Chapter 9: The Poor Little Girl Abandoned by a Man

This world does, in fact, have cultivators.

And so, the very first lesson for all public servants is how to identify various supernatural phenomena.

But the concept of spiritual roots—that’s a deep and elusive mystery.

Across this land, only around a thousand or two people can even begin the path of cultivation.

Thanks to the oversight of both the official channels and the Daoist sects, things have remained relatively orderly.

The Daoist world is split into five branches and eight sects, but as cultivation has grown more difficult over the years, only Mount Mao and Mount Longhu remain active.

As for the Xuanmen (Esoteric School), two factions are still around: the Orthodox Xuanmen and the Kunlun Sect.

Inside the police station, the staff member made a phone call while flipping through a thin booklet on paranormal incidents.

On one page, it read:

The Evil-Repelling Sword Manual is a heretical technique.

Historically, only men could cultivate it.

If a woman attempts to forcibly practice it, her yin energy would become too overwhelming, causing her body to explode.

Once a person starts cultivating this manual, their physical appearance will gradually become more feminine.

If any such case is discovered, report it immediately.

So-called cultivation is the practice of generating inner energy—and the Evil-Repelling Sword Manual is considered an exceptional technique that cultivates both internally and externally.

The staff member, listening to the voice on the phone, quietly wiped sweat from his brow.

He could only hope he was wrong—no one wants to be dragged into a troublesome mess.

After all, mastering the Evil-Repelling Sword Manual not only requires absurdly rare spiritual roots—it also demands the cultivator sever their manhood.

The requirements were nothing short of terrifying.

Meanwhile, I sat calmly in the waiting area, playing on my phone.

Little did I know that the government’s control over martial arts manuals had grown this strict.

Even in a tiny public office like this, any officially registered employee was essentially a silent surveillance node.

Fifteen minutes later, a black car rolled up.

An old man stepped out, fixing his gaze on me from a distance.

After a moment, he gently shook his head.

“She’s not. There’s not a trace of inner energy in her—just an ordinary human.”

I heard the sound of a car pulling up and turned my head instinctively—just in time to spot the staff member who’d been helping me.

At some point, he’d quietly slipped outside and was now speaking with the old man under a tree.

“She hasn’t cultivated the Evil-Repelling Sword Manual.”

“If this isn’t some demonic cultivation technique,” the staff asked, “how do we explain the physical transformation?”

“Should we still let her go through the official process?”

“Of course! Whatever she asks for, you agree to it—don’t even think about doing anything else.”

The old man’s eyes were pitch black, as still and deep as a bottomless well.

“Even though she’s no longer part of the Su family, there’s still some kinship left.

Don’t let the Su couple’s cold attitude fool you.

They might not openly do anything for her, but they’d never just sit by and watch her die.”

My ears were sharp, and I could catch their muffled conversation from inside the lobby.

As I pieced together their fragmented words, I started to get a clear picture of what was going on.

I didn’t know if it was because of being possessed by the ghost fetus or because I now had a new body, but my senses had at least doubled in sharpness.

Evil-Repelling Sword Manual?

The corner of my mouth twitched.

So that’s what these two had been going on about—they thought I was cultivating the Evil-Repelling Sword Manual?

I couldn’t help but wonder if their understanding of it was the same as the version I’d read in novels.

The world I lived in didn’t seem quite like the martial world described in Jin Yong’s wuxia stories.

Here, the threshold to practice any martial arts technique was far higher—more like a blend between martial cultivation and immortal cultivation.

That the old man couldn’t figure me out was understandable.

After all, those two high-level figures hadn’t told anyone else about my situation.

Naturally, no one would imagine I’d been possessed by a ghost fetus, let alone guess that such possession would actually change my gender.

So that means—

They actually thought I’d turned into Dongfang Bubai?

That’s… a truly frustrating and infuriating misunderstanding.

Seriously, who would want to be mistaken for some eunuch-like figure with ambiguous gender?

Between two bad options, I suppose I’ll take the lesser evil.

Compared to being seen as a eunuch who castrated himself for power, I actually found myself more willing to accept my current identity.

The following procedures went by remarkably fast.

