Infinite Professions from a Pearl Collector

"Impossible!" Mr. Lu was the first to deny it.

"That location was divined by Daoist Jingxuan of the Celestial Empress Palace herself. She even personally performed the rites for the bones that were dug up. How could it be wrong?"

Despite his words, Mr. Lu’s confidence was clearly lacking.

Chen Ye smiled. "Master Lu, I don’t know whether that Daoist was wrong or not, but you saw what happened tonight. How do you explain that?"

Hearing this, Mr. Lu’s face turned pale, and he lowered his head in thought.

Chen Ye ignored him and turned to help Guan Sihai deal with the aftermath.

Bai Xiaoyu, who had been possessed by the ghost, was severely drained of her Primordial Qi and remained unconscious. The young actor who played the heartless man, however, had slowly regained consciousness.

But he wasn’t in good shape either. He was trembling uncontrollably, muttering, "A ghost, a ghost in a Red Robe..."

It took a while for people to understand what had happened. It turned out that while the young actor was performing on stage, he suddenly realized the person acting opposite him had turned into a female ghost in a Red Robe. The ghost then rushed at him and grabbed him tightly by the throat.

He didn’t know what happened after that.

Everyone fell silent after hearing his account.

It was now impossible for the Opera Troupe to leave; they could only stay for the time being.

Fortunately, Mr. Lu came to his senses at that moment. He cupped his hands and bowed repeatedly to the crowd.

"Masters, I, Lu, have wronged you all tonight. Blinded by greed, I concealed the truth and nearly caused a disaster."

"However, I, Lu, am not an unreasonable man. From now on, I will cover all of your expenses in the mansion. Furthermore, once this matter is resolved, I will offer a payment several times the original amount as an apology to you all."

Mr. Lu knew there was an expert within this Opera Troupe.

He was especially shocked by Chen Ye, who was so young yet could act opposite a ghost and meticulously unravel the clues to find the heart of the matter.

Besides, with his own life and his daughter’s hanging by a thread, how could he dare to offend these people?

Guan Sihai snorted coldly and said nothing, but his expression finally softened a little.

Afterward, Mr. Lu personally rearranged rooms for everyone and had all sorts of delicacies and fine food sent over.

But at this point, no one was in the mood to eat. Exhausted, they all returned to their rooms to rest.

Chen Ye’s room was exceptionally spacious and comfortable, obviously arranged for him on Mr. Lu’s special orders.

Lying on the bed, Chen Ye began to take stock of his gains.

Although he had only been on stage for a short while, his Cao Tai Longtao Profession had leveled up directly to Lv. 5. He had just been too busy to confirm it earlier.

Now that he had some free time, Chen Ye directly chose to confirm it.

In an instant, a brilliant light floated up, and three Profession advancement options appeared before his eyes.

[Profession 1: Soul-Stealing Diva]

[Description: Through song, speech, action, and acrobatics, your elegance shines. Enter the Dao through opera and converse with ghosts and gods.]

[Talent: Tongyou—Your voice and performance can easily cross the border between the living and the dead, resonating with the souls of ghosts.]

[Profession 2: Town Stage Martial Artist]

[Description: Your Qi and blood are like a Furnace, your Yang Qi flourishes, allowing you to vanquish evil with martial arts.]

[Talent: Yang Flame—Your Qi and blood are as vigorous as the blazing sun, naturally suppressing yin-aligned evil and ghostly beings.]

[Profession 3: Human World Storyteller]

[Description: A tongue that spins lotus flowers, narrating tales of ages past. Use words as a guide to weave realms of truth and illusion.]

[Talent: Word Spirit—The stories you tell possess a sliver of real power, able to briefly influence the listener’s Heart Spirit.]

Chen Ye’s gaze swept over the three options, and he quickly made his decision.

’Town Stage Martial Artist overlaps with the path I took in my previous world, and Human World Storyteller is too weak in the early stages.’

’Only this Soul-Stealing Diva is the key to breaking the current deadlock.’

’I choose Soul-Stealing Diva.’

As the thought crossed his mind, the light on the panel converged, and a cool, profound power surged into every corner of his body.

Chen Ye felt a wondrous transformation in his voice, his posture, and even on a spiritual level.

It was an indescribable feeling. But after the Profession change was complete, Chen Ye walked over to the mirror in his room and found that his appearance had changed slightly again.

Although his features were the same, their contours had become sharper and more defined. His eyes, in particular, were now as deep as pools, as if they could steal a person’s soul.

Simply put, he had become more handsome—and in a way that carried a devilish charm.

Chen Ye stroked his chin, unable to help but wonder, ’Is the career path for this Actor Profession all about looks?’

’Why else would my looks improve with each advancement?’

’That would make sense, I guess. After all, looks are essential for performing on stage, especially for cross-dressing roles where a man plays a female character. The standards for appearance are even higher in those cases.’

’Otherwise, it would be easy to create a jarring sense of dissonance, affecting the audience’s immersion.’

Chen Ye pondered for a moment, then sighed.

’Well, if I’m getting more handsome, so be it. It’s certainly better than getting uglier.’

...

「The next morning, the rain had passed and the sky was clear.」

The steward of the Lu Mansion led the servants to deliver a sumptuous breakfast early in the morning. His attitude was so respectful it bordered on sycophantic, with none of his previous arrogance in sight.

Before long, Qi Shihao, having heard the news, also hurried over.

When he heard the detailed account of last night’s events from Mr. Lu, even he, a man of wide experience, was stunned.

He then grew furious. "Outrageous! Old Lu, don’t you worry. Whether someone else is causing trouble or this Jingxuan is making things difficult, I’ll get you an explanation."

With that, he immediately ordered his men to re-examine the mass grave outside the city, while he personally led another group to the Celestial Empress Palace to confront Daoist Jingxuan.

Chen Ye merely watched Qi Shihao’s grand, sweeping actions with a cool detachment.

’I don’t think this kind of official investigation will yield any results.’

’Whoever set this trap must have been fully prepared.’

Sure enough, by noon, both parties had returned, all empty-handed.

The men who went to inspect the mass grave outside the city found nothing. As for Qi Shihao, he didn’t even get to see Jingxuan.

"Damn it! The people at the Celestial Empress Palace said Jingxuan went off wandering. That’s pure bullshit, if you ask me. She could have gone anytime, but she just had to leave right now? If that’s not a guilty conscience, what is?" Qi Shihao cursed.

Mr. Lu, on the other hand, wore a bitter expression.

He didn’t care where Jingxuan had gone. His only worry was whether that Su Lan would come back for him.

It was clear that he couldn’t count on Qi Shihao. So, gritting his teeth, he began to prepare for two contingencies.

First, he immediately ordered his steward to invite a renowned expert from the Sea Guardian Guard to see if they could find Su Lan’s vengeful soul and destroy it.

As for the second contingency...

"Younger Brother Chen, you are truly a young prodigy. If you hadn’t intervened in time, who knows what would have happened last night," Mr. Lu said, his face wreathed in smiles, as he pushed several stacks of Ocean wrapped in red paper in front of Chen Ye.

Chen Ye glanced at the stacks of Ocean, then looked up and smiled at Mr. Lu.

"Master Lu, what is the meaning of this?"