A Windfall

Lu Ming did not know what the three girls were thinking, and even if he did, he would not have cared. After all, with their status, it was likely difficult for them to empathize with his situation.

After taking Lu Ming's heavenly gold sand, the old shopkeeper began cleaning off the yellow clay with a special solution, extracting the pills one by one.

The first few pills were of extremely poor quality, with only a trace of remaining medicinal efficacy—virtually useless duds.

This caused the surrounding onlookers to shake their heads repeatedly. This young man was still too green; he did not realize how deep the waters were in these places, thinking that scoring a bargain once meant he could do it a second time...

The old shopkeeper grinned, revealing her yellow teeth. “Young man, all sales are final at my shop. Whether you hit the jackpot or end up empty-handed has absolutely nothing to do with this old woman.”

Lu Ming merely smiled, keeping his eyes fixed on her as she washed the pills.

“Eh?”

The old woman suddenly let out a soft cry of surprise. As the special yellow clay was washed away from the clay ball in her hand, a relatively intact pill was revealed, instantly releasing a faint pill fragrance.

“Whoa, is that a High-grade Bone Refining Pill?!” The surrounding crowd gasped. Everyone could see the extremely faint, shattered gold markings on the pill's body.

Although this Bone Refining Pill was only a semi-finished product and its efficacy fell far short of a genuine High-grade Bone Refining Pill, its value had already multiplied many times over compared to the cost of thirty grains of heavenly gold sand.

This scene left Zhou Fuling, Li Shuang, and Yan Zhizhi somewhat stunned. They clearly had not expected Lu Ming's luck to actually be this good.

But before they could react further, the old shopkeeper quickly washed the remaining clay balls clean. Soon, a spectacular range of emotions played across her dark, weathered face.

Of the remaining five clay balls she washed, four turned out to be relatively high-quality pills. Most importantly, one of them was a Dharma Inscription Pill.

Although it was only a Low-grade Dharma Inscription Pill with incomplete efficacy, a Dharma Inscription Pill was worth several times more than a Bone Refining Pill!

“Wow, this luck is just insane!”

“This kid bought ten clay balls and got five pills out of them?! And one is even a semi-finished Dharma Inscription Pill?!” The onlookers around the Half-Pill Shop erupted in a clamor, everyone's faces filled with utter disbelief.

Those present were all veterans who frequently gambled here. When had they ever seen such a high success rate?

Based on the value of these pills, their combined worth likely exceeded a thousand grains of heavenly gold sand.

How did this kid pull it off? Was it really just luck?

Several doubtful and suspicious gazes fell upon Lu Ming, who was currently wearing an expression of wild ecstasy, looking exactly like a gambler who had hit the jackpot.

“Quick, give me the pills!” Lu Ming urged, putting on a show of frantic excitement as he hurriedly reached out his hand.

The old shopkeeper's face contorted with pain. Her lips trembled and twitched, but since she had spoken so confidently earlier, she could only reluctantly stuff the pills into Lu Ming's hand with a resentful glare.

A devastating loss!

“Don't you ever come back here again, kid!” the old woman spat through gritted teeth.

Lu Ming did not care. Scoring a bargain like this once was more than enough. He pocketed the pills, turned, and began to walk away.

However, Zhou Fuling took a step forward to block his path. Her beautiful eyes studied him with astonishment and suspicion, her rosy lips parting slightly. “How did you do that? Can you also smell the pill fragrance?”

“What? I've never refined pills before, so how would I know anything about pill fragrance? It was just good luck,” Lu Ming said, shaking his head repeatedly.

Zhou Fuling's delicate brows furrowed slightly. Good luck allowed someone to score such a massive bargain in a deep-water place like the Half-Pill Shop? Did he really think this place was a charity house?

But Lu Ming had no intention of chatting with her. Slipping to the side, he melted into the crowd and vanished.

Zhou Fuling hesitated for a moment but did not pursue him.

Beside her, Yan Zhizhi remarked, “It must have been a blind cat stumbling upon a dead mouse. Even you couldn't see through the yellow clay, Fuling. How could a commoner from a Divine Ability Hall have such ability?”

Li Shuang although remained silent, she shared Yan Zhizhi's sentiment. After all, if even Zhou Fuling could not achieve such a feat, how could Lu Ming?

