Day and night tour

Chapter 372 A Stick of Incense Burns Over the Colorful Play
"Teacher Gong, don't worry, I'm not one of those magicians from the Magic Hall. To be frank, I'm a gentleman." Zhou Xuan was already using his usual persuasive skills to dispel the engineer's doubts.

Miss Wall, with a look of disgust, put her hands on her hips and said, "Ah Xuan, when you're telling yourself you're a gentleman, can you take your eyes off the engineer's thighs?"

"..." Zhou Xuan.

“Brother Xuan, a teacher is one who imparts knowledge, teaches skills, and resolves doubts. What virtue or ability do I have to deserve the title of teacher?”

The engineer felt unworthy of being addressed as "teacher" by Zhou Xuan.

"Teachers do more than just impart knowledge and skills."

Zhou Xuan continued righteously, "Your current resistance against the rumors with us is a great merit, a great deed done on behalf of Heaven. The Supreme Will will not only imprison you for another two thousand years, but if he were to come here, he would have to kowtow to you several times."

These disrespectful words, when they reached the engineer's ears, terrified her so much that her face turned deathly pale.

But the Blackwater's will remains unbroken, its surface still.

The crimson moon over the Blood Well swayed slightly, as if stretching.

They had heard a lot of Zhou Xuan's "heaven-defying remarks," and they weren't particularly emotionally affected by his jokes about "supreme will."

"I wouldn't dare say that," the engineer said, waving his hands repeatedly.

"You've only just joined our glorious team, and your demeanor hasn't quite caught up yet. You can be bolder in the future."

Zhou Xuan put his hand on the engineer's shoulder and said, "So, what are some detailed methods for dealing with those evil rats from the abyss and the rumors? The whole city is counting on you."

"If I tell you, won't I get arrested?"

The engineer, with his sharp, intelligent eyes, still couldn't quite trust the young man before him.

She had once been active in the society of the Jing Kingdom, and based on her limited experience in the martial arts world, she summarized a pattern: in the Jing Kingdom, the older a person is, the more power they wield—because they have cultivated for a long time and have a higher level of spiritual influence.

If you encounter a young and strong man, there's no need to be afraid. But if you encounter an old man in his seventies or eighties who wants to fight you, you need to be more careful. This old man might be able to move mountains with a wave of his hand, and he might have a powerful sect backing him up.

As for Zhou Xuan, he is so young, his cultivation should not be deep, so can his words carry weight?

Miss Wall saw through the engineer's thoughts and advised, "Engineer, you can't underestimate Ah Xuan. It was Ah Xuan who rescued me from the Bone Elder Society, and Ah Xuan is very protective of his own."

“I’ll take responsibility if anything goes wrong. If you’re going to lock me up, lock me up first. Besides, if you really lock me up, I guarantee you won’t be lonely. I have thousands of unique ways to play in my mind, just for the two of us.”

Zhou Xuan started counting on his fingers: "Four Kingdoms Chess, Animal Chess, Civilization VI... Civilization VI is so interesting. As long as you use your consciousness to simulate this wonderful game, just play it. Time will seem to speed up. Even if you are locked up for another two thousand years, you will not find it boring. You will only feel that time is too short and not enough."

"Hehehe." The engineer was amused by Zhou Xuan's witty remark. After laughing for a while, he said, "Okay, I believe you... Brother Xuan."

“Don’t call me Big Brother. You’ve all lived for over two thousand years. Calling me Big Brother will mess up the seniority.” Zhou Xuan quickly waved his hand.

"Then let's call him Ah Xuan."

The engineer's smile faded, and she became serious. As for any future concerns, those were matters for later. For now, she only wanted to help Zhou Xuan, this rather interesting young man.

She said, "As I've mentioned before, the essence of the rumor disease is the consciousness of the evil rats of the abyss. It infinitely divides its consciousness, making it as fine as dust, which permeates the entire Huifeng Medical College."
At the same time, these microscopic particles of consciousness will expand without limit, like a seed, multiplying and growing in the bodies of every civilian infected with the rat-like disease, until they grow into the shape of a black rat.

“Once the black rat has fully formed in their abdominal cavity, it means that the common people have completed the rat transformation.”

