Li Yuan continued experimenting.
After a while, he generally understood the function of the wooden puppet.
When he held his wooden puppet, opening a door would lead to the Carpenter’s Shop;
But when he put the wooden puppet back into the "Equipment Bar," the door he opened became a normal door again.
However, even though he had the right to open doors, it didn’t mean that the Woodworker Ghost had lost its malice towards the person opening them, nor did it mean Li Yuan could enter the Carpenter’s Shop unharmed—this was something he couldn’t verify.
Li Yuan guessed: the five coins only bought him a temporary curse, not perpetual immunity. As long as he broke the rules again, the Carpenter’s Shop curse would likely reattach itself to him.
"It’s really a headache..."
Li Yuan couldn’t guarantee he wouldn’t accidentally enter the Carpenter’s Shop again when opening a door, especially since the Woodworker Ghost was lounging openly in Hua Mo City.
The saying "the Ghost Realm doesn’t open doors, so nothing happens" was slowly changing. Nobody knew if it was a past misunderstanding or if something happened to make the Ghost Realm more active and animated.
The Ghost Servants in the Mass Grave were already crossing counties, and doors to the Carpenter’s Shop could open anywhere... In comparison, the Black Market Ghost Realm was quite subdued, with no trouble since a major incident a couple of winters ago...
But Hua Mo County, Shanbao County, and Tian Nan County were closely linked, practically in the same area. If one county lost control, the other two would be affected.
Move?
Where to?
These are already remote border counties...
The neighboring counties aren’t much better.
Though Li Yuan had broken the curse and unlocked the Equipment Bar, his mood remained heavy.
He temporarily pushed aside the shadows of these horrors and contemplated the role of "Equipment" and his new understanding of the "world."
"In this world, there should be two types of power."
"One is the Martial Artist.
The Martial Artist relies mainly on Shadow Blood and the Ancestral Talisman, at least from the perspective of a Sixth Grade. The Meat Field is an important and stable resource for Martial Artists."
"The other is Xinghai.
Compared to Martial Artists, Xinghai are extremely rare, and one way to become Xinghai is to carry a deadly curse and yet remain alive.
Then, by using ghost coins, they can redeem their own curse, thus... becoming a true Xinghai."
Li Yuan didn’t think he was the only one in the world who had redeemed his own curse; surely others in the Central Plains and elsewhere had done this.
Outsiders might not understand and think they are still Xinghai.
But those people have long surpassed them.
He even believed that the "Mansion Master and Elder Council" of the Zhong Mansion were Xinghai that had already escaped their curses.
"It is extremely difficult to enter the realm of Xinghai, but once you do, you acquire mysterious powers.
What Xinghai relies on is Equipment.
The source of equipment is Ghost Street.
Ways to acquire it are first to break one’s own curse, second to purchase it.
So, a Xinghai who wants to become stronger should always be thinking about how to earn ghost coins.
This is probably why the Mansion Master and Elders of the Zhong Mansion still stay to maintain order?"
Li Yuan rubbed his brow with frustration.
The above are common-sense deductions, expansions, and speculations based on his own experiences, and this brief glimpse is enough to make his heart race with fear.
The outside world is extremely dangerous...
If Martial Artists can still be judged by "overall strength," then Xinghai doesn’t fit this category.
Li Yuan thought for a moment and began an assumption of an "absolute environment."
Assuming an ordinary person became Xinghai and mastered this power to open doors, and a Sixth Grade Martial Artist rushed towards this ordinary person. Just as they would reach them, the ordinary person opened the door and then crouched down covering their head...
Assume the ordinary person managed to crouch in time, and the Sixth Grade couldn’t "brake" in time, the Sixth Grade would charge into the Carpenter’s Shop.
Assume the ordinary person had an overall strength of "0~1," while the Sixth Grade had "400~500" strength.
Doesn’t this mean that "0~1" directly killed "400~500"?
Moreover, many Xinghai also have the capabilities of Martial Artists.
At this moment...
Li Yuan instinctively opened his palm, looking at the intricately carved wooden puppet.
The puppet was almost identical to him, the wood unknown, dark yellow in color, with a cold touch like ice, and upon closer inspection, fine blood threads visible within the wood grain.
"From now on, be cautious of anyone with equipment, regardless of their strength. Unless I thoroughly understand the function of his equipment."
Li Yuan silently added another rule for survival to the small notebook in his heart.
...
News of Li Yuan entering the city quickly reached the upper echelons of the Blood Saber Sect.
Tie Sha and others rode over, seeing Li Yuan unharmed, and couldn’t help but marvel at the ancestor’s profoundness.
After sending them back, Li Yuan returned to Baihua Manor alone.
He bypassed the front courtyard, walked through the inner courtyard, and before he reached the inner house, he heard laughter.
Spring breeze brushed against his face as he looked up to see a kite flying among the blue sky and white clouds.
The kite’s string led into the inner house.
He entered to see the maid Xiaozhu running with the kite, while Xiao Ping’an, Xiaosheng, and Niuniu were all looking happily.
The landlady held Xiao Ping’an’s hand, while Lady Yan supported the blind girl.
The blind girl showed no interest in the kite.