Full Power

Duan Yuxian solemnly drew a spirit sword from her guitar bag. "Please advise." The blade was three feet long, with two phoenixes carved along both sides of the spine that seemed to come alive beneath the moonlight. Another phoenix was engraved on the hilt, its open beak gripping the guard. "Wait, wait, wait! What are you doing?" Zhou You hastily called a halt. Looking at her posture, he wouldn't be surprised if she shouted "Halt, thief!" and slashed right at him the next second. "Experiencing your spell, of course. Why? Is your spell not offensive?" Zhou You recalled the Poverty Ghost's ability. "Uh, strictly speaking, it's not offensive. Probably not." "All right." Duan Yuxian nodded and sheathed the spirit sword back into the guitar bag. Zhou You gathered himself, focused his mind, and locked eyes with Duan Yuxian. Poverty Ghost ability, activate! "Done," Zhou You said, leaving Duan Yuxian thoroughly bewildered. *Done? What was done? What did you just do besides stare at me?* *Ding.* Duan Yuxian's phone chimed with a text message. Prompted by Zhou You's look, she pulled out her phone. The notification alerted her to a deduction made through a travel app. She opened it up. "I booked a luxury two-day tour of Mount Wudang?!" Has the world gone mad? The True Martial Great Hall was right on Mount Wudang! She had just managed to escape with great difficulty—why on earth would she go back? And did she even need a tour group? Could any tour guide know the place better than her? Wait, who booked a tour group for her? Duan Yuxian looked at Zhou You, her mouth slightly agape in shock. "This is your spell?" Forcibly signing her up for a tour group? No wonder Su Tingxue had described it as a "bizarre spell." It really was bizarre, practically unheard of. "It can make purchases on other apps too?" Zhou You was equally surprised. He had assumed the Poverty Ghost's ability only worked on Taobao. It seemed his mastery over the Poverty Ghost's abilities still had plenty of room to grow. How had he pulled that off? From what she could tell, Zhou You's cultivation attainment wasn't as high as hers, yet she hadn't detected a single trace of him casting the spell. She loved combat and possessed an exceptionally keen perception of spells. Even cultivators in the same cultivation realm as her couldn't cast a spell without her sensing it. Fascinating. Duan Yuxian grew intrigued. Su Tingxue was really holding out on her, keeping such an entertaining person all to herself. Duan Yuxian tapped to cancel the order, but the cancellation button wouldn't respond. No matter how many times she tapped, nothing happened. "Let me revoke the spell. Try it now," Zhou You said. Duan Yuxian tapped again, and sure enough, the order was canceled, the tour fee refunded to the original payment method. Duan Yuxian found the spell more and more remarkable. "Cast it on me again." Zhou You was more than happy to oblige. Opportunities to practice this spell were few and far between, so now that one had presented itself, why not go another round? Zhou You stared at Duan Yuxian and activated the Poverty Ghost ability. This time Duan Yuxian was fully prepared, staring right into Zhou You's eyes, closely tracking his every move. The phone chimed with a payment notification. Duan Yuxian froze. She still hadn't noticed a thing! She checked her phone. It wasn't a tour group this time. "I bought a high-speed train ticket from Chang'an to Mount Wudang leaving at six tomorrow morning... and it's business class?!" Go back to Mount Wudang tomorrow? Forget business class—she wouldn't go back even if they made her the train conductor! Zhou You revoked the spell. Duan Yuxian selected refund, but because there were less than twenty-four hours before departure, a twenty-percent cancellation fee was deducted, refunding only eighty percent of the ticket price. Zhou You had an epiphany. *It can do that too?* It looked like the Poverty Ghost skill had quite a few tricks up its sleeve. "I don't believe this." Duan Yuxian's competitive spirit flared. Losing a bit of money was no big deal. The main issue was that twice in a row, she hadn't detected how the spell was cast at all, falling victim without even realizing it. Even with her full attention focused, she couldn't catch it. Nobody in the younger generation had ever achieved something like this. "Again! This time, unleash the spell with full power!" Duan Yuxian said seriously. If he went all out, the disturbance would be greater, and she'd be able to detect it. "Are you sure?" Zhou You blinked. He had only ever tested the waters with this move and had never used it at full power, worried that some uncontrollable accident might happen. "Don't worry, a woman of my word never backs down!" Duan Yuxian said resolutely. Going back on her word would humiliate the True Martial Great Hall. Since she put it that way, continuing to demur would only make Zhou You look indecisive. "All right." Zhou You stared at Duan Yuxian, unleashing the Poverty Ghost ability with full power! *Ding.