At this point in the engineer's explanation, Zhou Xuan had a question: "Professor Engineer, late last night, I went to investigate the tent. Inside, I saw a pregnant woman give birth to a black rat... this black rat..."

"It is the ultimate form of robiniasis."

The engineer pointed to the black water.

The black water rippled gently, and the ripples formed various calculation processes.

“Ah Xuan, you don’t need to worry about those ripples; they are just part of the calculation process.”

"I don't understand this either."

Zhou Xuan stared at the wave-like runes, feeling a beauty in the ripples that resembled advanced mathematics. After looking at them for a while, he even felt sleepy.

The runes were calculating, causing the ripples to undergo various changes. In the end, a pattern of a black rat appeared. The black rat had no eyes or nose, only two huge incisors protruding from its mouth.

"This is the result of the calculation."

Zhou Xuan was very familiar with this black rat. Judging from its size and aura, it was exactly the same as the one he had seen in the tent.

"that's it."

Zhou Xuan asked again, "This black rat was born from the womb of a pregnant woman, but it was eaten by the people in the tent as soon as it was born."

The people in those tents must all be rat-like beings.

The engineer nodded and waved his hand, allowing the runes to continue evolving. The black rat pattern in the black water grew larger and larger, its body becoming humanoid, but its head remaining that of a rat.

Once the mouse had grown to the size of an adult, it raised its left hand, bent its index and middle fingers, and dug into its forehead.

Two bloody holes appeared on its forehead; those holes were its eyes.

"This is?"

"These black rats will eat whoever gives birth to them... Nourished by blood and flesh, they will continue to grow until they can open their eyes on their own."

After a brief mental calculation, the engineer added, "These fully-formed black rats, if converted to the combat strength of the Jing Kingdom, would probably be equivalent to seven incense sticks in length."
However, Ah Xuan, you've seen many strange things, so you must know that there are differences between individual organisms. It's not unreasonable for a few of those black rats to exhibit mutations equivalent to eight incense sticks after they've grown up.

Zhou Xuan frowned as he watched. Once they fully transformed into rats, the fighting power of those black rats was actually higher than Li Changxun had said.

If hundreds of these creatures appeared in Mingjiang Prefecture, the prefecture would really be unable to withstand it.

Moreover, since these black rats are essentially part of the consciousness of the Abyssal Evil Rats, they possess extremely high intelligence.

Zhou Xuan guessed that the black rats eating each other in the tent last night were because those rat-like people were afraid that he would discover the birth of the black rats in advance, so they had to eat each other to temporarily erase the traces of the rat disease spreading in Mingjiang Prefecture.

The engineer agreed with Zhou Xuan's idea, saying, "Currently, many rat-like patients are still far from the complete rat transformation stage. Therefore, the Abyss Black Rats need time. If Mingjiang Prefecture is a day or two late in realizing this, those black rats will be born in large numbers from the stomachs of the people."
By then, even if all the major branches of Mingjiang Prefecture were to gather, they would be powerless to offer any resistance.

Zhou Xuan was well aware of the critical situation, so he asked, "In that case, Master Gong, do you have any way to subdue the Abyss Rat?"

"Yes, the solution lies with you."

The engineer pointed to Zhou Xuan's lower abdomen.

"Me? If I had a way, I would have killed that black rat long ago. It's a ditch-dwelling thing." Zhou Xuan said indignantly.

"It's definitely on you."

The engineer said, "I heard from the Blood Woman that your fifth incense stick was the key to mastering the art of the magician."

"You mean—you fooled the Abyssal Rat?"

"Yes."

The engineer was very pleased with Zhou Xuan's quick understanding. She pointed out the crux of the matter: "Desire cannot arise out of thin air; it needs to be attached to a consciousness."

However, as long as there is consciousness, deception will occur, and the magician's establishment is a prime example of how deception runs rampant in the country..."

At this point, the engineer lowered her head. Two thousand years ago, she inadvertently helped "Caixi Hall" become the most prominent hall in the entire Jing Kingdom. This memory was not so pleasant for her.

“Ah Xuan, you must promise me that you will not use this kind of deception to wreak havoc on the world. Everyone lies, but sometimes deception is not evil—there are always some beautiful lies.”