Maybe the old man’s words had done the trick—

I didn’t even need to wait for an approval period.

I was handed my brand-new ID card on the spot.

Name: Si Xinyan
Gender: Female
Age: 18
Date of Birth: August 25, 2025

*****

At the high-speed rail security gate, I dragged two massive suitcases, struggling to make it through the turnstile.

Just as I clenched my fists and prepared to go all in, a crisp voice suddenly came from beside me.

“Do you need help?”

The girl, who was also carrying a suitcase, looked to be a fellow university freshman on her way to report in.

“No, no need.”

She was only slightly taller than me—I really didn’t think she could help much.

Rather than trouble someone else, I figured I’d just slowly heave the luggage up myself.

“It’s fine, this is nothing,” she said with a gentle smile, giving me no chance to refuse.

She reached out with one hand, grabbed a suitcase, and with astonishing ease lifted both of my massive cases into the overhead compartment—steady and smooth.

For a brief moment, the whole train carriage fell into stunned silence.

Countless passengers had widened their eyes in disbelief.

Who would’ve thought?

This soft and sweet-looking girl turned out to be a terrifying powerhouse.

I swallowed hard, awkwardly muttering, “Th-thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

In the standard seat section of the train, my seat was the inner one, and she naturally sat down right beside me.

She struck up a conversation with an easy familiarity.

“You heading to university in the capital too?”

“Mm-hmm.”

I had gotten up really early that morning and wasn’t feeling very energetic.

As I stared blankly at my dark phone screen on the little table, I didn’t notice the brief flash of a talismanic glow in her pupils.

Her gaze paused momentarily on my belly—then shifted away just as naturally.

“You’re reporting to school all by yourself?”

“Yes.”

I’ve always been quite socially awkward.

Since she had just helped me out, I couldn’t exactly ignore her.

So I just answered whatever she asked.

“Hmph.”

The girl suddenly snorted with faint irritation, a puff of hot air flaring from her nostrils.

“Your boyfriend sure is irresponsible.”

“…Huh?”

I froze.

“I… I don’t have a boyfriend.”

Where did she even get the idea that I had one?

Am I supposed to? Must I have one?

The word boyfriend, coming out of my mouth as a former boy, sounded incredibly awkward—

It felt clunky, like a term I’d never had any use for in my past life, now abruptly bursting to the surface of my mind.

“No worries.”

She didn’t press the issue, nor did she explain why she assumed I had a boyfriend.

She brushed it off casually and closed her eyes to rest.

Hearing that, I was even more bewildered.

I had absolutely no idea why her attitude had suddenly turned cold.

For the rest of the two-hour journey, the girl didn’t speak to me again.

She just occasionally opened her eyes to glance at me—with an odd trace of pity in her gaze.

Eventually, I couldn’t take it anymore.

“Hey—”

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

I’m not someone who bottles up my feelings anymore.

Otherwise, everything I’ve suffered from being possessed by the ghost fetus would’ve been in vain.

If something bothers me, I let it out immediately.

My life philosophy now centers around:

shameless reliance on backing power, and venting emotions on the spot.

“It’s nothing,” the girl said calmly, remaining composed.

When the train arrived at the final stop, she simply stood up and handed me a business card.

“If you ever need anything, you can come to me.”

“Sigh… In the end, you’re just a poor little girl who was tricked by a man and then abandoned, left all alone in the world.”

My head was full of question marks—I had nowhere to direct my confusion.

I was so stunned, I even forgot to be angry.

As she turned and left without hesitation, I could only stare dumbly at the black business card in my hand.

Wait a minute.

Who the hell got tricked and abandoned by a man?!

What the hell had she imagined!?

I was on the verge of a mental breakdown, just like a guy being falsely accused of some ridiculous romantic scandal.

There was this overwhelming, absurd feeling that made my brain hurt.

I instinctively wanted to chase after her—

Then remembered my luggage was still overhead.

So all I could do was clench my teeth and swallow my fury.

Damn you.

Even if you did help me earlier, that doesn’t give you the right to make up some wild, slanderous fantasy about me!

Just don’t let me run into you again!