"Oh, I forgot to ask. By the way, system, are there any beginner packages you can give me?"
Yaohu asked while admiring Shu Nian'er's beautiful visage from afar.
[Yes, I am almost incapable of helping you without you completing Quests, but right now, I have some excess energy from the inheritance process that I can give you.]
"Great, what does that mean for me exactly?"
"The energy will boost your cultivation to the fifth rank of the Minor Warrior realm, which will also awaken your innate bloodline abilities."
"Damn… You should have given me that without me asking!"
"I am just an AI voice that responds to you, I have no power to do anything without you prompting me to do that first. But if you give me the authority, I will tell you anything that can benefit you that I have in storage from now on."
That made Yaohu contemplative, and then he nodded. Might as well. There was nothing bad about that specific authority.
"Anyway, give me the energy."
As soon as he said it, something weird happened—like a quiet pop right in his chest. Not painful, just… warm. It spread fast, like someone poured hot tea through his veins.
His shoulders dropped without him meaning to. He took a breath and it actually felt full for once. He ran a hand down his face, blinked a couple times.
Everything looked the same, but somehow sharper. Lighter. He gave a small laugh—quick, surprised. Like he'd just stepped out of a suit that didn't fit and realized how good it felt to move.
[Host's Cultivation increased to the fifth rank of the Minor Warrior realm.]
Yaohu stretched—and crack—something shifted deep in his bones. Not like pain, more like a reset. His arms felt... solid. Heavy in a good way. He glanced down and did a double-take—his forearms looked like they'd been carved out of stone.
He curled his fingers into a fist, and the knuckles popped with a satisfying sound that resembled a blade being sheathed. Then, just messing around, he grabbed the edge of a nearby window bar and gave it a squeeze—the iron groaned under his grip.
"Wait... what the hell?" he muttered, bending the whole thing with one hand like it was a pipe.
A week ago, he could barely lift a sack of rice without wheezing. Now he felt like he could throw a cow over a wall.
That was at least more than a hundred kilos of hand strength.
Yet, that was not all.
[Bloodline Abilities Awakened.]
[Memory Projection][Aura Transfusion]
Damn, I am lucky, Yang Yaohu thought as the information about the abilities entered his head. Both abilities were great. In fact, he could already think of many uses for the abilities—even for getting Shu Nian'er for himself.
It was great news.
Finally, he got himself ready by fixing his clothes and then moved towards the ethereal beauty in the distance.
She truly was beautiful.
Her red lips were incredibly inviting, her moist eyes incredibly alluring.
He walked closer and closer until her grey eyes flicked towards him.
They both paused.
Yaohu then walked closer and took her hand. "Great meeting you again, milady."
She raised an eyebrow and just watched as he lifted her hand and placed a kiss over her palm. Then, she said: "A butler is not allowed to touch even the hair of a concubine; you could be killed for that."
Even as she said that, Yaohu felt the dimensions around them shift. They were suddenly isolated in a space where no one could see them.
They had entered a different dimension.
Yaohu smiled. "If touching these hands will kill me, I will be a happy corpse."
Her eyes brightened for only a second before they turned cold—there was even a bit of killing intent. Shivering slightly, Yaohu let go of her hand and smiled wryly.
She said: "Tell me, who are you and what was your real role in what happened earlier?"
"I am innocent, my lady." He said with a sigh. "I was fed aphrodisiac by the people of Concubine Yulan, and the next thing I remember, we were having a passionate time."
Yaohu looked at her, really looked. Her brows were tight, her muscles were a bit taut. She was acting tough, but she was nervous. Like a bunny caught in a trap—it did not seem like she was that experienced with dealing with schemes like this.
Yet, why was she here exactly, and at this time at that?
Surely she was waiting for me. To blackmail me, silence me?
Her stare became even colder as she noticed him checking her out. "So you know nothing else?"
"Yes, nothing else." Yaohu's smile became a bit deeper. "But if I were you, I wouldn't kill me, milady."
Her fair face changed in complexion. She was startled. "How did you know I planned to kill you?"
Yaohu raised a hand and lifted her jaw. "I not only took your virgin blood for myself, but I also saw your ability that none of your enemies are aware of. This ability is your only safety in this hell of schemes and darkness, right? Nobody knows about it either. Otherwise, they would have planned against it. Anyone in your position would want me dead, even a beauty like you."
She gritted her pearly whites. "Then you know why you are going to be killed."
How innocent.
The way she loosened, even though she was threatening him.
Let me show you how professionals scheme and make sure they are safe.
Yaohu tilted her face sideways with his hand. "Look at the wall before you speak, milady."
A projected video appeared on the wall. A velvet bed, a beauty, and a handsome man.
The sight made the color drain from her face. It was a video of herself with a passionate expression under Yang Yaohu. She froze as the video continued to show her holding her moans back, as the passion ended, and as the eunuches from outside began to yell, as it showed her dimensional ability.
She then turned to look at Yang Yaohu with a face as pale as paper.
This was the ability: Memory Projection.
It could project his memory like a video.
"You were working with Concubine Yulan! You wouldn't have such a thing otherwise!" she said with loathing. "So if I kill you, this will come out? Did you guys plan all of this for this blackmail material on me?"
Oh she is smart. Cute and smart.
Yaohu sighed again. "Don't assume anything. As I said, I have nothing to do with that conspiratory bitch. I am just saving my own life. And this is just a skill that can project my own memories, it is part of my inborn abilities. But… yes, even if I die, this projection will just keep expanding until it becomes visible to the entire palace. No one can stop it."
That last part was a lie.
But that was how professionals in the business world schemed. Now, would she dare to kill him, even if she were an emotionless psychopath?
Never.
Shu Nian'er stared at him for a few seconds before taking a deep breath.
It might have been a lie, but she obviously could not hope it to be a lie.
All the pressure left her.
Yes, she did not have to kill to survive.
Yaohu felt the sense of weight in his heart vanish as well.
She said, much softer now: "You better don't use that projection against me. Know that if the king learns of it, you will also be killed."
"I know…" he nodded. "We are both in this together."
They stared at each other deep in the eye.
"By the way, I have a question," he said.
She frowned.
"Why are you still a virgin if you are considered the emperor's favorite concubine?"
Normally, Shu Nian'er would have left at that very moment. But for some reason, she couldn't help but stay still. Maybe it was the fact that she was standing in front of the man who took her first.
Maybe it was that she was surprised by how well he handled her.
He looks handsome. And somewhat very familiar. Is he related to the royal family? Definitely has their resemblance.
"...You certainly are a weird one." She looked at the flower tree near her. "They call every concubine the favorite these days, it's just a matter of rumors. Did you really think the emperor goes talking about his favorite concubine?"
Yaohu blinked. "Oh…"
"Are you over?" she asked.
He looked at the tree as well. Then asked, "Did you like your first time?"
For the first time in the embarrassing conversation, her face turned beet red. Then, she humphed and turned around, pulling her skirt up as she moved to leave.
He stopped her by her sleeve.
"It was also my first," he said.
She froze.
He felt guilty of lying so white faced, but her reaction was worth it.
And you are allowed to say a hundred lies to save a marriage, right?
"..."
"..."
She turned around and looked at him as if she were looking at an anomaly. "You saw what was happening in that room, calmly analyzed the situation, then finished your…. Whatever it was, in me." He hadn't even stopped when the eunuchs knocked. "You definitely do not look like the type to care about their first. Humph! You have some guts to still be digging into this."
"...digging?"
Her face became beet red.
"You know what I mean!"