Chapter 3

In his excitement, there was still one thing that Xia Ruofei couldn't figure out no matter how much he thought about it.

That was—this painting had been in their family for many generations. In Xia Ruofei's own memory, his grandfather would often open it to admire, and even Xia Ruofei himself had playfully opened the scroll when he was a child.

But neither his grandfather nor himself had ever been directly pulled into the painting's space!

Xia Ruofei pondered for a long time and ultimately concluded that it must have been because his blood from the wound had accidentally dripped onto the scroll—apart from this reason, Xia Ruofei couldn't find any other explanation.

He stopped dwelling on the issue and turned his attention back to studying the mysterious scroll.

After half a day of repeated attempts, Xia Ruofei finally figured out some of the basic functions of the scroll's space.

First, entering and exiting the space was very simple; he just needed to think about it, and he could go in or out. Moreover, he could bring things into the space, as long as he held them in his hands.

Second, repeatedly entering and exiting the space seemed to cause mental exhaustion, making him feel incredibly tired. However, the water in the pond within the space was very effective for restoring his energy and even helped with external injuries. After drinking some of the pond water, Xia Ruofei noticed that the cut on his arm had started to scab over.

This discovery both surprised and delighted Xia Ruofei.

The rental apartment was too cramped, and after selling the house, he couldn't bear to throw away many of his grandfather's belongings, which filled the room almost to the brim.

Now that he had this magical space, Xia Ruofei made several trips to move all the clutter into the space, making the room much tidier.

He drank a few sips of the pond water to restore his energy, then sat down by the pond, gazing at the clear, bottomless spiritual pond in deep thought.

As Xia Ruofei gradually calmed down, he began to consider how to use this magical spiritual space to earn as much wealth as possible.

Hu Zi's mother had uremia, and the money from selling the house, along with his retirement benefits, totaled about 500,000 yuan, which he had given to Hu Zi's mother. However, Hu Zi's family still owed a lot of debt, and the money Xia Ruofei gave was not enough to cover the cost of a kidney transplant. Therefore, Xia Ruofei wanted to raise as much money as possible while he still had the strength.

Because Xia Ruofei knew his time was limited.

Patients with ALS usually only survive for two to three years.

Xia Ruofei had originally planned to earn as much money as possible while he could, to leave for Hu Zi's mother. Now, with the sudden acquisition of this magical spiritual scroll, his thoughts became more active.

The idea of selling it for money was quickly dismissed by Xia Ruofei.

Because this spiritual scroll was too extraordinary, far beyond what normal people could imagine.

Xia Ruofei was very clear that if he rashly tried to sell the scroll, he might not only fail to get any money but also invite disaster.

Xia Ruofei quickly made up his mind.

Not only could he not sell it openly, but he also had to keep it as his highest secret, not revealing a single detail to even his closest friends!

Since he couldn't sell it for money, he at least had to use this treasure to earn some money for himself! Otherwise, it would be a waste... Xia Ruofei thought to himself.

However, he didn't have any good ideas on how to use the spiritual space to make money, as he still knew very little about it. The only thing he knew was that the pond water seemed to be beneficial for restoring energy and healing external injuries, but the pond was only about one square meter, and he couldn't just fill a container with water and sell it!

It was like having a treasure mountain but being unable to turn it into real gold and silver. Xia Ruofei couldn't help but smile bitterly.

After frowning and thinking for a while, Xia Ruofei shook his head and muttered to himself:

"Never mind, I'll go out and get something to eat first! Even the emperor doesn't let his soldiers go hungry!"

With that, Xia Ruofei prepared to leave the space.

At that moment, his gaze fell on a small flower pot, and he was momentarily stunned—Xia Ruofei remembered that this pot should have been left by the previous tenant, and he had somehow brought it into the space while cleaning up the clutter.

The pot contained a small, green rosette-shaped plant with plump, thick leaves and some brown veins, which looked quite pretty. However, due to neglect, the plant looked wilted and lifeless.

Xia Ruofei shook his head, picked up the pot, and was about to take it out. He had no interest in keeping potted plants, and since it was unclaimed, he would find a time to throw it away. He couldn't even take care of himself, let alone a potted plant!

But then he thought again and muttered to himself:

"Never mind, since I brought you in, it must be fate. I'll keep you here!"

The soil in the pot was dry and full of small pebbles, with no moisture at all.

Seeing this, Xia Ruofei carried the pot to the pond, scooped up some water, and watered the plant until the soil was thoroughly soaked, then stood up and left the space.

He left the potted plant in the spiritual space.

Back in the room, Xia Ruofei simply made a bowl of instant noodles to solve his lunch problem.

Then he cleaned the room thoroughly, which left him slightly out of breath and covered in sweat—since he had ALS, his physical strength had declined rapidly. In the military, such a small amount of light exercise wouldn't have made him sweat, let alone feel tired.

He took a quick shower in the public bathroom and then returned to the room, lying down on the bed to rest.

Before he knew it, Xia Ruofei had fallen into a deep sleep.

...

When Xia Ruofei woke up, it was already dark outside.

He picked up the cheap phone by his bed and checked the time—it was already 6:30 PM, meaning he had slept for about four or five hours.

After waking up, Xia Ruofei felt thirsty and dry-mouthed. He gripped the scroll, which he had been holding tightly even while sleeping, and with a thought, he disappeared from the room and appeared in the spiritual space—thinking of the pond water, he immediately wanted to get some to drink.

Appearing in the space, Xia Ruofei walked straight to the pond.

However, when he saw the flower pot by the pond, his gaze couldn't help but focus, and his face showed a look of disbelief. He quickly walked over to the pot.

Xia Ruofei discovered that the plant in the pot had changed dramatically.

The most obvious change was that it had grown much larger, as if it had been inflated like a balloon.

Additionally, it no longer looked wilted and on the verge of death. The leaves had become crystal clear, like they were carved from jade, unique and beautiful, elegant and fresh, like a living work of art.

Another significant change was the color of the leaves.

The outermost layer was still a heart-stirring green, but the inner layers had changed, with a gradient from light to dark, and the innermost part had turned a beautiful purple.

Moreover, the tips of the leaves had developed some transparent patterns, revealing the clear, fleshy leaves inside, like clear ice lamps.

A half-dead potted plant had transformed into something so dreamlike and beautiful, it was as if it had been reborn!

Xia Ruofei had never seen such a beautiful potted plant before. He was so captivated that he forgot he had come in to get water to drink...

...