Chapter 6: The Impulse of a Lifetime

"This is probably the most impulsive thing I've ever done in my life."

Li Yi was panting at this moment, his heart still pounding wildly, and his body felt an indescribable sense of fatigue, with every muscle in his body aching intensely.

He had slipped away very quickly.

In just half an hour, Li Yi had left the abandoned district and returned to his home in the old district; he was safe for the time being.

Recalling the scene that had just occurred, he found it unbelievable himself.

He had clearly only wanted to earn a few tens of thousands of dollars to go back and take care of his parents, who were in a state of dormancy, yet when it came to the critical moment, he had actually acted just like those gamblers, risking his life to bet on that unknown mystic object.

It was fortunate that he had returned alive.

If he had failed, he reckoned he would have felt extremely regretful before dying.

"That dead Zhang Kaiwen said one thing right: one life is ten thousand lives; to change all of this, one must fight for it once. Otherwise, I can only live like a rat in this old, dilapidated city just like everyone else, eventually rotting and growing maggots on some night, leaving not a single trace behind."

"The moment I made that decision in the underground parking lot, I could feel the ambition in my heart swelling. It turns out I am not the type of person who is content with the status quo; I also yearn to step into cultivation, yearn to stir up the winds and clouds, and become a big shot."

Li Yi closed his eyes and kept taking deep breaths.

He looked back on his life over these years and only felt suppressed and suffocated.

Endless odd jobs, endless nutrient solution to buy—he had clearly worked very hard, yet his family had still gone from having slight savings to being destitute, and finally, heavily in debt. Now, he didn't even have the money to repair the medical pods, and his parents would soon be unable to sustain their lives.

He was only twenty years old, his life had just begun, so why did it feel like it was already over?

It shouldn't be like this.

Li Yi opened his eyes again. At this moment, there was no longer the fatigue and confusion from before in his gaze, only determination remained.

"But whether I can change all of this still depends on how my luck is this time, and whether I managed to get anything of value."

Afterward, he looked at the pile of dirty, old, and tattered clothes he had been holding in his arms the whole time.

These clothes were all worn by the owner of that ancient tomb during their lifetime. The style and material were completely different from those in current society, carrying a bit of ancient flair, yet they were different from traditional ancient costumes. However, through the details, one could still tell that these clothes were extremely magnificent when they were intact.

Li Yi slowly unfolded these clothes one by one, attempting to search for some special items.

The reason he chose to take this big pile of tattered clothes from the coffin was that he felt if there were any precious mystic objects in that ancient tomb, they would definitely be carried on the person.

It was just that the ancient tomb had been looted before, so whether there was anything left was unknown.

"Not in this piece of clothing, not in this one either..."

As the clothes were unfolded one by one, Li Yi searched carefully for anything that might have value.

Until the last piece of clothing was shaken out, a crisp sound of something hitting the floor rang out.

A broken artifact fell onto the living room floor tiles.

Li Yi picked it up immediately. He looked at it seriously, and finally, he was somewhat hesitant: "Could this be a mystic object? It doesn't look like it; I can't see anything miraculous about it."

The object in his hand looked like a small bronze knife, only now it was just a broken half, and there was a twisted inscription on it.

Moreover, he tried it and found that this bronze knife was not sharp.

Finally, after taking out his phone to look up some information, Li Yi was barely able to conclude: "This isn't a small knife, but a type of currency. During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, this type of currency was called a knife coin."

Besides this half of a knife coin, he searched through that pile of tattered clothes several more times but couldn't find anything else.

This was the only harvest Li Yi had brought back at the risk of his life.

"I am not a cultivator; I don't know if this half of a knife coin has any value. I have to find someone who understands to inquire about mystic objects. However, this person must be trustworthy, and there cannot be a risk of exposure."

He began to think again, and a person immediately came to his mind.

Uncle Biao.

Uncle Biao was a friend of his father's. Six years ago, he cultivated together with Li Yi's father, but Li Yi's father had higher talent and progressed very quickly in cultivation, while Uncle Biao's cultivation talent was poor. Eventually, Li Yi's father had an accident and became a dormant person, his life or death unknown. Uncle Biao gave up further cultivation and instead opened a meditation room in Tianchang City to teach newcomers cultivation.

