“Hm?”
The gourd was just over four inches long and two inches wide, with a large belly and a small mouth, topped with a half-inch piece of dried gourd vine.
Lu Zheng picked it up casually. It felt wooden, appearing to be an ordinary gourd covered in a thin layer of black dirt, looking quite grimy.
Lu Zheng wiped off some of the dirt, revealing a dark yellow, smooth surface. Apart from a faint, barely visible line around the mouth, the gourd was seamless.
“This is…”
Lu Zheng tried pulling it open, but it wouldn’t budge.
“Lu Lang, try infusing it with true qi?” Shen Ying noticed his struggle.
Lu Zheng’s eyes lit up. He infused true qi and probed the gourd’s nature.
A storage treasure!
Inside was an irregularly shaped gourd-like space, about ten metres across, equating to a volume of roughly a thousand cubic metres.
On the inner walls of the gourd’s space was inscribed a formula, the method to control the gourd for storing and retrieving items.
“A storage artifact, with an internal space of about ten metres across,” Lu Zheng marvelled.
In this world, storage artifacts were not commonplace. They required rare materials and could only be crafted by great masters, far from being standard equipment for beginners.
Though the gourd was currently empty, it was an immense find in itself.
However, by rights, this gourd should belong to Hou Ping… shouldn’t it?
Lu Zheng couldn’t help but swallow hard, wondering what he could offer to trade for it.
“That’s amazing!” Hou Ping clapped and laughed, then said to Lu Zheng and Shen Ying, “With this, Young Master Lu can carry things easily from now on.”
“This is yours, a legacy from your master,” Shen Ying said with a smile.
Hou Ping waved his hands repeatedly. “I may be naive, but I’m not foolish. The technique on the wall is the foundation of my path, but it’s not as important to you, Fairy and Young Master. You’ve looked after me and will guide my cultivation. I’m deeply grateful and have nothing to offer in return. I had planned to pick fresh fruits for you both each year as a token of gratitude. Now, finding this gourd, isn’t it heaven’s will?”
Hou Ping bowed repeatedly. “I only play and train in the mountains. This gourd is useless to me. It’s better for Young Master to take it for greater use.”
So sensible…
Lu Zheng truly wanted the gourd, so he didn’t bother with false modesty. However, since Hou Ping wasn’t an enemy, taking it without giving something in return didn’t sit right with him.
“I do need this gourd, but I can’t just take it,” Lu Zheng said. “You train in the wild and may encounter enemies. I’ll teach you the *Frost Condensation Spell* to defend yourself and forge you a weapon. Choose from sword, spear, staff, axe, mace, or hook.”
Lu Zheng sighed inwardly. Among his techniques, only the *Midday Static Breathing Technique* and the *Frost Condensation Spell* could be freely shared.
The *Flying Feather Ascending Sword Scripture*, though acquired by force, belonged to a sect that still existed, so he couldn’t spread it freely.
As for the *Tiger Roar Blade* and *Mountain-Carrying Eighteen Forms*, Hou Ping’s demonic energy and the breathing technique he now practised made martial techniques unsuitable.
Hou Ping’s face lit up. “I want a staff! It’s handy. I’ve always used branches to fight beasts. Now I’ll finally have a proper weapon!”
“Good!” Lu Zheng nodded in agreement.
Having acquired a storage artifact, he resolved to craft a fine staff for Hou Ping.
But…
Do all monkeys love staffs? It’s a pity Hou Ping’s surname isn’t Sun.
Lu Zheng wouldn’t go so far as to change Hou Ping’s surname for his own amusement. The trio dug out the skeleton from the stone pile, finding the gourd as its only relic.
Hou Ping wrapped the bones in his robe and dug a pit outside the cave near the cliff, burying them.
“Young Master, I can’t write. Could you make a tombstone for my master?” Hou Ping looked at Lu Zheng expectantly.
Lu Zheng agreed, taking his red jade sword and a large stone from the cave. He smoothed its six sides, set it before the grave, and carved with his sword.
“Tomb of an Unknown Master”
“Erected by Disciple Hou Ping of a Later Generation”
“How’s this?” Lu Zheng asked, explaining the inscription to Hou Ping.
“Great, great, perfect!” Hou Ping nodded eagerly.
After kowtowing a few more times to the grave, Hou Ping stood. The trio left the valley, heading for Peach Blossom Ridge.
…
They arranged for Hou Ping to work at Peach Blossom Shrine, where Qian Bo and An Bo would teach him to read. Lu Zheng and Shen Ying then returned to Peach Blossom Village.
“A microcosm in a mustard seed, a world within a gourd,” Shen Ying said, looking at the gourd in Lu Zheng’s hand. “Lu Lang, show me how it works.”
Shen Ying had never seen a storage artifact and was curious.
“I’ll try!” Lu Zheng had already studied the gourd’s formula. After mastering it, he spent five points of destiny light to perfect its use.
He removed the cap, aimed the gourd’s mouth at a stone bench in the courtyard, and said, “Store!” The bench shrank with the wind and was sucked into the gourd in a blink.
“Release!”
Lu Zheng urged the gourd with true qi, selected the bench inside, and it flew out, growing back to size and landing in its original spot.
“A fine artifact!” Shen Ying laughed. “Now we won’t need to carry so much when we go to the hot springs or visit friends.”
Lu Zheng nodded, sighing. The essential newbie perk for transmigrators across myriad worlds was finally his!
A bit late, but I am indeed the chosen one!
“Speaking of which, I have to call you out,” Lu Zheng teased. “Even shady systems from nowhere come with storage space. You’re a top-tier treasure that can draw on heavenly destiny, yet you don’t even have a built-in storage space?”
The jade seal: “…”
…
“Can this thing be used to capture or fight enemies?” Shen Ying asked.
“No,” Lu Zheng shook his head. “The gourd has no binding or restraining runes. To store someone, they must not resist.
Besides, there are no sealing spells inside, so even if someone is stored, they could still cast spells or act.”
Shen Ying blinked. “Wouldn’t they just break the gourd from inside?”
“Exactly,” Lu Zheng nodded. “So it’s just for storing items.”
“Still, that’s plenty useful. Lu Lang, you can carry your weapons and artifacts with you now,” Shen Ying said, covering her mouth with her sleeve, chuckling softly.
Lu Zheng pursed his lips. In this ancient world, he’d fought many battles, but most were sudden. His peachwood sword and embroidered spring sabre, used a few times, now gathered dust at home, such a waste.
Now, with this gourd, anyone who dared challenge him would face his full arsenal!
