Meanwhile, in the room of the backyard, Yuan Ming was in turmoil. Fragments of memories in his mind began to connect.

From the information he had obtained when his soul possessed the body of the groom, Wang Shun, he associated his own memory fragments with the vivid “story” from the old pipe smoker…

He vaguely guessed about his experiences before his amnesia.

As the son of General Yuan of the Central Plains Great Jin Kingdom, he was chased and fell into a river by a short-haired young man in his memory while accompanying the Great Jin delegation to the southern border. He was then picked up by the old pipe smoker and sold to the cemetery. Somehow, he survived and arrived at Iron Tiger Town.

In Iron Tiger Town, he was reported by the old pipe smoker and somehow escaped. He ended up in a cave, lost his memory, and was captured by Hu Zha and brought back to the Bi Luo Cave, becoming a beast slave.

This line of thought seemed quite smooth, but there were still too many blank memory fragments. A slight deviation could lead to a huge error.

Yuan Ming needed more clues to verify his guess.

In the front yard, Tu Le breathed a sigh of relief, saying, “As long as he’s not here for revenge, he’s leaving tomorrow anyway.”

“Yeah, I heard from Lard Zha this afternoon that this guy is not simple. If he really knew, we would be done. Ah, fortunately, Lard Zha knew when to stop, otherwise, if he really provoked him, it would be troublesome.” The old pipe smoker said with some fear.

Tu Le also knew about his father’s business partnership with Lard Zha over the past year, and couldn’t help but advise:

“Dad, our family is doing well now, we don’t have to live a hard life anymore. Let’s live a peaceful life and stop doing these immoral things. Look, no one wants to marry into our family now.”

“Dad is afraid of being poor… Ah, but you’re right. After a while, Dad will find someone to arrange a marriage for you, and then this white jade ring will be passed on to you.”

The old pipe smoker said, taking off a ring wrapped in red string from his pipe stem.

After unwrapping the red string, a white jade ring as smooth as mutton fat was revealed, glowing faintly under the moonlight.

The moment Yuan Ming saw this jade ring through the crow, he felt it was incredibly familiar, but he couldn’t remember where he had seen it.

But he guessed that this white jade ring was probably his old possession.

Yuan Ming was feeling chaotic and frustrated at the moment, and he didn’t feel like watching any longer. He quickly recalled the three soul crows.

He stood up, ready to rush to the front yard and give this greedy father and son a good lesson.

But when he pulled the door bolt, he suddenly remembered Fang Ge’s instructions before leaving Bi Luo Cave, not to harm mortals at will, so he had to suppress his anger.

But thinking about the old pipe smoker’s actions, he felt that he couldn’t let this old guy off easily.

“I’ve got it, just like this…”

He frowned and thought for a moment, then his eyes lit up, and a plan came to mind.

…

Early the next morning, Yuan Ming got up early and came to the yard outside the house.

The old pipe smoker had been eager to send away Yuan Ming, the plague god, and had been paying attention to the movements here.

Hearing the noise in the backyard, he immediately rushed over.

But when he arrived, the old pipe smoker didn’t see a ready-to-go tenant, but saw Yuan Ming walking in circles in the backyard with his hands behind his back, looking down, as if he was looking for something.

“Did you lose something? Do you need my help?” The old pipe smoker hurriedly stepped forward and asked.

Yuan Ming seemed to just notice him coming over, and there was a look of surprise in his eyes.

“No, I didn’t lose anything… You go about your business, don’t mind me.” Yuan Ming stammered, waving his hand.

The old pipe smoker didn’t believe him, but he didn’t ask any more questions, feeling puzzled.

“Young man, are you leaving today? I’ve already watered the horse and fed it this morning.” He said with a forced smile.

“Thank you, shopkeeper. You go ahead with your work. I’ll settle the bill in front when I’m ready.” Yuan Ming waved his hand, sounding a bit annoyed.

The old pipe smoker could tell that Yuan Ming was trying to get rid of him, which made him even more puzzled.

He walked back to the partition wall of the backyard, looking back every three steps, and went through the door to the front yard.

Seeing him leave, Yuan Ming bent down and started looking on the ground again.

At this moment, a pair of eyes peered through the hole in the partition wall of the backyard.

Without showing any signs, Yuan Ming slightly curled the corner of his mouth. His divine sense could now cover a range of five feet, so he naturally knew that the old pipe smoker was peeking from outside the partition wall.

However, he didn’t care at all, and continued to search the ground as if he knew nothing.

Before long, he bent down and picked up a stone the size of a longan kernel, full of pits and bumps, from the ground. He held it in his palm and examined it carefully, showing a satisfied smile, as if he had let out a sigh of relief.

Outside the partition wall, the old pipe smoker saw everything clearly, but he was full of doubts.

