Data-Driven Daoist

Am I really doing this? Yu Han asked himself.

I am. This world has VR mechanics. I wouldn’t be surprised if it had other tropes too.

“Brother Yu?” Fang Zhao said. “This is just a cheap ring. If you want, I can give you my other ring. It’s… precious, and I can’t make it work for you. But when I reach Core Formation—”

“A Level 0 dreaming of Core Formation? Fang Zhao, you’re ambitious.” Li Yao laughed.

“Hey, Yu Han! That’s a thousand spirit stones. Let’s take Fang Zhao to the Hidden Realm a few times; he can at least carry our luggage. It’s way better than a stupid ring.” Huang Niuniu’s eyes were glued to the pouch with the spirit stones.

Since when was she such a money-grubber?

Yu Han ignored them and said, “I don’t want the ring. I’m just curious when and where you got it. The designs on it are interesting—it’s been a while since I’ve seen a cat.”

“It’s a tiger, Brother Yu,” Fang Zhao replied hoarsely, his other hand covering the ring. “It’s just a trinket I picked up from a random vendor.”

“When?”

“I don’t remember. Was it after the celebration party of my awakening? I don’t know.” Fang Zhao’s brow furrowed.

“Was it before the crippling symptoms showed up, or after?” Yu Han pressed.

“Come on, Tubs, it’s just a ring.” Li Yao gave him a pat. “No need to be so concerned about it.” His fingers squeezed Yu Han’s shoulder painfully.

“I think it was before my True Qi started depleting,” Fang Zhao said. “Maybe the previous day.”

“So it was after your awakening, but before the True Qi depletion,” Yu Han said with a large smile. He was following Xianxia tropes here, but the feeling of unveiling a mystery was amazing.

Wait, don’t be hasty. Maybe it’s just my imagination, Yu Han chided himself. That was when he noticed something strange.

Fang Zhao, Huang Niuniu, and Li Yao’s veins were bulging, and their eyes were bloodshot.

“Guys?” Yu Han said, a bad premonition stirring.

“It’s just a ring. You shouldn’t question it so much, Yu Han.” Huang Niuniu hugged his upper arm so hard it hurt.

“Yeah, my sister-in-law is right. Just a ring. Nothing special. It can’t be the thing causing the True Qi depletion, right, Brother Fang?” Li Yao said.

“Brother Li makes sense. It’s just a ring,” Fang Zhao said forcefully.

What’s going on? The bad feeling intensified. Why didn’t Huang Niuniu react to that sister-in-law comment? Think—Oh my god, this is mind stuff!

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“Yeah, it’s just a ring,” Yu Han said in a panic.

“Huh?” Huang Niuniu let go of him, followed by Li Yao.

Li Yao looked around as if he was unable to focus his eyes on one thing. “What did I…?”

“Niu’er, Li Yao, let me and Brother Fang have a chat,” Yu Han said. “But stand guard near the fence just in case.”

“Why? Are you keeping a secret from me?” Huang Niuniu asked. Her eyes lit up. “You called me Niu’er!”

“Keeping a secret from us?” Li Yao grinned.

But Yu Han’s expression was grim. He nodded at Li Yao, and the other man grew serious.

“Fine, Tubs. You better explain later. Let’s go, Sister Huang.” Li Yao took off, dragging the confused girl behind him.

“Let me go, you brute!”

They closed the door behind them. The last thing Yu Han saw was Huang Niuniu’s scrunched-up face.

“Brother Yu, is there something you’d like to ask?” Fang Zhao said. He seemed unable to remember the previous interaction. “If it makes you trust me, then—”

“Take off that ring.”

“Brother Yu, it’s just a ring.” His voice turned hoarse. He squeezed his left finger with his other hand so hard it bruised.

“Take it off!” Yu Han yelled. If it’s dangerous, then there’s no need to risk Li Yao or Huang Niuniu.

Yu Han didn’t mind risking Fang Zhao, though. Whatever the secret of the ring was, he would take it as investing in a wildcard.

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“Brother Yu, it’s just a ring!” Fang Zhao shouted back. “It’s just a dumb ring!”

“Then why don’t you take it off?”

A pressure descended, and Yu Han fell to his knees. It was the same type of pressure as when the Shark Lady and the Verdant Blade Sect Elder were fighting.

“There’s something weird about it! Think logically—what else changed between your awakening and True Qi depletion? It’s the ring. But you keep insisting it’s ‘just’ a ring. Even if I think with my ass, it’s suspicious!”

As for why Yu Han wasn’t affected by whatever mind-stuff infected Fang Zhao, Li Yao, and Huang Niuniu, he’d think about it later.

Fang Zhao raised his cup and threw it at the wall. It shattered. “It’s just a ring!”

He stood up shakily, then screamed, spit flying out. His eyes bulged as if they were about to fall out.

“It’s just a ring!” He kicked the brazier. Ash and sparks flew.

“It’s just a ring!” He threw the money pouch, crashed into the bed, and stomped against the wall.

“A ring, a ring, a ring, a ring, a ring, a ring, a ring, a ring, a ring—”

“Then take it off!” Yu Han pressed himself into the corner as Fang Zhao rampaged. This would be a pain to clean up. If the hut caught fire, he would rush out the door.

Don’t think too badly of me, Fang Zhao. If your secret makes me stronger, I’m going to take it. The situation was dangerous. If a devil or immortal popped out and squashed Yu Han, then that was that.

But if so, why hadn’t it happened until now?

