“Young lady, please wait!” said the honest-looking cultivator. “Is the hairpin on your head for sale?”

Huh? Lin Yinyin immediately became alert.

The hairpin on her head had been bought a few years ago at a large marketplace for ten low-grade Spirit Stones. Its only function was to occasionally emit a chill, with no practical use in combat. However, its unique design was something she really loved, so she wore it often. More importantly, it was an item she kept close to her body, and she was particularly sensitive about such things.

She had just earned seven low-grade Spirit Stones from him—would it be too rude to refuse outright? Hmm… this man seems genuinely honest and kind-hearted. Could it be that he likes me and wants to collect my personal belongings?

She’d heard some people had fetishistic tendencies.

“No misunderstanding here,” the honest cultivator said with clear eyes. “I have a younger sister whom I haven’t seen in many years. I want to buy her a gift.”

“You’re trying to fool ghosts!” exclaimed a passerby standing nearby, nearly exposing him right then and there.

When this honest cultivator first set up his stall, this passerby had already intended to exchange Spirit Stones with him, hoping to snag a bargain. But the cultivator had flatly refused. Then, as soon as Lin Yinyin arrived, he immediately agreed to trade—clearly picking and choosing who he dealt with! And now he wanted to buy her hairpin too—obviously planning to keep it for himself!

“I’ll offer twenty low-grade Spirit Stones for your hairpin, plus I’ll give you a low-grade magical artifact called ‘Ruyi,’ which responds to your thoughts and can strike enemies from a hundred paces away.”

“Most importantly, this hairpin has a lovely style—my sister would absolutely love it!”

!!!

Lin Yinyin decisively removed the hairpin and sold it. What’s more, she even received a low-grade magical artifact on top! Although both the artifact and her hairpin were of the same low-grade tier, this offensive artifact alone was worth at least thirty low-grade Spirit Stones. This transaction netted her over forty low-grade stones—a sum equivalent to her usual earnings for two months!

“You’re truly kind to your sister,” Lin Yinyin said with a charming smile, deftly tucking her hair behind her ear.

Though his cultivation level is a bit low, he was certainly generous enough to enter my fishpond.

“!!” The passerby beside them was utterly stunned. “Brother, are you throwing money around too recklessly? Forty low-grade Spirit Stones could easily get you two female cultivators from the Jade Pavilion—no effort required!”

“Do you sell your spirit-cloth handkerchief too? My sister would love it as well,” the cultivator continued, eager to keep buying.

Thump, thump, thump! The passerby took three staggering steps backward. Was this man really so shameless? He even wants her handkerchief for wiping sweat—is he aiming to collect her “Original Flavor”?

Lin Yinyin’s face instantly flushed red. “This handkerchief is a personal item—I can’t sell it!”

A flicker of annoyance crossed her heart. Though this man was generous, he was starting to border on the bizarre. She was beginning to feel afraid.

“If you won’t sell it, how about you give it to me, and I’ll give you…” He paused, then pulled out a mid-grade Spirit Stone, its icy blue glow shimmering in his hand. “…a mid-grade Spirit Stone in return.”

Lin Yinyin’s eyes widened in shock. !!

This spirit handkerchief had no other use besides absorbing sweat—it was worth only one low-grade Spirit Stone per hundred pieces.

He really is a freak! And a super-rich, money-burning freak at that!

The passerby beside them wished he could take off his own undergarments just to trade for that mid-grade Spirit Stone, roaring inwardly, Brother, your cost for courting women is way too high!

Lin Yinyin took a deep breath, lowered her lashes, and softly said, “I’m sorry, Senior Brother. Please control yourself. If you’d like to buy something for your sister, I’d be happy to accompany you another day to pick something out together.”

Though a mid-grade Spirit Stone was tempting, she still had her own boundaries.

“This handkerchief is very important to me—I’ll give you ten of them.” The cultivator calmly laid out ten mid-grade Spirit Stones.

The passerby beside them was completely flustered, clutching his chest as if his entire cultivation worldview had been shattered beyond recognition.

To hesitate even for half a second felt like disrespecting the Spirit Stones themselves. Lin Yinyin quickly handed over her used handkerchief and accepted the stones in return.

“Senior Brother, if there’s ever an opportunity—”

“There will be! I have urgent business to attend to, so I must take my leave now.”

After handing over the handkerchief, the cultivator didn’t even look up. With a soft leap, he vanished into the mountains in the blink of an eye, leaving Lin Yinyin standing alone, disheveled in the wind.

There are still cultivators I can’t figure out. All I know for sure is that this one is definitely strange—and incredibly hasty. Could he really be taking my handkerchief to do something odd?!

【Ding! Successfully gifted 7 low-grade Spirit Stones. Triggered return: 7 high-grade Spirit Stones.】

【Ding! Successfully gifted the low-grade magical artifact, Ruyi Short Sword. Triggered return: High-grade magical artifact, Yuli Sword.】

【Yuli Sword: An upper-grade magical artifact that automatically protects its owner and unsheathes itself upon sensing hostility within a hundred paces.】

【Ding! Successfully gifted 10 mid-grade Spirit Stones. Triggered return: 100 high-grade Spirit Stones.】

【Ding! Current Favorability: 1.】

The honest cultivator was overjoyed. One hundred high-grade Spirit Stones—enough for him to splurge freely!

He was none other than Zhang Xian, reborn and transformed. After spending so long in the cultivation world, Lin Yinyin was the first Daughter of Destiny he had sensed.

【Ding! Detected a Daughter of Destiny with 45 points of fortune: Lin Yinyin.】

【Ding! Lin Yinyin’s Favorability towards you is 0. Binding successful.】

When he first spotted Lin Yinyin near the mineral vein, he hadn’t acted rashly. After all, there were quite a few male cultivators surrounding her, and he didn’t want to cause unnecessary trouble.

Still—exchanging ten mid-grade Spirit Stones for a useless handkerchief was a bit too hasty.

What else could he do? He couldn’t think of a better excuse for the moment.

Zhang Xian pondered for a moment, then slipped the handkerchief into his pocket. Well, even a mosquito’s leg is meat—throwing it away would be a waste. I’m not really interested in collecting Lin Yinyin’s “Original Flavor” after all.

Zhang Xian quietly analyzed the situation. It was clear that the Daughter of Destiny’s score correlated somewhat with her cultivation level, though not significantly. As for Favorability, there wasn’t much data yet to draw conclusions. A score below zero indicated hostility. Back at the Taoist temple, Li Miaoyin’s Favorability had risen to 59 points and then plateaued, suggesting that 60 points was a critical threshold.

As for the System’s returns, they always involved either upgrading an artifact’s grade or receiving tenfold the value—twice in total.

Logically speaking, upgrading the artifact’s grade was always preferable, whether it was Spirit Stones or magical artifacts. Crossing a grade level was far more advantageous than simply multiplying by ten. But he didn’t know what conditions triggered these returns, so he needed to experiment further.

The return rules were also quite restrictive. In his previous transactions, the first time he gave away seven Spirit Stones, he received a return. But the second time, when he traded a hairpin clearly worth less than twenty stones, he received no return on the stones themselves—but the accompanying dagger did trigger a return.

It seemed that only gifts given proactively could trigger a return.

Other systems offered chat interactions and alerts, but this System lacked even basic functional explanations. He had to figure everything out through trial and error, leaving him utterly exhausted.