Chapter 2

The small bottle was just the right size to be completely held in Xiao Ping's hand. The bottle was flat and round in shape, resembling a snuff bottle. This "snuff bottle" was entirely white and delicate, giving a warm and smooth feeling like jade. However, Xiao Ping, who grew up in a poor family, couldn't be sure if snuff bottles were made of jade.

On the front of the snuff bottle, there was a small tree with only a few leaves, growing lonely by a clear spring. Although the pattern was very small, it was exquisitely detailed, as if one could see the veins of the leaves and the texture of the trunk clearly if they looked closely. The pattern seemed to have a magical power; after just a few glances, Xiao Ping felt a strong attraction, as if it wanted to draw all his attention into it.

Xiao Ping quickly averted his gaze, and the strange feeling disappeared. Still feeling a bit uneasy, he turned the snuff bottle over and found three characters written in regular script on the back: "Lian Yao Hu" (Spirit Refining Pot).

"Could there really be a monster trapped in this little bottle?" Xiao Ping muttered to himself as he opened the bottle cap of the Lian Yao Hu.

The bottle seemed to be empty, but when Xiao Ping curiously turned it upside down, a drop of liquid flowed out and landed on his hand. Xiao Ping felt a distinct burning sensation where the liquid touched, which startled him. He quickly grabbed a tissue to wipe it off. However, he was surprised to find that the liquid on his hand was rapidly shrinking and being absorbed into his skin.

Xiao Ping hurriedly wiped off the remaining liquid, threw the used tissue on the table, and carefully examined the skin on his hand. What had just happened was quite strange, making Xiao Ping feel uneasy. Who knew what kind of liquid was in the Lian Yao Hu? If it was a harmful chemical, it could be disastrous.

However, no matter how carefully Xiao Ping observed, he couldn't find any abnormalities. Still uneasy, he looked in the mirror and found that his complexion was normal, with no signs of poisoning. He finally felt a bit more at ease.

Xiao Ping was very curious about the origin of this little trinket and searched online for a long time for information about the Lian Yao Hu. However, he found that according to the most common accounts, the Lian Yao Hu was just a prop in a computer game and did not exist in reality.

"Could it be a collector's item from a game enthusiast?" Xiao Ping muttered to himself, looking at the intricately crafted Lian Yao Hu: "But how did this thing end up in the river..."

Xiao Ping couldn't figure it out and casually threw the Lian Yao Hu on the bed, slowly drifting into sleep. He slept deeply until the next day when he was awakened by a hurried knocking on the door. From the knocking, Xiao Ping knew it must be his good friend Zhou Jun; no one else would knock like that. Without asking who it was, Xiao Ping opened the door and let Zhou Jun in.

Zhou Jun was a local with a good family background. With his father's support, he bought a few trucks for transportation and was considered one of the "rich second generations" in the urban village. Logically, Zhou Jun and Xiao Ping were not the same kind of people, but the connection between people is truly unpredictable. Zhou Jun and Xiao Ping got along well and quickly became good friends.

As soon as Zhou Jun entered, he asked, "Aunt Wang said you came back drenched like a drowned rat. Are you okay? Do you need to see a doctor?"

Xiao Ping shook his head, "No need, I'm fine."

Zhou Jun, who knew Xiao Ping's character well, didn't insist on going to the hospital and instead asked with a smile, "I remember you brought a raincoat yesterday. Did you see a pretty woman and heroically give her your raincoat?"

"Go away, do you think I'm like you, forgetting my own name when I see a pretty woman?"

At that moment, Zhou Jun saw the tissue Xiao Ping had thrown on the table last night and immediately grinned slyly, "No need to explain, look, the evidence is still on the table!"

Seeing Zhou Jun winking and pointing at the crumpled tissue on the table, Xiao Ping knew this guy was misinterpreting things and quickly threw the tissue into the flower pot by the table, "Don't overthink it, I just used it to wipe my hands."

"I'm not overthinking it. Wiping hands, hehe!" Zhou Jun said with a knowing look, "Looks like I need to introduce you to a girlfriend, so you don't have to use tissues to 'wipe your hands' every night."

"Forget it, the girls you know are either built like men or even more manly than you. I can't handle that." Xiao Ping quickly declined Zhou Jun's offer and said with great ambition, "If I'm going to find a girlfriend, I want one that makes all men jealous!"

"Alright, I'll be watching!" Zhou Jun casually replied, then sniffed, "Damn, why do you smell so bad? How many days have you gone without a shower?"

"Rubbish, I shower every day!" Xiao Ping was very unhappy with Zhou Jun's doubt about his hygiene, but he soon realized that he really did smell bad and felt very embarrassed. He didn't have time to argue with Zhou Jun and quickly grabbed some clean clothes and headed to the bathroom.

"Hmm, this guy seems more energetic today!" Looking at Xiao Ping entering the bathroom, Zhou Jun muttered to himself, but he didn't take it seriously and soon left Xiao Ping's room.

Xiao Ping took a long shower in the bathroom, only coming out when he was sure the smell was gone. As soon as he opened the door, he saw the other two tenants, Li Wanqing and Wang Jian, waiting outside, both looking anxious. At this moment, Xiao Ping remembered it was working hours and felt guilty for occupying the bathroom, so he greeted them, "Sorry, I just took a shower and kept you waiting."

Wang Jian, a young man with glasses, frowned and said bluntly, "Xiao Ping, I'm not trying to criticize you, but why do you have to join the rush in the morning? You don't need to punch in for work, but we get fined for being late! You, who don't have a job, don't understand the hardships of us office workers!"

Living in the urban village, Wang Jian was certainly not a successful person, but he could find some superiority in Xiao Ping's lack of a job. He often mentioned it intentionally or unintentionally, as if it gave him some psychological balance. Normally, Xiao Ping wouldn't bother with him, but today he was in the wrong and had to smile apologetically at Wang Jian.

Li Wanqing, who was kind-hearted, had always been sympathetic to Xiao Ping and couldn't stand to see him being criticized. She interrupted Wang Jian, "We live together and should be understanding. Xiao Ping rarely uses the bathroom in the morning, so don't criticize him."

Wang Jian, who had always had a crush on the pretty Li Wanqing, immediately put on a smile, "Alright, I'll listen to you and not argue with him. Wanqing, you can use the bathroom first."

Hearing Wang Jian call her by her first name, Li Wanqing frowned slightly but still smiled politely, "Thank you."

"You're welcome, you're welcome." Seeing Li Wanqing smile at him, Wang Jian felt lighter and even made a gentlemanly gesture, thinking he was being chivalrous.

Xiao Ping had no interest in watching Wang Jian's performance and walked silently back to his room. Seeing Li Wanqing close the bathroom door, Wang Jun immediately said in a sarcastic tone, "Just playing the victim to get women's sympathy."

Wang Jian's words made Xiao Ping pause, almost turning back to argue with him. But in the end, Xiao Ping gave up. People like Wang Jian were everywhere, and it wasn't worth arguing with him.

Back in his room, Xiao Ping wanted to hang out his wet clothes. After hanging them and habitually cleaning the room, he suddenly realized something was off—he had done so much without feeling any shortness of breath or increased heart rate!

{Piaotian Literature}