“Zhang Yang, what are you trying to do now?”
Seeing me pull at her skirt without saying a word, Li Ya panicked a little and cried out in confusion, “Didn’t we just do it three times…?”
But I didn’t waste my breath.
When it came to Li Ya, I felt that even one more word was unnecessary.
I yanked up her short skirt.
“Why are you talking so much? We’re not divorced yet, so whatever I want to do right now is between us as husband and wife.”
Li Ya was both afraid and expectant.
A little over ten minutes later.
Li Ya looked at me with an expression full of satisfaction and conflicting emotions.
I pulled her to her feet, then, while she looked at me with innocent eyes, sent her out again.
“Zhang Yang, what on earth are you doing? Open the door! Explain yourself! Are you treating me like a tool to vent your frustrations on? Open up! Hurry and open the door!”
Li Ya pounded on the door.
But I paid no attention.
I picked up the Treasure-Gathering Basin again.
This time,
I clearly sensed a faint, intermittent aura flowing into the Treasure-Gathering Basin once more.
I stared at the ginseng inside. The change I’d been expecting didn’t happen again, but the light inside the Treasure-Gathering Basin didn’t disappear either.
The words “can repair antiques” and “can upgrade medicinal herbs” remained visible on the surface of the Treasure-Gathering Basin.
I struggled to contain my excitement. I now had a rough understanding of the Treasure-Gathering Basin.
It seemed that the energy gathered by the Treasure-Gathering Basin really was related to men and women.
After sleeping with Li Ya, I collected a portion of Yin-Yang Power, which was then transferred into the Treasure-Gathering Basin and became the energy it needed to upgrade things.
However, the Treasure-Gathering Basin seemed able to upgrade any given item only once.
The ginseng had already been upgraded once, so it seemed it couldn’t be upgraded again.
As for whether there were other ways to gather energy, I didn’t know yet.
Right.
The Treasure-Gathering Basin could also repair antiques. Did that mean it could repair any broken little item?
Thinking this, I immediately took out the ginseng, then looked at the comb on the bedside table, which had a broken tooth, and prepared to toss it in to see if it could be repaired.
But when I leaned over the Treasure-Gathering Basin, I noticed a halo swirling inside it.
The faint light seemed to be emanating from that halo.
Looking closely, I saw that the inside of the Treasure-Gathering Basin was lined with ten circles, from the center outward, like the rings of a tree. Only the innermost circle was glowing faintly; the rest remained dark.
I ventured a guess: these were very likely indicators of its energy level.
The more circles that lit up, the more energy it had gathered, and the better the materials it could upgrade.
Of course, that was only my guess.
I tossed the broken comb inside.
The broken comb didn’t react at all.
Then I tried tossing in a plate with a crack running across it.
This time, I could clearly see the halos swirling around the plate, like points of starlight.
It took over an hour.
The faint light disappeared once more.
The plate had actually been repaired.
“Oh my god, it really can repair things!”
I understood the Treasure-Gathering Basin a little better.
The comb wasn’t intact, so it couldn’t be repaired.
The plate was broken, but all its pieces were there, so it could be repaired.
In other words, besides upgrading medicinal herbs, the Treasure-Gathering Basin could also repair items that were broken but still complete.
It just needed energy to do either.
As for the Liuwei Dihuang Pill I’d upgraded the first time, I could figure that out with a little thought.
The Treasure-Gathering Basin must have still contained some energy before I activated it with my blood, which was why it had upgraded the Liuwei Dihuang Pill.
“So it really is a treasure.” I took a deep breath and hurriedly tucked the Treasure-Gathering Basin into my clothes.
It was far too precious to leave in my rented apartment. I wouldn’t feel safe doing that.
I opened the door.
Li Ya was nowhere to be seen.
It seemed she’d left after I kept ignoring her.
I put away the upgraded ginseng, left the residential compound, and went to the traditional chinese medicine shop where I’d bought it earlier. Then I took it out.
“How much is this ginseng worth?” I took it out and held it out to the shop assistant.
The shop assistant gave it a couple of looks and seemed to recognize me. “Didn’t you buy a ginseng here before?”
I didn’t answer. “I’m just asking whether you buy ginseng back.”
“We do.” The shop assistant examined the ginseng in my hand. “This one’s about six or seven years old. It’s in pretty good condition, but it’s worth at most three thousand yuan. If you want to sell it, I’ll buy it.”
Three thousand!
I’d only paid three hundred yuan for that little ginseng before.
Its value had shot up tenfold just like that.
It wasn’t a huge sum, but at least it proved that my Treasure-Gathering Basin really worked.
As long as I could gather enough energy to grow the ginseng to a hundred years old, its value might multiply a hundredfold or even a thousandfold.
“All right, deal.”
I opened my payment app’s collection code.
After receiving the money, I hailed a car and went straight to the Civil Affairs Bureau.
It was almost nine o’clock.
Quite a few people were waiting outside to get married or divorced.
Seeing me arrive on time, Li Ya looked at me with even more mixed emotions.
When I walked up to her, Li Ya parted her lips and said, “Zhang Yang, I know you’re poor, but after we divorce, before I find a new man to marry, you can still come to me if you have needs.”
I hadn’t expected her to say something like that. It seemed I’d managed to win her over in bed without even realizing it.
“I find women who’ve been with other men disgusting,” I shot back at once. “Li Ya, stop putting on an act. We’re about to get divorced, so tell me: what exactly is going on between you and Chen Ming?”
“Oh, so you suspect I’m involved with Chen Ming, is that it, Zhang Yang?” Li Ya’s face flushed red, and she trembled with anger. “Chen Ming is your friend. We’re just in a superior-subordinate relationship. There’s nothing between us!”
Seeing how intensely Li Ya reacted, I couldn’t help feeling suspicious.
Had I guessed wrong?
But it didn’t matter anymore.
“Forget it. If you won’t admit it, that’s fine. After the divorce, we’ll go our separate ways.” I waved a hand, signaling that there was no need for her to say anything more.
“Zhang Yang, what kind of attitude is that?” Seeing my impatient expression, Li Ya acted as if she’d been terribly wronged and immediately shouted, “Don’t think you can do whatever you want just because you’ve suddenly gotten good in bed. Money is what matters in this world. Hmph, even I don’t want you. Do you really think any other woman would? Chen Ming is better than you. He makes thirty thousand a month, while you don’t even make three thousand these days. If I stayed with you, I’d have to spend my whole life struggling.”
“Whatever.” I didn’t want to argue with her anymore.
I’d heard the same things so many times I was sick of them.
When the doors of the Civil Affairs Bureau opened,
I strode inside.
Ten minutes later,
I had a divorce certificate in my hand.
I couldn’t wait to take out my phone, snap a picture of the divorce certificate, and post it to my social media with the caption: “I’m free, guys!”
“Zhang Yang, what’s the meaning of this?” Seeing my post, Li Ya rushed over from a short distance away, as if she’d been stung. “What’s the point of pretending? Hmph, I know you posted that just so I’d see it, right? Stop putting on an act. I know you’re upset, but it’s all over now. I’ll never regret divorcing you.”
I looked at her self-important expression and couldn’t be bothered to say another word. I strode away.
Beep, beep, beep.
Just then,
a Maserati pulled up beside me.
The window rolled down.
I saw a beautiful, exquisitely featured face.
Liu Ruyan.
“Get in.”
Liu Ruyan smiled faintly and spoke.