This Taoist priest is so unprofessional!

boom!

Wang Xiaoer's mind completely exploded.

For the first time in his twenty years of life, someone told him that his suffering was not meaningless.

His very existence is the result of a transaction.

He wanted to laugh.

I think this is the funniest joke in the world.

A mad Taoist priest, a complete stranger, burst into his house and told him that he was not an unlucky man, but the chosen one.

He lowered his head, and his shoulders began to shrug slightly.

"hehe……"

"Hehehehehehe..."

He started laughing, and the laughter grew louder and louder until he was doubled over and tears streamed down his face.

Zhang Chen watched him quietly, without disturbing him.

He knew that anyone who heard something so revolutionary would first react with disbelief.

Wang Xiaoer laughed for a long time before he finally stopped.

He raised his head, his bloodshot eyes filled with mockery.

He pointed to the doorway.

"The story is over, you can get out of here."

Hope is too much of a luxury for him; he can't afford it.

Seeing Wang Xiaoer's unyielding attitude, Zhang Chen finally couldn't maintain his inscrutable expression any longer.

"Stop talking nonsense! I'm too lazy to explain to you!"

He stepped forward, almost bringing his face close to Wang Xiaoer's.

"If you can't trust my words, surely you can trust your own eyes? Go get your axe!"

Wang Xiaoer's eyes grew even colder.

"I don't have an axe at home."

"Bullshit!" Zhang Chen retorted without hesitation. "Your family is so poor you can't even afford natural gas. If you don't chop firewood, what will you use to start a fire and cook?! Stop dawdling and go get it!"

Wang Xiaoer looked at him silently.

This mad Taoist priest seemed to know everything about his family's situation.

He didn't say anything more, turned around and walked to the back of the house, picking up the wood-chopping axe.

"Here it is." Wang Xiaoer threw the axe on the ground with a clang. "What do you want to do?"

"What are you doing?"

Zhang Chen chuckled, turned around and strode into the yard, pointing to the half-dead, crooked old locust tree in the center of the yard.

The tree was extremely twisted, its trunk leaning in an eerie direction, most of its branches were dead, and only a few sparse yellow leaves trembled in the wind.

"Do you see this tree?"

Zhang Chen's voice carried a hint of disdain.

"In feng shui, this thing is called 'Poor Root Wood' or 'Dragon Locking Stake'! Your ancestors set up this arrangement to prevent the dragon's energy from leaking out prematurely. They planted it specifically to use its withered energy to lock in your earth's energy and lifeline!"

"As long as it's around, you can forget about turning your life around! Every penny you earn will be sucked away by it, and every opportunity you encounter will be ruined by it! It's the root of your family's poverty!"

Wang Xiaoer was completely confused and found it absurd.

Can a tree really determine whether someone is rich or poor?

He'd lived for twenty years, how come he never discovered that this broken tree had such great abilities?

"So?" he asked expressionlessly.

"So, cut it down!" Zhang Chen said decisively.

He walked to the tree and drew a circle with his foot around the tangled roots.

"See this spot? This is its Achilles' heel, one of the weakest points in the entire 'Desperate Situation'!"

He turned around abruptly, staring intently at Wang Xiaoer with a defiant look in his eyes.

"Kid, don't think I won't give you a chance! Right now, take your axe and chop three times right here in this spot I've drawn!"

Zhang Chen stretched out three fingers, almost poking Wang Xiaoer's nose.

"Just three axe blows! If three blows don't eradicate your poverty and reveal the real treasure, I, Zhang Chen, will kneel down on the spot and call you 'father'!"

"..."

Wang Xiaoer's eye twitched violently.

His already numb heart was stirred by those words.

For twenty years, the villagers have cursed him as a jinx and avoided him like the plague, but no one has ever dared to bet with him in this way.

Should we call him "Dad"?

He looked at Zhang Chen's confident face, then at the crooked tree.

He didn't believe it at all.

But then I thought, I'm already in such a bad state, there's no need for this fake Taoist priest to play tricks on me like this.

The house was about to collapse, and the only living creature had been swallowed.

I have nothing to lose; those with nothing to lose are not afraid of those with shoes on.

It's just cutting down a broken tree; even if nothing happens, it's just a waste of effort.

But what if...

What if what this fake Taoist priest is saying is true?

"it is good."

Wang Xiaoer squeezed out a word through gritted teeth, then bent down to pick up the axe from the ground.

He walked up to the crooked tree and looked at the circle Zhang Chen had drawn with his foot.

The bark of the trees there was completely cracked and dry, like an old man's face.

"Right here?"

"Right here!" Zhang Chen took a few steps back, crossed his arms, and looked on with amusement. "You bastard who's kept you poor for twenty years, right in front of you, show some guts!"

"Use all your strength!"

Wang Xiaoer took a deep breath.

The resentment, anger, and unwillingness that had been suppressed in his chest for twenty years seemed to find an outlet at this moment.

