Chapter 20: Skill Points, Talent [Soft Bone]

"I think he’s doing some kind of research... Who knows."

Fu Guoping glanced at Fu Juemin and changed the subject. "Second Uncle will give you a gift later."

"What kind of gift?"

Fu Juemin was curious, but Fu Guoping remained mysterious, refusing to reveal anything. He just said that he would find out when the time came.

The two of them chatted about the snake’s corpse for a while, and before they knew it, the conversation drifted back to the matter of the Water Demon at the pier.

Fu Guoping sighed and said, "...See how fierce that Snake Demon in Taohuang Village was? Your Second Uncle still brought it to heel all the same.

"But the one in the water... there’s really nothing we can do. We can’t just order people to drain the Luan River..."

"Can’t we find a way to lure it out?"

"We’ve tried."

Fu Guoping shook his head. "But that Water Monkey is as cunning as a ghost and its methods are formidable. As for the result..."

"Wu Xiaoyun?!"

Fu Juemin’s heart jolted as the name escaped his lips.

Fu Guoping said nothing, but the answer was self-evident.

’So that’s how Wu Xiaoyun died. No wonder Fu Guoping took Wu Pozhou in as his adopted son.’

Fu Juemin felt a long-held doubt in his mind finally resolve, but he couldn’t help but frown again. "So, Second Uncle, you’re organizing this grand water festival and sacrifice to feed that Water Demon livestock, hoping it won’t come ashore to snatch people?

"But that’s just a temporary fix, not a cure. Are you planning to keep feeding it like this forever?..."

"We won’t be feeding it for long. That Water Demon has tasted human flesh. Sooner or later, it will grow tired of pigs and sheep. When it starts making a big scene... that won’t be my problem anymore."

Fu Guoping shook his head, then suddenly added, "And it was your father who helped me come up with this method."

His father, Fu Guosheng, came up with the idea.

Fu Juemin was slightly taken aback, then he understood the intention behind this approach.

’The Water Demon at the Luan River Pier is like a landmine,’ Fu Juemin thought. ’Fu Guoping doesn’t have the power to dispose of it. So Fu Guosheng simply had him make the "mine" even bigger. When the day comes that it can no longer be suppressed and it finally explodes, the higher-ups will notice and naturally send someone else to clean up the mess.’

For Fu Guoping and the Civil Affairs Bureau, this was indeed the best solution. It was just that when the Water Demon "emerged," the common people living near the Luan River Pier would be the ones to suffer.

Fu Juemin fell silent. The uncle and nephew were quiet for a moment before Fu Guoping spoke again:

"Now you know everything. You should stay away from the pier. You’re the only heir of our Fu Family; we can’t have anything else happen to you.

"I’ve taken in Wu Pozhou of the Black Shark Gang as my adopted son. The kid is sensible enough, better with people than his father was. If you ever have any use for him, feel free to order him around.

"Also..."

Fu Guoping turned his head to look at Fu Juemin, his tone full of meaning. "When you have time, you should pay more visits to the Saint Gong Girls’ School..."

’Saint Gong Girls’ School?’

Upon hearing the name of this place, a figure subconsciously popped into Fu Juemin’s mind.

’Zhou Yunzhi?!’

"Second Uncle, what do you mean by that?"

"The matter of you being shot can’t just be brushed aside."

Fu Guoping pointed at Fu Juemin’s chest and narrowed his eyes. "A while ago, I tested a few of the Fu Family’s old rivals one by one. They didn’t know anything about this matter..."

Fu Juemin suddenly recalled the "kidnapping case" that had caused such a stir in the county recently, and he was momentarily stunned.

"So you were the one behind the kidnapping of the Huang Family’s young masters and misses, Second Uncle."

Fu Guoping casually dusted off his sleeves and continued, "...I’ve been thinking. If we want to smoke out the real mastermind behind that gunshot, the clue must lie with that young lady from the Saint Gong Girls’ School."

"Second Uncle, are you suggesting I continue to act infatuated with her to lure the person behind this into making a second move?"

