"If I were to say… I didn't mean to pull out a divine object of Abundance in front of you all, would you believe me?" Chen Li blinked, looking innocently at the crowd surrounding him.
"Believe you? Like hell! An abomination holding the authority of the Plaguelord! Don't let us find you!" During the meeting of the Six Charioteers, Dan Shu, the Master of the Alchemy Commission, was the first to lash out, her accusation aimed squarely at Chen Li, who had just appeared before them.
The Six Charioteers meeting was a conference between the heads of the six major commissions of the Xianzhou Luofu.
The Cloud Knights, led by General Jing Yuan.
The Alchemy Commission, led by Master Dan Shu (Acting Head).
The Divination Commission, led by Master Diviner Fu Xuan.
The Sky-Faring Commission, led by Helm Master Yukong.
The Palace of Astrum, led by司衡惠父.
The Artisanship Commission, led by司砧朱轮.
This was truly popping his ultimate right in their faces.
"…I really am going to forge a Curio that lets me slap people through the internet. For real." Looking at Dan Shu, the first person to point a finger at him, made Chen Li grit his teeth in frustration.
Yes, he had suddenly appeared in the middle of the Six Charioteers' meeting.
And yes, when he appeared, he hadn't yet put away the divine object of Abundance.
It certainly looked a lot like he was a remnant of the Denizens of Abundance, but what right did she, a true remnant, have to point fingers at him? Did she have no shame?
Fortunately, this meeting was being held online with holographic projections. Otherwise, Chen Li would have been in for a beating.
Chen Li's gaze swept over the several Charioteers who were glaring at him. He threw his hands up in a shrug and chose to stop thinking.
Because he had no idea how to explain this either.
Was he supposed to say that their big boss, Lan, saw that he had the bones of a prodigy and a spiritual light in his eyes, deeming him prime material for The Hunt, only to take a closer look and find him surrounded by Borisin, so he decided to clean them up as a side job? And that he only teleported here to escape?
Who would believe that?
Maybe… he should tell them his name was Sparkle and that he was sent by the Aeon of Elation to stir up trouble?
"Still daring to cause trouble? Guards, seize him!" Dan Shu slammed her hand on the table in anger. A group of Cloud Knights burst into the meeting room, their spear tips pointed directly at Chen Li.
Even holographic meetings required a physical meeting room, and there were guards posted outside.
"Emmm… forget it, I'm leaving. See ya." Chen Li stared for a while, unable to figure out which one of these people the Restraint Bracelet wanted him to use as a breakthrough point to gain some benefits.
However, this proved one thing: even with the Restraint Bracelet, Chen Li still had to abide by the rule that the trouble brought by the [Vortex of Destiny] was almost equal to the rewards.
Once he upgraded the bracelet to a one-star Curio, he should be able to nullify or reduce the trouble and increase the rewards.
Pale Justice appeared in his hand. A blood-red sword arc deflected the spears thrusting toward him and tore a large hole in the meeting room wall.
Seeing Chen Li's move, Jing Yuan, whose eyes had already widened when Chen Li appeared with the divine object, found them widening even further.
That sword style… why did it look so familiar?
Brother, where did you learn that?
There were differences between styles of the Cloud Knight sword arts, but the shadow of an old acquaintance in Chen Li's form reminded Jing Yuan of certain memories he would rather leave buried.
"Bye-bye, everyone." Chen Li leaped toward the hole in the wall. Activating the Herrscher of the Void's ability, an amber-colored portal appeared before him, swallowing him whole and vanishing without a trace.
"General, what should we do now?" a short, pink-haired holographic projection asked Jing Yuan.
"Issue a wanted order first. Then, I'll have to ask Lady Fu to perform a divination and determine his whereabouts," Jing Yuan said to Fu Xuan.
However, Jing Yuan had a feeling that the youth from moments ago was strange from head to toe. This divination would most likely be fruitless.
First, there was the way he appeared. Second, his sword style. And finally… although the General's residence was some distance from the meeting room, as an Emanator of The Hunt, Jing Yuan could clearly sense the aura of The Hunt on Chen Li.
The aura of The Hunt was so dense on him it was as if the Aeon had personally patted him on the head.
Which meant… he was either a Pathstrider who had caught the attention of the Hunt Aeon, or a remarkable individual capable of escaping the lock-on of Lan's arrows.
The former implied a misunderstanding; the latter meant he was, at the very least, an Emanator personally sheltered by another Aeon.
A thousand thoughts raced through his mind. Jing Yuan, who stood out among the generals for his strategic intellect, began to analyze every possibility.
"Yes, General."
---o---
"Wanted from the get-go. Who can I even complain to?" Walking through some unknown part of the Xianzhou, Chen Li felt a headache coming on.
He had spent 1 Star Stone to use the Herrscher of the Void's teleportation. It was only thanks to a Merit Coin that he didn't fall from a great height, but he had no idea which remote corner he had ended up in.
That's what a lack of proficiency gets you. You should be glad you can even open a portal; don't ask where it leads.
Because he had acted so quickly, Chen Li wasn't worried about being immediately apprehended. It took time to circulate a wanted notice, so he still had plenty of time to roam free.
"They say the rougher the seas, the more valuable the fish… but no matter how I think about it, this whole thing is weird, okay?" Chen Li couldn't quite wrap his head around it.
Provoking the Hunt Aeon to annihilate the Borisin had earned him 30 Crystals and 400 Star Stones. He wasn't sure if the main point was annihilating the Borisin or the miracle of summoning the Aeon.
Teleporting into the Six Charioteers' meeting and getting a price on his head had also earned him 300 Star Stones.
All told, he had made 700 Star Stones in just a few minutes.
That was how the transmigrator system worked: the more you stirred the waters of a calm lake, the greater the reward.
