Yunli pinched the pill in her fingers, looking utterly miserable.
She felt like a clueless kitten—the Goddess of Fortune dangled a fish treat from a hook, swaying it teasingly above her head. Every time she leapt, claws outstretched, just as she was about to touch it—the hook would snap upward, always just out of reach.
Ahhh! Why is the goddess so mean?! If you're going to show me the treat, at least let me bite it!
And after all that struggle, when she finally managed to grab the fish treat and bit into it—she found out it was catnip shaped like a fish treat!
She looked down at the spoils before her.
Tall leather boots.
Silk stockings.
Iridescent nail polish.
And a Fenglong Pill.
That was four million Credits…
Enough to buy herself Berrypheasant Skewers for ten years and still have plenty left over.
But what she'd drawn—one item after another—was utterly useless.
Especially the [Fenglong Pill]. I'm just a kid! Why would I need something like this?!
She'd been practicing martial arts since she was small—her body didn't need any "enhancements."
The more she thought about it, the puffier her cheeks became.
She threw the useless items to the ground in frustration. If not for the people watching, she would've stomped on them until they broke.
Then… she slipped the [Fenglong Pill] into her sleeve.
Well… maybe it had some use. Better to be prepared—who knew when she might need it someday?
Qingque, meanwhile, was too focused on finishing her work quickly so she could go slack off, and didn't notice Yunli's sneaky action.
She only sighed inwardly.
Now this is the normal outcome of opening barrels.
Those stories about drawing "purples" and "golds"? Pure luck.
Judging by the way the little girl's face twisted in pain, she must have saved up her pocket money for ages. Poor thing—she probably lost it all in one go.
Hopefully she wouldn't go into debt or something. It'd be pitiful for a kid to start borrowing money to keep gambling on Curios.
Good thing I don't gamble.
Beneath her record book, Qingque secretly opened her Jade Abacus, muted the sound, and started a round of Celestial Jade.
She sneaked a glance at Sylvester.
Still no reaction. Perfect.
Sure, he wouldn't scold her even if he noticed—but what fun was there in legal slacking? Half the thrill came from getting away with it!
Sylvester hadn't noticed her game.
But he had noticed Yunli's little trick.
She'd thrown everything else away in frustration—but pocketed the Fenglong Pill.
Really? Even a little girl worries about that stuff?
Was the body-shape anxiety among Xianzhou residents really that serious?
Thinking about it, it wasn't impossible.
There were plenty of short but mature-minded people in Luofu—like the "Auntie" from Aurum Alley, or the little shopkeeper from the Night Market.
The people of the Xianzhou matured mentally far faster than they grew physically—it made sense that body image could be a sore point.
As for Yunli—
Sylvester's gaze swept over her once, top to bottom.
Mhm… potential. Definitely potential. Considerable potential.
"What are you looking at?"
Yunli caught his strange gaze and immediately bristled like an angry cat.
Her eyes narrowed. "You're not some kind of creep, are you?"
"I practice the art of truesight," Sylvester said solemnly. "I can see the flow of fortune invisible to ordinary eyes."
Of course, that was nonsense—creative nonsense.
"Really?" Yunli's eyes brightened instantly. "Then quick, tell me what my luck looks like!"
She'd heard rumors that he could even remove curses of misfortune. If he could do that, surely he could "see" luck too!
If only she'd known sooner—she could've saved a lot of Credits!
She glanced at the pile of useless Curios on the floor, feeling her heart ache with every look.
"Well…" Sylvester opened his [Eye of Truesight]—though he wasn't looking at her, but at the batch of Curio Trash Cans instead.
There was, indeed, one purple-tier Curio among them—but it sat in the furthest corner from Yunli's reach.
Judging by her earlier picks, she'd probably never find it.
He said slowly, "Your luck is that of the dragon and tiger—colorful, but shrouded in mist. Before you act, you must think carefully."
A gentle hint—though how she'd interpret it depended entirely on her own luck.
"Think carefully…" Yunli muttered, frowning hard.
She prided herself on being clever—but deep thinking was definitely not her strength.
The harder she tried to analyze, the dizzier she felt, her thoughts spinning until her eyes were practically spirals.
Finally, she clenched her fists.
Whatever! I'm not letting the Goddess of Fortune treat me like a dumb kitten again!
She strode decisively to the furthest Trash Can—the one Sylvester had been looking at—and lifted her right hand, three fingers pointed skyward.
O Reignbow Arbiter, if You also govern the fate of Curio draws—please, hear my prayer!
I'm willing to trade twenty years of Yanqing's lifespan for a Curio strong enough to defeat him!
"Open!"
She shouted the word, snapping the lid open—then immediately squeezed her eyes shut, afraid to look.
In her head, she chanted, Purple purple purple!
Sylvester watched, an odd warmth of familiarity rising in his chest.
When the glow faded, Yunli cautiously opened her eyes—
And saw that she was holding a sword.
A magnificent sword.
Its blade rested within a heavy blue-and-gold scabbard, its hilt gleaming with regal luster.
A greatsword!
"Fff—wow!"
She took a sharp breath, trying to calm her pounding heart.
After the last few disasters, she didn't dare celebrate too early.
If she screamed with joy only to find out it was green-tier, she'd never recover from the shame!
Instead, she turned to Sylvester with hopeful, pleading eyes.
Please, please let it be powerful…
Sylvester smiled faintly. "The light just now—it was purple."
"Yes!"
Yunli jumped high into the air, limbs stretched wide in exhilaration!
It worked! The Reignbow Arbiter had truly heard her prayer!
So even Curio draws fell under Their domain! She'd have to tell Grandpa Huaiyan to record this great revelation in the sect's history!
A purple-tier Curio! Yanqing's [Massacre Ruler] was purple-tier too—but hers was a greatsword!
She'd crush him for sure!
Six million Credits well spent!
She lowered the sword, gripping the hilt tightly, and began to draw it from its sheath.
But the moment she pulled—
It was light. Far too light.
Wait… what?
A terrible feeling stirred in her chest.
Slowly, she drew the sword out—and froze.
The scabbard was ten centimeters wide… but the blade was barely five.
That was like trying to wear those oversized leather boots from earlier—it made no sense!
Still clinging to a shred of hope, she drew the rest of the blade.
Maybe it had a flared edge—wide at the tip, narrow at the base? Some eccentric design?
But no. The smith had clearly been sane.
The blade was narrow, perfectly parallel, and elegant—absolutely not a greatsword.
This isn't a greatsword at all!
At this point, Yunli suspected it wasn't the Reignbow Arbiter who had answered her prayer—but Lordly Trashcan himself.
She'd finally gotten a purple-tier Curio, only for it to turn out like this?!
"Hey, Sylvester, what kind of sword is this?"
Qingque, mid-game but still remembering her actual job, called out casually.
Sylvester, calm as ever, replied,
"From the Land of Destiny—a mighty relic. [Avalon] and the Sword of Promised Victory. [Excalibur], the King's Sword."