DNDAS

Chapter 96: Afraid

The scene of Zhuang Qing toiling to support the management bureau surfaced in Fu Li's mind. He took out his Qiankun pouch, dropping it onto the floor. A small mountain of gold, gems, and the sort poured out.

"These things are all very pricey in the human world, go exchange it for money," Fu Li looked at the mountain of gems that was the same height as him. "Don't worry about money, I have more here even if it's all used up."

"Quickly keep all those things," Zhuang Qing flashed to the door in an instant and locked the office door tightly. Turning, he reprimanded Fu Li, "How many times did I tell you not to reveal your valuables! Why do you still not remember it!"

"Aren't you short of money?" Fu Li gently kicked the mountain of gems twice, as if they were cheaply-priced glass beads. A pile of gems tumbled down with a crash. "I don't have much use for these. They're all just things the elders on my mountain threw to me to play with when I was young and not sensible." Fu Li was being honest. To humans, these were indeed treasures. But to many yao cultivators whose original forms were animals, these gems weren't very different from the stones by the riverside.

The reason why many yao cultivators were reluctant to leave the mortal world wasn't because of the gold, silver, and jewels in the human world, but because the human world was full of all sorts of emotional temptations. Who knew how many yao cultivators had been subjugated by this? What was most interesting was that humans were clearly afraid of yao and ghosts, yet liked to set up yao and ghosts as the protagonists of films and literary works so as to stimulate their longing for the mysterious.

For instance, the works <Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio>, <Legend of the White Snake>, and so on were filmed and modified time and time again. This was truly the epitome of liking something and never tiring of it. But if a yao or ghost were to appear for real, the humans' first reaction would be fear and not pleasant surprise.

The so-called 'feigning fondness for something one actually fears' was probably like this.

"We work for the sake of the country, how can the country treat us unfairly? Keep these things first," Zhuang Qing snatched the Qiankun Pouch from Fu Li's hands, and then discovered that there was a blood restriction on it. Apart from Fu Li, no one else would be able to let this Qiankun pouch automatically take in items. Left with no choice, he could only stuff the gems a handful at a time into the bag.

Gold, agate, chysoberyl, jadeite, natural crystals, diamond, pearls...

While sweeping these items into Fu Li's Qiankun pouch like they were trash, Zhuang Qing channeled such strong will that he nearly turned numb. He now understood why so many people hated yet envied rich second generations. He spent a long time filling the bag, but the mountain of gems had only decreased by one-third. Zhuang Qing threw the Qiankun pouch to Fu Li. "Quick, put them back in."

"You really don't want them?"

"No!"

"Okay then," Fu Li helplessly retrieved the gems. He now had a new understanding of the arrogance of young yao. "Remember to let me know if you need them in the future."

Zhuang Qing heaved a long sigh of relief when the pile of gems disappeared before his eyes. He felt both disappointed and relaxed, just like a person on a diet watching someone else remove the delicacies that tempted them. His emotions were extremely complex.

"There's a drought somewhere?" Fu Li shrank his Qiankun pouch and sealed it in his ear.

"En," Zhuang Qing nodded. "The southern region of Zhongshan Province should be a geographical area with an abundance of water, but there hasn't been a single drop of water since July. The relevant department has also tried using artificial precipitation methods, but they haven't succeeded because the natural conditions didn't meet the requirements. Rumors have sprung up all over Zhongshan Province, stirring up many jokes."