Shen Qian'er was taken aback by the words, then shook her head.
"I did have some jewelry, but I've pawned it off over the past few years…"
Lu Changping didn't question it, only felt helpless.
Over the past three years, the original owner had done little more than verbally abuse her.
He basically hadn't paid any attention to his young bride, and of course, rarely provided Shen Qian'er with living expenses.
Usually, she would buy rice and flour herself and put it in the house.
The extra money from selling herbs was mostly spent on buying all sorts of martial arts manuals, or on eating, drinking, and gambling.
That's right, the original owner was also a man with martial arts aspirations.
Although the Zhou Dynasty valued martial arts,
the truly profound martial arts techniques were held by the court or major sects.
The more basic skills were found in small martial arts schools or among minor factions.
The so-called martial arts manuals available on the market were mostly useless.
Lu Changping had looked through countless of them in the past half month and concluded they were garbage.
However, Lu Changping had a change of thought.
The Myriad Demon List hadn't stated that he needed to collect more demon aura.
He'd been too excited after receiving his golden finger, his mind had been clouded!
Calm down, calm down, calm down!
Lu Changping patted his head, then said to Shen Qian'er, "It's alright, you go wash the clothes first. Take this money for now."
With that, he returned the hairpin and the money to Shen Qian'er.
Shen Qian'er was a little puzzled. "We don't need money again, Ping-ge?"
Lu Changping nodded. "No need. Don't worry, I'll definitely protect you!"
He then patted Shen Qian'er's head.
This little wife was truly his lucky star.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have known when he'd be able to activate this golden finger.
Lu Changping rose from his chair, pondered for a moment, then turned to look at the Human Crow behind him.
He had finally awakened a golden finger. He had to try it out.
Maybe this golden finger could help him overcome his current difficulties!
Although the Myriad Demon List was powerful, it had a prerequisite: to Dominate/Control妖类.
The Zhou Dynasty did have demons.
But they were rare, and they were several times stronger than ordinary martial artists.
Even if he could find them, he might be eaten alive by those demons before he could even Dominate/Control them.
For now, the only one he could use was this Human Crow!
"Logically speaking, demons are all formed from animals, so as a Human Crow, I should count as a demon in training, right?
And Human Crows are quite intelligent, at least more so than poultry, livestock, and other wild beasts. They're also quite spiritual..."
Lu Changping gritted his teeth, feeling the pressure.
He wasn't sure if he could Dominate/Control it successfully.
If he failed, the Human Crow would die.
That would be a complete loss.
But his family was really poor, not even having a single chicken or duck.
After hesitating for a moment, Lu Changping finally gritted his teeth.
"Deal!"
How could a Human Crow be more important than Shen Qian'er?
If he failed, at worst, he'd just take Shen Qian'er and leave.
He absolutely couldn't let her fall into Niu Da's hands.
Lu Changping walked over, beckoning towards the birdcage. The Human Crow flapped its wings and flew down, landing on his arm.
"Qian'er, I'm going out to look for some more medicinal herbs. Stay home and don't run around."
He was afraid something bloody might happen if the Dominate/Control failed later.
Lu Changping left these words and turned to leave with the Human Crow.
"Hey! Brother Ping, don't go too far, remember to come back for dinner..."
His little wife called out from behind.
Lu Changping casually replied and strode out of the village. In the blink of an eye, he arrived at the foot of the mountain behind the village.
It was the mountain where they gathered herbs.
However, there was no one around at this time.
After all, it was almost dark, and it was snowing heavily, so everyone was heading home.
Finding a hidden thicket, Lu Changping sat cross-legged on the ground. After calming his breath and emotions, he looked up at the Human Crow on his arm.
He took a deep breath and, following the instructions of the Myriad Demon List, bit his finger hard. Seeing the blood seep out, he immediately dabbed it onto the Human Crow's head.
At the same time, a thought flickered.
"Dominate!"
Immediately, a strange sensation arose. Lu Changping felt as if something in his mind surged out, lunging towards the Human Crow before him.
It instantly crashed into the Human Crow's mind.
The Human Crow on his arm also stiffened, unable to even stand, and collapsed to the ground.
Lu Changping also felt a considerable impact, directly assaulting his brain.
It felt like the Human Crow was resisting.
He vaguely guessed that this might be a contest of mental power.
And this so-called Dominate/Control meant that his mental power had to be able to suppress the target!
Thinking of this, Lu Changping gritted his teeth, trying to stay as clear-headed as possible.
As time passed, the resistance grew stronger.
The Human Crow's entire body was even trembling.
After only a few minutes,
it was as if a string had snapped.
The resistance coming from the Human Crow disappeared instantly.
A strange mental connection appeared in his mind.
Even without using his eyes, Lu Changping could sense something new in front of him. It was the Human Crow!
"Dominate successful!"
At that moment, the Human Crow on the ground also came back to its senses, its stiff body instantly returning to normal.
With a leap, it landed back on Lu Changping's arm.
It turned its head, looking at him.
On the surface, there was no difference from before, but Lu Changping clearly saw more agility and affection in those small eyes!
At the same time, a feeling of joy and delight, along with the spiritual connection, transmitted to his brain.
This was the Human Crow's current mood!
Lu Changping suddenly spoke, "Come to my head!"
He didn't make any bird calls or gestures.
It was just like he was talking to a person.
If it were the Human Crow from before, it definitely wouldn't have understood.
But now, the Human Crow he Dominated didn't hesitate for a moment, flapping its wings and flying up, gently landing on his head.
"It really worked! It can understand me! Then… wouldn't this mean the Human Crow can help me go into the mountains to find medicinal herbs?"
Lu Changping thought to himself.
He clenched his fists, joy surging in his chest.
"Try it! Try it right now!"
Lu Changping didn't want to waste a single moment. He immediately summoned the Human Crow.
Like a teacher in class, he patiently imparted his knowledge of medicinal herbs to it.
He also occasionally drew shapes on the ground.
It took a full half hour to finally teach the Human Crow about the most common and safest medicinal herbs in the mountain forest.
"These are the three. Go into the mountains and find these three herbs for me. As long as you ensure your safety, gather as much as you can, the more the better."
Lu Changping gave the Human Crow a final instruction, then raised his arm, "Go!"
Without a word, the Human Crow shot into the air and flew away into the distance.
In the blink of an eye, it vanished.
But Lu Changping wasn't worried at all.
Although he couldn't see it, the mental connection in his mind allowed him to clearly feel exactly where the Human Crow was at that moment!
After watching the Human Crow fly away, Lu Changping's thoughts shifted again. He wanted to see if the Myriad Demon List had changed at all after he'd Dominated it.