A Bountiful Harvest

"I beg you, sir, save me!"

Upon hearing this, the Fortune Teller turned deathly pale, clutching Li Ran's hand and begging incessantly.

This scene left Xiao Yi and the others clicking their tongues in astonishment.

After all, a similar scene had played out just moments ago with Qiu Zhongji.

In the span of a few short minutes, the plot had twisted in a way that caught everyone off guard.

The Fortune Teller, who had just killed Qiu Zhongji, was now kowtowing and pleading with Li Ran.

What on earth had Li Ran done to him?

"Then I shall reluctantly point you toward a path of survival," Li Ran said.

The One-Eyed Swindler was moved to tears, hurriedly offering his thanks.

"Within fourteen days, you are forbidden from setting up your stall to swindle others. Stay honestly at home, and you shall survive this calamity. If you dare step even half a step outside your door, not even the Great Immortals could save you!"

"Master, can I come out to make a living after fourteen days?"

"You may. Your death tribulation lies within this period; once you pass it, you will be fine."

Li Ran maintained the demeanor of an expert, and the One-Eyed Swindler believed his words without a shred of doubt.

"Understood, understood! I shall pack up my stall and head home immediately; I will never swindle anyone again."

The One-Eyed Swindler quickly packed up his stall, his face filled with panic.

He truly felt like a fake meeting the real deal—a narrow encounter with an enemy where his true colors were exposed. He had run into the genuine article, and he felt utterly ashamed.

Li Ran reminded him, "You haven't paid the divination fee yet."

The swindler looked troubled. "Master, your reading is truly accurate, but I lost all my money gambling yesterday. Could you perhaps let me pay on credit?"

Upon hearing this, Li Ran flipped his palm, and the eyeball vanished from his hand as if by magic.

Seeing this, the swindler panicked instantly.

"Master, although I have no money, I do have a few old items. Please, take a look; if you like any of them, take them. I only ask that you return my eyeball to me."

"Oh?"

Li Ran raised an eyebrow, feigning profoundness.

The swindler pulled several old items from his Daoist robe and laid them out before Li Ran.

[Item: Aged Enslavement Reins]

[Effect: When the reins are placed on a target, they allow for brief enslavement, limited to ten minutes.]

[Item: Wooden Horse Toy]

[Equipment: Ancient Hairpin (Excellent)]

[Restriction: Female Player]

[Attribute: Mysterious Power +10]

[Weapon: Thunder Dagger (Fine)]

[Attributes: Mysterious Power +20, Agility +20, Strength +20]

[Effect: Attacks carry the Thunder Mark effect; upon hitting a target, it can paralyze them for 0.5 seconds.]

Li Ran scanned them quickly, taking in the attributes of every item the swindler had produced.

Not far away, Xiao Yi and Chen Jiabin both revealed looks of surprise.

Song Linjia clasped her hands in prayer, her face full of envy.

Li Ran was not greedy; the mission notification from earlier had stated he could obtain one weapon.

He had his eye on the Thunder Dagger immediately, as this weapon would provide him with high attribute values.

Beyond just Mysterious Power, it added extra stats.

This was exactly what he wanted most.

If one only increased Mysterious Power, it would be impossible to defeat B-rank or A-rank monsters with similar power levels.

That required filling the gaps with things other than Mysterious Power: other attributes, top-tier equipment, or powerful skills.

Besides the dagger, he was actually quite interested in those reins.

However, he still followed the rules, not daring to be even slightly greedy.

"I'll take this one."

Li Ran picked up the [Thunder Dagger], then handed the eyeball back to the swindler.

The swindler thanked him excitedly over and over, blew on the eyeball, and popped it right into his empty socket.

"I... I can see! I can see everything!" The swindler looked around, overjoyed.

Li Ran was speechless, a black line of irritation appearing on his forehead.

What the hell, you can just install an eyeball like that?

Do you think you're made of spare parts?

[Quest Completed: Fortune Telling]

[Rewards: Mysterious Power +20, Points +200, Fine-grade Weapon *1]

[Swindler successfully reformed; quest completed perfectly. Bonus reward granted.]

At that moment, the cold voice echoed in Li Ran's ears.

Before Li Ran could react, the swindler shoved several items into his arms.

"Master, I'm so happy! I'm not disabled anymore. I will cherish what I have now and never lie again. I have no use for these anymore; please, take them all, Master."

With that, the swindler skipped toward the residential complex like a child reborn.

"I can see! I don't have to pretend to be blind anymore~"

The swindler's voice drifted into their ears from afar.

"An unexpected harvest." Li Ran looked at the items in his arms.

[Aged Enslavement Reins] [Wooden Horse Toy] [Antique Hairpin]

In the distance, Xiao Yi's face darkened. He adjusted his glasses, muttered, "Life and death are fated, wealth and honor are in the hands of Heaven," and walked away.

Chen Jiabin didn't understand what Xiao Yi meant, but he trotted after him anyway.

"Li Ran, you really have made me look at you in a new light."

Song Linjia stepped forward to congratulate him, her praise sincere.

"Just luck."

Li Ran used the same line to answer, still offering no further explanation.

"Is it really just luck?"

Song Linjia widened her eyes, her dark, round pupils studying Li Ran with curiosity.

"There is a mystery about you that makes it impossible to see through you."

"There's no mystery, just a slightly quicker mind."

But the more he brushed her off, the more curious Song Linjia became, wanting to get to the bottom of it.

"You wouldn't happen to have some kind of Golden Finger or cheat, would you?"

Li Ran stumbled, nearly losing his footing.

Miss, could you not be so accurate with your guesses?

"Hahaha, just kidding. Anyway, it's getting late, I'll head back now."

"That hairpin equipment seems to be for women. Can I trade you something for it?"

Li Ran took out the [Antique Hairpin] and thought:

It's player equipment; a wife NPC probably can't equip it.

Besides, it was restricted to female players, and he couldn't use it either, so he might as well do her a favor.

"I'll trade you this for it."

Song Linjia handed Li Ran a Sandalwood Box.

Li Ran didn't stand on ceremony; he accepted it directly and gave her the hairpin.

After saying goodbye, Li Ran began to tally his gains for the day.

"It really has been a fruitful harvest."

He immediately equipped the [Thunder Dagger], and with the quest rewards, his stats had improved once again.

Li Ran

Mysterious Power: 100

Agility: 20

Strength: 20

Points: 460

Active Skill: Shadow Escape

Passive Skills: Thunder Mark, Focus (Immune to mental attacks)

As his various attributes increased, Li Ran felt a surge of explosive energy pouring into his body.

Now, he could easily beat his son to a pulp.

He was not even afraid of fighting the B-rank Su Bingyao in his room.

In other words, his ex-wife and son no longer posed a threat to him.

Li Ran looked up at the sky. "I've been out for so long, and it's getting late. I really should head back to cook."

On the way back, Li Ran took out the Sandalwood Box that Song Linjia had given him.

"Can't it be opened?"

Li Ran pried at the box with both hands.

With a crisp "click," the box opened easily.