cornucopia pot

Chapter 006: Is it a cornucopia? · He Pingsheng returned to his small shack. · The wounds, which hadn't felt particularly painful moments ago, now began to throb with agonizing intensity. · Fortunately, Han the Third came by to inform him that due to his injuries, Boss Zhang had not assigned him any other chores for the next two days. · He could rest for a while. · Otherwise, He Pingsheng’s life would have been even more miserable. · After Han the Third left, several others trickled in one after another to pry. They all had a single goal: to find out where He Pingsheng’s medicinal pills had gone. · He Pingsheng remained vague, leading them to believe that Boss Zhang had snatched every last pill. He hoped this would extinguish their greed. · The tactic was undoubtedly effective. · For the better part of the day that followed, no one else came to his door to ask questions. · The world finally fell silent. · He Pingsheng double-locked his door and jammed the bolt firmly into place. Only then did he return to his bedside and pull the blood-red Golden Bone Pill from his robe. · The question was: should he eat it? · If he did, his injuries would certainly be fully healed within three days. · According to that Great Auntie, this wasn't just for surface wounds; even if he suffered a severe injury in the future, consuming this could rapidly restore his vitality, allowing him to move as if nothing had happened within days. · This was a precious treasure. · A treasure that only Immortals could use—it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a Divine Elixir, would it? · After much deliberation, He Pingsheng put the elixir away. · He couldn't bring himself to eat it. · He could endure these minor injuries. A treasure this good had to be saved; if he were ever gravely wounded in the future, this would be an extra layer of protection. · At a critical moment, it might just save his life. · He Pingsheng scanned the room and realized that, aside from the dark clay basin, he had no container to store the elixir. · The snow-white porcelain bottle from before had been snatched by Boss Zhang. · "I'll just leave it in the basin for now!" · He Pingsheng dropped the blood-red pill into the clay basin, covered it with a wooden board, and pushed the entire thing deep under his bed. · With everything settled, He Pingsheng secretly grabbed a handful of spirit rice from his pillow and stuffed it into his mouth. · Spirit rice could increase one's strength; he hoped it would help with his recovery as well. · As it turned out, He Pingsheng’s guess was correct. · More than half a day later, as he lay in bed after dinner, he felt his injuries had improved significantly. · At the very least, lying on the hard wooden bed wasn't as painful anymore. · The next morning, he got up for breakfast. · During the meal, Boss Zhang approached He Pingsheng again, a smirk on his face. "Little brother, I've found a lighter job for you!" · "Starting this morning, you're going to the Alchemy Rooms of our Showy Bamboo Peak. You'll be responsible for cleaning and tidying the place." · "The work isn't heavy. Sometimes, if the Masters aren't refining pills, you won't even have to clean!" · "How does that sound?" · He Pingsheng didn't feel much of anything. Regardless, working in the Alchemy Rooms had to be easier than carrying water, right? · "Fine!" He Pingsheng nodded, a look of gratitude appearing on his face. "Thank you, Brother Zhang!" · "Don't thank me yet!" Boss Zhang took a deep breath and said, "Let me make this clear. Those Alchemy Rooms are the public facilities of Showy Bamboo Peak. There is a dedicated pill boy there who serves the alchemists—he's an Outer Sect Disciple. You're different. You're a servant. Once you're there, you only do things like dumping furnace ash, Wood Splitting, and cleaning!" · "But some of those Masters have foul tempers. If an alchemy attempt fails, their mood gets even worse. When that happens, it's inevitable they'll vent their frustrations on us underlings!" · "If you lack the wit to stay out of trouble and end up getting a brutal beating, don't say I didn't warn you!" · Ah... · He Pingsheng finally realized something was wrong. · Looking around, he saw that many people were indeed giving him "you're dead" looks. · Boss Zhang continued, "Every situation has its pros and cons. If the Masters refine a pill they're satisfied with and are in a good mood, they might reward you with something. Even the tiniest scrap falling from an Immortal's fingers is enough to last you a lifetime." · "He Pingsheng, keep your wits about you. Move your things today!" · "There are specific rooms over at the Alchemy Rooms. You'll live there from now on!" · "However, you still have to come back here for your three meals a day!" · Carrying water or cleaning the furnace rooms—one was exhausting, the other was life-threatening. · He Pingsheng couldn't tell if he was sad or happy, but he felt that being closer to the Immortals would broaden his future path toward cultivation. · More opportunities were surely a good thing. · As long as he stayed sharp, it should be fine. · Back in his room, it was time to move. · He Pingsheng locked the door and slid the bolt. · In truth, there wasn't much to move. · Just a few clothes. · The rest consisted of the golden spirit rice he had hidden away and a single medicinal pill. · To He Pingsheng, the elixir was the priority. · He knelt down and crawled under the bed, laboriously pulling out the clay basin he had stashed there yesterday. When he lifted the wooden cover, he was instantly stunned. · Two? · Indeed, inside that dark basin lay two medicinal pills. · Didn't I only put one in? · How did it become two? · He Pingsheng’s heart began to thud wildly. · At that moment, all the strange occurrences of the past few days flashed through his mind. · The water placed in the basin had increased and turned green. · The white spirit rice placed in the basin had turned into golden spirit rice, and the quantity had doubled. · And now, the single pill placed in this basin had become two. · Hiss... · This... · Is this basin some kind of treasure? · He Pingsheng felt as though reality was slipping away. · He pinched his thigh hard. · The sharp pain brought him back to his senses. · After sitting on the floor and staring blankly at the basin for about the time it takes an incense stick to burn, the fourteen-year-old boy scratched his head. He reached out to pick up one of the pills and examined it closely. · "One... two... three... four..." · As he looked, he muttered under his breath, counting the patterns on the pill. · Yesterday, Boss Zhang had told him that pills were ranked by quality. · The same type of pill could be Low-grade, Middle-grade, or High-grade. · The key indicator was the number of patterns on the surface. · One Pill Vein meant a Low-grade Pill. · Two Pill Veins meant a Middle-grade Pill! · Three Pill Veins meant a High-grade Pill, the kind that only appeared in legends. · He Pingsheng remembered clearly that yesterday’s pill had only one vein. · But now, there were four veins on this pill. What on earth was this? · "Could there be... a quality even higher than High-grade?" He Pingsheng’s heart leaped into his throat with excitement. · "A Treasure Basin!" · He Pingsheng looked at the black basin before him, his heart pounding against his ribs. "This thing... is a Treasure Basin?" · [END]