The engineer said, "The reason why those scoundrels were able to extract the methods of mental aggregation and mental control from me was because they promised me that they would write the most beautiful lies in the world."

"Don't worry, Teacher Gong. I, Zhou Xuan, will only deceive those who deserve to be deceived," Zhou Xuan solemnly promised, almost to the point of swearing an oath.

Only after receiving sincere assurances did the engineer continue: "Consciousness can be deceived, but the trickster's deception, combined with my mind control, can fool even gods."

If the scam is well-designed and lures the wicked rat into the trap, it too can be fooled.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Xuan couldn't help but cheer.

He, the painter, and Li Changxun still hadn't figured out how to use deception to fool the Abyss Rat.

Now that his thinking was clear, Zhou Xuan had a direction to exert his efforts.

However, to set up a deception to fool the Abyss, the first thing Zhou Xuan needed to do was learn the methods of the "Colorful Play Hall".

"I can teach you the techniques, but, Ah Xuan, I must make one thing clear beforehand: the techniques of a magician require sharp eyes, a quick tongue, a sharp mind, and high comprehension. Mastering them completely in just a few days is probably not enough... You only need to comprehend the fifth level technique, 'No Thieves Under Heaven,' which will be enough to lay a trap and deceive the Abyss Rat. I personally think you have a very good chance."

The engineer spoke slowly and deliberately, with a gentle and soothing quality.

However, Zhou Xuan disagreed with the engineer's statement, saying, "Teacher Engineer, you described me as having sharp eyes, a quick tongue, a sharp mind, and high comprehension; I feel I possess all of these qualities. You can rest assured in teaching me. I'm sure I can grasp far more than just the techniques in 'A World Without Thieves.'"

Zhou Xuan's confidence elicited a silent smile from the engineer. Clearly, she didn't take Zhou Xuan's words seriously, but when it comes to learning, confidence is always better than discouragement, so she didn't refute him.

"By the way, Teacher Gong, why is there a trick in the scam called 'No Thieves Under Heaven'?" Zhou Xuan was already very interested in the tricks of the magicians.

The engineer explained, "The phrase 'no thieves under heaven' doesn't mean there are truly no thieves in the world. It means making the person you've deceived believe that there are no thieves in the world... Think about it, if someone has already decided that there are no thieves in the world, will they still have any sense of vigilance?"

Prevention is all about preventing thieves. If there are no thieves, what is there to prevent?
"If people have no sense of vigilance, who will be the happiest? Of course, it's those swindlers who spread rumors and lies."

The engineer said with a smile, and Zhou Xuan listened with a sense of longing.

"The method of 'wind horse and swallow sparrow' is evident in just this one move, 'No Thieves Under Heaven,' and the technique is quite interesting."

Zhou Xuan struck with both palms and then invited Teacher Gong to teach him techniques.

"Before I came to Jingguo, Caixitang was just a third-rate establishment. After I arrived, they learned the methods of mind control and aggregation, and thus became a top-tier establishment. Therefore, to learn Caixitang, you must first learn mind control."

The engineer, now in the rhythm of a "teacher's" speech, asked Zhou Xuan, "How is your mental strength?"

“Extremely powerful,” Miss Wall chimed in. “He was able to be fooled by the brains of the ancient inhabitants from a kilometer away.”

The brain of the ancestors is the collective consciousness of thousands or tens of thousands of disciples of the Caixi Hall, possessing extremely strong mental control capabilities.

Moreover, this kind of mind control has a unique characteristic—the stronger a person's mental strength, the easier it is for them to fall for it, while the weaker a person's mental strength, the less likely they are to be controlled.

The fact that Zhou Xuan could be controlled from a kilometer away demonstrates the strength of his mental power.

"Their talent is excellent. People from Jing Kingdom usually have almost zero mental strength, and those magicians are the same. They all have extremely poor mental strength, let alone any mental control."

"If their mental strength is weak, how did they learn mental control?" Zhou Xuan was very curious.

"Gathering."

