Lord of Enigma

The coffee table was almost covered in various notebooks and papers. At an empty spot was a mug of coffee and a plate of assorted snacks, as well as a tiny flower pot in the corner.

The plant in the pot was pitch-black all over with a hint of violet. It looked like a sunflower that had been chucked into ink after it withered and then laid out to dry, before being turned inside out and then tossed aside. It wasn't eye-catching at all.

Whoosh!

A night breeze blew the curtains aside and entered the living room. The dry and withered leaves of the plant shifted a little.

As if swaying to the wind?

The night breeze was gentle and mild, but every once in a while, a stronger gust would come, causing the lamp next to Tang Qi to sway a little. The light swayed along with it too.

Amid the creaks was another sound mixed within.

Boing~

The withered plant in the flower pot leaped into the air like a strange bug and dived towards Tang Qi's face at an extremely precise angle.

Fast asleep and with other sounds interfering, a high school student was practically defenseless.

In fact, he probably wouldn't even realize?

Whizz!

During this split second, a silver glint suddenly flashed. A sharp dagger pierced into that seemingly withered but actually smooth "plant" instantly. With a bam, the tip of the dagger pierced through the wooden coffee table and pinned the plant to the table.

Squeak~ Squeak, squeak.

At once, the plant emitted sharp and piercing cries like those of a mouse.

"Hmm? It is indeed exactly like what was described in the notebook. The legendary plant of darkness capable of housing souls temporarily… The Shadow Fungus!"

Hum.

When those two words left Tang Qi's mouth, the strange plant struggling and screaming on the coffee table — in other words, the Shadow Fungi — suddenly stopped its movements. Although it was still wriggling a little in an attempt to relieve its pain, it had indeed quietened down. Only a few smooth pitch-black tentacles were still shaking and waving wildly, as if trying to express something.

Tang Qi wasn't surprised by this sight at all.

Turning around quietly, he went to the kitchen and got a glass of water.

Then, he placed it in front of the tentacles of the plant that had been pinned down. At the same time, he opened his mouth and said something terribly shocking.

"Nice to meet you, Professor Kassel. You can call me Tang Qi."

Tang Qi didn't reach his hand out during his self-introduction, probably because it was unnecessary. After all, what he was interacting with was a plant.

By a stretch, it could probably be considered a plant.

At least, the interface that popped up at the bottom of Tang Qi's vision right now didn't deny it.

[Supernatural Creature: Shadow Fungi]

[Status: Active]

[Information Fragment 1: One of the oldest and rarest plants of the Saha Continent. Known as the 'Essos Ghost Herb' among black mages and shamans, its real name is the Shadow Fungi. Once it has gone through special treatment, it can allow souls that have lost their physical bodies to be temporarily housed within. It is also able to maintain an active state so that the soul being hosted can look for a new body.]

[Information Fragment 2: Even though it is in an active state, it is very weak, so much so that even a normal adult human can easily kill both the herb and the soul within it.]

These pieces of information were exactly the reasons why Tang Qi had specially brought it back with him.

And right now, he was playing host to the guest inside it.

Just that the guest clearly wasn't very fond of how he was doing it.

Blinking, Tang Qi looked at the tentacles that had given up struggling. He didn't bother making much small talk, going straight to speaking as if he was telling a story. He said impassively, "A history professor who traveled around the world and painstakingly conducted research when he was young finally achieved an extremely high status and income when he got old. Oh right, and fame.

"Unfortunately, at the point where he should be enjoying all these, he was diagnosed with a form of incurable cancer. His diseased body couldn't even satisfy a young and beautiful teaching assistant. Unable to stand the fact that there was no one to nourish her alluring body, she hooked up with the charming head security guard of the school.

"The old professor couldn't tolerate all these and so, he thought of the knowledge he had — the unimaginably mysterious realm and strange secret potions. The old professor concocted two portions of curse potions and tricked the teaching assistant and her lover into drinking it.

"In no time, two Spider Monsters appeared in the school. They couldn't control their urge to kill. After killing six people in succession, they finally tasted enough of the fear of humans. Mustering their courage, they sought out the professor and successfully killed him.

"Unfortunately, what they didn't know was that the professor had already seen this coming a long time ago. His soul was transferred into the Essos Ghost Herb in that instant. The old professor planned on waiting until everything blew over. And when he finds a suitable body, he would begin his brand new life.

"Am I right? Professor Rick Kassel!"

Tang Qi asked after he finished. He fell into silence after that.

After a moment, one of the strange plant's tentacles moved. It raised slowly and dipped into the water in the glass. Then, it started writing on the coffee table.

So it can hear but it can't talk? Truly fascinating. Tang Qi mentally remarked in astonishment as he stared at the crooked and askew handwriting.

Although this was his first time writing with the tentacle, Professor Kassel's control was pretty good. The words showed up clearly: "What do you want?"

Tang Qi wasn't surprised at the question.

This was, after all, a professor who had already gone through almost his whole life. He wasn't really going to be the kind of person with high IQ and low EQ as described in some stereotypical novels.

Rather than asking Tang Qi what he was up to, he was straightforward in asking him what he wanted.

Obviously, the old professor also knew that in his current condition, falling into the hands of someone like Tang Qi, who was obviously a "supernatural person", meant that he probably didn't have much that he could use to negotiate.

Tang Qi didn't state his demands right away. Instead, he cast a glance at the plant and added insult to its figurative injury. Tang Qi went on, "Before I tell you my demands, I must let you know a cruel truth. Your move to parasitize me earlier was extremely rude. And even if I didn't resist, your efforts would also have been in vain.

"I don't know where you got the idea that one can parasitize another person's body at will after their soul is transferred to the Essos Ghost Herb, but I regret to inform you that this is impossible.

"It is indeed possible to use the Essos Ghost Herb to transfer souls. However, it requires extremely demanding conditions, as well as a suitable body. Trust me, the word 'suitable' has already eliminated most of the humans on the Blue Star as possible candidates. At the same time, you'll need someone to help you carry out the ritual, such as chanting the spell incantation."

"If you cannot fulfill all of these conditions, you can only maintain this form until you wither to death ten days later."

The moment Tang Qi finished, he heard a thud from the direction of the coffee table. The glass had been overturned by the tentacle. Seven to eight smooth tentacles whipped about wildly. Obviously, it had received quite the shock.

It subconsciously wrote a few lines of crooked little text.

"Those damned warlocks, how dare they deceive me?"

"I had given them half the payment!"

"I'm going to kill them!"

…

After a good half a minute, it was finally done expressing its fury. However, it was still unable to break free of the dagger.

In the end, a tentacle raised once more and in front of Tang Qi, wrote the following words: "Are you willing to help me?"

When he saw the text, Tang Qi lowered his eyes slightly, a faint gleam inside them. The corners of his lips slowly curled up.

"Of course!"

Tang Qi said with a smile as he placed his coffee mug down.