"Just a peek, come on, let me see!" Tonghua buzzed, constantly circling Chen Li as she urged him on.
"Stop moving around and sit down properly. I don't feel like forging a Curio right now," Chen Li said, a headache forming.
"I won't, I won't!" Tonghua tilted her head back defiantly and continued to orbit him.
The guardian status was indeed Chen Li's best method of restraining Tonghua, aside from her true name, but the scope of a guardian's authority wasn't very broad.
A moment ago, Chen Li had been able to easily restrain her because she had physically pinned him down—an action that was slightly out of line for someone under guardianship.
But now, Tonghua wasn't doing anything truly out of line, so Chen Li couldn't use his authority to compel her.
The purpose of guardianship was to help a newcomer adapt to and accept the world, not to make them want to destroy it after eighteen years of slavery.
Reasonable discipline was permitted; unreasonable demands were not.
"Listen. Forging a Curio is exhausting. I've already made two in half a day and even had an audience with a god. I'm not going to forge another one right away," Chen Li explained to her.
Since he had already shown her The Guide to Forging Curios, he wasn't hiding the matter of forging from her.
After all, by holding her true name, Chen Li could, to a certain extent, do as he pleased with her.
Besides, with the help of Chen Li's parents, he and Tonghua had signed an entire drawer full of various contracts using her true name.
As a Legendary Investigator, Chen Li's father, Chen Shi, was an undisputed expert in the field of signing contracts—specifically, how to avoid being tricked by an Evil God while simultaneously tricking them back.
And Chen Li genuinely needed Tonghua's help to better "restock" in this world, especially since his parents were always "missing."
"I don't care. I came here because I was worried about you. You can't let me make the trip for nothing! Besides, you're not doing anything right now, are you? So just forge one and let me watch," Tonghua insisted.
"…Even if I forged a Curio now, I wouldn't receive a reward. So I won't be forging the infinite rose for now. Give it up," Chen Li said, shaking his head.
Although the dandelion Tonghua had offered was unusable, she had given Chen Li a weapon that could freely separate and recombine, which possessed a [Dispersal] Entry.
The weapon's [Dispersal], combined with the "Immortal Slough's" [Eternity].
Before gaining the [Appraisal] ability, Chen Li had already traded away all his Longevity Pills. It wasn't until he returned to the basement and retrieved the "Immortal Slough" that he discovered it had three Entries.
[Eternity], [Transient], [Immortal]
Although the combination of these three words gave Chen Li an increasingly bad feeling, he had now gathered all the necessary Entries for the rose.
But right now, more than forging a Curio, Chen Li wanted to chat with his gaming partner.
"Well… can't you forge some other Curio? I can provide you with Entries. My manifested projections might not be usable, but I have quite a collection," Tonghua offered.
"This…" Chen Li was tempted.
He knew that the Fairy Tale Evil God loved to collect all sorts of strange little trinkets.
Though their quality might be low, the quantity was considerable.
The effects might be weak and extracting the Entries might cost a lot of Miracle Power, but having them was what mattered.
First, solve the problem of having it or not; then, solve the problem of whether it's good or not.
Most importantly, it wasn't Chen Li's money being spent.
"Alright, but before that, wait a moment. Actually, go and get me ten ants," Chen Li said after a moment's hesitation.
"Huh? Ants? What are you going to do?"
"Don't ask, just go."
"Fine. Here." Tonghua opened her hand, and a small jar containing ten ants appeared within it.
"That was fast."
Chen Li placed the glass jar in front of him, then took out an Ear of Wheat and waved it gently.
A flash of emerald green light surged into the mouth of the jar, pouring into the ants' bodies.
Their forms began to swell rapidly until each one was the size of a fist. Their life force became so dense that countless golden tendrils erupted from their bodies, twisting around them…
Swoosh!
[Pale Justice] instantly slashed through the ten ants just as they were about to complete their transformation.
"Alright, the task of killing ten Abominations of Abundance is complete," Chen Li said, clapping his hands together.
Although the process might have been unexpected for Jingliu, these definitely counted as Abominations of Abundance.
The proof was that the [Trial of the Cloud Knight Sword Champion] was now unlocked, its formerly plain appearance now glowing with a brilliant golden light.
While this felt a bit like cheating Jingliu, Chen Li really couldn't find any Abominations of Abundance in his own world.
Besides, he believed that Jingliu wouldn't care about the Abominations themselves; she only cared about her Baiheng.
"A powerful gift from a god," Tonghua said, her eyes fixed on the Ear of Wheat in Chen Li's hand.
"Is it as strong as you?"
"You don't need to concern yourself with the affairs of gods," Tonghua replied, avoiding a direct answer.
"Fair enough." Having dealt with that task, Chen Li settled into a comfortable position on the sofa and brought out the Miracle Crystal.
[Crystals -5]
[Refreshing Miracle Commissions…]
Chen Li went for a five-pull right away.
The reason he decided to accept a forging commission instead of making a weapon for himself was that the five Relics he owned didn't have suitable Entries.
He couldn't forge a high-quality offensive Curio, and he had no interest in making a low-quality one.
A single killing-type Entry might be able to construct a purely offensive Curio, but having too few Entries on a Curio was not a good thing.
It would make the Curio's development path uncontrollable.
Soon, five new Miracle Commissions appeared before him.
[Cleaver]: Forge a cleaver specifically for chopping up cheating scumbags.
Client: Katsura Kotonoha
Reward: 10~20 Crystals
Risk: Low
[Rebellion]: Forge an item that can sever the connection with one's controller, granting freedom and preferably obtaining some of the controller's power.
Client: Vita
Reward: 10~100 Crystals
Risk: Low~High
[Superstar]: Create a microphone for my sister, Robin, that will satisfy her, allowing her to stand on an even grander stage!
Client: Sunday
Reward: 10~50 Crystals
Risk: Low~Medium
[Leekspin]: I want a delicious leek that I can never finish eating and can also be used to hit people!
Client: Hatsune Miku
Reward: 15 Crystals
Risk: Low
[Longbow]: To better protect the Shikon Jewel, forge an incredibly sturdy longbow that can perfectly channel spiritual power.
Client: Kikyo
Reward: 30~50 Crystals
Risk: Low
Chen Li stared at the five Miracle Commissions before him, momentarily stunned.
There really was a commission for everything.
As he looked at the third one, his eyes lit up.