Smashing the Bottle

Bang!

Han Li clenched both hands and slammed one fist hard against the tabletop.

"Smash the bottle open with a tool." That was what Han Li had decided after considering it again and again.

He had long since thought of using brute force to open it, a solution that was hardly a solution at all.

This approach was simple and straightforward, direct and effective.

But whenever he thought of how such a strange, beautiful bottle would never again remain whole and undamaged, Han Li felt pangs of heartache and was deeply reluctant to do it. If there were any other way to open it, Han Li would never resort to such a crude method, no matter what.

Asking his senior brothers for help might get it open. But deep down, Han Li had long since come to regard the object as his own treasure without even realizing it, and he was utterly unwilling to let any outsiders know about it. Besides, anyone on the mountain could be its owner. If they found out he had the bottle, what would he do if they demanded it back? The little bottle was so beautiful and interesting that he simply could not bear to return it now.

Han Li's curiosity had now been thoroughly piqued by the mysterious object inside the bottle. Although he knew it might simply be an empty bottle, he was still willing to take a gamble that whatever was inside would be more interesting than the bottle itself.

The more Han Li thought about it, the more unbearably his curiosity itched.

If he did not solve the mystery of what was inside the bottle, he would not be able to sleep soundly at night.

Having made up his mind, Han Li slipped into the room in the valley where miscellaneous items were stored, picked out a relatively heavy little iron hammer from among the many tools, and took it back to his room.

Back in the room, he found half a discarded hard gray brick in a corner, then picked out a relatively level hollow in the floor. He laid the brick flat there and placed the bottle securely on its side atop it.

Han Li raised the little hammer in his right hand. The hammerhead paused briefly in the air, then came down decisively on the bottle's most protruding part-its belly.

Clang!

Afraid that too much force would damage whatever was inside the bottle, he had brought the hammer down lightly for the first blow, testing the bottle's hardness.

Seeing no trace of a crack, Han Li felt reassured. It seemed he could use more force to smash the bottle.

Clang! Half strength.

Clang! Seven parts strength.

Clang! Full strength.

Clang! Twelve parts strength.

Han Li struck harder and harder, his arm swinging in wider and wider arcs, the hammer falling faster with each blow. The last strike even drove half the bottle into the gray brick, yet the bottle remained entirely intact, with not the slightest sign that it would shatter.

Han Li was stunned. Still unable to believe it, he reached out and felt the spot where the hammer had struck. Not a single mark had been left behind; the green-glimmering bottle's entire surface remained smooth and clean.

This was far beyond anything Han Li had expected.

Only now was Han Li truly certain that this little bottle was definitely something extraordinary and valuable. It could not have been deliberately abandoned; nine times out of ten, its owner had lost it by accident. For all he knew, the owner was searching all over the mountain for it right now. If he wanted to keep it, he would have to hide it carefully and not let any outsiders see it again.

In Han Li's eyes, as long as he had not gone out of his way to steal or rob, anything he picked up off the ground naturally belonged to him. Had it been something ordinary, he might have returned it to its owner. But this bottle was so mysterious that it had probably been lost by a disciple from a wealthy family or someone of status on the mountain, and Han Li had no particularly good impression of either kind of person.

Han Li's family had been poor throughout his childhood. Even after the whole family had worked hard all day, they often could not get a full meal. In the Seven Mysteries Sect, he often saw the first kind of person spend money lavishly, indulging in extravagant food and drink. (If disciples of the Seven Mysteries Sect did not want to eat the ordinary fare, they could pay extra to be served better meals.) They spent money as though it were nothing. Whenever he saw this, Han Li felt uncomfortable. On top of that, these wealthy disciples usually shunned and looked down on disciples like him who came from poor places, often mocking and insulting them. The two sides had even had a few minor clashes, and the children had gotten into several group fights. Han Li had taken part in one of them, but unfortunately, the wealthy disciples who had trained in martial arts had beaten him black and blue, leaving him unable to show his face outside. Only after resting for several days in a row had he returned to normal.

As for the people of some standing and status on the mountain, they had not left Han Li with a particularly good impression either. From Protector Wang accepting a silver bribe from Third Uncle to Wu Yan relying on Vice Sect Leader Ma's influence to enter the Seven Ultimates Hall directly, Han Li had not met many of the mountain's important figures, but the grand image he had once held of them as a child had already been almost completely shattered.

When it came to things lost by those two kinds of people, Han Li not only had no desire to return them, he even wanted to hide them as a prank.

At that thought, Han Li immediately took off a small leather pouch hanging around his neck. When he had left home, Mother Han had specially sewn the pouch for him out of a piece of animal hide. It kept out water and damp and held a protective amulet made from a wild boar's tooth, which she hoped would keep him safe and sound, free from illness and misfortune.

Han Li loosened the mouth of the pouch, put the bottle in with the amulet, and pulled it tight again. Then he hung the pouch back around his neck.

After doing all this, he looked around and saw that no one was there. Only then did he straighten his chest and pat the pouch that bulged slightly against it, satisfied that it would no longer attract anyone's attention.

Only then did he feel much more at ease, no longer afraid that something unexpected might happen and the owner would find the bottle and demand it back.

Han Li quietly returned the hammer to its original place and, pretending nothing had happened, wandered slowly around Divine Hand Valley for a while. Only when the sky had gone completely dark did he drag his injured foot back to his room.