He did not hesitate any longer.

He slowly raised the axe.

The axe blade traced a cold arc under the gloomy sky.

"Open it for me, you bastard!"

He roared and, with all his might, slashed down fiercely!

"Bang!"

A muffled thud.

The axe blade struck the stones embedded in the tree roots, sending sparks flying.

A tremendous recoil force traveled back along the axe handle, making his hand go numb.

The old locust tree swayed slightly, and a few yellow leaves fell.

The axe only managed to cut in less than half an inch.

"Didn't you eat?" Zhang Chen called out impatiently from the side. "Come again!"

Wang Xiaoer spat and raised his axe again.

This time, the muscles in his arms bulged and the veins were bulging.

"The second axe blow!"

"Thump!"

This axe blow was heavier and more ruthless than the last one!

The axe blade was deeply embedded in the tree roots!

"Click—"

A clear snapping sound came from inside the tree trunk.

The entire crooked tree shook violently, as if it would collapse at any moment.

Wang Xiaoer was startled by the noise and instinctively tried to pull out the axe.

"Don't stop!" Zhang Chen's voice suddenly turned sharp. "One last axe blow! The tide has turned; success or failure hinges on this! Hurry!"

Wang Xiaoer's eyes turned red.

He didn't know why he listened to this madman.

But he could sense that something seemed truly different.

He roared, using the last bit of strength he had left, and pressed all his weight onto the axe handle!

"Break!"

"boom!"

The third axe blow landed.

The axe cleaved that node completely!

At that very moment, the old locust tree let out a loud, mournful cry.

It stopped shaking and began to tremble violently, as if it were enduring immense pain.

Immediately afterwards, something blackened by smoke fell down from an inconspicuous hole in the top of the tree.

The thing traced an arc, and without missing a beat, it landed right at Wang Xiaoer's feet with a "plop," splashing mud all over his trousers.

It's a bird's nest.

A dilapidated bird's nest, soaked by rainwater.

The trembling of the old locust tree also stopped.

It still stands there crookedly, but there is a hideous wound on the tree root.

Everything returned to calm.

Wang Xiaoer was panting heavily, his chest heaving violently.

He looked down at the dilapidated bird's nest at his feet, and a nameless anger suddenly surged up.

"This is what you called... the real thing?"

He raised his head and glared at Zhang Chen.

"A lousy bird's nest? You're fucking kidding me?!"

He felt like a complete fool.

How could I believe the nonsense of a madman?

He raised his foot, ready to stomp the bird's nest to pieces.

"etc!"

Zhang Chen rushed forward and blocked his way.

There was no hint of mockery on his face; instead, there was a strange excitement.

"Take another look!"

"What the hell are you looking at!" Wang Xiaoer cursed.

But his feet ultimately stopped in mid-air.

He lowered his head suspiciously and, in the dim light of the day, examined the bird's nest once more.

The nest was empty; there were no eggs or chicks.

There was only a pile of dark, rotten mud and withered grass.

wrong.

Wang Xiaoer's pupils contracted slightly.

He noticed that the depth to which the bird's nest had sunk into the mud seemed a bit off.

It's too deep.

How could an empty bird's nest possibly have created such a large crater?

He bent down as if possessed, reached out, and brushed away the mud in the bird's nest.

My fingertips touched something small, cold, hard, and unusually heavy.

The thing was wrapped in a tattered cloth, so you couldn't tell what it was.

Wang Xiaoer's heart started pounding for no reason.

He swallowed hard and, with trembling hands, plucked the thing out of the bird's nest.

It's very heavy, at least three or four ounces!

He ripped off the outer layer of tattered cloth, which was already rotten beyond recognition.

next second.

His breathing stopped.

Beneath the cloth, there was neither stone nor iron.

Instead, it was a piece of metal that was dark yellow all over, extremely irregular in shape, bumpy, and looked like a quail egg!

Under the dark eaves, it reflected a heavy, magical luster.

gold!

It's gold!

He stretched out his finger and pinched it hard.

A clear fingernail print was left on it.

He brought it to his mouth and took a big bite.

Two teeth marks were clearly imprinted on the gold nugget.

Wang Xiaoer froze, like a stone sculpture.

He held the heavy piece of gold, his mind blank, with only a buzzing sound in his ears.

"This...this is fucking real?"

"Oh."

Zhang Chen chuckled smugly, stepped forward, and patted his stiff shoulder lightly.

"I wasn't kidding you, was I? It's just an appetizer."

Looking at Wang Xiaoer's dejected appearance, a hint of barely perceptible envy flashed in his eyes.

"If you want to completely break free from your ten lifetimes of poverty and reclaim what rightfully belongs to you, cutting down just one tree won't be enough."

A mysterious smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

"We need to pull off something big!"

"Come on, kid! I'll show you the extraordinary skills of your ancestor!"