The past few days of our journey has been proceeding smoothly as Aurelia and I teach Wanjing a few things in regards to combat as well as the rest of Grauntia outside of Shengdi. In return, we are able to have a delicious meal whenever we please. Although this requires us to stock up on spices and herbs whenever we pass through a village, it isn't much trouble since Wanjing pays for it, sometimes though, we get things for free as people continually mistake me and Lia for members of the Imperial family.
Apparently, we had crossed the provincial border at some point and entered the Ji Province. We were a little confused since we had only been through a few dozen small villages without ever approaching one of the large cities. But Wanjing said that she had led us on the road that would take us directly to Shiping, the Capital of the Ji Province. Since I wanted to know more about the ruins in the Ji Province, Wanjing thought that taking a direct route to Shiping would be best for gathering information. Lia and Aurelia had been a little disappointed to hear that we skipped over a few cities, but I for one am glad we can get straight down to business.
After a few more days, just before we arrive at Shiping, we end up setting up a small camp by the side of the road since Wanjing hadn't taken into account our fast pace.
"I think I might have to rework our future travel plans. Your walking speed is far faster than I had thought it would be, we're actually three days ahead of my original schedule. Thanks for carrying me, Aurelia, I'd have a hard time keeping up otherwise," Wanjing says, taking a seat by the campfire.
"Not a problem, but why don't you address me a teacher as you do for Cordelia?"
"Because the only thing I really learn from is stuff about the outside world. Teacher on the other hand not only does that but also helps with my physical training along with providing some good life advice. Like if I do help someone, make sure to get as many benefits from them as I possibly can while also acting humble to give a good impression."
"I'm too late, you've already been led astray..." Aurelia says.
"Putting that aside for a moment, have you learned how to use Inspect?" I ask.
"Yep, I think I've gotten the hang of it, I can even see more of my own status now too. I wonder why such a useful skill hasn't been developed popularised here in Shengdi? Oh, I have a question, when I unlocked the ability to use Inspect, something called Soul Skills appeared on my status as well as something called 'Blood of the Taotie', when I try and look into it the System gives me a vague answer only saying the power is dormant."
"Let me have a look at your status, I might be able to find something out," Aurelia says.
"Ok, but how do I do that?" Wanjing asks.
"I'm going to use my own inspection skill on you, it will give you a slight chilling sensation but don't reject it, instead try to accept it."
Soon after taking a look for herself, Aurelia continues, "this basically means you are of a heritage that descends from whatever a Taotie is and you can fully access this bloodline of yours if certain conditions are met, granting you a new set of abilities. From the looks of it, the purity of your bloodline is relatively high, only a few generations back."
"And just what are those conditions and what are those abilities, is what I want to ask, but I'm not sure how I feel knowing I descend from a Taotie."
"Why's that? Seems like it would be a good way to get a lot of strength quickly. What is it about the Taotie that makes you hesitate?" I ask.
"You probably wouldn't know as outsiders, but the Taotie is known as a disastrous beast. They are gluttons with an appetite for humans, but it's not the body the consume, rather, the Taotie feeds upon the qi that is held within the body. It's said that after consuming a certain amount of qi, the Taotie can assume a human form. I've heard they also tend to avoid those who aren't human, presumably because their Qi doesn't taste as good, but no one knows for sure."
"Qi? What's that?" Aurelia asks.
"If I'm not mistaken, it's the energy that dwells within the body, is that right?" I ask.
"You're not necessarily wrong, but I wouldn't exactly say your right," Wanjing says.
"Forget about that for now, tell me about their appearance?" Lia asks, taking out a quill, ink, and parchment from her bag.
"I've never seen one personally, but from the pictures I've seen and the descriptions I've heard, they could probably be mistaken for a large discoloured tiger from behind and at a distance. Two large fangs hang from its mouth. There is a single horn that protrudes out from its forehead. They're also intelligent and capable of communicating with us."
"I see... so something like this," Lia says as she reveals a quick sketch based on Wanjing's descriptions."
"That's actually pretty close to the pictures I've seen before. Hmm... the more that I think about this the stranger it seems."
"About what?" I ask.
"Just what was my ancestor thinking? How in the world did they get the idea to get in bed with something as dangerous as a Taotie? Just what kind of crazy fetish did they have?"
"I kind of regret asking now..."
"So what kind of benefits do I get for awakening this bloodline and what are the conditions for it?"
"The first condition is rather straightforward and probably what you'd expect after hearing that description, to feed on the qi of humans. The second one seems to be a little more troublesome, absorb the essence of another Taotie by either killing one or finding the bones of one. But I thought you were against this." Aurelia says.
"More like I was just surprised out the weird ideas of my ancestor. As long as it gives me the strength to protect myself as I travel, I'll make use of it, so what are the benefits and how do I actually go about on consuming qi and can I take some of yours, Aurelia?"
"You will be able to take on the form of a Taotie and use any ability they would normally have. You will be considered a monster by the System, similar to Cordelia, and your future growth will no longer be a humanoid with a class but as a monster. As for how to consume qi, I wouldn't know, you'll just have to figure it out as you go. Also, I'm not on the menu nor am I fully human so I don't think I would count towards your goal."
"So I'll have to figure it out myself, huh. For now, I'll just sleep on it."
"Sleep... now that you mention it, it's getting pretty late. I'll keep watch like usual, the rest of you rest up, I want to know where these ruins are by the end of the day tomorrow."