Data-Driven Daoist

Huang Niuniu brought in a sealed box; inside, there was rice and eggs.

“How much did it cost?” Yu Han didn’t reject the goodwill. It was a simple affair. There were some chopped root vegetables with the rice. They tasted like taro. “I’ll pay for the Deep Sea’s Vitality Spite too. The ingredients must have cost a lot.”

Huang Niuniu swallowed a mouthful of rice, then washed it down with a bowl of tea. “The recipe booklet is yours. I can’t take payment for that.”

“Then in the future, I’ll give you money to buy half the ingredients. Take this first.” He handed her the Spirit Stones Hu Feng had given him.

“Okay. Did it work?” she asked.

“I gained a point in Vitality,” Yu Han said with a wide smile. The effect of the point gain was intangible yet, but he felt more energetic. Was it a placebo? He couldn’t say. “It sped up my Lifeforce recovery too. It’s like a health potion.”

“Lifeforce?” Huang Niuniu asked.

“You don’t know?” Yu Han finally found something that he could share without a Common or Imperial Script barrier. He explained what had happened when he Levelled Up.

“Have you allocated the Primordial Qi yet?” Huang Niuniu picked up another piece of boiled egg and put it in Yu Han’s bowl. She then poured him another bowl of tea.

“If the first Heavenly Allocation matters so much, are you going to go all in on Mind?”

She hit the bullseye.

Yu Han was hesitant to explain. After a minute, he opened his mouth, but Huang Niuniu held her chopsticks up to his lips.

“Shush. Don’t share the details with me.”

“I trust you.”

“No, you don’t.”

“Okay, not completely. I won’t say, then.” Secretly, Yu Han was relieved. Nitty-gritty data was the prelude to countermeasures.

“I think I can break through my Tribulation soon.”

“Do you need any help?”

“Don’t underestimate me.”

Yu Han changed the subject. “Since you took the Thrice Monk’s Guide to Fasting Brews, you didn’t select an Offensive Art.”

“I know that we need to have one at Initial Step Level 1 before we can report in for duty,” Huang Niuniu said. “Don’t worry, I have something. It should work. I’ll show you later.”

Yu Han didn’t ask for details.

“Is Brother Yu home?” A voice sounded.

“Fang Zhao?” Yu Han opened the door.

The youth with sparkling black hair and red eyes stood there, looking like a scholar.

“Sorry to disturb you in this inauspicious time,” he said. “I wanted to check if you have settled in.”

“Come in.” Yu Han made way.

Fang Zhao followed, but stopped when he noticed Huang Niuniu. He greeted her and took a seat on the mat. Huang Niuniu poured him a mug of tea.

“We have no more rice, but here’s half an egg.” She took another mug and put the egg on it. Yu Han had no more plates or bowls.

“You’re too kind,” Fang Zhao said.

They chatted for a while, and before long, it started raining. Yu Han kept the window open and the cool wind breezed in.

“I heard that porters have a high mortality rate,” Huang Niuniu said. “Why did you select that?”

“I made a deal with the Senior Brothers of the Courtyard. I won’t require extra Spirit Stones, but they’ll have to give me the blood of any Monstrous or Primal Beasts hunted.”

“Are you planning to do Alchemy?” Huang Niuniu’s eyes lit up.

Fang Zhao shook his head, but didn’t speak.

“How can a cripple enter a Sect?” Yu Han said. “You can at least cultivate, Brother Fang. So how the hell are you a cripple in the first place? Do you require blood as a cure, or maybe you have a very disadvantageous trait?”

Fang Zhao’s head snapped in Yu Han’s direction. He laughed. “I knew Brother Yu was perceptive. You’re right. It’s not that I can’t cultivate, but that I can’t progress.”

“Have you seen your Tribulation?” Yu Han asked.

Fang Zhao nodded, setting down his mug When Huang Niuniu moved to pour more, he hurriedly rejected it. That was his sixth cup. This Cow Girl, unless stopped, would keep pouring and pouring.

The brazier crackled with the remnants of firewood.

