This ability looks very much like something from a game, but Brian Bolton is more inclined to see it as a kind of mutant power.

Because this ability didn’t just appear out of nowhere from the start, but gradually developed as he learned more about the outside world and gathered more information.

Names, life, skills—all came about this way.

Moreover, this world doesn’t feel like a game, because it’s almost excessively real.

After more than ten days of thinking, analyzing, collecting data, and testing, Brian Bolton discovered that the only way to increase attributes is by eating.

The better he eats, the more nutritious the food, the faster he accumulates attribute points.

Through testing, he had already gained one attribute point, which he added to his life.

That’s why his life could increase from the original 7-8 to 8-9.

In Qinghe Palace, where the average life of ordinary Daoists is 8-9, Brian Bolton had finally reached the average level.

Passing through the corridor, he quickly found a small room.

The room was a wooden hut built separately at the entrance of the corridor, filled with all kinds of letters and packages, guarded by an old Daoist with half-closed eyes.

The old Daoist leaned against the wall by the door, smoking a long-stemmed pipe.

“Senior Brother Harris, I’m here to pick up my letter.”

Brian Bolton cupped his fists in greeting.

Old Xu reached behind him with a swish, pulled out a package, opened it, and took out a somewhat rough, pale yellow envelope.

Brian Bolton took it, cupped his fists again, and turned to walk toward the dormitory area where the disciples lived.

As he walked, he tore open the wax seal on the envelope and pulled out the letter.

There was only a single small line of text in the letter, along with a small-denomination banknote.

On it was the number one hundred wen.

The sender was Xiaolongju, a brothel.

Chapter 2 Qinghe Palace (Part 2)

Brothels in Great Ling are not just places for men and women to seek pleasure; more often, they host various performances like singing and variety shows.

A well-run brothel can earn a high income just from performances.

Brian Bolton himself hadn’t been awake for long, so naturally he didn’t have such skills.

This was income earned by his predecessor through writing songs.

He touched the one hundred wen banknote, which was printed with complex manufacturer names, anti-counterfeiting marks, and the official name decreed by the Great Ling Emperor: Lingyuan Circulating Treasure Note.

Carefully putting away the banknote, Brian Bolton folded the letter and placed it in the inner pocket of his clothes.

The more money he saved, the better his days at Qinghe Palace would be.

Recently, prices at the foot of the mountain had risen again—even coarse rice now cost twenty wen per jin.

If he used this one hundred wen just to improve his living conditions, it really wouldn’t go far.

But since food and lodging at Qinghe Palace were free, he could use the one hundred wen to buy meat and eggs to nourish himself, and maybe even gain some attributes.

When the time came, he’d find a way to get the status of a practicing disciple, so he could openly test the effects of attribute-enhancing skills. As he walked forward, Brian Bolton suddenly heard, from a distance ahead and to the right, outside the corridor by the training ground, some voices faintly drifting over.

“.When did they go back?

I thought only Charles Thompson was sent back.”

A somewhat anxious young male voice said.

He sounded only a little over twenty years old.

“Last night, those arranged to go down the mountain included Daniel Brooks, Peter Bolton as well. There’s no need for so many menial disciples on the mountain, so they were sent away too.”

Another female Daoist sighed.

“If someone in your family joins the Daoist registry, you can avoid a lot of government taxes and even military conscription, so even for menial work, there are plenty of people who want to send someone up here.

Anyway, as long as you send someone from your family who isn’t essential, you can enjoy a lot of benefits. Who wouldn’t want that?”

The female Daoist continued.

“Sigh, then how do you get to stay?”

The male Daoist asked.

“Either pay money, or have someone to look after you,” the female Daoist sighed.

“If you get kicked off the mountain, you definitely can’t go home. We’re fourth-class people after all.” Brian Bolton didn’t keep listening, but his heart tightened.

Great Ling divides its people into ten classes by profession: officials, clerks, monks, Daoists, doctors, artisans, craftsmen, prostitutes, scholars, beggars.

At the same time, people are divided into four classes by ethnicity: Ling people, Western Hu, Northerners, Barbarians.

Qinghe Palace is in the south, and most of the menial disciples are actually Barbarians. Brian Bolton was originally a Northerner, but after he and his sister drifted to Pingyu Road, they were also classified as Barbarians.

Here, Pingyu Road covers an area equivalent to a large province in his previous life.

He kept silent, calmly walking past the two Daoists. They didn’t pay him any attention, still thinking about how to stay.

After passing them, Brian Bolton could still faintly hear their voices behind him.

Being kicked off the mountain and removed from the Daoist registry is a troublesome thing.

In Great Ling, you can’t just change your profession as you wish—you have to apply to the government, or else you’re considered an illegal worker and your income is extremely low.

Without government certification, no matter how skilled you are, you can only earn a pittance.

And as fourth-class Barbarians, many professions are off-limits in Great Ling. Once kicked off the mountain, without tax breaks or exemption from conscription, even a single government draft for military service could destroy a family.

Even if you manage to scrape by, with all the taxes piling up, fourth-class Barbarians can instantly find it hard to even get enough to eat.

But for now, staying on the mountain meant free food and lodging, and many families could live in comfort because of it.