Chapter 44: Sorting Through the Rewards

Zhou You knew nothing of that conversation.

At this moment, he was sitting inside his cramped rented apartment, carefully taking stock of the rewards from this trip.

“You have completed the special scenario: Night Watchman.”

“You eliminated the ‘cause’ of this scenario, Liu Shang, and participated in suppressing the primary entity of this scenario, the Auspicious Tranquil Ghost Mother Bodhisattva. You will receive additional rewards.”

“You have obtained 500 Soulstones.”

“Your completion rating for this scenario: Extremely High.”

“You have obtained a large amount of bonus soulstone rewards.”

“Current Soulstone total: 1050.”

“You have received a reward: Three-Chu Elixir.”

“You have received a purple-grade item: Bone Jade Chime.”

“Effect: When this item is struck, regardless of the current time period, the current scene may be converted into ‘daytime.’ Under these conditions, all Yin-ghost and flesh-type entities will be suppressed to a certain degree.”

“This item may be used twice per scenario. Death will not reset its remaining uses.”

“Constructed upon a jade foundation and guided by white bone, it has been offered before a Buddha for more than a hundred years and has gradually acquired a trace of sanctity.”

“You have received a special consumable: Three Incense Sticks of Buddha’s Birthday (additional reward for eliminating Liu Shang).”

“Effect: When this incense is lit, it will provide unexpected assistance depending on the current situation. (This item cannot be used consecutively.)”

“The sacrificial incense Liu Shang offered to the Ghost Mother Bodhisattva. Its appearance is extravagantly luxurious, yet a strange scent of blood always lingers around it.”

“You have obtained one opportunity to remove the curse from an item (additional reward) (limited to purple-grade items and below).”

“Because you participated in suppressing the Auspicious Tranquil Ghost Mother Bodhisattva, you have obtained a special draw opportunity and may randomly acquire one of Its divine abilities.”

“Please note that because the player rejected the Auspicious Tranquil Ghost Mother Bodhisattva’s proposed transaction, this divine ability is incomplete and must be completed through your own opportunities.”

“However, this divine ability will likewise not be affected by the bodhisattva’s flesh corruption.”

The next moment, something appeared before Zhou You.

It was not a typical prize wheel or lottery device.

Instead, it was a Buddhist prayer wheel.

No scriptures or Buddha images were carved upon it.

In their place were human facial features.

“This is... supposed to mean I should spin it?”

Naturally, no one answered the question.

Zhou You could only shrug and casually give it a push.

The prayer wheel spun rapidly.

The facial features flashed past one after another before finally slowing to a stop.

It settled on a mouth.

“You have obtained the divine ability: Dead Curse Brahma Sound (Incomplete).”

“You may speak the six sacred syllables and thereby achieve various incredible supernatural effects.”

“Please note that each spoken syllable will consume a tremendous amount of your strength and cannot be used continuously.”

“The player may now use the soul-suppressing mantra: Om.”

“Effect: Causes all living beings and external objects affected by the mantra to enter a dazed state. The duration depends on the target’s strength. It is ineffective against entities far stronger than you.”

“The player may increase the rank of Dead Curse Brahma Sound through various methods.”

“When all six sacred syllables have been gathered, it may even be possible to deduce the fundamental source of the Auspicious Tranquil Ghost Mother Bodhisattva from it.”

At that point, the System’s summary was complete.

To sum it up, there were not many rewards, but they were all quite useful.

Zhou You first drank down the Three-Chu Elixir, the primary objective of this trip.

He felt the thick liquid flow into his stomach.

Only then did he check his talents.

He had gained two new ones from this scenario.

There was not much worth discussing, so he directly chose to permanently lock in his Basic Acting talent.

The cost of locking a green-grade talent was far higher than a white-grade one.

It had jumped straight to 260.

But Zhou You was now wealthy enough that he did not even blink before confirming the choice.

As for All Five Viscera Connected...

Like the Fragmented Existence from Building Four, its restrictions were simply too severe.

Zhou You chose to ignore it entirely.

Next came the items.

The Bone Jade Chime resembled a small alms bowl.

Its body was crystal-clear, with a pleasing emerald-green appearance.

Yet when observed under sunlight, countless white fragments could be seen drifting within it, together forming a bizarre image.

It was a human ribcage.

Zhou You lightly flicked the rim of the chime with a finger.

The next moment, a mournful sound rang out.

The surrounding environment immediately began to distort.

The sight frightened him enough that he hurriedly put the item back down.

The other item was Liu Shang’s three incense sticks.

Their appearance perfectly matched their description.

Each stick was wrapped in a thick layer of gold paper.

Not gold leaf.

Gold paper.

Entire passages of Buddhist scripture had been painstakingly engraved into the surface by hand.

Each character was no larger than a grain of rice.

At the bottom of each incense stick hung a crystal-clear jade ornament.

Back when Zhou You was in university, he had worked in a jewelry store during summer vacation.

Based on his limited knowledge, that decorative jade alone would be worth at least five figures.

“This damned capitalist. Even offering incense has to be this flashy.”

After a moment’s thought, the corners of Zhou You’s mouth rose slightly as he reached toward the jade.

Speaking of which, it shouldn’t be a problem if I use this thing to improve my living conditions, right...?

“Attention, respected player. Any act that damages this item will be considered usage of the item.”

The System’s cold notification instantly shattered his dream of getting rich.

“...Damn it. Not even the slightest loophole.”

With no other choice, Zhou You shook his head and set the incense aside.

The item’s description was extremely vague.

Judging solely from the wording, it seemed similar to the Monkey King’s three life-saving hairs.

Its exact effect would probably remain unknown until it was actually used.

Next came the opportunity to remove a curse from an item.

This required no thought at all.

Zhou You currently possessed only two cursed items.

One was the Bloodstained Dagger.

The other was the Disturbance Bell.

Both had proven extremely useful.

The brass bell had saved his life more than once.

The Bloodstained Dagger’s acceleration effect had also helped him escape numerous dangerous situations.

However, the dagger’s curse was relatively mild.

It merely required being drenched in blood once every half month.

More importantly, it never specified what kind of blood.

Chicken blood and pig blood were still blood, after all.

That left only one possible choice.

“I choose to remove the curse from the Disturbance Bell.”

As soon as those words fell, the bloodstains covering the bell on his wrist faded away like melting ice.

At the same time, faint sobbing sounds could be heard.

Yet they vanished almost immediately.

Finally came Dead Curse Brahma Sound.

By process of elimination, this was probably the greatest reward from the scenario.

Its current effect did not seem particularly impressive.

It might not even be as useful as Zhou You’s Selfless Meditation.

But what made it valuable was its growth potential.

Not to mention...

“It can even deduce the fundamental source of the Auspicious Tranquil Ghost Mother Bodhisattva?”

“Could it be...”

Zhou You recalled that colossal figure that resembled a demon god.

His brows suddenly knitted together.

Does that mean... I can also obtain the powers of those ghosts and evil entities?