The engineer said, "If my mental strength is one thousand, and the mental strength of an individual magician is one, then if there are ten thousand magicians, and their consciousnesses are combined, they can accumulate to ten thousand mental strength."
Of course, the method of consciousness aggregation is not a simple addition of numbers. There are many losses involved. Even if you add up the mental energy of ten thousand people, after accounting for various energy losses, the final amount of mental energy that can be generated can only approach five thousand.

But even five thousand is far better than my one thousand.

Zhou Xuan nodded in agreement. This Blood and Flesh Divine Dynasty, despite being a lost kingdom destroyed by the Buddhist Kingdom, actually possessed some remarkable abilities.

"Your mental strength is very strong, so you don't need to learn the method of mental aggregation. I will teach you mental control directly."

The engineer closed his eyes and said to Zhou Xuan, "You should be like me."

"Teacher Gong, I've closed my eyes."

"Focus your mind and attention on feeling the Blood Woman."

Zhou Xuan listened to the teachings and slowly gathered his senses to perceive Miss Wall's consciousness.

His perception was comparable to that of a god. When he released it, especially after such a high level of concentration, it caused the black water to ripple and splash.

The engineer frowned, quite surprised, and said, "Your perception is this strong?"

"I'm on par with the gods!" Miss Wall patted her chest proudly.

The engineer smiled again and said, "Your perception is indeed incredibly powerful, but Ah Xuan, you must be careful. Perception is perception, and mental power is mental power. These are two different kinds of power."

What is the difference between perception and mental strength?

Zhou Xuan had never used mental power independently, so he was somewhat unclear about the difference between the two. Knowing not only what it is, but also why it is, is essential for a deeper understanding, so he humbly asked Teacher Gong for clarification.

"The perception of the Well Kingdom and the spiritual power of the Flesh and Blood Divine Dynasty share the same origin: consciousness, that is, the soul."

"However, perception is more like an invisible hand. Once it is released, it uses the sense of touch to make you perceive external things."

"Mental strength is more like the resonance between the mind and the external world after the mind has been pushed to its limit. If it is raining, water mist will splash up from the depths of your mind."

“Somewhat similar to…like…meditation?” Zhou Xuan said.

"That's one way to understand it," the engineer nodded and said.

With this guidance, Zhou Xuan kept his eyes tightly closed, focusing his mind intently on his thoughts, not intending to release this power, but simply meditating on Miss Wall's appearance—

—That adorable pose with hands on hips and a bewildered expression, like a child leaping in the dark water.

As this meditation entered a more subtle state, Miss Wall, who was standing to the side watching Zhou Xuan, trembled for no reason.

The tremor was very slight, but she noticed it—the people of the Flesh and Blood Dynasty have an extremely strong ability to distinguish whether they are being controlled by mental power.

She immediately took off her shoes and jumped and frolicked in the black water, cheering, "Ah Xuan, you mastered it so quickly! Your spiritual power resonates with mine!"

Just as she was rejoicing at Zhou Xuan's progress, she uncontrollably turned her body around, her back to Zhou Xuan...

……

Whoosh! Pfft!
The wind whistled by, and the waves of the black water gently lapped down. The wall that had materialized deep within Zhou Xuan's mind seemed to have gained self-awareness, and it gently leaped about.

Seeing Miss Qiang's childlike exuberance, Zhou Xuan also felt playful and said, "Miss Qiang, please turn around."

The wall deep within his heart had actually turned around.

"Huh, Miss Wall has become my figurine?"

After Zhou Xuan made a sound of surprise, he continued to give instructions: "Miss Qiang, shout it ten times: Ah Xuan, you are the best."

"Ah Xuan, you're the best!"

"Ah Xuan, you are the best..."

“Ah Xuan…”

One shout after another rang out simultaneously from Miss Wall in the secret realm and deep within Zhou Xuan's heart, startling the engineer so much that his mouth gaped open in an "O" shape.

A light drizzle began to fall over the Blackwater, as Zhou Xuan had given the Blackwater a mental command: "The weather is too dry, let it drizzle."

This sudden, unexpected rain touched a nerve with the engineers.

"Isn't that a bit too powerful?"

The engineer kept talking to himself, his mouth agape, which made his voice somewhat muffled.

Zhou Xuan finally opened his eyes, walked to the engineer's side, gently lifted her chin, and closed her mouth.

