Data-Driven Daoist

Yu Han retreated.

“Stop right there, mister,” Huang Niuniu’s voice rang out. “Come inside. Mother knows best.”

Yu Han forced himself to go. He wished he could learn an Art like in video games; touch the skill book and bam, learned. Other transmigrators in the stories had that kind of cheat. Why didn’t he?

Huang Niuniu’s place was similar to his. Wide doorway, but not as tall as his halberd. After entering, he put the halberd down. The cloth wrap had mud and a bunch of vines, grass, and leaves sticking to it, especially at the top where the head was. An effort at camouflage. Hopefully other disciples thought it was just a pole or something.

There was an actual metal lock with a keyhole dangling from a nail on the wall.

“I bought it,” she said. “Sit here.”

He took a seat on a straw mat by the brazier. There was a large pot of something simmering atop the brazier. Green lumps in a base of purple liquid.

Yu Han teared up, and his vision grew blurry.

“You’ll get used to it,” Huang Niuniu said. “It’s going to take thirty more minutes. Wait patiently.”

“I have this Art.” Yu Han took out the Thousand Petal Awareness.“You selected a Psychic Art?” Huang Niuniu looked doubtful, then read the contents. “It’s in Common script.”

“And?”

“…I can only read Imperial.”

“Teach me Imperial. I’ll teach you Common,” Yu Han eagerly said.

“There are more useful scriptures in Imperial script than Common, you know? This is an unfair agreement. You just want to spend more time with me.”

“How can you be so confident in your wrongness?” Yu Han said. “I’ll throw this in.” From under his robes, he took out the Cheat Sheet.

He actually had more books, placed between his underclothes and sect robes.

“Common again.”

“This too.” Ji’s Cultivation Contemplations. He’d only brought these two books, ones he wouldn’t mind losing since he had already read them thoroughly. He would gradually bring the others back, after buying a lock.

As for the halberd, he wanted to start practising the Ox Tail 72 Sweeping Forms immediately.

“I said I can’t read Common Script!” Huang Niuniu pouted. She grabbed something that looked like jellyfish feelers and put it in the pot, then stirred with a ladle. ṛ

“It’s a good deal. I teach you Common, and then you read these. I have more,” Yu Han said. He realized he might sound too eager.

“Fine. We’ll be spending a lot of time together anyway,” Huang Niuniu said, as if it was a done deal. Yu Han blinked.

“You’re the second one who took the Night Soil Collector job.”

“You guessed right.” She winked, then asked what the books were.

After Yu Han explained, she thought for a bit. “I have yet to finish my tribulation. I think I can do it. A week. Yes, one week.”

“If you need help, I can—”

“I’ll be fine. The bad luck isn’t worth it.” Huang Niuniu looked panicked for a second. “Oh gods above, forgive my child. He doesn’t know propriety.”

If Yu Han had a water balloon, he’d throw it.

“I already selected my Art. Though it’s not really an Art.” She took out a scroll. Yu Han assumed it was written in Imperial script.

“Thrice Monk’s Guide to Fasting Brews,” Huang Niuniu said.

“You took it for me?” Yu Han’s eyes opened.

“I didn’t.”

“Unlikely.” If he had a mirror, he would definitely see a silly grin on his face.

“I said I didn’t.” Huang Niuniu slapped the mat. “I want to focus on Alchemy. I was rejected from working in the Alchemy Fields. That’s why I took the job as a Night Soil Collector.”

“Even if that’s true, you didn’t have to say it.” Yu Han felt weirdly disappointed. “You have a Trait, right? What’s your Bloodline Art?”

“A secret.” Huang Niuniu averted her eyes.

“Say it,” Yu Han pushed. “Those Verdant Blade fuckers were talking talking something about wisps?”

“Men, so obsessive. You’ll find out eventually.” Huang Niuniu rolled her eyes. “The booklet. You really don’t know what’s written there?”

Yu Han shook his head.

Huang Niuniu pointed at the pot. “Three and a half recipes. One for this. Deep Sea’s Vitality Spite.”

“It was a cookbook?”

“An alchemy cookbook of brews. This brew helps nurture your Strength stat. Another is the Deep Sea’s Strength Spite, and then the Saltwater Soup of Seventeen Sins. It raises resistance to poison and toxins, I think?”

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“You think?”

“It’s written weirdly. Also, the final one. It has a complete recipe.”

“Then why three and a half?”

“It’s for Spirit Beasts, not human Cultivators.”

Yu Han flipped through the booklet.It was bonafide Cultivator stuff, if Huang Niuniu was to be trusted. Father, if only you were here. You’re eyes would’ve popped out!

Yu Han didn’t trust her completely yet. She definitely had some purpose, some ulterior motive.

But he wanted to trust her. So he would nurture this connection. Fingers crossed, this brew wasn’t poison and this wasn’t some convoluted plot to kill him.

“Take it.” Yu Han handed the booklet over. “It’s more useful to you.”

“Are you sure?” Huang Niuniu said, even as she took it away like a mouse stealing cheese.

“Where did you get the ingredients?” Yu Han asked. “I assume if they are for actual Alchemical Brews, they shouldn’t be stuff you can find on the roadside.”

“Don’t underestimate roadsides.” Huang Niuniu put a red mushroom with black spots in the pot.

Trust, Yu Han. Trust. She doesn’t want to kill you.

Huang Niuniu’s voice fell, and she cast a gaze to her lap. “Senior Brother Duan gave me some Spirit Stones.”

“He did?”

“Wu Di’s possessions. I think you got the ones from the duel, right?” she said.

