The small stone had no markings on it at all. It was extremely crystal clear, resembling milky white. It didn't look like it was formed naturally. Could it be some special button someone dropped? It looked particularly like something produced by factory processing.
"I thought I'd found an illegitimate child of Nuwa Stone, but it turns out to be a broken decorative item."
Ye Tiancheng couldn't continue earning money and was bored. Otherwise, he wouldn't have come here to dig for stones. Feeling it had no value, he prepared to throw away the broken stone.
"Try throwing me away if you dare."
Suddenly, a voice appeared in Ye Tiancheng's spiritual consciousness. It was a woman's voice, but it sounded like a man when speaking. Ye Tiancheng felt momentarily disoriented, wondering if he had misheard.
"Are you male or female? Since you're an illegitimate child of Nuwa Stone, no, you could also be an illegitimate daughter. Come out and meet an elder. Nuwa Stone and I are of the same generation."
"Stop the nonsense. Since you found me, you are my master. Wash me clean."
This time, Ye Tiancheng was sure he wasn't hallucinating. There was indeed a woman's voice, and more than that, it sounded like a queen's voice. The voice was very sharp, and it commanded Ye Tiancheng with great authority.
Ye Tiancheng didn't know why, but perhaps he had a certain respect for women. He quickly found a small puddle and washed the stone clean before putting it in his pocket.
After finishing, he had been loafing around for a while. Feeling that everyone else had finished their work, he went back to collect his wages, which amounted to four hundred and eight yuan. It seemed it wasn't much different, and he had fulfilled his promise, so he didn't incur anyone else's anger.
The foreman smiled at Ye Tiancheng and offered him a cigarette. "Honestly, brother, I was afraid you'd take my place. But you don't seem to have much ambition now. You probably just want to do short-term work and aren't planning to stay, right?"
"I don't smoke, but thank you, brother. You're really overthinking it. You see everyone working and not earning much money. I can earn over eight hundred a day, so why would I covet your position? That's completely unreasonable."
"That makes sense too."
The foreman put the cigarette back. After collecting his wages, Ye Tiancheng left. He had no need to associate with these people because Ye Tiancheng fundamentally looked down on them. Ye Tiancheng believed that his current farming for money was just a temporary delaying tactic, and he wouldn't be doing such menial work forever. Otherwise, everyone would always bring up the fact that he used to farm, and now that he was farming again, he'd never escape the fate of doing manual labor.
When Ye Tiancheng returned home, he handed over the more than four hundred yuan he had earned. He also told Xiao Pang about what happened today, and Xiao Pang encouraged Ye Tiancheng.
"It's normal to encounter petty people at work, Brother Ye. You don't need to overthink it. Anyway, I don't think it's a problem. How about this, from now on, you don't need to go there. I've already found a job as a chef, and I can earn six thousand yuan a month, which is two hundred yuan a day. This is a good job, and I can support you."
Ye Tiancheng saw the wilting flower on the windowsill and threw the stone from his pocket into the flowerpot. "Alas, how can I let you support me? You've become like this because of me. Being a kept man is already notorious. It's one thing to be kept by a woman, but to be kept by a brother like this is really problematic."
"What's wrong with that? I'm willing to support you. It's because you, Brother Ye, are capable. Even if someone knelt down and kowtowed to me, I wouldn't support them because they're simply not worthy. Only you, Brother Ye, are my darling."
Xiao Pang's words made Ye Tiancheng laugh. "You're truly my joy. I, Ye Tiancheng, can live without women, but if I lost you, my brother Xiao Pang, I feel like I'd be close to death."
"Brother Ye, don't say that, it's scary. It's like you've fallen deeply in love with me. I don't want to be a scumbag."
As the two were joking, Ye Tiancheng's gaze kept drifting towards the transparent stone. It wasn't that he was intentionally looking, but his eyes were unconsciously drawn to it. To his surprise, he discovered that the wilted flower on the flowerpot, whose leaves had been curled up, had now completely unfurled. Moreover, the yellow leaves were slowly turning green, and eventually, they even turned emerald green.
A plant that had once withered had been revitalized and was now full of life simply because a stone was placed near it. Ye Tiancheng wouldn't have believed it if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes.
Xiao Pang was equally astonished because Ye Tiancheng kept staring in that direction, and Xiao Pang's gaze followed Ye Tiancheng's. Soon, he discovered it and became extremely excited.
"This is amazing, Brother Ye! What kind of magic are you using? I know you're a cultivator. Did you use the resurrection technique?"
"This wasn't me. If I had this ability, I could find any dead rich person and earn billions. My true qi can heal injuries, but it definitely can't bring back the dead. That's very unrealistic."