“I have.”

“So you can’t pass it?” Huang Niuniu asked, then covered her mouth. “Sorry. We shouldn’t be prying into your affairs.”

Yu Han sent her a glare. “It’s not prying.”

It was. He was being shameless here.

“It’s fine, Sister Huang. As they say, many heads are better than one. Perhaps I can’t share the details now, but one day, maybe I’ll ask your help.”

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“It’s good that you know to ask for help.” Yu Han knew that Johan would scoff at such weakness. But weak as they were, they needed allies. Didn’t need to be friends; business partners would be enough. Fang Zhao had shown enough goodwill for it, mocked and ridiculed as he was. He didn’t look down on Yu Han.

Of course, that all could be a façade. It was tiring to live in constant doubt, though.

Hold on a minute. Yu Han leaned forward. He’s got a broken engagement. He’s a cripple. Comes from a good family. He’s always got that punchable smile on his face. Why does all this sound familiar?

“Tubs! You in?” Another voice interrupted Yu Han’s chain of thought.

Li Yao came in like he owned the place and grabbed a mug of tea. He didn’t even dry his shoes on the reed rug.

“What’s your talent?” Yu Han asked Fang Zhao.

“It shone at least,” Fang Zhao replied.

“Hey now, not even a greeting?” Li Yao grumbled.

“You’re going to clean that mud before you leave.” Yu Han gave him a punch.

The four chatted about the Sect, their lives before it, and what they wanted to do in the future. Yu Han, Fang Zhao, and Huang Niuniu were reserved, but Li Yao bared his heart out alongside a plethora of bad language.

The rain continued, sometimes strong, sometimes weak. As the droplets crashed against the windowsill, they scattered into particles and mist inside the hut. The outside world was covered in a haze of grey. But after the rain, Yu Han knew the dust would be washed away. The birds would sing, the insects would chirp. Colours would look more vibrant, and new growth of vegetation would emerge.

Dad, I think I made a friend. And a few acquaintances. A smile broke out on Yu Han’s face.

“What’re you laughing at, tubsy?” Li Yao said. “Gotta lose all that. Are you planning to sit on the Monsters to death?”

Never mind. I have no friends.

The day ended, and a new one began. That, too, ended.

Just like that, a month passed by.

Name: Yu Han (Johan)

Level: 1

True Qi: 69 (+41)/200

Pure Qi: 0/110

Primordial Qi: 5

Lifeforce: 667 (+216)/720 (+48)

[Mind Origin: 12.20]

Intelligence: 14

Memory: 17

Perception: 11

Clarity: 9

Focus: 10

[Body Origin: 6.00 (+0.40)]

Endurance: 6

Vitality: 9 (+1)

Strength: 6 (+1)

Agility: 4

Dexterity: 5

[Spirit Origin: 8.20 (+0.20)]

Adaptability: 16

Magnitude: 5

Density: 6

Fortitude: 9 (+1)

Purity: 5

He dragged his feet and didn’t allocate the Primordial Qi. He’d gained a point in Vitality, Strength, and Adaptability—though he had no idea why he’d gained the latter.

Lifeforce capacity seemed to increase by 24 with each point in Strength or Vitality. It was still too soon to come to a judgement about it, though; the math wasn’t that clear.

He had actually topped Lifeforce.

“Ouch.”

But he hurt himself just now during one of the Ox Tail 72 Sweeping Forms.

“Again,” Yu Han said. He started from the first form of the first variation.

Mountain Root Stance!

He planted the base of the halberd on the soft ground, then got into a horse stance as he held the halberd diagonally. Kicking the base of the halberd, he used the force to chop down.

Stone Cutting Chop!

Before the sheathed blade of the halberd could hit the ground, Yu Han rotated his big body and swung. It cut through the air with a whoosh.

Heave Ox Swing!

One form after another, as if fighting an invisible enemy. The Yu Han from a month ago could barely hold the halberd straight. Going through one variation would make him drop to his knees.

But now, he smoothly went into the second variation. Then the third. Fourth.

