A Fertility Pill!
On Liuquan Street, Yan Hanzhang clutched the porcelain bottle in the darkness of the night, a belated, wild joy surging through him.
His sister had been married into the Xu Family for ten years. As the wife of the eldest son of the main branch, she managed the family business, ran the household, honored her parents-in-law, and was kind to the younger siblings... In every aspect, one could say she was flawless.
She should have been able to secure the authority befitting the primary wife of the eldest son. And with the Xu Family being one of the few Innate Clans in Su Yang City, wouldn't protecting the Yan Family have been a simple matter?
But tragically, his sister had remained childless for ten years. In the last two years, the Xu Family's eldest son had taken one concubine after another. Among them, a favored concubine from the Chen Family was now pregnant. The Chen Family's status had risen accordingly, and more than half of the pressure Yan Hanzhang faced came directly from them!
The Chen Family was so arrogant, wasn't it just because of that pregnant belly? But what if his sister could get pregnant too?
Not only that, but next to the Fertility Pill was a recipe.
Yan Hanzhang recognized it. It was a recipe for a flavor essence. The recipe stated that this substance was the very essence of the five flavors, adaptable to any dish, capable of powerfully enhancing taste and freshness, and working wonders with even the most mundane ingredients.
As a restaurant owner, Yan Hanzhang understood the value of such a thing.
As long as the recipe was real, this would be the perfect leverage for him to escape his current predicament.
Of course, Yan Hanzhang also knew the real reason the Chen Family dared to bully them so openly. On the surface, it was because his sister was losing the struggle between the wife and concubines, but in reality... who was to say the Xu Family hadn't tacitly approved of it?
'A primary wife who has lost the backing of her family, a primary wife who has been childless for years... her just occupying the position is a waste!'
'But there's no rush. I'll take it slow. I've had this miraculous encounter today. So what if I have to sell my soul from now on? Just give me one chance to rise...'
The night was dim, but Yan Hanzhang's heart was surging with excitement.
Under the faint lamplight, he tightened his grip on the flavor essence recipe and the Fertility Pill, only to realize that the dark shadow that had been floating beside him was now gone.
Yan Hanzhang grew alarmed and tentatively asked, "Divine Venerable, are you still there, Your Holiness?"
There was no response. Yan Hanzhang searched the area but found nothing.
He quickly chose a direction and bowed deeply. "This disciple respectfully sees off the Divine Venerable."
But the true body of the Divine Venerable he was seeing off, Song Ciwan, had of course long since departed.
'No need for too much contact with a tool. I'm just an unremarkable Demon-Washing Servant. What does some supremely just and impartial Nameless Divine Venerable have to do with me?'
At Jishan Square, Song Ciwan returned home without a sound.
The Big White Goose hadn't noticed her departure, and naturally, it didn't notice her return either. It was sound asleep in its coop.
Song Ciwan leaned in to look at its dopey sleeping face, a smile touching her lips.
Yan Hanzhang was a qualified tool. Not only did he readily provide a generous sum of money, but he also allowed Song Ciwan to collect two different types of energy.
And so, after returning home, Song Ciwan could open some blind boxes again.
She returned to her room, first hiding the 350 taels of silver she had received in her wardrobe and a wooden chest under her bed. Then, she washed her hands, calmed her mind, and summoned the Heaven and Earth Scale.
The first type of energy: [There is great terror between life and death. Human desires, hatred, sorrow, and fear. Weight: three catties and seven taels. Available for trade.]
She sold it and received [First Level Divine Communication Skill: Infinite Power].
To put it simply, this was one of the Giant Power Divine Techniques that amplified one's strength. Power... it was so simple and unadorned, yet so indispensable.
Good. Very good.
Song Ciwan wanted to laugh but held it in. 'It's the middle of the night, what's there to laugh about? A little secret joy is enough!'
The second type of energy: [All things have a spirit and can be objects of faith. Wish Power. Weight: one catty and nine taels. Available for trade.]
This wisp of energy was more interesting. It was actually the Power of Faith from Yan Hanzhang.
Song Ciwan had only put on an act, fabricating an impartial, Nameless Divine Venerable simply to hide her own identity. Who would have thought she could actually collect the Power of Faith from Yan Hanzhang because of it!
She tried selling it and received a colorless, transparent Elixir Pill the size of a longan: [Wish Power Pill. Refined from the Wish Power of a believer. This is a Pure Level pill, free of karmic ties after formation. Consuming it can accelerate Cultivation.]
Song Ciwan held the Wish Power Pill in her hand. It felt cool and pleasant to the touch, like a Jade Pearl.
