According to the SEIU's trial release of the "Classification and Rating of Spirit Items," spirit items are categorized by both their destructive potential and practical utility.
Items are first divided into two types: dangerous and non-dangerous spirit items. Then, based on their strength and usefulness, they are further classified as either key spirit items or regular spirit items.
All dangerous spirit items are automatically considered key items.
However, compared to non-dangerous ones, dangerous spirit items are far more tightly controlled. Even local SEIU units must submit formal applications to purchase them, and each use must be carefully logged.
Elite Masters are also forbidden from conducting private transactions involving dangerous spirit items.
He Zhen's Tiger-Bear Embroidered Fan, Yin Chunan's Lanting Sword Calligraphy, Le Pengkun's Spiritbreaking Tang Blade, and Zhang Yunxi's Flaming Dragon Head all fall into the dangerous category.
These were not items Song Miaozhu could privately acquire.
Given their potential threat to public safety, the SEIU's strict control over these items made perfect sense. Knowing they were only in the hands of the SEIU or the original creators, with all uses officially recorded, gave Song Miaozhu a reassuring sense of security.
After watching short videos posted by the creators themselves demonstrating how these items worked, she wasn't even sure her paper soldiers could withstand their power. There was no doubt about it. These were true weapons, worthy of the dangerous label.
The remaining key items, however, were a different story. Song Miaozhu had managed to trade for all of them the day before.
Aside from Yuan Liben's Blue-and-White Spirit Dew Vase, the stone table in front of her now displayed Xie Wushuang's Spring Rain Painting, Gong Anyan's Silver Bangle of the Miao Tribe, Wu Qingfeng's Thousand-Eyed Bodhi Beads, and Yu Lichuan's Xiezhi Seal and Peace Amulet.
The Spring Rain Painting was an ink wash depicting the traditional Chinese solar term "Grain Rain." Light ink strokes conveyed the gentle warmth of spring rain. Distant mountains were shrouded in mist, their grayish hues contrasting with the vibrant greens of the foreground.
At the center of the piece, farmers wearing bamboo hats and straw capes bent over to transplant seedlings or guided oxen through the muddy fields.
The water's surface reflected the sky, and raindrops sent ripples across ponds. In the distance, white-walled, blue-tiled houses dotted a quiet village. Cooking smoke merged with the rainy haze as children dashed down paths with lotus leaves over their heads. Closer up, one could see the rain-dampened hems of farmers' clothing and tadpoles gliding through flooded paddies.
The more Song Miaozhu looked at it, the more fascinating it became. Though she had only learned the basics of traditional painting from her ghost instructors, she had seen her fair share of classical works. Her eye for art wasn't bad. Even if it wasn't a spirit item, this Spring Rain Painting would still be a superb piece of art.
Now, faint spiritual light shimmered across its surface. As she gazed at it, Song Miaozhu almost felt a cool breeze laced with mist brushing past her cheek. She tried injecting spiritual power into the painting. As the glow intensified, the rain depicted on the scroll seemed to seep into reality.
Drip.
Her face felt wet. She wiped it and found her fingertip damp with rain.
Above her, a fist-sized cloud had condensed.
She gently guided the small rain cloud with her spiritual power, moving it over to a clump of withering foxtail grass being teased by her kittens in the corner. As raindrops fell, the grass perked up before her eyes.
It even looked a bit thicker than before.
She hadn't used much power, so the rain didn't last long.
But the painting's ability still left her stunned.
She wasn't much of a grower herself, but there was one place this could really help: the bamboo forest on her mountain. With her growing interest in paper crafting techniques, she needed more and more bamboo strips. Every day, she had to carry a load of bamboo back up from the forest.
If this painting could accelerate the bamboo's growth, that would be a huge help. She also wondered if the bamboo could absorb some spiritual energy from the rain. After all, the cloud summoned by the painting carried a faint spiritual glow.
Song Miaozhu decided to take the Spring Rain Painting with her whenever she trained in the forest. A spiritual drizzle here and there certainly couldn't hurt.
Then there was Gong Anyan's Silver Bangle of the Miao Tribe, carved with a butterfly mother and a Miao dragon totem—symbols believed to call upon ancestral and nature spirits for protection. Tiny silver bells hung from it as well.
According to the official description in the SEIU's key item vault, the bangle could, when infused with spiritual power, expel illness and toxins from one's body. But just yesterday, Gong Anyan had mentioned she recently discovered a new use for it, one she had not yet reported to the SEIU.
Song Miaozhu turned to the black cat perched on the wall.
"Little Coal! Come here!"
The slightly chubby cat leapt down.
Placing him in her lap, Song Miaozhu poured spiritual energy into the bangle. Immediately, colored wisps of "qi" began to appear on Little Coal's body.
According to Master Gong, the colors corresponded to different physical conditions.
Gray, black, and purplish-black indicated illness or toxins. These the bangle could easily eliminate.
But Gong Anyan's recent experiments revealed it could also affect a new kind of qi: a soft, fleshy pink aura.
This, she said, was fertility qi. Or more precisely, reproductive qi.
It began to appear once the body was biologically ready to mate. The thicker the qi, the stronger the desire to mate and the higher the chances of pregnancy.
Both males and females had it.
For males, the qi was threadlike and could be passed during mating. In females, however, it gathered into visible clusters.
When that pink qi condensed from threads into a solid clump, it meant pregnancy.
Removing that qi could prevent pregnancy.
There was a clear pink glow near Little Coal's belly. Little Goldie and Little Snowball had it too.
Song Miaozhu had been debating whether or not to have them neutered. She couldn't say if spaying was for the pets' well-being or just for human convenience. But she could afford to care for more kittens. Now, though, she no longer hesitated.
Master Gong had said the bangle could only remove qi that harmed the body. Anything beneficial was unaffected. So far, only illness, toxins, and fertility qi could be purged.
That meant, in some sense, this "fertility qi" was a health burden.
Song Miaozhu had promised the ghost of a calico cat that she would take good care of its three children. Their well-being came first.
She channeled spiritual energy into the silver bangle and carefully removed the pink fertility qi from each of the three.
"Miaow~"
The fluffballs let out soft, contented cries, the strange restlessness that had been growing inside them now gone.