Maybe it really was his brain growing, because Chen Qing slept clear through to noon.
Chen Man had already left for school on his own.
After eating, Chen Qing went to report to the Ghost-Control Army's Fifth Squad.
"Chen Qing, welcome!"
Han Yuan thumped his right fist to his left chest in the squad salute.
Chen Qing returned it the same way.
"You may already know this, but let me introduce our squad anyway."
"The Ghost-Control Army, the Ghost-Slaying Squad, and the Martial School make up the three great cultivation systems now."
"Of them, the Ghost-Control Army is chiefly responsible for defense—the largest in number, the foundation of all Great Tang today."
"The Ghost-Slaying Squad is more dangerous. They're a mobile force, in charge of decapitation strikes and reconnaissance—think of them as special forces, the sharpest fighting strength."
"The Martial School gathers most of those with talent who aren't suited to killing—method refinement, weapons development, and so on. The army's standard weapon, the Kunwu Saber, for instance, was developed by the Martial School."
Chen Qing knew all this, of course.
The Ghost-Slaying Squad had the best treatment, but Chen Qing had to look after Chen Man, so campaigning far and wide was out of the question for him.
"You seem to know the Ghost-Control Army pretty well. Do you know our three weapons?"
"The Kunwu Saber, the Kunlun Crossbow, and the gun."
Chen Qing didn't hesitate. "I choose the Kunwu Saber."
"Choosing a weapon is as good as choosing your later assignment."
"I know."
The Kunwu Saber was for close combat.
The Kunlun Crossbow was support—short-to-mid-range sniping.
The gun was support—long-range sniping.
Han Yuan nodded.
"Let's run a proper talent test, then get you your gear. Grade A talents usually have their own opportunities, so we won't force you to stay with the squad. And you?"
"I'd like to study with the squad for a few days first."
He had to learn the Ghost-Pact Art—the Black Prison Ghost-Pact Art most of all.
"He Qiang, take Chen Qing to test his talent."
Soon, a wiry, sturdy man came over.
Very talkative—the moment he saw Chen Qing, he was off.
"Name's He Qiang. Love fishing."
"My family used to slaughter pigs. You ever slaughtered a pig?"
"Captain says you're a Grade S talent. Be a shame not to put a talent like that in the Ghost-Slaying Squad."
"What's it feel like, being a Grade S?"
Chatting the whole way, they arrived somewhere... a bit like a hospital's radiology department.
Along one wall was a big glass panel; behind it, two people in white coats and Han Yuan stood watching.
In the middle was a thing like an electric chair, palm-shaped hollows in the armrests—you sat down and placed your hands in them.
Then they clamped a lot of wired clips onto his hands and feet, and fitted a helmet trailing a bundle of wires.
"It's been a very, very long time since we had a Grade S recruit in the squad."
"Any we did get, the Ghost-Slaying Squad snatched away."
"Let's hope this Grade S can stay here."
He Qiang confirmed everything was in order, flashed an OK sign at the people behind the glass, and grinned slyly:
"Ready to have your soul leave your body?"
Chen Qing nodded.
Hmmm—
A soft hum.
His whole body jolted!
His head especially—as if something were tugging at it from across space.
It really did feel like his soul was leaving his body.
The numbers on the computer display flickered wildly, then abruptly stopped.
At the end of a mass of figures was a small line of text:
Grade: SS.
The doctor's jaw dropped. "Double-S!"
"Grade SS!"
"That's the same grade as you, Captain!"
Han Yuan's mouth fell open too, and he suddenly said in a low voice, "It's an error! Change it back to Grade S!"
"Huh?"
"I said change it, so change it! I still need a vice-captain!"
"Uh..."
"Believe me, I'll beat you?"
"Okay..."
They understood why, of course.
If the Ghost-Slaying Squad found out, they'd surely take the man away.
"But Captain, the machine keeps a record!"
"By the time they find out, my personal charm will have Chen Qing so hooked you couldn't chase him off."
"..."
He Qiang and Chen Qing soon saw the result too.
Sure enough, a genuine Grade S.
"Congratulations, Chen Qing. A slight improvement over last time, even," Han Yuan smiled.
The two doctors glanced at each other and said nothing.
It really did go up a bit, Chen Qing thought.
He'd felt it back when he was collecting the takeout with the pagoda.
After a moment's thought, he asked Han Yuan, "Captain, my head's been itching these past couple of days... hmm, how do I put it..."
"It's like... it feels like my brain's about to grow something."
"Is that normal?"