He didn’t understand why Yuan Ming was looking for a broken stone in the yard early in the morning instead of doing something important?

However, at this moment, he saw Yuan Ming look up at the sky, walk a few steps to the left and right towards the rising sun, then put his hands together, holding the stone in his palm, and bow to the four directions.

After a round, he saw Yuan Ming’s lips moving constantly, as if he was chanting something.

But because he was too far away, the old pipe smoker couldn’t hear anything.

“Is this kid crazy? What the hell is he doing?”

He cursed quietly, and was about to leave when he suddenly saw a golden light shining from Yuan Ming’s slowly opening hands.

The old pipe smoker’s eyes widened in surprise, his face full of astonishment.

Then, he saw Yuan Ming’s hands fully open, revealing a golden lump the size of a longan kernel, full of pits and bumps, and shining brightly.

Looking at its size and appearance, it was almost identical to the stone Yuan Ming had picked up from the ground earlier.

The old pipe smoker’s heart was pounding, and he covered his mouth with his hands to prevent himself from shouting out loud.

“Turning stone into gold, this is a divine skill only immortals possess!” Old Smoky was exclaiming in his heart.

He was praising his own sharpness for accidentally witnessing such a miracle, feeling an uncontrollable surge of excitement and thrill. However, very quickly, a strong desire to possess this skill welled up within him.

“If I could also master this spell, wouldn’t I never be poor again?” Old Smoky kept asking himself.

But after the excitement, he quickly calmed down, instinctively doubting whether he was seeing things or if it was an illusion.

But when he looked again, Yuan Ming was no longer in the yard, but had returned to the house.

In just a moment, Yuan Ming came out of the house again, closed the door, and seemed to be planning to leave.

Seeing this, Old Smoky quickly ran to the front yard, then turned back, pretending to just happen to run into Yuan Ming who was heading to the front yard.

“Oh, guest, are you leaving already?” Old Smoky feigned surprise.

“Yes, I need to find someone first. I’ll come back if I have a chance in the future.” Yuan Ming replied with a smile.

“Oh, alright, let me get your horse for you.” Old Smoky quickly bowed and nodded.

“No rush, no rush. Let me settle the accommodation fee first. Also, I have a favor to ask.” Yuan Ming said with a smile.

“You’re too polite, just tell me what you need.” Old Smoky quickly replied.

“I lost most of my silver coins at the Lucky Gambling House earlier, and I’m short on pocket money. I was wondering if there’s a bank or pawnshop in town where I could exchange some silver coins with the gold nugget I have.” Yuan Ming casually said.

Upon hearing this, Old Smoky frowned and after some thought, he said, “There is a bank, but they’re notorious for their high-interest rates and unscrupulous practices. You’re sure to be at a disadvantage if you exchange there.”

“I don’t care if they’re unscrupulous or not. As a lone traveler, convenience is what matters. As long as I can exchange at a rate of 80% or above, I can accept it.” Yuan Ming laughed, seemingly unconcerned.

Hearing this, Old Smoky couldn’t help but feel puzzled.

He could accept an exchange rate of 80%, losing 20% of the gold. Could it be that the gold really was transformed from stone and he didn’t care about the loss?

“Shopkeeper?” Yuan Ming called out when he saw Old Smoky lost in thought.

“Well, since you’ve said so, if you trust me, why don’t I go for you? They might give me a better rate since we’re acquainted, and I could help you get more silver coins.” Old Smoky suggested sincerely and cautiously.

“That works. I’ll have to trouble you then, shopkeeper.” Yuan Ming seemed a bit hesitant, but eventually nodded.

With that, he took out the gold nugget the size of a longan from his sleeve and handed it to Old Smoky.

The latter rubbed his hands and quickly took it.

He weighed the gold nugget in his hand, examined it closely, and even bit it to confirm its authenticity. It was real.

At this point, he was even more unsettled.

His “benefactor” really had the ability to turn stone into gold!

Yuan Ming watched him, noticing the change in Old Smoky’s expression and chuckled inwardly.

He had merely prepared the gold nugget in advance, found a similar-looking stone, and used the storage bag’s ability to swap them, easily fooling Old Smoky.

But what really got Old Smoky was his inherent greed.

Once a person becomes greedy, they easily lose their judgment.

Seeing Old Smoky hesitating on the spot and not leaving, Yuan Ming cleared his throat and added the final touch.

“Shopkeeper, if there’s any inconvenience, forget it. I can go exchange it myself. Losing ten or twenty percent doesn’t matter much to me. I’m not interested in money, but I do enjoy spending it.” With that, he reached out to take back the gold nugget.

At this point, Old Smoky finally stopped hesitating, immediately fell to his knees with a “thud”, and bowed his head in respect.

“Master Immortal, please accept my bow.” Old Smoky said he would bow once, but he ended up knocking his head on the ground seven or eight times.

(End of Chapter)