Little Goofball's ability is to steal a target's specific function? Last time it was Aunt's sense of smell and taste, and this time it's Uncle's ability to speak?
Zhang Yuanqing, feigning a cough, felt a surge of excitement. If it can steal abilities from ordinary people, could it also steal abilities from Spirit Realm Walkers?
If so, this Little Spirit Servant would be incredibly valuable.
By now, Uncle had recovered his composure. Recalling his earlier behavior, the nightclub Sir's face flushed crimson with a mix of embarrassment and bewilderment.
Haha, Uncle, even you get embarrassed sometimes? Zhang Yuanqing mentally gloated, noticing the Infant Spirit perched on his uncle's neck growing drowsy, as if its energy was depleted.
"This, uh... I was just messing around with you guys. I suddenly remembered what Yuanzi looked like as a kid and couldn't resist imitating him."
Uncle, a seasoned scoundrel with decades of experience, had a face as thick as a city wall. He swiftly shifted the blame onto his nephew.
Zhang Yuanqing was caught off guard.
"At your age, aren't you ashamed of yourself?!" Grandmother scolded angrily.
"Mom, I'm still a kid at heart," Uncle chuckled. "I'll always be your little boy."
"Get lost, get lost!" Grandmother waved him away dismissively.
After dinner, Uncle's family returned to their apartment across the hall. Zhang Yuanqing went to the bathroom early to wash up, reminded Aunt not to disturb him that night, and retreated to his bedroom.
He needed to wake up early tomorrow to meet Li Dongze at the office and report on the Infant Spirits Incident, so he should go to bed early.
But before that, he wanted to try subduing the little guy.
Zhang Yuanqing sat cross-legged on the bed, the Little Goofball curled up in his arms, sucking on his thumb. Lunar Power flowed steadily into the Infant Spirit, nourishing it.
According to the forum post, once a Spectral Servant was successfully refined, maintaining its existence required only consistent feeding with Lunar Power.
Zhang Yuanqing had essentially stumbled upon a ready-made treasure.
"This little guy doesn't seem very bright yet. I wonder if his intelligence will improve later."
Zhang Yuanqing calmed his emotions and mobilized his Lunar Power. A thick, viscous black light surged from his eyes, gradually replacing the irises and whites until his entire eye sockets were filled with darkness.
Whoosh
He exhaled a wisp of pale black Mist that enveloped the Infant Spirit. Then, he opened his mouth and inhaled, swallowing the creature whole.
Immediately, Zhang Yuanqing sensed a new consciousness within him—a faint, dormant presence.
Following the method described in the forum post, he channeled Lunar Power to repeatedly cleanse this consciousness, imprinting it with his own mark. He forced it to accept his power, transforming it into his Spectral Servant.
The process lasted for over ten seconds. Suddenly, his Mental Energy sank into a dark, empty void.
It was warm and comforting, like being cradled in his mother's arms.
His Mental Energy settled into the Infant Spirit's "body," briefly merging with it.
The post was right. The Master can control the Spectral Servant's consciousness and abilities, briefly dominating its "body."
After Zhang Yuanqing had initially adapted to this "body," a brand-new innate talent naturally surfaced in his mind, as if it had been there since birth.
This talent was called "Exchange." It allowed him to exchange something of his own for something of his target's.
For example, he could exchange his sense of taste for the target's sense of taste, or his language for the target's language. The exchange duration was three seconds.
This explained why his Aunt had lost her sense of taste and why his Uncle had been babbling like an infant.
However, the exchange didn't necessarily require equal value. One could theoretically exchange a useless ability for someone else's precious one. The Infant Spirit, being too young and lacking the intelligence for such precise manipulation, could only perform equal-value exchanges and activated its skill randomly.
The skill's activation condition was physical contact with the target.
If Zhang Yuanqing were to control the process, he could execute micro-manipulations to exchange trash abilities for divine skills.
"Furthermore, the Infant Spirit's current exchange capabilities are limited to physical attributes; it cannot exchange skills, at least not in its current state.
Finally, as its master, Zhang Yuanqing can transfer negative conditions such as injuries and mind control to his Spectral Servant, allowing the servant to share the burden of harm.
"Now I understand why the Nightwalker is considered one of the pinnacle professions," Zhang Yuanqing murmured to himself. "Its power is truly absurd."
He withdrew his consciousness back into his body.
"咿咿."
The Infant Spirit waddled over on its short legs and nuzzled its sparsely haired head against Zhang Yuanqing's hand, trying to suck on his thumb.
This thing can eat?
"No, this is where you get your nourishment," Zhang Yuanqing said, pointing to his chest.
The Infant Spirit tilted its head, staring at him with wide-eyed innocence for a moment, as if finally understanding his meaning. It obediently crawled toward his chest.
"Get lost."
Zhang Yuanqing swallowed the spirit, absorbing it back into his body.
The next morning, Zhang Yuanqing woke up and went to the bathroom to wash up.
As he reached for his toothbrush, he paused, opened his mouth, and exhaled a wisp of yin energy. The Infant Spirit's tiny form materialized on the sink counter.
Nourished by Lunar Power, it looked remarkably refreshed, its dark, round eyes gazing at Zhang Yuanqing with pure, untainted innocence.
"Let me teach you some basic life skills. This is a toothbrush. Your Master, me, is going to brush his teeth now. Come on, repeat after me: toothbrush, brush teeth, use a toothbrush to brush teeth."
