Chapter 781: This Color Is Meant for Me

"What?" Zuan exclaimed, surprised and delighted. Mi Li had become elusive lately; even though she had clearly woken from her sleep, she often didn't respond when he spoke to her. He never knew if she had fallen back asleep or simply didn't want to bother with him.

Hearing her voice now, Zuan felt an inexplicable joy.

"What exactly is it?" Zuan eagerly pressed.

Mi Li hesitated. "I can't quite say," she replied. "I just feel a sense of familiarity. You should look around a bit more."

Zuan nodded and asked Shen Xuzi, "Are there any other alchemy cauldrons?"

Seeing Zuan still unfazed, Shen Xuzi was a little surprised. He reluctantly produced another cauldron. "This one is called the Frugal Cauldron!" he announced.

Jiang Luofu, standing nearby, looked puzzled. "Alchemy cauldrons can be frugal or not?" she wondered.

Zuan couldn't help but chuckle. "If cauldrons can be good or evil, then it's only natural they might also have a concept of frugality."

Shen Xuzi stroked his beard and nodded vigorously. "Mr. Zu is truly one of us; few can match his insight."

Jiang Luofu rolled her beautiful eyes, disinclined to argue with him.

Shen Xuzi caressed the cauldron in his hands and explained, "After each successful refinement, this cauldron has a 25% chance of returning the alchemy materials. The most scarce resources for us alchemists are the materials themselves. With this cauldron, over time, a significant amount of material costs can be saved. Especially when some materials are very precious and rare, triggering the return probability means even greater gains."

Zuan couldn't help but exclaim, "That truly is a frugal cauldron!"

Shen Xuzi, now in high spirits and eager to show off his collection, brought out another cauldron. "This one is called the Extravagant Cauldron," he said. "It requires 50% more raw materials than other cauldrons for the same pill, but it has a 10% chance of yielding double the pills."

Zuan couldn't help but comment, "Only a 10% chance of double the pills? Wouldn't that cauldron be too impractical?"

Shen Xuzi nodded. "That's right. For common pills, this cauldron is indeed inferior to others. However, for some special elixirs, it often produces miraculous effects. For instance, with extremely precious pills that require materials so rare it's hard to gather enough for two, you can try your luck with this cauldron."

Jiang Luofu, who had been listening silently, couldn't help but frown slightly. "Isn't that just gambling? As the saying goes, 'nine out of ten gamblers lose.' I don't like this cauldron."

As a Legalist enforcer, she instinctively disliked such characteristics.

Shen Xuzi chuckled. "This cauldron certainly tests one's luck. That's why I sometimes privately call it the 'Gambler's Cauldron.' For most people, using it is a guaranteed loss. But for those with great fortune, it's a sure way to profit. I believe Mr. Zu is just such a fortunate person."

"You flatter me, Senior Brother Four," Zuan chuckled, while secretly thinking about the luck-boosting pills he had drawn at the Moonbright City casino. Although they couldn't be used for the system's lottery, they would be perfect for this cauldron.

He felt tempted, but recalling the familiar item Mi Li had mentioned, he suppressed his eagerness and decided to look further.

Seeing him still unimpressed, Shen Xuzi was somewhat surprised. *Could this fellow's standards be too high?* he wondered.

However, his enthusiasm for displaying his collection had been sparked, so he said nothing more and led Zuan further inside.

Jiang Luofu, on the other hand, grew worried. She secretly sent a voice message: "A'Zu, that's enough. If you keep being so picky, you might annoy Senior Brother Four, and it won't be worth it."

Zuan gave a wry smile. It seemed even Jiang Luofu thought he was being greedy. Unfortunately, he couldn't explain the reasons to her, so he had no choice but to continue.

Just then, Shen Xuzi picked up another uniquely shaped cauldron. The patterns on its surface subtly formed a smiling face. "This one is called the Mischievous Cauldron," he announced.

Jiang Luofu was speechless.

She had become numb to his descriptions; what kind of bizarre artifacts did this man collect?

Shen Xuzi continued his introduction. "The unique feature of this cauldron is that after each pill is refined, it randomly bestows a special attribute upon it."

Zuan was startled. "Wouldn't that make this the best cauldron? You'd get an extra attribute out of nowhere after refining a pill!"