Zhou Fuling's eyes flickered. She was certain that this was absolutely not pure luck. However, he probably had not used her method of "smelling the fragrance" either; he must have employed some other means.

Yet Lu Ming had never studied the Dao of Alchemy, nor could anyone have taught him pill refinement. How exactly did he manage to precisely select those semi-finished pills from among so many clay-covered balls?

In that instant, Zhou Fuling suddenly recalled what Zhou Xuan had once told her while teaching her pill refinement.

Zhou Xuan had said that some individuals with extraordinary talent in pill refinement possessed an innate gift for sensing pill energy.

Pill fragrance could be masked by yellow clay, but pill energy was far more mystical, elusive, and difficult to detect.

Could it be... that Lu Ming possessed such a pill-refining talent?!

Zhou Fuling's gaze flickered as she watched Lu Ming's figure disappear into the bustling crowd, a trace of curiosity rising in her heart.

As this thought took root, when she recalled Lu Ming's previous actions, she no longer felt he had the greedy mindset of a gambler. Instead, he seemed like a wise angler casting his line, calm and entirely in control.

Had Lu Ming known of her shift in perspective, he could only have sighed inwardly. A young woman's mind was truly something one should never try to guess.

One second she was looking down on you, and the next, she had somehow found a brilliant light in you all on her own.

...

After leaving the Half-Pill Shop, Lu Ming waited for Lu Qingyan at their designated meeting spot.

“Did you spend all the money I gave you? Try to save a bit.”

“The materials for setting up the Divine Ability Restrictions are truly expensive, but we have no choice but to buy them. The medicinal garden is outside the city, close to the Black Rain Zone. If we don't protect it and the garden gets destroyed, our Thunderfire Hall will have to live on the wind.”

Lu Qingyan sighed upon seeing Lu Ming, wanting the boy to understand the family's difficult situation.

Lu Ming merely smiled and handed over a cloth pouch.

“What is this?” Lu Qingyan took it in confusion. Opening it, he saw five round pills resting quietly inside.

“Five pills? Four Bone Refining Pills and one Dharma Inscription Pill? They're all semi-finished products, but where did you get so many?” Lu Qingyan was astonished. He had only given Lu Ming three hundred grains of heavenly gold sand earlier, which was clearly far from enough to purchase these pills.

“I bought them at the Half-Pill Shop,” Lu Ming said.

“The Half-Pill Shop? How is that possible?!” Lu Qingyan had naturally heard of such shops. However, to his knowledge, those places were absolute money pits. If even one person scored a decent pill in a day, they would be thanking the heavens. When had anyone ever seen such a high success rate?

Lu Ming shrugged, as if to say, believe it or not.

“Really? How did you do it?” Seeing this, Lu Qingyan believed most of it. After all, there was no point in Lu Ming lying to him.

“My own capability, of course. You know how it is,” Lu Ming chuckled.

Lu Qingyan recalled the opportunities hidden within Lu Ming's body and came to a sudden realization. He shook his head with a laugh, pocketed the pills, and said, “I'll go handle these. They should easily fetch around a thousand grains of heavenly gold sand. Not bad, this is quite a windfall. I can buy you two more High-grade Bone Refining Pills with this.”

“But stay away from these shady avenues in the future. The waters in those places are deep. Going once is fine, but going again is just looking for trouble. If you run into someone with ill intentions, danger will surely follow. You are the Divine Ability Child of our Lu family; you must not take risks in such places.” As a father, he still offered his son a word of caution.

Lu Ming nodded obediently. He had no intention of using this to make a living anyway; he had only done it to help ease the family's financial burden.

“Dad, why don't you exchange them for a Dharma Inscription Pill instead? You need it for your own cultivation right now,” he suggested. Currently, all of the family's resources were being funneled into him, and Lu Qingyan had not used a Dharma Inscription Pill for his own cultivation in a very long time.

Lu Qingyan waved his hand, telling him not to worry about it. He turned and went to find Manager Xu, returning a short while later with two High-grade Bone Refining Pills.

“Keep them safe.”

He handed the pills to Lu Ming and waved his hand as he walked out of the chamber of commerce. “Come on, let's head back to the hall.”

Seeing this, Lu Ming could only pocket the pills and quickly follow behind.