Thinking of this, Li Yi immediately packed up the pile of tattered clothes and then kept the half of the knife coin close to his body.

However, he didn't set off immediately, because he still had one thing to do.

Picking up his phone, Li Yi dialed the after-sales repair number for the medical pods.

Soon, in less than half an hour, the after-sales engineer for the medical pods arrived at his door.

"Mr. Li, I said last time that a chip in the other medical pod in your home was burned out due to long-term operation, and the medical pod has already passed its six-year warranty period. Although the company can provide free repairs, the damaged parts need to be purchased by yourself, and the price is 49,999," the engineer Hu Bing said.

Li Yi said: "I have gathered the money over these past few days. I will pay you now; I won't let you make a wasted trip."

"That's good then." Engineer Hu Bing nodded.

Li Yi opened the bedroom door.

The bedroom light was bright, but the air was filled with the smell of alcohol and disinfectant.

There was no bed in the room; on the floor sat two medical pods flashing with various indicator lights. Compared to the cramped and oppressive housing in the old district, these two high-tech medical pods seemed so out of place.

A person was lying inside each of the two medical pods.

The man's features were firm and handsome, quite dashing, and the woman's features were beautiful, but because of their long-term coma, their complexions were not good, looking slightly pale.

Originally, Li Yi's parents were a perfect couple, a talented man and a beautiful woman, but now they could only lie here like vegetative people.

And this situation had already lasted for a full six years.

"Dad, Mom."

Even knowing there would be no response, Li Yi still habitually called out twice.

Engineer Hu Bing skillfully opened the panel of one medical pod at this moment and began to repair it.

As the damaged parts were replaced, soon, the medical pod representing Li Yi's mother began to operate normally again.

Seeing the situation improve, Li Yi's suspended heart finally relaxed.

Engineer Hu Bing said: "Mr. Li, the nutrient solution for the two medical pods will be used up in one more day. Remember to purchase and add it in time. I suggest that if Mr. Li has the means, it's better to hoard a bit more nutrient solution early, because recently, the number of people cultivating has gradually increased, and the demand for nutrient solution has also grown. Now, the nutrient solution on the market has all gone up in price, and I estimate it will rise again after a while."

"It's gone up in price?" Li Yi was startled and asked: "How much is one bottle now?"

"The most basic nutrient solution has now risen to one thousand," engineer Hu Bing said.

"It's risen by so much... I understand, thank you." Li Yi fell silent immediately.

"You're welcome." Engineer Hu Bing left after finishing the after-sales repair work.

"The fifty thousand dollars I earned by risking my life was spent in the blink of an eye. It seems I still cannot stop. But this matter has made me understand that wanting to work diligently to earn money to change all of this is simply impossible. The only way is to change the way I live."

Li Yi thought silently to himself while touching the half of the knife coin in his pocket.

These two medical pods were bought by his parents with most of their savings before they fell into a deep sleep. Although they don't usually need much maintenance, to ensure the dormant persons' lives are normally sustained, nutrient solution must be added every month; otherwise, the dormant persons' bodies will starve to death.

One medical pod consumes at least three bottles of nutrient solution a month.

It's just that Li Yi's family has two medical pods, so they have to consume six bottles.

That is to say, Li Yi must earn at least 4,800 a month to ensure his parents stay alive.

Now that the nutrient solution has gone up in price, he must earn at least 6,000 a month.

At the beginning, the family still had some savings, but over six years, the savings were exhausted, the car was sold, and the house was sold. Fortunately, after his grandparents passed away, the house in the old district was still kept; otherwise, he would still have to rent a place to live.

"Dad, Mom, I have things to do today and cannot stay here to accompany you, but don't worry, I will not give up on you, and I will definitely take good care of you, and won't let you have any conditions or accidents. Wait for me to come back."

Li Yi knew he couldn't waste time anymore.

The people on Lao Ya's side could find him at any time.

Before that, he must determine the value of the item in his hand as soon as possible.

Immediately.

Li Yi found a backpack, packed the pile of tattered clothes from the ancient tomb, and then, carrying the backpack and the half of the knife coin, he went out.

Looking at the little balance remaining on his phone, in order to save time, he splurged and took a taxi to Uncle Biao's meditation room.