Chapter 273: Zhongming Tower

Near the Earth Flow Vehicle station.

Li Qi had arrived early, preparing to take the Earth Flow Vehicle to the Medical Clinic.

Last time he went to the Medical Clinic, he took a taxi, but if there's a bus, he should take the bus. He couldn't always take taxis when going out.

Having jogged all the way there, Li Qi hadn't slept for six or seven days, so he looked a bit tired.

Sleeping is something you still have to do honestly, unless your Spirit Soul has completely detached from mortal things.

Even at the extraordinary level, sleeping is still very beneficial, and in many cases, when a Great Power is severely injured, they rely on slumber to recover.

However, since he was already an Eighth Rank, his spirit was still very strong. He rubbed his temples, and it wasn't enough to show any difference; he looked exactly like usual.

Arriving near the station, Li Qi hadn't had time to buy a ticket, but he suddenly noticed an acquaintance next to the station.

In the station's public waiting area, which is where everyone waits for the Earth Flow Vehicle, rests, and gets a cup of water.

Tang Nation's infrastructure is perfectly reflected in all aspects. For example, this waiting area isn't just a few lonely benches but a complete set.

Free hot water, self-service.

The seats can be laid down, allowing travelers who arrived early to rest on the spot.

Next to it, there are paid convenient foods, cheap and quick to eat, suitable for quickly replenishing energy.

There are also self-service medicines to prevent motion sickness or discomfort from the huge energy fluctuations of the Earth Flow Vehicle, showing very thoughtful consideration.

However, Tang Nation's reservation system is very complete, so in reality, few people stay here waiting for the Earth Flow Vehicle. Everyone arrives at their reserved time.

Basically, only foreign travelers from the Outer Realms would exclaim and wait for the Earth Flow Vehicle here.

It was in such a place that Li Qi saw Zhong Minglou.

This charlatan was getting hot water from the free hot water area. Although he was still neatly dressed, Li Qi noticed that a soft cushion on a seat not far from him was sunken, clearly because someone had been sitting there for a long time.

And... there were even some alms, like copper coins, in front of that seat.

Wait, this gentleman wouldn't have been living at the station for the past five days, would he?

Initially, Li Qi didn't believe this deduction.

But he thought about it and realized he couldn't imagine Zhong Minglou speaking and interacting normally with people.

So, Li Qi decisively walked forward.

As he walked over, Zhong Minglou had already turned towards him, smilingly 'looking' at him.

Although he was blind and his eyes were covered with cloth, his gaze was still a bit unsettling.

Of course, if he were in a place where a charlatan should be, it would be very unsettling.

Unfortunately, he was now at the station getting free hot water, which made him not scary at all.

Li Qi walked over and asked with a curious expression: "Brother Minglou, you... what is this?"

"Ah, it's Junior Brother. Do you want water? I'll pour it for you." Zhong Minglou smiled when he saw Li Qi, then pointed at the free hot water and asked Li Qi.

No, it's free hot water, why are you being so generous?

Li Qi wiped his sweat: "No need, I'm just curious, what are you doing in this place, Brother Minglou?"

"Oh, I'm temporarily living here now, what's wrong?" Zhong Minglou tilted his head and asked with wide eyes.

Hey, hey, hey, you're living like a homeless person, and you're asking me what's wrong?

Li Qi muttered to himself, but he couldn't say it directly, so he could only say: "Then Brother Minglou... your interest is truly... unique."

"It's not an interest, mainly because I don't have money, so I can only live here." Zhong Minglou replied frankly.

Li Qi was really sweating now, and his awkward smile froze on his face.

He asked cautiously: "Brother Minglou, you wouldn't have, slept here for five days, would you?"

"En, yes." Zhong Minglou didn't think anything of it and admitted it frankly.

Li Qi sighed.

Is this what a charlatan is like?

How to put it...?

Unexpected, yet within reason.

A true charlatan seems to be born to do such things. If Zhong Minglou were to rent a house skillfully, buy groceries, and then haggle with the landlord, Li Qi would instead feel that his character had collapsed.

Fake charlatans have food, clothing, housing, and transportation.

True charlatans live at the bus station and survive by drinking free hot water!

"Alas, then Brother Minglou, wait a moment." Li Qi had no choice but to sigh and take out his terminal.

Then, he skillfully rented a house on it, paid the rent, and then hired a caregiver for Zhong Minglou.

Yes, a caregiver, not a nanny. His reason was: "To care for a visually impaired person with a mental disorder who is unable to care for themselves, completely lacking self-care ability, and unable to eat independently. Hope the applicant has corresponding patience and professional skills."

