Data-Driven Daoist

The creature stepped into the moonlight, leaving a brown clawprint in its wake. It walked like a gorilla, its two upper limbs long, with sharp claws that clicked against the stone. Its hind limbs were stumpy and clawed, and with each step, there was a squelching sound.

Its skin was crusted, like dried earth, with patches of sickly fur here and there. The head was small, mostly taken up by its gaping mouth. It had two fan-like ears and holes for a nose.

The most uncanny part was the position of its beady, rock-like eyes. They were not at the same level—the left eye was closer to its scalp, and the right one near its mouth.

The creature roared, flexing its spikes, the red shine of its eyes homing in on Yu Han. The thing was no taller than a toddler.

“It’s small?” Huang Niuniu said. A semblance of confidence tinged her voice.

The creature crouched low, kicking the stone floor. More exited the dark hole. Two, seven, fifteen.

There was a small herd of them. Their stony claws didn’t reflect light, and their needle-like teeth looked rusted. One scratch or a bite, and it would probably give him eight different infections.

A thump sounded from behind him. Yu Han instinctively looked back.

Huang Niuniu had fallen to her knees. He couldn’t see much of her face through the helmet, but her eyes were red, glossy with tears.

“I-I—” she stammered.She glowed. It was as if, under those coveralls, her skin had turned into a neon lamp. From the gaps of the leather parts, blueish-green light leaked out, some setions with tints of yellowish orange, while in others it was red or purple. Her green irises looked like two LED lights, with the same hue as the roadside signs in a cyberpunk game.

It was mesmerising.

“Best keep your eyes forward,” came Wen Liujie’s voice.

There were multiple clatters. Yu Han snapped his head back. The first creature was barely five metres away.

Crap! They’re fast.

It moved like it had lost control of its limbs, one striking the ground after another, rather than anything that could be called a gait.

It screeched. A wave of nausea hit Yu Han.

Lifeforce -7

Behind him, Huang Niuniu screamed.

He planted his left foot in front.

Don’t panic. He gritted his teeth, the halberd blade feeling oddly heavy.

That one sound attack took 7 Lifeforce. There were fifteen of the things. If they all hit him, that would be 105 gone. He couldn’t afford that.

Would he pass out if his Lifeforce hit 0? Or would he still be alive if his neck was punctured, but he had Lifeforce remaining?

He had no plans to test that.

The first creature jumped in a strange feat of acrobatics. It somersaulted a few times midair, hind limbs waving as if searching for ground. Its maw was open, dripping with sickly pus and saliva.

“Heavy Ox Swing!” Yu Han instinctively shouted the name of the form.

The halberd blade missed the creature. Yu Han used the momentum and turned, dragging the head of the halberd low and swinging again.

The dagger axe on the other side of the blade punctured the gut of another creature. Yu Han hit the third with the halberd body, the other creature still hanging off of it.

Don’t close your eyes. Look straight ahead! He had stood in front of punches and kicks, swords and fangs, and even the flying sword and crescent attacks of the Verdant Blade Sect a thousand times in his dreams.

He would not flinch! That’s what the training was for.

Suddenly, a force slammed into his leg.

“Oof!”

Lifeforce -11

He flinched, barely holding his balance by hitting the ground behind him with the halberd handle.

He kicked out, and the creature that had bitten his leg flew away. But the one hanging from the dagger axe dropped on his helmet. It clawed the back of his head, and Yu Han grabbed it with his free hand and threw it aside. It screeched as it bounced.

Lifeforce -6

Why did I lose lifeforce? That claw didn’t puncture through the Coverall! What form comes next? Yu Han’s heart felt cold. After I let go, where do I hold the halberd?

There was no such stance.

Memories faded. Yu Han flailed randomly.

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“Fuck! Get off!” He kicked another away, then swung his halberd with one hand.

The blade hit this time. The downward momentum was enough to cleave a creature in two.

It raised a gurgling sound, then stopped moving.

Pure Qi +1

So Pure Qi really does come from killing! Yu Han’s eyes lit up. A creature was about to bypass him, towards Huang Niuniu, who was a sitting duck.

He kicked out, barely stunning it. But four more took the chance to gnaw at his armour.

Each tackle felt like he was hit by a charging dog. The fangs and claws couldn’t pierce the Coveralls, but the leather was already scarred.

How long would it last?

A fatter creature at the back halted. Its belly expanded, then a harrowing growl echoed out.

Lifeforce -23

The nausea this time was worse. Yu Han held in a retch. It felt as if the ground under his feet had tilted.

One of the four creatures climbed up his torso. It jumped, aiming its claw towards his head.

Yu Han saw doubles. He could barely keep balance, let alone dodge.

Turn the head! Protect the eye—

A resounding crack blasted the creature into the air. Another impact hit Yu Han’s thigh, knocking away the creature that had bitten into the leather.

Lifeforce -3

“I-I can fight!” Huang Niuniu said. “I’ll kill them!”

“Stop hitting me!”

“S-Sorry.”

The silken ribbons danced, the whip inside them echoing one hit after another. This time, she didn’t aim for the creatures on Yu Han, but the ones surrounding them. As her arms moved, it left streams of neon light in their wake.

“Aaaah!” Soon, her calculated strikes were replaced by wild flailing. She spun the ribbon whips around, barely avoiding hitting herself and Yu Han.

The long lines of violence whirled around them. The ribbon whips had wider coverage, snapping like thick cords and repelling the creatures.

As she whipped around, Huang Niuniu kept screaming like a madwoman. Each time her ribbon whips landed, she would shout, “Get away! Stay back!” and similar exclamations.

