Chapter 15

"Sure enough, there's something strange..."

Qi Xiang was somewhat excited. He lightly tossed the walnut, then caught it steadily. The walnut hit his hand with a loud *clap*, the sound quite resonant. The weight was not light, which also sufficiently explained the issue.

Generally speaking, when walnuts are dry and cracked, it indicates a lack of moisture. Without moisture, the object would definitely be very light.

However, now, the walnut was not much lighter and even felt a bit heavy in his hand...

Once one principle is understood, a hundred others become clear. Qi Xiang's eyes brightened slightly: "The cracks are so deep, yet it's not hollow inside. That's a flaw. Could it be that something is hidden beneath the cracks?"

Thinking this, Qi Xiang immediately fetched a basin of clear water and then immersed the pair of walnuts in it.

The walnuts entered the water, swayed gently, and then sank directly to the bottom of the basin, bubbling up many water bubbles. This fully demonstrated that there were gaps inside the walnuts. When water seeped in under pressure, it naturally produced bubbles.

A series of bubbles emerged, and after two or three minutes, they finally disappeared completely.

Qi Xiang observed patiently, his eyes fixed on the walnuts.

Time passed minute by minute, and before he knew it, half an hour had gone by. At this moment, on the dark red walnut cracks, tiny bubbles began to appear silently.

Qi Xiang's face lit up with joy. He quickly reached into the basin and took out one of the walnuts. He examined it closely and, with his fingers, gently squeezed it experimentally.

In an instant, the walnut's cracks spread silently, and it shattered, small pieces falling off.

Seeing this, Qi Xiang was both surprised and delighted, and he became even more cautious. He quickly peeled off the entire walnut shell and found a round object inside.

On the surface of this object, there was a layer of sticky film. Qi Xiang studied it and felt that this film might be oiled paper, coated with melted beeswax to form a protective layer.

The outer layer was the walnut shell, and the inner layer was the wax-coated paper. The object was hidden so meticulously, which was not simple at all.

Qi Xiang held his breath and carefully tore the wax-coated paper.

Instantly, a bright luster shot up, illuminating the entire room. Qi Xiang suppressed his excitement, tore off the oiled paper completely, and rinsed it with clear water.

At this moment, a walnut that was golden and jade-like, with beautiful patterns, a short stalk, a flat bottom, and a bright red color, appeared before his eyes. It was exquisitely transparent.

He never expected that inside the walnut, there would be another walnut.

Of course, Qi Xiang was very clear that compared to the cracked and somewhat broken walnut, the hidden walnut was like a precious gem.

Qi Xiang held the walnut and examined it. The walnut had just been washed, but it did not absorb any water and quickly dried.

Under the moisture of the clear water, the walnut became even more red and delicate, as clear and bright as a night pearl. The mottled patterns naturally twisted, forming one flower after another.

The patterns were very clear, and the lustrous patina emitted a golden and jade-like luster. It looked as if it were not a walnut but a masterpiece crafted by the most skilled artisan using gold and jade materials.

Qi Xiang repeated the process and crushed the other broken walnut.

Sure enough, inside was another walnut that shone like jade. Placed side by side, the two walnuts were not only the same size but also had very similar patterns, like a pair of twins, both in form and spirit.

While admiring these treasures, Qi Xiang also noticed that the spiritual light around the walnuts became more active. Layer upon layer, circle upon circle, the spiritual light rippled like waves.

He could clearly feel the cool breath, even from a distance.

At the same time, Qi Xiang felt a tremor in his forehead, the sensation very intense. Suddenly, as if driven by instinct, he reached out and grabbed the two walnuts.

Instantly, Qi Xiang felt a pulling force in his hand, as if a whale were swallowing water, drawing out the spiritual light from the walnuts. The cool breath undulated and moved up his arm.

At this moment, Qi Xiang could clearly see the slow movement of the tendons in his arm, but there was no pain, only comfort, like entering an air-conditioned room on a hot summer day, the intense cold air making his pores contract, and he shivered, feeling particularly refreshed.

However, this refreshing feeling did not last long.

After a moment, Qi Xiang felt that the cool breath had mysteriously disappeared.

He touched his arm and found everything was normal.

"Plastron..."

Qi Xiang knew that this must be the work of the plastron. He thought for a moment and was about to summon the plastron to check if there were any changes.

At this instant, a stream of clear water suddenly flowed out from his forehead. Before he could react, the stream split into two, turning into two fine rays of light that entered his eyes.

