To my disappointment, the ginseng didn’t grow larger as I’d imagined it would.
It was exactly the same as when I’d put it in. Not the slightest bit different.
“How could this be?” I stared blankly.
The Liuwei Dihuang Pill had clearly been upgraded before. Why wasn’t it working now?
I scratched my head, unable to make sense of it.
Then, I suddenly thought of something.
When my blood had dripped onto the Treasure-Gathering Basin, it seemed to glow faintly.
But after the Liuwei Dihuang Pill was upgraded, that faint light disappeared too, and it became an utterly ordinary iron basin again.
“Could it have something to do with my blood?”
I hurried to the kitchen for a fruit knife, gritted my teeth, and endured the pain as I cut my finger and dripped a drop of blood onto the Treasure-Gathering Basin.
I waited expectantly for it to glow again.
But unfortunately, this time the Treasure-Gathering Basin didn’t react at all.
Even the writing that had appeared on its surface before faded again, until it was impossible to make out.
“Is it useless now?” My heart sank.
Could this thing only be used once?
If that were true, then I’d gotten my hopes up for nothing.
I felt a little dejected.
All I could do was take a shower and go to bed.
At least I had the one million Su Liuli had given me now. There was no need to keep dragging things out with that bitch Li Ya.
I was going to get a divorce tomorrow.
Early the next morning.
As usual, I got up and went to check the Treasure-Gathering Basin first thing.
But it still showed no reaction at all.
My dream of striking it rich with the Treasure-Gathering Basin had shattered, too.
“Sigh. I guess you can’t get your hopes up too soon. For now, I’d better think about how to win Li Qing over. If I can do that, I’ll have a few million in hand, and I can live carefree for the rest of my life.” I tried to console myself.
Just then,
my phone rang.
I glanced at the screen. It was Li Ya.
I answered irritably. “What?”
“Where are you?” Li Ya’s voice made no attempt to hide her disgust for me.
“I’m home. Where else would I be?” I snapped back.
“Hmph. Don’t forget, we’re getting divorced today. Meet me at the Civil Affairs Bureau at nine.” Li Ya spoke imperiously, as if she could hardly wait to divorce me.
That only made me angrier.
It hit me that I wasn’t the same as before, and that after this, it would be hard to sleep with Li Ya again.
So I simply snorted. “Sure. If you want a divorce, come over. Let’s do it one last time, as a little pre-divorce ritual.”
Li Ya clearly hadn’t expected me to make such a demand. She immediately sneered over the phone. “Zhang Yang, I don’t mean to look down on you, but with what little you’ve got, what good would it do even if I let you sleep with me another eight or ten times?”
I shot back, “If you don’t come, I won’t get divorced. It’s up to you.”
Click!
I hung up without another word to Li Ya.
I knew she was desperate to get divorced, so she’d definitely come.
Sure enough.
A little over twenty minutes later,
the front door opened.
Li Ya stormed in, fuming.
“Zhang Yang, don’t think you can pull any more tricks. No matter what, we’re getting divorced today!” Li Ya shouted at me the moment she walked in.
I glanced her over.
Li Ya seemed to have made a special effort to dress up today.
She was wearing a tailored little suit.
Her short skirt hugged her nearly perfect backside, and the sway of her long, shapely legs stirred an irrepressible urge.
I had to admit, Li Ya was beautiful. With a little effort, she stood out even in a crowd of women.
As I watched her belittle me without the slightest hesitation, I felt all the blood in my body rush to my lower abdomen.
“Li Ya, I’ve worked hard for this family for all these years, and you can’t wait to divorce me? Fine. Today, I’ll make sure you get your fill of divorce!”
I had no tenderness left in me. I roughly threw her onto the bed and began tearing at her clothes.
“Zhang Yang, you’re crazy! What are you doing?” Li Ya clearly hadn’t expected me to act like a completely different person.
But soon,
Li Ya fell silent.
She stared at me in shock as I leaned over her, unable to believe it. “Y-you… how could you…”
I gave a feral grin and ignored her astonishment, moving quickly.
An hour later,
Li Ya pleaded repeatedly, “Twice is enough, Zhang Yang. Please, spare me. H-how are you so powerful?”
I still ignored her.
Another hour passed.
Li Ya lay limp in my arms, panting as if every bit of strength had been drained from her.
Seeing the dazed look in Li Ya’s eyes, I felt all the frustration I’d bottled up over the years finally pour out.
I got up,
took a shower, and got dressed. Then I said to Li Ya, “Come on. Let’s get divorced.”
Now Li Ya seemed hesitant instead. “Zhang Yang, why have you suddenly become so strong?”
“Why all the questions? Hurry up,” I urged her.
After taking out my frustrations on Li Ya, I had no interest in her anymore. “Weren’t you looking for your lover? Heh. Once we’re divorced, I won’t care. We’ll each go our own way.”
As I spoke, I noticed the Treasure-Gathering Basin I’d set aside. I went over, picked it up, and prepared to toss it into the kitchen to use as a vegetable basin.
But to my surprise, the instant my hand touched the Treasure-Gathering Basin, I felt a current of energy flow from inside me into it.
As that current dissipated, the Treasure-Gathering Basin began glowing faintly again.
Fortunately, I was blocking the basin, so Li Ya didn’t notice.
Besides, Li Ya now seemed torn up inside. When she looked at me, her eyes no longer held nothing but disgust.
“What are you standing there for? Get out of here.” Seeing the basin change, I fought to suppress my excitement, told Li Ya to get dressed, and chased her out of the room. “Go wait for me at the Civil Affairs Bureau. Don’t worry, I’ll be there at nine sharp.”
After tossing Li Ya those words, I slammed the door shut, my eyes fixed anxiously on the Treasure-Gathering Basin.
Right before my eyes, the ginseng inside, which had been no bigger than my little finger, began to grow little by little.
In just a few minutes, it had doubled in size.
It had been only two or three years old before, but now it was probably five or six.
The faint light inside gradually dimmed again.
Seeing this, my breathing grew unsteady.
“Why? Why has the Treasure-Gathering Basin suddenly started working again?”
I tried to recall everything that had happened.
The Treasure-Gathering Basin hadn’t reacted at all before. It seemed that only after I’d slept with Li Ya and touched it again did it change.
Could it be…
Did the Treasure-Gathering Basin need to gather energy to upgrade things—and was that energy connected to men and women?
At the thought of this possibility, I hurriedly set down the Treasure-Gathering Basin, rushed out of the room, and pulled Li Ya back, even though she hadn’t gone far.
I had to test my theory.