2: Chapter 2 Characteristics: Accomplices to Evil

The next day, morning.

Nie Ning yawned, following helplessly behind Lilith.

He had been practicing until very late last night, and for some reason, Lilith had dragged him out of bed early this morning.

The servants they encountered along the way all looked at Nie Ning with faces full of envy and jealousy.

As Lilith's follower, Nie Ning had been labeled a 'pretty boy' by this group because of his fair and clean appearance.

However, only Nie Ning knew that these people were still overestimating him.

While Lilith was a bit of a naive airhead, she was still a young lady from a wealthy family; how could she possibly fall for a servant?

Not to mention, Lilith's heart already belonged to someone else.

The reason she took him everywhere was simply because he was 'deaf and mute,' so naturally, he wouldn't gossip behind anyone's back.

Besides Nie Ning, Lilith had a personal maid of a similar age named Norma, who was a peak apprentice nearly reaching the level of an Elementary Knight.

...

Under Lilith's lead, the three of them boarded a carriage.

Nie Ning sat with the coachman, his gaze sweeping over the surrounding European-style architecture.

This world was similar to the industrial era of old Europe, having already invented gunpowder, steam engines, and simple applications of electricity—all epoch-making advancements.

And while Transcendents were powerful, they were beginning to decline in the torrent of the times.

The ultimate reason was the scarcity of resources; various heavenly treasures had gone extinct, leaving the Transcendents of old in a desperate situation with no way out.

Two years ago, Nie Ning had just transmigrated into this world. Taking advantage of the special treatment afforded to him as a deaf-mute, he had secretly learned the knight's cultivation methods within the manor.

But it wasn't until three months ago that he finally obtained the potion required to advance to an Elementary Knight.

The materials needed to make the potion were expensive and scarce, with almost no pharmacies in the city selling them. Nie Ning had risked his life and ultimately paid a great price to obtain it.

In Ska City, knights like Nie Ning were countless.

Yet most would spend their entire lives dying in frustration for want of a single potion; such was the consequence of extreme resource scarcity.

...

The carriage stopped in front of a restaurant.

Lerdas Hotel, one of the largest hotels in Ska City.

“Let’s go.”

Lilith lifted the curtain and stepped down from the carriage with Norma's assistance, her youthful face brimming with a happy smile.

Seeing this, Nie Ning shook his head inwardly. He didn't know what Lilith was thinking, meeting her little lover in such an unconcealed place.

With the capabilities of Lilith’s parents, they likely knew about her situation long ago.

However, that boy had delicate skin and an extraordinary temperament; even Nie Ning could see something was up. It was likely that Lilith's parents had other ideas.

Just as the three were about to enter, Nie Ning suddenly frowned and looked toward the alley beside them.

‘Malice Perception’ had been triggered!

And unlike the feeling of encountering small-time thugs in the past, the malice perceived this time was particularly obvious!

Seeing Nie Ning standing motionless, Lilith looked curiously in the direction of his gaze.

But there was no one there, only some flowers and grass growing in the corner.

As if thinking of something, Lilith’s eyes filled with pity, and she began to gesture in front of Nie Ning with clumsy sign language.

Nie Ning found it a headache to watch, but he could more or less understand Lilith's meaning.

To summarize: 'Flowers and grass aren't for eating. I'll take you to eat something good in a bit.'

Nie Ning felt deeply helpless at this.

Because of 'Supernatural Adaptability,' Nie Ning used to find those flowers and plants to eat whenever he had nothing to do, hoping to gain some useful traits from them.

But in the eyes of Lilith and the others, Nie Ning had become a mentally unstable deaf-mute.

Nie Ning gestured twice to indicate he wouldn't eat the grass, which finally stopped Lilith from dwelling on the matter.

However, this drew hostility from Norma.

In her view, a mentally unstable person like Nie Ning staying by the Young Lady's side was an unstable factor; who knew if he might suddenly snap one day.

Possessing 'Malice Perception,' how could Nie Ning not know Norma's thoughts? In the end, he could only respond with a foolish grin, which earned him a roll of the eyes from Norma.

...

The three arrived at a private booth on the second floor.

At this moment, two people dressed in black robes stood before the door. They had longswords at their waists, and their sharp gazes indicated they were not to be trifled with.

“Greetings, Miss Lilith.”

The two black-robed men bowed slightly and then opened the door for Lilith.

As Lilith briskly led Norma into the booth, Nie Ning obediently squatted by the door. Soon, the sound of cheerful conversation drifted from the room.

Nie Ning paid no mind to the activity inside the room; his mind was occupied by the strange sensation at the entrance.

His gaze swept the corridor. Clearly, there were only the three of them, but 'Malice Perception' was still in a triggered state.

‘Is someone trying to harm Lilith? Or are they after that noble young master inside?’

As Nie Ning was thinking, he was suddenly attracted by a scent of cooked meat.

The door opened again, and Norma walked out carrying a plate of meat, handing it to Nie Ning with a look of disdain.

Seeing this, Nie Ning laughed foolishly and took the meat to eat without any psychological burden.

This was the reason Nie Ning didn't want to leave just yet.

Following Lilith, he could sometimes eat nine meals a day, and the food was excellent.

In this world where most people lived in poverty, such a frequency of eating meat was unthinkable for an ordinary family.

Ordinary people were lucky if they could fill their bellies with bread every day, let alone eat meat.

Just then, a warm current flooded Nie Ning's limbs and bones. Nie Ning, who was gorging on meat, couldn't help but stop his movements.

Nie Ning opened his status panel, and a new section appeared in the Trait column.

Derived Skill!

Within it, the four words 'Acting as the Tiger's Accomplice' appeared.

‘Good grief, this isn't beef?!’

Nie Ning was dumbfounded, looking at the meat in the bowl in disbelief.

One had to know that while knights were powerful, tigers were no pushovers either; even an average Elementary Knight might not necessarily beat an adult tiger.

After all, a tiger's paw strength could reach a ton. If an Elementary Knight wasn't wearing armor, a single swipe would likely leave them heavily injured.

Furthermore, tigers were agile and difficult to catch. This was the first time Nie Ning had ever eaten tiger meat.

Looking at the Derived Skill on the panel, Nie Ning quickly thought of the legends about tigers from his home planet.

Rumor had it that people killed by tigers would turn into 'Chang' ghosts, who would then lure or lead living people to the tiger to be eaten.

Looking at it this way, the 'Acting as the Tiger's Accomplice' trait appearing on the panel likely meant something similar.

Unfortunately, this kind of trait wasn't like strength or constitution; it didn't provide the most direct physical sensation.

He just didn't know if it was specifically targeted at humans. If he wanted to test it, he would probably have to go kill a living creature.

Now that he had obtained a new trait, Nie Ning, who was already enjoying his meal, ate even more heartily. Even the two black-robed men standing on either side couldn't help but swallow their saliva at the sight.

...