"Ah..."

The rays of light entering his eyes felt like being pricked by needles. Qi Xiang felt a sharp, burning pain in his eyes, as if they were being scorched. Tears streamed down his face, and he was in excruciating pain.

Qi Xiang covered his eyes with both hands, extremely panicked, his face pale with fear. If something happened to his eyes, it would be like the sky falling.

In his panic, a sudden change occurred!

He closed his eyes, seeing only darkness and blur, but suddenly a point of light appeared. It was like the sunrise at dawn, a red sun rising from the horizon, illuminating the earth and dispelling the darkness.

The light spread, and a cool, refreshing breath followed. He felt a thread of cool air swirling inside his eyeballs, growing stronger with each rotation.

This cycle repeated, and soon the cool air filled his entire eye.

The feeling was like applying a layer of mint to his eyes, both cool and refreshing. The tears stopped, and the burning sensation immediately disappeared.

Qi Xiang tried blinking, but everything was still blurry, making him feel a chill and fear that his eyesight might be damaged.

However, the next second, he felt a flash of light, and everything became clear and sharp, as if the clouds had parted to reveal the sun.

Qi Xiang was stunned, standing there in a daze, unsure what to do.

He knew that due to his diligent studies, he had a slight nearsightedness. Although it wasn't severe, he always felt a bit blurry when looking at distant objects, as if seeing through a fog.

On the wall of his room, there was a calendar.

In the past, he could barely see the dates on the calendar, which appeared blurry. As for the small text below the dates, it was almost invisible.

But now, Qi Xiang was pleasantly surprised to find that his vision seemed to have returned to normal. Not only could he see the small text clearly, but he could also see the fine texture of the paper, every detail clear and distinct.

"Is this real?"

Qi Xiang almost thought it was an illusion and blinked again, but he saw the same thing. The paper texture was like a fiberboard, the patterns orderly and aligned in the same direction.

Realizing this, Qi Xiang wasted no time and quickly walked to the calendar, leaning in to observe and verify.

He focused his gaze, his eyes fixed on the paper.

"Huh?"

Qi Xiang was stunned again, suddenly feeling a bit shocked. He felt that beneath the white, elegant paper of the calendar, there were many dark shadows.

The strange dark shadows crisscrossed, densely packed, as if something was piled up, chaotic and tangled.

"What's going on?"

Qi Xiang quickly looked away and then focused again. The strange phenomenon occurred once more.

This time, he paid more attention and saw more clearly. The crisscrossing dark shadows gradually combined, forming words...

"Ah?"

Qi Xiang was speechless, finding it hard to believe. The words were clearly the dates for the next month. He shook his head and quickly flipped to the next page of the calendar.

"How can this be..."

Qi Xiang was a bit panicked, confused, and amazed, finding it hard to believe. He had indeed seen the content of the next page from the first page. Was this... X-ray vision?

Qi Xiang swallowed hard, trying to stay calm, and quickly found a book.

One page, two pages, three pages...

Qi Xiang's eyes were wide open, almost tearing up. He repeatedly tested and finally came to a conclusion that made him overjoyed and filled with wild thoughts.

After the incident, his vision seemed to have undergone some mutation.

Of course, from what he could see, the result of this mutation was not bad. In fact, it was very good, extremely good, beyond imagination. As long as he focused, his gaze could penetrate two or three layers of paper, giving him X-ray vision.

Such a conclusion naturally made Qi Xiang ecstatic, dancing with joy...

Lottery!

Casino!

Sweeping all, becoming rich overnight, reaching the pinnacle of life...

Thinking about it, Qi Xiang was not just a little excited; he was completely immersed in his fantasies. But after calming down, he sighed, thinking he was being too optimistic.

Lottery tickets were too complex, with many rules. Scratch-off tickets were just one type, and the lowest tier, with a low chance of winning.

A batch of lottery tickets would have at least several million. To win, could he run all over the country and X-ray every single one of the several million tickets?

As for the casino...

Qi Xiang couldn't help but think of various rumors and doubted whether he could leave alive after winning money from the casino.

He feared that if he won a few million, he might mysteriously disappear the next day.

This wasn't a joke. Qi Xiang knew that society was far less safe than people imagined. Every year, many people probably "disappeared" mysteriously, but it wasn't disclosed.

Moreover, his X-ray vision seemed to be somewhat limited...

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