The Artifact Forger from the Beginning of Collapse

"Tingyun? That name seems familiar..."

“Whether you’ve heard of her before or not, you have now. As the saying goes, fate brings people together even from a thousand miles away. Today, I’m discussing with you, Lord Taibu, the matter of this Miss Tingyun,” Chen Li said.

"You really didn't come here on purpose?" Fu Xuan suspected that Chen Li was trying to start a conversation.

"Of course not. Perhaps you don't know, Lord Taibu, but I have a special constitution that makes me prone to getting involved in all sorts of troubles. Fate will lead me to various crucial moments, so you may see me anywhere in the future." Chen Li gave Fu Xuan a heads-up in advance.

"..."

"So let's make a deal, Lord Taibu. You help me find out where Tingyun is now, and I'll help you get the position of General. How about it?" Chen Li squatted down in front of Fu Xuan, looking at the pink sack and the pink Fu Xuan.

"Dream on! Even if I die today, I would never associate with criminals like you." Fu Xuan turned his head away.

"Oh, then I won't stand on ceremony." Chen Li licked his lips.

"What...what do you want to do?" For some reason, Fu Xuan felt a sudden panic.

"While it's hot," Chen Li said as he reached for Fu Xuan.

……

"...Damn it, give me back my Star Taro Boba!" Fu Xuan was furious when he saw Chen Li finish his limited edition milk tea while it was still hot.

"So, Lord Fu Xuan, you'd better agree to cooperate with me as soon as possible, or you might ruin your reputation in your later years."

"What...what are you planning to do now?" Fu Xuan's heart began to tighten again.

Originally, Fu Xuan's milk tea was put into a sack by Chen Li along with Fu Xuan, so it was still in Fu Xuan's hands. However, Chen Li threatened Fu Xuan by drawing a turtle on Fu Xuan's face, making Fu Xuan carefully hand over the milk tea.

Otherwise, if Chen Li were to put his hand inside, he wouldn't be responsible for what he touched.

Although Fu Xuan thought that taking advantage of Chen Li reaching in and then turning the tables would be a good option, Fu Xuan didn't dare to gamble.

Firstly, he didn't think Chen Li would reveal his weakness for a cup of milk tea; secondly, Fu Xuan inexplicably felt that the person in front of him shouldn't be a bad person.

But he's really infuriating.

Really.

“I have an accomplice named Fireworks the Masked Fool. If you don’t agree to cooperate with me, I’ll have her impersonate you and infiltrate the Grand Diviner’s Office. After she has gathered the information I need… then Lord Fu Xuan will probably become the Grand Diviner with the worst reputation in the entire Luo Fu Immortal Ship.”

"You... I will not yield, it's just a matter of reputation."

"Oh? So, Lord Taibu, you'd rather watch the immortal ship perish than help me with such a small favor." Chen Li shook his head regretfully.

"What do you mean?"

"Heavenly secrets cannot be revealed. Just believe that I truly had no intention of harming the Immortal Ship. Now, I'll tell you. Lord Fu Xuan, if you help me find Tingyun's voyage information and share it with me in real time, while not disclosing the details of this transaction related to Tingyun to anyone in any way, I will release you now. How about it?"

"Alright." Fu Xuan's heart stirred, and he decided to get out of the predicament first.

But the forced transaction gold coins, which Chen Li had placed on the table next to him at some point, began to emit a dazzling golden light, expressing his stance.

A sense of constraint suddenly settled over Fu Xuan, causing his heart to sink.

"This thing is really useful. I really need to upgrade it to a one-star rare item." Chen Li breathed a sigh of relief after taking back the forced transaction gold coins.

The biggest drawback of this gold coin is that Chen Li is worried that he might unintentionally make a deal with someone and get himself scammed.

Therefore, it must be taken back after use.

Hopefully, once this item is upgraded to a one-star rare item, it will gain a withdrawal effect.

At the very least, Chen Li's forced transaction restrictions should be lifted.

Chen Li, true to his word, untied the burlap sack.

The moment the pink sack slipped off Fu Xuan's body, Fu Xuan's fist landed on Chen Li's face, who was standing right next to him.

"It hurts." Fu Xuan clutched his fist, looking at Chen Li with confusion.

Why are you so stubborn?

"Master Taibu, the friendship and bond between me and Kaguya of Houraisan are not something you can easily break." Chen Li completely ignored Fu Xuan's angry glare and subsequent physical altercation, directly grabbing Fu Xuan under his armpits and lifting him out of the sack, then putting the sack back in.

This sack isn't disposable. Although some of the threads have torn due to Fu Xuan's struggles, it can be patched up.