"Whether you pretend or not is up to you."

Fu Guoping chuckled. "If you really like her, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to marry her into the family.

"I’ve seen that young lady, too. She’s certainly a beauty. She’d make a fine second wife for you..."

Fu Juemin was speechless, but since he had already planned on hunting down the real culprit, his and Fu Guoping’s ideas coincided. So he nodded in agreement.

....

The group dragged the snake’s corpse all the way back to the Civil Affairs Bureau, not arriving until the sky began to lighten at dawn.

In this operation, the Civil Affairs Bureau lost four men and had two injured. Among the casualties were a pair of brothers, named Dalin and Xiaolin.

As soon as Fu Juemin arrived at the Civil Affairs Bureau, he got into a car to head back to the city. Fu Guoping was busy dealing with the snake’s corpse and distributing pensions and rewards, so he didn’t try to keep him.

The uncle and nephew had already talked through everything they needed to on the way.

Upon returning to his family’s residence, Fu Juemin didn’t even have time to greet anyone, heading straight for his third-floor bedroom.

After closing the door, the first thing Fu Juemin did was call up his game character panel.

He had been holding it in the entire way back from Taohuang Village, and only now did he have a moment to properly examine the changes on the panel.

The panel’s numerical values hadn’t changed much. The only difference was that behind the previously empty [Talent] bar, two small, grayish-white words had appeared—

[Soft Bone].

That was right. When Fu Juemin touched the Black-Scaled Python, it was as if he had absorbed the soul of the Snake Demon lingering on its corpse, thereby unlocking a Talent.

Not only that, but the right half of the Tai Chi Fish Round Slot, which had remained unchanged since the beginning of his transmigration, now held a small amount of energy that looked like golden amber.

There wasn’t much, not even enough to fill one-tenth of the right half-slot.

But Fu Juemin knew full well that back in Taoshan Village, he had personally witnessed this right half-slot being instantly filled twice with the same Golden Energy!

Just like when the left half-slot was filled with Blue Energy, the feedback from the filled right half-slot was displayed on the panel.

At this moment, in the Cultivation Technique section of Fu Juemin’s character panel, a small, golden "+" symbol had appeared behind every Martial Arts Technique.

’Filling the left half-slot’s energy grants free Attribute Points, while filling the right half-slot’s energy grants Skill Points...’

Fu Juemin slowly exhaled. At this moment, it was as if he could see a supreme Great Dao unfolding before him, shimmering with golden light.

After witnessing the Snake Demon in Taohuang Village, Fu Juemin, who had originally lacked some confidence in the Martial Dao, was now filled with soaring ambition.

’With Skill Points, I can master Martial Arts Techniques quickly. If I can’t beat these Demon Fiends by mastering one technique, what about ten? A hundred? How could I not stand a chance?’

’Looks like I’ll have to visit the Civil Affairs Bureau more often from now on.’

At his current stage, if Fu Juemin wanted to go Demon Hunting to acquire Skill Points and Talents, the best way was to go to the Civil Affairs Bureau to "leech experience."

In the future, he could consider slowly forming his own Demon Hunting Team.

Fu Juemin was now especially glad that he had transmigrated as the Young Master of a rich and powerful family. When his own strength was insufficient, he could still rely on external forces. If he had been reborn as some poor wretch, even if he knew the way to obtain energy, he would probably only be able to stare blankly at his panel.

He couldn’t be expected to fight Demon Fiends to the death with his bare hands, could he?

After the wave of excitement passed, Fu Juemin officially began preparing to improve himself.

’Should I test out my Talent first, or add points to my Cultivation Techniques?’

He considered it for a moment and finally decided to first test the effects of the so-called [Soft Bone].

He focused his Consciousness on the Talent Bar on the panel, silently activating [Soft Bone].

As those two grayish-white words flickered, in that instant, an indescribably subtle sensation welled up in Fu Juemin’s heart.

At this moment.....

He felt as if he had transformed into the Black-Scaled Python from Taohuang Village.