Yu Han affirmed.

“He had more. Gold, silver, tonic, pills. Even Spirit Stones. Senior Brother Duan gave them to me after he learned what…. Wu Di was planning. I went to the Outer Sect marketplace. I found all of the ingredients for the Strength and Vitality Spite. Not for the other two, but I think I can for a few of the fasting brews.”

“I can pay you back,” Yu Han said. “If this thing actually works.”

“It does. I’ve had them through this week.”

“No wonder the bad smell doesn’t bother you.” Yu Han realized he’d gotten used to the stink. It was still irritating, but no longer overwhelming.

“Men are smelly, after all,” Huang Niuniu said.

Yu Han didn’t know what to say, so they stayed silent.

“It’s done.” Huang Niuniu ladled it into two bowls. “Let it cool down. If you let it burn your mouth, it’ll infect.”

“How is this done?” Yu Han asked. “How is this food?”

“It’s tonic for a specific purpose, and you have to follow the rules.” Huang Niuniu blew on the bowl hard, but the half-alive concoction within, neither liquid enough to flow nor solid enough to float, didn’t so much as move. The steam rising from it changed from deep blue to light purple, then indigo with a hint of red.

It took less than five minutes for it to cool. The bowl contained at least half a litre.

“How did it lose heat so fast?” Yu Han was amazed.

“That’s not written in the booklet.” Huang Niuniu pinched her nose with one hand, then chugged the whole contents of the bowl down in one breath. Her throat moved like a snake swallowing prey.

Yu Han stared until she was finished. Then he followed in her steps.

“Wow.” He grimaced. “I can’t feel my tongue.”

Huang Niuniu ladled in two more bowls.

“Can’t you stop the brazier?” Yu Han suggested.

“It must be drunk within a tea’s time after cooling, or the effects won’t be as good,” Huang Niuniu said.

That night, Yu Han had a dinner of unspeakable quality. He held in the urge to vomit and filled his belly with thrice-cursed sludge. As he walked back to his place, the semi-solid liquid inside his belly sloshed loud enough for him to hear it.

The next morning, he woke up refreshed.

Vitality: 7 -> 8

[Body Origin: 5.40 -> 5.60]

Name: Yu Han (Johan)

Level: 1

True Qi: 28 (+7)/200

Pure Qi: 0 /110

Primordial Qi: 5

Lifeforce: 451 (+81)/672 (+24)

Yu Han shot up.

He’d gained a point in Vitality. More importantly, his Lifeforce capacity had increased.

Why? How? Is it connected to the Vitality substat? It made sense from the name. Vitality, the power that gave continuance to life.

Did I have a Body Origin substat increase after levelling up? He thought back. No.

So not enough data points. He would need to increase another Body Origin Stat and find out.

One thing could be pretty clearly attributed to the Deep Sea’s Vitality Spite. He’d recovered a whopping 81 points of Lifeforce. During his recovery at the Medical Hall, he was gaining 40 to 50 every day, and at the end, he’d left with a Lifeforce of 270. Deep Sea’s Vitality Spite worked better than whatever medicine the Medical Hall fed him.

Father. If we could’ve made and sold this, then…

No use thinking in ifs. Huang Niuniu had bought the ingredients with her own money.

He went deeper into each Origin Stat.

Primordial Qi: 5

[Mind Origin: 12.20]

Intelligence: 14

Memory: 17

Perception: 11

Clarity: 9

Focus: 10

[Body Origin: 5.60]

Endurance: 6

Vitality: 8

Strength: 5

Agility: 4

Dexterity: 5

[Spirit Origin: 8.00]

Adaptability: 15

Magnitude: 5

Density: 6

Fortitude: 9 (+1)

Purity: 5

Other than the point in Vitality from today, and the one in Fortitude from before, the numbers remained normal. Yu Han checked his Traits.

Traits:

[Existential Anchor]

Grade: Mortal Level 1

True Qi: Requirements Not Satisfied

[Deep Writhing Clam Bloodline]

Grade: Mortal Level 10

True Qi: 0/1100

[Qi Affinity]

Grade: Mortal Level 7

True Qi: 1 (+1)/800

No change in Deep Writhing Clam Bloodline or Existential Anchor. But Qi Affinity had gained one measly point.

Most probable cause is the Cultivation Art. Yu Han left it at an educated guess. He didn’t have the resources to delve deeper yet.

Ji’s Cultivation Contemplations did mention the relationship between one’s Cultivation Art and Qi Affinity Trait being special, but the poetic prose of the book merely alluded to the fact. More data would be needed to verify.

He then checked his Arts.

Arts:

[Deep Sleep]

Type: Bloodline

Grade: Mortal Level 1

Mastery: Initial Step Level 1

True Qi: 135 (+25)/200

[Echoing Dreamscape]

Type: Auxiliary

Grade: Mortal Level 9

Mastery: Initial Step Level 3

True Qi: 71 (+14)/400

[Calm Before the Storm Breathing Technique]

Type: Cultivation

Grade: Mortal Level 5

Mastery: Initial Step Level 1

True Qi: 30 (+27)/200

Deep Sleep gained far more True Qi than expected. Usually, it would gain one, sometimes two per night. Or rather, per Deep Sleep session.

But during his recovery, it seems he earned about three to four Arts True Qi per session.

Yu Han made more mental notes, though he wanted physical notes. He’d buy paper when he went to the marketplace.

He didn’t think he would have the chance to gain any new information soon. So he had to address the elephant in the room: Primordial Qi allocation.

A knock on the door broke him out of his contemplation.