long tongue for a long time before suddenly chuckling.
“It's nothing. I just think... it's really good to see you with my own eyes.”
Wanniang was left somewhat bewildered.
Rate on N.U.
