Chapter 28: The Crow's Beak, The Finger of Scorn

[Ding—]
[Assisting Wu Qi in recovering her health has earned you 20,000 merit points and 20,000 points. Would the employee like to use them for a lucky draw or an upgrade?]

Ying Shu, who had just sat down to wait for Xixi’s IV drip to finish, received the notification from the system.

20,000 merit points? That much? She had only wanted to save a life; she hadn't expected a system reward. Ying Shu opened the errand platform to check her status.

[Name: Ying Shu]
[Age: 22]
[Merit: 24,900]
[Points: 40,200] – (Lucky Draw)
[Level: 2]
[Skills: Master’s Eye (Level 3) – (Upgrade), Bagua Ear (Level 2) – (Upgrade), Wood Element (Level 2) – (Upgrade), Spatial Element – (Upgrade), Mental Element (Level 3) – (Upgrade)]
[Treasure Chest – (Upgrade)]

With over 20,000 merit points, she still couldn't reach Level 3? Just how much merit would it take to level up? Ying Shu shifted her focus to her points, and her eyes lit up. 40,000 points. That was enough for 400 draws. She wasn't in a hurry to upgrade; she would use the draws first to be prepared for anything.

Ying Shu blew on her hands and rubbed them together. "For the sake of the life I just saved, please let my luck be off the charts."

[Ding—]
[Congratulations, you have obtained Crow’s Mouth.]

Huh? She got a reward on the very first try, and it was a skill—a good omen. But the name "Crow" didn't sound particularly auspicious. Ying Shu touched her mouth. Could it be literal? That whatever she said would come true, or that she could bring misfortune to others just by speaking?

Ying Shu continued the draw.

[Ding—]
[Congratulations, you have obtained Finger of Disdain.]

Ying Shu was both happy and speechless. Happy that she had won another prize, but speechless that the skills couldn't have better names. As she continued, she realized her winning rate was higher than before. Whether it was because she had saved a life or because her level had increased, out of every ten attempts, she was guaranteed to win something three times.

In the end, she obtained: a thick stack of paper money (x50), a pair of candles (x50), paper figures (x50), a large bundle of incense (x50), a paper car (x1), a bowl of chicken blood (x1,000), a chest of gold and silver ingots (x10), spiritual fruits (x30), a set of golden playing cards for Landlord (x5), steamed buns (x100), a bowl of fish head tofu soup (x5), "Internal Energy Cultivation Method," Crying Talismans (x5), and Suicide Talismans (x5).

Was the Ghost Festival approaching? Half of her rewards were items for the dead. Since there were no special descriptions, they were no different from the stock in her funeral shop—essentially, she had drawn "Thank you for participating" countless times. Ying Shu was truly at a loss.

The steamed buns had no description. The fish head tofu soup could heal injuries. The Crying Talisman could make someone cry their heart out, while the Suicide Talisman, true to its name, would make someone want to end their life. The Internal Energy Cultivation Method allowed one to develop internal energy; flying with light-body techniques would no longer be a dream.

However… Ying Shu looked at her age on the information board and gazed at the sky. Was she a bit too old at 22? Was it too late to cultivate internal energy? Maybe she should let Xixi use it.

Speaking of Xixi, she remembered the custody issue and sent a message to Su Xining. Su Xining was delighted to hear that her daughter had escaped her grandmother’s clutches. "If your mental power reaches Level 2, you can hypnotize Xixi and erase her memories of her grandmother."

She could hypnotize Xixi? Erase her memories? Surprised, Ying Shu immediately upgraded her Mental Element ability to Level 4 and replied, "My mental ability is at Level 4 now."

"Level 4?!" Su Xining was incredulous. "It’s only been a few days! Are you a cultivation genius? How are you progressing so fast?"

She then explained the method of hypnosis: "If you can control mental energy to thread a needle into a pinhole from a distance, your control has reached a certain level, and erasing Xixi’s memory won’t be a problem. If you can use your mental energy to embroider a picture based on an image, or embroider a scene from your mind, it means your control has reached perfection. To go higher, you just need to practice more and master more techniques."

Ying Shu was still at the hospital, so she would have to wait until she returned home to practice. While Xixi was undergoing treatment, she upgraded Crow’s Mouth, Finger of Disdain, and her Spatial ability to Level 2. The three upgrades only cost 3,000 merit points, and since she didn't know the true utility of the first two, it was safer to have them at a higher level.