Her luminescence was still there. It didn’t seem to do much other than create a spectacle. Blue, green, red, and the other colours of the rainbow in different hues and values. It was as if she was a light engineer, creating a neon piece for the Fête des Lumières in Leon. Or rather, she herself was the art piece, a whirling human of leaking glows randomly brandishing two makeshift ribbon whips.

Her technique aside, it gave Yu Han the chance to get into stance again. The offensive variation, starting with Stone Cutting Chop!

The halberd sliced the air, then bisected one of the creatures from neck to hip.

Pure Qi +1

Heavy Ox Swing!

Using the inertia, he planted one foot forward and twisted his body.

It separated two more creatures in half.

Pure Qi +2

“Watch out!” Huang Niuniu shouted. Yu Han randomly jumped away and dodged a creature coming from behind, but was hit by Huang Niuniu’s whip.

Lifeforce -11

“Hey!”

“Sorry…”

She let go of one ribbon whip and snaked the other at a creature that was mid-leap. The ribbon whip coiled around the creature’s torso.

With the loudest shout of the night, Huang Niuniu spun the whip like a sling. The creature flew into the night sky with a fading screech.

“That’s dangerous,” Wen Liujie said as the screech stopped. “Don’t let them escape.”

“Try to herd the remaining ones toward my halberd.” Yu Han moved from one stance to another. Most of them missed, but straightforwardly keeping the variation kept him in flow.

“Get back. Go that way. No, not that—Listen to me!” Huang Niuniu’s frustrated voice echoed. With each snap of the ribbon whip, she would corral the creatures together.

“Ox Horn Pierce!” Yu Han shouted, his halberd going straight through three of the creatures. But now they were stuck on the blade. “Damn it.” Yu Han pulled the halberd back and kicked the oozing corpses loose.

“I did it!” Huang Niuniu cheered. Her glow intensified. Yu Han turned his head just in time to see her choke one of the creatures with her ribbon whip.

Yu Han joined the fray again.

The fight continued, and with one final shout, Huang Niuniu smashed the final creature on the ground with a slinging whip. It burst into bits and pieces.

Huang Niuniu collapsed to her knees again. “Are we done?” she asked, gasping and wheezing. Her light rose and fell with her breath.

“I don’t know,” Yu Han said. He wanted to lie down, sleep for the night, but he kept himself standing. “So you glow?”

“It’s a useless bloodline art. Not even bright enough to blind people.”

“It looked pretty.”

“So are you saying I’m just a pretty face?” Huang Niuniu glared with red light. Literally.

“No one said anything about face.”

“You snail.” Huang Niuniu huffed and turned away.

A clap sounded.

“Great work. Not the best fight, but for rookies, it’s good enough.” Wen Liujie walked over, crouching above the corpse of one of the creatures that Yu Han killed.

“You stinking, dog-bedding, sister-sucking—” Huang Niuniu let out a barrage of curses, only stopping when Yu Han thwacked the back of her helmet. It was as if someone flicked a switch, and the light show abruptly ceased.

“I hate you!” she shouted at Wen Liujie, then removed her helmet.

Her face was wet with sweat, hair sticking to her temples, nose, ears, and lips. She looked like she had just run a marathon in the sewers.

She keeled over and vomited.

“You need to get used to this, Junior Sister,” Wen Liujie said. “These Filth Eating Ghouls are the weakest of the bunch. But look here.” He held up a button-sized rock. It was deep purple, with patches of green and yellow. “You get to keep this.”

He tossed it to Yu Han. “A Monster Core. About ten for a Spirit Stone. This cleanup, you got fifteen. Not a bad day’s work, is it?”

Yu Han removed his helmet.

“Better keep it on, Junior Brother. We go down the hatch next—”

Yu Han vomited too.

“You’ll get used to it,” Wen Liujie said.

Fifteen minutes later, after copious amounts of water and more retching, Yu Han and Huang Niuniu stood in front of the hatchway.

“The well’s open,” Wen Liujie said. “Now the boring part.”

The older man put the lantern on a hook by the hatch. He brought out two stones and tapped them together. One of them glowed.

“Use another light source.” He looked at Huang Niuniu, who looked away biting her lips. “Never bring fire in the tanks,” he warned. “Or it’ll go boom.”

Yu Han shivered. Of course, there’d be a methane explosion. I wonder if there’s a way to extract the biogas though?

Wen Liujie led the way down. “The stairs are slippery,” he said, tightening the latches on the three shovels at his waist.

With each of Yu Han’s steps, something gooey would slip out under his feet. He kept a palm on the nearby wall. It was filled with yellowish slime and other unidentifiable matter. A shiver ran up his spine.

Don’t think about it.

“I think I stepped on poop,” Huang Niuniu said. She’d been crying for a while now.

“Don’t think about it,” he whispered.

“I touched snot,” she whimpered.

They reached the bottom, and Wen Liujie hung the lantern on a hook on the wall.

The underground space was cylindrical too. There was a cesspool filled with filth, with sticks poking out of the waste here and there. A bunch of holes opened up above it on the opposite wall, depositing indescribable matter into it.

From above, the moonlight shone through the well hole. A large bucket, twice as big as Yu Han, was attached to it.

Wen Liujie grabbed the bucket and pulled it down, placing it on the stone ground by the waste pool. After some tinkering, one side of the bucket fell down like a sled.

Wen Liujie stood and turned towards them.

“Now what?” Yu Han asked.

“Now we shovel,” Wen Liujie said.

“I hate you,” Huang Niuniu replied. The tips of her hair glowed.