If You're Unhappy, You Haven't Spent Enough

No more, no less-exactly one hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins.

After accepting the money, Lin Xiao pointed to the shelves behind him. "Pick any jar up there."

Before his words had faded, the man had already decided. "That one. I have a feeling this one will definitely give me something good."

He pointed at the jar directly in front of him.

"All right."

Lin Xiao took the jar off the shelf and placed it on the counter. "Smash it with the hammer beside you."

The man wasted no time. He picked up the hammer and swung.

Crack.

The jar shattered, and a flash of white light vanished in an instant.

Then, with a clatter, the hammer dropped onto the counter.

The jar opener asked, "What is this?"

He held a coin that was half gold and half silver, with an eerie smiling face engraved on it.

Item: [Fate Coin]

Grade: [Common]

Type: [Tradable]

Description: [A glorious death or an insignificant life-fate has long since decided. Upon use, there is a fifty percent chance of triggering either divine retribution or recovery.]

Effect: [Divine retribution: instant death. Recovery: heals all injuries.]

"Who would have thought you could even pull this damn Fate Coin..."

Lin Xiao was a little speechless. He still remembered playing the game back then. In its early versions, this thing had been the standard healing potion for the blessed kings of luck.

As for Lin Xiao, ten uses meant ten bouts of divine retribution. Only on the eleventh did he have any hope of successfully healing.

Basically, he had relied on it to kill himself, then used a Revival Coin to revive and reset his skills.

"Boss... you haven't said anything for a while. Are you stunned? Is what I got really powerful?"

The Soul Master holding the Fate Coin asked anxiously.

"Well... that depends on your luck."

"Why does it depend on my luck?"

"The coin in your hand is called a Fate Coin. It's very simple to use-just toss it into the air. If you're lucky, it'll unleash a miraculous power that heals all your injuries, instantly returning you to peak condition and restoring your manly vigor."

The man burst into an excited laugh. "Haha! I knew my luck wasn't bad! Doesn't having this coin mean I've got an extra life? For a Soul Master like me, who's always walking the line between life and death, that's incredibly important!"

Lin Xiao's lips twitched at his words. Wasn't this fellow a little too optimistic?

He interrupted the man. "Let me finish first. That's if you're lucky. If you're unlucky, you'll summon divine retribution and be struck dead by lightning..."

"Uh..."

The man froze when he heard what Lin Xiao said.

It took him quite a while to recover before he asked in a trembling voice, "Y-you said what? If I'm unlucky, I'll get struck by lightning?"

He looked down at the strange coin in his hand again, but he couldn't smile anymore.

How the hell is this an extra life? It's clearly a death warrant!

"Yes."

Lin Xiao nodded, then warned him, "Our shop advises you to use it with caution unless you're facing a life-or-death crisis. Even then, don't use it if you can avoid it."

"How is that any different from getting nothing?"

"Just like that, one hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins are gone?"

Misery welled up inside the man, and he was so frustrated he wanted to cough up blood.

Why did someone else get a Soul Bone on their very first jar?

Then they even got a treasure that could increase a Soul Ring's age.

But what the hell did I get?

It can't compare with their treasures at all.

Honestly, he felt he would have been better off getting nothing.

He had gotten a lousy coin he couldn't even use. Just thinking about it made him sick.

"That's how opening jars works. What you get depends entirely on luck."

Lin Xiao shrugged, conveying that there was nothing he could do either.

Truthfully, Lin Xiao would have loved for everyone to get Soul Bones or other good things.

That was how he could boost the little shop's jar sales.

And the more jars he sold, the greater his rewards.

But reality went against his wishes.

Suddenly, the man frowned and asked suspiciously, "Boss, aren't you serving different dishes to different customers? You knew that girl was His Holiness the Pope's disciple, so you deliberately gave her jars with good things inside. But when it comes to us, the goods are worlds apart."

Shady merchants, shady merchants-no merchant without a little shadiness.

He believed His Holiness the Pope's disciple hadn't colluded with the shopkeeper, but who knew whether the shopkeeper was secretly using them to build his reputation?

After quietly hearing him out, Lin Xiao smiled. "Heh. This shop conducts its business honestly. The jars are right there, and you chose yours yourself. What you get depends entirely on your luck."

"Besides, they did get lucky when their first jar yielded a Soul Bone. After that, they spent another five hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins, opening five jars before they got the Enhancer. Do you still think there's a problem?"

"No, no problem."

The man stopped arguing.

But with one hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins washed down the drain, the words "I'm not happy" were still written all over his face.

Seeing this, Lin Xiao said softly, "Before you came in, you must have seen the words on either side of the door. That's right-creating happiness with money is this shop's guiding principle. Think carefully about why you're unhappy..."

His voice was light and airy, yet it struck straight at the heart, easily setting one's imagination wandering.

A moment later.

The man's eyes brightened slightly. "I think I understand. How about... I open another one?"

After hearing Lin Xiao's words, he had figured it out.

He was unhappy because he hadn't gotten anything good. He couldn't accept that.

Only opening another jar could solve this problem.

This youngster can be taught.

Lin Xiao nodded to himself.

Once the Soul Master before him paid, Lin Xiao placed his chosen jar on the counter.

Crack.

As the jar shattered, the Soul Master's heart shattered too.

"This... why is it white light again?"

Lin Xiao saw the item inside and smiled. "Not bad. This time you got an Experience Capsule. Eating it will give your cultivation a considerable boost."

"Really? So this one's actually useful?"

The Soul Master's face was filled with uncertainty.

"Why not try it yourself and find out whether it's true?"

"All right. I'll try it."

With that, the Soul Master tossed the Experience Capsule straight into his mouth.

The next instant, his face suddenly flushed red.

Another three to five breaths passed, and a surge of Soul Power erupted from him.

"It's true. It's actually true!"

"This tiny Experience Capsule brought my Soul Power straight to level sixty! It saved me two whole years of hard work! Once I obtain a Soul Ring, I'll be a Soul Emperor!"

"Boss, thank you! You're such a good man!"

The man was so excited that his words became incoherent.

"See? As long as you spend enough, there's no reason to be unhappy. I put my heart into creating happiness with money."

Lin Xiao chuckled. "Looks like your luck has turned around. Why not open another couple to celebrate?"

Meanwhile.

Hu Liena, Xie Yue, and Yan had arrived outside the Papal Palace.

They were told, however, that His Holiness the Pope was discussing important matters with several Elders.

An attendant stepped forward. "My lady, perhaps you should go back and wait. I will inform His Holiness the Pope that you came."

"No, I'll wait right here."

Hu Liena shook her head firmly. "What I need to report is too important. The moment my teacher is free, I must request an audience. I can't afford even a moment's delay."