"I did not kill Boyi, yet Boyi died because of me. The pain, it's too much." The thought that his client had been vaporized by the Hunt Aeon made Chen Li's heart ache.
He had planned to do it himself…
"Looks like I really need to find a base of operations before I'm officially wanted." Chen Li walked openly through the Xianzhou, his goal to find a suitable candidate, give them the one blank name card he had left, and strike a deal to gain a contact on the Xianzhou.
Otherwise, who knew how long it would be before he could come back.
He currently had two candidates in mind.
The first was Guinaifen. He heard she was a street performer, so maybe he'd run into her just by walking around.
The second was Dan Shu. Yes, the same one who had been the first to call for his arrest.
He chose her because he knew that while she was publicly the Master of the Alchemy Commission, she was secretly the leader of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus.
And the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus worshipped the Aeon of Abundance.
Her haste just now was clearly an attempt to distance herself from any suspicion of being connected to an Abomination of Abundance.
However, Chen Li felt that her eagerness might have revealed a flaw to the discerning eyes of the "Dozing General," Jing Yuan.
Regardless, she was definitely desperate to contact him right now.
Although in theory, Chen Li could just grab a random person, ask if they wanted a Curio, and sign a contract, one of the secrets to a Curio Forger earning more Crystals was to place Curios in the hands of people with bigger roles to play in the story.
Because they tended to create more miracles. Or perhaps, simply being able to come into contact with miracles was a form of capital in itself.
Chen Li wasn't worried about his efforts being in vain. Since he had run into trouble, he was bound to receive an equivalent reward.
That's why he was never afraid of trouble.
He was only afraid of trouble coming at the wrong time.
"If all else fails… I'll just hurry up and do a hundred good deeds, summon the Aeon of Abundance to the Luofu, and create a Miracle Card. That way, I can come and go as I please without anyone's help," Chen Li suddenly thought of a brilliant idea.
"Hm?" Just as he was admiring his own genius, Chen Li suddenly stopped, took two steps back, and turned to his right.
"Emmm…" Seeing a young woman playing a game of Celestial Jade at the Four-Leaf Mahjong Parlor right by the side of the road, a glint flashed in Chen Li's eyes.
Target acquired!
Man proposes, Heaven disposes. Chen Li never had a set target to begin with. That being the case, which lucky person would receive his blank name card, possess a Curio, and reach the pinnacle of their life could only be up to fate.
Of course, along with luck, there would surely be trouble.
So he had to find someone who could handle that trouble.
"Qingque, hurry up. My tea is getting cold," the young woman, who had grown wary upon sensing someone standing beside her, was urged on by her fellow player.
"A good hand is worth the wait. Coming, coming." Sensing no ill intent from the person, Qingque happily resumed her game.
After two rounds, seeing that the game was over, Qingque finally couldn't help but look at the youth beside her and ask, "Are you very interested in Celestial Jade?"
"Oh, don't misunderstand. I'm not that interested in Celestial Jade. I'm more interested in you."
"Hm?" Qingque looked at him warily.
"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Chen Li, and I am a Curio Forger," Chen Li said.
"Curios… can be forged?" Qingque's face was a canvas of question marks.
Qingque, a diviner of the Xianzhou Luofu's Divination Commission and a library archivist.
She was unremarkable among the countless diviners of the commission, but during her school days, she was a master of controlling her scores, always getting exactly 60 on every exam.
She was also a legendary slacker.
And she had, of course, heard of things like Curios.
"Whether you believe it or not is up to the facts to decide. See this?" Chen Li took out a cat food bowl.
"What's this?"
"An infinite cat food bowl. The food inside can never be finished. I forged it myself," Chen Li said, walking over to a nearby trash can and turning the bowl upside down.
As he watched the cat food continuously pour into the trash can and regenerate, Chen Li silently apologized to Huahua in his heart.
I'll make it up to you with another ten cat treats later!
"It really is a Curio." Qingque's eyes lit up.
A little interesting.
"So, what do you want with me?" she asked.
"Nothing but fate. I can see that you are deeply troubled, miss, so I thought I'd propose a fair trade," Chen Li said.
"Deeply troubled? What trouble? I'm a diviner of the Divination Commission. Don't you try to play mysterious with me."
"Your boss often catches you slacking off."
"Nonsense, when have I ever slacked off?" Qingque denied it flatly.
"But I can help you slack off."
"A divine healer! No, I mean, Master! What are your teachings?" Qingque's demeanor instantly turned enthusiastic.
"How about I forge a Curio for you that will prevent your boss from divining your location when you're slacking off?"
"Really? What's the price?"
"It's free."
"Hm?" Qingque grew wary again.
"Because it's not a particularly valuable item. You just need to provide the raw materials. However, as the forging fee, you'll have to show me all around the Xianzhou. How about it?" Chen Li offered.
"Show you around the Xianzhou? Are you new here?" Qingque asked thoughtfully.
"That's right."
"No problem," Qingque readily agreed.
The Xianzhou was a society governed by law. Qingque didn't believe he could actually kidnap and sell her here, could he?
"Then let us make a pact. I will forge a Curio for you that prevents your boss from divining your location, and in return, until you have shown me all around the Xianzhou, you will act as my guide when conditions permit. And you are not allowed to trick me," Chen Li said, placing the Compulsory Transaction Gold Coin in his palm.
"Alright." Qingque paid no mind to his strange behavior and simply nodded.
It wasn't until she saw the coin suddenly begin to glow with a golden light that she felt something was odd.
"Very good. From now on, we're accomplices. A pleasure doing business with you." Chen Li extended his hand to Qingque.
"A pleasure. But why use the word 'accomplices'?" Qingque asked, confused.
"You'll find out soon enough," Chen Li said with profound meaning.