With a small cough every three steps and a big one every ten, Little Steel Cannon Zheng Shan stepped onto the map on the table, entered [Baili Village], and disappeared.
In an instant,
A brownish-gray mist surged in from outside the Heart Prison. It squirmed like a living creature, quickly filling the space and enveloping Zheng Xiu.
After a dizzying spell, the faint gray mist seemed to be gently parted by a pair of smooth little hands, and Zheng Xiu's vision suddenly cleared.
A wide official road stretched straight ahead.
Oppressive dark clouds hung overhead, sometimes roiling, sometimes still. A storm was brewing.
The official road stretched into the distance, ending at the faint outline of green mountains, like a simple ink wash painting.
Zheng Xiu froze.
His line of sight was now a head taller than usual. His shoulders were broad and powerful, and his build could be described as burly and imposing.
"It's... so realistic."
Zheng Xiu clenched and unclenched his fists. He realized that, in every sense of the word, he had become "Zheng Shan."
But as Zheng Xiu was getting used to the changes from inhabiting the Incarnation, the instance known as the "Ghostly Realm" wasn't about to let him stay idle.
Zheng Xiu rubbed his eyes. As if he had eye floaters, he saw lines of distorted text appear in his vision.
[You are heading west toward the Imperial City in search of a livelihood.]
[On your journey here, your horse, unable to bear its heavy load, foamed at the mouth and died tragically.]
[Unable to bear leaving your beloved horse exposed in the wilderness, you spent half a day digging a grave and erecting a tombstone for your dear Xin'er, lost in grief. When you looked up, it was nearly dark.]
[You sighed: "Passionate hearts have always been left with regret, a regret that will stretch on for eternity."]
It was narration.
"?"
'This Incarnation, Zheng Shan, is such a sentimental character?'
Zheng Xiu quietly watched the "narration" perform.
[Frail and sickly since childhood, your only choice is to proceed on foot. You plan to walk to the nearby market, use all your travel money to buy a new horse, and continue your journey.]
[Tomorrow will surely be a fine and sunny day.]
[You look up again and frown, suddenly overcome by an ominous feeling.]
[For some reason, you have a premonition that you will never see tomorrow's dawn.]
[And so, to bolster your courage, you laugh three times and declare:]
As the text faded, Zheng Xiu, who had been watching, captivated, found himself involuntarily throwing his head back and laughing:
"Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow! There are so many tomorrows! WUAHAHAHA! Ahem, cough, cough..."
This seemed to trigger the Incarnation's [Intuition] Trait.
After a violent coughing fit, Zheng Xiu reached into his robes, pulled out a silk handkerchief to cover his mouth and nose, and saw it stained red with fresh blood.
The sight of the blood stunned Zheng Xiu. 'This is more than just frail and sickly,' he thought. 'Isn't it obvious this body is on the verge of death?'
Zheng Xiu waited for a moment.
After the text faded, there was nothing.
Zheng Xiu shrugged. He pretty much understood the situation now.
Based on the "Rules," he inferred that this was the Ghostly Realm's "mission."
The frail and sickly Mighty Painter had to overcome all obstacles to see tomorrow's dawn.
Zheng Xiu nodded silently, clenched his fist, and thought, 'Doesn't sound too hard.'
While digesting the unfamiliar "Rules" that had been implanted in his memory, Zheng Xiu walked along the straight official road, getting a feel for "Zheng Shan's" body.
He glanced at the blood-stained handkerchief in his hand, thought for a moment, then opened the bag on his back and rummaged through it.
The bag contained quite a few miscellaneous items.
A bag of silver pieces.
A paintbrush with frayed bristles.
An old Copper Mirror.
Three pairs of undergarments.
Two sets of clothes.
Putting the other items away, Zheng Xiu held up the Copper Mirror. Just as he was wondering why a respectable Painter would carry a Copper Mirror, he found himself captivated by the beauty of the Mighty Man in the reflection. The light in the man's eyes seemed to pierce the mirror surface and shoot toward the heavens, making it almost impossible for Zheng Xiu to look away.
Zheng Xiu smiled, his doubled [Appearance] Attribute radiating a devastating charm—the kind that could 'kill a thousand enemies and wound two thousand of his own'.
All in all, the [Zheng Shan] Incarnation's face was about ninety percent similar to Zheng Xiu's Main Body, just with the piddling bonus of thirty-six points in [Appearance]. Not much of a difference, really.
Zheng Xiu quickly adapted to the Incarnation's frail Constitution.
'It's no big deal.'
'There are always more problems than solutions, anyway.'
Zheng Xiu was calm at heart.
After struggling for about a li, the last glimmer of twilight from beyond the mountains vanished completely. Night had fallen.
By the side of the official road stood a dilapidated wooden sign.
Zheng Xiu walked closer to take a look. Next to the sign was a small path leading deep into the woods. According to the sign, this path would lead to Baili Village.
Below that was a line of warning from the villagers.