At those words, Han Yuan, both doctors, and He Qiang all froze.
"Congratulations..."
He Qiang didn't get to finish.
Han Yuan suddenly booted him flying.
He Qiang sailed a good stretch and shut his mouth.
Han Yuan's tone turned grave: "Our new brother may have a brain lesion! And you're still trying to be a smartass?"
He Qiang: "..."
"Chen Qing, wait here a moment."
Han Yuan pulled the three of them into the glass room.
"Is—is—is he about to awaken?"
"Boss! Is he about to awaken?!"
"Shut up!"
Han Yuan rubbed his hair, his face like a mask of agony.
"Finally get a good seedling, and he's about to awaken!"
"Now there's no keeping him!"
He wrestled with it a while, then snarled, "Change it! Change it to Grade A for me!"
"Huh?"
"Boss, that's getting a little shady."
"That's not right, man!"
"His treatment gets cut by more than half!"
"Bullshit! You think I'd let him lose out? I'll make it up double—no, quadruple, eightfold! Change it! Believe I'll beat you?"
"Tsk tsk. We're calling you Shady Captain from now on."
"Lawless~ Utter contempt for the law~"
He Qiang wanted to needle him a couple more lines, and got kicked away again.
"Not one of you is any use. If I go and die a hero, some airdropped captain would be a slap in my face, wouldn't it?" Han Yuan raged. "We need a reserve captain, understand?!"
When he came back to Chen Qing, his face was somewhat heavy.
"There's a mind-force tumor in your head, absorbing your mind-force. So your correct grade is A."
"A mind-force tumor?"
"This thing will slowly be digested as you cultivate. Don't worry."
Chen Qing blanked.
Something about it reeked of the strange, but the "brain about to grow" sensation was real and unmistakable.
Maybe it genuinely did have an effect.
"Come on, let's go pick out a cultivation method first. What method do you want?"
At the mention of that, Chen Qing's thoughts snapped elsewhere at once.
The Black Prison Ghost-Pact Art!
This he had to get—but he couldn't say so aloud.
Because the thing was classified, and he had no way to explain how he knew it existed.
By rights He Qiang was to lead the way from here, but Han Yuan seemed very enthusiastic and guided him personally.
They came to the archive hall... call it that, anyway.
It was actually a heavily secured room, filled with rows of locked black boxes.
Some were especially long, some thick and heavy, some very small.
The cultivation methods were kept in these black boxes too.
"You're Grade A, so you can choose two Grade-A items. Pick whatever you like."
Each black box bore a metal plate with a description of the item inside:
Item Name: Ghost-Pact Art
Category: Cultivation Method
Grade: B
Danger Level: None
Notes: Can form a pact with a ghost. A must-have for Ghost Masters.
Item Name: High-Precision Tactical Rifle (silver rounds)
Category: Weapon
Grade: B
Danger Level: None
Notes: Loads special rounds; long-range lethality against ghost leaders.
Item Name: Blood-Red Robe
Category: Relic
Grade: S
Danger Level: None
Notes: Dropped after slaying a female ghost; extremely strong defense against ghosts.
Chen Qing looked them over one by one. The relics were all high-grade—basically S and above.
His own Demon-Suppressing Pagoda and Zhong Kui painting, of course, had to be SSS-grade at least.
Cap it at ten S's, and they'd have ten S's; cap it at a hundred S's, and they'd have a hundred.
That's how top-tier they were!
"Pity. If you were Grade S, you could pick this Blood-Red Robe."
He Qiang and the two doctors looked at Han Yuan, contempt undisguised in their eyes.
"Ahem." Han Yuan gave a dry cough. "Er, in keeping with our fine tradition of looking after recruits, you may choose one more SS-grade item. The contribution points come off my tab."
"Contribution points?"
"You earn them completing missions. Redeem them for money, or for rewards. If what you want isn't here, you can even apply to the upper-level storehouse."
"Oh~"
Chen Qing nodded, and looked further down the row.
Item Name: Black Prison Ghost-Pact Art
Category: Cultivation Method
Grade: SS
Danger Level: ★★
Notes: A dangerous advanced form of the Ghost-Pact Art. Once used, it seals the ghost into the soul domain; it can only be released when a single soul-wavelength remains.
(Note: one party dies, leaving only the other. Or the ghost submits to the human, and the two soul-wavelengths unify.)
(Note 2: This method is exceedingly overbearing—a you-die-or-I-die method. Choose with care.)
"Captain, I want this one."
Han Yuan's face changed.