Both of their gazes were completely captivated by the transparent stone. What's more, the stone was emitting a faint, ethereal glow, showcasing its uniqueness. Both Ye Tiancheng and Xiao Pang had expressions of astonishment on their faces.
"Amazing! You truly have a divine stone. Tell me, do you have any connection to Nuwa Stone?"
The stone began to emit a faint halo around it. Initially, it looked like an ordinary, unremarkable industrial product, but now it had unleashed such immense power. Ye Tiancheng could hardly believe it.
"I merely showed a little of my ability, and you're already so surprised. You have very little insight."
It was the woman's voice again. Even more miraculously, after the voice disappeared, the room suddenly felt incredibly clear and filled with vitality. Not only the plants but even the two of them felt as if they were about to float, experiencing a pleasant sensation akin to oxygen intoxication.
"What's wrong, Brother Ye? Why do you look so pleasing to my eyes now, like a beautiful woman, a voluptuous one at that?"
"I don't know either, Xiao Pang. I never thought you were handsome before, but now, you look incredibly dashing."
The reason for this magical feeling was the effect produced by the stone. Having witnessed these divine miracles firsthand, both Ye Tiancheng and Xiao Pang knew that this stone was undoubtedly a miraculous treasure, capable of emitting a power far greater than that of a pure land.
"Tell me, what's your situation? Our family's stinky stone disappeared, and now you've appeared. Do you have some kind of conspiracy?"
The woman's voice sounded very casual. It would appear when it wanted to and wouldn't respond no matter how Ye Tiancheng asked when it didn't want to. This infuriated him. Ye Tiancheng clearly felt that the only difference between this beautiful stone and Nuwa Stone was that this stone had feminine characteristics; it was rather proud.
"Fine, you don't have to speak. Anyway, I already have a stone. Since you have such magical power, I'll just sell you. I see that rich people are willing to pay ten billion for you. Since you're so powerful, I'll finally get rich."
Ye Tiancheng's move was merely a provocation, and it was quite effective. The woman's voice turned angry.
"Are you even human?"
"What do you mean?"
Before Ye Tiancheng could react, the stone disappeared. Even more terrifyingly, the stone drilled into Ye Tiancheng's body and was now hiding in his storage ring, refusing to come out.
"What, are you scared? Scared I'll really sell you?"
"Who knows what you, a heartless master, will do to me? But don't worry, I've already recognized you as my master. Even if you sell me, it'll be useless. If you take someone's money and can't give me to them, you'll wait to be beaten to death. After I'm beaten to death, I can change masters."
This sounded eerily familiar, as if Nuwa Stone had said something similar before. It seemed these stones were all alike; once found by someone, they recognized that person as their master. It was truly peculiar.
"Alright, I won't sell you. Even if I starve to death, I know that miraculous treasures cannot be sold. You can stay in the storage ring. The spiritual energy there is abundant, and it might help you cultivate."
Ye Tiancheng now sounded somewhat like a master. The stone's tone also eased considerably, no longer giving the impression that it was about to fight Ye Tiancheng at any moment.
"You still have some conscience. The spiritual energy here is indeed abundant, and I like it very much. Thank you, master. I will go into hibernation."
After saying that, the stone fell silent. Ye Tiancheng finally understood. These stones, when needed, call you master, and when not needed, they curse you. Earlier, Nuwa Stone even called him a brat. Ye Tiancheng actually missed it a little. He didn't know how that stinky stone was doing now, nor had he received any news.
However, with such a potted plant at home, it was like having a built-in air purifier. Ye Tiancheng was very pleased.
But the next morning, at just past four o'clock, the agent showed up. "You haven't lived here for very long. According to the contract, you should be able to stay. However, the landlord's son is getting married, and his daughter-in-law is not satisfied with this place. They might move to a school district house, and this property is about to be sold. I will refund your rent and the agency fee, with a slight deduction for a few days."
The two of them had finally gotten used to living in this small house, only to be told they couldn't stay. This was quite a blow to them.
"We don't want to move. We finally got used to living here."
"The landlord has spoken. If you don't leave, it will be illegal. They are willing to compensate you. They own more than one property and are very wealthy. Why don't you ask for more? I can help you ask for more."
In the eyes of the young agent, there was no problem that money couldn't solve. There was no need for things to get unpleasant. After all, problems that could be solved with money were, frankly, not problems at all.
"Alright, then we'll take the money. We'll pack up quickly and move out before tonight."
"Thank you."
Ye Tiancheng thought that as long as there was money, there was no place they couldn't live. Moreover, the two of them only had a few clothes with them and no significant luggage. Even moving would be easy; they could probably carry everything in one bag.