* The text chime sounded once more. Duan Yuxian unlocked her phone in disbelief. Still completely undetectable! This time, it was a purchase on Taobao. "Wait a second... how many zeroes is that? One, two, three, four, five, six..." "I bought one million copies of 'Einstein's Brain' for ten cents each?!" Shocked, Duan Yuxian counted over and over, double-checking several times until she was sure her eyes weren't playing tricks on her. Exactly one million copies. Realizing something, she frantically checked her bank balance. This time there were fewer zeroes—no need to count, just one. Balance: 0. One hundred thousand yuan, gone. That was her living expenses for an entire semester! Zhou You was also startled. "I revoked the spell! Hurry up and cancel the order!" "Right, right!" Duan Yuxian snapped out of her stupor and scrambled for the refund button, but then caught sight of something on the screen. She turned her head stiffly toward him. Zhou You had never seen such sheer despair in anyone's eyes. "The seller dispatched it... and my phone automatically clicked 'Confirm Receipt.'" This type of virtual good was not eligible for the seven-day no-reason return policy. Duan Yuxian's mind went completely blank. Her master's hundred thousand yuan for living expenses was truly gone. School hadn't even started, and her money had already vanished into thin air. No, skipping stones across water at least made a splash. This hadn't even left a ripple. "Give me my money back!" Duan Yuxian grabbed Zhou You by the collar, gnashing her teeth as furious flames blazed in her beautiful eyes. What kind of damned spell was this?! Not a single cent of her living expenses was left! Being this close to Duan Yuxian for the first time, Zhou You caught a pleasant fragrance, likely from her shampoo. He threw up his hands in surrender, explaining helplessly: "Listen... uh, fellow Daoist, I'm not very experienced with this spell. It wasn't on purpose, and there's nothing I can do about this either." Duan Yuxian glared into Zhou You's eyes for a moment before dejectedly letting go of his collar. It really wasn't his fault. Now that things had come to this, she had to find a solution. Duan Yuxian weighed her options for a long time, agonizing over them, before finally gritting her teeth and dialing her master. The phone rang for five seconds before connecting. In the sweetest voice she could muster, she asked, "Master, are you busy?" The Hall Master pulled his phone slightly away from his ear. It was the first time his dear disciple had ever spoken to him in such a tone. What was going on? Was she possessed? "Not busy." "Here's the thing. I accidentally spent a hundred thousand yuan just now. Could you transfer me another hundred thousand?" "Accidentally spent a hundred thousand? What did you buy?" "I..." Duan Yuxian opened her mouth, only to realize she had no idea what to say. Tell her master that she bought one million copies of Einstein's brain? Wouldn't her master suspect there was something wrong with her own brain, fly over, and haul her right back to the True Martial Great Hall? The Hall Master seemed to recall something and asked casually, "Right, isn't today the day you spar with that Tingxue girl? How did it go?" "It... it was fine. Never mind, it's nothing!" Duan Yuxian broke out in a cold sweat and hung up guiltily. She had lied to her master about fighting today; their battle wasn't scheduled until four days from now. There was no help coming from her master. Facing empty pockets for the first time in her life, what was she supposed to do? Duan Yuxian took deep breaths, employing the True Martial Great Hall's breathing technique to force herself to calm down, face reality, and sort through her circumstances. That hundred thousand yuan was her living expenses for the entire semester. Now that it was gone, she'd have to earn it herself. There was still a month before university started. Where was she going to live for this month? Turn to Su Tingxue? Her family's villa had plenty of rooms, more than enough, but how could she explain what happened? That she had sneaked off to find someone from the Carefree Sect and ended up flat broke? Forget it, going to her was out of the question—it was simply too humiliating. Borrow money from her senior brothers and sisters? No, word might reach her master's ears. "You have to take responsibility for me!" Duan Yuxian glared viciously at Zhou You. "M-Me?" Zhou You was dumbfounded. How could he take responsibility? The money was gone for good. "Find me a free place to stay." The only silver lining was that checkout at the esports hotel wasn't until tomorrow, and she hadn't eaten her fried skewers yet. She wouldn't starve tonight, and she had a roof over her head. But tomorrow night, she'd be out on the streets. The top priority was resolving where she would sleep. Zhou You was thoroughly helpless. How was he supposed to know where she could stay for free? Under a bridge? A library? A shopping mall? Or his house? Come to think of it, there actually was a place. Zhou You gave it serious thought and offered a sincere suggestion: "It just so happens I have a tent at home that hasn't been used in a long time. How about you pitch a tent on my roof?" "I can get you a pillow and blankets." He had all that at home. "My place has internet. You can connect to Wi-Fi up on the roof." Duan Yuxian was silent for a long time. Finally, she asked slowly: "Tell me your Wi-Fi password."