It was reckless, yes. He hadn’t thought the plan through. Maybe there was a safer way, but with the first occurrence of the mind-control, it was already too late. If there was a dangerous party, it already knew Yu Han was immune to its effects.

I already poked the wasp’s nest. Show me what comes out!

“No! No, no, no, no, ah—” Fang Zhao clutched his head. He roared, then collapsed to his knees. Blood dripped from his eyes.

Wait a moment. He said his clan was more powerful than the Sect. If his super-strong grandfather didn’t notice, then doesn’t that mean… the mind control is strong enough to elude even his senses? Cold sweat dripped down Yu Han’s back. Did I mess up? Damn! I was too hasty.

He wanted to scram. He inched closer to the door.

Suddenly, Fang Zhao’s screams stopped. A sound like glass shattering echoed through the room.

“Tubs!” Li Yao kicked the door open. Huang Niuniu rushed past him and shoved Fang Zhao aside, standing protectively between him and Yu Han.

“Get away! It’s dangerous,” Yu Han yelled.

“That’s why we’re here. We tried to open the door, but it was like a solid wall. But with that sound—Tubs, what the hell is happening?” Li Yao asked.

Huang Niuniu unsheathed her dagger and approached the prone Fang Zhao. It was the one Yu Han had taken from Bushy Beard’s corpse.

“Since you’re down, let me end your misery.” Her voice had a sinister undertone.

“Niu’er, stop it,” Yu Han said.

“But—”

“Brother Yu…” Fang Zhao looked up. He was crying blood and tears. Veins bulged across his face. His lips were bitten bloody. “I can’t take it off.”

He tried to pull the golden ring off, but it wouldn’t budge.

“It’s the ring,” he said, like a man in a daze. “I can’t take it off!” He bit down on his finger.

They say it takes the same amount of force to snap a carrot as to break a finger—not to mention the soft flesh.

But Fang Zhao’s teeth stopped at his skin. A film of light shimmered.

“I can’t take it off!” he yelled, then rushed toward Huang Niuniu.

“What are you—”

In a blink, he disarmed her and snatched the dagger.

“It’s this damn ring!” Fang Zhao screamed. “It’s you! It’s you who crippled me!”

He placed his finger on the ground and chopped.

Huang Niuniu screamed, and Yu Han closed his eyes. Wait, Niu’er—why are you screaming if just a moment ago you wanted to end his misery?

“What in the…” Li Yao’s shocked voice came through.

Yu Han peeked. The blade warred with the light film around Fang Zhao’s finger. The film was mostly white, with splashes of orange and black. Fang Zhao pushed, but the dagger couldn’t pierce through.

“Damn it! Then my wrist. Li Yao, give me a sword!” Fang Zhao demanded.

“Dude, ain’t no way—”

“Give it,” Yu Han said.

“Tubs, you crazy son of a dog.” Li Yao unsheathed a sword and tossed it to Fang Zhao.

Fang Zhao caught it. He tried to cut off his wrist, then his entire arm. The light film blocked the blade, an impenetrable defense.

“Brother Li, please. Take my arm,” Fang Zhao begged, his face broken and desperate.

“Are you sure?” Li Yao licked his lips. It took Yu Han back to the alley in Riversong City, where Li Yao had blocked his path with malice.

Fang Zhao nodded. “This cursed damn ring. If I have to sacrifice an arm to be rid of it…” He held out his arm.

Li Yao unsheathed his other sword and struck without a word.

The blade clanked off the light film.

“Damn it!” Fang Zhao collapsed. “All these years of suffering. Mother, Father… my fiancée… my friends. Wang Shen…. It’s this stupid ring.”

“Maybe the Sect has a solution?” Huang Niuniu suggested.

“We mustn’t,” Yu Han said. “The ring eluded even the Fang Clan Patriarch. It has to be something special. If unwanted ears found out, we’d all be in trouble. Whatever magic nonsense the ring did, I was unaffected. Keep that a secret too.”

Li Yao and Huang Niuniu both nodded.

“Fang Zhao, let me give you some good news,” Yu Han said.

Fang Zhao looked up helplessly, still muttering about the ring.

“We’ll take you to the hidden realm. Meet us at the Old Banyan Tree of Wang’s Wife in six hours.”

“We’re going today?” Li Yao asked.

“It’s for something else,” Yu Han said.

“What does it matter?” Fang Zhao said bitterly. “Whatever I do, this cursed thing is going to take it away again!”

“What was your original plan with the Red Fiend Ancestry and Cyclic Lifeblood Conversion?”

It took much longer for Fang Zhao to regain his calm and reply. “I’ve shown something unsightly.” He had wiped the blood and tears away. The room was a mess. “I meant to take the trait from Mortal Level 7 to as high as needed to preserve all 110 True Qi. Then pass the Tribulation and level up.”

“And you would repeat that for every level?”

“It could take a millennium or more!” Fang Zhao said through gritted teeth. “But now with this ring, even that plan is out of the window.”

“Take a rest, and we’ll meet later. You can vent your anger then,” Yu Han said. “We’ll keep what happened today an absolute secret.”

Fang Zhao laughed with self-deprecation, and the other two affirmed.

“Brother Yu, you’ve already helped me more than I can ever repay. Not even my clan and the imperial alchemists, doctors, exorcists, and other illustrious masters—not even the gods—noticed this ring. At least I know… what to purge!” Fang Zhao said.

Yu Han kicked Li Yao and Fang Zhao out, then whipped out a handmade notepad from under the bed and scribbled the events down in English. He wrote so fast that the charcoal pen almost broke.

“What are you writing?” Huang Niuniu asked.