She pondered the information she had just obtained, a thousand thoughts racing through her mind.
The Heaven and Earth Scale still had six trades left for the day. Song Ciwan used up all six remaining chances while she continued to think.
In one of the trades, she sold a basket of pomegranates and received a Fertility Pill.
The Fertility Pill she had given Yan Hanzhang was acquired in the same way. This was something nearly impossible for an ordinary person to obtain, but for Song Ciwan, it was just a matter of a basket of pomegranates!
She stored all the various materials she had acquired, including the Fertility Pill, back into the Heaven and Earth Scale. Then, taking out the Wish Power Pill and a Strengthening Pill, she began her daily Cultivation.
The Pure Level Wish Power Pill was free of karma and had no side effects, so Song Ciwan decided to try it and see just how much it could really "accelerate Cultivation."
After a night of Cultivation, dawn arrived.
At first light, the crowing of distant roosters seemed to part the clouds, and rays of dawn spilled across the land.
In the Song Family Courtyard, the Big White Goose, not wanting to be left out, stretched out its head, raised its long neck, and began to sing: "GACK! GACK! GACK GACK GACK!"
Song Ciwan woke up and inspected her body. She could feel her True Qi flowing like a lively, burbling mountain stream. It gathered in her Dantian as a clear pool, three feet deep, its capacity more than ten times what it had been the day before.
'A Wish Power Pill? This is no Wish Power Pill, it should be called a 10x XP Pill... no... a 100x XP Pill is more like it!'
Refining Essence and Transforming Qi. Song Ciwan felt that her Cultivation in the Qi Transformation Stage had taken a huge leap forward. If True Qi Magical Power were measured in years, she now possessed at least fifty years' worth of Cultivation!
Her confidence in her ability to survive had grown, which was a truly delightful feeling.
The Big White Goose came waddling over, gacking to demand its meal. Song Ciwan squatted down to hug it affectionately, but the goose let out a wretched cry: "GACK! GACK GACK GACK!"
Huh? Huh??
'What's going on? Has the little guy suddenly gotten all fussy?'
Soon, Song Ciwan discovered it wasn't the goose being fussy. She was covered in a foul-smelling sweat, having expelled a thick layer of filth from her body.
The smell, the sheer destructive power of it... The Big White Goose let out an indignant, long cry: "GACK! GACK GACK—"
Mortified, Song Ciwan fled to draw water and wash herself.
The result of her Power skyrocketing overnight was a cleansing of her essence and marrow, expelling impurities to retain purity. It was just a little rough on her precious Big White Goose...
Song Ciwan immediately bathed, changed her clothes, and lit the fire to cook.
After she finished, she gave a basin of food to the Big White Goose, kept a portion for herself, and took the rest to the adjacent bedroom, placing it as an offering before the spirit tablets of Song Youde and his wife.
Ever since arriving in this world, Song Ciwan had felt that she and the original owner of this body were one and the same. She had inherited her body and memories, so naturally, she had to shoulder her responsibilities and duties as well.
Although her consciousness was primarily that of the transmigrated Song Ciwan, who was to say that the Song Ciwan of this world wasn't just another side of her own self?
Perhaps they had always been the same person. It was just that, at that one moment, she had awakened her past life's Innate Wisdom and broken through the Mystery of the Womb!
Song Ciwan stood before the spirit tablets of Song Youde and his wife. After paying her respects, she stood in silence for a moment before whispering, "Father, Mother, time passes so quickly. In a blink of an eye, I've almost forgotten what it was like when you were still here."
"Have you been reunited in the underworld? Are you now cultivating merit for your next lives?"
"If there is a next life, I hope you both are born into wealth, grow up in leisure, and live a long, safe, healthy, and happy life."
"I..."
She found it difficult to continue, but certain words and certain matters weighed heavily on her heart.
From the day she saw the junior official's death under the Blood-Breaking Saber through the Fox Demon's eyes, and learned that the compensation for a demon-catching black clerk wasn't fifty taels of silver, but one hundred—from that moment on, a storm had been brewing in her heart.
As long as this injustice remained, the storm would not cease.
In this world, self-preservation was certainly a must, but there were some things that also must be done.
Song Ciwan said, "Father, Mother, don't worry. I know. I understand. I know what I have to do. I won't be rash, but I can start preparing..."
A ray of morning light shone through the window, illuminating half of Song Ciwan's delicate, porcelain-like face and the faint smile on her lips.
It carried a unique tranquility, like a lotus half-unfurled or the depths beneath still waters.