56: Chapter 56 Four-leaf Flower 56: Chapter 56 Four-leaf Flower Three days later, at noon.
Zhang Xiaoman dejectedly tossed an apple core into the kitchen trash can and turned back to his bedroom.
Thatâs right, the core he had just thrown away wasnât something he had eaten, but a grey item he had won in the lottery today!
[Missâs Leftover Apple Core]
âThis is an apple core left over by a young lady.
As a single dog, are you sure you donât want a taste?
Just thinking about the systemâs description made Zhang Xiaoman instantly feel annoyed.
Was the damn system having a dig at my being single for over twenty years by strength of character?
Why keep bringing up my single status!
âLucky you donât have a system elf, otherwise I would definitely drag you out and rub you against the floor with all my might!â
Remembering the two pieces of grey trash he had received in the past three days, Zhang Xiaoman couldnât help but feel a bit depressed.
He had originally planned to use the time waiting for the courier to try his luck at the lottery and hopefully beef up his strength a bit, but he hadnât expected his luck to be so bad, winning two completely useless grey items!
When he glanced at the semi-transparent plastic bottle with a skull sticker on the shelf, his face was immediately streaked with lines of frustration.
[Kidney Treasure]
âKidney treasure, tastes extremely good!
Zhang Xiaoman felt that the system must be messing with him.
Did he need this kind of thing?
Besides, with a big skull stuck on it, it looked more like a bottle of poison, didnât it?
As for why he hadnât thrown it away?
Donât get it wrong, he wasnât planning to taste it himself later.
He just wanted to keep it for now, to see if he would randomly get grey items when he used the upgrade function in the future.
Luckily, not all the lottery draws over these three days were fruitless, and he was still looking forward to the item he had received yesterday.
Although it was just a very ordinary white item, Zhang Xiaoman had taken it very seriously and stored it away.
[Four-leaf Flower]
Effect: Restores 40 life points.
âA small flower with four leaves.
This flower had five yellow petals, and a green stem with four vibrant leaves sprouting from it.
This was also the first time Zhang Xiaoman had received an item for healing, and although he wasnât sure about his life limit,
judging from how a Parasitic Spirit died instantly from 20 points of energy last time, his life value probably wasnât too high either.
He hadnât planned on carrying this flower with him just yet, instead, he had placed it in a small water-filled bottle in his bedroom.
The reason he did this was that he hoped to try his luck next time and see if he could upgrade it.
From his experience so far, only items selected by the system for upgrade had the chance to appear in the shopâs list.
So, for such a precious healing item, he still wanted to have the right to purchase it.
Touching the petals of the four-leaf flower, Zhang Xiaoman silently prayed that it wouldnât wither away, as he was counting on it as an emergency medicinal herb for the future.
Gathering the equipment that had been delivered over the past two days, Zhang Xiaoman locked his bedroom door.
Ever since he won the anti-gravity car, his room had become the household storage space, and over the last three nights, he had been sleeping on the couch in the living room.
âThree steel swords in their scabbards, the strong light flashlight isnât needed during daytime, thermal imaging night vision goggles are a must, the bullet-proof vest is too hot so pack it in a plastic bag for now, the multi-purpose military knife is better than nothing, Iâll stick it in my pocketâŠâ
Zhang Xiaoman methodically prepared his gear, planning to head to the locust grove in the northern suburb that afternoon to find the space node and complete the last exploration.
Having bundled three steel swords together with a rope and slung them over his back, Zhang Xiaoman suddenly looked a bit pale.
He weighed the bulk behind him and muttered to himself, âMiscalculated!â
The reason was nothing else but their heaviness!
When he had been purchasing the steel swords, to make his weapon adaptable to more types of terrain, he had chosen those that were thick and heavy, each one immense in size, resembling the broadswords used by European medieval knights.
Now, as Zhang Xiaoman held one of the swords in his hand, he startlingly realized just how heavy it actually wasâburdensome and weighty to hold.
Three swords strapped to his back felt like he was carrying Jin Bao.
In the end, Zhang Xiaoman packed the swords properly and even took along the âPurple Cloud Divine Swordâ given by Pei Laoliu as an extra.
After packing his things and leaving the house, he first took a trip to Pei Laoliuâs house.
Lately, every day, Zhang Xiaoman had been bringing two old geese to the elder, and then conveniently helping himself to a meal there, which was quite enjoyable.
For the past three days, in addition to searching for oddities every day, he also signed up for a gym membership nearby and had a beautiful personal trainer guide him through intense physical training.
Moreover, he had begun basic training for the dog Jin Bao as well.
However, somewhat helpless, he didnât know whether the silly dog was too dumb or had already used its skill when he wasnât aware.
In any case, no matter how he tried to guide it, he never saw the creature successfully cast âFollowing the Way of Heaven.â
Zhang Xiaoman did have some idea about how to teach Jin Bao to cast skills since he himself had used skills granted by the system.
He understood the method did not require accurately chanting or thinking the words âFollowing the Way of Heaven.â
It required one to be clear in their subconscious mind about what they wanted to do next and what effect they hoped to achieve; then, the corresponding skill would manifest effortlessly.
But for now, limited by energy, Zhang Xiaoman could not set up a Sword Array for Jin Bao to try it out in, so he could only proceed with the dogâs training slowly.
Master Liu seemed to have been in a good mood these past few days, not sure if it was because he had been eating old geese every day.
In any case, Zhang Xiaoman noticed that his smile seemed to have never left his face the last couple of days, to the point that even his daily use of the air conditioner didnât provoke any glares from him.
âMaster Liu, did you come across some good fortune recently?
Why do you have such a sleazy smile every day?â
Zhang Xiaoman asked while helping himself to Master Liuâs specialty dish âOne Sweep Clean.â
âOne Sweep Cleanâ was really just Master Liuâs preparation of minced garlic with dried tofu, which got its name because it was always the first to be finished whenever it was served.
Master Liu simply shook his fan, gave him a look, and said with discontent,
âHow can you talk like that, kid?
When have I ever smiled sleazily?â
Zhang Xiaoman blinked, âEvery time you successfully tricked someone, you had that grin.
I have a vivid memory of it.â
Pei Laoliu calmly took a bite of his food and replied nonchalantly,
âWhat do you mean âtrickedâ?
Was that trickery?
They came to pay the consultation fee, and I removed their mental blocks.
That was psychological therapy!â
Zhang Xiaoman bowed, âI had no idea my Sixth Grandpa was such a venerable doctor; my sincerest apologies.â
Ignoring his jest, Pei Laoliu continued,
âDo you know why Iâm so happy?
Itâs why I fried up both pork and beef for you.
Itâs because, a few days ago, I received a phone call.â
âA phone call?
From who?â
Curious and intrigued by his mysterious demeanor, Zhang Xiaoman pressed.
Pei Laoliu waved his fan.
âIt was from Binglong Province, from the organizers of the Cultivation Conference!â
âThe day before yesterday, someone in charge over there called me.
They actually said they sincerely wanted to invite me to the Cultivation Conference and asked me to honor them with my presence.
They were so polite on the phone, and they offered me this much in travel expensesâŠ
Heh, who would have thought that I, Sixth Master Pei, would have such renown in this fieldâŠâ
As he spoke, Pei Laoliu gestured a âsixâ with his hand and smiled particularly happily at Zhang Xiaoman.