Finally, the fifth.

With the last movement of the fifth variation, which happened to be Mountain Root Stance again, he stopped.

A clapping came from his left. And a ding sounded in his mind.

Requirements met!

Martial Art Learned -> Ox Tail 72 Sweeping Forms.

“I got it!” Yu Han jumped up. When he landed, mud splashed, and it got onto his trousers again.

“The Art?” Huang Niuniu jumped down from the fence. “Finally!”

“Sorry for being so slow.”

“I wasn’t complaining. But this means we can report in for duty tomorrow.”

“Evening or morning?” Yu Han asked. He’d seen the Night Soil Collector come with a donkey cart to the nearby stone waste tank, but it was always deep into the night.

“We’ll leave around evening,” Huang Niuniu said. “It’s an Elite Grade Art, right? What’s the Level?”

Yu Han brought up the Arts window.

[Ox Tail 72 Sweeping Forms]

Type: Martial

Grade: Elite Level 2

Mastery: Initial Step Level 1

True Qi: 1 (+1)/200

“Elite Grade Level 2. That’s not high,” Yu Han said. He scratched his ear.

“At least it’s Elite Grade. Be satisfied, you greedy man!” Huang Niuniu gave him a playful pinch. “I have to make do with a Mortal Grade Art.”

She clapped her hands, then unhooked two objects from her waist. They had wooden handles with a leather grip, and long, coiled ribbons attached.

Yu Han moved to the fence and leaned on it. The first time he’d seen it, it was mesmerising. And now, he couldn’t get enough.

Huang Niuniu made a half-circle on the ground in front of her with her left foot, her right foot straight.

She then swiped her arms. The ribbons fluttered like fireworks in the sky. She twisted her body, the ribbons following her like streams of water. They cut the air with swishing sounds, and as she rotated her wrists, they spiralled into drills.

With each step, her gait would change. With each movement, the ribbons swam around her. Like dragons flying around a mountain, or the currents of water in a whirlpool.

Suddenly, she shot her arms forwards. The ribbons shot out at a tree stump. Both hooked around the axe buried in it, one on the base of the handle, the other at the neck. She pulled, and the axe flew towards her, the ribbons unwinding mid-air.

She spun, then jumped, but missed the axe. It clattered to the side.

“Silly flowerbugs. I still can’t get it.” She stomped.

Yu Han eyed the axe warily. “Can’t you do it with a duller object?”

“It has to be! Otherwise, how can I claim to use this in battle? It’s originally a ribbon dance, after all.”

“It appeared as a Martial Art in your Dao Records. That’s enough.” That was what they called the status screen.

Originally, it was a dance taught to concubine daughters alongside other art forms like painting and calligraphy. A way for the concubines to show their worth, because how could they ever be the main wife? They were merely dignified courtesans, at the end of the day.

Huang Niuniu had modified the dance, practising with two snake-whips instead of ribbons. No matter how much she tried, though, the Martial Art would not register. They then had the idea of covering the whip with two long ribbons sewn together like a sheath.

She had to up her practice since the aerodynamics changed so much. But it finally appeared a week ago.

“Flowing Fragrance Weaving Silk Flower Dance doesn’t sound like a Martial Art, though. I’m glad my plan worked out. Maybe I should change the name.” With a finger on her cheek, the girl thought.

“Do you think the name in your Dao Records will change?”

“That’s a great question. Who should I ask?” Huang Niuniu stuck her tongue out. “I allocated my Primordial Qi. You should do it tonight.”

Yu Han nodded. “What if you use it with your Bloodline—”

“So pushy! I said I don’t want to say it.” Huang Niuniu stomped, flattening a patch of grass. Yu Han held his hands up in surrender.

Primordial Qi Allocation. He really wanted more information before making such a life-changing decision. In MMORPGs—and any game, really—the first stat allocation determined a lot of things. He remembered that one time he made a Dexterity Mage, then had to delete the account.

Never again. His fists clenched. The mocking. Never once was he invited to a raid.

But the decision was already made. All he had to do was click some buttons.

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