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The white light almost blinded Sushang. She shut her eyes in a hurry.
What was going on?
She already knew the classifications—black, green, blue, purple, gold.
The later the color, the higher the rank of the Curio; the better the item inside.
But today, a color she had never seen before appeared—white?
Could she have drawn a top-tier Curio?!
Realizing this, Sushang's heart started pounding violently. Yanqing's Massacre Ruler was famous throughout the Cloud Knights—its power to sever anything was overwhelmingly dominant!
And that was only a purple Curio! White was two grades higher—even more of a leap than comparing the Massacre Ruler to a green Curio. Wouldn't the power be straight up heaven-defying?!
Once the light faded, Sushang looked around, left and right, but couldn't find her Curio anywhere.
But her excitement didn't drop in the slightest. She leapt toward the counter, slapped both hands on the desk, half her body leaning forward as she asked Sylvester excitedly: "Shopkeeper Sylvester, what did I get just now?!"
"Hm…"
Sylvester looked at her joyful face so close to his and carefully chose his words. "Miss Sushang, do you know what white symbolizes?"
"Ah? What does that have to do with a trash can?" Sushang couldn't understand where he was going with this, but still voiced her impression honestly. "White should represent purity, something clean and flawless, right? Everyone says stuff like 'pure as white jade.' Probably that kind of meaning."
"Correct!" Sylvester praised her cleverness. "As the saying goes, 'When the rooster crows, the world becomes white.' White represents the shifting of Heaven and Earth, pure qi rising, impure qi sinking—the omen of great fortune. And purity is the state of all things at the beginning; it means everything is developing in a good direction—a sign of flourishing vitality!"
"Ohhh, so white has that kind of symbolism too? I learned something new!"
Although she didn't understand what this had to do with opening a trash can, Sushang still felt it sounded impressive, and her confidence shot up further.
She was eager to know what Curio she had obtained.
Sushang asked spiritedly: "So what was inside my trash can?"
"In conclusion, white represents the beginning of all things—its purest state. Therefore…"
Sylvester gently delivered the answer: "It's an empty can."
"Ah~~ ah?"
Before her brain could process the meaning, she let out an excited "Ah~~" reflexively.
But then the meaning hit her, and the ending turned into a sharp "Ah?"
Empty… empty… empty can? Does that mean nothing was inside?
So, I spent a million Credits… just for a trash can to flash a bright light in my face?
What kind of light?! This is way too expensive!
Sushang, so shocked that she even produced an inverted sentence, found her brain as empty as the trash can.
Guinaifen moved beside her buddy and asked in disbelief, "There are empty cans too?"
Sylvester said slowly, "Even black cans—which are purely negative Curios—exist. How could an empty can be unusual?"
He waved his hand. "Think of the bright side. Isn't this a lot better than getting cursed and dying on the spot?"
Hearing that, Sushang's face darkened and her mouth twitched.
Technically speaking, he wasn't wrong—it was much better than a black can. But why didn't she feel happy at all?
Was it because of those material things, those mere one million Credits?
Of course it was!
Why else?!
Did they know how hard it was to save that money?
It was the medical fees she painstakingly saved after the Alchemy Commission had a breakthrough explosion in technology, which caused healing medicine prices to plummet! Every bit of it was her sweat and tears!
"This… isn't entirely wrong," Guinaifen reluctantly accepted.
Even if they obviously lost money, the contents were random; whatever came out was purely luck.
But…
Seeing her friend's face getting darker and darker, she cautiously asked, "Shangshang, then next…"
"Open!" Sushang gritted her teeth. "Open another one!"
The good mood from drawing the Shapeshifting Yogurt was completely gone.
But if she averaged the loss between the two cans, she still came out ahead… maybe?
If she were willing to sell the Shapeshifting Yogurt, tons of weird people would pay outrageous prices for it—she could even make a fortune.
But those people weren't as pure-hearted and kind as the "Friend of Luofu's Animals." Who knew what strange things they'd do with little animals?
So, she absolutely would not sell the yogurt.
Since that was the case, if she wanted to make back her losses, she had only one choice—
Keep opening!
Gamble until the end, and all shall be revealed!
"Let's go!"
This time, Sushang didn't even tap the trash can—she simply grabbed the one farthest from her, tucked away in the corner.
If it didn't want her attention, then it definitely contained something good!
She pulled it open; blue light illuminated her face.
"Whew~~"
Seeing that glow, half the gloom in Sushang's heart dissipated.
It seemed the previous incident was just an accident. Her luck wasn't bad at all.
Even without seeing the Curio yet, she nodded in satisfaction.
Sylvester watched her helplessly, sighing inwardly.
Look how frightened the girl has become. One moment ecstatic, one moment furious, one moment serene.
Was this the horror of a bent probability pool? Enough to give someone a nervous breakdown.
A faintly glowing crystal appeared.
[Stone of Enlightenment:Can grant wisdom to mundane objects, awakening intelligence. Turns ordinary weapons into precious magical tools, lifeless objects into sentient treasures, perfectly attuned to their wielder, sharing joys and sorrows.(Note:can also treat congenital cognitive disabilities; one stone cures all.)]
Sushang looked eagerly, so Sylvester explained before she could even ask: "The [Stone of Enlightenment]—grants wisdom to unliving objects. In other words, it transforms dead objects into living beings!"
"Yanqing's Massacre Ruler only developed a sword spirit because of this thing, allowing him to fight side by side with it, sharing everything."
"Granting wisdom… to dead objects? There's a Curio for that too?"
She had heard countless legends about the Massacre Ruler, but its companion—the [Stone of Enlightenment]—was long gone into Yanqing's sword and mostly forgotten, only recorded in the Luofu's Curio archives. So, for Sushang, it was completely new.
And precisely because it was new, the shock it brought was immense.
Transforming dead matter into thinking life—how was that even possible?
The Ten-Lords Commission's puppetcraft could separate consciousness from the physical body, creating a form of pseudo-immortality—that was already shocking.
But even they couldn't create intelligence from nothing!
Yet this tiny stone could?
Sylvester had said Yanqing used this stone to awaken the Massacre Ruler's spirit in one go—creating a sword spirit.
If she used this on her Xuanyuan Sword… what would happen?
That would be a historic achievement even her entire family had never accomplished! She might even earn her own page in the family genealogy!
Mother, are you seeing this? Your daughter is going to bring honor to the family!
"Oh, by the way, this thing can also be used on people. It works wonders for intelligence," Sylvester added casually, ensuring she didn't miss any information. "It can even cure mental disabilities. One stone—guaranteed results!"
He gave a confident thumbs-up.
"Hm?"
Sushang was puzzled. Why was he telling me that? Did she need it?!