Shen Xuzi sighed. "It's not that simple. The attributes it bestows are completely random, and not necessarily positive. Sometimes, they can be negative, even ruining the pill."

Zuan was speechless.

"This cauldron is probably the true 'Gambler's Cauldron'," he thought.

Just then, Mi Li's voice echoed in his mind: "That green cauldron in the cabinet, lower right front. That's the one."

Zuan was a bit surprised. Following her instructions, he looked and saw a rather ordinary cauldron. It was barely recognizable as an alchemy cauldron; the ones Shen Xuzi had shown before all faintly shimmered with iridescent light.

But this cauldron's surface was completely devoid of embellishment. Well, that wasn't entirely accurate; it did have something on its surface: a layer of greasy green...

The color was truly inauspicious. Zuan felt a strong urge to resist. "Empress Sister, are you sure you didn't see it wrong? Perhaps we should look again?"

Mi Li's displeased voice came back: "Do you think I'm the type to jump to conclusions?"

Zuan knew she wasn't, so he walked over and picked up the small green cauldron from the corner. "This color feels like it has a connection with me, so let's choose this one," he said.

He saw that Shen Xuzi had tossed it carelessly into the corner and didn't seem to value it much, so he figured he wouldn't be reluctant to part with it. Thus, Zuan decided against any elaborate tactics and spoke directly.

"You chose *that*?" Shen Xuzi was surprised.

Jiang Luofu, standing by, also looked peculiar. "You have a connection with green?" she asked.

Zuan quickly explained, "I like bringing this vibrant color to others; it's not that I personally like it."

He needed to explain this clearly to her, lest she mistake him for a pervert like King Wu.

He then looked at Shen Xuzi. "What's wrong? Is this cauldron very valuable?"

"It's not exactly valuable," Shen Xuzi shook his head. "I happened upon this cauldron in a secret realm once. Unfortunately, no matter how much I've studied it over the years, I've never found anything special about it. However, given the difficulty of that realm, it's impossible for it to be useless. Does Mr. Zu perhaps know its purpose?"

Zuan shook his head. "I don't know either; it just seemed appealing to me."

Although he didn't know, Mi Li most likely did. However, now wasn't the time to ask her.

Jiang Luofu, beside them, smiled, pressing her lips together. "What, Senior Brother Four, are you reluctant to part with it?"

She perceived Shen Xuzi's hesitation and, fearing he might refuse, deliberately provoked him with her words.

Shen Xuzi's face immediately hardened. "Nonsense! I, Shen Xuzi, am a man of my word. Very well, since I haven't been able to discover its function all these years, it proves it's not meant for me. I'll give it to Mr. Zu."

Zuan took the small, greasy-green cauldron. He could sense Mi Li's excitement. "Thank you, Senior Brother Four."

Shen Xuzi, being a generous person, didn't dwell on the item after giving it away. Instead, he pulled Zuan further inside. "Come, come! Tell me more about that steam engine you mentioned earlier..."

The two talked for a long time inside the room. Zuan, having just received a gift, felt a bit awkward and naturally answered all of Shen Xuzi's questions.

Finally, Shen Xuzi was extremely satisfied. As they said goodbye, he didn't forget to tell Jiang Luofu, "Junior Sister Eight, you've found yourself a good man this time."

Jiang Luofu's willow-like eyebrows twitched upwards. "I told you, he's just my younger brother."

"Good, a brother is good, a brother is good," Shen Xuzi chuckled, offering no further explanation.

After Jiang Luofu and Zuan left, she looked back and saw Shen Xuzi still waving farewell. She couldn't help but say, "A'Zu, don't take Senior Brother Four's words to heart. That guy is an idiot in every field except alchemy."

Zuan paused. "What did he say? I don't remember."

Jiang Luofu smiled faintly. *This little fellow is quite clever*, she thought.

However, remembering Shen Xuzi's earlier words, she worried about being misunderstood if she stayed too close to Zuan. Seeing that she had already helped him find a cauldron, she found an excuse to part ways.

As Zuan gazed at her long, fair legs, before he could even sigh in admiration, Mi Li's voice chimed in: "Truly magnificent legs."

Zuan was speechless.

"When did you become so improper?" he asked. "Let's talk about what this thing actually is." He pulled out the greasy-green cauldron, finding its color somewhat jarring.

"Have you ever heard the legend of the Nine Cauldrons?" Mi Li's voice softly resonated.