[Vicious mountain bandits are active in this area!]
"SPLASSSHHH—"
Just then, the downpour finally began. The floodgates opened, and the rain instantly drenched Zheng Xiu.
The long-absent narration appeared once again.
[As the torrential rain falls, you hesitate, thinking that you definitely can't continue traveling tonight. And so, you make a decision.]
[1. Go left. Head to Baili Village to seek shelter for the night and travel another day.]
[2. A true man should fear neither wind nor rain. Continue forward and forge your destiny in the storm.]
[3. In the dark and stormy night, the distant forest looks like a slumbering beast. You are suddenly filled with heroic passion and decide to immediately take up your brush, using the rain as ink and the earth as paper to express the feelings in your heart.]
Soaked by the rain, Zheng Xiu fell silent as he looked at the options floating before him.
Zheng Xiu remembered he had another Trait and said, "Let's make a [Scouting] check."
A blood-red Die floated out from between Zheng Xiu's eyebrows. He caught it and tossed it forward.
As if there were an invisible table in front of him, the Die spun on an unseen surface.
[Sixteen.]
[Roll is greater than twelve. Scouting successful.]
[You keenly notice that the small path into the forest leading to Baili Village has many footprints, as if many people have walked this way.]
After the check, the Die zipped back between Zheng Xiu's eyebrows and disappeared.
Zheng Xiu touched his forehead. "One more [Scouting] check."
If he had the choice, Zheng Xiu would have made a thousand [Scouting] checks before doing anything else.
[Eight.]
[Scouting failed.]
[Ten.]
[Scouting failed.]
[Thirteen.]
[Scouting successful.]
[You keenly notice that the small path into the forest leading to Baili Village has many footprints, as if many people have walked this way.]
'It seems that repeatedly scouting the same place at the same time will only yield the same result.'
Zheng Xiu nodded. He was piecing together the "Rules" that had been forcibly instilled in him, gradually coming to understand this Golden Finger that had sparked Master Zheng's endless desire for exploration.
The Rules said that an Incarnation could not die in the Ghostly Realm, so Master Zheng felt there was no need to panic.
'Baili Village is clearly a death trap,' he thought. He decided to look for another way out first.
He just had to survive until dawn to succeed. Perhaps there were other ways to clear the instance.
In other words: an unorthodox route.
He might even be able to speedrun the instance.
For example, he could find an old tree, take shelter from the rain, and just wait it out until dawn.
"BOOM!"
A sudden clap of thunder rolled through the clouds, startling Zheng Xiu, who had just been about to shelter under a tree, and making him jump back out into the rain.
[You resolutely press on through the rain.]
[Drenched by the pouring rain, your breathing becomes more rapid, your steps heavier and heavier.]
'Scouting!'
[Scouting successful.]
[You observe the rain at night. If nothing changes, this storm will last for a long time—perhaps long enough to drench your frail and sickly body to death.]
"..."
Coughing with every step, Zheng Xiu trudged onward, stubbornly pushing through the downpour.
'I'm really going to cough myself to death.'
[Your tenacity has granted your Will some meager training.]
[You quickly catch a cold.]
[You resist the chill invading your body. Your Constitution has gained some meager training.]
Huh?
"CLIP-CLOP, CLIP-CLOP..."
Text floated up in the rain. Just as Zheng Xiu was feeling puzzled, the rapid sound of horse hooves approached from down the official road.
A dozen or so people wearing straw rain capes appeared, riding through the storm.
'This is bad,' Zheng Xiu thought. He glanced around, helplessly considering the risk of hiding in the forest. But the leader of the group had sharp eyes. Or perhaps it was Zheng Xiu's [Appearance] Attribute that made him shine like a perpetual Bright Lamp in the dark night. With a flash, the leader drew his Curved Saber, its bright blade glinting like a bolt of lightning for a moment in the gloomy rain.
"Hahahaha— If you want to pass, leave behind..."
'Bandits.'
Before the man could finish, Zheng Xiu decisively opened his bag and swiftly tossed the silver pieces onto the ground.
The bandit Leader was taken aback to see Zheng Xiu being so cooperative. He had never seen a "lamb" so willing to be slaughtered.
"Can I go now?"
Zheng Xiu asked.
He could feel his body heating up.
The bandit Leader stared blankly at Zheng Xiu's face for several seconds before flying into a humiliated rage. "Hey! You're actually better looking than me! You're courting death!"
SHING.
A head, its face frozen in astonishment, flew high into the air before rolling into the mud.
[Your Appearance has provoked the jealousy of the bandit Leader "Li Dachui."]
[In that instant, your Intuition tells you that you might die.]
[You twist your feet and swing your waist, attempting to dodge that Jing Hong strike, but you fail.]
[Your death throes have granted your Step Technique some meager training.]
[At the moment of life and death, you have an epiphany. Sensing your imminent demise, your Intuition gains more training.]
[Intuition has been upgraded, reaching the realm of some accomplishment.]
[Death.]