After everything was arranged, he sent all these things from the terminal to Zhong Minglou.

Then, while operating the terminal, Li Qi said: "I rented a house for you, rented it for three years at once, we'll talk about things after that, and... I found someone to cook and wash clothes for you. They're professional caregivers, not servants, they're equal. This is Tang Nation, don't treat people like cattle, you'll get sued."

Zhong Minglou nodded with a bewildered expression: "Oh, oh..."

"Cough cough, then you wait. The caregiver will come here to pick you up soon. Don't sleep at the station anymore. I've sent the address and rental agreement to your terminal. When the time comes, let the caregiver help you operate it. If you have any problems, use the terminal to find me. My Earth Flow Vehicle is arriving soon, and I have urgent matters today, so I'll be leaving now!"

"Remember, I've sent a process to your terminal. It's okay if you forget, just give your terminal to the caregiver then!" After Li Qi finished all this, the Earth Flow Vehicle he had booked was also about to arrive, so he packed his things, turned around, and waved goodbye to Zhong Minglou.

Zhong Minglou stood still, holding the hot water, seemingly unresponsive.

It wasn't until Li Qi waved and was about to leave that he managed to blurt out: "Then I truly thank Junior Brother."

"We're Senior Brother and Junior Brother, why say thanks? I'm off!" Li Qi waved his hand and quickly walked to the elevator, entering it.

Following the elevator, he went all the way down to the underground.

The Myriad-Footed Worm of the Earth Flow Vehicle was lying prostrate underground, waiting for passengers to board.

Putting Zhong Minglou's matter aside, Li Qi excitedly prepared to pick up Shen Shuibi.

This was the real business.

Just as he arrived in front of the Earth Flow Vehicle, still queuing to board, Li Qi felt like he stepped on something.

Looking down, he found he had stepped on silver, about two taels.

This was not a small amount of money.

Li Qi decisively picked it up, and then after boarding and sitting down, he used his terminal to call the local Earth God responsible for the Earth Flow Vehicle and handed over the lost item.

Two taels of silver were nothing to Li Qi, but they might be very important to the owner. There was no need to be greedy for such a small amount.

After doing all this, Li Qi rode the Earth Flow Vehicle.

On the way, the Earth God suddenly brought an old woman over, saying that the owner had been found and wanted to thank Li Qi. After a series of thanks, Li Qi received a basket of small snacks.

Then, about ten minutes later, it was time to get off.

Li Qi got off the Earth Flow Vehicle, and after walking two steps, he suddenly stepped on something again.

He looked down and saw it was money again!

In just ten minutes, he had picked up money twice.

However, this time, Li Qi's handling was the same. He immediately called upon the God of Tang Nation and handed over the lost item.

He had picked up money twice in a row, and the value was not low, and he also received a pile of small snacks.

His luck was good today.

Thinking this, Li Qi finally arrived at the entrance of the Medical Clinic.

He checked Shen Shuibi's discharge time again; it was still about half an hour away, perfect timing.

Then he would buy some drinks and wait.

He went to the roadside again and bought two cups of freshly squeezed fruit juice.

One for himself, and the other for Shen Shuibi when she came out.

However, before he even got the juice, he heard the store clerk smilingly say to him: "Sir, this is our 150th-anniversary store celebration. You can draw a prize when you buy a drink. You only need to scan and register to participate."

For such a casual thing, even if it was a trick, Li Qi didn't mind participating, so he immediately nodded.

After registering with his terminal, Li Qi quickly got his two cups of juice.

And two travel tickets for the Outer Realms, along with a group of people carrying banners and signs, with colorful ribbons and various illusionary lights coming!

"Congratulations, Sir! You won the first prize in this event, round-trip tickets to Dou Su Six! This is a very primitive and exotic place!" A group of people surrounded him, cheering, with ribbons and dazzling lights as if they were free.

These people surrounded Li Qi and started promoting with loudspeakers. Amidst the noise, they also attracted countless gazes.

Li Qi was also forced to make an acceptance speech, then held a sign and had a bunch of photos taken of him, and finally, everyone dispersed.

Only Li Qi was left, holding two drinks and clutching two tickets, standing there in a daze.

After the daze came seriousness.

Wait...

He clutched the tickets and felt a sense of unease.

Was his luck really that good?

To prevent any special circumstances, he decisively began to verify these two tickets and the situation of this store.

But, everything was perfect.

It was indeed the 150th-anniversary celebration, and these two tickets were real, going to Dou Su, which was said to be an area with a primitive style.

Moreover, the price was not cheap.

