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Wei Yuan blinked, convinced he'd misheard. "Divine extraction? What in the world…?" He shook his head, the words echoing strangely in the eerie silence of the abandoned village.
Then, an odd sensation. A tingling, insistent itch on his forehead.
He splashed some water from a nearby puddle, peering at his reflection. The strange mark was morphing, twisting into a solid, golden die.
Intrigued, Wei Yuan picked it up. It felt strangely warm to the touch. No numbers adorned its faces, only intricate characters, like miniature sculptures. What did they mean?
Curiosity overriding caution, he tossed the die onto the cracked earth. It spun, a flash of gold against the gray, before settling.
The face staring back at him depicted a figure in vibrant red robes, cradling a massive gold ingot. It was unmistakable: the God of Wealth.
A surge of words flooded his mind:
[You have rolled the God of Wealth. Bonus granted: "Fortune's Embrace."]
[Effect Duration: 1 day. Re-roll due upon expiration. (Note: A different deity awaits each dawn.)]
Wei Yuan's breath hitched. A cheat ability? This bizarre die granted him divine powers, cycling through a pantheon of gods? The possibilities exploded in his mind.
"So, the God of Wealth today," he murmured, a grin spreading across his face. "Fortune's Embrace… does that mean riches are just… waiting for me?"
His pulse quickened. He had to test this.
Then, the whispers began, subtle yet distinct:
Ten meters below, where the old well thirsts: a jade pendant, cool and serene.
North, twenty paces, where the ruined house crumbles: a cache of coins, bound in a forgotten string.
South, fifty steps, beneath the jagged rock: a nugget of gold, gleaming like a captured sun.
And there is more, so much more...
Wei Yuan's eyes widened. It wasn't just money. It was… everything.
He glanced back at the well. So, the jade pendant was down there… he'd come back for that later. The coins called to him first.
He strode twenty paces north, his boots crunching on the debris. The ruined house, little more than a collapsed wall, yielded its secret: a small, earthenware box, and within, a string of ancient coins.
A thrill shot through him. It was real. All of it.
He followed the whispers, each discovery fueling his excitement. Silver pieces, the jade pendant (retrieved from the well with some makeshift rope), and a small hoard of glittering jewelry.
But then… the whispers shifted, broadening their definition of "wealth."
Nourishment waits, within the broken steamer, a basket of steamed buns, untouched by decay.
Provisions lie hidden, in the shadowed shed, a sack of rice, enough to banish hunger's edge.
Sustenance hangs, from a fallen beam, cured meats, a hunter's bounty, preserved in time.
Wei Yuan's stomach growled, a stark reminder of his earlier desperation. This power… it was more than just gold. It was salvation.
He didn't hesitate. He devoured the steamed buns and cured meat, the rich flavors a stark contrast to his recent deprivation. When he could eat no more, he carefully packed the remaining food, his heart swelling with gratitude.
He spent the next hour scouring the village, the whispers guiding him to forgotten corners and hidden stashes. By the time the afternoon sun began to dip below the horizon, he had amassed a small fortune: forty taels of silver, a significant quantity of copper coins, a supply of food that would last him weeks, sturdy clothes, and other essentials.
He piled everything onto a rickety wooden cart he found near the village outskirts. The village, silent and empty, held an unsettling air. He didn't know what had driven its inhabitants away, or if the monstrous shadow he'd glimpsed was truly gone. He needed to leave, and quickly.
After a brief rest, he began pushing the cart, the wooden wheels groaning in protest. As he passed the village well, the whispers intensified, urgent and compelling:
A rare opportunity… a power beyond simple wealth… awaits within the temple, to the east.
Wei Yuan frowned. A rare opportunity? Was that also "wealth"?
He hesitated. He was laden with riches and supplies, eager to escape this desolate place. But the whispers… they resonated with a different kind of pull, a sense of something… significant.
He couldn't ignore it.
Reluctantly, he parked the cart near the well, its precious cargo momentarily forgotten. He approached the small, dilapidated temple, his footsteps echoing in the silence. He peered into the gloom.
The sight that greeted him chilled him to the bone.
The temple was a ruin. Dust lay thick on everything. The main hall was a cavern of shadows, the offering table groaning under the weight of neglect. Faded prayer cushions lay scattered, untouched for years. On the table, chipped porcelain bowls held offerings of blackened, moldy food.
Behind the table, a clay statue loomed, its face obscured by cobwebs, its gaze fixed on some unseen point below. Two lines of faded text were carved into the hem of its robe, like a mournful poem:
"A small temple with no monks—swept only by the wind."
"A high heaven with a Buddha—lit only by moonlight."
But it wasn't the decay or the melancholy verse that froze Wei Yuan's blood.
It was the creature crouched at the statue's feet.
It seemed sculpted from solid gold, yet it moved with unnatural fluidity. Its head was grotesquely large, out of proportion with its short, squat body. Its bald, wrinkled face was a mask of ancient secrets, dominated by two hollow, black eyes that stared directly at Wei Yuan.
The creature's creepy visage was horrifying enough, but what truly shattered Wei Yuan's sanity was the impossible: he could see the statue's foot through its body. The creature was… partially transparent.
"....."