Since the little thing wasn't just an unconscious spectral entity, it would eventually grow. During that process, its Master needed to instill proper values.
To be an upright Ghost, obey the law, and reject gambling and drugs.
The Infant Spirit tilted its head, staring at him blankly.
"Toothbrush, brush teeth, use a toothbrush to brush teeth. Come on, repeat after me!"
"???"
Zhang Yuanqing persisted for a moment before suddenly deflating, abandoning his teaching attempt for now. He couldn't decide whether he or the Little Goofball was the bigger idiot in this scenario.
After finishing his morning routine, his phone rang. It was Li Dongze.
"Hello, Chief?"
"Primordial, come to the office this morning. I need your cooperation with something."
"What is it?"
"The Taiyi Sect's Nightwalker wants to ask you some questions. I'll explain the details when you get here."
Why would the Taiyi Sect's Nightwalker want to talk to me? Do they recognize my unparalleled genius and want to recruit me? If so, they should have approached me privately.
"Understood, Chief," Zhang Yuanqing said, hanging up.
He was on his way to report the Infant Spirits Incident to his unit.
After breakfast, he slung his backpack over his shoulder, pretending to head to school. Once outside the residential complex, he hailed a taxi and directed it straight to the Public Security Bureau, entering the double-layered Glass Building.
Just as he reached Li Dongze's office door, he heard a hearty laugh from inside:
"Oh, God, that's the best joke I've ever heard!"
"Let me tell you another funny story. You know Captain Zhao? Yeah, the guy who always wanders into the women's restroom by mistake. When he first became a Nightwalker, he devoured seven female Spectral Entities in one go. Ever since then, he's been stuck with the habit of squatting to pee—he just can't break it after all these years!"
"Hahaha, God, that's even better than the last one!"
"Not bad, right? I know all sorts of secrets about Nightwalkers. I'll tell you more later, but you have to promise not to spread them. After all, we're not gossips, are we?"
Knock, knock! Zhang Yuanqing rapped on the glass door.
The laughter inside instantly ceased. Li Dongze's calm voice called out, "Come in."
Zhang Yuanqing pushed open the door and saw Li Dongze sitting on the guest sofa, drinking with a man dressed in a black suit and shirt.
The man in black had decent features, though his skin was slightly pale and gaunt. He exuded an understated air of nobility.
"Our star rookie has arrived," Li Dongze said with a smile, gesturing with his eyes. "There's cola in the fridge. Help yourself."
As Zhang Yuanqing twisted open the cola bottle and took a swig, Li Dongze introduced him:
"Yuan Ting, Captain of the Taiyi Sect's Kangyang District branch, a Level 3 Nightwalker. He's the elite of the elite in our Official Organization."
As a top-tier combat profession, a Level 3 Nightwalker stood out even among the Transcendent Stage practitioners.
"Indeed, a man of exceptional talent," Yuan Ting sighed, shaking hands with Zhang Yuanqing. "Elder Sun must have been confused."
Zhang Yuanqing plastered on an enthusiastic smile. "Seeing Captain Yuan feels like seeing family—an inexplicable sense of kinship. Could this be the camaraderie between Nightwalkers?"
With an outsider present, Zhang Yuanqing temporarily suppressed the matter of the Infant Spirits.
Yuan Ting paused, surprised. "Nightwalkers don't typically share such a sense of belonging."
Zhang Yuanqing feigned sudden realization. "Ah, so it's Captain Yuan himself who gives me this warm feeling. That's your personal charm, Captain!"
Hearing this, Yuan Ting couldn't help but grin. This kid sure knows how to talk.
A sudden thought struck him: this was Li Dongze's subordinate. He immediately felt a pang of regret. "Elder Sun is so foolish..."
Noticing the exchange of glances between the two men, Li Dongze cleared his throat and said sternly, "Captain Yuan is here on official business today."
He turned to Yuan Ting. "Shall we use my office or the conference room across the hall?"
"Let's use the conference room," Yuan Ting replied.
With that, he picked up his briefcase from the glass coffee table, nodded to Zhang Yuanqing, and smiled. "Let's step aside for a private word."
A private meeting? Judging by the Chief's attitude, it doesn't seem like he's trying to poach me. What could this be about?
"Of course!" Zhang Yuanqing agreed. "I'd like to use the restroom first."
Yuan Ting nodded and led the way out of the office.
Zhang Yuanqing turned toward the office area, his gaze sweeping across the room. He deliberately ignored Wang Tai, who was hunched over, writing what looked like an academic paper, and walked over to Guan Ya's desk. In a teasing tone, he said, "I didn't get the honey trap, but I did get a Nightwalker from the Taiyi Sect."
Guan Ya, holding her water cup, smiled knowingly. "That just proves it wasn't a honey trap. Hmm, Scorpio's fortune is favorable today, but you should be extra cautious when speaking with colleagues and superiors, or things could backfire."
She wore a white blouse and a short skirt, her slightly curled long hair freshly styled, exuding refined elegance. Her oval face was radiant and alluring, enhanced by light makeup and the exotic charm of her mixed heritage.
Zhang Yuanqing teased, "For example, if I were to righteously reject your advances, would that sink the little boat of our friendship?"
"No, you wouldn't reject me," Guan Ya replied with mock seriousness, "because you're a Scorpio."
Enough already! One more Scorpio joke and I'll hit you with a stick!
Still, he had gotten the hint he wanted. He immediately turned and strode to the conference room door, gently knocking on the glass.
"Come in!" Yuan Ting called from inside.