A round-trip ticket for a free trip to the Outer Realms was worth a decent Eighth Rank Spiritual Artifact, equivalent to seven or eight hundred taels.

Li Qi couldn't even afford this amount of money now, unless he was willing to sell some fixed assets, like selling his Jin Qi (Metal Energy), which might allow him to gather the money.

These tickets were for immediate use, because Outer Realm travel wasn't a fixed schedule but a teleportation gate. As long as you had them, you could go anytime, which was equivalent to two uses of the teleportation gate, with the time freely decided, indeed a common method for Tang Nation people to travel.

The tickets were real, and the shop was real.

In other words... he really won the lottery?

Li Qi didn't believe it.

So, he simply performed another divination on himself.

Although he wasn't a professional Diviner, he knew a little about divination, at an introductory level.

When he was once pursued by several Song Kingdom soldiers, he encountered his own bloody disaster and thus avoided it in time.

Although he couldn't observe the past or future, seeing good or bad fortune was no problem.

It was fine not to divine, but once he did, he found his Jin Qi (Metal Energy) shining brightly, with auspicious stars shining down.

Five auspicious signs would emerge from the auspicious canopy, and from afar, the sound of drums and horns would resonate.

Great wealth and nobility, blessed by fortune, a sign of great luck coming.

Wait, what is this?

When did he become so lucky?

Or was it...

Li Qi instinctively began to recall what he had done.

His first thought was that just twenty minutes ago, he had helped Zhong Minglou.

Is it that mystical?

Since he had this idea, Li Qi wouldn't be a fool and keep this guess to himself. He immediately took out his terminal and dialed Zhong Minglou's terminal.

Zhong Minglou answered quickly, as such things didn't require operation, only a thought to connect.

The call was established.

"Brother Minglou, I've suddenly been picking up money and winning lotteries over here. Do you have any idea why?" Li Qi asked directly.

They were Senior Brother and Junior Brother, Young Masters of Shaman God Mountain of the same generation, so there was nothing to be ashamed of asking.

"Ah, it might be because I prayed for your blessing. After all, good deeds are rewarded." Zhong Minglou's calm and gentle voice came through.

"What kind of method is this? An Eighth Rank can control good luck? I've never heard of it." Li Qi immediately pressed him.

Luck is too ethereal, so it's very difficult to control. There are curses that make luck worse, and Li Qi also knows them, but making luck better is very mysterious. Li Qi didn't know of such a spell.

To be honest, he somewhat wanted to learn it.

If such a spell truly existed, he would definitely cast it on himself every day and then go buy lottery tickets.

"Good deeds are rewarded, that's all. I didn't use any spell, nor could I have such a spell. I merely sincerely prayed for Junior Brother's blessing." From the other end of the terminal, Zhong Minglou replied calmly but earnestly.

Just by listening to his tone, one knew that he was certainly not lying.

Li Qi immediately realized that this was probably the reason why the other party could become a Young Master of Shaman God Mountain, just like his own True Knowledge, or Bo Yue's demonic seed.

"I see, then I understand. Thank you. But, is there any deeper meaning in you making me win a prize to Dou Su Six?" Li Qi asked again.

"Ah? I don't know what kind of reward you'll get. I just wished and blessed you, so you would get what you want most right now." Zhong Minglou was first puzzled, then honestly stated the content of his prayer.

Li Qi still wanted to ask more.

But the terminal on the other side said: "En, the caregiver girl you called for me has arrived, so I'll end here for now. Let's talk later."

With that, Zhong Minglou very simply cut off the communication.

Very much in the style of a charlatan.

And Li Qi fell into deep thought.

What did he mean by... "what he wants most right now"?

He first picked up money, then picked up money again, then won a prize...

Wait, what he wants most right now, could it be money!?

Thinking about it, it really was!

Shen Shuibi was discharged from the Medical Clinic. Now she needed money most to help Mount Luofu pay off its debts. He had no particular goals, so he would definitely help her raise money together.

In other words, what he lacked most right now was indeed money!

And what was he thinking before?

To go to the Outer Realms to make money, using Tang Nation's reputation and Shen Shuibi's Fifth Rank level, to scheme for some wild worlds in the Outer Realms. (Chapter 251)

And what kind of place was Dou Su?

Dou Su Six, the Heavenly Temple, also known as Heavenly Secret.

It was a world belonging to Tang Nation, located between the East Sea and the Central Plains Heavenly Domain.

There was no war in this place, and it was very close to the wild worlds on the periphery. The tourism promotion always said it had 'primitive charm.'

Wasn't that tailor-made for him?

Someone suggested I change the update time from midnight to afternoon. What do you all think?