"Don't open your mouth so wide, or you'll drink the rain."

The engineer, as if waking from a dream, abruptly turned his head and asked Zhou Xuan, "How can your mental strength be so powerful?"

"Is it strong?"

"Ah Xuan, you're the best." This time, Miss Wall's praise came from the bottom of her heart. She ran towards Zhou Xuan, jumped up, and was hugged around the waist by Zhou Xuan.

"You're quite heavy."

Zhou Xuan hugged Miss Wall and threw her into the sky. When she fell, he caught her again. He did this over and over, making Miss Wall giggle.

"Ah Xuan, do you know why the Blood Woman is called the Blood Woman?" the engineer asked solemnly.

"why?"

"Strictly speaking, she is the daughter of the main brain of the Flesh and Blood Dynasty. The Flesh and Blood Dynasty calls upon flesh and blood through consciousness. The main brain is a supreme being, and his daughter is naturally referred to by the name of the country."

The engineer said, "The Blood Maiden possesses the strongest spiritual power within the Flesh and Blood Divine Dynasty, so even though she hasn't reached adulthood, she can still summon and dismiss flesh and blood at will."

You can resonate with her using your spirit, which is not unusual; that's a characteristic of spiritual power—the stronger the spiritual power, the easier it is to resonate with her.

However, after you achieved a spiritual connection with the Blood Woman, you were actually able to control her.

“This means…” Zhou Xuan frowned.

The engineer said matter-of-factly, "This means your mental strength is above that of the Blood Maiden."

"..." Zhou Xuan.

"Where does your mental power come from?"

"The engineer asked."

"This... must be thanks to that drop of blood." Zhou Xuan thought of that drop of blood, the blood that brought him to the Kingdom of Jing.

"That drop of blood contains the lingering dream of a great figure from the Well Kingdom, and the characteristics of the Heavenly Ghost 'Chaos.' Who exactly is that great figure?" The engineer fell into deep thought.

Why bother thinking about things that can't be traced back to their source?

Zhou Xuan then said, "You said that to enter the magic theater, one must first learn mental control. Now that I have learned it, how does a magic theater master light incense? How does one gather incense offerings?"

"Once you use the first incense-lighting technique of the outstanding opera master, you will be able to light the incense."

The engineer began to explain, saying, "The first incense stick lit in this opera is called 'catering to their preferences.'"

"This method of burning incense is the most basic and crucial element of fraud."

The engineer, now a relationship expert, asked, "What if you wanted to scam a rich girl?"

"If the rich girl likes the stories of talented men and beautiful women in movies, I'll pretend to be a dashing young master, compose two romantic love poems, and find an opportunity to give them to her. As for the love poems—'Waiting for you, in the rain, in the rainbow formation, when the cicadas' song fades and the frogs' croaking rises...'"

As Zhou Xuan spoke, he became quite engrossed in the role, and his every move truly resembled that of a noble young master. His eyes were dreamy as he recited famous love poems from his past life.

"……"engineer.

"You...you're so...good at this!" The engineer was stunned. For a moment, she felt like a rich girl being pursued by Zhou Xuan, almost falling in love at first sight.

Fortunately, she realized her mistake quickly, while Zhou Xuan had already started playing a different role.

"If a rich girl has experienced several romantic entanglements and suffered emotional setbacks, I would take her to an amusement park, let her ride on a children's carousel, and we would reminisce about the innocent fun we had as children, like catching cicadas and frogs..."

Zhou Xuan submitted his answer once again.

"You can also apply what you've learned to other situations?"

The engineers were at a loss for words. Being a con artist is no easy feat; it requires quick thinking and adaptability. In this respect, Zhou Xuan was simply an exceptionally outstanding student.

"Just a little trick."

Zhou Xuan smiled and didn't take it seriously. He wasn't being modest; it was just that he was such a conman in his past life that he had fooled so many fools that there weren't enough idiots to go around.

Don't answer too many calls from unknown numbers, or you might fall into a trap and be directed to a phishing website where you'll have to fill in your bank card information.

You can't chat with strangers online for too long, or you'll end up spending a fortune on tea. Scammers are constantly emerging, with new tricks popping up everywhere...