Now, Crow’s Mouth became "Purifying Mouth," and Finger of Disdain became "Divining Finger." Her spatial capacity increased from five cubic meters to ten, allowing her to store all her lottery rewards inside, meaning she didn't need to upgrade the Treasure Pavilion.

Seeing she had 16,900 merit points left, Ying Shu upgraded her Wood Element ability from Level 2 to Level 5, costing 3,000, 5,000, and 8,000 points respectively, leaving her with 900.

After Xixi’s treatment, she took the others to see Wu Qi. Wu Qi had woken up, but her body was still incredibly weak, likely due to an unstable soul. Ying Shu frowned as she watched the woman’s soul flickering in and out of the top of her head. Hu Cui and Wu Qi, unaware of the spiritual aspect, were deeply grateful to her.

Because Ying Shu received a call from Feng Ye regarding the custody paperwork, she had to head home. Upon arriving, she found Ying Li and Feng Ye chatting over tea. Seeing her return, Feng Ye immediately produced the documents for her to sign and handed her a new household registration booklet.

"I’ve transferred Xixi into your household; she will live with you from now on. I’ve also brought a hypnotist to help erase her memories of her grandmother."

Ying Shu didn't want Xixi living in terror either, so she led them upstairs. The hypnotist was a fifty-year-old woman with a gentle voice and an approachable demeanor, whom Xixi immediately took a liking to.

After the session, Xixi no longer remembered anything about her grandmother. When she opened her eyes, the first thing she did was flash a bright smile: "Angel Sister."

Ying Shu had spent several days with her, but this was the first time she saw light in the girl's eyes, shining as brightly as the stars. She reached out and hugged Xixi: "Is anything uncomfortable?"

"No." Xixi looked at the others, showing no signs of fear, and greeted them cheerfully: "Hello, uncles and aunties."

"Hello, Xixi," Feng Ye said, ruffling the child's hair before turning to Ying Shu. "I have a favor to ask of you."

Ying Shu knew that Feng Ye’s efficiency surely came with a request. "What is it?"

"We have a batch of medicinal herbs that need to be ripened quickly. Are you free to come with me? Don't worry, it's not far from the capital; we can go and return on the same day."

Having received so much help from Feng Ye, Ying Shu wouldn't refuse. "It’s too late today, and I need to help Xixi with her discharge tomorrow..."

Originally, Xixi was supposed to stay for half a month, but that was no longer necessary. After having her memories erased and taking a Marrow-Cleansing Pill to strengthen her body, she would be a healthy, happy child by tonight.

Before Ying Shu could finish, Feng Ye signaled the hypnotist. Zhao Xiaoyun, the hypnotist, smiled and said, "Xixi, how about I take you to be discharged tomorrow?"

Xixi nodded happily: "Okay!"

Feng Ye smiled: "Looks like Little Shu will have time tomorrow."

Ying Shu: "..."

Once the plans were set, Feng Ye and his team departed. Ying Shu took a photo of the household registration booklet and a laughing Xixi, sending it to Su Xining.

[Ding—]
[Congratulations on completing the mission. You have obtained 200 points and 200 merit points. Would the employee like to use them for a lucky draw or an upgrade?]

[Ding—]
[Congratulations on receiving a five-star review. Reward: 500 points and 500 merit points. Would the employee like to use them for a lucky draw or an upgrade?]

[Ding—]
[You have received gold and jewelry from Su Xining. Do you wish to accept now?]

Simultaneously, Su Xining sent a message: "Since you have the Special Investigation Bureau helping you, you can ask them to convert the gold and jewelry into currency. First, you won't have to worry about being cheated; second, it's a legitimate channel, so no one will suspect illegal activities. I can send more gold and jewelry later to help you support Xixi."

Ying Shu chuckled. As expected of a police officer—even in another world, she wouldn't tolerate anyone doing anything illegal. Now that Xixi was no longer afraid of anyone, Ying Shu finally felt at ease handing her care over to others.

The next morning, Feng Ye drove to pick her up, heading to Tiancao Village, eighty miles outside the capital. As she stepped out of the car, she heard someone shout angrily: "Is this the esper you brought to ripen the herbs? Look at what you've done to my carefully cultivated herbs! If you don't have the skill, don't come here to embarrass yourselves! Get out! Don't show your faces in front of me again!"