"Damn it!" Fu Xuan was even angrier when he realized the way Chen Li had carried him out.

……

"Take care, Lord Taibu. Remember to put in a good word for me with the General and ask him to raise the bounty a bit," Chen Li called out to Fu Xuan, who was walking away with a disgruntled expression.

This is also why Chen Li did not choose to clear his name.

Firstly, Chen Li had no evidence and could only rely on his sincerity to convince Fu Xuan, but this only caused trouble for Fu Xuan, so it was better to continue being the bad guy.

Secondly, it allows one to continue to generate hidden benefits even while in trouble.

"Dad, you just wait!"

"Oh, wait a minute. Don't upset yourself, Grand Diviner, it will break my heart," Chen Li said with a smile.

"You..." Chen Li's words sounded sarcastic, but Fu Xuan felt that what the other party said was the truth.

Even more angry.

"The Grand Diviner is truly fascinating." Chen Li stood at the entrance of Tingyun's house, watching Fu Xuan leave.

This is also the third reason why Chen Li did not clear his name—it's quite interesting.

Trouble always brings a lot of interesting things, and Chen Li quite enjoys watching the fun.

Chen Li used to enjoy playing games because at least the characters in the games wouldn't suddenly jump out and slap you. But when Chen Li went out shopping with his friends, he would actually encounter people like that.

The fun now? It's jumping into the game and slapping the game character.jpg (crossed out)

The fun now is watching my balance increase every day and occasionally having some fun.

I used to be afraid to watch funny videos because I knew I might actually lose money while doing so, but now I don't have to worry about that anymore.

"Yeah, it's all Miracle Sprite's fault for leading me astray." Chen Li easily found a suitable scapegoat.

However, Chen Li still had a bottom line when it came to having fun.

Chen Li could have easily used merit coins to smooth over this misdeed.

However, Chen Li chose to give the merit coins directly to Fu Xuan.

This won't appease Fu Xuan, but it will at least give Chen Li some psychological balance.

At least they provided compensation.

Merit coins are arguably the most versatile token for warding off misfortune and resolving difficulties.

"Hmm...wait, isn't this also considered an effect of merit coins?"

The approval of lofty morals—can even lead you to do things that are morally unacceptable.

The effect can be activated directly, making the opponent ignore what Chen Li did.

Giving it directly to someone else would give Chen Li psychological comfort.

So reasonable!

"Next, we just wait for the Grand Diviner to send over the message. Until then, let's use this place as our base." Chen Li turned to look at the temporary base he had chosen for his immortal ship—Tingyun's home.

Chen Li will pay the rent.

Chen Li has his own home, but he always needs to give Fu Xuan a target to "come to his door".

At least the stronghold that Dan Shu gave to Chen Li, which was a secret of the Medicine King, was not appropriate.

Chen Li wasn't afraid of Fu Xuan coming to beat him up, because Chen Li could run away at any time.

Fu Xuan alone certainly couldn't do anything to Chen Li, because Fu Xuan had also joined Chen Li's circle of friends. This was also the medium through which Chen Li and Fu Xuan conducted their transaction.

Fu Xuan was already unable to break through the defense, and after he himself became Chen Li's bond, he became even less able to break through the defense.

"I wonder if Jing Yuan will come knocking on my door. I hope Fu Xuan is smart enough to be smart. I clearly left many loopholes for her in the deal." While pondering this question, Chen Li returned to Ting Yun's house.

The lock at Tingyun's house?

Since gaining the ability to allocate resources, and with Chen Li also possessing lock-picking skills, there are few locks in this world that Chen Li cannot unlock.

"Now, let's do a thorough cleaning of Tingyun's house."

This room is filthy again.

【Clean Master】Effect 3: You will receive a random reward for each reasonable act of cleaning up dirt.

Why isn't sweeping considered cleaning up dirt?

"I hope that when Tingyun comes back and sees how clean and tidy the house is, she will thank me instead of saying something nonsensical like 'How did you get in?'"

Oh, Tingyun isn't coming back? That's alright then.

Then Chen Li casually took out a robot vacuum cleaner.

Modern technology, my friend.

It's the 21st century, who sweeps the floor with a broom now?

And so, Chen Li simply sat on the robot vacuum cleaner and waited for the cleaning to finish.

The robot vacuum cleaner that Chen Li took from the Fire Moth is incredibly resilient, aside from anything else.

The moment the cleanup was complete, the Miracle Card [Cleansing Master] suddenly appeared in front of Chen Li, emitting a faint white light. Then, a small item slowly emerged from the Miracle Card and fell into Chen Li's outstretched hand.