As for scams, even if you haven't eaten pork, you've still seen pigs run, right?

"It seems I've actually eaten quite a bit of pork." Zhou Xuan recalled what he had done in the Kingdom of Jing, and realized he was quite the expert at swindling.

The engineer nodded and said, "You've already grasped the true meaning of catering to someone's preferences. Whenever you're swindling someone, the first thing the swindler and the victim need to do is to get closer. The best way to do that is to understand the other person's hobbies."

"Before I came to Jing Kingdom, the magicians relied on their perception to find out what other people liked. Some people loved tea, some loved wine, and some loved fame and fortune."

“Using perception to investigate takes a long time, but if you have mind control…”

“Then I only need to resonate with him spiritually to sense his interests,” Zhou Xuan blurted out.

"Yes."

The engineer said, "The people of Jing have very weak spiritual power. Precisely because it is so weak, they are difficult for you to control. Therefore, you need to..."

"Close the distance, ideally in front of him, and then use your mind control."

Zhou Xuan's answer was incredibly accurate. The engineer shrugged, as if to say, "Do I really need to teach you this? You'll figure it out yourself eventually, won't you?"
"So, my first act of offering incense, to accumulate enough offerings, is to constantly 'cater to their tastes' and satisfy the desires of those I've been deceived, right?"

"……"engineer.

"It's gone, I can't feel anything anymore..."

The engineer felt he had no sense of accomplishment. What is the greatest sense of accomplishment for a teacher? It's when a student is facing a difficult problem and scratching their head, the teacher gives them a technically sophisticated explanation, and the student finally understands and says to the teacher, "Teacher, I get it."

"You've already figured it out before I've even given you any pointers?"

"Teacher Gong, I'm going to collect the incense for the first stick. See you later."

Zhou Xuan bid farewell to the engineer, but after taking only a few steps, he turned back and said to the engineer,
"By the way, Teacher Gong, you like reading love stories, right? Especially melodramas, those where the male lead tortures the female lead to the point of death, stories that make you cry. I'll go to Mingjiang Prefecture to look for similar novels and magazines, and if I find any, I'll bring you a few..."

How did you know what I like?

"What you just said, 'cater to their preferences.'"

"You just controlled me?"

"It was controlled a little bit."

Zhou Xuan left with a smile, while the engineer, feeling a sense of shame as if his body had been seen, tightened his clothes and said to Miss Wall, "Blood Woman, I feel that living here is too terrible. Why don't we move out as soon as possible?"

The fact that the people of the Flesh and Blood Dynasty were subjected to mind control by a man from the Well Kingdom without anyone noticing was an extremely terrifying thing for the engineer.

"Ah Xuan is great, he even buys you magazines..." Miss Qiang said carelessly.

……

Zhou Xuan has left the secret realm, and now he's thinking about building up his reputation—finding out the preferences of the deceived people and then satisfying them.

For Zhou Xuan, this matter wasn't complicated. He'd just give her whatever she liked—food, drinks, toys, or even a gold chain and watch if necessary. It was something money could easily buy.

But after he found his first "target," he discovered that this was actually quite difficult to handle.

At this moment, Zhou Xuan saw Lü Mingkun sharpening a bamboo leaf knife in the yard, the clanging sound of the sharpening never ceasing.

"My first target was my fifth senior brother."

Zhou Xuan walked up to Lü Mingkun, closed his eyes, and began to meditate.

The spiritual resonance caused the fifth senior brother's body to tremble slightly for no apparent reason.
The next instant, a fifth senior brother appeared deep in Zhou Xuan's mind.

"Fifth Senior Brother, what do you like the most right now?"

Zhou Xuan asked himself silently.

Fifth Senior Brother raised the bamboo leaf knife in his hand and slowly said, "My greatest wish is to dissect a corpse in a beautiful, comfortable, and mentally stress-free way... Every inch my bamboo leaf knife slides across his skin makes me so excited... that I get goosebumps all over."

"Fifth Senior Brother, you're a real pervert... You think about dissecting corpses every day..."

Now Zhou Xuan was in a real predicament: where could he find a corpse for his fifth senior brother to dissect...?

(End of this chapter)