Origin Returning Pill

Time flew, and the school year soon passed. Qin Muchu welcomed his first vacation. Over the year, his Soul Power had risen from level five to the late stages of level seven, putting level eight within reach. His cultivation speed was no worse than that of a prodigy with level-nine Innate Soul Power, while Xiao Wu had reached level sixteen.

His expenses at the academy had been modest: food and fun for himself and Xiao Wu, plus the occasional meal for his roommates on the cafeteria's second floor. Compared with the Gold Soul Coins the system gave him, it was almost nothing. His balance had now passed thirty million, and he planned to do some shopping in the System Shop once he got home.

Nuoding Academy's vacation began tomorrow. Wang Sheng and several other sixth-year students were about to graduate, so Qin Muchu treated them to a feast in celebration. Afterward, he returned to Dorm Seven to pack.

As everyone in Dorm Seven busied themselves with their luggage, Xiao Wu sat blankly on her bed, a trace of loneliness in her eyes. Her legs swung back and forth, her toes tapping the floor. Both rabbit ears drooped, and she looked rather downcast.

"Xiao Wu, vacation starts tomorrow. Aren't you packing?" Qin Muchu asked.

"I'm not going home. I'll stay at the academy for the vacation."

Qin Muchu paused. He had thought Xiao Wu would return to Star Dou Great Forest for the vacation. After all, she had spent a hundred thousand years there. "In that case, clever and adorable classmate Xiao Wu, would you like to visit my home? It's right here in Nuoding City, not far from the academy."

"Can I?" Her drooping rabbit ears sprang upright.

"Of course. It would be my honor to have Sister Xiao Wu visit. Your presence would make my humble home shine, and—"

"Oh, drop dead! Talk normally." Xiao Wu punched Qin Muchu in annoyance. "Xiao Chu, will your parents be all right with me coming over?"

At the mention of his parents, pain stabbed through Qin Muchu's heart. "My mom and dad died when I was three." Surprise flashed across Xiao Wu's face. Her lips moved, but in the end she said nothing. She gently took his hand.

Qin Muchu pushed down his sadness and managed a strained smile. "It's okay. That was a long time ago. Hurry and pack. We'll go home together tomorrow."

Early the next morning, Xiao Wu dragged Qin Muchu out from under his covers while he was still enjoying a lovely dream. "Get up, sleepyhead! Any later and the sun will be shining on your backside."

Forced awake, Qin Muchu gazed out the window in despair. "Come on, it's barely light out."

"Oh, come on! Hurry up and get ready."

Xiao Wu was in high spirits all the way, skipping along and stopping to look at anything that caught her fancy. Qin Muchu, a filthy-rich big spender, simply waved his hand: if her gaze lingered on something for more than three seconds, he had the shopkeeper wrap it up. In the end, even Xiao Wu, a rabbit with no head for money, could not stand it. She grabbed him and pulled him toward home.

"Oh, right, Xiao Chu." Xiao Wu remembered something and turned to warn him. "Since your parents are gone, you can't keep spending money like you used to. Save what you can." During their year at the academy, Qin Muchu had taken her to eat the best food every day. It must have cost a fortune. She quietly did the math: they had probably spent nearly ten thousand Gold Soul Coins this year. Copper coins were the basic currency across the continent, and one gold coin was worth a hundred copper coins. Didn't that mean they had spent nearly a million copper coins? Even she, who had little sense of money, was startled. Alongside her gratitude came guilt. It's all because I'm such a glutton. I've spent so much of Xiao Chu's money.

Seeing the girl's eyes redden as her imagination ran wild, Qin Muchu hurried to reassure her. "Don't worry. I'm a bona fide rich kid. I've got more money than I can spend."

"Really?"

"Really!"

"Then tell me where you got all that money."

"Well... I'll tell you a secret, but you can't tell anyone else. The truth is, I asked the God of Wealth to be my godfather, and he gives me loads of Gold Soul Coins every day." Qin Muchu looked utterly serious.

"You! Hmph, fine, don't tell me. I'm not talking to you anymore."

"See? I tell you the truth and you don't believe me. Hey, why do your cheeks look like two steamed buns? Let me take a bite and see if they taste good... Hey! Not the face!"

"You filthy pervert! I'm going to beat you to death! Stop right there!"

Still chasing and teasing each other, the two soon reached Qin Muchu's home. Before leaving for school, he had hired a few people to stay there, partly so the house would feel lived in and partly to keep it clean instead of letting dust gather while he was away.

"Wow, your house is huge! It's so much nicer than the school dormitory." Xiao Wu looked around curiously as soon as she stepped inside.

"Of course. My parents were both three-ring Soul Elders, after all. They were well-known figures in Nuoding City. Come on, I'll show you your room."

After settling Xiao Wu in, Qin Muchu returned to his room, sat on the bed, and opened the System Shop. His system balance was now over thirty million, giving him plenty of options. After careful thought, he narrowed it down to two choices. He could buy intermediate-level Meditation Technique, mental cultivation technique, and body-tempering technique manuals. Each cost ten million Gold Soul Coins, just enough for him to buy all three. Or he could buy a pill called the Origin Returning Pill. It strengthened one's foundations and condensed Soul Power, with effects much like an Immortal Herb's. Though it was less potent, its medicinal power was gentler, so he could take it now.

After weighing his options again and again, he decided to exchange for the Origin Returning Pill. The techniques were certainly more valuable in the long run, but the pill would produce a more dramatic improvement in the short term. Thirty million was only a year's worth of system income, and the progress those three techniques would bring in one year might not match the change from taking the pill once. Besides, each manual cost just ten million. He could easily buy one every four months.

Most importantly, the Million-Year Soul Ring he had drawn from the Beginner Gift Pack had tempted him for an entire year.

Looking at his balance, now almost completely wiped out, Qin Muchu no longer resembled the lavish tycoon he had been during the day. His face fell. "Sigh. I'm still short on money."

He had considered exchanging items from the shop and putting them up for auction, but he snuffed out the idea almost as soon as it appeared. Setting aside whether anyone in Nuoding City could afford something worth millions or even tens of millions, if people found out he had even a few thousand Gold Soul Coins on him, they would set their sights on him.

Putting those thoughts aside, he picked up the Origin Returning Pill and swallowed it in one gulp.