Chapter 5: Spiritual Antibodies

Upon a closer look at Hong Bin's half-length statue, that black shadow has been curled up inside all along

The bedroom is filled with the scent of wood, beeswax, and paint. Shen Xing has now become accustomed to these odors; on the contrary, he feels that the aroma emitted by the wood could even be described as fragrant

He sat up with a somewhat dazed expression, only then realizing that he had actually fallen asleep at his workbench last night

During this process, he exhausted the money he earned from selling his shop in search of Ye Ting, but until the moment he gave up his life, he remained completely at a loss.

The gaze shifted, landing on the clean and exquisite frame on the workbench, where a young woman in the photograph wore a beaming smile, with two faint dimples at the corners of her mouth, her eyes seemingly watching over oneself

He still remembers the moment of his rebirth, when he discovered a deep knife wound on his wrist. The weapon used was a carving knife, and the hand that held the knife belonged to him, or rather, to the original owner.

He reached out to turn on the lamp on the workbench and placed the wood carving under the light. Shen Xing thought of nothing, merely staring at Hong Bin's wood carving

Shen Xing gazed at the wooden carving, remaining still without any other movements. Even now, he could still perceive the progress bar increasing, even if he did not deliberately look at the lower corner of his eye.

If the body's strength were to increase, perhaps there would be no need to worry about catching a cold from sleeping without a blanket for one night, Shen Xing muttered to herself

Slowly, after about half an hour, the gradually spreading light white color occupied approximately one-fifth of the entire progress bar

In his previous life, he had a certain foundation in painting, so after his rebirth, although it felt like he was encountering wood carving for the first time, the combination of his painting skills and the original owner's wood carving techniques made it seem that he did not exert much effort when he first started the carving work

This time, the change is still in the section of mental antibodies, and the light-colored progress bar is extending forward, with a very slow pace of extension

He is now unable to understand whether he originally liked the scent of wood or if he only discovered this peculiar preference after crossing over.

To be honest, even now he cannot clearly say whether the shadow of Hong Bin trapped in the wooden carving is a ghost or not

As for the third attribute "latent skill," he has no clue about its meaning

Taking this opportunity, Shen Xing checked the attribute values at the corner of his eye and found that only the mental resistance column had changed since last night, while the other two columns remained unchanged

His gaze remained fixed on the half-body sculpture belonging to Hong Bin for a long time, his thoughts surging. He felt increasingly invigorated as he sat there, still showing no signs of drowsiness

Perhaps this is merely a preference of the original owner of the body, but it is now affecting oneself

Upon waking from a deep sleep, it was already past 2 PM

This is akin to how some people enjoy the scent of ink, some prefer the aroma of freshly printed books, while others are fond of the fragrance of vegetable oil

Perhaps this is merely the preference of the person in the photograph, but it has been influenced by the original owner's bodily memory.

Approximately half a minute later, he noticed that the attribute value in the lower right corner of his eye had changed again

With a sense of doubt, Shen Xing applied two drops of eye drops meant to soothe and clarify her vision. After blinking her eyes, she discovered that the three lines of text resembling attributes remained.

Shen Xing raised a question, just now he was lost in thought, without a definite idea, while his eyes seemed to be fixated on...! ... this half-body wooden sculpture

The memories obtained from the original owner informed Shen Xing that Ye Ting and the original owner were university classmates, both fond of wood carving. The two of them each opened a small shop to run their wood carving businesses. However, after Ye Ting went missing, the original owner sold her own shop and only operated the wood carving shop that originally belonged to Ye Ting

Even the woman in this photograph, now in his view, cannot shake off the sweet taste of the love they once shared, due to inheriting the original owner's memories

Focusing carefully, it was indeed observed that the originally gray progress bar had been partially filled with a light white color. Although it was less than one-tenth of the entire progress bar, it was evident that the section for mental antibodies had indeed changed.

As for what this spiritual antibody can be used for, it remains unknown for the time being

After three years of searching for his missing fiancée without success, the original owner, also named Shen Xing, came to believe that Ye Ting was dead. Consequently, he chose to end his own life using his fiancée's favorite carving knife.

Is it because of this wooden carving

Over such a long period, Shen Xing has also developed the same habit

Moments later, Shen Xing's eyelids suddenly twitched. He came to his senses and immediately noticed that the three lines of attribute values at the corner of his eye seemed to have changed

However, the wood carving system is undoubtedly activated now, so why not give yourself a reason that is not pretentious first

Ye Ting, the girlfriend of the original owner of this body. To be precise, she should be referred to as the fiancée.

There has been no prompt indicating that the golden finger has been activated, and although he does not understand what the wooden carving storage of Hong Bin's figure is about

After Shen Xing was reborn and gained the original owner's memories, he discovered that the young woman named Ye Ting had been missing for three years

Suddenly, Shen Xing felt a chill in her body; sleeping like this for a night could very likely lead to a cold. She stood up to move her almost stiff limbs, and her neck also felt a tingling sensation.

The gaze shifted, gliding over the workbench, where the carving tools were neatly arranged. There were various models of curved knives and flat chisels, a coping saw, a stack of sandpaper, and a sharpening stone. At the other end of the workbench, a vise was also secured.

Initially, Shen Xing, who was reborn, only perceived Ye Ting through the sensory recognition of her external beauty. However, gradually influenced by the memories of the original owner, her mind would occasionally be overwhelmed by a flood of longing, making it impossible to escape.

This noticeable change took Shen Xing by surprise; however, at that moment, a wave of drowsiness washed over him. Shen Xing offered no resistance and simply lay down on the workbench, falling asleep just like that

The progress bar for "mental antibodies" seems to be increasing

What could be the reason for the increase in the progress bar of the mental antibodies

To be honest, at this moment the room is not lit, and with the light coming in through the window, his gaze at the wooden sculpture is actually rather blurred

According to Ye's usual work habits, these tools can be easily reached during the carving process

Time flows

That night, Shen Xing was unable to sleep at all, for whether his eyes were open or closed, those three lines of attribute text were right before him, visible even to himself

Go to the living room and turn on the hot water switch of the water dispenser, after washing up, pour yourself a cup of warm water, find two cold medicine pills and swallow them with the hot water

Regardless of whether one may catch a cold, it is advisable to take preventive measures first

However, it can now be confirmed that gazing at the wooden sculpture that trapped the shadow of Hong Bin for a period of time can enhance one's mental resilience attribute value

I do not wish to open the store today; I plan to take a good rest for the day and, in the meantime, digest the bizarre experiences from yesterday until now

Taking a long breath, Shen Xing withdrew her gaze from the photograph. Just now, an uncontrollable wave of longing surged within her, a bittersweet feeling that often arose unexpectedly.

After experiencing a rebirth, I was extremely weak during the initial days. However, everything began to improve slowly after the fatal injury on my wrist started to recover in a strange manner, and now there isn't even a scar left on my wrist

It can now be confirmed that the appearance of attribute text is unrelated to one's own body, but rather is manifested through the wood carving system, or rather, through the sand sculpture, and then expressed from a mental or conscious level.

Around 2 a.m., unable to sleep, Shen Xing simply got out of bed. He did not turn on the light but instead sat down at his workbench, resting his elbows on the table, leaning forward, and staring at Hong Bin's half-length wooden carving