Xiang Fan stood before the old mech, his gaze blazing as if he were staring at a peerless magical treasure. Cautiously, he reached out and gently stroked the scratched and dented exterior, fearing he'd break it apart with too much force. He muttered quietly, "If I'd bought this normally, it would have cost at least a thousand low-grade spirit stones..."
He quickly calculated, and the figure sent his thoughts spiraling into the abyss. His father, Xiang Su, worked tirelessly every day, hunting low-level spirit beasts. He could only scrape together three hundred spirit stones a year, and that was before he even had to deduct a ton of expenses. He had to cover food, cultivation materials, broken tools... Even if he could manage to save twenty, it was a stroke of luck.
"If I really bought a mecha like this, my father would probably have to go without food or water for three years, relying on spiritual energy to survive..." Xiang Fan imagined his father gritting his teeth to swallow spiritual energy and couldn't help but sigh. "It seems I can only enjoy myself in the spiritual battlefield. Fortunately, there are no spiritual stones there, and even charging is free."
But the old mecha before him, though tattered and tattered and ready to break in two at any moment, was a priceless treasure to him. However, this excitement was quickly dampened by reality—he had to take it home.
Xiang Fan circled the mech three times, desperately trying to find a button to shrink it, but it was clear that this thing wasn't that advanced. He patted his head, and an idea suddenly occurred to him: "Oh, right, a storage bag!" Unfortunately, he only had an ordinary storage bag the size of a palm, which couldn't even fit a mech's toe, let alone the entire mech.
He tried to push with his spiritual energy, but the mecha didn't budge at all, leaving him sweating profusely. He took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and pushed again. This time, the mecha finally moved a few inches. Just as he was about to celebrate, his knees gave way, and he fell to the ground, panting and pounding his thigh. "God, this thing must weigh at least a few thousand pounds, right? If I were at the seventh level of Qi training, I might be able to move it a little, but now I'm practically breaking bones."
Sitting on the ground, Xiang Fan stared at the mech, his face filled with helplessness. He pulled out a rope and gestured for the direction to tie it up, his mind filled with the gruesome image of dragging this guy back. He sighed, "Do I really have to drag him all the way back? What if they see me? If this gets out, I'll probably lose all my dignity."
Just as he was struggling with the rope, a clear voice suddenly came from behind him: "Do you need help?" Xiang Fan's hand shook, and the rope swung directly into his face. He quickly turned his head, and when he saw who it was, he froze.
Xiang Fan jerked his head up to see a figure slowly approaching from the sunlight. Her lavender dress fluttered gently in the breeze. Lu Qingli wore a gentle smile, her demeanor like a moonlit fairy descending into the world. The sunlight seemed to illuminate her, and Xiang Fan felt a gentleness before him that made it impossible to look away.
"Senior Sister?" Xiang Fan stuttered out the word, his hand still tightly clutching the rope he had just used to tie the mecha, looking like a child caught stealing fruit. His mind was suddenly in a mess. He had never expected that Lu Qingli would witness such an embarrassing scene.
Lu Qingli's eyes swept across, first landing on Xiang Fan's hand, which was red from being tied with a rope, and then looking at the old mecha covered with scratches. She couldn't help but chuckle, "Junior brother, this... is your mecha?"
Xiang Fan was startled by this question. He quickly waved his hands, his face flushed red: "No! No... This is scrap, it's really scrap! The elder said I can take it back... and fix it casually." The more he explained, the more confused he became, and his voice became smaller and smaller, until in the end, all that was left was a muttering that he himself could not hear.
Lu Qingli's smile deepened, a hint of joking in her tone. "Oh? Scrap? But I see you're sweating profusely from pushing it, and there's a hint of reluctance in your eyes. It's not like you'd just fix up a piece of junk like this." She circled the mecha, examining it carefully. "Although it's certainly old, it's in good condition. How do you plan to take it back?"
When Xiang Fan heard this question, his face froze immediately. He lowered his head and stared at his toes, hesitating: "I... I'm still thinking of a way..."
Seeing this, Lu Qingli shook her head, a look of mocking pity in her eyes: "Just push it back like this?" As soon as she finished speaking, she glanced at the rope on the ground and couldn't help laughing, "Or... do you want to run with it?"
Xiang Fan's face flushed all the way to his ears, and he quickly changed the subject: "I, I just... I haven't thought of a better way yet!"
Lu Qingli couldn't help but look at him with a smile. She waved her hand gently and took out a large, shiny storage bag. "Okay, stop bothering me. I'll help you put the things in and take you home."
Xiang Fan was stunned. He stared at the storage bag and waved his hands repeatedly: "This... How can I be so embarrassed! Senior Sister, this is not appropriate..."
"I have the final say on whether it's suitable or not." Lu Qingli's voice was soft but unquestionable. With a wave of her hand, the old mecha was instantly stored in the storage bag, as neatly and cleanly as if it had never existed. She turned to Xiang Fan and smiled faintly. "Okay, let's go. Don't think of any other solutions, or you'll come up with any more ridiculous ideas."
Xiang Fan froze in place, and it took him a while to find his voice. He blushed and whispered, "Thank you... Thank you, Senior Sister..."
"What are you thanking me for? It's just a small favor." Lu Qingli said casually, looking relaxed, as if all this was just a trivial matter to her. She looked forward and said gently: "Let's go quickly, before it gets dark."
Xiang Fan hurried to catch up, his mind a turmoil. He stole a glance at Lu Qingli, his heart pounding like a throttle on a battlefield. He looked down at his toes, unable to help but ask himself, "Why is she so nice to me? No, I have to find a way to thank my senior sister! But...how should I thank her? Buy her tea? No, she'd definitely like something better. Give her a gift? No, I don't have the money..."
Along the way, his mind was full of random thoughts, and he didn't even notice Lu Qingli slowing down to wait for him, and almost bumped into her back. Lu Qingli turned around and saw his face flushed. She couldn't help but chuckled softly: "Junior brother, why do you seem more tired than before?"
"No...no!" Xiang Fan stammered, waving his hands and almost throwing the rope away. He looked truly miserable. Lu Qingli shook her head and continued to lead him forward, a faint smile still on her lips.
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