Path of Alchemy Mastery-Chapter 294 - 295: The Most Precious Treasure

Wang Cai was frantically digging at the bottom of the pit, and soon another layer of loose soil piled up outside the pit. Due to the excessive force, Wang Cai’s originally dark and shiny coat was also covered with traces of mud, making Wang Cai look rather disheveled.

However, after digging a few more feet deep and still coming up empty-handed, Wang Cai sensed something was off and turned to look at Mu Can, only to find Mu Can leaning on his long saber, looking at him with a half-smiling, half-serious expression, which made Wang Cai’s scalp tingle.

"Keep digging, why did you stop?" Mu Can asked as he saw Wang Cai pause.

"Woof! You little rascal, you really are something, daring to make a fool of Lord Wang Cai. Tell me the remaining locations, and let’s dig together."

Wang Cai wasn’t fooled; seeing Mu Can’s expression, he knew he had been tricked into a pit with nothing in it. Mu Can was just playing with him. Though Wang Cai knew he was being set up by Mu Can, he felt an irritating sensation of fury he couldn’t express—after all, if it hadn’t been for his own aggression towards Mu Can’s possessions, Mu Can’s schemes would be ineffectual against him.

"Keep dreaming, I told you, you big bad dog, the things I promised you are yours, but the things I dig up myself, you can’t snatch. If I catch you trying to steal again, forget about ever laying a hand on any treasure ever again," Mu Can sternly warned Wang Cai.

He knew that this dog harbored ill intentions beside him, merely coveting the Treasure Bead he had acquired and was constantly thinking about seizing any other treasures that might appear.

"Woof! I’ll listen to you then; you dig by yourself," Wang Cai watched Mu Can for a while and finally yielded under Mu Can’s firm gaze, compromising.

It wasn’t just Mu Can who understood Wang Cai; having dealt with Mu Can on numerous occasions, Wang Cai equally understood him.

This youngster might usually seem carefree and indifferent, but he had very clear boundaries. While Wang Cai could tolerate ordinary jokes, he never dared to cross Mu Can’s lines.

There was a time when this fearless big black dog never took Mu Can seriously, but now, he found himself compelled to start taking Mu Can more seriously.

After all, Mu Can was the chosen master by the Reincarnation Pearl itself, and the designated disciple by the old master. Wang Cai could bully Mu Can when he was weak, but as Mu Can gradually grew, Wang Cai could only obediently accept Mu Can’s emerging status as his future master.

"You can have everything, but as the Artifact Spirit of the Reincarnation Pearl, I have one condition." Despite accepting Mu Can’s terms, Wang Cai wasn’t about to admit defeat.

"Let’s hear it." Curious about what this greedy big black dog might want, Mu Can listened, considering Wang Cai even mentioned his status as an Artifact Spirit.

"My requirement is simple, you can regard the Reincarnation Pearl as your Storage Magical Treasure, place all your treasures inside it, and I will separately create an area for you within the first layer to store your treasures," Wang Cai said with a grin, hard to imagine such a human-like expression appearing on a dog, seemingly trying to please someone.

"Hold on, don’t smile yet, your smile is making me anxious," Mu Can immediately said upon seeing Wang Cai’s expression.

He couldn’t take it anymore, even though dogs were generally considered cute animals in Mu Can’s eyes, a dog as big as a calf like Wang Cai showing such a coquettish demeanor was enough to make Mu Can feel slightly nauseous.

"I’m asking you, once you put the treasures inside, isn’t that like ’throwing a steamed bun to a dog’; it’s gone forever?" Mu Can asked with a face full of doubt.

He didn’t doubt anything else, just whether if he really put all his treasures inside, Wang Cai would confiscate them all. If that happened, he wouldn’t even have a place to cry. Mu Can had no doubts at all that Wang Cai could do such a thing; it was written all over his shiny forehead that he was unreliable.

"Woof, although I’m just a dog, you can’t insult me." Upon hearing the phrase ’throwing a steamed bun to a dog’, Wang Cai immediately got upset and bared his teeth.

However, it seemed like he thought of something, and his expression slowly changed back to a docile one.

"What exactly are you trying to do?" Seeing the change in Wang Cai’s expression, Mu Can immediately asked.

When something is off, there must be a demon involved; this dog’s behavior was completely abnormal today, there must be some sneaky motives.

"I’ll ask you a question."

"Go ahead and ask." Fortunately, Mu Can had stopped his digging endeavors and stood there, facing Wang Cai.

"What is the most precious treasure you have?"

"The most precious treasure, of course, is the Reincarnation Pearl."

Mu Can thought about it; he had many treasures on him, but the most precious was definitely the Reincarnation Pearl.

"Woof! Since you know your most precious treasure is the Reincarnation Pearl, do you know who I am? I am the Artifact Spirit of the Reincarnation Pearl; in a sense, I am the Reincarnation Pearl. Doesn’t that mean I am your most precious treasure?"

Wang Cai’s eyes sneakily flickered with a bright light; this idea had just popped into his mind.

Why was it that he got to wander through nearly all the major forces’ treasure vaults in the Supreme Interface with the Heavenly Dao thief in the past? It was because he was the Heavenly Dao’s thief’s treasure, and the thief knew Wang Cai’s temperament and was willing to keep some treasures he didn’t use with Wang Cai for safekeeping.

It was precisely because he thought of this point that Wang Cai realized, he didn’t need to compete with Mu Can for any treasures. After all, what’s Mu Can’s is Mu Can’s, and what’s his own isn’t that also Mu Can’s? So what sense does it make to fight over the treasures? Even he himself belonged to Mu Can, didn’t he?

Having realized this, Wang Cai immediately devised a plan. If this plan succeeded, Wang Cai could become the housekeeper of Mu Can’s treasures, tasked with managing them.

"Woof!" Thinking of this, Wang Cai was brimming with excitement. If Mu Can’s achievements are boundless in the future, wouldn’t that mean he might have the chance to handle those treasures in the Supreme Interface again?

"Yes, you indeed count as my most precious treasure," Mu Can thought about it; Wang Cai’s words really weren’t wrong. For a long time recently, Wang Cai has been helping him tirelessly, from fighting in the demon camp, to later crossing tribulations, and entering the Immortal Ancient Secret Realm, Wang Cai had given him a lot of help. Although this dog was sometimes greedy, he was truly good to him.

"That settles it. You keep the treasures inside the Reincarnation Pearl, and I’ll have you manage them. Whenever I need them, I can just fetch them directly from within the Reincarnation Pearl. Isn’t that killing two birds with one stone?" Seeing Mu Can seemed a bit tempted, Wang Cai immediately pressed on while the iron was hot.