Chapter 1004: Chapter 1004

"Should we report this matter?"

Gazing at the closed shop door, the storekeeper murmured to himself.

"Forget it, the less trouble, the better. The tablet is connected to the server anyway, if the Civil Affairs Department needs to know, they already do."

After a moment, he made up his mind.

"Damn it, what kind of bad luck did I have today to run into such a tough guy?"

The storekeeper recalled the frustrating encounter and grew angrier, jumping onto the counter.

He grabbed the wings of a big red rooster from between his legs and made a fierce sprint in the direction Liu Zheng had left.

Meanwhile, Liu Zheng got into the sports car and floored the accelerator straight to Jidao Public Bath.

Jinzi said nothing, directly handing him a box as he entered.

Liu Zheng opened the box to find a rusty wristwatch.

It wasn't a damaged watch after all.

He picked up the watch and an item description immediately popped up.

"Name: Legendary delivery man's Rusty Gold Watch (One-Time Use)"

"Effect: Evolves based on the weight of the gold offered by the player, up to Perfect Quality."

"Remark: Never mind if it's rusty or not, just tell me, is it gold?"

"Can it be taken out of the instance: Yes"

"That's just like you."

Liu Zheng was in awe of the Legendary delivery man.

You say he did poorly, yet he could afford a gold watch.

You say he did well, yet even his gold watch was rusty.

After some mental griping about the Legendary delivery man, Liu Zheng began examining his new item.

The gold he currently owned was four gold bars scavenged from the bodies of Round God Sect followers and the two-billion-worth gold given by the Fisherman as debt payment.

"Should be enough to upgrade to Perfect Quality, right?"

He placed a gold bar on top of the rusty watch.

A sound like sucking on milk rang out, the gold bar quickly corroded with green rust, while a small patch of rust fell off the watch, revealing the golden surface beneath.

Liu Zheng picked up the gold bar, and it crumbled into green rust sticking to his hand with hardly any effort.

"Quite the appetite. Alright, let's see how much you can consume."

He continued placing one gold bar after another on the rusty watch, watching them turn into rusted chunks.

After consuming fifty gold bars in total, the rust completely fell off the watch, restoring it to a shiny golden appearance.

"Name: Legendary delivery man's Gold Watch (One-Time Use)"

"Effect: After use, the player will randomly gain a gold-related ability."

"Remark: Gold is power!"

"Can it be taken out of the instance: No"

"Again with the randomness."

To be honest, he didn't like random items, especially high-quality random items.

After all, life isn't a game where you can reload if things go badly.

"Great master, at least I am your successor, don't trick me. I'll bring some Golden Standard Wine to pay my respects."

He bowed in the direction of the Legendary delivery man's skeleton, then put the gold watch on his hand.

This kind of random item revealed nothing on the surface and didn't need storage in the System Space. When not in use, it could still be used to check the time.

"Zheng Chan, don't you watch?"

Jinzi observed quietly.

"It's not that I dislike the watch, I just don't like relying on luck."

Liu Zheng shared the watch's effect with her.

"I see. Zheng Chan, please wait a moment."

After pondering for a moment, Jinzi spoke.

Jinzi unwound the ornament from her hair, letting her long black hair cascade like a waterfall.

She then opened her mouth and let out a sound resembling birdsong.

Soon, responses sounded from within the hot spring.

Attendants similar but not identical to Jinzi emerged from the bath, all with cascading hair, chirping along, Seiko among them.

Once gathered, the attendants lined up in two rows, forming a human litter by holding each other's hands.

"Zheng Chan, please get on."

He leapt onto the litter, making a perfect dive that landed him smoothly.

The attendants stood firm, as though the weight was feathers instead of a three-hundred-pound man.

With Jinzi's command, the attendants carried him toward the male bath.

Passing through the curtain, Liu Zheng was not greeted by a steaming bath, but a dark red Bird House, with a small shrine positioned on the other side.

The silent attendants carried him forward, with each step making the shrine grow larger.

After several steps, the shrine reached half his height, making the deity's statue inside visible to him.

The old man holding a fishing rod, cradling a sea bream, was indeed the Ebisu God he had offered to last time.

At that moment, the attendants halted.

Though still standing upright, Liu Zheng sensed the pressure from their tense expressions.

"Iyā hei! Soran, soran!"

Jinzi suddenly opened her voice in a shout.

"Soran! Soran! Soran!"

Her kin followed suit.

Though he couldn't understand their chant, the surging vitality burst forth from the song.

And amidst the song, the litter continued forward; though the ground was flat, Liu Zheng felt as though he was ascending a mountain.

The shrine grew increasingly large until it matched the size of the Leshan Giant Buddha; the litter finally stopped beneath the Bird House.

And the chanting reached its climax.

Liu Zheng looked down to see each attendant drenched in sweat, their clothes stained with white salt marks.

They stood tall, but their eyes were somewhat dull and vacant.

Looking at them, a phrase popped into his mind.

"The spent force of a mighty bow."

Jinzi called out again, her voice now hoarse like a cry of blood from a cuckoo.

The attendants summoned every ounce of strength, collapsing across the Bird House.

The human litter disintegrated, Jinzi and her kin lay scattered on the ground.

"Zheng Chan, don't mind us, go make your offering to the Ebisu God."

Jinzi struggled to speak.

Liu Zheng shook his head, lifting each one to sit upright and feeding them a piece of Dried Fish.

Jinzi gazed at him with emotion, Seiko's eyes were on the verge of tears.

Liu Zheng said nothing, merely patting their shoulders before approaching the statue.

The scarlet eyes of the Ebisu God shifted from the attendants to him.

Silently, Liu Zheng invoked the name of Amaterasu omikami, causing a phantom Golden Jade to appear in his right eye.

Seeing the mark of Amaterasu omikami, the Ebisu God's expression shifted, diverting its gaze off him.

The immense pressure dissipated, and Liu Zheng took steps toward the statue.

Just like last time, he clapped his hands three times and bowed three times, then placed a gold bar at the foot of the statue.

"O mighty Ebisu God, take as much offering as you need, just do not take from my friends."

To show sincerity, he even kneeled on one knee.

Jinzi and Seiko couldn't bear it, struggling to stand.

"Silence, do not move. If any of you stand, I'll never step into Jidao Public Bath again."

Liu Zheng warned without turning around.

"...Understood, Lord Liu Zheng."

Jinzi and Seiko ceased their attempts, offering him a worshipful salute with their kin. Follow current novᴇls on novel⦿fire.net

Ebisu God's gaze swept over them, its originally smiling lips stretching wider.

"Buy more buns! Buy more buns!"

The carp in its hand cried again.

Realizing the offering was insufficient, Liu Zheng presented ten more gold bars.

Ebisu God finally relented, releasing the fish.

The wooden carp, as large as a car, wagged its tail and soared toward Liu Zheng.